The other day I was perusing the news stand looking for something model railroad-ish, didn't matter what-- anything that I didn't already have or hadn't read before-- and my eyes strayed a little. Mind you it was just a quick peek and I quickly looked back before there was time for any damage to have occured and I did a quick glance around the room but I don't think anybody noticed-- but just between you and me.... did you ever notice that there's *other* magazines on the shelf about modeling that don't have *anything* to do with trains????
I was personally shocked, let me tell you. My world-view changed just a little that day and I am still reeling from the after-effects.
The truth is I took a little longer peek at those other magazines than I probably should have-- I even picked one up and thumbed through it-- sheer blasphamy, I know, I'm doomed-- but for the brief moment I held it in my hands and flipped through the pages, I saw some wonderous sights that I couldn't have imagined-- planes and tanks and great war machines-- and articles about construction and gluing and airbrushing and applying decals and lots of other titallating and salacious stuff... By the time I put it down I was sweating and my hands were shaking.
Who knew that *other world* even existed !?!?
So here's my question today--
As a Model Railroader, how do you feel about "other" modelers / modeling? Do you even know it exists ??? ( ) Are other modelers our bretheren? Or are they a heathen tribe ? Do you read / participate / engage in other types of modeling besides railroading? Is there any overlap between the two realms in either direction? Do you belong to any modeling (or gaming) clubs besides a Railroading-oriented one? Do you ever pick up the magazines or books from other types of modeling and try to incorporate their lessons into your Model Railroading activities?
How heathen are ya? Are you a Model Railroader..... or NOT ???
As always, looking forward to your comments!
John
John I've looked through a few "other" hobby magazines before. I agree about the tanks, planes, etc......OUTSTANDING.
I don't have really any hobbies like those. I always wondered if a person that can make planes,tanks, etc look so good.....How would they do in MRR. Also talk about a good team. Get a person from the wood mag, and the plane/war mag together, you might have a HUGE layout, and great detail!!!
I also have wondered, if they get weird looks, or funny comments on the hobby like we do. "RC cars? How old are you". "Tanks, army men? Um.....OK".
"Rust, whats not to love?"
John,
I am definitively a model railroader and never went astray in my modelling career. I do have to confess that I had a look (or even two) in other modelling magazines, but so what?
I do admire any type of well done model work, be it cars, planes, ships, tanks or whatever. I find it interesting to see, how people have achieved what they have done - after all, there is still a lot to learn from other faculties as well!
I dabbled in other hobbies before trains. I tried R/C airplanes.. I love the building of them but they are an expensive hobby that can all end very quickly the wrong move or an engine or radio failure, then I tried R/C cars. Fun for about 5 minutes before something breaks. So I figured I would give trains a try and I am wondering why I had not done it before. For what I had spend on an airplane, engine and radio I could have a nice basic train set up. I love the building part of MR, the planing and the challenge of try to get all work right. And if you crash your train, just walk around the track, put it back on and go, no matter what time of year or the weather. I should have been doing this years ago.
A mile or two up the road from my LHS is one of those very dens of iniquity, a game shop called "Three Trolls." I've wandered in there from time to time, looking for a present for a teenager. There are a few of those twisty little metal puzzles, but mostly their clientele is hard-core war gamers and fantasy players.
But, in the front of the store is a "layout." It's not what we normally think of, but there it is, mostly blue water with a few islands here and there. Instead of trains, they have small model warships, and they re-fight the great naval battles of past centuries.
They have odd building kits on the shelves - bombed out and smashed brick structures and walls. And, right in the middle of it all is a well-stocked rack of Woodland Scenics stuff, everything you need to build a tranquil, verdant battlefield.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
~G4
19 Years old, modeling the Cowlitz, Chehalis, and Cascade Railroad of Western Washington in 1927 in 6X6 feet.
Robby P. I also have wondered, if they get weird looks, or funny comments on the hobby like we do. "RC cars? How old are you". "Tanks, army men? Um.....OK".
