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Things that irritate modelers.

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Posted by SouthPenn on Friday, September 18, 2015 8:15 AM

Having the vacuum cleaner suck up details and parts from layout.

South Penn

South Penn
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Posted by oltmannd on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 11:25 AM

Presbyopia and general lack of finesse.

 

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by chutton01 on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 9:28 AM

bing&kathy
   Knocking over paint bottles when doing brush work. Twice last night, Grrr!


Come now, you haven't drilled several large holes using a spade bit, in a sanded piece of, say 2" x 4" wood, to a depth such that Testors, Model Master, Floquil if you have some, et. al. sized bottles sit 50% or more of their height in the hole to prevent knock-over-ness?  So far I have not needed to secure the wood piece to the workbench, the mass of the wood (5" long) seems enough to prevent knock-over.
For that true "Micromark" touch (I'm sure Micromark offered something like this at one time or another - they've done everything else), I routed a small slot across the lenght of the board to hold brushes, paint stirrers (small metal rods cut from coat hangers), and so on.

An irritation that occurred to me after reading a different thread:
I print my home brew decals on clean, correct media (ink-jet specific, not laser printer specific) Micromark decal paper, as specified by the MM instructions (similar effects for Testors). Top coat with the recommended acrylic clear coat spray (it's nice when MM recommends branded items, as you can then get them 50% cheaper elsewhere like Michaels or even a LHS.  MM exclusives OTOH, well...), and let dry for the recommended period. Attempt to apply the decals to the (gloss-coated) model...and as soon as they hit the water the ink starts bleeding like anything, smearing into uselessness; then I have to fartz around removing them without messing up the underlying paint.

So, three irritations really:
1. Why no bleed-free decal paper/ink combinations as of this late date (yes, I know about Alps, few people have seen those printers in person, but ink jets...).
2. Why, even when you follow the instructions pretty much as exactly as humanly possible, are some processes still so darn hit or miss...
3. Why, when you search on-line for hints on how to prevent this, do you find 20,000 posters with 50,000 different opinions among them...

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Posted by angelob6660 on Monday, September 14, 2015 11:04 PM

When you're favorite railroad website won't connect, even though you know that its not down.

To make a good kitbash or stretch build structure, and not having supplies to make it until three months later and you totally forget what you're building because you forgot to draw out the plans in the first place. 

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

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Posted by bing&kathy on Monday, September 14, 2015 8:19 PM

   Knocking over paint bottles when doing brush work. Twice last night, Grrr!

God's Best & Happy Rails to You!

Bing  (RIPRR The Route of the Buzzards)

The future: Dead Rail Society

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Posted by 12444 on Sunday, September 13, 2015 9:33 PM

I also hate shopping. Shopping is terrible.

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Posted by 12444 on Sunday, September 13, 2015 8:20 PM

davidmbedard
Tamyia glue bottle seal ring coming out. Running out of flex. Running out of cork. Friends who enjoy and process beans then come over to model. Shipping costs to Canada. Ebay sellers who refuse to ship to Canada. The C word. Atta-boys. People who expect an Atta-boy. A falling exacto knife hitting my foot. Detail parts that get lost in the carpet. Plastic couplers. Dull blades. Bad lighting. Not having a toilet in the basement. Dried paint in the bottle. Paint bottles that refuse to open. Being told not to bother because mfg X has announced the particular model. Mfg X producing said model and passing off a foobie as the waited for model. CA cement on your fingers. CA cement on the model where it should not be. Engineering plastic and it's inability to be bonded. Haters. Posers. Know-it-alls. Having to source out NOS to build a kit. People who buy brass and pass it off as their "work". MRC decoders. Tsunamis with no CV5. Factory light boards. Athearns use of bulbs. People who start a thread with a question and leave it unresolved. Trolls. Thin-skinners. Over weathering. Graffiti on RTR taking up room on LHS shelves. Loud furnace fan. Time flying by. Posters who finish part way through a wo
 

Those are prety much all the things I hate, and I have a few more. I hate running out of CA glue, especially in the middel of a project. There's also a hobby shop near us that overprices stuff way high (ugh).

