Model railways too expensive?
Is modern RTR festooned with bits you are terrified will fall off?
Do you just want to run some trains?
Well, I have a solution. Go for old models. I spent last Saturday as a guest of the Hornby Railway Collectors Association, and the prices this stuff goes for is amazing. And I mean amazing cheap.
Six tidy, tinplate with clear windows coaches? £24. Or the price of one OO wagon.
The thing is, there is a shrinking demand for old models, and more and more popping up for sale thanks to the owners passing away.
Despite this, watching even tinplate trains trundle by is still a joy. You can even service the things with a minimal toolkit, something tough to do with modern models.
Am I mad thinking like this?
Absolutely not, Phil. It makes complete sense. My own layout is built and stocked almost entirely with secondhand stuff, very much along the lines promoted by Budget Model Railways. Which is not great news for most of the advertisers in the magazine's for which you write!
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary. The biggest advertisers are the one's dealing in second hand models. Manufacturers take very small adverts, generally no more than a page each.
ReplyDeleteWith locos at £200+ I find it difficult to justify buying them, so I wait for bargains or close to mint secondhand.
ReplyDeleteNo, not at all! With the economic times we find ourselves in, new RTR is surely set to cost astronomical prices before too long? For enthusiasts, the second-hand market could become a happy hunting ground. Consumerism is so last-century… ;-)
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