N Gauge Forum

OK, so this also applies to any gauge really but I've put electrics first as I believe a large percentage of us have a weakness in that area. This particularly applies to me but I think I'm fairly good with track planning and laying track. I enjoy ballasting but have not done anything round points yet :uneasy: Scenics I'm fine with as shaky hands doesn't limit me like it does in other areas.
You can vote for any three of the 7 I've mooted.
It's a bit of fun but some very helpful posts (and even tutorials) may come of it

Indecisiveness and procrastination.

Quote from: Jim Easterbrook on May 25, 2023, 11:57:17 AM
Indecisiveness and procrastination.

But is that particular to model railways? ;)

Just cannot get to grips with electrics

Advancing age is my main problem, manifesting itself currently as poor hand/eye coordination, especially when trying to fit Peco rail joiners and similar sight dependant actions.

Quote from: Jim Easterbrook on May 25, 2023, 11:57:17 AM
Indecisiveness and procrastination.

I don't think I have that problem. But I'll give it some more thought... later

Weakness no, but 48 years working in electronics,

So that's why I ticked that box... just no enthusiasm for it any more.

I like scenery, and scratch building.

After 10 years of whinging and whining on this forum, I don't think I even needed to tick the box!

In the absence of an "indecisiveness and procrastination" button, I just picked track laying. Not because it's hard, just because I haven't got beyond six baseboards with track on one for the last four years.

I thoroughly dislike ballasting and am not keen on scratchbuilding buildings. So those have been voted for.

Dog hair/ right ankle, left heel and right pelvis bone  :)

PS. voted electrics  :dunce: Thank you Kato points :thumbsup:

Mick @Newportnobby (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=264) , you have a missing option on your voting list "None of the above" for those clever all round modellers  ;) ;)

Quote from: Nbodger on May 25, 2023, 09:19:56 PM
Mick @Newportnobby (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=264) , you have a missing option on your voting list "None of the above" for those clever all round modellers  ;) ;)

Another option - One's wife?  ;)

Quote from: Nbodger on May 25, 2023, 09:19:56 PM
Mick @Newportnobby (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=264) , you have a missing option on your voting list "None of the above" for those clever all round modellers  ;) ;)

@Nbodger (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=8543) Mike - I just assumed clever all round modellers wouldn't be reading this thread :) :wave:

Ballasting, or rather lack of, is my weakness. I'm sieving my own blend at the moment after trying different brands and colours.
Also, building DC controllers. There is usually 1 in the process of being built.
Unlike ballasting, the controllers get finished and tested.
Mark

The one thing I dislike about building a layout is looking for my 'mojo'. Due to one or two other problems lately, 'mojo' has gone off in a huff somewhere and I just can not find it anywhere!  :no:. When I do have 'mojo' by my side, I particularly enjoy scenickery and scratch building.

Quote from: dannyboy on May 26, 2023, 09:33:28 AM
The one thing I dislike about building a layout is looking for my 'mojo'. Due to one or two other problems lately, 'mojo' has gone off in a huff somewhere and I just can not find it anywhere!  :no:. When I do have 'mojo' by my side, I particularly enjoy scenickery and scratch building.

Again, I would ask if this is a general malaise or do you have a specific 'railway modelling mojo'?

Finding time and/or mojo is definitely an issue for me. That and keeping track reliably running (which probably stems from poor planning in the first place).

