I’m thinking about throwing in the towel. I’ve not been in the hobby for very long, and I do love it, but I’m not sure about the satisfation I should be getting. Do to my Parkinson’s my hands shake too much. I was trying to detail an MDC 2-6-0 and broke a marker lamp off the tender, and my re-lettering didn’t turn out so great. I don’t want to have pay people to do all my work for me. It’s not only wasteful, but I would be displaying someone elses work. I don’t want to leave the hobby, but I also don’t know how to stay in it and draw enjoyment from it. Are there any other modelers with parkinsons that have any tips?
What about joining a club. You could run the trains do operations and most likely get a helping hand when needed. I know that you would certainly be welcome at our club.
Dave,All I have to say is hogwash! Last year I had a heart attack and lost the use of my right hand…I had a self pity party that lasted until 3 weeks ago.
I have returned to adding details,changing out couplers to KD etc.I have the use of my left hand and very limited use of my once dominant right hand.Due to a old back injury my hands shake but,still I finally realized I can still model.
To view my recent work go to http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/index.php
and look under Locomotives and Rolling Stock forum.
Dave,If I can do it so can you-IF YOU TRY.Don’t let your Parkinson’s win.There are ways to enjoy the hobby.
Dave, Ken the chap who runs and own K-10 model trains in Maryville, Il just down the road from me has parkinsons quite badly. He was also a medical helicopter pilot, so you can imagine that his life has been impacted significantly. http://www.k-10smodeltrains.com/ is the link to his web site and hobby shop. A real club atmosphere surrounds the hobby shop and it is the comraderie and support of other modelers that gets things done. If you are in the area, it would probably do you a huge amount of good to see what Ken has built.
don’t give up so eagarly without a fight…it may be tough to do some things, but the stuff on the market now days is awesome when it comes to ready to run stuff…atlas, broadway limited, proto 2000 and even athearn are making stuff that doesn’t need all that fine details like were needed ten years ago…just get it out of the package and put it on the layout…it may cost more but when you look at all the detail parts, paint, decals, and the time needed to customize a locomotive or piece of rolling stock, the price is about the same…Chip also had a wonderful idea…join a club…there are many clubs out there that can give you a helping hand and let you run all the trains you want…chuck
I am sorry to hear about your condtion, and honestly, cant even imagine how frustrating that must be. But I would like to maybe bring up a point as it seems you enjoy it, just not sure how to do it. And it would sadden me to hear you had to stop somethign you enjoyed.
You mentioned the part "I could get people to do it and pay for it but it would be wasteful and displaying someone else’s work". Well… so what? Pay to have it done. Why not? Can have everything you want and have it look good. You have more fun operating your trains than fighting with it and running the risk of getting frustrated.
I know lately, there have been some threads about poeple jumping on other folks when they found out that person paid to have it done… or it was modeled by a professional. Personally, I think it is complete BS to bag on some one for that. If they got the money, and makes them happy… Why Not!!!
I would like to bring up a very unqiue view to this and hopefully, it brings some light to your problem. For a day job, I own a 4x4 fabrication shop. I work to build custom projects from bumpers, roof racks, to complete built-from-the-ground-up-offroad-kickbutt-machines. Offroading, is considered a hobby. A very big one at that. The type of work I do, is what alot of people try and do themselves. I have heard some of my customers get teased a little cause “they bought it” instead of hacking it out themselves. But, you got to let it go. One of the most common lines I hear is…“ya know, I thought of doing this myself, an I probably could, but I just want done right and look good.” That’s what I do.
I suppose I could look down on this people since in my world, I am one of the best there are, but I do not for many reasons. One, it wouldnt be fair to them to hold that I have years and years of expeirence and 20,000 plus dollars in tools that allow me to be so good. Plus, I love it when they come to me cause it pays for my
As Chip suggested try out a club. And as Chuck pointed out, many of the new RTR offerings have excellent detailing. You also might want to try working in a larger scale.
It may be that fine detailing is no longer your thing. A number of us who are getting on in years have notice that our vision is deteriorating, and the lure of N-gauge is greatly reduced. You might consider moving up to S, O or even G gauge so the size of the parts gets larger, and the impact of any infirmities is reduced.
Scenery tends to be less small-parts oriented, also. Nature often paints with a big brush, and if that’s easier, then there are still many parts of the hobby still available to you. If anything, the quality of RTR keeps going up. I personally don’t think that I will ever be able to finish my scenery to the point where it rivals the detail level of even moderately-priced engines and rolling stock being produced today.
Continued use of what we have left, even if it’s not what it once was, is still the best way to keep from going further downhill. Please continue with your modelling efforts, if only to forestall the effects of the Parkinsons.
there may even be someone in the area on this board that could come and give you some help. where abouts in the USA are you?
unfortunatly i wont be able to afford the bus fairs from the uk. but there might be someone just around the corner that has a nice layout and lots of free time.
It must be very discouraging, with the prognosis that you understand so well, to have to conclude that you can no longer do things that you value and that bring you so much sastifaction. It happens that the owner of the closet LHS to me has Parkinson’s, and stopped modelling a number of years ago. However, he still runs the store on his good days, and there is a wonderful gleam in his eye when he gets to talking about his craft. He was pretty darned good, too.
If you are relegated to enjoying the hobby more and more vicariously over time, I don’t see why that should be a detriment. I fellow who was a quadriplegic ( or was is quadri-amputee) was recently carried to the top of Everest. Had I known of this beforehand, I would have cheered him (and his dogged carrier) all the way!!!
Do what you can when you can. Let go of what you must when you must. In the meantime, if a fancy Brand X locomotive turns your crank, get it and enjoy the bee-J out of it. I have 8 locomotives (can’t figure out where they came from…[:D]), and each has sound. I installed none of the systems, neither on the five QSI Locos, nor on the DCC ready ones that have since been altered. Let me asure you, I have no qualms about enjoying the talents and interests of others if it lets me run trains.
Yeah, Keep trying. Don’t let the illness stop you. The thing you have to ask yourself is do you need super detail? or can you be happy running a train?
Alexander
EDIT : Someone told me this today : If you think you can’t do it you can’t. If you think you can then you can.
There are products that can help, I’ve recently discovered the power of Melaleuca oil (tea tree oil) Chip ( Spacemouse) may know about this. email me if you would like to know more.
So you can’t produce a contest-quality model. So what?
Enjoy what you CAN produce! So the lettering is crooked and marker lights are missing. As long as you can crack a throttle and enjoy a train moving out, stick around. Forget what you can’t do, and focus on what you can.
Dave, who cares if you broke off a light or that your re-lettering didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. Thats part of the fun, working on models and fixing stuff. You should see some of the stuff I broke and screwed up when I got into the hobby. A club is a great idea, my club has a member that had a stroke awhile ago and he is probably one of the most enthusiastic members we have.
There are many people in this hobby who enjoy trains as much as they enjoy building trains. If joining a club is not a viable option, you might consider utilizing the train simulator programs available. Remember, there is a lot than can be done in this hobby, but that does not mean that everybody can do it all. The fact that RTR model offerings have expanded greatly at the expense of kit offerings means that the majority of participants are electing to spend their time on other aspects of the hobby. You should feel ashamed of doing what most other people are doing anayway.