Not newbie, but back from 6 year hiatus

[NP2626]

I used to spend quite a bit of time here back 6 years ago.

I'm from Norhern Minnesota. Been modeling since 5-6 years old. Had an American Flyer when I was 7-8 years old and got into HO at around 10-2 years old. I also build and fly R/C airplanes.

I love to build models and am more disapointed in this hobby then I was when I left 6 years ago, all the locos and rolling stock kits seem to have disappeared! Athearn and MDC had just been bought by Horizon Hobbies and the kit's they produced where pretty much discontinued. Along came Life Like Proto 2000 and Branchline super detailed kits that I loved and now they seem to have disappeared! What the heck, doesn't anyone build models anymore?

I model the steam to diesal transition era and model Northern Pacific, one of my home roads. Hense the handle N.P. 2626. Need to pick-up a Walthers catalog to see what's available. I probably have way more then enough freight cars for my small layout, I am a 40 foot box car nut. When I would see a train while growing up, they would be miles and miles of 40 footers in Tuscan and B.C. red.

It's all about having fun and so far I am!

Mark

 

[IronBeltKen]

Welcome back! I feel your pain, I've had to take a semi-hiatus from the hobby myself during the past few years. Money challenges [kids in college] and I wasn't sure what my job situation was. But I'm just about back to the same level of MRR activity I originally was at.

I agree it seems like it's becoming more of a "rich man's hobby" with the disappearance of kits and the proliferation of pricey, ultra-detailed, advance-order locomotive models. But on a positive note, Bachmann has been improving their line quite a bit and offering no-frills motive power at relatively low prices - you just need to add some of the details yourself. IMHO they've pretty much become the modern-day equivalent of what Athearn Blue-box locos were in the 1970s-80s.