Model Train Show - offending the purists

[iamsuperdan]

Attended a local model train show on Sunday. I'm not into trains, but my dad is, so we always go.I always hold out hope that someone will have something to do with models, but alas, I'm always disappointed.

Something I noticed this year, is that a lot of the old school train guys were particularly grumpy when it came to some of the displays.

It turns out that having fun with the hobby isn't appreciated by all. In looking at this display, which I was rather impressed with, I heard comments about how the cars weren't the same scale. How it was stupid to have a stormtrooper rapelling from a helicopter. How a Mario Kart was just dumb. How a Ford Anglia wouldn't be right in a North American scene (and it was Harry Potter's car too.) There were a group of guys who were thouroughly annoyed with this entire set up.

 

 

 

And there was an entirely different guy who did not like this one. "Why the heck did he put those stupid robots in this scene?"

 

I think people just take things too seriously sometimes.

 

 

My only complaint was in the display from the Northern Alberta Lego Users Group. They didn't build this Galactica to scale with the Viper. lolz. 

 

 

[Ich_Will]

Some train guys are grumpy gusses on a good day. LOL. I think it's pretty funny...Looks like someone was out to have a good time.

[Dave Van]

Being a model railroader longer than a model car guy...(trains set at 3 years old.....I was a old 5 before models came in)

I will say there are what we call 'rivet counters' that might be called grumpy.......but overall it's a 'do what makes you happy' hobby. 

O scale 3 rail is tough to keep 'scale'. 'O' varies in scale between 'scale' and traditional......very few 1/48 scale vehicles are made because 1/43 dominance. I love them all.........

My fellow West Virginian Joey made this video of his layout.....a super guy and never grumpy.....O scale narrow gauge

https://youtu.be/b3cM6sBOAK8

Edited September 18, 2018 by Dave Van

[Renegade]

Very impressive displays. Sometimes we all forget it's a hobby and to have fun. I build to please myself and if someone else likes it that's great and if not oh well. I know it takes a lot of work, time and money to build these and I'm sure the builders are happy with them and that's all that counts.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Well, there are probably more approaches to model railroading than most other model forms. The first photo depicts a 3-rail layout. 3-rail has more of a "toy" emphasis these days (although in the past, some very highly detailed and sophisticated 3-rail layouts were built), and lack of detail and poor scale fidelity, even mixing scale scene elements (like some kids who aren't aware of "scale" yet will do) is common.

I'm personally a hard-core "scale model" railroader (as I am with cars), and I just have no interest in the "toy" layout style. But I'll never waste any energy bashing somebody who DOES like it. If they're having fun enjoying that end of the hobby, fine. I don't see the point in criticizing people's interests, but I don't have to share them, or pay any attention to them either.

My own interest runs towards scale model railroad scenes that do a good job of representing reality realistically, like this (and there are plenty of flaws and shortcomings in this shot as well). No Batmobiles or StarWars walkers need apply.  

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

27 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

...My fellow West Virginian Joey made this video of his layout.....a super guy and never grumpy.....O scale narrow gauge

https://youtu.be/b3cM6sBOAK8

Fantastic.  

[cobraman]

I myself like to see a little humor in a layout.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Some lose sight that a hobby is supposed to be fun. Whimsical is always an option. I enjoy looking at a wide range of modeling expression from the whimsical to the ultra realistic.  Life would be boring if everybody did the same thing.

[Ace-Garageguy]

16 minutes ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Some lose sight that a hobby is supposed to be fun...

And some lose sight of the fact that it's "fun" for some modelers to build rivet-counted accuracy.

When the fun-police begin trying to force us all to enjoy everything equally, no matter how useless and stupid we, as individuals, may see some things, we're done.

[bobthehobbyguy]

When I talk a hobby being fun I mean you have to enjoy what you are doing. If you enjoy whimsical then do it , if you enjoy ultra realistic then do that. Don't fell obligated to do something to please someone else if that isn't the way you want to do it. If you don't get pleasure from what you do then its time to find another hobby.

