The other day I was perusing the news stand looking for something model railroad-ish, didn’t matter what-- anything that I didn’t already have or hadn’t read before-- and my eyes strayed a little. Mind you it was just a quick peek and I quickly looked back before there was time for any damage to have occured and I did a quick glance around the room but I don’t think anybody noticed-- but just between you and me… did you ever notice that there’s other magazines on the shelf about modeling that don’t have anything to do with trains???
I was personally shocked, let me tell you. My world-view changed just a little that day and I am still reeling from the after-effects.
The truth is I took a little longer peek at those other magazines than I probably should have-- I even picked one up and thumbed through it-- sheer blasphamy, I know, I’m doomed-- but for the brief moment I held it in my hands and flipped through the pages, I saw some wonderous sights that I couldn’t have imagined-- planes and tanks and great war machines-- and articles about construction and gluing and airbrushing and applying decals and lots of other titallating and salacious stuff… By the time I put it down I was sweating and my hands were shaking.
Who knew that other world even existed !?!?
So here’s my question today–
As a Model Railroader, how do you feel about “other” modelers / modeling? Do you even know it exists ??? ( [:)] ) Are other modelers our bretheren? Or are they a heathen tribe ? Do you read / participate / engage in other types of modeling besides railroading? Is there any overlap between the two realms in either direction? Do you belong to any modeling (or gaming) clubs besides a Railroading-oriented one? Do you ever pick up the magazines or books from other types of modeling and try to incorporate their lessons into your Model Railroading activities?
How heathen are ya? Are you a Model Railroader… or NOT ???
John I’ve looked through a few “other” hobby magazines before. I agree about the tanks, planes, etc…OUTSTANDING.
I don’t have really any hobbies like those. I always wondered if a person that can make planes,tanks, etc look so good…How would they do in MRR. Also talk about a good team. Get a person from the wood mag, and the plane/war mag together, you might have a HUGE layout, and great detail!!!
I also have wondered, if they get weird looks, or funny comments on the hobby like we do. “RC cars? How old are you”. “Tanks, army men? Um…OK”. [:D]
I am definitively a model railroader and never went astray in my modelling career. I do have to confess that I had a look (or even two) in other modelling magazines, but so what?
I do admire any type of well done model work, be it cars, planes, ships, tanks or whatever. I find it interesting to see, how people have achieved what they have done - after all, there is still a lot to learn from other faculties as well!
I dabbled in other hobbies before trains. I tried R/C airplanes… I love the building of them but they are an expensive hobby that can all end very quickly the wrong move or an engine or radio failure, then I tried R/C cars. Fun for about 5 minutes before something breaks. So I figured I would give trains a try and I am wondering why I had not done it before. For what I had spend on an airplane, engine and radio I could have a nice basic train set up. I love the building part of MR, the planing and the challenge of try to get all work right. And if you crash your train, just walk around the track, put it back on and go, no matter what time of year or the weather. I should have been doing this years ago.
A mile or two up the road from my LHS is one of those very dens of iniquity, a game shop called “Three Trolls.” I’ve wandered in there from time to time, looking for a present for a teenager. There are a few of those twisty little metal puzzles, but mostly their clientele is hard-core war gamers and fantasy players.
But, in the front of the store is a “layout.” It’s not what we normally think of, but there it is, mostly blue water with a few islands here and there. Instead of trains, they have small model warships, and they re-fight the great naval battles of past centuries.
They have odd building kits on the shelves - bombed out and smashed brick structures and walls. And, right in the middle of it all is a well-stocked rack of Woodland Scenics stuff, everything you need to build a tranquil, verdant battlefield.
There is a great gulf between Modelers(1) and modelers(2). 2 just make a sub from a kit, or a car from styrene, and then post it on a shelf. Thats it, end of story, move onto next project. These are people who just model, nothing else. 1 actually model individual things, and then they bring everything together in one big extravaganza. We are 1. People who just build stuff are 2. Gamers, i.e. build mini tank, mini battlefield, and game away a mini war are 1 too. 1 actually do individual projects, and then later combine them into the ultimate goal. 2 simple do one project and forget about it later.
