I don’t wanna hear it. Despite my massive Basement Empire, I haven’t been able to do anything but sneak down to the basement and run a train back & forth for a few minutes in three months. Of course, this is because I was writing another book (not about streetcars, but I did sneak in quite a few pictures of the SP shops, various electric locomotives, etc) and officially forbidding myself from playing with the trains.
This summer my plans are to play with trains and play a lot of computer games. Of course, within a week of my book’s deadline I get a call from my publisher and they want to know if I want to work on a third book…arrrgh!
Well, I can actually relate to that better than you think. I have two eBooks nearing completion (neither mR) and an article I have to complete (is MR) but they are cutting more into my work time than my modeling time–like getting my practice off the ground and writing for my newsletter.
But I say if you enjoy it and it is worth your while in whatever currency, go for it. But if you want to play with trains, forbidding is harsh.
I agree with your wife and Crandell, Chip. If you did this well in one class, I don’t think you have any worries. But even if the backdrop stinks, you can always paint over it! [(-D]
Okay, so maybe you can relate…well, writing isn’t particularly profitable, it’s more like a little added income. At least I’ll be able to keep the profits from this book: the last book’s profits are being donated to a railroad museum! Not that I mind that at all…I can’t cut so much into my day job so hobby stuff that doesn’t pay gets sidelined.
I didn’t quite forbid myself from playing with 'em, I just de-prioritized actually working on the layout in favor of writing. As I mentioned, I’d go down and run trains for a little while to cool down from all the brain-overheating research stuff.
I suppose that one thing that makes it easier is that a lot of my side projects are so railroad-related: I re-released an album of Sacramento Northern electric locomotives in Marysville/Yuba City, originally released on vinyl in 1964–digitally remastered it and on CD (with the permission of the original person who did the recording, of course)!
You know, there is one thing I do love about this forum. Even though most of the time I spend here could have been spent working on the railroad, this forum recently became the driving force I needed to get crackin’. Why? Well, over in the commuter modelers thread, someone who I thank very much had the courage to stand up and demand pictures. And now as a result, i’m working feverishly (actually, i do have a fever right now, which stinks, but i digress), to complete one of my station platforms so that I can have something to show for my plans expressed in that thread. Speaking of which, I better get down there and keep at it. We both should.
It took us a year to paint the interior walls of our home.
We still have two rooms to go. We have reached our Alamo with these two rather bad rooms despite a total determination to complete the painting mission.
Same here. There are different thoughts and preferences on backdrops. Some want almost photo quality and some want a vague interpretation and leave it up to the beholder’s eye to fill in detail. All of us are somewhere in-between.
It depends what your end goal is but your talent is pretty good in my opinion. I finally took the brush to mine after many months…and four trys! We are our own worst critics [}:)]
