I've been plugging away with this blog for 6 years and all of a sudden have been offered some free stuff. A gentleman called Tommy George got in touch, said some nice things about the blog and then hit me with this:
I work for a company called Idealo, a price comparison website who, amongst other things, compare the prices of model railways, trains and accessories. While the area is something of a niche, we are trying to expand our knowledge and prominence in this area; something which we'd love for you to help us with.
A price comparison site for model railways, trains and accessories ? Blimey, that really is a niche business ! Cudos for taking the time to go hunting for model making blogs and supporting them though.
Using the site seems a bit eBay to me. You drill down through categories and find products at the end. It doesn't matter where these are coming from, the site handles that bit, you concentrate on looking for the item you are after. In web terms, this is the correct way to go and fits in nicely with usability geeks thoughts on the "scent of information". Every step takes you closer to your goal and as long as you feel you are on the right path, you'll stick with it. Unlike eBay, you can just buy the stuff at the end rather than hanging around waiting to be outbid by someone with 1 second to go.
Anyway, we converse a bit and I end up with a voucher to go shopping with. Initial thoughts involved buying a train set. Neil Rusby did just this when made the same offer. However, this is a blog about making things, not buying train sets so I took the opportunity to hunt for a few projects. Like Neil, I've gone for things that I wouldn't normally consider. Well, most of them anyway.There's dream project in there and I'm showcasing the breadth of product available.
Over the last week, packages of good things have been landing on my doorstep and over the next week, I'll take a look at each one to give some initial impressions. Look out for them then appearing in a more detailed build over the next few months among the other stuff. Rest assured that I have spent the moeny, so I can say what I like !
Idealo price comparison website
Incidentally, Neil did a bit of comparison with Google Shopping and the results seem to be in favour of Idealo for price. I looked in a similar way and was more impressed with the range on offer including several manufacturers I'd not seen before. Maybe I just need to get out more, or maybe this sort of window shopping is just the thing to start you off in a fresh direction if your modelling has gone stale.
Model railway section of Idealo
2 comments:
I am glad to see your blogging paying off. You should definitely see it as a reward for your hard work (6 years... I have only been at it a short time... not sure if I will make 6 years of it)
As for getting a voucher... I think you're absolutely right. This is the perfect opportunity to try something you've never done, or to tackle something that seemed out of reach.
I recently got a lot of gift cards, and though I could have used them on a bunch of small things, I decided to jump in an tackle something that I have wanted to do for a long time (the complete Scenic Ridge kit in N scale.--My previous attempts at railroading never got past the initial stage and I an need to upgrade my skills before I tackle something too large again.)
I hope your project goes well and keep up the blogging.
Wow, didn't know Revell made a 1/25 scale T25. Wonder if one of those would fit on the spare USA Trains power block I have? Would make a nice and quick garden project - Roumanian forest railway style - might have to look out for one! Shame it looks like the water cooled type but guess I can't have everything.
If it worked out I could try a 1:1 version with our van...
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