You know, merging the hobbies could have its benefits… if people give us funny looks or make snide comments about the tanks 'n trains, we could just shoot 'em… [:-^]
Just be sure to fill in the divets before you leave.
When I was about 10, I think, my best friend and I joined a fledgling “Model Railroad” club. When I say “fledgling”, I mean it was me, him, and the guy who was starting it. When I say “Model Railroad”, what I really mean is “Civil War Gaming & Re-Enactment”. Nowadays looking back it probably could have been a lot of fun. The guy had a big table set up in his basement and lots of thick cardboard squares made up with different types of terrain-- grass, bog, hilltops, creeks, rivers, lakes and the like. And some of them had additional features like trees or fences or houses and such.
The goal of course was to arrange them in whatever terrain configuration best suited the battle, and then he had all of these civil war soldiers arranged in various ways, also mounted on cardboard, which could be mixed-n-matched for various troop assault/defense and other formations. You had to set up supply lines and defend them and the whole bit. He had miniature cannon and mortars and whatnot, and supply wagons and all sorts of neat stuff to go with it. But alas, no trains. Our involvement in the “Model Railroad Club” ended soon thereafter, but it was fun while it lasted.
Nowdays though, I love strategy games and looking back would have very much enjoyed participating in his gaming club had I only understood it better and had a better idea how to play.
Awhile back, a year ago maybe-- I was just generally surfing one day on the net for train-related stuff and stumbled across a web site that was devoted to hobbyists involved in model race cars-- not “R/C” type cars-- but slot cars and their decendents. I played with slot cars a few times when I was a kid-- probably my brother and I each had gotten one or more sets over the years at christmas time or something-- and I remember once when I was a young kid maybe 4, 5, or 6-- thereabouts-- visiting my grandparents in Delaware and we went to some big hobbyshop and they had this huge, gigantic slot car track set up-- probably “S-scale” cars or something like that-- and being fascinated by it. Of course there wasn’t an empty throttle in the room and a line of young teenage boys waiting to take over. A little kid never stood a chance.
But getting back to the web site-- I stumbled across a whole genre that I never even realized existed (literally, no foolin) which was essentially doing with slot cars what we Model Railroaders do with model trains. They had entire “model slot car layouts”-- whatever you would call that. Completely scenicked with towns and bridges and structures and trees-- the whole works. I had to do several double-takes to square what I thought I was seeing with what I was seeing. It was very interesting. So I spent the rest of the afternoon explor
I’ve had an interest in plastic models (mostly sci-fi related) all my life, so I also peruse Fine Scale Modeler from time to time. And while I don’t really have the inclination to do R/C planes, I admire the craftsmanship that goes into them, so I browse those magazines occasionally as well.
There are definitely things to be learned from the “other hobbies” out there. Painting and weathering techniques aren’t unique to “our” hobby, and neither are woodworking skills. Plastic models can also teach us a lot about working with Styrene and etched metal. There are also products marketed for the other hobbies that can be used quite successfully in model railroading too…for example, The Detailer. These are pre-mixed washes for weathering, mostly marketed towards model car builders.
So, if one keeps an open mind when standing at the magazine rack, one can learn a lot! [:)]
The genesis of my modeling preoccupation lies in those “other” areas. By the time I was in my mid-teens I had a bedroom wall fully shelved with 1/35 tanks, 1/25 cars, and 1/72 aircraft, including large models of Titanic, a 3-foot-wingspan B-52, and a USS Constitution that still sits tattered and unfinished on top of my model railroad supply cabinet.
I must also admit that I stare longingly at those large battleship and aircraft carrier model boxes at my LHS. I’ve also admittedly visited websites showcasing spectacular naval card modeling. The temptation is great, but the little voice in my head keeps telling me I don’t dare venture into yet another expensive time-consuming hobby…
Back when I started modeling things, I did a lot of static kits. Ships, military vehicles and armor, airplanes, cars including customized cars (my fist kitbashes), even a nuclear power plant and a rocket on a launching pad. Then I got into trains, and never looked back, except I used the nuc plant on my first layout. The thing I liked and still like about model railroading is that it includes so much more than gluing together some plastic, painting it and puting it on a shelf or hanging it by a string from the ceiling. Benchwork, wiring, scenery, track and roadbed, buildings and running the things - get tired of doing one thing, there is always something different to do to make progress on the layout. [:D]
During one of our yearly mall shows the airplane and RC car guys are also set up in the mall.
