The good, the bad, and the HOn3...

I can't really say all too much without repeating what has already been said and going ever further off topic, but I'm gonna do it anyway...
As a fellow who's just got a couple of years on you, I understand the desire to go out a do big projects, but the most important thing is to get the skills, materials, and tools first. I am speaking from experience. With those you can make anything you want and make it look good, sometimes darn good too. As someone who has invested a great deal of time and money in HOn3, I will say with the sincerest apologies that it is not necessarily a beginner's sport. I got my first HOn3 brass locomotive when I was a few years younger than you are now (16, right?) and it (along with several others) are currently sitting on a shelf awaiting massive work. This also has to do with DCC, which is another subject for another time. I've found that if you wait and let yourself mature more (and cool off), projects that seemed impossible to finish are now very doable. Hon3 is very, very finicky to work with and the major reason why I am more of an ON30 guy these days. That and ON30's a LOT cheaper. ON30 is a kitbasher's gauge in general and trains generally run without too many issues if you use the factory made models. However, with HOn3, anything Blackstone makes seems to run and look spectacular. My only complaint is the locomotives are a bit light and the cars are a bit heavy.

HOn3 is a lot of fun when you can make things run to your liking, please don't get me wrong. If that is the route you want to go I sincerely wish you the best of luck and success. I have a lot of good times, memories, and friends from a local HO/HOn3 club that took me in and sparked my interest in narrow gauge. If there is a club near you, definitely go and try to get involved, but whatever you do, don't be a foamer. There are several divisions of the Youth in Model Railroading around the country. With COVID-19 running amok you may want to limit you contact with others, but when (hopefully) things clear up you may want to check if there are any in your area.
I hope this helps,
John

P.S. here are a few rules that I keep in mind while modeling and may be helpful to you too.
1. Having fun is what it's all about.
2. Your models are just that, your models. You may do with them as you please. Not everything has to be a scale replica or have a prototype. See rule 1.
3. If the only thing your doing is learning how to hate it. It's probably not worth it, at least at the moment. See rule 1 (again).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2020 03:45AM by Steam Fan 492.