Cbear said:
Also scratch building in 1/4" scale suits my older eyes better than HO. Bachmann product line is getting larger and more diversified, and is of reasonable cost, and is also found on Ebay at reduced prices, so I think I will likely start there. I have also extensively read Bruce's
DCC site and found it quite absorbing.. Trying to decide on what DCC set, controller, etc. is the next challenge.
Charles
Before you make the leap, you ought to be aware that On30 can be a good choice and a bad choice depending on many things. It is not necessarily easier to scratchbuild in On30, for one reason: On30 is larger, which means that you do need to put more in the same space to save it from appearing bare. This can be just as bad with older eyes, as you put it.
In other words, you can end up doing just as much fiddly work, if not more fiddly work, with On30, as you would do in HOn30. In fact, most people go to On30 for three reasons; it's easier to model really small narrow gauge prototypes, you can get a LOT more detail in (especially small detail), and there are more products available for it these days. The last reason being surplus to the point that, you have to put a lot more small detail into On30 models that you don't have to put into HOn30 models, simply because in HOn30 you can't see it.
It's tempting to say that it's easier to work in a larger scale, and in one way it is easier, because it's not so fiddly putting in EVERY single detail. But at least in HOn30, smaller details are not as important, niether is putting in every single detail. Let me tell you from first hand experience, control levers can get very tiresome after a while. But in HOn30, it doesn't really matter much if you can't get the cab interior details in. Rivets also gain a whole new importance in On30, and they are a royal P.I.T.A unless you only have to do about 10. I did one locomotive where I had to place around 300 rivets, and it was seriously fiddly work - the loco looked great afterwards, but I wouldn't like to have to make another one.
Another major downside to On30 is that it takes up a lot more room, limiting you to very small operations if your designated layout space isn't an entire basement. HOn30 on the other hand can provide a pretty decent run in a small space, without necessarily having to represent a small scale operation. Trains can be longer, locomotives can be larger, buildings can be larger, and so forth. So if that's what you'd like, and you'd prefer not having to fuss over little details so much, then I'd suggest HOn30 for you.
However, the downside to HOn30 being that it's harder to represent very small prototypes, and DCC becomes expensive and impractical. Also, donor chassis are expensive, and there are no current RTR US prototypes in production. So if modelling a small scale operation appeals to you, and you require DCC and RTR US prototypes, then based on the reasons I've just outlined I'd suggest On30. On that note it should be mentioned that scratchbuilding can be done in On30 without going too crazy with the details, but the end result will tend to look rather bare - but that can sometimes be a personal preference thing; what bothers some modellers doesn't bother others so much.
I'm sure you've already weighed up these things, but it's better to err on the side of caution. Good luck with whatever scale you choose to model in. :thumb: