My solution would be to use mail order, save money in the process, and avoid the hostile local hobby shop crowd.
Model what you want. Model what you and your son will enjoy.
Yeah you might be the only 40 year old who models Sodor, but so what?
And at 40 I'd quit worrying what other people think.
I am disappointed that any hobby shop snickers at a customer who is buying something. I guess that's to be expected in your case, especially from other customers...but in the case of a LHS employee making fun of your Thomas purchases...that may well be on the immature side, but it's also not a real good business practice!
I started out modeling Hogwarts so that my kids would be involved. Who cares whether your hobby shop likes or dislikes what you are doing. Besides, you can probably get what you want cheaper on the Internet.
Doing things with your kids is far more important than your LHS's opinion of your road name.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
I support your decision all the way! If you and your son are having fun doing the "Sodor" line then that is all that is important. Any chance you can get to bond with your son is worth more than the snickers and jeers that the LHS is giving you.
It really surprises me that they are not giving you the support especially since you are spending good money on things you like.
Hobby shops are a dying breed and if you are not comfortable with them I am sure there are plenty of online options available to you. One of the main reasons I enjoy my LHS so much is the one-on-one contact I can get in supporting and answering all my questions, but if I did not have them I would be going online again.
If I were in your shoes and the next time I went to that shop to spend some $$$ on items and I got a jeer or a snicker from them I would have to assert myself. I would have let them know that it makes me uncomfortable when I spend my money at their shop and they are making rude comments. I would also ask to speak to the owner or manager and let them know that I can take the business elsewhere.
In today’s shrinking local hobby shop market it makes good business sense for them to make their customers feel welcome and want to spend money in their shops.
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
I have never modeled Thomas but when I was a kid I checked out all the videos from the library. I now have a nephew who likes trains. He is 5 years old and loves the HO scale 4 x 8 layout the uncle sets up, but I suspect he loves Thomas also.
If you like Thomas go ahead and model it. The "hobby shop" that thinks your nuts, well I think they just lost a customer. Am I right?? They have no right to laugh at you since you model Thomas whether you are forty or four.
-dekruif
Something else needs to be pointed out about snickering in a hobby shop, in case you are relatively new to the atmosphere...I don't see it as much anymore...but in the old days you'd see Missouri Pacific modellers making fun of Rock Island modellers and vice versa.
I'm not saying that makes it right to snicker at you, but for some folks in a hobbyshop, some of the snickering just comes with the territory.
Plus you should be thanked for supporting, and hopefully continue to support your local hobby shop. Although that was a good suggestion about maybe confronting the owner or manager about the ungratefulness shown.
Model what you want - it's your railroad.
I can remember when I first joined the TCA as a teenager and had to "justify" collecting Marx tin litho (back when it was "cheap tin junk" as opposed to nowadays when it's become "fine collectable lithographed tin-plate art" - 20-odd years later my trash has truely become a treasue!). If you LSH wants to act like that, take the above advise and go mail-order. I'd even suggest looking into British prototype stuff from Bachmann and Hornby since the wheels, couplers etc. are completely compatable (I say this because I also collect Brit outline OO and, well, Hobbytown has these nice tank wagons that just happen to have "Sodor Oil" on the side instead of "BP" or whatever - and look good behind my Class 37 regardless).
Have fun with your trains
Trevor,
I also support your idea to model Thomas. I have my own large HO scale layout but I built a smaller Thomas layout for my two young Grandson's. I also purchased the Bachman sets and have continued to add more cars and engines to their layout. It really keeps them busy for hours and also keeps them from trying to run mine which is considerably more complicated to operate. My LHS never says a word about what I buy. I even took an engine and cars to our clubs layout one afternoon to run for a group of kids that came to watch the trains run. As always, Thomas was the star of the show. They were watching it more than the large intermodel and mixed freight trains that were also running.
George
Yeah, and there are people who won't respect my layout either, because I use Code 100 track and some of my cars have plastic wheels.
I'd like to see your layout on Photo Fun some weekend. We always appreciate a good modelling job, and something like a "serious" Thomas layout would be worth seeing.
If I had train-friendly kids or grandkids, I'd probably go out and get a Thomas set myself, just to run for them.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
My education is at odds with my temperament; the former says I should be polite and learn if the snickering is genuinely derisive or if it is a sign of something else. The latter says I should ask the person about their amusement, and if the answer is not satisfactory, to tell them that it is so unfortunate that I will no longer be able to support the business, and that I would be advising my friends to stay away.
Snickering about one's choice is likely a sign of rigidity, and that is never a good thing for a business, nor for someone to whom you go for advice or help. If people don't advance, they fall behind (attributed to Seneca).
Finally, their apparent position begs the question- why sell what you deride? If you know or believe that something is in some way deficient on a given dimension, why would you make it a practice to offer it to valued customers?
- Mark
I'd be tempted to see if they snicker when told that you're only there to look at the item because your son is excited and just can't wait for the UPS truck to arrive on Monday.
