Lou N posted:Mike D posted:I don't know if the craftsman/DIY modeler days will ever come back. Most folks these days seem to want to buy something and run it. It's getting difficult to find an LHS for many. The options for railroad color hobby paint is getting worse also. Most young people I know, my kids included, aren't into making things. I also agree with the hobby becoming too expensive. I think that combined with the fact that a lot of young people don't seem interested in trains these days means that we may be entering a downturn in the model train hobby. It was a ghost town at the local train show last month. There were a couple of dealers that came from several hours away that pulled the plug early and bailed just an hour into the second day of the show.
I agree that the difficulty is finding a LHS for paint, glue and stripwood. Reasonably priced plastic trucks would be nice also.
Last weekend there was the local NMRA show at the county fairgrounds (Cleveland). I did not go but was told there was no paint to be had.
Lou N
Watch youtube .all the paint colors in the world are at Michaels , Hobby Lobby , Walmart .89-1.29 2 oz craft acrylics . Future floor shine liquid , Walmart 3.89 The paints can be applied with a sponge in light coats for freight cars then seal with the future floor gloss with a brush , self leveling , dries rock hard apply decals and seal . overspray with dullcote by testors followed with a hair dryer . So many painting vids on YT by guys painting models cars , museum quality , Harbor freight $20 air brush , a gallon of windshield washer fluid to thin the paint and clean air brush , cleans so good don't even need to take apart . Even vids on YT on how to improve the cheapo airbrushes . Guy on e_ ay K4 who sells all kinds of decals for $6.95 , tons of bargain cars . Easily stripped in alcohol from the dollar store to the bare plastic. Create your own cars . Whats wrong with O guage is every persons trains and layouts look the same cause you all buy the same stuff , same buildings . You can build buildings out of cereal boxes and order laser cut windows from Rusty Stumps or plastic from Grandt Line . Not one layout is hardly different than the next and FASTRACK , is so fake looking and loud , the rails are not even shaped like the real thing . Manufacturers keep using old molds with new road names over and over . Wiseman on e_ay has tons of detail parts . The more you make your own the easier it gets and when someone sees your layout it doesn't look like every layout in every issue of magazines . And you have a cool layout , nothing looks dumber than a string of buildings like MTH and Woodland scenics just like everyone else . Go out take photos , bring a tape measure , make a local building from scratch over a week or 2 , better than watching TV propaganda and dumber reality shows that are nothing close to reality .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bbHTLgPXaM painting with cheap paints
