Cost of Modelling

[south_tyne]

9 hours ago, The Johnster said:

Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice.

 

That's what it all boils down to. This hobby is a broad church with room for many different approaches, all of which are equally valid, from the most basic train set to the most epic layouts based slavishly on prototypes. 

 

I enjoyed your explanation of your own layout and the type and variety of stock it needs. I can still get enjoyment from my solitary loco and handful of wagons. At the moment that is all that my finances and personal circumstances will allow but I am happy with that.

 

Each of us will only spend what we are able to. This is what makes for such variety in the scale, scope, nature and type of modelling we see on RM Web. That is only a good thing in my opinion.  After all, it would be a boring world if we were all the same.

[rob D2]

Surely it depends how many hours enjoyment you get out of each item to work out the actual cost ?

Im counting how much my new plank layout costs to make just to see what I spend.

 

So far I’m up to over £600 and that’s just the boards ,track, cork and half the point motors.....but it’s kept me sound stuff on it since December so far .

[south_tyne]

10 hours ago, rob D2 said:

Surely it depends how many hours enjoyment you get out of each item to work out the actual cost ?

Im counting how much my new plank layout costs to make just to see what I spend.

 

So far I’m up to over £600 and that’s just the boards ,track, cork and half the point motors.....but it’s kept me sound stuff on it since December so far .

 

Agreed.

 

I apply this more so to my two other hobbies mind. Firstly I am a musician and paid a couple of thousand pounds for my current instrument around five years ago, which was a substantial and very carefully considered outlay. However, I practice every day for 1-2 hours, and have done since I purchased it. So in sheer pounds to minutes of enjoyment/use terms it will work out as pennies and will have more than paid for itself by the time I come to replace it. 

 

Similarly with my season ticket for the football. I get so much enjoyment out of it, not always the action on the pitch but the social aspect, the routines and the time spent with my dad. Similarly as a ratio of pounds to minutes I feel I can fully justify that annual outlay. 

 

Many folk here will be able to apply that to their modelling. I do not so much, hence having only a small amount of stock. Then again I don't spend as much 'time' utilising it as I do with my other two interests above. Added to that, the sheer cost of O gauge means that every purchase is very carefully considered  and justified. However, I still get an awful lot of enjoyment from my modelling hobby. 

[Colin_McLeod]

Railway modelling need not be that expensive. All one needs is a good armchair and internet connection! 

[BlackRat]

Yesterday.........

 

Bought a packet of 7 white metal figures, three (unboxed) new Bachman wagons, a GWR wagon kit (Coopercraft) and a EFE bus ( boxed).

 

All will be repainted, couplings changed, the bus hacked and cut into its smaller brother.

 

Quite a fair bitof work, should keep me busy for a week or two.

 

£20 the lot.

 

Hobby value......£1 an hour or less seems pretty good to me.

Edited March 3, 2019 by BlackRat

[Derekl]

On 28/02/2019 at 17:43, WIMorrison said:

If you were earning £14000 per year in 1963 then you would be in the top 1% of the top 1%

 

the average wage was ~£800 per annum in 1963 which allowing for inflation would be around ~£17k per annum now therefore wages have kept ahead of inflation.

 

the average salary last year for men was ~£33k last year and ~£24k for women

 

Yes, if you were earning £14,000 per annum in 1963 you would be in the top 1%, which is why I said that the the average wage rate in 1963 updated to today's values would be £14,000. So please read the post properly before making smart ass comments.

 

I don't think it is very important, but the figure for annual average earnings is from the Annual Survey of Hours and earnings and was £28,677 for full time employees.

 

 

Edited March 3, 2019 by Derekl
Clarify reply

[WIMorrison]

 

@Derekl

 

If you read my post you will see that is it 100% accurate -  had you earned £14000 pa in 1963 then you would have been in the top 1% of the top 1%, that is indisputable. It is also indisputable that £14000 pa equates to ~£675 pa in 1963, not the average annual salary in 1963 of ~£800 that I quoted.

 

You will also see that the average of ~£28k is the mid point of the male and female annual salaries that I quoted.