Then I'd ask to purchase a couple packs of track spikes. Leave 'em wondering just how much product they're no longer selling to you and their lost future customer.
dwRavenstar
The guys at the LHS are stupid for laughing at your choice of road....I'd tell them if they don't appreciate it, I could very well take my business elswhere if they find it so amusing...(I'd also have a great urge to dot both their eyes, but prison isn't that appealing to me)...That's just plain wrong on their part...Thomas the tank engine is cool and i try to watch it every chance i can on PBS even at 40+(closer to 50)
Maybe you can get Sir Toppum Hat to put out a contract on those imbeciles and rough them up a bit . He's the guy with all the connections.......chuck
GearDrivenSteam wrote:Yes, Thomas is the Rodney Dangerfield of model railroading.
One Track Mind wrote:Something else needs to be pointed out about snickering in a hobby shop, in case you are relatively new to the atmosphere...I don't see it as much anymore...but in the old days you'd see Missouri Pacific modellers making fun of Rock Island modellers and vice versa.
Gee Trevor, I bet the LHS still took your money!!! Next time pay in small change and claim it came from the piggy bank.
I don't model Sodor...but I would if I had more room. I got a Thomas for my girlfriend's boys. Now I have them all, with cars and Toby on order. They are all converted to DCC and Gordon and Henry have sound. The boys LOVE running them on the layout. The biggest crisis weekend before last was trying to explain to a 4 year old why he couldn't pull my daylight cars behind Henry (haven't converted Thomas stuff to Kadees).
It is a great way to get the younger generation initiated into the hobby. They identify with Thomas and their imaginations do the rest. As I said, if I had the room I'd add a 5x9 Island of Sodor with harbor and quarry. I'd even tack a scale hand painted sign on the Isle of Sodor sign saying "No Deseasels".
As far as the equipment goes, it's simple and sturdy. The motors are Spectrum motors because Bachmann said it wouldn't be economical to set up a seperate line just for Thomas stuff.
Don't be afraid to send pics when you get going.
And Mr. Beasly, don't worry about the code 100 and plastic wheels, it just means you're not really in the hobby..snicker, snicker. (Just kidding)
Tilden
I absolutely concur. 10-20 years down the road, you'll hear "I got started with Thomas" as often as you hear "I got started with a Tyco/Bachmann box set" or a "Lionel setup" today.
Plus, if the Thomas stuff is so rotten, why does the store carry it? Can't be that bad.
I don't think there's anything wrong with Sodor as a layout. If you took the one I see on TV with my kids and pulled off the bright-colored, smiley-face trains and replaced them with something more "real" I bet those same guys who poo-poo it would talk about the nice scenery, the cool use of real running water, etc. and so forth. I, for one, would LOVE to see some overall photos of the layout, a documentary on the modelling aspects of the show, or even a tour!
And while my layout is not Sodor, I do own several of the Bachmann Thomas trains in order to get my kids involved, and I have no shame about it. They live in the roundhouse with the 'real' locos - I don't "hide" them when the kids aren't around. Heck, I put DCC decoders in 'em that cost more than the dang loco! Now that's crazy-talk right there!
It's not just Thomas. You get many who 'look down their nose' at those who don't:
See, there's a whole hierarchy of skills and a whole hierarchy of how intense you want to get versus just enjoying it. I think the skill of 'imagining' is woefully undervalued in this hobby. Is it a matter of "you'll never be good enough." OR, is it a matter of "You'll never be bored..." It's a matter of attitude by those with the skills.
Now, I msyelf do some of those things above, and some I don't do. I think ALL of them are great, and I think doing ANY of them is a fine skill. I hope one day to do all of them myself (except maybe the truly slavish prototype thing... That's not for me).
More importantly, I hope they're all skills people are willing to share rather than hoard. It's a lot easier to sniff at someone who doesn't know how to handlay a turnout than it is to teach them how to do it.
Seek out the clubs, shops and groups that lean toward the latter. They do exist.
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles at the LHS. Mine sells the Thomas stuff and it's right down there where the kids can find it. My kids. I'm glad they loke the hobby shop, and Thomas is a character who is attracting children to the hobby -- a few adults too. There will always be kids who love trains, and the challenge for the hobby is to help those kids become model railroaders. Hooray for you for honoring your child's interest and getting involved.
I think a weathered Thomas would look cool.
You know, a lot of the guys are still trying to live down the "playing with trains" moniker, and I wonder if what you're doing hits a little too close to home for them. So just relax.
My only objection to Thomas is that he has big flanges and I'd have to replace the wheels to get him to run on my code 83/70 layout.
Enjoy!Peter
"Besides, if you can model to the standards on the show, you can model ANYTHING well."
I totally agree with what ElMik wrote.The modelling on TTTE is an excellent standard for all of us. Just turn the sound off and watch sometime.
Well if you think of it, the Thomas the Tank Engine TV series seemes to be aimed at pre-school children. Most of the material offered for sale is toys. You tell them at the hobby shop that this is what you are modeling and they don't treat you with respect? Perhaps if you were to emphasize that you are building with your young son it might make things more clear?
What if another adult said they were modeling a Sesame Street scene? Would you show a lot of respect if you were in the scale modeling fraternity?
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/