So i have been browisng the internet and stumbled upon some interesting companies such as SMARTT and LayoutBuilders. These companies build “musuem quality” layouts if you have the coin. What do we think of such companies? Is this downright cheating or is this just another way to get that layout you’ve always dreamed of in your basement??
~Michael
“Cheating”? That’s a pretty strong word. The only way that would apply is if you misrepresnted someone else’s work as your own.
I don’t see any problem at all with such services. Some people can afford them and some people don’t have the time to build a layout, even if they have the resources.
Other people prefer to put their skills into motive power and rolling stock or structures. They may not be so confident of their scenery, wiring, and construction skills.
Finally, the custom builders pretty much all take the layout to whatever desired level of completeness the customer specifies. You could have them do all the benchwork, track and wiring, for instance, and leave all the fun stuff – scenery, structures, any that moves on the rails – for yourself.
A good example of just how these services work with a client was discussed in the article on Rod Stewart’s layout in the Feb. 2014 MR.
Wait, that’s backwards. I"LL build the benchwork, lay the track, and wire it all, someone else can come in and do the hard part, like the scenery. [:D]
–Randy
Paying for someone else to build your pike is no different than paying someone to build your furniture, hotrod, airplane or boat. Two good friends of mine sailed their entire lives and owned a lot of boats. One of them eventually built a 40’ Catarmaran and the other built his own 50’ sloop and sailed off to Hawaii. Building those boats was the best thing they ever did as far as getting a reward from their hobby of sailing.
While I have never built my own sailboat, I have spent a lot of enjoyable days in “store bought” ones.
As far as trains go I like building the layout more than running trains. Whatever floats your boat is fine by me.
Im gonna have to agree with you on that one rrinker. But not the wiring. No thank you. No need for a second fire on my layout.
Cheating? I don’t really understand that statement. Why would having a professional build your railroad be cheating? Is model railroading a test?
I have never consulted any of the custom layout builders or designers but have seen some of their work. All I’ve seen have done excellent work. Yes…they tend to be quite expensive but if you have issues where you can’t do it yourself then there may not be an option for you. I know a fellow who retired and was 72 years old. He felt he wasn’t physically active and agile enough to do that work and had enough money to have it done for him. He also felt he didn’t have enough years left to spend doing it himself. They designed, built, shipped and reassembled his layout in what I would consider record time. One person probably could never have been able to accomplish that in the same amount of time. The railroad operated flawlessly and was amazingly well done.
Cheating? I still don’t understand what you’re getting at here. I have been a custom painter and builder since 1973 and have done a huge amount of work for my customers. Are they cheating because I painted their equipment? I don’t think so! You have to know and recognize your abilities and faults when building a layout or modeling.
I can, fortunately, do most everything required to build a complete model railroad including the carpentry, wiring, scenery, track laying and all the other stuff but I’ve also sought out help with some of those areas due to time constraints and the fact that someone with better skills in those areas was available.
Cheating? Maybe if you’re taking a test but concerning model railroading I just don’t look at the hobby as a test. Cheating as applied to this hobby is just an odd point of view to me.
My 2¢,
Roger Huber
Deer Creek Locomotive Works
This brings me to my second point… IS IT WORTH IT. A high level detail layout (20 by 20 feet) made by SMARTT costs about mid six figure digits. Given you had ample time, what would you do; save half a mil and build your own, or pay for the “musuem quality” layout.
~ Michael
I didn’t know there was a rulebook. I thought the idea was to enjoy the hobby however you choose. Some people enjoy the building process. Others do not. I enjoy the planning and I enjoy operating the layout. All that stuff in between, not so much. If I could afford it. I would hire people to build a layout that I had designed but I don’t have unlimited funds to spend so I have to do much of the work myself. There are a few parts of building a layout I do enjoy, like landscaping, but structure building I find tedious. I love RTR and built-up structures but I have to balance that against the budget so I do build some rolling stock and structures from kits. Some people get their satisfaction from building unique structures from scratch. That’s great for them. To me a structure is a component, whether it be a built-up, kit, kitbashed, or scratchbuilt. The creativity for me is in arranging all the various components into a convincing scene.
All phases of our lives have been made easier through modern innovations. Why should model railroading be any different. Why would anybody insist we do things they way they were done 50 years ago? Few model railroaders are skilled in all phases of the hobby and even some of the most famous model railroaders have had help in phases they were not well skilled at. How is having a friend build parts of your railroad any different than paying somebody to do it.
No, it is not cheating. Not at all.
I agree with Mike…
If I had the room and the extra dineros I would have my dream “U” shape ISL built…
Why? Simply put I would make a very lousy carpenter apprentice wannabe and friends that’s bad–real bad.
I have a color vision deficiency, and have heard that about 10% of males have some form of this problem. In addition, I’m a lousy painter, even if somebody else chooses & mixes the paint. Will the model railroad police throw me in the slammer if I have somebody else paint a model that I built? Of course, the alternative is to have nicely built models that look like… you know what I mean. I once painted a little dog figure. I used tan paint, or so I thought. Next thing I knew, I was answering embarrassing questions about why the dog was green.