 

All in all, nothing wrong with my post, just simple statements of fact, now you may not like that but that's the way it is

Edited March 3, 2019 by WIMorrison
because i can edit it :)

[johnarcher]

18 hours ago, rob D2 said:

Surely it depends how many hours enjoyment you get out of each item to work out the actual cost ?

 

Yes, that is surely the point of a hobby?

Actually I suppose that equation is at its highest point in the case of how a lot of people modelled in the mid'60's (or, for instance, Jim Read's cardboard modelling now), where a fairly small outlay on bits and materials produced/produces many hours of, first, enjoyment through model-making and then enjoyment through use.

[Andy Hayter]

I am becoming more than a little dismayed by the need for some to justify their hobby on the basis of what it costs them per hour of enjoyment.

 

People who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

[Ross34]

People can spend as much as they want .. as long as it doesn't negatively effect me I don't give a monkeys. I get a bit tired of folks telling me how much they've paid for a "limited edition" or how much they've earned selling a rare model.. who really cares?

 

I'm afraid I'll never understand the "collector" mindset .. that seems like a bit of a waste of money to me..but hey ho.

 

I buy stock to populate a layout..and when i have enough I stop.

I'll buy modelling material to build a project ..although having said that if I can foresee some things are going to get scarce I'll buy more than I need - Grandt Line or Campbell Scale Models stuff is an example.

 

For a new project I'll reuse what I have or sell to finance new stuff. If nothing else, I haven't got the room to stockpile redundant models.

[johnarcher]

2 hours ago, Andy Hayter said:

I am becoming more than a little dismayed by the need for some to justify their hobby on the basis of what it costs them per hour of enjoyment.

 

People who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

I see what you mean, but on the other hand if you've not got a lot of money it can maybe be agreeable to think you got a lot of hours of pleasurable modelling for not too much outlay.

[Philou]

@Ross34,

 

Well, I suppose I would be classed as a collector as I collect but have no layout for the time being. I have far too much for what I really need but I shan't be selling on. It won't be redundant as the inevitable 'Rule 1' applies. Don't ask me why I buy what I do as I don't really know. I expect it's a hangover from when I was young and there wasn't much money about and now retired there's more disposable income and plenty of 'pretty pretty' on the shelves.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[TheSignalEngineer]

You can get a lot of years for your money out of some of those in the Hatton's advert. My Hornby Dublo 3-rail GWR Pannier is still in full working order nearly 60 years on.

 

When you compare it to my other activities such as mountain bikes I could go out and and buy a half decent full suspension type which will match the limits of my ability for about the same as a third of the class of duchesses, analogue with no sound. Then of course there is all the clothing, tools, spares that are essential for doing a bit of hard core riding.

[Ross34]

11 minutes ago, Philou said:

@Ross34,

 

Well, I suppose I would be classed as a collector as I collect but have no layout for the time being. I have far too much for what I really need but I shan't be selling on. It won't be redundant as the inevitable 'Rule 1' applies. Don't ask me why I buy what I do as I don't really know. I expect it's a hangover from when I was young and there wasn't much money about and now retired there's more disposable income and plenty of 'pretty pretty' on the shelves.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

If you enjoy it Phil - go for it - its your money.

And don't get me wrong - I'm tempted by lots of products I'll never need - even in scales I don't model in!

 

Actually, my main hobby is gardening - my mates think I'm mad spending hundreds of pounds on trees or on flower show tickets...and I'm a real sucker for terracotta pots and vintage garden furniture (my wife cringes when I tell her what I pay for a "plant pot")

 

[Nearholmer]

Ah, so you do understand the "collector mentality", but in regard old flower pots, rather than old toy trains.

 

 

Edited March 3, 2019 by Nearholmer

[Philou]

@TheSignalEngineer,

 

I never realised bikes could be expensive! My pseudo son-in-law is a 'biker' - £14k for his latest lightweight one!!!! I keep thinking that with that money, my future layout could be one helluva one!! He enjoys his hobby but just doesn't 'get' trains whereas his stepson - my stepgrandson - loves them and doesn't really enjoy biking that much.

 

Each his own - eh?