They have the same kind of converted, jam packed tackle box as a tool box as I do.
They have pretty much the same tools in it.
We can run in any weather.
To me it would take a tremendous amount of courage to take a model plane out on the runway for the first time and find out if it would fly. One reversed control and the thing would become a pile of kindling. Years of work down the drain and it’s happened more than once. If I put a new locomotive or car on the track and it doesn’t work, it can be fixed.
They can run outside in the summer. I know there are garden railroads and live steam (there’s an interesting group) but it just isn’t the same.
I know many of the guys and aside from a little good natured ribbing, we get along great and have respect for each others talents. Some have dabbled in railroading over the years and some of our memebers have dabbled in their hobbies.
One thing I’ve seen movies of on Youtube but never in person is remote controlled construction equipment. I’d sure like to see some of that some day.
Back in the late-spring / early summer I picked up one of those magazines-- probably was Fine Scale Modeler, and bought it for the excellent tutorial on mold-making and working with casting resins. I’ve seen other articles both online and in the Model Railroading arena, but this one was very well written and put together and I learned a lot from it. I hope to make use of its information soon.
BTW, if anybody’s interested, there’s a good tutorial online here-- can’t remember if its a pdf or video (or maybe both?) about casting parts with resin and such.
Update: I just went and looked through the MR articles and didn’t see it-- I think it was a downloadable PDF though if my recollection is correct. But there are a lot of great articles and how-to videos available
My Dad is (was) a big car modeler-- he’s still around but he hasn’t built a model in years unfortunately. But I remember as a kid he had shelf upon shelf upon shelf in our house filled with models he’d built. And they were all gorgeous and had incredible detailing and paint jobs (okay, I was three and easy to impress back then but I’ve seen some more recently and the paint really is spectacular. I think he was a frustrated automobile designer. My grandmother once showed me a “secret stash” she had of stuff he’d done as a kid-- exotic car drawings, ideas for new features and body styles, break-away drawings of engines and such-- he was very talented. And if nothing else, it was a very interesting insight into my Dad’s inner workings.
Yes…I use to race 1/24th and 1/32nd NASCAR slot cars at a commercial track until I “retired” about 3-4 years ago and sold my cars to another guy…BTW…90% of the racers was adults from the 20s-70s.
I have been known to go to a military modelers meet…I have attended R/C airplane meets.I have attended R/C car and truck meets.I have attended model car and truck shows…I even attended a antique toy show that had lots of antique toys on display…
No shame…
I just enjoy looking at various hobbies that interest me.
the main reason I don’t want to get into R/C planes is the video one of my customers brought in when I worked at a full-service hobby shop. It was a really cool video of R/C plane crashes. The one that stands out in my mind the most was the model of a B-24 with a 15-foot wingspan, powered by four chainsaw engines, on what I believe was its maiden flight. The plane took off and flew around for a few minutes, then the pilot was banking it one more time, and one of the wings folded over onto the other one. Bearing in mind that it was powered by chainsaw engines, needless to say the wing shredded almost instantaneously (not that it was really doing its job anymore, since it had folded over) when it came into contact with the propellers on the other wing. A lovely death spiral ensued, culminating in not a crash, but…since the plane was mostly styrofoam…a beautiful splash as it hit the ground.
This was, I believe, a five-year build, costing the guy several thousand dollars. I don’t believe he was able to salvage even a single screw out of it.
After watching that video, I vowed never to complain about derailments again! [:D]
but I’ve seen some more recently and the paint really is spectacular. I think he was a frustrated automobile designer. My grandmother once showed me a “secret stash” she had of stuff he’d done as a kid-- exotic car drawings, ideas for new features and body styles, break-away drawings of engines and such-- he was very talented. And if nothing else, it was a very interesting insight into my Dad’s inner workings.