Hello fellow train people.
A friend of mine who’s not a rich man recently sold off all of his N scale stuff and got into HO thinking that it would be a cheaper scale, but he soon found out that it just isn’t so. He recently bought a loco that would have cost about $75.00 in N scale, but it ran him $125.00 in HO… He’s now wishing he would have just left things alone and stuck to N scale.
Tracklayer
The difference, if there is one, is hardly big enough to be concerned with, one way of the other. The problem with n scale is that since more fits in the same space, you may be tempted to buy more to fill it!
For the same layout area (in square feet,) HO will cost less - provided that the modeler doesn’t buy any rolling stock that can’t be placed into immediate service.
For the same layout in Armstrong squares, the price will slightly favor N scale.
The joker is that the you can fit four N-scale ‘squares’ into the same area in square feet occupied by one HO ‘square.’
Of course, if the modeler is like most of us and acquires more rolling stock than his track will handle, all bets are off. Is there anyone here who can honestly say they don’t do that?
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
They cost exactly the same. We all have an internal budget that we either meet or exceed each month according to our personality. We are going to spend that amount no matter what scale we are in.
The amount of enjoyment we get out of the hobby is also controlled by those same forces so it really doesn’t matter which one we pick. And the same can be said for internal dissatisfaction. If we are dissatisfied without ourselves, we are not going to find satisfaction with HO if we are in N, nor model railroading if we are becoming dissatisfied with stamp collecting.
Start where you are and enjoy it. Then add things that increase your enjoyment. But the stuff doesn’t change who you are.
Hi tracklayer
The cost of a layout in any scale is inversely proportional to the amount of work you are prepared to do your self.
IE The more work you do yourself the less it costs.
The difference in cost between N & HO what difference?? it costs the same to build similar layouts in both scales if anything “N” is slightly more expensive.
But it is not worth considering not when you consider that the hobby lasts a life time and evolves and changes as we learn more or our RR interests change space grows or shrinks.
The favorite parts will move from layout to layout, the bad choices or disasters will move to other railroads where they are of use or can be adapted for use.
So the cost becomes some what immaterial as we will find the cash or other ways of making what we want
regards John
I’m sure it can vary between people, mainly due to size of layout, extent of sophistication (like DCC, etc.), and modeling standards. But I think that there is some consistency in that both can get very expensive in a hurry![sigh]
Overall I have noticed that N-scale is generally a bit less expensive per item. The trouble is that you can fit more ‘items’ into the same space as HO. So you can run more locos, rolling stock, and cram more structures in to that standard 4x8 space.
Obviously HO is more expensive, since you have to sell your eternal soul to get into it…[}:)]
N scale, however, not only costs less, but it brings in fabulous dividends, fawning admirers, and international prestige… Although to be perfectly honest, I do sometime get weary of the paparazzi, and the young women throwing their underwear at me…
Lee
Yes,some brands of HO locomotive are higher price even at discount…However,there are the Athearn locomotives that sells between $50.00-85.00 depending on locomotive type.Some Atlas locomotives can be had for $64.00-84.00…It pays to shop around.
What I find odd is the N Scale cars costs the same as HO cars.
They should be very close in price. The actual cost of materials, for the raw plastic and metal, is a very small component of the retail price, regardless of what gauge you’re in. The machine tooling and manufacturing costs are virtually identical for HO or N scale.
HO will benefit some from the economics of scale. There are simply more HO models made, so that manufacturing runs can be larger, reducing the amortized tooling costs. Also, there’s more competition in HO, which forces retailers to limit their profits to maintain market share.
But, sound is really getting big in HO. Whether they put in decoders or not, many engines are being built with sockets for decoders, at least, and that is adding cost. I’m not sure about N-gauge in this. But, a lot of engines are coming with factory sound, which will raise the “fleet average” cost of HO sound engines by about a hundred dollars each at retail. Eventually, this trend will make it to N-scale as well, but it’s not there yet.
If you stick to the economy lines like Athearn kits, Atlas track, etc then HO can be cheaper. Otherwise for a given amount of layout space the cost is pretty much the same. A 10x10 room can accomodate any of the the scales, you just have less items the larger the scale. Of course if you buy more than the layout can use the cost goes up faster in the larger scales where individual items cost more.