You know, merging the hobbies could have its benefits.... if people give us funny looks or make snide comments about the tanks 'n trains, we could just shoot 'em...
Sir MadogI am definitively a model railroader and never went astray in my modelling career. I do have to confess that I had a look (or even two) in other modelling magazines, but so what?
Hah! Then you'll have to say two Hail Frary's and build a medium-sized Craftsman kit as a pennance...
MisterBeasley They have odd building kits on the shelves - bombed out and smashed brick structures and walls. And, right in the middle of it all is a well-stocked rack of Woodland Scenics stuff, everything you need to build a tranquil, verdant battlefield.
Just be sure to fill in the divets before you leave.
When I was about 10, I think, my best friend and I joined a fledgling "Model Railroad" club. When I say "fledgling", I mean it was me, him, and the guy who was starting it. When I say "Model Railroad", what I really mean is "Civil War Gaming & Re-Enactment". Nowadays looking back it probably could have been a lot of fun. The guy had a big table set up in his basement and lots of thick cardboard squares made up with different types of terrain-- grass, bog, hilltops, creeks, rivers, lakes and the like. And some of them had additional features like trees or fences or houses and such.
The goal of course was to arrange them in whatever terrain configuration best suited the battle, and then he had all of these civil war soldiers arranged in various ways, also mounted on cardboard, which could be mixed-n-matched for various troop assault/defense and other formations. You had to set up supply lines and defend them and the whole bit. He had miniature cannon and mortars and whatnot, and supply wagons and all sorts of neat stuff to go with it. But alas, no trains. Our involvement in the "Model Railroad Club" ended soon thereafter, but it was fun while it lasted.
Nowdays though, I love strategy games and looking back would have very much enjoyed participating in his gaming club had I only understood it better and had a better idea how to play.
IVRWThere is a great gulf between Modelers(1) and modelers(2). 2 just make a sub from a kit, or a car from styrene, and then post it on a shelf. Thats it, end of story, move onto next project. These are people who just model, nothing else. 1 actually model individual things, and then they bring everything together in one big extravaganza. We are 1. People who just build stuff are 2. Gamers, i.e. build mini tank, mini battlefield, and game away a mini war are 1 too. 1 actually do individual projects, and then later combine them into the ultimate goal. 2 simple do one project and forget about it later.
Awhile back, a year ago maybe-- I was just generally surfing one day on the net for train-related stuff and stumbled across a web site that was devoted to hobbyists involved in model race cars-- not "R/C" type cars-- but slot cars and their decendents. I played with slot cars a few times when I was a kid-- probably my brother and I each had gotten one or more sets over the years at christmas time or something-- and I remember once when I was a young kid maybe 4, 5, or 6-- thereabouts-- visiting my grandparents in Delaware and we went to some big hobbyshop and they had this huge, gigantic slot car track set up-- probably "S-scale" cars or something like that-- and being fascinated by it. Of course there wasn't an empty throttle in the room and a line of young teenage boys waiting to take over. A little kid never stood a chance.
But getting back to the web site-- I stumbled across a whole genre that I never even realized existed (literally, no foolin) which was essentially doing with slot cars what we Model Railroaders do with model trains. They had entire "model slot car layouts"-- whatever you would call that. Completely scenicked with towns and bridges and structures and trees-- the whole works. I had to do several double-takes to square what I *thought* I was seeing with what I *was* seeing. It was very interesting. So I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring that type of thing and it was very interesting. It turns out that its a bigger deal in the U.K., probably because you can fit all that into a smaller space, I guess.
It was kinda cool though.
I've had an interest in plastic models (mostly sci-fi related) all my life, so I also peruse Fine Scale Modeler from time to time. And while I don't really have the inclination to do R/C planes, I admire the craftsmanship that goes into them, so I browse those magazines occasionally as well.
