Having been involved in some way or other with Model Railroading since the invention of dirt I have to say a lot of things have changed in the hobby over the years. Some Good and Some Bad.
One of the things I note in particular is the old issue of the “Everything MUST be perfect crowd” AKA Model RR Craftsman compared to the “Good Enough” crowd.
duck duck duck
Whatever floats your boat I suppose is what is right for you… B-U-T (there it is, the big but) In my not so humble opinion the whole Perfection is the only standard does a serious disservice to the hobby in general. A newcomer or a old returning enthusist of the hobby can be seriously put off but the Perfect crowd. Ok Ok, That’s your thing but honestly. All that Perfection STUFF makes newbies just throw up their hands in dispair and say I think I won’t bother if this is the way thing are in this hobby.
I’m with you, you ought to be flamed for this. I may like my narrowness better than yours, but I won’'t try to sell it to you or the forum. I am going back to trying to paint a sunset.
Far be it from me to tell someone how to do something ‘correctly’…is there such a thing as ‘correctly’, I wonder…I’ll stick my poker into the fire and say that maybe we should strive to some kind of excellence…even if it is our own…[:-,][:-^]
Think I got everything I need…including the suit of armor
There is a huge difference between “perfection” and striving to do the best you can. Looking at anyone who strives to do the best they can in a negative light is a disservice to this hobby and to your character. If we all were happy with the status-quo, then we would still be living with X2f couplers, cd100 brass rail and truck mounted couplers on everything.
Personally, I grow every day in this hobby, and I am a far cry from my first train set.
My advice is to grow in this hobby, enjoy the challenges, learn from your failures and come out with the satisfaction that you had fun in learning something.
How many of these threads are we going to see! I agree with you all, but no matter how many threads of this sort you put out, the “Everything MUST be perfect crowd” simply are not going to change their ways! To each his own, I say. This is a MODEL RAILROADING forum. Can we please keep the threads on THOSE topics!?
When I was starting out, I was INSPIRED by the “perfection” guys. Al Kamm making an E8/9 instead of just settling for an E7. Jack work building that coal mine instead of buying a Suydam (like me). Or how about those articles about fixing up that same Suydam.
And, let me say, no one is making the new kids be run over by the perfection people. If they are, maybe they should invest in a spine.
I, too, think people should do what they please in this hobby, and let other people do what they please. And everyone should learn how to spell “rivet”.
I appreciate greatly the ideas I have taken from these forums. Most of them I have decided to try have made my layout better and given me great satisfaction. Those I have decided not to try for various reasons (too expensive, not related to what I am currently seeking, confusing instructions, too oriented to do it perfect or not at all, etc) have not caused me to throw in the towel or enjoy the hobby any less. We all need to learn to take what is beneficial, make suggestions others may or may not take and ignore posts that are inflamatory or insult another poster.
Thanks to all who have shared their ideas with me.
Choo Choo Willie, of course you are correct. As in all areas of human activity there are folk that believe they know it all, and in fact may do so, but present their opinions in such a way as to put down another participant. This is in no way restricted to model railroading. Depending on the character of the neophyte, they may be put off by this, or may see it as a challenge.
I am of the opinion that this particular forum is very free of this type of interaction and is one of the more encouraging places for new folk to test the water,
I like the saying we had in flight school for those of us who were not naturals and didn’t have top grades, “If the minimum wasn’t good enough, there wouldn’t be a minimum.” Of course, the reply was, “Do you really want to fly with a pilot (you can substitute doctor or other ego-driven professions) who didn’t think he was the best in the world?”
Brought back to model railroading, I used to have no patience for the idea of anything less than 100% complete detail, down to the n-b-w castings. Why would anyone settle for less than the absolute best they could do? Then I learned that if I wanted a “complete” layout in my lifetime, some things would have be done to the “good enough” standard.
My dreams of P87 track, making drivers and boilers on my lathe, scratch building passenger cars from brass stock, etc., have quietly been crossed off the bucket list. Generic steam locomotives, code 88 or code 110 wheels, spikes every 4th or 5th tie where it doesn’t show, not bothering with complete brake rigging, living with magnetic uncoupling and trip pins instead of air hoses, etc - these are my “good enough” standards.