10 outrageously pricey hobbies: Model RR Ins't One of Them

[mlrr]

I cringed with every turn of the slide but was happy to see that Model Railroading was not on the list of the "10 Most outrageously pricey hobbies".  Interestingly enough RC cars DID actually make the list.  Private train rides however did make the cut (close to home but not quite Model Railroading

Just thought you guys would enjoy.

money.msn.com/now/10-outrageously-pricey-hobbies

[mlehman]

The only three hobbies I'd be interested in on that list are:
* Private rail car collecting and operating -- can't afford it unless I hit the MegaMillions or Powerball
* Home brewing -- always wanted to and now my health issues make it superfluous. I still enjoy a cider now and then, but no need to make wholesale quantities any more
* Off-roading: OK, they said mud-bogging, but forum.IH8MUD.com is where I hang out. Our LandCruiser is 16 years old, bought used and paid for, and doesn't need much to hit the road or trail. I know I've spent way less on the truck than on the layout.

What I think is great about model railroading is that money need not be a bar, unless you set your sights higher than what you can realistically afford. Build a nice kit and you're a model railroader in my book. Having a layout to run it on is nice, but not required. You can have a heck of a nice little layout for under $1000. Obviously, you can spend a lot more. Complaints about the hobby costing to much are mostly about one's perceptions of value and unrealistic expectations about what's possible on the personal budget.

My own budget has varied a LOT over the years, from broke teenager to well-paid adult to broke grad student. Just keep at it and don't let anything go you might need in 20 years. Throughout most of this period, I've been active and building, starting on a medium size layout about 20 years ago. It benefited from the previous 20 years of accumulation and is now benefiting on the accumulation since. Inflation and quality have been up or down, but I've always tried to have a reason to buy something and that has kept me from wasting money on "cute" but ultimately useless items and made the things that I did let go worth something to someone else, too. YMMV

[jlwii2000]

I don't know how model railroading didn't make the list. I have spent more money then several of the quotes in their slides. But that type of a top 10 list isn't an exact science.

[atsfan]

Marlin fishing.
You want to spend some cash ?

[fr8kar]

It was either this or golf. I spent a small fortune playing golf when I was young and had nothing but clubs to show for it. At least with this hobby ebay allows me to get rid of the stuff I'm tired of looking at. In fact, I've actually made money on some of the stuff I've bought and sold. It's hard to sell greens fees and cart rentals on ebay. Once you buy those, they're gone.

[kentuckysouthernrwy]

What a wacky lit of baloney. Plenty of legit expensive hobbies and I think ours can be as expensive as you want but at least unlike the homebrew and golfing things you're left with something tangible at the end of the day besides a hangover or sunburn.

[markfj]

These discussions on expensive hobbies come up often and always seem to start a ruckus. It’s all relative to your income and what you consider “expensive” or your level of involvement in the hobby. Anyone watch a Barret-Jackson auction or an episode of American Pickers? How much money do you think is really involved in restoring those cars or accumulating those large hoards of stuff? For several years, I tinkered with muscle cars and can say (based on my income and level of involvement) model trains are much less expensive for me. Heck, you could easily spend ten to twenty grand on restoring/rebuilding a car (classic, collectible, or what-have-you) and “still” not have it drivable. Think of how many trains you can buy with that much money…and they’ll most likely be RTR. Again, it’s all relative. Spend wisely and enjoy what you buy.

[mlehman]

Sept 26, 2013 9:15:49 GMT -8 markfj said:

SNIP...it’s all relative. Spend wisely and enjoy what you buy.

Words of wisdom there. If we all followed them most of the time, a lot of the price whining on various forums would disappear. Not all, and I understand a little of it, but this hobby seems particularly plagued by a certain crowd that wants to make the rest of us miserable because they have a distorted vision of budgets and costs vs reasonable expectations -- and it's their duty to make their problem everyone else's.

Not to mention so much of it is connected to RTR. It's not RTR per se, I buy plenty myself. It's just that it seems easier to be an "open the box and complain guy" than it is to be a "I built this kit and ran into a problem" person. Lots of the former and very few of the latter. That's telling.