There are definitely things to be learned from the "other hobbies" out there. Painting and weathering techniques aren't unique to "our" hobby, and neither are woodworking skills. Plastic models can also teach us a lot about working with Styrene and etched metal. There are also products marketed for the other hobbies that can be used quite successfully in model railroading too...for example, The Detailer. These are pre-mixed washes for weathering, mostly marketed towards model car builders.
So, if one keeps an open mind when standing at the magazine rack, one can learn a lot!
Robert Beaty
The Laughing Hippie
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The CF-7...a waste of a perfectly good F-unit!
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the
end of your tunnel, Was just a freight train coming
your way. -Metallica, No Leaf Clover
The genesis of my modeling preoccupation lies in those "other" areas. By the time I was in my mid-teens I had a bedroom wall fully shelved with 1/35 tanks, 1/25 cars, and 1/72 aircraft, including large models of Titanic, a 3-foot-wingspan B-52, and a USS Constitution that still sits tattered and unfinished on top of my model railroad supply cabinet.
I must also admit that I stare longingly at those large battleship and aircraft carrier model boxes at my LHS. I've also admittedly visited websites showcasing spectacular naval card modeling. The temptation is great, but the little voice in my head keeps telling me I don't dare venture into yet another expensive time-consuming hobby...
Jim
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright
Back when I started modeling things, I did a lot of static kits. Ships, military vehicles and armor, airplanes, cars including customized cars (my fist kitbashes), even a nuclear power plant and a rocket on a launching pad. Then I got into trains, and never looked back, except I used the nuc plant on my first layout. The thing I liked and still like about model railroading is that it includes so much more than gluing together some plastic, painting it and puting it on a shelf or hanging it by a string from the ceiling. Benchwork, wiring, scenery, track and roadbed, buildings and running the things - get tired of doing one thing, there is always something different to do to make progress on the layout.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
During one of our yearly mall shows the airplane and RC car guys are also set up in the mall.
1. They have the same kind of converted, jam packed tackle box as a tool box as I do.
2. They have pretty much the same tools in it.
3. We can run in any weather.
4. To me it would take a tremendous amount of courage to take a model plane out on the runway for the first time and find out if it would fly. One reversed control and the thing would become a pile of kindling. Years of work down the drain and it's happened more than once. If I put a new locomotive or car on the track and it doesn't work, it can be fixed.
5. They can run outside in the summer. I know there are garden railroads and live steam (there's an interesting group) but it just isn't the same.
I know many of the guys and aside from a little good natured ribbing, we get along great and have respect for each others talents. Some have dabbled in railroading over the years and some of our memebers have dabbled in their hobbies.
One thing I've seen movies of on Youtube but never in person is remote controlled construction equipment. I'd sure like to see some of that some day.
Arjay1969 I've had an interest in plastic models (mostly sci-fi related) all my life, so I also peruse Fine Scale Modeler from time to time. And while I don't really have the inclination to do R/C planes, I admire the craftsmanship that goes into them, so I browse those magazines occasionally as well. There are definitely things to be learned from the "other hobbies" out there. Painting and weathering techniques aren't unique to "our" hobby, and neither are woodworking skills. Plastic models can also teach us a lot about working with Styrene and etched metal. There are also products marketed for the other hobbies that can be used quite successfully in model railroading too...for example, The Detailer. These are pre-mixed washes for weathering, mostly marketed towards model car builders.So, if one keeps an open mind when standing at the magazine rack, one can learn a lot!
Back in the late-spring / early summer I picked up one of those magazines-- probably was Fine Scale Modeler, and bought it for the excellent tutorial on mold-making and working with casting resins. I've seen other articles both online and in the Model Railroading arena, but this one was very well written and put together and I learned a lot from it. I hope to make use of its information soon.
BTW, if anybody's interested, there's a good tutorial online here-- can't remember if its a pdf or video (or maybe both?) about casting parts with resin and such.
