Howdy Everyone,

Thought I’d be a trouble-maker and open up a new debate!

There has been a lot of talk among the usual suspects in my local model train circles of about the death of the local model train shop, along with the shrinking numbers of model railroaders. It’s true that a large number of shops have closed in the last 15 years due to not being able to compete with the “big boys” on the Internet. Some have closed because they ran the shops like it was still the 1960’s and some closed due to retirement of owners. The big model companies have moved their production base to the Far East to take advantage of cheap resources and labour cost. Yet, the price of a mid range HO diesel locomotive cost about $100.00 (non DCC) and the average new rtr rolling stock is around $25.00.
Shipping cost and import duties are starting to take their toll. Most available model trains cater to the Western European & North American markets, with the exception of Australia, Brazil, Japan & China. Yet two countries with a growing middle class with a number of model railroading hobbyist, is Russia and India. There is some Russian model trains available in TT & HO and some Indian O scale tinplate, but the people producing these models are doing it in small numbers.

But I see a future, and it’s in 3d! A new breed of shops, not just for model trains, but all types of models may be taking shape in the next few years. Using computer-generated 3D printing process machines, that build an object with either plastic or resin, a model shop can just build you a locomotive body or freight car in minutes. Wheels, frames & electrics would be stocked and assembled as per locomotive or rolling stock. You just order what you want, what scale and if it's on file on the system, the machine make it. These shops already exist, for the design industry, producing architecture models. I know a modeller in New Jersey who had one of these firms produce detailed scale models of buildings for his HO layout that were not available in HO. There is a firm India that has just started making N scale trains! I've added a like of another firm in Holland who also makes models using this technology:

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and a You tube 3D colour printer video:

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What do you guys think? Dave

The market dictates production. If the expensive equipment sells there is no incentive to produce cheaper alternatives. Most businesses dream about level or increased sales over fewer units. Who doesn't want to make the same (or more!) for less work? I know I would. The simple fact is that the hobby is getting more expensive. I know that I probably won't get to build a gymnasium-size rendition of the Milwaukee Road someday and I'm fine with that. There are many ways to enjoy the hobby and some that fit each skill and price level.

I don't see the hobby dying any time soon because the slow choking death of hobby shops closures.

When we hear of another shop closing the reason is seldom stated-retirement,health issues lost of building lease etc.

As far as high prices there are alternatives if one cares to shop on line instead of paying full MRSP at their LHS and then there's the newer Bachmann that can be had on the cheap.The hobby has seen a growth of smaller layouts and small highly detail ISLs that helps cut the overall layout costs..

Also the hobby isn't as visible as it once was many clubs are either private or operates as a secrete society since they never have a old fashion open house.

You could also argue that Big Blue is a Model Railroad club of sorts albeit a virtual one thanks to the World Wide Web.

If you had said to people even as late as say 1995 that you talk to other modelers all over the world via home computer people would have thought you were crazy.

Now we share thoughts, ideas, techniques and photos/videos on a range of topics and in the various scales that is the broad church of model railroading, in much the same way that a real world club would at a monthly meeting.

In some ways we can have far greater level of involvement because unlike a real world club and the monthly meeting which maybe missed from time to time, Big Blue is open 24/7/365 so if a day or two are missed you can always catch up.

Mark

The "Hobby Is Dying" thing has been going on for as long as I can remember and yet it continues to survive, with more items available now than ever before. In spite of the increasing prices, it sure looks to me like there are far more young people involved in the hobby than most people seem to realize. You need only spend a little time looking on forum's such as Big Blue and many others or look around on YouTube at the hundreds of video's made by model railroader's of all ages, to see what I mean.

I'm often amazed at how many teenagers, who's only source of funds are from Mom and Dad, or young people just starting out working in the real world, that are purchasing $200-$300 DCC/Sound equipped loco's and $25-$50 cars; and more often than not, quite a few of each.

Yes, many LHS's have gone out of business over the past few years and for many different reasons, but that doesn't mean that the hobby is dying by any stretch of the imagination. No, they often can't compete with the on-line big hobby shops, but then many of them have gone belly-up too. Things change.

Bottom line - this fascinating hobby will be around for many, many years to come and it will only get better.

It's more of an evolution, which happens all the time - constantly - whether we like it or not...!

But to Dave's original idea about the "on-demand" models - I think this is a definite direction the hobby could go. No more limited runs, or special orders. Just bring your file to the store and have them print whatever you want. Store stocks only raw materials, so no huge overhead of 1000's of items of inventory. And it doesn't matter what scale, or era, or whether it is a huge factory, or a single figure you want. You pay for a bit of time and material proportionate to the size of the finished product and you are set!

I loved that video of the Z Printer. The architectural models are great! You could get entire towns printed that way, or some 3-d "flats" for backdrops. You might even be able to print your roadbed, turnout ties (like Fasttrack kits, but custom fit or custom curved), or even your landscape!

Interesting indeed!

Andrew

Long-time lurker, first-time poster here (have I really never posted anything on this forum before?...weird)...

One application I'd like to see from the 3-D printing technology is better scale human figures. One of the dead giveaways of a model scene has long been the unrealistic-looking plastic people. The Preiser ones are maybe the most realistic out there now, but even those are often in unnatural postures that don't look realistic. It would be neat if you could dress a real person up in a real engineer outfit (for example), then have them strike a pose for a 3-D scanner, which would use a 3-D printer to replicate their body in HO scale. If the resolution were good enough, it should make for a very realistic figure and you could have a virutually infinite variety of characters and poses.

Dan,

I think the video above said that 2400 dpi was possible with the printer. Even at 600 dpi (good ink jet resolution) it would be a marked improvement.

And Glad you are posting!

Andrew

Mr Fixit Wrote:You could also argue that Big Blue is a Model Railroad club of sorts albeit a virtual one thanks to the World Wide Web.
If you had said to people even as late as say 1995 that you talk to other modelers all over the world via home computer people would have thought you were crazy.
Now we share thoughts, ideas, techniques and photos/videos on a range of topics and in the various scales that is the broad church of model railroading, in much the same way that a real world club would at a monthly meeting.
In some ways we can have far greater level of involvement because unlike a real world club and the monthly meeting which maybe missed from time to time, Big Blue is open 24/7/365 so if a day or two are missed you can always catch up.
Mark

Mark, I like your comment. I've often said that the new technologies that we've enjoyed during the past 15-20 years (i.e. the internet, web forums, email, digital cameras, iPhones, even online auctions, web-based retailers, etc.) has not taken away from this hobby but has greatly added to it.

This has actually been the case for all of my interests & hobbies -- new technology doesn't make my hobbies weaker or less interesting, but does just the opposite!

Rob

stokesda ,( Long-time lurker, first-time poster here......)


As long as I have tools, glue, paint, materials, parts, and am still breathing and moving, here at least there will be model trains.

"As long as I have tools, glue, paint, materials, parts, and am still breathing and moving, here at least there will be model trains."

Ditto!