Large Scale Central

Toy train versus realistic

That thread about the PIKO starter set got me thinking.

I have to admit to having mixed feeling on this. On the one hand, I love to see the work of people who do really realistic modeling. It’s extremely impressive and you also have to educate yourself in how locomotives actually work and on what the little “fiddly bits” actually do. You need to think about how wear happens and what it looks like. It’s a lot of fun and there’s something pleasurable about getting it right. Properly sized trains on properly gaged track just look “right,” and even people who don’t care see it and notice unconsciously. I’ll probably drift that way over time

On the other, it’s a miniature imitation of a train, it’s not a train. Perfect imitation is boring–psychologists who study visual perception say that what catches the eye and holds the attention is the difference between imitation and reality–things are interesting when they are “not quite like” the original. My wife tends to like trains that are “cute,” and what she means is that they are like but not like the original; they’re cute in the way a caricature is cute and holds the eye–it’s “just like”/not like the original Or there’s the dreaded “wow” factor–stuff is (so Lewis claims) more visually appealing when it’s out of scale. I can see what he means although I’m always wishing I’d gone with 1:32

I’m new at this and my layout includes a lot of code 332 track and 1:29 stock, so the realism horse has already left the barn. But I tend to run a mix of styles–some relatively more “realistic” and prototypical stuff and some more toy like stuff. It’s interesting to watch who likes what. Some people love the 1:29 mainline stock, some people are just delighted when the more cartoonish (and I mean that in a good way) LGB stock rolls out.

That PIKO set is cartoonish, but I imagine it will draw people in

I always get a chuckle out of people who insist that 1:32 is the only “true” scale to use for Gauge 1 track, then go ahead and use Code 332 brass track. Someone once said that Code 332 scales out at something like 152 lb rail, far heavier than anything currently in use. Also, 45 mm track is about 2% too wide to be “true scale.” So, even 1:32 proportion is “toy like.” :lol: And small.

I guess the time has finally come for Proto 29. (Tongue firmly in my cheek.)

Steve Featherkile said:
… Also, 45 mm track is about 2% too wide to be “true scale.” So, even 1:32 proportion is “toy like.” :lol: And small. I guess the time has finally come for Proto 29. (Tongue firmly in my cheek.)

Proper scale would be 1:31.88, which is 0.3% off the mark. And the other way around the 45mm should really be 44.84mm. i.e. the 45mm is again 0.3% off the mark. When you factor in the “ten foot rule” it is absolutely blooming perfect.

(http://www.rhb-grischun.ca/F-PIX//icon_tc.gif)

Hey Steve, did you major in math or in calculus? :stuck_out_tongue: :smiley: PS I can hardly wait for the Proto29!

I majored in exaggeration.

Don’t hold your breath on the Proto29. I’m happy with what I have. I’ll let the rivet counters go down that path.

I didn’t take the calculus, the calculus took me! :lol: I got through the first two semesters wit a B, then, mid-way through the third semester of the calculus, my brain fell out on the floor with a splat, ending any fantasy of becoming a mathematician.

If it looks “Used” to me then it tends to look more real. New shiny stuff doesn’t seem at all realistic to me. Even a locomotive freshly scrubbed off the shop floor still has a used appearance. Dent’s dings, scratches, bits of rust here and there. But as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As for the cute stuff, there was plenty of that in the real world. Plus I lean more toward the early steam era, too. Steam locos have more charactor to me than a diesel.

I haven’t seen a model railroad yet that didn’t have at least some small compromise with reality – and usually, several compromises. Even the finest finescale layouts usually have curves tighter than most prototypes. Or inaccurate scenery, or some other discrepancy.

There is no one “right” amount of compromise. We each must choose what we are comfortable with.

I am an admitted train whore, I’ll buy and run just about anything as long as I like it. I love my ‘scale’ USA stuff, Euro LGB is just wacky and fun due to my Americanized view of what a train should be. Lionel is very ‘toy-like’ and takes me back to my youth. My favorite consist is a USA Burlington SD40 pulling a long string of LGB cylindrical hoppers followed by a bay-window caboose. Or my Lionel GN 4-4-2 pulling a bunch of Bachman skeleton logging cars. Told ya, I’ll run anything for a buck…:slight_smile:

Scale guys march to a different drummer I think. The scale R/C plane guys I fly with have kittens every time I fly my B-25 bomber inverted for a low screaming fast pass. To each their own eh?

Mark Verbrugge said:
I am an admitted train whore, I'll buy and run just about anything as long as I like it. I love my 'scale' USA stuff, Euro LGB is just wacky and fun due to my Americanized view of what a train should be. Lionel is very 'toy-like' and takes me back to my youth. My favorite consist is a USA Burlington SD40 pulling a long string of LGB cylindrical hoppers followed by a bay-window caboose. Or my Lionel GN 4-4-2 pulling a bunch of Bachman skeleton logging cars. Told ya, I'll run anything for a buck...:)

Scale guys march to a different drummer I think. The scale R/C plane guys I fly with have kittens every time I fly my B-25 bomber inverted for a low screaming fast pass. To each their own eh?


I have to agree with you Mark. The “I like it” rule works just fine for me.
Ralph

Here’s my latest fun toy I made:

(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/jerrybarnes/Rocket%20Car/RcwithTrailerSideSm.JPG)

I found the tin toy at a flea market. The battery car trailer is a old bike light. Jerry

mike omalley said:
...........

That PIKO set is cartoonish, but I imagine it will draw people in


Yes, it will draw people in, that’s what it’s meant to do.

I’m more interested in a close semblance to the prototype and I know just where to get those and how to make those if they’re not being made. Doesn’t bother me who buys what, does what with whatever etc. etc. OTOH I have no compunction calling what I perceive as a toy, a TOY. :wink: :slight_smile:

Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Proper scale would be 1:31.88, which is 0.3% off the mark. And the other way around the 45mm should really be 44.84mm. i.e. the 45mm is again 0.3% off the mark. When you factor in the "ten foot rule" it is absolutely blooming perfect.
Dammit, Mike, see what you've done? And we had him locked away, chain securely fastened . . . .
Dave Healy said:
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Proper scale would be 1:31.88, which is 0.3% off the mark. And the other way around the 45mm should really be 44.84mm. i.e. the 45mm is again 0.3% off the mark. When you factor in the "ten foot rule" it is absolutely blooming perfect.
Dammit, Mike, see what you've done? And we had him locked away, chain securely fastened . . . .
You didn't think I would let Steve get away with his fuzzy math, did you? :lol: With Steve I never know if it's the cold of winter or the heat of summer that does it, or if it's just getting kicked by the horses. :/ ;)

I put away my slipstick in 1968, and vowed never again. So I dropped a decimal point. When you apply the 10 ft rule, what the heck difference does it make, anyway? :lol:

And I didn’t get kicked in the head by a horse, it was that middle line backer whot done it.

Of course, Mike’s choice of prototype (Washington & Old Dominion) has a tendency to blur the lines itself between fantasy and reality. Some of their stuff is pretty off-the-wall.

Later,

K