Note I do NOT stigmatize the many collectors and folks who for various reason don't currently have layouts, or may never have layouts for whatever reason. Our hobby takes all kinds. But when I hear someone complain, the first thing I think is, "I'll bet this is about RTR..." Once confirmed, as it so often is, then the bar to whether I take anything said in that discussion very seriously suddenly rises sharply. Make it one of the "usual crowd" with well known tendencies to spend most of their modeling time writing up their latest complaints, but you never see any pictures...well, you get the picture.

Now, if they're always beefing, but you're seeing lots of pics, then OK, maybe that's something I should pay attention to. That's rarest of all.

Just saying...If there ain't pics, it didn't happen.

[Deleted]

Classic cars didn't make the list?

Prices have dived with the Great Recession, but a numbers matching 1968 Impala SS427 convertible is still north of $50,000. Only 1,700 SS427's were built, this includes both hardtops and drop tops. So the pool with its original engine, transmission, etc. is rare. Some COPO Camaro's will still set you back nearly $100K, if the numbers under the hood are correct.

[riogrande]

I saw that list on MSN news a few days ago an wondered if MR would be on it. As expensive as this hobby can be, it also didn't surprise me that it didn't make the list. There are so many ways to spend huge amounts of cash these days MR fell off the list without much trouble.

[mlrr]

Sept 24, 2013 16:21:07 GMT -8 jlwii2000 said:

I don't know how model railroading didn't make the list. I have spent more money then several of the quotes in their slides. But that type of a top 10 list isn't an exact science.

I agree that lists like these aren't an exact science however; What legitimized the list for me is when I saw that RC cars made the list.  

I also tend to agree that if you budget your model railroading hobby based on your income, you can still enjoy model railroading.  I have an elaborate budget set up for my MRR. Despite this I still feel the sticker shock of new product announcements, but it gives me a chance to develop a "funding strategy" and adjust my budget accordingly (KATO is the only manufacturer that doesn't "play nice" in terms of providing enough lead time between announcement and release to save or re-arrange my pre-budgeted MRR finances).

I hate to say it but I actually get some enjoyment out of doing the financial shuffle with my model railroading budget.  I consider it part of the hobby and it's good practice for managing money overall (IMHO).  Honestly; if I could just spend without worry, I think it would actually take away from some of the challenge that the hobby presents.

[Brakie]

During the week of the fair I'm often ask how expensive this hobby can be..

Here's my normal reply.

Its all up to the hobbyist.You can go full tilt or buy 2 engines and some cars and join the club..

[mlehman]

Oct 1, 2013 6:07:13 GMT -8 Brakie said:

During the week of the fair I'm often ask how expensive this hobby can be..

Here's my normal reply.

Its all up to the hobbyist.You can go full tilt or buy 2 engines and some cars and join the club..

I'll have to remember that one. Might come in handy during the next round of price-whining...

[Brakie]

I'll have to remember that one. Might come in handy during the next round of price-whining.
-----------------------------------------
One thing I have notice over the years and it still rings true today modeler Tex wants to be the first kid on the block to have the newest model,Billybob bought the same engine but,with DCC/Sound to out do Tex,then jimmyboy jumps in and tries to out do Tex and Billybob by buying all three numbers with DCC/Sound.

Then you know what happens?

Just like you said they complain about the high cost of the hobby.

[riogrande]

For sure! Which is why I have bought so few DCC/Sound units! I try to pace myself and it also means I've had to treasure hunt later cause I couldn't afford everything I wanted when it came out.

[mlrr]

Hahaha,

You know what's funny, I have my own policy where if a model I want is produced with sound, then that is what I purchase (saves me the headache of doing the work myself down the road). There are exceptions in cases where I may have an extra sound decoder laying around in which case I'd purchase the non-sound unit and make the installation myself (As was the case with my KATO, METRA F40).

I will say that if I modeled more freight, I may be a bit more sympathetic given that freight trains are typically long thus "requiring" more rollingstock (I like to model mainline ops). It's literally the price you have to pay to meet your modeling ambitions so I guess it comes to "suck it up" or scale back.

