How is the N gauge market doing?

Started by Chris Morris, August 12, 2020, 08:30:35 AM

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Ted

I think the market will be fine. I will soon be celebrating '2 years in the hobby'.

I've barely got a running slice of layout done, and yet I just checked... and I have 34 locos.

Only because the girlfriend asked me 'what's in all the boxes', so I thought I should tally up. I won't mention wagons, because there are too many to count.

My shopping list is still as long.

There must be plenty of collectors/modellers/hobbyists like me... utterly addicted!
Just call me Ted, or Edward... or Ed.

Just not Eddie.

Layout & Updates > Midlands Coal & Freight, Late 1980's


Newportnobby

#61
 :hmmm:
34 locos in 2 years = 17 per year.
If I were to use the same formula for myself I would have just over 600 :o
How about that? I'm actually very restrained and feel so much better now :D

Ted

Quote from: Newportnobby on August 19, 2020, 02:38:32 PM
:hmmm:
34 locos in 2 years = 17 per year.
If I were to use the same formula for myself I would have just over 6000 :o
How about that? I'm actually very restrained and feel so much better now :D

Haha, so when you put it like that... I might have a problem. ;D

It's the sound chips that make things pricey, I have 10 installed now... and they're all getting sound!

In fact, I think wagons are the hidden profit (cashcow) in all of this. To satisfy even half my locos I need around ~500 wagons of various rakes. That's the best part of £10,000.
Just call me Ted, or Edward... or Ed.

Just not Eddie.

Layout & Updates > Midlands Coal & Freight, Late 1980's


woodbury22uk

Quote from: Newportnobby on August 19, 2020, 02:38:32 PM
:hmmm:
34 locos in 2 years = 17 per year.
If I were to use the same formula for myself I would have just over 6000 :o
How about that? I'm actually very restrained and feel so much better now :D

@Newportnobby  You are not really over 350 years old are you? I know I feel that way some days.:-)
Mike

Membre AFAN 0196

tutenkhamunsleeping

Quote from: woodbury22uk on August 19, 2020, 03:24:16 PM
@Newportnobby  You are not really over 350 years old are you? I know I feel that way some days.:-)

He works it out in dog years :D

Newportnobby

Quote from: woodbury22uk on August 19, 2020, 03:24:16 PM
Quote from: Newportnobby on August 19, 2020, 02:38:32 PM
:hmmm:
34 locos in 2 years = 17 per year.
If I were to use the same formula for myself I would have just over 6000 :o
How about that? I'm actually very restrained and feel so much better now :D

@Newportnobby  You are not really over 350 years old are you? I know I feel that way some days.:-)

Quote from: tutenkhamunsleeping on August 19, 2020, 03:28:25 PM
Quote from: woodbury22uk on August 19, 2020, 03:24:16 PM
@Newportnobby  You are not really over 350 years old are you? I know I feel that way some days.:-)

He works it out in dog years :D

Sorry, Chaps. Large chicken up on the multiplication front :-[
With all these warm nights I do feel dog tired but that's the only canine connection.
Even so, at just 600 I am still being very restrained so will allow myself to buy more if the right thing comes up.

Chris Morris

I bought my first N gauge loco in 2012. I now have 43 so that's a fairly modest 4.8 per year ( I don't expect to add any more this year....). The frightening thing for me is the coaches. I may only have 74 but at the current rrp of around £40 a go that's about £3,000 to buy them now. And then there are my wagons and parcels vehicles. Perhaps coaches and wagons is where the profit is. I always try to buy things at the right price so I haven't spent anywhere near that much on my collection. I grabbed a bargain at the Severn Valley Railway shop just the other day - 2 brand new Farish mk1s at £24 each. Of course when I started N gauge 9 years ago £24 would have been a lot for a mk1 coach. How things change.
Working doesn't seem to be the perfect thing for me so I'll continue to play.
Steve Marriott / Ronnie Lane

Paddy

#67
Went from 1 to well over 100 and now I am back down to just under 50 locomotives.  It is far too easy to get carried away!  ;)

As for coaches and wagons... far too many to fit on HOLLERTON JUNCTION:D

EDIT: On a serious note, one thing I have noticed is that in recent years I have moved from buying new/collecting to modelling (well in my terms).

