I am new to model railroading. I got my first engines/sets over Christmas. But I got hooked really fast, and have been hitting the local hobby shop pretty regularly since the holidays.
Last night I was at the hobby shop again ( http://www.maritimehobbies.com/ ), waiting for my wife to get off work nearby. By the time she got there, I had spent $240. This after spending $100 there earlier this week.
That brings my total since I started just a month ago to roughly $700.00. (Should have my head checked.)
I have to go out of town next week on business (woo hoo - overtime plus expenses !) but when I get back I am off for the next week. So I will have time to get my layout started.
I bought some kits (cars and bulidings), some RTR, accessories, landscape materials,etc. It adds up pretty fast.
What can I say, I have never been good at pacing myself. And damn it, there is so much cool stuff you can buy.
Oh well, I have been meaning to sell some books, dvd’s, cd’s. etc anyway, just to make room in the house. Now I definitely have to.
It is funny how this happens! It is very easy to get out of control when getting going in this hobby. As you point out there are so many really neat things. Are you planning to model any particular time and place?
Don’t I know it. I just got into this hobby a year or so ago. Last summer I sold my last streetrod and my better half says my new hobby is just as expensive. Marty.
Be careful buying too much “neat stuff” really early. I’ve got lots of stuff that I bought 2 years ago, before I even had benchwork, that’s still in boxes and bags waiting to be used. Some of it really doesn’t belong.
It’s Dream-Plan-Build, not Dream-Buy-Build.
But you’re right, everything out there is just so cool. I model the late 1960’s, 3/4 of my layout is still pink foam, and what am I buying? Steam engines. Yeah, like I can take my own advice.
[#welcome] to the marvels world of Model Railroading.
700 in a week wow you got bit harder than I did the first time I got started. Actually I was told not to spend much just incase I didnt want to do it anymore (plus my dad finances our hobby ( I do contribute money and I do all the scenery and wiring, track laying, DCC installing.) I do end up spending 500.00 at a crack when allowed to at Walthers I live 45min away but the trip us worth it I like the guys in the showroom very friendly and the discount shelves usually have items I want.
Hope you learn and enjoy being here we got a lot of people that know what they are talking about and well i’m pretty knowledgable also.
I intended to stick to 1930-1950 era steam engines. But some of the things I bought were just “cool” regardless if they were period appropriate. Everything from cattle cars, to container cars, to crane cars. I haven’t even drawn a basic layout plan yet.
I will probably end up with 2 layouts. One for Depression/WW 2 era, one for modern. At least my wife is a good sport about it.
I Buy-Build-The Dream i am opposite. Actually I have so many building I had to add a top layer which the benchwork is being built there is a post about is somewhere on the list. But I did learn one thing make the benchwork then buy junk.
As for the neat stuff your telling me. Mille animated signs. Walthers Theater can go broke.
Beasley I know about the steam engine deal my dad is that way. I will admit I prefer diesels but something abou those bemoth steamers with the side rods and all the movine parts (drool) You just have to buy one my dad has 3 Athearn Challenger, Mantua, Bachmann Spectrum i cant remember the makes tho. I myself have Rivarossi Hiawatha, and Bachmann Spectrum Shay. so you can get caught up in buying things that dont fit. But remember Steam excursions [swg]
I’ll second what Misterbeasely said. Make sure what you buy will fit into your layout. It’s a bummer to realize a year down the road that something won’t work and it’s too late to return or exchange it.$$$$$$
I concur. What you should REALLY concentrate on right now is learning and figuring out what you want to model - i.e. particular RR, era, industries, layout size, DC or DCC, etc. That will help you to hone in on what you want to accomplish with your layout and help keep your spending down.
Start small, t-a-k-e y-o-u-r t-i-m-e, and spend the time learning from books before you jump in too far and start making purchases that you will end up regretting later on.
When you are new to the hobby, it is easy to fall into the trap of buying stuff just because it looks cool. When you start to plan and build a layout, eventually you will settle on a theme and realize that not all that cool stuff you bought fits in with that theme. When I started my first layout, I decided I was going to model the UP without giving a lot of thought to a particular time or place. I would buy just about anything with a UP name on it. I ended up with everything from an Ambroid craftsman kit of an old time wooden box car to a modern day 85 footer. Same thing with the passenger fleet. Everything from Overton and Harriman coaches to the last of the pre-Amtrak lightweight equipment. Fortunately I became a little more discriminating when I started buying locos, sticking with steam and first generation diesels.
I’m sure every model railroader bought something from his early days in the hobby that now sits gathering dust on a shelf as he wonders “What was I thinking when I bought that?”. Save yourself some money and temper your enthusiasm with some judicious choices about what is going to fit your first layout. It will save you the trouble of trying to unload a lot of unwanted stuff on e-bay.
Nope…You’re not nutz! If you had told us that you have a list of Hobby Shops that you intend to visit on your business trip, even THAT would not make you nutz! LOL!