In my case, due to budgetary constraints I have had to delay my expansion of freight equipment to focus on my primary modeling interests (given that freight serves more as a backdrop to my passenger operations).

[atsfan]

Sept 26, 2013 10:42:42 GMT -8 mlehman said:

Sept 26, 2013 9:15:49 GMT -8 markfj said:

SNIP...it’s all relative. Spend wisely and enjoy what you buy.

Words of wisdom there. If we all followed them most of the time, a lot of the price whining on various forums would disappear. Not all, and I understand a little of it, but this hobby seems particularly plagued by a certain crowd that wants to make the rest of us miserable because they have a distorted vision of budgets and costs vs reasonable expectations -- and it's their duty to make their problem everyone else's.

Not to mention so much of it is connected to RTR. It's not RTR per se, I buy plenty myself. It's just that it seems easier to be an "open the box and complain guy" than it is to be a "I built this kit and ran into a problem" person. Lots of the former and very few of the latter. That's telling.

Note I do NOT stigmatize the many collectors and folks who for various reason don't currently have layouts, or may never have layouts for whatever reason. Our hobby takes all kinds. But when I hear someone complain, the first thing I think is, "I'll bet this is about RTR..." Once confirmed, as it so often is, then the bar to whether I take anything said in that discussion very seriously suddenly rises sharply. Make it one of the "usual crowd" with well known tendencies to spend most of their modeling time writing up their latest complaints, but you never see any pictures...well, you get the picture.

Now, if they're always beefing, but you're seeing lots of pics, then OK, maybe that's something I should pay attention to. That's rarest of all.

Just saying...If there ain't pics, it didn't happen.

You have a tremendous amount of holier than though attitude about who and how the hobby should be enjoyed.
Off the chart.
You dont have the stones to do it directly, so here you again slam and trash certain activities and types of hobbyiists in a sly and sideways manner.
But you insult just the same.
I have not seen a more priggish attitude about what makes a Model Railroader acceptable than what you posted.
I missed the announcement where you are the person to set the bar on who is and isnt a serious MOdel railroader.

[Brakie]

atsfan,There is a lot of truth in what Mike said if you understand what he wrote.I've seen the same thing on this and other forums.

[Deleted]

Sept 26, 2013 10:42:42 GMT -8 mlehman said:

Sept 26, 2013 9:15:49 GMT -8 markfj said:

SNIP...it’s all relative. Spend wisely and enjoy what you buy.

Words of wisdom there. If we all followed them most of the time, a lot of the price whining on various forums would disappear. Not all, and I understand a little of it, but this hobby seems particularly plagued by a certain crowd that wants to make the rest of us miserable because they have a distorted vision of budgets and costs vs reasonable expectations -- and it's their duty to make their problem everyone else's.

Not to mention so much of it is connected to RTR. It's not RTR per se, I buy plenty myself. It's just that it seems easier to be an "open the box and complain guy" than it is to be a "I built this kit and ran into a problem" person. Lots of the former and very few of the latter. That's telling.

Note I do NOT stigmatize the many collectors and folks who for various reason don't currently have layouts, or may never have layouts for whatever reason. Our hobby takes all kinds. But when I hear someone complain, the first thing I think is, "I'll bet this is about RTR..." Once confirmed, as it so often is, then the bar to whether I take anything said in that discussion very seriously suddenly rises sharply. Make it one of the "usual crowd" with well known tendencies to spend most of their modeling time writing up their latest complaints, but you never see any pictures...well, you get the picture.

Now, if they're always beefing, but you're seeing lots of pics, then OK, maybe that's something I should pay attention to. That's rarest of all.

Just saying...If there ain't pics, it didn't happen.

I will somewhat disagree with the above statement. A lot of people are not up to posting pictures or could take a picture that others can clearly see.

I believe the reason you see the laundry list of complaints about the RTR models is purely price driven. When a toy train is running an MSRP north of $300, your expectations are a heck of a lot higher than a $20 Athearn blue box GP35 of days of old. Dimensions of the shell SHOULD be correct, like not having the radiator screens too low on the body as was the case on the first run of the Genesis GP9. Tooling of the model should be precise, not like the Intermountain SD40-2W in which the peg on the handrail is a too short for the hole in the step well. You EXPECT the mechanism to be well engineered AND assembled. You don't expect so much lube stuffed in the gear boxes of the trucks its running out and is now all over the inside of the plastic clam shell and all over the model. Such was the case with the last run of the Intermountain SD40-2W. You expect sound chambers to be sealed properly. Such was not the case with the first run of the Genesis SD70Ace.