[Ace-Garageguy]

3 minutes ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

When I talk a hobby being fun I mean you have to enjoy what you are doing. If you enjoy whimsical then do it , if you enjoy ultra realistic then do that. Don't fell obligated to do something to please someone else if that isn't the way you want to do it. If you don't get pleasure from what you do then its time to find another hobby.

Agreed entirely, 100%.

But there are occasionally those who imply, whether intentional or not, that striving for perfection (impossible to achieve, but definitely worth pursuing) and a very high level of accuracy somehow isn't "fun".

I can assure everyone that working to a high and serious standard IS in fact enjoyable for those who go that way, including the setbacks, do-overs and occasional disappointments that accompany that approach.

 

[Oldcarfan27]

I've gone to train shows with my son. He likes the trains and I like the scale dioramas.

Miniatures are miniatures, I appreciate the effort it takes to create a scaled down world. I saw one town done in HO scale with an operating TORNADO tearing through it - Fascinating!

I'm just happy that some builders have a sense of humor and don't take their hobby too seriously. 

[Oldcarfan27]

4 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

It turns out that having fun with the hobby isn't appreciated by all. In looking at this display, which I was rather impressed with, I heard comments about how the cars weren't the same scale. How it was stupid to have a stormtrooper rapelling from a helicopter. How a Mario Kart was just dumb. How a Ford Anglia wouldn't be right in a North American scene (and it was Harry Potter's car too.) There were a group of guys who were thouroughly annoyed with this entire set up.

My only complaint was in the display from the Northern Alberta Lego Users Group. They didn't build this Galactica to scale with the Viper. lolz. 

Did you ever see the operating Lego trains! Very Cool.

Let's just be glad there are other builders buying model cars!

[Rodent]

The Living Desert near Palm Springs has a huge (3/4 acre) outdoor G-Scale layout that is great fun to just stare at for hours, LOL. Not a train person myself, but as others have said, I appreciate things done in miniature (even doll houses).

http://www.livingdesert.org/plan-your-visit/things-to-do-and-see/g-scale-model-train-display/

The Living Desert is a fantastic place to visit, and the trains are the icing on the cake.

 

[NYLIBUD]

3 hours ago, Dave Van said:

Being a model railroader longer than a model car guy...(trains set at 3 years old.....I was a old 5 before models came in)

I will say there are what we call 'rivet counters' that might be called grumpy.......but overall it's a 'do what makes you happy' hobby. 

O scale 3 rail is tough to keep 'scale'. 'O' varies in scale between 'scale' and traditional......very few 1/48 scale vehicles are made because 1/43 dominance. I love them all.........

My fellow West Virginian Joey made this video of his layout.....a super guy and never grumpy.....O scale narrow gauge

https://youtu.be/b3cM6sBOAK8

The black and white layout video was very impressive.Not just the layout,but how he filmed it to look like a vintage video.For me,I like anything in miniature.From trains,(dioramas),to of course,model cars,trucks,or motorcycles.Just as long as you are enjoying what you do.To me,thats the most important aspect of having a hobby,whatever that hobby happens to be.Have fun,

[Dave Ambrose]

That’s an odd attitude to have since there is a long tradition of embedding little jokes in layouts. 

The legendary Gorre and Daphaeted railroad had, among other things, a man in a tuxedo shoveling coal. 

[Xingu]

There are some folks that if you didn't do it like they would have, then you did it wrong. Doesn't matter if it is trains, model cars or painting a house. Of the 5 or 6 model railroad layouts that I have seen, there is always a few fun things hidden in it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Dave Ambrose said:

That’s an odd attitude to have since there is a long tradition of embedding little jokes in layouts. 

The legendary Gorre and Daphaeted railroad had, among other things, a man in a tuxedo shoveling coal. 

But John Allen was one of the most highly accomplished fine-scale modelers of his time (and was one of my heroes when I was a young RR modeler...still is, actually). Allen was a funny guy, and much of his writing reflects his sense of humor. As you say, the Gorre and Dephetid RR included lots of little jokes, but blatant mixing scales and including things like dinosaurs (except for the stegosaurus "organic switcher" ) and spacecraft, and other anachronisms that would mar the era-correct atmosphere his work was noted for, weren't part of the program (I have a couple of pieces of G&D rolling stock, as a reminder of just how inspirational his work truly was).

