I came into modeling THE FRISCO as well as the hobby of model railroading back when there wasn't as much sophistication involved, however, a super detailed locomotive or caboose, or boxcar, was a highlight of show and tell everywhere I went in the hobby. Even Model Railroader magazine had frequent articles on mixing paint to almost perfectly match certain models and railroads, then Pollyscale and Floquil both came out with their railroad colors line and mixing paint became almost a thing of the past with the exception of a few colors. Then TESTORS buys out both companies and then In my OPINION, takes a large step in simplifying things for them, not us, and discontinues the railroad colors line of paints. This brings to mind an old George Jones song which I am quite fond of titled WHOSE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES!!! Well I wonder who is gonna come out with a line of railroad colors to help those os us who still create and not just purchase off the shelf and straight to the layout. I am not trying to offend anyone here but I was raised old school modeling where I still go to hobbyshops and whether I need the parts or not, I buy up every detail part I can get my hands on that fits something I plan to model someday. So now I guess I am back to REAL Old School and back to trial and error at mixing my own paint and digging up old magazines to see old articles on how many parts of one color I need to mix with another color to get it just right to make an as close to perfect model as possible, so I wonder, since Pollyscale and Floquil are things of the past, WHOSE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES???
Re: WHOSE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES???? The question is who's going to fill out shoes? Like it or not this is a dying hobby as is anything that takes time, patience, a certain amount of skill and understanding. We live in a digital, RTR world today. Nobody has time to build a kit. And paint it? Are you kidding? Look around. You see any teenagers interested in this stuff? I don't. I tried to get my nephews interested. All they cared about was how fast they could go, how many could run at a time or crashing them. Even the fact they were computer controlled held no interest for them. So I think my generation and maybe the one after me may be the end of the line for our hobby and an interest in trains at all.
Re: WHOSE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES???? This has been something I have thought about several times. As the 2 Generations above me start to fade there's not many in mine that are interested in this hobby so I've wondered what am I going to do when all these businesses go under because there's not enough people interested anymore. I guess when things start looking closer to the end in 20-30 years buy up as much as I can off ebay. For the main subject that started this thread: I don't have an air brush so I don't have anything to do with the scale paint issue but from the sounds of it, it sounds like a typical business move of today. Get rid of the competition so you can make money, even if you do get rid of what people want to buy. Ethan
Re: WHOSE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES???? I guess I disagree with 'the hobby is dying'. I see lots of young kids and young men at train shows. There are new and better products on the market every week. The hobby is evolving from scratch and kit building to operations and illusions. I can't build an engine anywhere near the accuracy of a ready built model and I really do not want to try. I know there are people that can and do, but that is and always has been a minority. Hobby shops are not the only business going under. The internet has changed the way people shop. As they say 'times are changing'. And yes I love going into hobby shops, but I also love finding bargains on line! Jerome-OKC
Re: WHOSE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES???? I think people for the most part have more talent as far as painting building and detailing than they give themselves credit for. Many dont have a place or resources to do it. This only seems to go along with our ever increasing "instant gratification", "I dont have time to do that" lifestyles. They seem to be trying to take the hobby craftsman out of the picture altogether. I swear it takes more time for me to take this RTR stuff apart, make it what I want, than it would have been just starting with a kit in the first place. Again maybe thats just me. I think the modelers out there, that have built accurately detailed and painted models, that people have seen and desire, are the very reason suppliers are building more accurate models at all. I dont know heck, they might be doing me a favor by forcing me to go back and learn how to make more stuff from scratch. No offense meant.
Re: WHOSE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES???? The only time I go to a hobby shop is when I need an item in a hurry such as paint ,brush, adhesive or scenery products. If I need a specific detail part, trucks, wheels, let's face it, the hobby shops are not going to stock specific items in inventory. There are other hobby items for the shop owners to sell, they have to make space and financial means for those items also. Ready to Run railroad items has a faster turn around for selling than detail parts, that is why they they don't stock it. If you want that specific part he has not a clue, but can order it for you if you give a specific model number associated to that part, if you want to wait or you can go on the internet and order from a shop or DISRIBUTOR who has that item. I agree with Jerome-OKC "Times are Changing" John
Re: WHOSE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES???? Jerome makes two excellent points. Internet shopping makes the local shop obsolete and the quality and availability of RTR equipment make being a craftsman unnecessary for most. And if your modeling one of today's monster you can fill a roster in no time, if you have the funds. This hobby has made some giant leaps forward from the quality of the equipment to way we control our trains. I'm just not seeing an interest from younger generations. At least not enough to perpetuate our hobby. Maybe as the younger generations mature they too will look for a way to get away and turn to our hobby. We can only hope. I would hate to think someone would or could be denied the enjoyment of our hobby due to a lack of products. Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
Re: WHOSE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES???? I can do the buildings and scenery ok, but my rolling stock models look like they come off Watco. I keep a few kits just for fun, but I prefer the RTR. I just got eight from Moloco and there is no chance I could make one like that. They sure look nice on the layout. I think the change is good. 40 or 50 dollars is nothing, when you think of all the items you buy for a kit. Its ok for fun, but it is not less expensive. More than my 2 cents worth. William Jackson
Re: WHOSE GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES???? I talked with my buddy at my local hobbyshop and he said and I quote, OUR HOBBY IS NOT DYING, ITS JUST HIBERNATING!!!! We have 2 train shows a year and I see lots of kids as well as lots of older generation modelers. the point is, a lot of the things my generation and before grew up learning is becoming a thing of the past, we as MODELERS, dont want to have to relearn how to open a box, place something on the layout and GO GO GO GO GO!!! Sounds more like a NASCAR race to me than a hobby. To me, buying, building, detailing and painting a model is TRUE ART, taking something out of a box that says made in Taiwan and althougth it looks nice, rolls nice, and adds to a growing Roster, it takes some of the fun out of the hobby, I feel like I am trying to fly a hot air balloon made of lead....AINT HAPPENIN!!! Everytime I see a kit made by F&C, MDC, ATHEARN, TICHY, or the like, I buy it because it gives me something to do on my downtime and the finished product is something I can say I did!!! Something I can be proud of, How fun is it to have to give credit to a machine, and a person from a foreign country for making my model railroad of today, something he mostly did, I just SNAPPED it together!!!! NO THANKS, I AM OLD SCHOOL AND WILL STAY OLD SCHOOL THERE IS MORE PRIDE IN IT!!!