You EXPECT a level of quality control. You don't expect or will accept blobs of glue all over a shell, mis-drilled holes, poorly assembled models that are so glued together you can't get it apart to fix it yourself. You want smooth drives that are well engineered, not a coffee grinder reminiscent of the old Model Power E9 model. Motors that squeal and grind and bind out of the box, such as in the Athearn "gold standard" is totally unacceptable.

If we were still paying $25 for generic blue box kit locomotives and $4 for blue box freight cars, then complaining about just about anything except severely damaged models is complaining just to hear yourself complain. But, when you've forked out $200-$300 dollars for one locomotive and another $25-$40 for a freight car and $65-$90 for one passenger car.....your expectations are a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle higher than a $25 generic kit locomotive with 40 year old tooling.

[mlehman]

Jim,
I also didn't mean to imply that people who don't take and post pics aren't "serious" hobbyists, either. I was merely noting the correlation between the price-whining tendencies of certain users and the lack of other evidence of work within the hobby. It almost seems like they are paralyzed by fear of not living up to their own standards -- or they are some guy sitting in mom's basement still endlessly reliving the usenet days when you could pretend to be anybody in order to simply rile people up.

Which is not imply that all gripes are connected with this odd pathology, either.

You make many good points about the quality control issues are that people commonly encounter. What I'd like to know is how these examples of the ordinary human imperfections get turned in Model Railroad End of the World As We Know It scenarios? Geez, discuss what you encounter and your experience with customer service, totally legit in my book, but the persistence of Mfg As Incarnate Evil threads because some handrail fell off is a bit over the top.

Now, prototype accuracy, that's a bit different kettle of fish. Yes, people want to know, but let's be realistic if we're here to improve the hobby. The threads with the premise that "If they'd only have asked me, because I'm an XY&ZRR expert..." -- well, unless you've gone to the effort of publishing something easy to find on the internet, giving a clinic or writing an article for a mag or historical society, how the heck is anyone supposed to know of your expertise? And sometimes that "expertise" turns out to be questionable itself, which is why there are the inevitable errors that make it onto the shelves. We're back to human error here again. Stuff happens.

Yeah, if it is a $300 toy, that's what it is. It's where prices are these days, so if you don't like the heat, choose a cooler kitchen -- or simply dial back to where you don't waste a lot of time complaining about it on the internet. If it was $100, would the over the top griping stop? I doubt it would slacken even one bit. To a certain extent, I think it is part of human nature, just that model railroading tends to attract more than its share of people with this affliction. How many of these models could ANY of us build to the level we're generally seeing, barring human error, in the RTR fields these days? Dang few. I know, I've tried. Sometimes it came out darn good and sometimes...ahem, acceptable. Few total failures in my own experience building models, yet when something isn't perfect in the eyes of these people, who have someone else doing the dicey work, it is ALWAYS a total FAIL when that happens.

Some folks are just that way in their expectations of others and that's what I'm talking about -- an imbalance in their lives that seems to leave the hobby as an "abused spouse" that they take their frustration out on. Frankly, I want to "live elsewhere" when that keeps happening, but sometimes I think we also walk on eggshells a bit too much in parsing our words in order not to stir them up -- a sort of Stockholm syndrome on having a reasonable adult conversation so to speak. So this is sort of me getting that off my chest. Thanks, I needed that. I'm just not going to pay attention to people like that any more for my own benefit is all I'm saying. YMMV. They think they're making the hobby better, I guess, but its kind of pathological when you think about it. Each individual critique may be entirely or mostly valid, but WHEN THAT'S ALL THERE IS?

Just saying.

