I have been model railroading for only two months now. In fact, the only thing I have been doing is building, painting and weathering structures. I don’t have a layout yet but it will come.
In those two months, I have bought 48 structures, if we include the thirteen buildings included in the Town & Factory kit from Woodland Scenics. I think I will have to stop for a while because my bank account will suffer
Right now, I am still learning to improve my skills. During that time, there were a lot of people on this forum who helped me. I would like to thank all of those people. Because of you, I am becoming crazy about the hobby and I am getting more confident. I am reading and learning new stuff about trains and model railroading every day.
Thanks everyone! I am very happy to be on this forum
I would slow down on buying stuff until you have a layout plan, at least. I still have unopened kit boxes from 15 years ago when my layout was dreams and pink foam. I’ve got rolling stock in kits, too, still unbuilt.
Structure kits are very flexible, and most can become a completely different industry with a few new signs and loading docks. The Walthers Union Station was too big for my space, but their YMCA building was perfect for a station after a bit of shortening with a razor saw. (Yeah, get a razor saw. Cheap enough, and if you go to Michaels you can get coupons to save money. Not sure if that works in Canada.)
I am really glad to hear that you are having so much fun!
However, without wishing to dampen your spirits, I agree with the suggestion that you should hold off on spending until you have a layout plan. Spending money can be very rewarding when you are getting all sorts of new things. However, sometimes people fall into a rut where they equate spending money with actually modelling. I know that you are working on several kits, and that certainly qualifies as modeling, but is it getting you any closer to having a layout? I have been caught in this rut myself for many years. For various reasons I wasn’t able to start building a layout but I still kept spending money. Now that I have actually started to build a layout I find that I have several surplus structures, some of them built, that I likely won’t be able to use.
Instead of buying more kits, why not consider purchasing a layout design program? In fact there are free layout design programs out there too. Others may be able to recommend them. I have been using 3rd PlanIt for years and I love it. It has allowed me to refine my layout plan so that now I have something that I know will work and fit in my space. Mind you, you can get stuck in a rut designing layouts for ever so you have to be careful of that too.
Yes it is. It’s a world war 2 german tank. I have not started it yet.
Thanks Dave for the advice. I am stopping the purchase. I only need a few more paint bottles and my purchases will be mostly done.
I want to start a layout and build a bench but I have heard that the price of wood is higher than ever.
Thanks also for the idea of a layout design program. I have checked the one you are using but unfortunately I can’t make it work. I have no computer and I use my old iPad for everything.
Do you know where to put the structures? They require planning in figuring out where to put them. I too suggest holding off on purchasing more stuff. Do you have a location for the structures, or are just building them?
Depends on how big you want it. I made my 2x8 HO switching layout on a $10 Wood shelf from menards ( 2x8 treated peice of wood about 1" thick ) and 4 24" shelf brackets. Total haul with all the mounting hardware was around $40. I model HO but I’m sure those N scale kits are around the same price.
Good question. I know if I had all of those building in HO scale they would not fit on my layout. Buildings take up a lot of real estate and especially along one wall the building will mostly have to be background type (i.e. just the fronts of buildings).
It’s great he has tons of buildings but there definitely needs to be a plan, unless he has a decent basment and a track plan with space for them all.
Unless the space you use for a layout is deep, its difficult to place a lot of structures on a layout if they are built as directed.
Squeezing them in usually involves “unfolding” the four walls to make a longer but narrower building, which also, BTW, tends to look more railroady, IMO.
A razor saw helps to trim the walls so the window/wall patterns line up correctly.
Those military model boxes on the shelf suggest our new convert is already experienced with working with plastic. That can make taking up model railroading even more fun because you already know what good workmanship is. It’s a steep learning curve to take up this hobby fresh and know nothing about cementing plastic, assembly, working with tools, and other skills.