He WAS a "freelance" builder, which means that he wasn't a slave to exact copies of real equipment and railroads, as some guys are, but still had knowledge of and respect for how things were made and worked in reality...another one of the characteristics that made his work so entertaining as well as realistic.

Edited September 18, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[NYLIBUD]

Yea kind of like this guy sitting on a building ledge,thinking of jumpingAnd the police officer trying to talk him down.The other pics are of an old diorama I had done.I Love model railroading,but I always liked doing the scenery more.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Here's one of the few surviving films of John Allen's extraordinary work on the G&D. Building through the late 1940s through the '50s and '60s, his outstanding degree of train control was accomplished without DCC, and his craftsmanship stands in silent testimony to what can be accomplished without the multitude of kits, specialty tools, and materials available today.

 

Edited September 18, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Dave Van]

41 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Here's one of the few surviving films of John Allen's extraordinary work on the G&D. Building through the late 1940s through the '50s and '60s, his outstanding degree of train control was accomplished without DCC, and his craftsmanship stands in silent testimony to what can be accomplished without the multitude of kits, specialty tools, and materials available today

 

GREAT to see folks here that know, understand and like the G&D like I........thx

[iamsuperdan]

I can appreciate both the humour filled layouts and the ultra-realistic layouts. I just don;t understand the crowd that bashes either. Do what you enjoy, and if others do it a different way, then so be it. 

Things out of scale bugs me, even with Hot WHeels when I was a kid. Those Hot Wheels Kenworths came in the same sized bubble card as the cars.  But to openly chastize someone for it? Just no.

 

Personally, if I was a train guy, I would go for realism, but would throw in humourous touches.

[Spex84]

Some great links here. I don't know much about model trains, so it's cool to see what fellow car modelers think is notable.

I don't have much interest in toy-like layouts; I like ultra-detailed realistic "shrink ray" kind of stuff....but I also appreciate a sense of humor, and the value of play.  Frankly, when I kitbash model cars and geek out over finding just the right parts to create a specific vision, or scratchbuild items to make them more "realistic"...I might pretend I'm a craftsman, but what I'm really doing is playing.

What these guys needed was some wives and girlfriends to lend perspective:

 "These layouts are wrong; the signals are the wrong era and the scales don't match. I can see the ballast is made of macaroni; that's ridiculous! Who built this, kids??..grumble grumble..."

"Don't you play with trains honey?"

"THAT"S DIFFERENT!"

lol.

[vamach1]

8 hours ago, Dave Van said:

Being a model railroader longer than a model car guy...(trains set at 3 years old.....I was a old 5 before models came in)

I will say there are what we call 'rivet counters' that might be called grumpy.......but overall it's a 'do what makes you happy' hobby. 

O scale 3 rail is tough to keep 'scale'. 'O' varies in scale between 'scale' and traditional......very few 1/48 scale vehicles are made because 1/43 dominance. I love them all.........

My fellow West Virginian Joey made this video of his layout.....a super guy and never grumpy.....O scale narrow gauge

https://youtu.be/b3cM6sBOAK8

That video is insane.   Where do people find the time for such an undertaking.  As for the humor, I get that but sometimes just adding random stuff in other scales looks out of place.

[NYLIBUD]

4 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

I can appreciate both the humour filled layouts and the ultra-realistic layouts. I just don;t understand the crowd that bashes either. Do what you enjoy, and if others do it a different way, then so be it. 

Things out of scale bugs me, even with Hot WHeels when I was a kid. Those Hot Wheels Kenworths came in the same sized bubble card as the cars.  But to openly chastize someone for it? Just no.

 

Personally, if I was a train guy, I would go for realism, but would throw in humourous touches.

Yea I was the same way.I loved my Matchbox cars.But a lot of times playing with them,my brother,or a friend would want to use a bigger scale vehicle.It would drive me nuts.And like the brat that I was,I would pack up all my cars in my Matchbox case,and not play anymore,But I like realism in miniature objects,toy cars,trains,etc..The more realistic the better.