 

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Saturday, September 12, 2015 1:09 PM

Autonerd
I just got back into the hobby after a 25 year absence, and it feels like the modeling has gone out of model railroading. Used to be you bought a good-running model and detailed it to your hearts content. Now you bay 3-4x as much for a model superdetailed with fragile plastic parts. I bought a couple of used P2K Geeps, but I'm almost afraid to put them on the club layout. We *run* our trains, and the ones that are out there on the pike look terrible from rough handling.

[rant] I'm so sick of people complaining about how the hobby has gone to poop because there are no "real" modelers left.[/rant]

I've been in the hobby long before RTR stuff, since the early 1970's, and I got news for you, not every one "enjoys" building and detailing kit stuff - we did it because we had to.  I still build a few kits here and there but love the nice prototypical RTR cars on the market - big time saver and they look better than many of the kits I've built.

If you want old school trains, I see TONS of blue box and other kit trains at trainshows on the secondary market.  Folks like you can be happy by going and getting that stuff which is plentiful.  If you live far away from a big city with a big train show, do yourself a favor and go visit one and stock up.  There, everyones happy - no need to rant!  (where is my Staples Button "that was easy")

There are some tables at the train show I go to that are full of parts such as Details West or Details Associates - not everything there but a lot to look through.  Join HOSwap or HOInterchange yahoo groups email lists and ask for parts - some may have some they want to sell.  I sold some parts such as Farr Air grills, 36-inch EMD roof fans, Cooling coils etc that I no longer needed.

One more rant: For all the money we're paying for locomotives these days, are the drives any better? Not really -- the 30-year-old Kato drive seems to be the pinnacle of performance.

Sigh.

Now I can tell you've been out of the hobby for 25 years.  There are definitely drives out there that are very smooth in HO - my Stewart Drives (ok, made by KATO).  My Athearn RTR SD45's run like KATO's, and many of my Athearn nicely.  Oh, how about Atlas drives - top notch and among the best.  Athearn Genesis run nice.  Intermountain SD40-2's, nice.  

 

 

 

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by FRRYKid on Friday, September 11, 2015 11:13 PM

Going back to what people have said about running out of supplies, how about running out of supplies when you don't have an LHS and everything hobby-related has to be ordered?

Another one for you (and this happened to me): Finding a certain paint that you loved working with, is a main color for your railroad, etc. and the company discontinues it and are unable to find anything to replace it. (A certain color of Polly Scale paint and no other line has it where it can be brush painted. I don't own an airbrush. Additionally, Montana's weather doesn't permit painting outside a good part of the traditional modeling season.)

Getting distracted while working on one project by finding other ones that need to be worked on.

[edit]

Also somewhat going back to what was already mentioned, how about having a shopping list but realizing you're finding things that weren't on the list, but you need anyway?

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by steemtrayn on Friday, September 11, 2015 4:30 PM

theodorefisk

3 - people who criticize someone else's layout that do not have a layout of their own OR boast that something you built is not prototypical, at which point you politely inform them that what they are looking at is a model and by the way it is my ^&%$$^&*(*&$# railroad and I will do as I  %&%#%*(( please. 

 

I can criticize your modelling all i want, because my layout is so much better than yours. I'd like to share pics, but I can't because it's still in my head.

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Posted by BRAKIE on Friday, September 11, 2015 6:23 AM

 
BRAKIE
I had one chap to tell me I was a disgrace to the hobby..

 

I hope you felt suitably chastised Larry.Whistling
 

Yes,I got all teary eyed and choked up over it.Couldn't sleep for several days.  Crying Surprise Smile, Wink & Grin

Larry

Conductor.

Summerset Ry.


"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt  Safety First!"

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Posted by theodorefisk on Thursday, September 10, 2015 6:33 PM

this is a great topic. 

1 - model companies that put paint schemes on locomotive for railroads that never had that type of locomotive

2 - lack of a tractor trailers such as grain hoppers, cement hoppers, etc for N

3 - people who criticize someone else's layout that do not have a layout of their own OR boast that something you built is not prototypical, at which point you politely inform them that what they are looking at is a model and by the way it is my ^&%$$^&*(*&$# railroad and I will do as I  %&%#%*(( please. 

