Where have the HO modelers gone?

Amen. I don't harass my neighbor because he doesn't drive a Ford, so I don't hack on people from other scales because they're not HO. Intolerance manifests itself from such major issues such as race all the way down to trivial things such as model train size. It's an attitude problem that is indicative of deeper personal issues that need to be fixed.

There's room in the hobby for everyone, regardless of scale. There should be no accommodation, however, for intolerance.

 

I think one thing we can all agree on is that we can steal ideas from anyone's layout no matter what scale it is.

 

Box, Most of us work on our layouts. I would just like to see the HO folks post more so I could learn about their scale. I might know how to take a picture. I might know how to do scenery. I know zilch about HO scale, it's trials and dribulations. Jim

 

It all starts out with a little Bachmann On30 Forney and before long they are trying to squash out all the smaller scales. It's the those O scalers that the ho and N folks have got to watch out for!!!!

Safety in numbers I tell ya.

 

Woodie,I have Horribly Oversize and Normal Scale(aka wee trains) I take the ribbing in stride when I am a called misplaced HO modeler or in some cases a N Scaler wannabe..

Any time a person can't take a little ribbing because of his chosen scale then he's in a sorry state after all Horribly Oversize was once called a novelty that can never become a serious modeling scale because its to small..

 

I started out in HO, still have most of my stuff boxed up, but I switched to N because of space limitations. But I've decided to stick with N for a couple of reasons, first the locos have improved, and there's more variety (at least from when I started in the mid '90s), and I've still never had a large enough space to be able to do the type of modeling I like in HO, plus HO has gotten quite a bit more expensive than I remember, though the detail has increased a lot, perhaps justifying the cost.

As for why N scalers seem to like TB, perhaps they're more apt to be on online forums in general (I don't know, but it's a guess). Perhaps new (younger) members to the hobby who are serious about it are willing to try N scale more as a first choice, since the quality is pretty good without costing a whole lot of real estate. Also, people who have been with the hobby for a long time (ie older members) may be more likely to stick with HO, either because it's what they're used to, or for being able to work with bigger models easier. They may also be more likely to interact through local clubs (often HO), hobby shops (again, often geared for HO), or magazines like Model Railroader (often HO centric), and less likely to enjoy being on the computer.

I really don't mind some good natured ribbing between scales, since it goes both ways, and it's nothing new (O vs HO, HO vs N).

 

best way to reply to the 'horribly oversised' joke is to call the N scale train 'cute' - drives 'em crazy

as for where have I been. i've been floating in and out of the hobby for the last several years - life has been very much in the way but i'm finding myself at the workbench more and more. also 'lurk' on line more than i participate - which is a pretty big change for me...

Rob

 

I'm here too,but I've found myselfnotpoking into the forum asmuchas I do the others, since HO does seem to be slower.

 

:tb-biggrin::thumbs_up:

 

I too have noticed several HOer's have disappeared over the past few years. Some have gone to that great train room in the sky. Others...I'm not sure. I tend to think for most life gets in the way and posting to a forum just isn't important anymore.

 

Maybe they moved on to other forums,cut down on forums or stop being active on forums for several reason.

Of course some may have switch scale..

I know several once active forum members on other forums that fell on hard times and gave up the hobby instead of enjoying what they had..

 

What happens when Boxies brings his On30 to the n scale club, he he he.

I understand the fascination for those bachmann forneys. Maybe ten years ago I bought a G scale and had a roundy roundy simply for the drool factor it inspired.

Although my current layout is N scale... Roco has upped that anti and I may finally purchase my HO scale dream loco.


This has a similar effect my psychie as the forney did. Scale is irrelevant as long as the train makes me happy.

 

Here waiting for the payday. I've run out of 1"X3" for my layout. And the fact of just needing about 12 sheets of pink foam just for the sub roadbed has brought things to a stop on the building front. Buuuutttt I am guilty of working on the N scale layout too. But once those 1X3's get here it's HO full steam ahead.

 

I spend my free time at the local club. The people are fantastic and the layout is awesome! I'm posting this from my phone which, conveniently, can double as my wireless throttle on the club layout.

 

I'm an HO scale modeler and I spend most of my time over at The Gauge, or Big Blue as its known by some. Many HO modelers there - a few of which I've seen post on this thread. I pop in here from time to time and enjoy seeing what others are doing. Anyway, this seems an interesting discussion to jump into.

I only recently stumbled on some 'HO-centric' thought, as somebody above put it so well. That being the death of the 'shake-the-box' kit. Wow what uproar that has caused on some forums! I realized that N scalers don't have that problem. Yes, you have kits too, but Athearn, Roundhouse, etc. have been the mainstay of many fleet-building modelers for years. Now we're forced to buy all kinds of horrid kits from Accurail, P2K, etc., with - blech - details and prototype accuracy! (Can you taste the sarcasm?)

Anyway, I did a breif stint in N about 15 or 20 years ago with a small layout in my room as a pre-teen. I recently passed on, er, Santa passed on some of my trains to my 6-year old (he was 5 at the time). Santa asked me to build him a layout. This year he rec'd a smooth running Bachmann 0-6-0. Just this morning I replaced the front coupler with a MT conversion kit. I still have my 20 year old 0-6-0 - mine is lettered for Santa Fe whereas my kiddo's is UP - and dadgum if his isn't a smooth runner. I'd be surprised if mine ran at all.

I have become a regular operator at a nearby N scale mega-layout and really enjoy it. Some of the best layouts I've seen around here are N or On30. Same holds true for train shows. The N, Z, Lionel, heck, even the LEGO train groups put on a better show than the HO clubs. The HO layouts are dusty, tired and worn, and trains may or may not be running. I'm not sure why this is, but I have my theories...another thread, perhaps, but maybe it's related to the absence of HO modelers here?

Thanks for reading the ramblings,

Galen