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[robmcg]

On 26/02/2019 at 06:29, griffgriff said:

’ .... although it’s a shame I’m never going to be able to finance Clapham Junction in 7mm...I

 

Griff

 

Now there's a thought.  Aim high, and attend courses on positive thinking...      about a dozen cliches come to mind.

[south_tyne]

8 hours ago, Ross34 said:

People can spend as much as they want .. as long as it doesn't negatively effect me I don't give a monkeys. 

 

 

Surely it is if it doesn't negatively affect them or their family which is the vital thing? I cannot see how a strangers financial outlay would affect you....  

 

I would hate to think anyone was spending money on toy trains at the expense of the important things in life, such as food, accommodation, heating etc and, as a result, neglecting themselves or the ones they love.

 

6 hours ago, johnarcher said:

I see what you mean, but on the other hand if you've not got a lot of money it can maybe be agreeable to think you got a lot of hours of pleasurable modelling for not too much outlay.

 

Very true. If disposable income is very limited then each purchase relating to a hobby, whether that is model railways or something else, has to be very carefully considered and justified. I know I must certainly weigh up how much use I would get out of an item before committing funds towards it. For instance, I simply couldn't justify buying a loco if it spent 360 days of the year in its box and I only for it out to 'play' with a handful of times a year. 

 

It's why I am very much a quality over quantity person when it comes to modelling. Pf course if disposable income is not so much of a concern then this kind of decision and mindset is less likely to come into play. 

[Ross34]

16 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Ah, so you do understand the "collector mentality", but in regard old flower pots, rather than old toy trains.

 

 

err.. no.

 

I buy nice pots to put plants in not to collect them .. if I've no plants I wont buy a pot  - nice tho they are.

[Ross34]

12 hours ago, south_tyne said:

 

Surely it is if it doesn't negatively affect them or their family which is the vital thing? I cannot see how a strangers financial outlay would affect you....  

 

 

 

I was being general ..or you're taking me too literally..

 

I meant if it doesn't harm anybody else so what.

 

Edited March 4, 2019 by Ross34

[Nearholmer]

So, you are saying that you collect plants?

 

Or, are they all essential?

 

 

Edited March 4, 2019 by Nearholmer

[Ross34]

27 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

So, you are saying that you collect plants?

 

Or, are they all essential?

 

 

Hmm..I'm not too sure where you're going with this, but in answer to your questions..

 

No, I don't "collect" plants..and the only plants (or pots) that are "essential" (?) are the ones I need for a particular project. (If I do have extras its to cover deaths or to give the owner of the garden more choice or even if I change my mind)

 

 

[Nearholmer]

I’m just pulling your leg, Ross.

 

My thinking being that, deep inside nearly everyone, or at least nearly every man, there lurks at least a tiny bit of the “collector mindset”, generally carefully concealed behind all sorts of pretexts and justifications that seek to turn that tiny bit of accumulating non-utilitarian items into something else.

 

[Ross34]

37 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

I’m just pulling your leg, Ross.

 

My thinking being that, deep inside nearly everyone, or at least nearly every man, there lurks at least a tiny bit of the “collector mindset”, generally carefully concealed behind all sorts of pretexts and justifications that seek to turn that tiny bit of accumulating non-utilitarian items into something else.

 

Ah sorry bout that..

 

And to be fair, I'm currently sat in my modelling shed surrounded by all sorts of bits n bobs I've collected over the years..which if I'm being honest I'll probably never use or build. ...so you might have a point. 

[TheSignalEngineer]

21 hours ago, Philou said:

@TheSignalEngineer,

 

I never realised bikes could be expensive! My pseudo son-in-law is a 'biker' - £14k for his latest lightweight one!!!! I keep thinking that with that money, my future layout could be one helluva one!! He enjoys his hobby but just doesn't 'get' trains whereas his stepson - my stepgrandson - loves them and doesn't really enjoy biking that much.

 

Each his own - eh?

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

My wife's latest mountain bike doesn't go out for solo rides, she takes an old cheaper one. I have to ride shotgun when the best one comes out.

I added up that my 40 locos, 70 coaches and 180 wagons probably set me back about as much as the new bike.