Are Australian model trains in HO Scale becoming too detailed?
It’s an interesting question that popped up yesterday when I got together with two other Aussie modellers here in Hervey Bay. It’s the first time this loner has come in from the cold in over 10 years and it’s the first time in those 10 years that I’ve taken a good look at some of the current offerings from three of the top manufacturers.
I have to say that I was amazed at the level of detail that’s now appearing on locos and rolling stock from Austrains, Powerline and Eureka. Ten years ago much of what appears to be common today was only being applied by those who really wanted to get into super-detailing.
Brake hoses, doors that opened, hatches and hopper doors that opened, brake hangers, rear-view mirrors, antennas and a quite a few other bits and pieces really caught my eye and almost made me want to go back to HO. But then one of the guys I was with asked me an interesting question.
He asked me if I thought perhaps we were going too far with the detail on the locos and rolling stock. He asked me if I had models like that would I ever let my grandkids play with them and I had to admit that, never mind my grandkids, I wasn’t prepared to touch these models myself.
He then asked me another interesting question. By adding all this wonderful detail and then not being prepared to let our kids or grandkids play with the models have we reached the point where we’ll never attract younger people to the hobby?
Looking at the prices of what’s basically a plastic model I have to wonder if we’re not pricing new people out of the hobby. And frankly, I can see some things that might be more beneficial than all that detail.
How about directional lighting? It’s not rocket science and it’s not expensive. Slightly above entry-level N Scale locomotives were being produced with directional lighting 15 years ago and yet today we have the Eureka Garrat that doesn’t have directional lighting.
How about operating tail lights in the guard’s vans instead of having doors that vibrate open?
Operating roof hatches and hopper doors are amazing but who bothers to open and close them? Wouldn’t more realistically painted bogies be better than ones that look cheap and plastic because they’ve been cast in yellow?
Somewhere along the way I think the hobby has been shunted off into a very long siding that’s going to finish up going no where. Instead of producing models that are going to keep on developing more and more demand in an expanding marketplace the manufacturers seem to be trying to out-do one another with details that appeal to an ever diminishing market.