@Newportnobby (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=264)
A bit of a "general malaise" at the moment Mick. And I only got four cards for my birthday yesterday!  :*(  ;), but on the good news front, I received a telephone call from the hospital on Wednesday saying they had a cancellation for next Tuesday - did I want my other eye doing then?  :claphappy: Does night follow day? So maybe, when I get that out of the way, 'mojo' may find its way home.  :thumbsup:

Quote from: dannyboy on May 26, 2023, 10:44:00 AM
@Newportnobby (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=264)
A bit of a "general malaise" at the moment Mick. And I only got four cards for my birthday yesterday!  :*(  ;), but on the good news front, I received a telephone call from the hospital on Wednesday saying they had a cancellation for next Tuesday - did I want my other eye doing then?  :claphappy: Does night follow day? So maybe, when I get that out of the way, 'mojo' may find its way home.  :thumbsup:

That's good news, David @dannyboy (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=4209) Hope the mojo returns soon after

Quote from: zwilnik on May 26, 2023, 10:43:24 AM
Finding time and/or mojo is definitely an issue for me. That and keeping track reliably running (which probably stems from poor planning in the first place).

@zwilnik (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=8) Not quite sure how poor planning affects running unless 1st radius curves were planned and you now find issues with some locos. :hmmm:
Hope you can work through it, though

Quote from: Newportnobby on May 26, 2023, 11:04:24 AM

Quote from: zwilnik on May 26, 2023, 10:43:24 AM
Finding time and/or mojo is definitely an issue for me. That and keeping track reliably running (which probably stems from poor planning in the first place).

@zwilnik (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=8) Not quite sure how poor planning affects running unless 1st radius curves were planned and you now find issues with some locos. :hmmm:
Hope you can work through it, though

Mostly being too ambitious with the planning (again, despite past experience) so the layout's just a bit too big and bits of it are difficult to access to maintain. I've managed to improve some of the worst sections but still get the feeling sometimes that I might have to rip it all up and start again to get it to work properly.

That's exactly the problems with my own layout.

Quote from: dannyboy on May 26, 2023, 09:33:28 AM
The one thing I dislike about building a layout is looking for my 'mojo'. Due to one or two other problems lately, 'mojo' has gone off in a huff somewhere and I just can not find it anywhere!  :no:. When I do have 'mojo' by my side, I particularly enjoy scenickery and scratch building.

I don't suppose there are many voodoo priests, who might be able to help you find your mojo, in your part of the world ?

Quote from: joe cassidy on May 26, 2023, 01:11:07 PM

Quote from: dannyboy on May 26, 2023, 09:33:28 AM
The one thing I dislike about building a layout is looking for my 'mojo'. Due to one or two other problems lately, 'mojo' has gone off in a huff somewhere and I just can not find it anywhere!  :no:. When I do have 'mojo' by my side, I particularly enjoy scenickery and scratch building.

I don't suppose there are many voodoo priests, who might be able to help you find your mojo, in your part of the world ?

Dougal, this n-gauge stuff is small, that real train is far away.
Oh, right you are Ted.

:smiley-laughing:

Yes, I ticked electronics and scratchbuilding, but I can't help thinking there were a few more missing from your list, Mick...

Building baseboards (especially when you finish building them and find they don't fit in your available space  :confused1: );

That well-known ailment, fishplate finger;

Soldering;

and of course, insufficient funds  :*( .

Cheers,

Chris

As with many forum members, time is the main problem for me, followed closely by space, then scenery. Most of my modelling in the various clubs I've been a member of has been on the control side of things both DC and in later years DCC. I'm working up to creating countryside scenery on my small home layout having got the track laid and all running well.
Anyone know of a scenery training course near Milton Keynes?
Cheers :beers:

Hello firstone @Firstone18 (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=6899) try

https://www.missendenrailwaymodellers.org.uk/index.php/scenery-and-dioramas/ (https://www.missendenrailwaymodellers.org.uk/index.php/scenery-and-dioramas/)

https://www.missendenrailwaymodellers.org.uk/index.php/scenery-and-dioramas/ (https://www.missendenrailwaymodellers.org.uk/index.php/scenery-and-dioramas/)


Other subjects are covered. Hope this answers your question

Or why not see if there's a local model railway club or ask on the ngf if someone is willing to help.  Chris

should be a running out of mojo choice

Not sure time management and/or loss of mojo are intrinsically linked to railway modelling :no: :hmmm:

For those of us who are married/shacked up, it is important to achieve a balance between time spent playing with trains, and time spent with one's other half/family.

