What kind of modeler are you?

[canazar]

I am "All the Above". 

At one point or another, I go through several phases at one time... and  I can go through it several times in a phase.

 

There is no hope for me.

 

:D

[the North East Rail Modeler]

Motley

 

Are you a tinkerer? You're not satisfied with anything, and always thinking what to change next. Pull out this structure here, move these tracks here.

Are you a locomotive guy? You like locomotives, lots and lots of locomotives. You're layout mainly consists of engine facilities.

Are you a rolling stocker? You like lots of rolling stock, building kits, weathering. Your layout mainly consists of yard operations.

Are you a collector? You may not even have a layout but have a nice collection for display.

Are you an accumulator? You keep everything, you have old stuff in boxes, you buy more than can fit on your layout. You are buying things for a future layout.

All of the above apply to me.

I don't have a layout, but I do build dioramas (and tear those up and re-build them when I learn a new technique that I can apply to it)

I also am a locomotive and rolling stock collector and accumulator.

What I do is build and detail the locomotives/ rolling stock, and place them on the diorama, in my display case,  or I put them into my home-made copy of the Athern Blue-box style box, and save them for when I get the garage cleaned up enough to have a layout in there.

I'd also like to add two more category to this list:

 The scratch-builder: You love to scratch-build everything, Locomotives, rolling stock, buildings, and everything else, from the ground up, regardless of what others tell you. You love the challenge of building complex stuff.

The kit maker: You go to a show, and buy up as many of the now Out of production Athern Blue-box kits as possible. You refuse to beleave that Athern discontinued them, and want to have a surplus of these kits built up for that unavoidable day that the Athern Blue-box kits cease to exist at a show.

I also fit thest two categories.

[-E-C-Mills]

Motley

OK let's hear it. What kind of modeler are you?

 

Great question!  For me too, I am several and some not on the list.

Planner:  For some reason I find drafting, dreaming, to be great fun.  It used to be on paper but now, I use CAD.  I have several solar homes planned with train rooms that have evolved.  Of course there are layouts planned in the existing house, including N, HO, and G layouts.  I entered a couple of the planning contests.

Builder:  I think I like the construction aspects the most; woodworking, scenery, wiring, track work, and especially building models.  I like to watch the trains run, and loose operation is fine, giving the layout purpose, but most of the time, I'm building things.

Accumulator:  I seem to have lots of stuff in boxes that are waiting to be built!

Historian:  Very much into railroad and industrial history.  Lots of history books.  Love historical engineering, mining, milling, smelting, refining.  The more pipes, furnaces, and old machine stuff, the better.

Rail Fan:  Traveling to and visiting places, hunting down actual rail scenes, bridges, junctions in the middle of nowhere, odd places you come across on a map, is also something I like to do.

[JTG]

Great question! I would say my preference is probably operations.

But in order to have a layout you can operate, you have to build it.

And in order to build a layout for operation, you have to plan it carefully.

And to plan a layout carefully, you have to learn at least a bit about how railroads work.

And (for me, at least) in order to have a truly satisfying layout, it has to make sense -- geographically, historically, economically. So you better learn a little bit about all those things, as well.

And there are other pleasures along the way, like learning about the development of railroads and equipment, and choosing and buying era-specific locos and rolling stock.

But before you even get started, you better be a dreamer. Because chasing the dream layout is what this hobby is all about. I'm guessing that few of us even get close, and those who do keep dreaming up improvements to keep them busy.

[St Francis Consolidated RR]

I'm a very cranky modeler

[vsmith]

I dunno? I have...

...built, bashed or scratched at least 40 locomotives

...built and dismantled at least 3 incarnations of my layout while at the Plywood Pacific stage

...but finally finishing my latest and smallest incarnation of a layout.

...like to run trains, but dont care for Ops

...collect pre and post-war mechanical Marx, but not anything else.

What am I?

[galaxy]

Motley

OK let's hear it. What kind of modeler are you?

There are many different facets to this hobby, and all kinds of different modelers.

So I'm wondering, which one are you?

Are you a builder? You are working on the layout more than you run the trains. You like to work on scenery, structures, etc.

Are you runner? You like to run trains. You would rather just kick back and run the trains, even if your layout doesn't have scenery.

Are you an operator? You run your layout with prototypical operations like a mini transportation system.

Are you a railfanner? You have a nicely detailed layout, but like watching the trains run through the scenery instead of operating.

Are you a tinkerer? You're not satisfied with anything, and always thinking what to change next. Pull out this structure here, move these tracks here.

Are you a locomotive guy? You like locomotives, lots and lots of locomotives. You're layout mainly consists of engine facilities.

Are you a rolling stocker? You like lots of rolling stock, building kits, weathering. Your layout mainly consists of yard operations.

Are you a collector? You may not even have a layout but have a nice collection for display.

Are you an accumulator? You keep everything, you have old stuff in boxes, you buy more than can fit on your layout. You are buying things for a future layout.

Are you show modeler? You take your module layout to shows and display them.

Let's see, for me right now, I'm in build mode. So I'm a builder. I work on the layout more than I run trains. Even though my trackwork is completed. I'm also a tinkerer. Even though my layout is new, I know I'll be always changing something.

I like engines more than rolling stock. I'm trying to start a nice collection. Starting from completely nothing just 9 months ago, I know have 12 engines.

-I like to build building kits for scenery then weather and detail them. Not so much on the scenery surrounding the layout though.

-I am a runner. I like to run the trains....roundy-round-round fashion. I can stand for an hour or so just watching the trains go around the oval...

-Operator- Definitely NOT. I will consist a train in my small yard, then run it out to the outside oval and roundy-round-round then decosist in the yard and park the engine in the engine terminal house, though. DOes that count as ops?

-I am a 1:1 railfanner, but don;t have a large layout to "run trains through scenery"

- I do not tinker much. There isn't much room on my small layout to change the layout. I will change out things to change eras on my layout...does that count?

-Locos make the trains run and I have more than my layout can bear, so I rotate both locos and eras of locos.

-rolling stock is more than my locos and layout can handle. I do not like the idea of weathering my RR cars, though, I prefer to think my RR keeps 'em clean. I forced the issue to have a small 4 spur yard inside th inner oval on my layout but I don't have space for a large yard like I would like to have.

-I collect what I like, but do not have a display space...where would I put that?

-I accumulate lots of things...not necessarily train stuff either...but you never know what this little doo-hickey here might need to be on the layout. I thought I had brains once... I bought several tool boxes that are compartmentalized to hold "things and stuff" for my layout...

-Nope, no shows here though I could throw my entire layout {3.5 feet x 5.1 feet HO ....yes HO} into my van and take it...but I'm sheepish about sharing it.

- Suffice it to say I have fun with the hobby in my way and that is all that matters right?

Now what did I do with that thing I was looking for....???