But I like what John Armstrong said at a clinic: “They all cost the same - all you can afford.” That’s the key, spend what you can afford and have fun. Each scale has it’s advantages, pick the one that you like and have fun.
Enjoy
Paul
Guys,Let’s compare prices…Shall we? [:D]
For ease I am going to use Atlas DC locomotives…
(discount price)
Atlas GP7 HO.$104.95($$69.99) N SCALE $94.49($64.49).
RS1 HO $104.95($69.99) N Scale $104.95($70.49).Note…Some older releases can be had for $53.50 and $62.49.
GP38 HO $149.95 ($99.99) N Scale $99.95($67.49.)
Some N Scale locomotives comes with sound.
Of course there are DCC equipped N Scale locomotives.
As we can see there is a price difference.
HO or N Scale? Its a modeler’s called.
I have a small collection of N Scale I use at the N Scale club.
As far as freight cars the prices run about the same.
Sources use:
HO
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/category_s/33.htm
N Scale.
Unless you get into brass offerings N Scale does not have nearly the number of multi-hundred dollar locomotives that are available to HO Scale modelers; beyond that, however, piece-for-piece the two scales are about equable in their cost.
N Scale is, however, more expensive in another area, what is usually referred to as spatial extension; if you double the diameter of a circle you quadruple its area. The ubiquitous 4X8 sheet of ply factors out to a surface area of 5.57 acres in HO Scale; that identical size in N Scale factors out to a surface area of 18.81 acres. In this regard N Scale is 237.5% larger than HO Scale and, therefore, in any given area, an N Scaler is likely to be inclined to ‘cram’ more equipment - and scenery/structures - than an HO Scaler and that will automatically generate a greater per-square-foot expense.
Say WHAT??? [(-D][(-D][(-D]
Actually, by choosing your prototype with care you can have the advantages (and disadvantages) of both. My freight cars are closer to N-scale US prototype length than to US HO, so I can run a 20 car train on a length of track that would be barely adequate for 12 AAR box cars and a single GP-9 even though we would be using the same track gauge.
Model track gauge, that is; 16.5mm. My scale is 1:80, my prototype actually runs on 1067mm (3 foot 6 inch) gauge and the combination is identified as HOj.
OTOH, if you want a new definition of ‘expensive,’ just check MSRP on present-production HOj models in Tetsudo Mokei Shumi. Assuming that you can read Japanese, that is…[:-^]
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Paul,I WISH those old GP7s was in stock…Sadly they are backed ordered.
As crazy as it sounds in 2007 I need 4 of these units…Plus 4 packs of handrails for the undec shells I have.
Athearn in their wisdom decided to discontinue the wire handrails.[:(!]
I didn’t look that closely at the site - sorry. I know Athearn like most manufacturer’s runs them in batches with sometimes years between batches. Tough when you’re out of cycle.
I have a master list of goodies I am watching for.
Paul
Which cost more HO or O scale? It’s obviously O scale. The bigger the scale the higher the cost. Well except for the Z scale stuff that seems to be a fortune
I think there is a ‘point of no return’ in each direction. O and G cost a fortune because (relatively speaking) they’re HUGE and take a lot of motor power & detailed work to make them look good/run well.
The same goes below N scale, once you get to that size you need to be a jeweler level craftsman to assemble one that is to scale/real looking and the miniaturization really gets expensive.
I think N has gotten more ‘main stream’ cost wise in the last 15 years. As lots of gidgets and gadgets have come out more work has been done at making things smaller and smaller and it’s easier to get pieces you may not have been able to get before in the same size.
I will say that I think N-Scale still suffers from some ‘love’ from the manufacturers. When I get an idea for what next engine I want in my non-existant layout I never find some in N, but find a ton in HO.
The one that drives me nuts the most about this due to my use of N is the extreme lack of Thomas the Tank Engine stuff. Bachmann has done an almost excellent job in bringing out a lot of options for the Thomas fan in a lot of us, though I wish they would make them DCC ready. It kills me to see a new engine/device come out that has no DCC options. For someone getting started today it’s very frustrating to want to use DCC but be unable to / have to work extra to get something to work.
[:D]
When I started N scale 20 years ago, it was definately more expensive than HO. NOW, I think there’s little difference in price. I did walk over to the dark side (HO) in 1991 though [}:)]