Dont get me wrong, if i had the extra half mil i personally would happily tear down my 8 by 14 “custom” builght layout to replace it with a better one even if it was made by someone else. Now of course you dont get the satisfaction that comes along with building your own layout, ( In my opinion at least ) although i have most of the skills necessary to take me from point A to Z on my layout.
~ Michael
I think that it’s just another aspect or avenue of our hobby. Some folks may simply not have the time, skills, or ability (some physical attribute) that prevents them from building their own. They want to own and operate their own model railroad, but don’t want to or can’t build their own. Hence, contracting to have one built. No harm in my humble opinion. We often see an offshoot of this theme pop up here between those who prefer to build their own rolling stock and those that prefer to have someone else/some other company build it for them in a ready to run model. Same can be said for those who would rather install their own DCC decoders vs. those that prefer to buy their locomotives DCC equiped at the factory. The only difference, again in my humble opinion, is the scale/extent/cost of a persons contracting out. It’s all good and the individuals personal choice.
Happy modeling all!
Don.
I think you’ll know when you have that much money. Until then, you’re just guessing at what you’d do.
Randy,
I actually like building benchwork and laying track, as well as doing scenery once the base is in, so if this were my project, it would be an interesting mix so long as I was physically able to do it.
Not getting any younger. Probably the only way I’d ever confront such a choice is if I ended up with a winning lotto ticket, in which case I’d build a large shop and hire some folks to help me build a vast new layout, PLUS buy the Durango & Silverton or something else in 1:1.[;)]
Until then, I already have a layout and am pretty darn happy with it two decades on.[A]
Once the bench work was up I can finish it…I’m pretty darn good at most things like track work,industrial scenery etc since I been doing that for years on simple benchwork.
When I first read the title to the thread I was under the impression that you were cheating on your layout with someone elses layout.
There are two kinds of people in this world Michael6792
Like EVERYTHING about this hobby, it is strictly a personal choice. The insecure people look over their shoulders and wonder what everyone else is doing, or what those others might think of one’s choices. I’m many decades past such insecurities…thankfully. If I had the dough, and couldn’t practically put together a layout of my dreams, I’d probably hire them.
BTW, this has been hashed out several times in the past. It amounts to the same choices between scratch-building everything on a layout, including the layout itself, and buying things in kits or RTR. We should all do what appeals to us, or what we can justify to ourselves. I don’t really care what others think, but if I do, I ask and thank those who offer their own opinions and experiences.
-Crandell
I personally feel that this would take away from a sense of pride that comes with the personal accomplishment. I’ve been involved in the fine arts for over 35 years…drawing, painting, even bas relief and I look at model railroading as a form of fine art. I do have lithographs of famous masterpieces in my home…but they are there as inspiration and as a memory to seeing them in prominent museums. I don’t have that sense of pride with those things in life someone else built…vehicles in particular.
I’m not going to say it’s cheating…to each his own. I just feel it’s personal pride and accomplishment to build a layout yourself after a lifetime of learning and acquistion of skills. Just don’t believe it would feel the same if someone else built it.
Eh. Just my tired and long winded opinion.
Mark H
I’m not in it for the satisfaction. I’m in it for the fun. Unfortunately that fun comes with a lot of frustration.
I read every response in this thread and I will be the first one that can say I did have a company help in my layout. First it was not SMART. There cost to build a layout is just not practical. Overall it was a bad experience. Deadlines came and went and cost went well over the price stated in the contract. I just wanted the benchwork and DCC wiring done. But I let them do the trackwork and ballasting too. Though I am capable of doing the trackwork, I thought to let them do it so I could start with scenery when it came. What was told would be a 3 month job turned into 7. Four deadlines were not met and cost ended up to be $3000 more. When they fianlly arrived it went downhill from there. Arriving mid day the 2 of them connected 5 tables (unevenly) and they wired the tables incorrectly. Several pieces of track in different spots were damaged and needed repaired. When it was time to power up the NCE Pro Cab, nothing. They wired it wrong and overheated and destroyed the system. Then had the nerve to call a NCE rep and ask for credit on the system, which they got but did not consider crediting me which I paid. Then we get in the car and head to the LHS for a new system were they had the nerve to make me pay half for a Digitrax Empire Builder. By this time, it’s late and they spent the night at a hotel. The next morning they come and still things got worse. We made two more trips to the LHS for various things. Thank God the shop was open on Sunday. By this time, I’m getting very aggravated. And they knew it. By late Sunday night, finally, finally it was time to test run an engine. Well the test was awful. The track was poorly laid. The engine would enter a turnout and hit the frog and die. Derailments, wrong size turnouts. It was a nightmare. By 10:00pm, I sent them home. I was in dismay.
Well to end this sad experience. I dug up the track and ballast and laid my own track. I am still working on the track and it’s coming along. I thought of the old motto. "If you wanted do