I feel better now. Thank you. 

Ted

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Posted by Autonerd on Thursday, September 10, 2015 12:35 PM

I just got back into the hobby after a 25 year absence, and it feels like the modeling has gone out of model railroading. Used to be you bought a good-running model and detailed it to your hearts content. Now you bay 3-4x as much for a model superdetailed with fragile plastic parts. I bought a couple of used P2K Geeps, but I'm almost afraid to put them on the club layout. We *run* our trains, and the ones that are out there on the pike look terrible from rough handling.

And if you do still want to detail, good luck finding parts at the LHS. My local doesn't seem to have ordered DA or DW parts in decades, and what there is, is relegated to a few small boxes. Still at original prices 9half of today's), but how many Alco cab armrests do I need?

And I suppose I don't blame them. Why devote a bug chunk of space to $150 worth of bits and pieces when you can put $5,000 worth of locomotives in the same display area? Problem is, those of us who still want to detail have to buy retail or hunt at shows for what we *might* need.

I suppose there is *some* upside... I just bought Athearn handrails for an old RPP CF7 shell (on an OMI drive with sprung trucks!).

And if ever finish said CF7, instead of the answer I'd get 20 years ago ("Cool model!") I'll get "How much did that cost you? Why didn't you just buy an Athearn?"

One more rant: For all the money we're paying for locomotives these days, are the drives any better? Not really -- the 30-year-old Kato drive seems to be the pinnacle of performance.

Sigh.

[/rant]

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Posted by Autonerd on Thursday, September 10, 2015 12:23 PM

richg1998

I have read many model railroad magazines since the late 1940's and never saw anything like all the Rants I see in forums now.

And is that a bad thing? The mags are still great, but they are a one-way communication. Go back to th e1980s and try to find a bad review. "The starting speed was 20 SMPH, the handrails are a scale three feet to thick, and the molded-on grilles look like they were cast in the wrong scale. Overall, this is a fine model that will look great on any layout."

For modeling how-tos, layout reviews, etc, I still love the mags,  but if I want to know if a product is any good, I'll ask in the forums. :)

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, September 10, 2015 5:40 AM

JaBear

  

BRAKIE
I had one chap to tell me I was a disgrace to the hobby..
 

Haven't we all been telling exactly that to Larry for awhile now?   Laugh

Alton Junction

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Posted by "JaBear" on Thursday, September 10, 2015 5:23 AM

BRAKIE
I had one chap to tell me I was a disgrace to the hobby..

I hope you felt suitably chastised Larry.Whistling

"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."

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Posted by BRAKIE on Thursday, September 10, 2015 4:09 AM

arbe1948

Hobby Police!!  And their pronouncements on how one should properly enjoy ones hobby.

Bob Bochenek

 

 

I have had several of those to pm me over the past 14 months  and advise me that my Slate Creek Rail or Summerset Ry could not exist .

Well so much for  prototype switching roads like Progressive Rail.

I had one chap to tell me I was a disgrace to the hobby.. Oh well..I guess I wasted (at that time) the 52 years I spent in the hobby. 

Larry

Conductor.

Summerset Ry.


"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt  Safety First!"

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Posted by arbe1948 on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 10:40 PM

Hobby Police!!  And their pronouncements on how one should properly enjoy ones hobby.

Bob Bochenek

Bob Bochenek
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Posted by E-L man tom on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 2:45 PM

BMMECNYC

That tool that you just had in your hand 5 seconds ago, that you spend half an hour finding.

 

Yeah, well that's me too. And all this time I thought I was losing my mind! Could it be just a cluttered work bench?

Tom Modeling the free-lanced Toledo Erie Central switching layout.
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Posted by riogrande5761 on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 8:56 AM

Geared Steam

Forumites that begin a post with "I've been modeling for xx number of years" and 

thinking that anyone with less should never question anything they say.

Or owned and ran a hobby shop x number of years.  *ad nauseum*

+1000!!!

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by Hobbez on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 8:50 AM

richg1998

Irritated modelers. Never had this before the Internet forums.

I have read many model railroad magazines since the late 1940's and never saw anything like all the Rants I see in forums now.

