Three scales

[finescalerr]

Mike, I think you misunderstood my point: A company that offers accurate (not finescale) models of correct scale and gauge will appeal to both the toy and hobby markets. One that produces out of proportion and/or inaccurate merchandise appeals only to the toy crowd. The intelligent choice is to appeal to both and thus maximize your sales. HO and N scale manufacturers have been doing that for decades. -- Russ

[LaserM]

Russ,

Mike, I think you misunderstood my point: A company that offers accurate (not finescale) models of correct scale and gauge will appeal to both the toy and hobby markets. One that produces out of proportion and/or inaccurate merchandise appeals only to the toy crowd. The intelligent choice is to appeal to both and thus maximize your sales. HO and N scale manufacturers have been doing that for decades. -- Russ

You may be right in that choosing 1:29 scale probably made matters worse.  Bachmann may be proving your point today with the success of their Spectrum line.  Already, it seems to be the most popular product line to kit bash.

John,
Again, nice job with the models.  Didn't mean to get up on my soap box here.  As most know, in most G gauge discussions politics and religion are safer subjects than the scale mess.

Mike

[John McGuyer]

!cnU

I couldn't agree with you more. I too remember the scale wars and the anger and damage done to model railroading in general and G scale in particular. And the really sad thing? Look at the two models side by side. The 1/32 and 1/29. There is so little difference. I can't see where it would make any great marketing difference to make in scale in the first place.

John

[LaserM]

I have been traveling to the UK quite a bit over the last 6 or 7 years and have had the opportunity to attend a model railroading convention or two.  I was totally lost.  Some of the track gauges looked familiar but there were so many different gauges and scales it was hard to figure out what was what.  Check this out:
http://www.themodelrailwayclub.org/docs/scalesandgauges.htm
I don't know how so many scales and gauges could be supported in a country smaller than California.
Modeling steam powered tractors is also a big thing there. These fine pieces of modeling appear in several different types of shows. A friend of mine was into this.  He custom machined every bolt to make sure the head size and thread pitch were correctly to scale.  I think everything was even made out of the correct alloy as well.  Of course, everything worked.

If you are ever there, don't miss the National Railroad Museum in York, the largest collection of steam locomotives in the world, most of which are in working order.

Mike

[Ray Dunakin]

I agree that the scale/gauge disparities in "Large Scale" are a mess. I'm glad I model a freelanced railroad, so I'm not hung up on the whole "correct" track gauge thing. Not all narrow gauge railroads had three feet between the rails. A 42" gauge might be a bit uncommon but isn't impossible.

The oversized rails still bug me, though. Someday I may get ambitious and replace all the Code 332 with something more realistic. Currently the cost is an object, and I have concerns about damage should the track get stepped on.