A passion should not become an obsession.

I limit my train time to when my wife is not there, or doing her own thing at home.

Quote from: Newportnobby on May 26, 2023, 08:41:10 PM
Not sure time management and/or loss of mojo are intrinsically linked to railway modelling :no: :hmmm:

One definition I have just read concerning 'lost mojo' is -

To lose one's confidence, energy, or enthusiasm, especially coinciding with a decline in one's success.

Gawd, I've had it since I was born, then

I have searched for a definition of "mojo" on the web without finding a satisfactory definition.

For me, the original meaning was "libido", i.e. desire, as expressed in black music in the US.

In the context of our forum I think it is a useful to describe mojo as desire to do modelling overcome by a lack of motivation due to reasons expressed in earlier posts.

To anyone who has lost their mojo please feel free to help yourself to one of these. If they run out I'll get some more  :thumbsup:

(https://www.treasureislandsweets.co.uk/user/products/large/Mojo-Assorted-Chews__55743%5B1%5D.png)

I chose electrics/electronics because of my experiences with my module group. We chose a 5-pole "dice" DIN plug to connect the modules (pins as the 5 on a dice), with pins 1 and 2 "North" and "South" rails for single track and pins 3 and 4 for "South" and "North" for the second track on double track modules.

You would think that being a standard plug all manufacturers would make them the same, but some were numbered and others not. On the sockets the position of the location nose was also dependent on manufacturer. When it came to connecting to a module made by someone else, there was often a mismatch, which meant re-soldering, and of course when I used the re-soldered module in a different position within my modules, there was a mismatch again!

I think that over the 30 or so years we have been together I have re-soldered at least one plug on every session. Another problem is that in recent years, the multi-core cables I can buy seem to have become thicker and stiffer. That has also meant a lot of cold solder joints or breaks at the plugs. The 5-pole "dice" plugs have also become very difficult to get hold of, so anyone wanting to join our group has problems connecting.

Peter

@Alcazar (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=9432) why not make up some small boxes or short cables with various makes of plug or socket to interconnect the various options; instead of having to solder on a different plug or socket you just connect your "type A" to the box and Joe's "type B" from the box etc.

Sorry, can't narrow it down to just 3 options, so will abstain from vote, unless somebody gets the whip out. :whiteflag: :pint:

In that case, it sounds like you're in the wrong hobby ;)

Quote from: Bealman on May 27, 2023, 03:51:50 PM
In that case, it sounds like you're in the wrong hobby ;)

Didn't say that I don't enjoy trying....such a frustrating hobby.... But if it was easy then perhaps the high standards achieved by many n gauge modelers would go unnoticed?  :jealous:

I'm a good all rounder when it comes to building a layout.
My issue is finishing one. I get to about 80% complete  then start thinking about the next one.

To those on this thread who hate ballasting, I salute you. You take perfectly good track and points (which are NOT cheap, let's face it), and glue them up with grit, pva and stuff.

Not only is the operation mind-bogglingly boring, you're always stressed you're wrecking your track. I have destroyed at least half a dozen Peco points over the years.

I'm probably doing it wrong.  :uneasy:

Quote from: honestjudge on May 28, 2023, 01:33:21 PM
I'm a good all rounder when it comes to building a layout.
My issue is finishing one. I get to about 80% complete  then start thinking about the next one.

You manage to get to 80%?!!

Quote from: Dorsetmike on May 27, 2023, 12:57:01 PM
@Alcazar (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=9432) why not make up some small boxes or short cables with various makes of plug or socket to interconnect the various options; instead of having to solder on a different plug or socket you just connect your "type A" to the box and Joe's "type B" from the box etc.

We all have identical plugs/sockets but from different manufacturers. As some were not clearly marked and others allowed two possibilities to marry, it was the wiring to the correct pins that proved difficult. The idea with the multiplug boxes would solve the availability problem for newcomers, though.

Peter