Hello all, I'm fairly new to the hobby of model railroading. You could call me a "born-again model rr'er. I tried my hand at the hobby as a youngster but never stayed with it (too many other hobbies and distractions). Now, I am much older and am going to try it again.
I've always liked trains, so the seed has always been planted waiting to be re-born. I started out with HO, but now I lean towards N. There just seems like there's so much more that can be done in the same space. I've read some of the threads here and have occasionally picked up copies of Model RR'er, and others, just to see what's happening. I must say that things have changed quite a bit since I was a youngin'. I don't see alot of people using plywood profiles for mountains anymore, with wadded up newspaper and strips of newspaper dipped in soupy plaster concoctions. I think this foam scenery, using a "wand cutter" (correct?) is a fabulous thing that I will have to try myself.
As for my layout, it doesn't exist yet. I have a spare room I will eventually use, but the room itself needs some re-modeling before it can be planned. Since I would still consider myself a beginner at this I think I'm going to keep it simple this time around, and learn as many of the techniques as I can before trying a really ambitious layout. Instead of trying to come up with a layout plan on my own, I will utilize an existing one. There is a small one in a book I have called "The N Scale Model Railroading Manual" that I think I will model mine after. It's a pretty small layout though (20" x 48"), and I reeeaallly like large steam engines, so I am planning on using the basic design and enlarging it to a 4' x 8' (Yeah, I know.....booring!), so I can have bigger radii. Possibly, another smaller board coming off one side to form a yard, as well. Not sure yet, but I have time to get it right before I start construction.
Unntil then, I have decided to try my hand at scratchbuilding structures, bridges, whatever. Most of these probably won't even be used on the layout, but it'll keep my interest high, and I've never done it before besides. I am currently working on my first structure, which is a water tower. The plans are out of an old Model Rialroad Craftsman mag. I had laying around. So far, so good, but this first item is really just a test to see if I can even do it. Luckily, I am pretty dextrous and have had model car building experience in the past, so the tools and raw materials are not unfamiliar to me.
If this first structure comes out to my satisfaction, I'll post a picture here for constuctive criticism.
I will probably post a lot of stupid questions here, so be patient with me. Ihave a lot of years to catch up on.
N-scaler-dude
I've always liked trains, so the seed has always been planted waiting to be re-born. I started out with HO, but now I lean towards N. There just seems like there's so much more that can be done in the same space. I've read some of the threads here and have occasionally picked up copies of Model RR'er, and others, just to see what's happening. I must say that things have changed quite a bit since I was a youngin'. I don't see alot of people using plywood profiles for mountains anymore, with wadded up newspaper and strips of newspaper dipped in soupy plaster concoctions. I think this foam scenery, using a "wand cutter" (correct?) is a fabulous thing that I will have to try myself.
As for my layout, it doesn't exist yet. I have a spare room I will eventually use, but the room itself needs some re-modeling before it can be planned. Since I would still consider myself a beginner at this I think I'm going to keep it simple this time around, and learn as many of the techniques as I can before trying a really ambitious layout. Instead of trying to come up with a layout plan on my own, I will utilize an existing one. There is a small one in a book I have called "The N Scale Model Railroading Manual" that I think I will model mine after. It's a pretty small layout though (20" x 48"), and I reeeaallly like large steam engines, so I am planning on using the basic design and enlarging it to a 4' x 8' (Yeah, I know.....booring!), so I can have bigger radii. Possibly, another smaller board coming off one side to form a yard, as well. Not sure yet, but I have time to get it right before I start construction.
Unntil then, I have decided to try my hand at scratchbuilding structures, bridges, whatever. Most of these probably won't even be used on the layout, but it'll keep my interest high, and I've never done it before besides. I am currently working on my first structure, which is a water tower. The plans are out of an old Model Rialroad Craftsman mag. I had laying around. So far, so good, but this first item is really just a test to see if I can even do it. Luckily, I am pretty dextrous and have had model car building experience in the past, so the tools and raw materials are not unfamiliar to me.
If this first structure comes out to my satisfaction, I'll post a picture here for constuctive criticism.
I will probably post a lot of stupid questions here, so be patient with me. Ihave a lot of years to catch up on.
N-scaler-dude