Rich

 

I think you forgot to read the Railway Post Office that used to grace Model Railroader's pages.  That whole section was usually a complain fest.  Heck, you only have to look at this latest issue to see a reader rant against a certain advertisment....

My layout blog,
The creation, death, and rebirth of the Bangor & Aroostook

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Posted by Uncle_Bob on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 5:54 PM

Medical and car repair bills that come out of nowhere to obliterate my carefully-hoarded spending money.  This always seems to happen just as long-awaited items are due to arrive, so that, thanks to ¥€&*¡¢ limited runs, I'll miss these and therefore be forced to wait 4-5 years till they *might* be run again.

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Posted by richg1998 on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 5:46 PM

Irritated modelers. Never had this before the Internet forums.

I have read many model railroad magazines since the late 1940's and never saw anything like all the Rants I see in forums now.

Rich

If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.

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Posted by maxman on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 4:06 PM

Showing off your latest whatever and receiving the response:

"Oh, isn't that cute."

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Posted by Paul3 on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 12:35 PM

About Digitrax throttles: For one thing, you can't compare hobby products to mass produced ones (like cheap cordless phones).  Those cheap cordless phones are cheap to you, but they are very expensive to tool up.  The reason why they are cheap to you is that they sell millions of them, so the tooling cost can be spread out.  Meanwhile, in a hobby like ours (with perhaps 250,000 of us in the USA in all scales), tooling up custom throttles can't be spread out over too many units.  That's why Digitrax buys their throttle bodies from SERPAC (they have their own website).  Also, to modify the throttle would actually require an all-new application to the FCC, which is both time consuming and expensive.

To solve the battery issue, why not install a toggle switch at the top of the throttle?  I've done dozens of them at my club, including three of my own.  A simple sub-mini SPST toggle is all you need.

Paul A. Cutler III

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Posted by Phoebe Vet on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 9:26 AM

Receiving a birthday present gift certificate for your local hobby shop a week after it closes suddenly and without notice.

Dave

Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow

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Posted by Water Level Route on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 9:22 AM

davidmbedard
Tamyia glue bottle seal ring coming out. Running out of flex. Running out of cork. Friends who enjoy and process beans then come over to model. Shipping costs to Canada. Ebay sellers who refuse to ship to Canada. The C word. Atta-boys. People who expect an Atta-boy. A falling exacto knife hitting my foot. Detail parts that get lost in the carpet. Plastic couplers. Dull blades. Bad lighting. Not having a toilet in the basement. Dried paint in the bottle. Paint bottles that refuse to open. Being told not to bother because mfg X has announced the particular model. Mfg X producing said model and passing off a foobie as the waited for model. CA cement on your fingers. CA cement on the model where it should not be. Engineering plastic and it's inability to be bonded. Haters. Posers. Know-it-alls. Having to source out NOS to build a kit. People who buy brass and pass it off as their "work". MRC decoders. Tsunamis with no CV5. Factory light boards. Athearns use of bulbs. People who start a thread with a question and leave it unresolved. Trolls. Thin-skinners. Over weathering. Graffiti on RTR taking up room on LHS shelves. Loud furnace fan. Time flying by. Posters who finish part way through a wo
 

Ditto.  Also add limited runs of products.

Mike

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Posted by ONR FAN on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 9:12 AM

Buying enough supplies to start and finish a scene only to realize you miss calculated and your local hobby shop is out of what you need to finish the project.

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Posted by NorthWest on Monday, September 7, 2015 10:39 PM

Dust on the layout. Cleaning dust off the layout. Even covers in a finished room fail to eliminate the insideous menace.

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Posted by Southgate on Monday, September 7, 2015 10:24 PM

Dave, your videos most definately got my attention!  I wasn't exactly bluffing when I said I'd switch, but the part about tomorrow, well I don't have the bucks today. Embarrassed But I have built some critters too, and want them to work like yours there. Bigger engines too. I am now willing to give DCC a very serious look.

The only problem this could create, I'll be at the workbench working on locomotives, running them, running them, running them...I'll never get my scenery done! 

Thanks for the enlightenment. I will look into it. Dan

 

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