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Time for a Reality Check regarding this hobby.

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  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: Alexandria KY
  • 470 posts
Posted by Zandoz on Saturday, March 31, 2007 2:04 PM
Reality...an interesting concept with no successful applications, that should always be accompanied by a "Do not try this at home" warning.

Reality...an interesting concept with no successful applications, that should always be accompanied by a "Do not try this at home" warning.

Hundreds of years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...But the world may be different because I did something so bafflingly crazy that my ruins become a tourist attraction.

"Oooh...ahhhh...that's how this all starts...but then there's running...and screaming..."

  • Member since
    August 2004
  • From: Amish country Tenn.
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Posted by loathar on Saturday, March 31, 2007 2:24 PM
 SavaTheAggie wrote:

If you think you guys get put down for 'playing with model trains', imagine being involved in the LEGO hobby, or worse yet, the combination of the two - LEGO Trains!  At least model trains are considered by the majority as being 'adult' oriented.  Try pulling out a pile of plastic blocks and try to convince people you're an adult.  :)

--Tony

The adults that do the R&D for Lego make a pretty darn good living. I wouldn't care what people said about me if I was drawing their pay. The ones that build the models for Lego Land ain't working for minimum wage either.

  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Left Coast
  • 519 posts
Posted by Left Coast Rail on Saturday, March 31, 2007 2:26 PM
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
-Albert Einstein
  • Member since
    December 2003
  • 330 posts
Posted by red p on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 8:25 PM

well my mother is always telling me im to old to to play with toy trains. I also railroad for a living, And my co workers dont think much of it, so i keep pretty quite about it. There are a few other railroaders I work with that model though.

        I did see something interesting on the history channel once. Did you know that there was a prominate Nazi leader during WW2 that had an elaberate marklin layout?

It was Hermann Goring

  • Member since
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  • From: THE FAR, FAR REACHES OF THE WILD, WILD WEST!
  • 3,672 posts
Posted by R. T. POTEET on Thursday, May 10, 2007 12:25 AM
 AntonioFP45 wrote:

Hello Crew, I wanted to post a thread like this before with regards to people we meet that "rip up" on us for being model railroaders.

The "Why do model trains get such bad raps" thread is a good one, but guys if you are indeed put down or "dissed" by relatives, coworkers, or brain-cell-deficient snobsDunce [D)].....then stay cool and don't sweat it!Cool [8D]

This or a similar approach may likely work for us.  I've posted the following before:

My favorite approach is to calmly smile at the offender......name a few famous people that are or were model railroaders.......and then tell him/her that by a mile this hobby beats going to a bar or night club several times a week, smelling expensive perfume and cologne mixed in with unspeakable body odors, and dumping hard earned money on alcohol laden drinks that are going to wind up in a toilet within the hour.  (Funny, but that's what Hollywood says is cool!). In most cases he/she actually thinks about it......and agrees!

My wife's cousin used to spend money like water going to strip clubs.  He told me that he finally woke up one, day over a decade ago, and realized that HO locomotives and rolling stock provided far more satisfaction and were much cheaper.   Now he often talks about the joy he gets out of this hobby.

If you watch tv, tune into shows that you get something positive out of.  Sometimes  I do watch Law and Order and House since the characters have personalities with some realistic "depth" and "flaws" to them.

Guys, feel pity for healthy people who are so shallow that they spend countless hours watching that tube, smoking weed, or getting plastered on booze.  Many of them won't routinely work on things, big or small, that help the mind expand its horizons, make one a more alert person, and become a person that is an excellent source for creative ideas!  I've had my disagreements with some of you here, yet I think I would enjoy running into you at a convention or train show. 

Haven't some of you noticed that many talented "hot shot" architects put together impressive models of buildings out of cheap prefabricated or raw materials?  Another fact:  Hobbiests have far lower rates of depression!  How many of us have heard the doctor's cliche':  Get a Hobby!

Guys, wake up!  Model railroaders are among the most creative people that you will meet. That's you!  If you doubt that, then look at the names on the "famous model railroaders" thread and mention them next time you meet a naysayer. 

Being in this or other scale hobby indicates that you all are sharper than you probably realize......

Peace and High Greens Captain [4:-)]Chef [C=:-)]Cowboy [C):-)]Thumbs Up [tup]

 



I am considerably more tactful than you are:

When I get asked. "Don't you think it's childish to play with trains?' I respond with, "I have a much better question; why, when I look deep into your eyes, I see the back of your head?"

When they say, "Don't get smart with me!" I respond by saying, "If I got smart with you how in the world would you ever know it?"

I have used this: Your idiocy is going to take much more than one beer to fix!

Another tactful quip is: Are you in any anquish at this time: stupidity, you know, is supposed to be painful.

Try this some time; Despite your arrogance I really like you; you remind me so much of myself when I was young and stupid!!!

A couple of others: Which has more wheels, your house or your car???  Remember you only have until five o'clock on Friday to get the air in your head changed.  I sincerely hope that when you finally find yourself you don't look up and wish you hadn't.  If you were trying for a sexy look - you missed!  I used to care but then I discovered they made pills for it!!!  I certainly hope you left those flying Monkeys of yours at home today!!!  And lastly: your lips have been moving for five minutes now but all I've managed to hear is BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!

It is all a matter of tact!!!

From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet

  • Member since
    December 2006
  • From: Piedmont, VA USA
  • 706 posts
Posted by shawnee on Thursday, May 10, 2007 11:00 AM

Red - um, the Goring and MR thing...for PR purposes, maybe we ought to keep that to ourselves.  Smile,Wink, & Grin [swg]

Shawnee
  • Member since
    May 2015
  • 779 posts
Posted by Dallas Model Works on Thursday, May 10, 2007 11:38 AM

 simon1966 wrote:
Very nice sentiments Antonio.  I guess I am lucky, I have never once experienced any kind of nasty response to my hobby.  Quite the contrary really.  Sometimes people are surprised but I have never had anything but positive feedback.

I agree.

I've always been amazed by the positive reactions people have to model railroading. Even the hippest cats drop the facade and have their eyes light up when you mention it.

Now, on the other hand, tell people that you build model tanks or planes (as I've also been known to do) and they run for the hills. Smile [:)]

Craig

DMW

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