Well for me, a Swiss RhB fan, it's never been better: Maerklin/LGB has been coming out with very detailed, well made cars and locomotives at reasonable prices. Since I run Massoth digital, that side of the hobby has also been advancing in leaps and bounds. Live steam is also doing very well, at least from what I've seen.
I do agree if you are a mainline N/A fan then you are suffering because of Aristo going TU and it being hard to find parts etc. Piko has been filling a void for European standard gauge, and so it depends on what you are modelling.
As for scratchbuilding, again to me it's a great time to be in the hobby. If I can't find the parts I need at my local hobby shop, then I can find it online. 3D printing has opened up a great new frontier if you have the time to learn about it, but then with Shapeways you can often collaborate with others to design/build what you want.
So overall, at least from my perspective, it's a great time to be into largescale.
I just thought of one part that isn't healthy--and that is structures. Pola is about the only reasonably durable game in town and they haven't been coming out with anything new for ages. There are some boutique builders but you have to give your first born for any of them...
Keith
I do agree if you are a mainline N/A fan then you are suffering because of Aristo going TU and it being hard to find parts etc. Piko has been filling a void for European standard gauge, and so it depends on what you are modelling.
As for scratchbuilding, again to me it's a great time to be in the hobby. If I can't find the parts I need at my local hobby shop, then I can find it online. 3D printing has opened up a great new frontier if you have the time to learn about it, but then with Shapeways you can often collaborate with others to design/build what you want.
So overall, at least from my perspective, it's a great time to be into largescale.
I just thought of one part that isn't healthy--and that is structures. Pola is about the only reasonably durable game in town and they haven't been coming out with anything new for ages. There are some boutique builders but you have to give your first born for any of them...
Keith