[Brakie]

I will somewhat disagree with the above statement. A lot of people are not up to posting pictures or could take a picture that others can clearly see.
----------------------------------
With today's top line point and shooters and photo bucket that's no longer a issue.Nobody ever said a photo has to be of "magazine quality" before one can post it.

Unlike most I already drew a line on cost coupled to my modeling style.

As I stated earlier my old Athearn BB GP7 will work for my general needs as will my P2K GP7/9s.

The funny part I got 2 P2K GP38-2s for the price of one Genesis GP38-2 and I'm just as happy.

[bnsffan]

I was in the US Navy Submarine Service for 23-years. I encountered a lot of fellow sailors that loved to complain. As a result we had a couple of sayings. "A complaining sailor is a happy sailor." and "The only good duty-station is either the one I came from or the one I am going to." Note: I substituted complaining for the original Navy expression to stay within the forums rules governing colorful language.

I think the so called price whiners are just enjoying the hobby in their on way. Some of us like to build models, others like operations, some like collecting, and others like to whine about prices and predict the end of civilization as they know it.

Respectfully,
BNSF Fan

[jamesbrodie67281]

Gents,
What about using the space in these forums to shew photos of what we are doing, ideas to make the layouts look more realistic, giving a guide as to what we can run in which era. maybe make the eras identified by decades. Workshop tips one of mine was to thread some cotton through coupling springs until they are berthed securely on their spigots..etc...etc.. and so on and ad nauseaum sort of words. My biggest problem is in finding a centre point sort of location where I can plausibly run my AT&SF-SP-WP-PRR and cut off dates for steam engines on these railways like WP I believe was deseaseled in 1953/4 and I like to have roofwalks and mix vintage reefers in with 40 and 50 footers. I'd like to create a model of a railroad from a set period not model a preserved museum railroad where anything goes.nuf sed.
I tend not to buy some of the model railroad magazines but if there is an article which I find interesting then I will get it. We can choose to buy or not to buy . I am out on a limb living in England as many of the offers in the magazines are U.S. mainland only so I really benefit from RAILROAD articles in this forum. Why not create a magazine grumbles section then I can give it a miss and concentrate on the very good articles from fellow modellers......................................So there !
Jim Brodie.

[mlehman]

Oct 3, 2013 17:12:51 GMT -8 bnsffan said:

SNIP
I think the so called price whiners are just enjoying the hobby in their on way. Some of us like to build models, others like operations, some like collecting, and others like to whine about prices and predict the end of civilization as they know it.

Respectfully,
BNSF Fan

BNSF Fan,
I tend to agree. Some people's enjoyment of this hobby does seem to revolve around their public wallowing in misery. Like a lot of behaviors people engage in, I have no problem with them doing so, it's the imposition of it on the rest of us that I see as problematic, especially when there's nothing much positive offered to offset the bitter aftertaste. It's one thing to offer your thoughtful views on a topic. It's quite another to be slopping the toxic brew of "nothing's right" around on the forums and give people the impression we're a bunch of anti-social malcontents.

I don't even have a particular beef with someone being a anti-social malcontent, just that there's a lot more important things to be malcontented about than model trains, where I come to escape the malcontents of the world.

Jim,
I was actually thinking that the folks who just want to rag on everything wrong with the hobby should have their own forum. That way the rest of us can get on with our fun through less-than-perfect modeling without them being a buzzkill. However, since the actual enjoyment they get is from imposing their gloom on the rest of us, I suspect they'll find such a suggestion, as brilliant as it is, disheartening...and we'd sure hate to bring them down, dontyaknow?

[TA462]

Mike, if they had their own forum it would probably be kind of boring. They would agree on everything, lol.

[mlehman]

Oct 6, 2013 5:50:55 GMT -8 TA462 said:

Mike, if they had their own forum it would probably be kind of boring. They would agree on everything, lol.

That's a definite possibility.

The other possibility is that even though it's obvious they agree on most things (mfg's are evil, most model railroaders are ignorant dilettantes not up to their standards, they paid too much for everything they've bought -- and nothing for the things they thought entirely too expensive, their modeling time is better spent at a computer making sure everyone else knows doing things their way is the correct way, etc), but they'll still end up arguing about who is more right.

[TA462]

Your probably right, lolol.