5.01.2014

The Hiatus - an explanation

Hello fellow hobbyists!  I've been away for awhile, right?  So I think a brief explanation is in order for my rather sudden silence on this blog for the past three months!  As some of you may have gleaned from my posts in the past year, I've decided I want to re-do the layout and try some different things (still very much in keeping with the urban theme) but I also wanted to simplify and automate a lot of the train operations.  So I have been thinking and planning and, in the interim, doing projects like the 'bookcase diorama' thing and doing various ideas in sketchup and other programs!

I have also decided that my collection was getting too large; I started to accumulate more locomotives than I really need (well, 'need' being relative!) and far more buildings that I probably wasn't going to get around to.  I discovered that I started to 'collect' things not out of just a pure enjoyment of the hobby, but out of a desire to be a completist or have more and more of something.  For me personally, this approach started to take a little of the joy and fun out of the hobby.  

So I decided to winnow down the collection; I am keeping a lot of the 'must have's but also parting with some favorite items - realizing that I must draw a line somewhere!   If you are interested in some of the items I've reviewed or accumulated and have posted about in this blog, I have many of those items up on eBay now (the auctions end around May 11th, my user id is 'joemesmero' which is silly and makes no sense, but is another story!) if you want to take a look.   If these items can find a home with one of my blog readers and friends I think that's a good thing!

And, like most of us, I have family and professional commitments that lately have taken out a lot of hobby time (a six week bathroom remodel that was supposed to be a one day project is one of those things!)!  Fear not....I do have some other ideas and projects that are in progress and I hope to share on this blog soon!

Thanks again for reading!

8 comments:

  1. Hi Jerry

    I can totally relate to your situation. I came to the same conclusion last year as I sat there looking at all my unopened boxes waiting to be assembled. Now I'm trying to get my cousin's little boy interested in the hobby so I can pass on my 'legacy' when it's time to shuffle off this mortal coil. Not that it's anytime soon, but I'm not a spring chicken anymore. And the one thing on my bucket list is to finish my layout and display it at a train show.

    Alvin

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  2. Hi Jerry,

    Having moved into a new train room (converted garage) within the past few months, I also realized just how much stuff I actually had.

    So I've really been trying to clean things up a bit myself and keeping any new purchases focused on what I actually need to complete specific goals. Of course I'll still take a look at your ebay listings !

    Your blog was one of the first resources I found when researching Japanese themed layouts and I've drawn much enjoyment and inspiration from following your work. I look forward to seeing what you will come up with in the future.

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  3. Jerry, same here :) I've sold some items just to have mainly italian trains but I have some SBB and BD loks that I love to have, so I'm keeping the best ones. All this when I made the new layout. I've checked the auctions hoping to find the Italian loks you have, but I see you keep them ;) Great! I hope to see them again on your layout soon :)

    Better to have less trains but on the layout than tons of loks laying on the shelf :D

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  4. Jerry,
    Good to hear for you again and yes, we understand your predicaments. In fact, you have dropped hints here and there for last 1 year so it came to no surprise.

    I look forward to seeing your new and better layout. More photos, videos and blogs about your layout progress, please :)

    I have shared your ebay link with my Malaysian modellers and hope they would bid for your items. Looking at the things you are liquadating, looks like your next layout will be a German theme :D

    I was hoping to get hold of your DB collections but you did not release them for bidding.

    Jimmy

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  5. Well, I guess many of us suffer of the same... Thanks for sharing with us your decision, and glad to see that the E424 is not in the lot on ebay!

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  6. I hope you can sell some of the structures as well hehe!

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  7. Hi everyone! Thanks for the comments and support! Well, if anyone has seen what I am selling, there are a lot of unopened 'vintage' kits that I think are really cool. They are also quite rare so I hate to part with them.

    Part of what I am getting rid of are trains that I purchased to be more of a 'completist' than becuase I really love those trains. So that's why you see a couple of SNCF models (they were the only 'new' SNCF models produced at the time so I 'had' to have them!) or some Japanese sets that I love, but I already have a several that I think are cool. Don't get me wrong, I still love japanese and french trains, but having more from just two contries means less from others...if that makes sense!

    Anyway...good to hear from everyone! Brad, I keep following your blog and Alvin, still looking forward to updates on your projects as well! Yeah, Jimmy, I don't have that much DB to start with, and I may actually get more! :-) Same with my italian, etc...!

    Okay, that's it for now...I need to go package up some of the items I just sold!

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  8. Jerry,

    If you're looking for more DB, I'm selling some. You know my ebay ID. ;-)

    Misha

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