One thing to remember, there is so much to learn in this Hobby. So many skills that you can elect to Master. I am in awe of what some of the folks do here just in scenery or in Model detailing. These are two improvement areas that I need to even consider myself on par with a novice.
This is not to say that I am a newbie. I have enjoyed this hobby for 20 plus years. I’ve just elected not to go down some roads and I know what makes me feel good about my equipment that I do have. Take a look at my 4x8 layout called the Homasote Wasteland…LOL! All my Locomotives are just out of the paint shop, fresh lube and ready to rock.
I use my Trains for my little reward for myself. With my children gone and my wife working too, a lot of stuff falls into my hands to take care of. House work, yard work, the cars, etc… So if I buy a new building or a new locomotive with some spare funds, I don’t feel so bad about it. My new E8’s are a prime example of being at the right place at the right time to buy an incredible deal.
So, Do it for yourself. Have your own standards and build your railroad the way YOU want too!
Hey, as long as you’re having fun – no harm, no foul!
When you’re just starting out, I think you need to explore a bit to find out what you really enjoy in model railroading. One of the advantages of model railroading is that it is such a diverse and eclectic hobby. It will take a while, most likely, before you figure out what you really want to make the kind of commitment to in order to focus more narrowly and build a layout.
Besides, if you get something that you find you won’t need later, there’s always Ebay…
Nooooo!
Don’t go there yet, if you’re worried about having too much to choose from!
[:-^]
Anyway, the point is that “Model Railroading Is Fun!” and as long as you’re enjoying what you’re doing, that’s the point.
Well when I was first in the hobby back in the sixties I had a lot of so so stuff so when I got rehooked in the eighties I bought mostly quality stuff, havn’t had a compleat layout since the sixties but the stuff I have aquired for my new pike I am building now that I’m retired would make fine scale modeler’s drool in HO, and I got most on the cheap ( a lifetime supply of kadee #5 at 5 cents each, the guy was going to start using another brand for his line ).
I remember when I first started and how exciting it was to get new things (still is). After awhile you get your layout going and can then concentrate on what is best for you to buy. But it certainly is easy to spend big bucks on this hobby. I guess that since there is less stuff available in N scale it’s an advantage for people like me…less to impulsively buy.
Yes, but it gets very costly. There will come a time when you will have done the planning and research, and be ready to put a cohesive plan into effect. It gets really costly at that point, and you begin to regret all the impulsive spending that will not really have a place on your layout. Keep those dollars warm…or on ice…, but keep them. They will be so much more valuable to you when you can use them to get the must-haves as you develop the layout.
Just a gentle caution from one who no’s… I mean, who knows.
I wonder how many of us got started with that first train set at Christmas? Way back December '81 my first child (a son) had just been born a month earlier and I was excited about Christmas coming. I went out and bought a Bachman train set at K-Mart and immediately set it up around the Christmas tree. I ran that train around and around the tree for several days and with each passing hour I sank deeper and deeper into “railroad madness”. I soon realized that I simply had to have more track, more rolling stock, and a place to run the trains when the Christmas tree came down. I decided to visit the local hobby shop to see what might be available and bought my first issue of Model Railroader magazine. Once I read that magazine and learned what was possible, I couldn’t wait to begin. Back to the hobby shop I went and bought an Atlas track plan book, some Atlas sectional track, a second power pack, some wire, and a couple of structure kits. In all I probably spent $200 that day and when I got home I locked myself in the bathroom and slipped the receipt under the door to my wife just to be safe until I learned what her reaction would be. She got mad at first and when she told her mother what I’d done, her mom said, “Well, at least you’ll always know where he is at night.” My wife laughed and soon realized that her mom was right - I was always in the train room. Now all these years later, I still spend the majority of my time in the train room and my wife knows just where to find me! She even encourages my model railroad “habit”. Thanks for bringing back the memories.
I laugh near you. I had O/O27 when I was a kid. Late in my teens I collected some N scale stuff (cute, small, people marveled at them)But I had always always wanted an HO layout. Returning to the hobby now, I have very limited budget, and no space. Anything I build must stand on end for storage, and cant be out permanently. N seemed just the thing!!!
But, due to all those cool things in the hobby shops in HO, if it was inexpensive, I would aquire it. Now I have 2 small layouts to work on, one N and one HO![#oops]. I also love steam locos, so N will have 2 settings, one 1800s and the, oh 50s (I have a 2-6-6-2). Ho seems to be 50’s but I find myself drawn to the 1800s steams and cars for HO! I also have grown fonder on some of the newer diesels, so maybe ill skip the old HO and do 50s and modern.[banghead] I hope to be moving this year, and hope to have more space.In the mean time I find I must go into the hobby store with finite cash and then I can only go so far![swg]
Oh, and I have a partner… he comes with some old HO stuff, but is interested in N. The
Look ! just go with your feelings, besides you only live once . At least in this life time. Buy what you wanna buy, build your layout anyway you want. And enjoy yourself !