O Scale Trains Magazine Online
O Scale Trains Magazine Online
O Scale Trains Magazine Online
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ecause that was the norm during those<br />
days. Remember Eric Stevens “Dollar Car”<br />
projects? Or brass locomotives built at the<br />
“kitchen table” using a hand rotary drill<br />
to turn domes and stacks? Even electronic<br />
throttles were scratchbuilt as evidenced by<br />
the numerous articles in Model Railroader<br />
and Railroad Model Craftsman. I built a<br />
couple of these, they worked, and I don’t<br />
know anything about electronics! But the<br />
philosophy is different now. “Why build it<br />
when I can buy it already made?” There<br />
are certainly more model products out<br />
there now than there ever was when we<br />
were younger and probably a little more<br />
affordable with today’s personal incomes<br />
than it used to be.<br />
But still, scratchbuilding and “doing it<br />
all” has slowly drifted away from what it<br />
once was. Most everything I have is built<br />
from scratch with only a few kits and they<br />
are usually modified in some respect. I have<br />
written a few published articles on some of<br />
my projects but I suspect, broadly speaking,<br />
that the majority of modelers today are not<br />
much interested in the details of carving<br />
brass and styrene for a complete model or<br />
the research involved in getting the details<br />
right. It’s a new generation!<br />
Enjoyed your editorial on O <strong>Scale</strong> Generations,<br />
Brian! It was well said.<br />
Tom Mix , Capt. USMC ret.,<br />
Monument, Colo.<br />
Brian writes: I can agree with Tom’s<br />
comments, with a few more of my own<br />
of course. There’s another component<br />
to this that needs be brought out. As an<br />
example, I still have the first locomotive<br />
I ever scratchbuilt (It’s awful, and it isn’t<br />
for sale at any price!) I built it under the<br />
tutelage of some of the old prewar crowd,<br />
now long gone. From their perspective, my<br />
use of decals was a sacrilege! Why didn’t I<br />
hand-letter it, the way it was supposed to<br />
be done?<br />
Simple. Decals were available to me,<br />
but not to them in their formative years. I<br />
regarded decals as an available tool; they<br />
regarded them as a cop-out. The generation<br />
behind me doesn’t have to scratchbuild<br />
or modify everything like I did. Now<br />
their available ready-to-run stuff becomes<br />
my cop-out. We scratchbuilt, first from<br />
necessity, and then (after we got good at<br />
it) for pleasure. That first locomotive was<br />
not fun. It wasn’t even satisfying. It was,<br />
however, very formative. These young<br />
hard-chargers come from a different set of<br />
formatives, so the perspectives are different<br />
yet honestly held. I can respect that.<br />
BF&M<br />
Baldwin Forge & Machine<br />
Box 5, Baldwin MD 21013<br />
How can we help you? Custom machine<br />
work, 3-R to 2-R conversions for steam,<br />
diesel or electric. Driver castings<br />
machined. General repairs to O <strong>Scale</strong> locomotives.<br />
Call Joe, evenings 7 to 9 PM.<br />
410-592-5275 or rrjjf@aol.com<br />
FOX HOLLOW MINING Co.<br />
set on flat<br />
surface or<br />
mountain<br />
side, fully<br />
detailed<br />
loading<br />
bays.<br />
KIT #404<br />
First in<br />
a series<br />
of companion<br />
building.<br />
Laser cut wood. Designed for easy assembly.<br />
Footprint: 23"L x 11"W<br />
M DEL TECH, Inc.<br />
for the SERIOUS modeler<br />
X 15"H. MORE INFO CALL<br />
7289 WESTFIELD ROAD<br />
MEDINA, OHIO 44256<br />
PHONE 800 264-9845<br />
July/Aug ’06 - O <strong>Scale</strong> <strong>Trains</strong> • 31