Update: I just went and looked through the MR articles and didn't see it-- I think it was a downloadable PDF though if my recollection is correct. But there are a lot of great articles and how-to videos available here on MR's site, you should check them out sometime! (http://www.trains.com/mrr/default.aspx?c=art&id=15)
mononguy63The genesis of my modeling preoccupation lies in those "other" areas. By the time I was in my mid-teens I had a bedroom wall fully shelved with 1/35 tanks, 1/25 cars, and 1/72 aircraft, including large models of Titanic, a 3-foot-wingspan B-52, and a USS Constitution that still sits tattered and unfinished on top of my model railroad supply cabinet. I must also admit that I stare longingly at those large battleship and aircraft carrier model boxes at my LHS. I've also admittedly visited websites showcasing spectacular naval card modeling. The temptation is great, but the little voice in my head keeps telling me I don't dare venture into yet another expensive time-consuming hobby... Jim
My Dad is (was) a big car modeler-- he's still around but he hasn't built a model in years unfortunately. But I remember as a kid he had shelf upon shelf upon shelf in our house filled with models he'd built. And they were all gorgeous and had incredible detailing and paint jobs (okay, I was three and easy to impress back then :-) but I've seen some more recently and the paint really is spectacular. I think he was a frustrated automobile designer. My grandmother once showed me a "secret stash" she had of stuff he'd done as a kid-- exotic car drawings, ideas for new features and body styles, break-away drawings of engines and such-- he was very talented. And if nothing else, it was a very interesting insight into my Dad's inner workings.
G Paine(my fist kitbashes), even a nuclear power plant and a rocket on a launching pad. Then I got into trains, and never looked back, except I used the nuc plant on my first layout.
That's interesting, do you have any photos of the nuke plant and/or its incorporation into the railroad?
RedoreOne reversed control and the thing would become a pile of kindling.
On the other hand you have a great source of strip-wood for scratchbuilding...
Yes..I use to race 1/24th and 1/32nd NASCAR slot cars at a commercial track until I "retired" about 3-4 years ago and sold my cars to another guy..BTW..90% of the racers was adults from the 20s-70s.
I have been known to go to a military modelers meet..I have attended R/C airplane meets.I have attended R/C car and truck meets.I have attended model car and truck shows...I even attended a antique toy show that had lots of antique toys on display..
No shame..
I just enjoy looking at various hobbies that interest me.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
jwhittenRedoreOne reversed control and the thing would become a pile of kindling. On the other hand you have a great source of strip-wood for scratchbuilding... John
Yeah, in HO or N!
the main reason I don't want to get into R/C planes is the video one of my customers brought in when I worked at a full-service hobby shop. It was a really cool video of R/C plane crashes. The one that stands out in my mind the most was the model of a B-24 with a 15-foot wingspan, powered by four chainsaw engines, on what I believe was its maiden flight. The plane took off and flew around for a few minutes, then the pilot was banking it one more time, and one of the wings folded over onto the other one. Bearing in mind that it was powered by chainsaw engines, needless to say the wing shredded almost instantaneously (not that it was really doing its job anymore, since it had folded over) when it came into contact with the propellers on the other wing. A lovely death spiral ensued, culminating in not a crash, but...since the plane was mostly styrofoam...a beautiful splash as it hit the ground.
This was, I believe, a five-year build, costing the guy several thousand dollars. I don't believe he was able to salvage even a single screw out of it.
After watching that video, I vowed never to complain about derailments again!
My college roommate was a Physics major and very much into rockets. One day he dragged this big box into the apartment, put it on the kitchen table and said, "This is a neat model, I'm going to build this."
