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I am thinking of getting back into HO scale modeling, it was something that I always wanted to do, but I have a few questions to ask.... -- What is everyone's favourite locomotive kits? I am looking for locmotive kits that are simple to assemble, modify and get to see it run soon. -- How easy is to put them together? -- Does it requires special skills or engg. degrees? -- I also plan to install DCC in all my locomotives and can anyoone suggests me a good brand for DCC? -- Last but not least, Are there any good books out there that gives step-by-step layout instruction books for beginners?
Thanks in advance. RRscale.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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I see nobody has responded, so I'll chime in with my limited knowledge.
Most of my locomotives are Athearn kits. They are pretty easy to put together. Its really just a matter of final assembly, putting on detail parts. You'll need tweezers, a jewler's type screwdriver set, and some plastic cement.
The simpler Athearn kits can easily be assembled in under an hour. My Amtrak Genesis locomotive took longer, and I did it over two or three sessions, due to a lot of tiny (and tedious) detail parts.
I can't answer about DCC as I have no knowledge there.
[This message has been edited by Mr. Toy (edited 05-29-2004).]
Roger Hensley Member # 1374
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For much more beginner information, check out the NMRA's Introduction to Model Railroading at: http://www.nmra.org/beginner
Russ Bellinis Member # 2377
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There are a bunch of good books out there for what you want. Kalmbach & Carstens both offer a bunch of inexpensive books on track plans and basic model railroad instruction. You can buy many locomotives now that are dcc equiped ready to plug and play. http://www.loystoys.com is a commercial website, but they have instructions on installing dcc receivers in many common locomotive models. Regarding dcc, the modular club I belong to debated between North Coast Engineering, and Easy DCC. They finaly settled on Easy DCC mainly for price. There are a number of other dcc manufacturers that make good stuff. We settled on those two brands because our first requirement was that any system we chose MUST BE CORDLESS. We didn't want club members tripping over each other's cords. I think there might have been some other cordless units, but they were rejected by the club for various reasons. I've edited the url for Loys Toys twice, but still can't get the link to work. I tried the address in my bookmarked pages and it works. I can't see anything different from what I put in here.
[This message has been edited by Russ Bellinis (edited 06-10-2004).]
[This message has been edited by Russ Bellinis (edited 06-10-2004).]
[This message has been edited by Russ Bellinis (edited 06-10-2004).]
[This message has been edited by Russ Bellinis (edited 06-10-2004).]
[This message has been edited by Russ Bellinis (edited 06-10-2004).]
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