WaxonWaxov wrote: kcole4001 wrote: Bang for the buck wise, this probably is the best hobby goingFor your money you get: historical research, reading, etc.carpentry/woodworking/joinery/finishing, drywall, wiring and lightingmodel building/detailingscenery making/detailing/diorama buildingoperations planning and executionphotography/lighting effectsAll of these are optional to some degree and the emphasis is up to each individual according to taste, of course, but there's a little something for everyone. What other hobby provides all of that entertainment?And THAT, my friends, is why they call it the "World's Greatest Hobby"
kcole4001 wrote: Bang for the buck wise, this probably is the best hobby goingFor your money you get: historical research, reading, etc.carpentry/woodworking/joinery/finishing, drywall, wiring and lightingmodel building/detailingscenery making/detailing/diorama buildingoperations planning and executionphotography/lighting effectsAll of these are optional to some degree and the emphasis is up to each individual according to taste, of course, but there's a little something for everyone. What other hobby provides all of that entertainment?
Bang for the buck wise, this probably is the best hobby going
For your money you get:
historical research, reading, etc.
carpentry/woodworking/joinery/finishing, drywall, wiring and lighting
model building/detailing
scenery making/detailing/diorama building
operations planning and execution
photography/lighting effects
All of these are optional to some degree and the emphasis is up to each individual according to taste, of course, but there's a little something for everyone.
What other hobby provides all of that entertainment?
And THAT, my friends, is why they call it the "World's Greatest Hobby"
May I add the bull sessions that occur at train shows, hobby shops and online (like this one)?
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
And to make your decision even MORE complicated...http://custmtrax.com/
If anyone is interested, they sell those cool switch stands separately for $4/each.
loathar wrote: And to make your decision even MORE complicated...http://custmtrax.com/If anyone is interested, they sell those cool switch stands separately for $4/each.
I think I'll pass.. thanks anyway
modelmaker51 wrote:I hate hand laid track. What real track out there is layed without tie plates and spikes only every 8 to 10 ties? (except some hick logging railroads). PC board soldered ties? How real looking is that. Saving money? Bull. Saving time? Even more bull. Give me $2 sticks of ModelPower flex with all the detail molded in, including the wood grain, any day. I even custom bend my commercial turnouts to fit and nobody's the wiser and I didn't spend 3 or 4 hours building them.Just my
I hate hand laid track.
What real track out there is layed without tie plates and spikes only every 8 to 10 ties? (except some hick logging railroads). PC board soldered ties? How real looking is that. Saving money? Bull. Saving time? Even more bull. Give me $2 sticks of ModelPower flex with all the detail molded in, including the wood grain, any day. I even custom bend my commercial turnouts to fit and nobody's the wiser and I didn't spend 3 or 4 hours building them.
Just my
Ditto. I find Micro Engineering track or CV tie strips with their tie plate and spike details to look much more realistic once they're painted and weathered. There is even ME flextrack (On30) for narrow gauge without tie plates and scale-sized spike detail.
Geared Steam wrote: Last Chance wrote: setting aside family to take off at 4 am to catch the fish biting.My wife and kids always went with me, my 2 daughters grew up in a boat on the weekends, now that they are grown up, they can both outfish most men. My used boat cost me $1200.00. and uses very little gas, and I catch more fish than the guys in the $30k bass boats.I know your being general with your comments, but not all of us neglect our family.Fishing is not a bad thing.
Last Chance wrote: setting aside family to take off at 4 am to catch the fish biting.
setting aside family to take off at 4 am to catch the fish biting.
My wife and kids always went with me, my 2 daughters grew up in a boat on the weekends, now that they are grown up, they can both outfish most men. My used boat cost me $1200.00. and uses very little gas, and I catch more fish than the guys in the $30k bass boats.
I know your being general with your comments, but not all of us neglect our family.
Fishing is not a bad thing.
Indeed! I havent touched on Ocean Fishing since Familes tend to go along.
My attempts at fishing is a comedy of errors worthy of someone very new and raw to the sport.
Cheers!
Most of the long-standing layouts I've visited that are operated regularly were originally built with handlaid turnouts or were in the process of replacing the factory-made. That's the best way to avoid derailments. Factory-made are made to looser standards and have a significant amount of inconsistency of gauge and wheel clearance.
Mark
loathar wrote: If anyone is interested, they sell those cool switch stands separately for $4/each.
They do look nice. Are they HO? And I didn't see on the link where they were listed. Did I look in the wrong places?
Don't forget some of us have chosen to 'start from scratch' by switching scales!! I was in O for 15 years, finally got to a dead-end...so few products, so expensive (roughly 5-6 times HO prices) so I gave up and switched to HO. It really reinvigorated me and my modelling. (Of course in a year or two, a thousand new O products came out that I would love to have had when I was in O.) I guess when I moved recently I didn't really 'start from scratch' since I brought my engines, cars and buildings with me, along with DCC and DC powerpacks etc. but in many ways it was another new beginning.
Just take your time!! My new layout is going to be a fairly extensive double-deck layout, but I'm intentionally stopping at what I have now (12'x12' shelf layout) to do scenery, structures and be able to operate now. Later I can expand to the next stage. You'd be surprised even on a 16" wide shelf how much HO operation you can fit in!!
loathar wrote:Maxman-I believe they currently make S and HO versions. The web site says O and On3/On30 are in the works. It's something they don't advertise. I had to E-mail them to see if they were sold separately. I get the impression nobody ever asked them that question and they just said SURE! I guess we can do that.
Lothar, you are an evil, evil man!
I've been looking for nice looking track that I don't have to handlay for years! Another thing to spend $$$ on!