A few thoughts:
I think threads like this can get into an Us vs Them, or my Team is the best, kind of atmosphere.
What I detect in some comments over the years is that some modelers approach the hobby with a certain amount of ideology as a guiding light. Doing it a certain way satisfies them as much if not more than just the results of the modeling. Or maybe doing it the RTR way is somehow cheating the game. Or conversely, scratchbuilding is for out of touch dinosaurs who don't care that much about fidelity.
I have just finished bashing an Atlas GP40-2W into a freelanced GP38-2W by removing its turbo exhaust stack and adding a scratchbuilt paper airfilter box and 4 details associates exhaust stacks. I'm not oppossed to bashing when I have too.
Had to match the factory paint by...hey how's this...scratchbuilding the paint. I never buy model paints premade into the proper colors. Tamiya? Scalecoat? what do they make? I paint everything by mixing the brightest versions of red, yellow, and blue..and add white or black, and there you have it. Any color in the world can be reproduced from those. But I touch up spots to match factory paint, so I never need much paint to begin with.
I guess I look at it as just using the processes that best accomplish the goals. I buy RTR now because I can't convert and older Athearn BB GP38-2 into a Genesis quality GP38-2 as well as Athearn did.
I don't really have pride in my hobby efforts. I get satisfaction. I don't follow an ideology. I'm very satisfied having the best GP38-2 I can have for my layout, and the only freelanced frankenbuild of a GP38-2W that I have seen. Both acquired by different means.
- Douglas
AEP528Please stop with this subject. It has, and always will have, a judgemental feel that simply cannot be avoided. Do what you like, respect what others like. Clearly this forum is not representative of the hobby as a whole, and the member here need to understand that
It seems to me that your attitude could easily be considered judgemental, too, and with a negative viewpoint.
AEP528You know what I am doing? Scratchbuilding a model railroad. Locomotives and rolling stock are components of that model railroad, as are Atlas turnouts or MRC power packs.
You can consider yourself to be building a model railroad, but you've already decried scratchbuilding, which indicates to me that you do not understand the terminology. R-T-R locos and rolling stock are perfectly fine, but they have no connection at all with scratchbuilding.
Wayne
I do enjoy the skill part of the hobby but the motive power out there RTR is just way beyond my pay grade. I used to super detail freight cars because I had to and did it well but I started getting more joy from fixing others work, missing parts etc. rather than starting from scratch (you just have to be very good at paint matching).
York1Kevin was just saying what he enjoys.
This was my take as well.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I'm not sure I agree. I think this forum has all kinds of viewpoints, and it seems Kevin was just saying what he enjoys.
I didn't get the sense that he is judging anyone else. And I think I've read enough of his and others' posts to see that.
Kevin has started quite a few threads on this forum where he is very complimentary of everyone's model railroading efforts, regardless of what they may be.
York1 John
@AEP528, well said.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Do you buy pre-made track components? Why don't you handlay track?
Do you buy pre-made power packs or throttles? Why don't you build your own?
Do you use power tools? Why not only hand tools?
You're not doing it the OLD WAY.
I don't scratchbuild, kitbash, or superdetail locomotives or rolling stock. I don't paint or decal locomotives or rolling stock.
Why?
Because I hate it. Those things are, for me, absolutely the most boring, tedious, and least worthwhile aspect of model railroading.
You know what I am doing?
Scratchbuilding a model railroad. Locomotives and rolling stock are components of that model railroad, as are Atlas turnouts or MRC power packs.
Ready-to-run models mean I can spend nearly all of my time and effort on the aspects of model railroading that I truly enjoy.
Please stop with this subject. It has, and always will have, a judgemental feel that simply cannot be avoided. Do what you like, respect what others like. Clearly this forum is not representative of the hobby as a whole, and the member here need to understand that
I did not want to take the Rapido PA thread even farther off topic, so I decided to open a new thread for this discussion.
Sheldon posted this:
ATLANTIC CENTRALAs this hobby becomes more and more about buying expensive toys built by others, I become more determined to maintain those aspects of the "old ways" I enjoy.
I agree with this completely, and I absolutely enjoy the "Old Way" of modeling.
What means the "Old Way" to me, is how it was done in Model Railroader Magazine back in the later 1970s, 1980s, and into the early 1990s.
Back then we had:
Model of the Month
Paint Shop
Detailing Locomotives
Brass Locomotives
Kitbashing, Scratchbuilding, and Craftsman Kits
I enjoy the craftsmanship of others. My favorite posts in Weekend Photo Fun are where others share the things they are building, especially in process pictures.
I am very happy that (with less than five exceptions) I have painted and decorated every piece of equipment for my layout.
I like customizing my Stewart, Bowser, and Athearn diesels.
I don't want uber-detailed fragile locomotives. I want rugged machines that can be tinkered with. I really enjoy that.
Scratchbuilding and assembling craftsmen kits has been how I do things since I was in high school, and I still love it.
All of that is how I get the most enjoyment from my hobby time.
-Kevin
Living the dream.