The mention of the razor saw is interesting and significant. While some military modelers I know are wizards at modifying and kitbashing commercial models and kits, most of the ones I know prefer to do the best job they can at assembling a kit exactly as designed by the manufacturer and then painting and decaling it. Either way those are good carry-over skills to have for a model railroader
But since our OP is already jumped in the deep end with structures, and has a razor saw, I hope he explores the joys of kitbashing structures. I think it is one of the more rewarding and creative aspects of model railroading and builds skills (and rewards courage) that can be carried over to rolling stock and even scenery. Kalmbach sells Tony Koester’s book on kitbashing and I suggesting reading it over. And although many of the kits used are no longer available, Art Curren’s book for Kalmbach on kitbashing is also a wealth of ideas and techniques for building plastic structures that have individuality.
Another good book for the somewhat experienced modeler but one getting into trains for the first time, but it is an even older book and maybe a bit harder to find, is Robert Schleicher’s “Building Plastic Railroad Models” also a Kalmbach book. Still, in their time the Curren and Schleicher book were quite popular so used copies are reasonably plentiful and common. Koester, Curren and Schleicher will all give you fresh ideas about those stacks of structure kits, and that razor saw is about to get a workout I predict.
That is what I thought it was. The Germans mounted that Pak-40 on just about anything that had tracks (and in some examples wheels), and the field modified weapon arrangements had all kinds of weird names.
I have seen “Marder (number)” applied to many different arrangements as a description.
About all your models… I do not think you have created a problem, or have purchased too many.
I am very much into “lifetime supplies” at this point. You just never know now when something you want will become “out of production” and hard to get.
In my case, examples include Walthers/Shinohara turnouts, Jordan vehicles, Model Master paints, some Cornerstone buildings, DC power packs, undecorated freight car kits, and so on.
There is no guarantee anything will be available when you need it.
My first five layouts I bought as I went along, that is not the world we live in anymore.
Lumber is not cheap any more for sure, but the biggest challenge is getting decent, straight lumber that is free of knots. I do not recommend going to the big box stores for your wood. What little decent lumber they have is horribly expensive and tends to come in short pieces which can be wasteful. You can spend half a day sorting through their bulk stuff trying to find straight pieces. Then you will be lucky if they stay straight!
I would suggest looking for a local lumber mill or a building supply store that specializes in lumber. They can supply excellent quality pine for reasonable prices. I dealt with Simcoe Lumber in Barrie, and what they supplied was good. No splits, few knots, and straight enough that any minor bends could be corrected during assembly. They can also supply you with longer pieces if that suits your design. I needed 12’ and 14’ 1x6s and they supplied them no problem.
I used 1/2" cabinet grade plywood for all of my open grid benchwork. I ripped the plywood sheets into 3 inch wide strips, then cut and fit the strips together to form the benchwork. I used short blocks cut from 2x2’s to use as glue blocks reinforcing the plywood joints. All joints used wood glue and wire brads held the joints together until the glue dried. The result is very solid benchwork and no visible warpage in any direction. Support legs can be made by gluing two plywood strips together along one edge to form an angle (similar to L-girder construction).
When I got started in the hobby, some 25 years ago, I did get some “stuff”, but then I thought, if I’m going to run trains and have a layout, I need track, and probably plenty of it. And what about turnouts (switches)? I proceded to buy track and switches like crazy, tempering my temptation to buy all the other stuff. Then I thought, how will I power this layout? Having been in DC (as I still am), I made some power pack purchases too. Then I thought, what will this layout look like? What about the era modeled? The geographic location?
Having all those structures is great, but you might think about those things mentioned above as well.
Lots of good advice given already, but just to offer another perspective, building structures is a large part of the fun of the hobby for me. I have kits in various scales for the sake of I enjoy building them. Even if it does not end up on a layout, it provided me with enjoyment and advanced my skills, so it is time and money well spent for me. Often a structure will end up being its own diorama. Other times not. Your milage may vary.
If you enjoy building structures, build away I say.
