Is there such a thing as Good Value N Scale Modelling?

[NeMo]

Collective wisdom of the NGF!

Various threads on social media have got me thinking about whether this is an expensive hobby. The recent arrival of various Farish coaches at over £40 a piece certainly seems to make this look like a rich man's hobby.

So, I'm curious whether any of you think there actually are good value products in the modern hobby? I was looking at some of the Dapol coaches today, and even if they're not recent releases, the Gresley coaches (light-bar ready, separately fitted details, nicely done lettering and numbers) struck me as surprisingly good value at £22 a pop. I'd rate the Collett coaches as not far off them in quality, and similar in price.

Again from Dapol, their six-wheel milk tankers remain inexpensive by modern standards, and even if they're a bit generic in detailing, they're well made and do the job nicely, and since you only need a few to replicate realistic milk traffic, getting 5-6 isn't going to break the bank.

Can anyone else think of any products out there that buck the seeming trend towards the ever more expensive?

Cheers, NeMo

[emjaybee]

I think a degree of perspective is needed.

It depends on what exactly you want and how urgently you want it.

I have eight new tooling Jubilees. One cost me £110, the rest were under £60 each. I have somewhere in the region of 40 (don't tell you know who) locos, and with the exception of that Jubilee and the SDJR 4F I haven't spent over £90 on any of them, in fact most have been less than £60. I've two lovely rakes of coaches, approximately £12/coach, all latest tooling.

If you're prepared to be patient, it's not an expensive hobby.

The fly in the ointment, however, is the more niche/select manufacturers like RevolutioN and Sonic. If you like what they're offering then you probably need to get in early and take advantage of the early bird prices. You'll have to wait a long time to get their stock at discount/reduced prices as they're relatively limited production numbers.

If you want the latest and the best, and you want it now, then it's going to be pricey. If you're on a tight budget and are happy with the older models, then it can be fairly cheap. I think I'm somewhere in the middle.

I'm not sure I've answered Neale's question however. Would I buy a £40 coach? Not a chance. Would I buy a brand new 8F? Absolutely.

It's all subjective.

[Yet_Another]

I have to agree, value is in the eye of the beholder, and not necessarily related to cost.

So I'd talk about expense, rather than value.

[port perran]

I can't really comment on NeMo's original question as to whether there are products that buck the trend of increasing prices.
However, I feel that the cost of N Scale locomotives and stock has gone above the threshold between what is acceptable and what is expensive.
I can, if I want, afford to buy new locos and stock but haven't done so, with the exception of one Union Mills loco, for two years now and I have no intention of doing so, no matter how much I might desire a particular product.
That's just my view. Others will disagree but it is the way I view things. Everything has a price above which I'm not prepared to go I'm afraid.

[PennineWagons]

At present Dapol and Peco seem to offer much better value than Farish, IMHO. Some of the Farish prices for quite basic wagons are just getting silly, even after the customary box-shifter discount.
PW

[NeMo]

I'm not sure I've answered Neale's question however. Would I buy a £40 coach? Not a chance. Would I buy a brand new 8F? Absolutely.

I almost mentioned the LMS 8F, which (as I've said on Facebook, and will say in Journal 1/21) is actually quite good value. Compared with the Dapol 9F which cost about the same when released, the Farish 8F is sturdier, runs much more quietly, isn't tender-drive (yay!), and includes a built-in speaker. So its specification probably justifies the ~£145 price tag. It's not a loco I'd recommend to someone starting out (not least of all because you'd need 20+ wagons behind it if you wanted to use it realistically) but at the same time, it's not overpriced. It's a good loco.

@Yet_Another, while I agree with you 100%, I think the 'value' vs. 'cost' issue is a bit of a red herring. When you're introducing someone to the hobby, you want to be able to point at products that are inexpensive, useful, and look good. Hence, I'd argue there's got to be some good value products out there, else recruiting new blood will be hard. It seems to be that while Dapol and Peco cater to that, I'm less convinced that Farish have what might be called a 'value' range of products.

Cheers, NeMo

[lner jp]

Although I agree Ready to run is getting expensive, having recently downsized from O gauge, I find Five79 and NGS kits very good value.

JP

[longbow]

N Gauge is never going to beat OO in the value for money stakes. But it has never been easier to buy second-hand for reasonable prices.

[Ashio]

RTR RRP is expensive yes. A lot of the time they get discounted after a time in stock but you have to run the risk of them going out of stock completely. Luckily I model GWR shirtbutton so these loco's are often found in an online bargain bucket as the least popular livery thank goodness (personally I really like it, always have). But as said above, you can always get a baragin/decent bundle if you are patient and don't need the items straight away.