Kind regards

Paddy
HOLLERTON JUNCTION (SHED 13C)
London Midland Region
http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=11342.0


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railsquid

Quote from: Chris Morris on August 14, 2020, 08:06:11 AM
Quote from: Leon on August 14, 2020, 01:19:54 AM
As to the thread question, I think N gauge is doing as well as can be expected for models too small for children AND older adults.

Leon

Nobody has told me (65) or my 4 year old grandson that N gauge is too small for us. Luckily we both seem to be getting on fine with N gauge at the moment. I use  one of those magnifying lights when working on anything and grandson understands they are delicate and need careful handling. He is currently getting to grips with the brake simulator on my Gaugemaster controller.

Meanwhile in Japan, N gauge is seen as the next logical step from the toy-like "Plarail" (somewhere I have a photo in the Plarail section of a toystore with a display to that effect), as it's widely available and you have a reasonable chance of getting a starter pack with something recognizable with saved-up pocket money. (Meanwhile in Japanese HO land there are constant wails of dissatisfaction at the limited availability of pretty much anything; British N has it much better than the larger Japanese scales).

Richard Taylor

Quote from: Leon on August 14, 2020, 01:19:54 AM
As to the thread question, I think N gauge is doing as well as can be expected for models too small for children AND older adults.

Leon

Going slightly OT, but I finally managed to get a post-lockdown eye test last week.  I've noticed that my ability to see and work with N models has deteriorated a bit since last year.  During the exam my optician remarked that when you are younger you just take it for granted that your eyes will do everything you need, but as you get older you have to regard glasses as tools, and get the right ones for the different jobs you need to do.  On that basis I raised the N gauge issue with her - discovered that her father, ex-husband and father were/are all railway modellers - she did a few extra close vision tests - and next week I will be picking up my special extra-close N gauge work glasses!  (Not that the glasses are themselves 2mm scale you understand...)

My optician is a small independent practice with "older" staff, so you *might* not get such a helpful response from the eyewear sales kids in one of the high street chains, but worth asking around?

Yours, batlike,
Richard T

emjaybee

Quote from: Richard Taylor on August 19, 2020, 10:16:30 PM
Quote from: Leon on August 14, 2020, 01:19:54 AM
As to the thread question, I think N gauge is doing as well as can be expected for models too small for children AND older adults.

Leon

Going slightly OT, but I finally managed to get a post-lockdown eye test last week.  I've noticed that my ability to see and work with N models has deteriorated a bit since last year.  During the exam my optician remarked that when you are younger you just take it for granted that your eyes will do everything you need, but as you get older you have to regard glasses as tools, and get the right ones for the different jobs you need to do.  On that basis I raised the N gauge issue with her - discovered that her father, ex-husband and father were/are all railway modellers - she did a few extra close vision tests - and next week I will be picking up my special extra-close N gauge work glasses!  (Not that the glasses are themselves 2mm scale you understand...)

My optician is a small independent practice with "older" staff, so you *might* not get such a helpful response from the eyewear sales kids in one of the high street chains, but worth asking around?

Yours, batlike,
Richard T

I'm 51.96 yrs.

I've had to have 'reading' glasses for a good few years now. Recently I've struggled to do close up wiring for work, < 8", so I spoke to my optician who is also an old school high street independent.

He did a quick on the spot calculation, looked at my last prescription, and said a pair of +3 cheapo reading specs would do the job. He also said that I should only use them when needed.

I find it useful to have them to hand when modelling. So much so that I went online recently and purchased two extra pairs so i can leave them with all my gear.

When stuff gets really 'small' I can put them over my regular reading glasses for ultra close work.

One word of caution. Don't try to walk in them!
Brookline build thread:

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=50207.msg652736#msg652736

Sometimes you bite the dog...

...sometimes the dog bites you!

----------------------------------------------------------

I can explain it to you...

...but I can't understand it for you.

Newportnobby

Quote from: emjaybee on August 19, 2020, 11:26:06 PM

One word of caution. Don't try to walk in them!

I think that would be most uncomfortable and will stay with shoes or trainers, thanks.

Paddy

Yep, I use a pair of 3.5 "cheapo" glasses that I picked up in Home Bargains for less than £2.  They work really well for modelling.

Kind regards

Paddy
HOLLERTON JUNCTION (SHED 13C)
London Midland Region
http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=11342.0


BARRIES'S TRAIN SHED - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChVzVVov7HJOrrZ6HRvV2GA

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