Not looking at the box, all I could think of was, "Oh, good a Titan III or something like that and we'll blow up the apartment." Well, it wasn't. It was a large-sized model of the USS "Constitution" ("Old Ironsides"). As he built it--VERY carefully--I was absolutely entranced. I'd always admired sailing ships, but never actually built a model of one, and after watching him with the rigging, I knew why. Of course, the kitchen table was a mess for at LEAST a semester, but as that beautiful ship took shape and I watched his incredible patience, I really grew to admire those modelers that construct sailing vessels. Okay, this was a plastic Revell kit, but it was a start.
I was down at his house a couple of years ago, I hadn't seen him in some years. His den was full of some of the most beautiful WOODEN ship models I've ever seen. "Does your wife mind your hobby?" I asked, looking at a magnificent reproduction of the "Golden Hinde". Mike grinned and said, "Nah, I let her do the rigging." Then he grinned. "Hey, do you still play with trains?"
I sat down at his computer, brought up my Website and said, "Yah. What do you think?"
We both grinned a lot at each other.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Arjay1969jwhittenRedoreOne reversed control and the thing would become a pile of kindling. On the other hand you have a great source of strip-wood for scratchbuilding... John Yeah, in HO or N! the main reason I don't want to get into R/C planes is the video one of my customers brought in when I worked at a full-service hobby shop. It was a really cool video of R/C plane crashes. The one that stands out in my mind the most was the model of a B-24 with a 15-foot wingspan, powered by four chainsaw engines, on what I believe was its maiden flight. The plane took off and flew around for a few minutes, then the pilot was banking it one more time, and one of the wings folded over onto the other one. Bearing in mind that it was powered by chainsaw engines, needless to say the wing shredded almost instantaneously (not that it was really doing its job anymore, since it had folded over) when it came into contact with the propellers on the other wing. A lovely death spiral ensued, culminating in not a crash, but...since the plane was mostly styrofoam...a beautiful splash as it hit the ground.This was, I believe, a five-year build, costing the guy several thousand dollars. I don't believe he was able to salvage even a single screw out of it. After watching that video, I vowed never to complain about derailments again!
On a personal note, you might want to refrain from watching "Myth Busters" on TV...
twhite It was a large-sized model of the USS "Constitution" ("Old Ironsides"). As he built it--VERY carefully--I was absolutely entranced. I'd always admired sailing ships, but never actually built a model of one, and after watching him with the rigging, I knew why.
I had an uncle who did that sort of thing-- he scratchbuilt "tall ships" and it was utterly fascinating to see them, both the ones he'd finished as well as the ones he had underway. He had dozens of them on display around his house and probably as many more in various stages of completion on his workbench.
And he was the one who point out the biggest mystery-- its not how do they build the ship in the bottle-- its how do they get the workers out when they're done !?!?!
When I was a kid I put together a ton of those static models and for a time it was fun. But then once it's assembled what happened next? They sat on a shelf, collected dust and one day they just disappeared - I think it had something to do with me moving out of my parent's house and my mother's penchant for 'cleaning.' At the same time, I had an old American Flyer layout in the basement that I kept tinkering with for years - I wish to this day I still had it.
So for me the answer is no - I don't look into other kinds of modeling because it isn't where my interest lies. My LHS has a large RC plane department - it's actually larger than the model train area - and I think it's great that people that can assemble and fly one of those things. But when I have ventured into those aisles, I find they speak an entirely different language that I don't understand - 'you attach the crackwacker valve to the phlimzit with four flangicites' - enough said. So, I do what I am comfortable with doing and while I truly admire their work, I am entrenched in this hobby.
But there is another reason I won't dabble in RC controlled planes - it seems I worked for a guy who was big into them. Once he spent megabucks on building this one particular airplane, He spent hours carefully crafting the body, he was just meticulous in everything he did and finally the day came when it was to take its maiden flight. Now even though he had flown several planes before, he had never mastered the concept of the 'takeoff down the runway.' Instead he would start the engine, hold the plane in mid-air and let it go. So, he did it with this particular plane and as it sailed out of his grasp he realized he hadn't turned on the receiver inside the plane and, therefore, it just simply flew away never to be seen again. At least when I have a crash, it's on the carpet and I can recover the pieces.
