Hobby Shops in Tough Times

[Will_Annand]

I know what you mean, in my shop, I specialize in vehicles, people, structures, details and scenery.

There is a shop in the next town (30km away) who specializes in motive power and rolling stock. He gets in anything that features a Canadian road name. The last time we chatted he was saying it is unbelievable how anal people are getting about the prototype. He says he has guys ordering product, then bitching at him because the manufacturer did not make it "right". Wrong style of headlight, grab irons in the wong place, vents not positioned exactly right.

Personally, my layout is set circa 1900, on a line with very few photos available. To me as long as it gives the "feel" of the era, it will work. No sense being anal and counting rivets, I want to run trains and have fun.

The other factor hit on here too is that creativity seems to have taken a back seat to RTR. In all facets. I did a clinic on Scenery at a local train show. Told how you can dry coffee grounds, colour sawdust, make your own ground foam. I showed how for less than $3.00 I filled two 4L plastic Ice cream containers with ground foam and it took me less than an hour.

After the clinic two guys came up and asked why I was wasting time on making that stuff when Woodland Scenics was selling it for only $10.00 a jar. I tried to point out that I had made 4 jars worth for less than $3.00 but their arguement was, yeah but you wasted an hour. Sometimes I can't figure people out.