Being thrifty is good Bob, so it is good to take advantage of a bargain Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Model railroading is first and foremost about having fun. Having fun is doing what you like doing, regardless of what others may think of your activities. I have fun painting and detailing. The hands-on approach, get down and get my hands dirty. Building things. Kitbashing. And running trains. I don't really give a bleep about realistic operations. If someone does like that sort of thing, so be it. I won't be grumbling about it or judging that person for it. I have far more important things to grumble about and none of them have to do with model railroading. I reserve that for fun.
I have to agree with Mike....and if I may, I will add. There are sooooo many aspects to Model Railroading, that there is something for each of us. I've seen modelers here that focus on vehicles, and some that focus on realistic scenery, two very distinct parts of the model railroading package. Give credit where credit is due, and live and let live!!! Live long and Prosper! Jim
You read far too much into my comments. The original post in this thread was a tongue in cheek commentary about ready to run vs. kit assembly. Somewhere alonk the line I even mentioned ownership of RTR diesels. Sparking controversy? No.SStarting discussion? Yes.
After years of half finished layouts, or just collecting stuff for who knows when, I discovered garden railways in HO gauge. To most model railroaders it doesn't look like that dream layout, but I have done more with my outdoor setup than anything. And no it isn't pure enough for just about anyone, but it's fun as hell. (This has to have someone inwardly sneering. lol) Oh, and all my trains are un-weathered RTR models. Most of them are also low quality toy trains from the 70's to 80's. (Are any of you cringing yet? har har!) Running speeds on my layout are usually close to full throttle, or about 300 miles per hour as well. I don't care about snail speed; it doesn't look right to me. ( Did someone just choke on their own spit? HA HA!) Recently on a garden railway forum someone brought up the idea that there was a distinction between types of layout. A layout built at ground level IS a garden railway, one built on shelves or posts at waist height is simply an outdoor layout. It just shows you that there is always someone trying to sneak a turd into the punchbowl to ruin everyones fun.
Bob, I see nobody has come forward to let you know about this. The sound equipped units have a slightly different rear weight. It is slightly shorter than the non-sound weight, and the oval speaker is mounted on it. I wish I could have gotten the sound weight when I put sound in the GP15T I have, but I ended up hacking up the rear weight that was there.
I forgot to mention this, but last week I received my prize. It's the first Athearn Genesis diesel I've owned, and it's got some weight to it. It also has several packages of detail parts to add on, so the kit-assembly side of me should be quite busy for a while. So enough of "sparking controversy"..............I have work to do. PS- Terry, roger that on the speaker installment. I may weasel out & just go for a simple decoder install on this one. Inasmuch as I like sound in diesels, I'm not a firm believer in Tony Koester's "no sound, no railroad" philosophy, especially when the sound coming from diesels could use a deeper bass to be more realistic. AH, but that's a bridge I'll cross when I get there.............
I don't think there's anything wrong with RTR per se, as long as you can actually get them (see my post in the "preorders" thread). Here in Denver, the local roads are snatched up pretty quickly. It's always been this way, so I have usually started with an undec and painted it myself. Why fight the crowd for something you can do yourself? As a freelancer, I have to paint my own rolling stock anyway, unless Athearn or Kato are willing to bust out my 39-2s in D&NO paint. Oh, and all of those goofy motors ride on 40-2 frames, so eventually I'll have some fully dressed shells to sell or trade I guess. Yes, the point stands that RTR does not detract from being a "real" modeler, but the focus on RTR to the exclusion of all else has made it tough for some of us to get there. It's like the industry is telling guys like me, "just shut up and model the BNSF already!", when I'm trying to build a vision of something that doesn't exist anymore, and part of which never did. I have a 1:1 scale BNSF outside my house. I don't need a model of THAT. I'll happily buy as many RTR goodies if they fit the theme I have in mind, and weather them into a realistic mess, but I'm not about to battle my fellow modelers "tickle-me-Elmo-style" for the gear I want. If anything, that sort of thing drives a wedge into the hobby.
My post was a bit tongue in cheek and based the language in the title "heresy". Lets face it, using "extreme" terms pokes the bear! =P I am 54 and have been in the hobby since the 70's, so I remember well those days too. But I also have tried decalling my own stuff and it looked kind of crappy, certainly not as good was what is coming out these days. Sure, some can beat their chests and brag about their mad modling skills. There are those of us who just don't have the skills to produce nice looking models. If you can do it, then you've got the "chops" my friend, as they say in the music business. If and when I manage to move out of the poverty level lifing I'm in, and have a little space to have work bench and compressor, I'll start trying to weather some of my older cars and practice on them to level up my skills a bit. So, yes, go ahead and poke the bear and be a rebel. If you can DYI your own models and have them look great, then you can get yourself a "real modeler" badge. The rest of us who have less skills will muddle through with what Athearn, ExactRail, Intermountain and the rest can pump out and look with envy at what the heretics can do with their mad modeling skills.
To get some of the Frisco models I want, my only recourse is to paint & decal. I prefer to get undec models if possible to avoid the paint stripping (91% isopropyl alcohol works wonders, BTW). Methinks there are some folks out there who model less-covered railroads who have to do the same thing. I'm grateful as heck for all the RTR stuff out there in Frisco, believe me- I have a few myself. I'm also quite pleased with the Genesis model I bought that has Frisco-specific details- undec? No problem- out comes the airbrush & compressor. Perhaps my comments are more of a good-natured dig at the instant-gratification mindset of people today, as well as those who return an RTR model because- o horrors! a handrail came loose in one spot. Instead of popping it back into place, the hobby shop and/or manufacturer is yelled at. Even on my RTR models, I've gone so far as to replace the plastic couplers with Kadees for better performance. I'm not one to go as far as to paint the caboose toilet as far as details go- just add enough details so, as the model rolls by in a train, you'll recognize it as the ABC Railroad. Allen McClelland had it right- "good enough" modeling gives the overall impression of a completed model RR scene. As far as painting, I've had to paint models out of doors, in a garage, etc., and have used the kitchen table as a workbench on occasion. Right now, I have some older diesels (Athearn BB. Atlas/Roco and Atlas/China) awaiting their turn in the shop, and since I can't generally afford the Intermountain, Kato, and Atheaarn Genesis offerings (that, plus I have a house to remodel, and that takes up a lot of cash), that is the one option I have. Now, where did I put that grizzly-prod...............?