There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....
I came into mrr thru one of those other modeling "worlds" - I was an avid collector of Roco Minitanks military models. The [now long-gone] LHS in my home town of Farmington, MI, specialized in military modeling, but they also had some model train stuff as well. I was in the shop one Saturday morning getting ready to spend my allowance on a model of some type of howizter, standing by the cash register waiting to pay for it. The proprietor was in a long-winded conversation with an adult customer, and I happened to notice this rack with a few magazines on it that were about model trains. So I grabbed the [then] current copy of Railroad Model Craftsman and began thumbing thru it. Wow - a whole 'nuther world! An article about EMD's latest-and-greatest, the SD-45, along with Athearn's model of the blue-and-white demonstrator. And not just miniature trains themselves, but stuff to make them and their surroundings look 'real' - including an E.L. Moore article on scratchbuilding an HO scale slaughterhouse. I was hooked; I put back the model howitzer and spent my money on the RMC* instead. Never bought another Minitanks model ever since ...
* Trivia quiz: Any of you old-timers recognize which month/year RMC issue that was?
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
All modeling is similar to me in that we're trying to create in miniature (so as to be practical) the machines and scenes that inspire us and push our happy buttons. When I was a kid I built models of ships, planes, tanks, cars (Big Daddy Roth's bug eyed stuff!), slot cars, trains and even a Revell model of the Werewolf. (There wolf. Miss you Marty Feldman.) The skills translate for the most part and though I never built RC planes, I built a whole slew of control line racers. Guess how those ended up? Plane guys (I think) combine the regular modeler but with a whole lot of risk taker thrown in. It's all part of our refusing to let the kid in us wither.
Lou
Since the nearest "full service" train store within 140 miles of me is one side of one half aisle at Hobby Lobby, I occasionally look through other models for stuff I can borrow. I even look at jewelry findings and bracelet charms at the craft store.
However, I don't do much "other" modeling except maybe using my MR structure skills to build a custom dollhouse of a relative's real house for a Christmas present.
As a kid I built plane and ship models. My first was the USS Arizona. But these days I check out other areas for what I can use with the layout. I won't rule out doing other modeling in the future, but that would be after retirement when I have more time.
Enjoy
Paul
I received my first trains 60yrs ago and have been always been involved with hobby. Over the years I have also built models of other things like cars, boats and planes and also war gamed with military miniatures (20 mm civil war figures). I have bought other model magazines for articles that can be use in model railroading. Military modeling magazine have some good articles on painting, decaling and scenery so I always check them out when looking for magazines.
There is no such thing as a bad day of railfanning. So many trains, so little time.
As a kid I had a train layout of some sort in my room almost always. I was also into the line controlled ,gas powered airplanes big time. I would build planes while the train was going around the layout next to me. ( a perfect world ) I even use to scratch build wings and test them out in flight. I was impressed at how well some of them worked out. We use to do combat flying with streamers tied to the back of our planes. The first one to chew off the others streamer won. Sometimes we wouldn't stop at the streamers though.
Knowing that when I was sixteen I would be able to drive myself to the airfield I started building my first R/C plane and had it finished by the time I got my drivers licence. I spent some time flying R/C planes then moved on to flying real ones. After a few hours of flying from point "A" to point "B" twiddling my thumbs with the autopilot on I decided being a pilot was not for me.
I have had many interest over the years but in the back of my mind I always wanted that bigger train layout someday. I am well on my way with it and it is a hobby that suits this very worn out 53 year old body. I may get back into R/C planes again, but living on the wet coast of Canada, it limits the number of flying days. I can walk into the train room anytime. Also as I have said before I pretty much spend what I want when I want on trains but it is still less than what I use to spend on transportation alone, to get to the R/C airfield.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."