12-09-2009, 02:28 PM
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Andrew
Andrew
12-09-2009, 02:28 PM
12-10-2009, 11:59 AM
It's impressive, but it's not my kind of modeling. The owner has nothing of himself on display except to claim to be the "inspiration." I call this sort of thing "trophy" modeling.
I prefer to display my own modest efforts...not to mention I don't have millions to spend that way, and I wouldn't if I did. Too many worthwhile causes that supersede that level of personal indulgence.
If I were rich - like that will ever happen 8-) - I might go so far as to hire someone to teach me the skills I lacked, so that I could go further in my own modeling efforts.
I prefer to display my own modest efforts...not to mention I don't have millions to spend that way, and I wouldn't if I did. Too many worthwhile causes that supersede that level of personal indulgence.
If I were rich - like that will ever happen 8-) - I might go so far as to hire someone to teach me the skills I lacked, so that I could go further in my own modeling efforts.
12-10-2009, 01:14 PM
MountainMan Wrote:It's impressive, but it's not my kind of modeling. The owner has nothing of himself on display except to claim to be the "inspiration." I call this sort of thing "trophy" modeling.
I prefer to display my own modest efforts...not to mention I don't have millions to spend that way, and I wouldn't if I did. Too many worthwhile causes that supersede that level of personal indulgence.
If I were rich - like that will ever happen 8-) - I might go so far as to hire someone to teach me the skills I lacked, so that I could go further in my own modeling efforts.
I agree, This hobby was built on making your own, doing your own layout. I wouldn't want someone to take it away from me to just run a train around the tracks...
Like Tim Allen said on Home Improvement once "If you didn't build it, it's not really yours"
12-10-2009, 02:42 PM
I remember reading in an issue of MRR last year about Rod Stewart's layout. Rod in the article comments about having help building the layout, but scratch building or kit bashing most of the skyscrapers and structures himself even when he is on tour. He indicated that a friend of his was building refinery for him however he didn't want that to become a habit.
12-10-2009, 03:16 PM
I think just about everyone on this forum derives satisfaction from creating their own layout. That's why we're here! The people who purchase the services of the company profiled in the video may not feel the need to build but they do want to run trains. I'm sure they enjoy their custom built layouts very much. I'm impressed with the work shown, particularly the layout with the commuter train running near a river. I wouldn't mind getting a tour of that one! Which Fortune 500 CEO do you suppose that belongs to? 
Ralph
Ralph
12-10-2009, 03:23 PM
I think that it just shows the variety of ways one might enjoy the hobby. In my opinion, having a layout built is not really much different a concept than buying a ready-to-run loco. Perhaps the enjoyment comes from running/operating the trains, or building and displaying a collection, rather than carpentry/electrical and other skills required to start from an empty room.
Andrew
Andrew
12-11-2009, 12:56 AM
I think the underlying idea is that working for a company which would build layouts might be a pretty fun job. At least until you realize you have to part with all your creations as soon as they are finished.
But buying a finished layout...no thank you. Makes it all the less surprising that 'used' or 'finished' layouts are often rather scrapped than resold.
But buying a finished layout...no thank you. Makes it all the less surprising that 'used' or 'finished' layouts are often rather scrapped than resold.
12-11-2009, 11:11 AM
I might be a little more excited about this, but I can't shake the feeling that in some way, I paid for it!
I guess it's because I think of myself as a model builder, not necessarily a model railroader. For me, the hobby is building, and the "layout", is a display case......and I always build my own display cases.
"If I were rich, I might go so far as to hire someone to teach me the skills I lacked, so that I could go further in my own modeling efforts."
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
In many ways I'm happier that I'm not rich. If I had been, I probably still wouldn't be able to build anything. I'd just buy it!
I'm not a teacher, I never got the education, and certification, to be a teacher. I was, however, an instructor. I came to understand, in the three years that I "taught", that no one can "teach" someone to do something........the someone has to learn, or not.
If anyone wants to go further in their modeling skills, they have to do, fail, and do it over, as many times as it takes to learn it.
Skills are learned by doing, and perfection is never achieved. We can become very good at, and our works can be admired and praised, but we can never reach perfection............so failure is, in truth, a "teacher", and we can only be as good as we work towards being.
Praise, can be an incentive to work harder, because it only lasts for the moment, and gets harder to receive each time. We have to work harder, to get the praise the next time..........and we have to risk not getting it in order to be driven to improve. We have to risk having our egos bruised, by showing what we have done, to get the praise we seek. That risk, becomes greater as we begin to see "competition" in the works of others, which leads to.....OK you can do that better than I can, but if you can do that, it can be done, so I can strive to achieve that level..............and again......and again.....and again. Each time raising our own level of ability, and accomplishment.
Think about what we lose, when we are "rich enough" to buy it all. My riches, are the skills and abilities I have gained from doing, failing, and doing again, until I got it right.
Learning, is living. I'll know when I'm dead, because I won't be learning any more.
I guess it's because I think of myself as a model builder, not necessarily a model railroader. For me, the hobby is building, and the "layout", is a display case......and I always build my own display cases.
"If I were rich, I might go so far as to hire someone to teach me the skills I lacked, so that I could go further in my own modeling efforts."
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
In many ways I'm happier that I'm not rich. If I had been, I probably still wouldn't be able to build anything. I'd just buy it!
I'm not a teacher, I never got the education, and certification, to be a teacher. I was, however, an instructor. I came to understand, in the three years that I "taught", that no one can "teach" someone to do something........the someone has to learn, or not.
If anyone wants to go further in their modeling skills, they have to do, fail, and do it over, as many times as it takes to learn it.
Skills are learned by doing, and perfection is never achieved. We can become very good at, and our works can be admired and praised, but we can never reach perfection............so failure is, in truth, a "teacher", and we can only be as good as we work towards being.
Praise, can be an incentive to work harder, because it only lasts for the moment, and gets harder to receive each time. We have to work harder, to get the praise the next time..........and we have to risk not getting it in order to be driven to improve. We have to risk having our egos bruised, by showing what we have done, to get the praise we seek. That risk, becomes greater as we begin to see "competition" in the works of others, which leads to.....OK you can do that better than I can, but if you can do that, it can be done, so I can strive to achieve that level..............and again......and again.....and again. Each time raising our own level of ability, and accomplishment.
Think about what we lose, when we are "rich enough" to buy it all. My riches, are the skills and abilities I have gained from doing, failing, and doing again, until I got it right.
Learning, is living. I'll know when I'm dead, because I won't be learning any more.
12-12-2009, 12:26 PM
I gotta agree with you, man!! Some very valuable lessons for us all! My wife and I may start writing and editing a series of articles on how to teach someone to learn. Don't be afraid to teach someone else what you know. Even if they become more successful than you are, you will have played an important role in helping them achieve that level of success. That is one of the many things in life I enjoy most: teaching someone to do something they hadn't been able to do, before. I'm not highly educated, but what I do know, I'm willing to share with others!