Chapter 3: Common Beginner Mistakes
WHILE THE HOBBY OF TRAIN MODELING IS EASY TO GET INTO, THERE ARE COMMON MISTAKES THAT MOST BEGINNERS MAKE THAT END UP COSTING THEM A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY. THIS CAN BE VERY FRUSTRATING AND MAY EVEN CAUSE SOME BUDDING MODEL TRAIN ENTHUSIASTS TO GIVE UP AND QUIT. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THESE COMMON MISTAKES ARE EASILY AVOIDABLE.
ONE THING BEGINNERS FAIL TO REALIZE MANY TIMES IS THE CONCEPT OF SCALE. SCALE REFERS TO THE SIZE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE MODEL SET AND THE REAL LIFE TRAIN IT IS BASED OFF OF. WHILE THIS IS EASY TO GET, AND NOT EVEN THAT NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND WHEN IT COMES TO JUST THE MODEL TRAIN ITSELF, SCALE IS VERY IMPORTANT WHEN CREATING THE SCENERY OF THE DISPLAY.
ONE GOOD EXAMPLE OF PROBLEMS WITH SCALE IS CREATING BUILDINGS OR TREES THAT ARE TOO SMALL. BEGINNERS TEND TO MISJUDGE THE SCALE OF THE BUILDINGS AND TREES IN RELATION TO ONE ANOTHER AS WELL AS IN RELATION TO THE TRAIN ITSELF. THIS CAN LEAD TO A DISPLAY LOOKING LIKE SOME SORT OF BIZARRE FAIRYTALE WORLD WITH WARPED PROPORTIONS.
OVERCOMING THIS PROBLEM IS AS EASY AS UNDERSTANDING THE SCALE OF YOUR TRAIN ITSELF. IF YOUR TRAIN IS 1:160 (160 TIMES SMALLER THAN A REAL TRAIN) THEN YOU NEED TO MAKE THE BUILDINGS, TREES, PEOPLE, CARS, AND EVERYTHING ELSE 1:160 AS WELL. THIS IS AS EASY AS GETTING MEASUREMENTS FOR THE TYPES OF SCENERY YOU WANT AND DIVIDING BY 160.
HAVING HIGH HOPE AND ASPIRATIONS AS A TRAIN MODELER IS GREAT AND HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. HOWEVER, IF YOUR AMBITION EXCEEDS YOUR SKILL LEVEL YOU MAY RUN INTO SOME PROBLEMS.
ONE OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS THAT MANY BEGINNERS FACE IS TRYING TOO MUCH TOO SOON. THEY BUILD A MASSIVE WORK BENCH AND HAVE PLANS TO BUILD A GLORIOUS MODEL TRAIN DISPLAY SIMILAR TO ONE THEY SAW IN A MAGAZINE OR MUSEUM. THE THING THEY'RE FORGETTING IS THAT HUGE DISPLAYS LIKE THAT CAN TAKE MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS TO COMPLETE.
THIS BECOMES PROBLEMATIC DUE TO THE FACT THAT MOST BEGINNERS WANT TO SEE RESULTS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND HAVEN'T DEVELOPED THE SENSE OF PATIENCE THAT IS NECESSARY TO BUILD A MODEL TRAIN DISPLAY THAT'S LARGE AND COMPLEX. UNDERSTANDABLY, THIS CAN LEAD TO FRUSTRATION AND DISINTEREST AS THE HUGE WORK BENCH CONSTANTLY LOOKS INCOMPLETE.
THE PROBLEM OF BEING OVERLY AMBITIOUS IS BEST HANDLED BY STARTING SMALL. WHEN YOU'RE JUST STARTING OUT DON'T TRY AND BUILD THE GREATEST TRAIN DISPLAY IN THE WORLD JUST YET. START BY CREATING A SMALL DISPLAY THAT IS SIMPLISTIC YET HIGHLY DETAILED AND YOU'LL HAVE SOMETHING YOU CAN BE PROUD OF IN NO TIME!