The n scale bug has betten me and I am getting more and more involved in it. Is the N Scale Enthusiast worth joining? I see they have a free membership car, magazine, auctions etc Anyone belong to it? Also I see there are magazines devoted to strictly N scale, are they worth it over the long haul? Thanks
Bruce
I have often thought joining NSE,but everytime I am ready to pull the trigger on a membership something more important comes up (like LARGE hospital bills for me).
As for the magizines I personely think they are worth it.My only complaint is they are bi-monthly but come out in the same months 6 times a year.
Any other opinions out there?
I’m a member and enjoy it. They run members only auctions several times a year. The prices appear to be decent, but the auctions really are not my cup of tea. I’m more interested in the special runs. Members save $5 on those, which is good considering none of the special run items are cheap. The magazine is decent. At $50/year, membership isn’t cheap, but if I wanted a cheap hobby, I should have taken up origami.
Bruce,When I was in N Scale I did not join N Scale Enthusiast because I found N Scale and N Scale Railroading filled my magazine needs and found better use N Scale prices.
Even though I’m currently in HO I still read N Scale and N Scale Railroading magazines. [yeah]
You could view nScale.net at http://www.nscale.net/forums/forum.php
I gave a clinic to the N Scale Enthusiasts when they had their annual convention in Milwaukee a few years ago, and I helped out at one of the layouts on their layout tour, so I got to meet and chat with many of them. Their annual meetings seem pretty packed with prototype and model tours and other activities and the social aspect of the group seems strong. For giving my clinic I got a very nice “author’s car” – a special run of a Micro Trains car, an NS Top Gon. Nice model.
Originally this was called the N Scale Collectors group and they changed their name to “Enthusiasts” when many members said they were far more than collectors but were modelers, operators, etc. But in chatting with some of the fellows I do sense a bit of a rift between the pure collectors and those who regard themselves as not collectors at all but modelers who actually open up the packaging and modify and weather their cars.
It wasn’t exactly a heated argument but it exposed a certain divide in the ranks. I had mentioned to one guy that he would enjoy a certain modular layout because it included some scratchbuilt locomotives and passenger cars. “N scalers don’t scratchbuild” he almost snarled at me, and then others said “oh yes we do” or “I do.” It seems I had inadvertently picked at some scabs …
Anyway it was overall a great bunch of guys and I think you’d enjoy their annual meets.
Dave Nelson
For what it is worth…
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I subscribed to N scale magazine for about ten years, and always thought it was worth it. I was never a member of N Scale Enthusiast.
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I left N scale a long time ago, thanks to the Proto 2000 freight cars!
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-Kevin
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