I have been buying a lot of NGS wagon kits lately and think they are great value for money and the quality surpasses some other kit sellers,  it's just unfortunate that there are a lack of N scale kits out there when compared to the other scales (time I got some of those CAD wagon designs finished and made up I think).

[Train Waiting]

Yes, Neale; I think good value can be found.

I believe that price is what one pays and value is what one gets.

Here's my list:

Track - Peco;
DC Control equipment - Gaugemaster;
Locomotives - Union Mills;
Carriages - Dapol (as you mentioned);
Goods stock - Peco;
Building kits - Kestrel (or Metcalfe);
Little bits and pieces - Harburn Hamlet, PD Marsh and Osborne's;
Road vehicles - Oxford Diecast.

I use all of these on my layout and they are of excellent quality and provide lots of fun (and minimum irritation) for a fair price.  I consider them all to be excellent value.  We are so lucky to have them.

With best wishes.

John (a satisfied customer)

[Chris Morris]

Yes, Neale; I think good value can be found.

I believe that price is what one pays and value is what one gets.

Here's my list:

Track - Peco;
DC Control equipment - Gaugemaster;
Locomotives - Union Mills;
Carriages - Dapol (as you mentioned);
Goods stock - Peco;
Building kits - Kestrel (or Metcalfe);
Little bits and pieces - Harburn Hamlet, PD Marsh and Osborne's;
Road vehicles - Oxford Diecast.

I use all of these on my layout and they are of excellent quality and provide lots of fun (and minimum irritation) for a fair price.  I consider them all to be excellent value.  We are so lucky to have them.

With best wishes.

John (a satisfied customer)

I largely agree with John although I think Dapol and Farish locos at just over £100 are reasonably good value. The Peco wagon kits are excellent value.

[Flange Squeal]

I think the Dapol Gresleys are excellent value for money at £22 each. My advice is if you see a bargain don't leave it too long to make your purchase. These days it seems that by the time another batch is produced the retail price has risen substantially. Recent Farish prices are a good example of this. Locos such as the Class 14 which were around £60 a few years ago are now over £100!

[Nbodger]

If you take the price of Farish locomotives today and compare it with Farish of say 25 years ago plus inflation, you will probably find that they are reasonably comparable.

However, coaching stock and wagons are a different matter, they have become very expensive and to me a luxury item. As others have said PECO and Society kits generally fill the reasonably priced gap.

For instance You can buy two PECO brake vans for the price of one Farish and probably still have change.

Mike H 

[jpendle]

Hi Neale,

Did you mean, is N Gauge Railway modelling expensive compared to other hobbies, or, do people on this forum find it to be expensive?

I think the first question is a good one to ask and might put things in perspective.
The second one has been done to death loads of times and should get this thread locked.

Regards,

John P

[njee20]

The comparison to other hobbies is interesting, but all that shows is that it's relative and depends entirely what your yardstick is. If you do crossword puzzles then it probably seems eye wateringly expensive. If you like drag racing Rolls-Royces then less so!

I used to do a lot of cycling, and particularly mountain bike racing, and the big difference between the two is the ongoing spend required. Build a layout, buy some stock and, within reason, you don't need to ever spend another penny. People are driven by wanting to expand their fleet. However, there's a very buoyant second hand market with strong residual values to recoup costs. For me this equates to excellent value, regardless of the actual capital outlay.

With mountain biking you buy a bike for ~£4000, which these days is mid-range. Then you need to make sure suspension parts are serviced, for £300 a year or so, or you risk big bills. Tyres are £80 a pair, and you'll want at least a few sets, which will last a year or so. A transmission can be £400, and again probably annual. Brake pads are £30 a set, and can be very easily destroyed in a single race, say 5 sets a year. Then at the end of the year that bike, however immaculate you've kept it will only be worth £2000 if you're lucky. This year I also cracked a frame, and wore out a wheel rim on a road bike; forced cost of £1000 and £200 respectively, the other option was to not have that bike at all. I was fortunate that I'm happy building my own bikes and wheels, otherwise you can add £300 labour into that as well.

Then motor racing, or keeping horses, makes both look disgustingly cheap!

I think it's very good value as a hobby, you can buy the super high fidelity new stuff the moment it lands, you can seek out better value products - it's undeniable that Dapol are consistently undercutting Farish on models of apparently comparable standard. Dapol's new 221s at £225 for a 5-car unit versus Farish's 4-car 220 at £400 show that somehow Dapol appear to have weathered the price rises far better. You can get Poole era Farish and Minitrix coaches for a small sums if you're truly on a budget, and then if you change your mind you can just sell it all. Great value in my mind!