Virtual Railroading? A Real hobby?! C’mon! September 22, 2006
Posted by The Hobby Guy (Paul Gentile) in Gaming, Hobbies, Life Lessons, Model Railroading, v-scale.1 comment so far
My Dad worked for Conrail, and he really loved trains and the railroad in general (not the management or the government management of the railroads, but that is another story.) Growing up, we always had a train layout in our basement, and we always spent time building, running, and growing our train layout.
My dad is passed for over 11 years now, and I have my own family, my own house, and it seems the time and energy to have a model train layout is always a challenge. We have a N-scale layout in storage, not finished of course.
Both my sons are into trains as much, if not more than, I was at their ages. Thomas The Tank can be found playing on a TV anytime of the day in our house. We have all the wooden railway toys, passed from one son to the next, and we have just about every other toy Thomas train in the house.
During the holidays we always make a visit to the Union Model Railroad Club’s Show, which in my opinion is the best show in the country. I have been going to that show for over 18 years, and it is the best presentation of model railroading, and railroading in general. We also make at least an annual visit to Northlandz, which is touted as the worlds largest model railroad. It may be, but for us it is just amazing!
The lack of a physical train layout in our house has not stopped us from playing with trains. (Yes, for all you die hard model railroad fans, I did say play; that’s what it is, relax and enjoy, and just play.) We are V-Scalers. We regularly build layouts, run prototypical operations, try out new rolling stock and engines, and model typical railroad scenes. We just do it virtually. Trainz 2006, Railroad Tycoon 3, Railroad Tycoon II, and Lionel Train Town are all part of our model railroad hobby.
Sometimes I do miss mixing up all that hydrocal plaster and soaking newspaper to make mountain ranges, but V-scale railroading does have its advantages. The biggest advantage, and the coolest thing for me is that I can now ride on the train! Well, sort of, I can view and operate the train from the cab. Also, it takes up no space and we can have as many miles of track as we like. We can have trains and layouts that vary from the French Alps, to the Pacific Northwest.
There also many new dimensions with V-scale railroading, for example in the Railroad Tycoon series you need understand the economy, business operations, industry, and the stock market to win. For my 11 year old, it has been a great teaching tool, beyond just the fun of it. In my opinion, play is the greatest teacher of all, and for an 11 year old to understand these concepts (and kick his dad’s butt) is great.
The layout may be virtual, but the time spent with my sons is real. The greatest thing I remember from building model railroads with my Dad was the time we spent together and the talks we had.
As the weather turns cool here in the Northeast, so do thoughts of trains and building another layout. I began discussing with my son, how our newley finished basement is missing a train layout. He agrees. However, not so sure the wife does. It’s going a bit better then my sales pitch on why we need a garden railroad.
So in the meantime, we will stick with our V-Scale.
RoboOne, meet JetJoe September 12, 2006
Posted by The Hobby Guy (Paul Gentile) in Bots, Hobbies, Life Lessons, Model Aviation, Radio Control.add a comment
I have always had a passion for bringing skills and ideas from one area to an other. My radio control hobbies cross over into my robot hobbies. Often I will speak with others in a particular hobby and they never look outside their hobby for inspiration or ideas.
I was recently speaking with a hobby shop owner and fellow model airplane enthusiast who has access to a lot of robotic products, but he never realized the potential. He knew that a lot of the manufacturers carried products for robotics, but never entertained the idea that these products could be relevant for his world. When we started discussing it, he was amzed at what was possible with the robotic use of servos from Futaba, JR, Hitec, and other Radio Control manufactures.
This is more than something that happens in hobbies, this happens in life. We are all guilty of it, we get focused on something and never look around to for new inspiration. How many times have you come across a product or an idea and thought; “gee, why did I not think of that?”
Look at RoboOne and biped robots. A few years ago, biped robots (think Honda’s ASIMO) were the realm of corporations with a lot of money, or the few enthusiasts with enough time, money, and passion to build one. Then one day a Japanese robot enthusiast puts together a few hobby servos and a micro-controller a builds a 1.5 foot tall biped robot that amazes the world.
Now everyone is building a RoboOne type robot. Companies like Hitec are releasing kits for RoboOnes. Hitec’s RoboNova is an excellent kit to start with.
All this thinking came from when I saw this video:
It may be a simple Gi-Joe doll with a few servos and a Parallax controller, but it is impressive. The creator seems to be a Radio Control Turbine Jet enthusiast (Yes Radio control planes can do over 200mph), and it seems he is into, or has some cross knowledge of the hobby robotics world. Nice! Or it could be old fashion stop frame animation and a hoax, but it is still a cool idea.
So, RoboOne, meet JetJoe.
Hello World! A New Hobby!? September 12, 2006
Posted by The Hobby Guy (Paul Gentile) in Hobbies, Life Lessons, Model Aviation, Radio Control.3 comments
So with everything else going on in life, I guess I just picked up a new hobby: Blogging. Hmmm, so where do I fit this in now. Well, here goes.
This year I jumped back into a hobby that I have always wanted to put front and center – Radio Control Aviation. Since my first visit to my local hobby shop, Bruckner Hobbies in the Bronx, NY I have been in awe of radio control airplanes. I remember taking the subway to High School and just reading, and re-reading Radio Control Modeler (RCM) magazine. I just never had anyone to teach me, or enough money to afford one.
In college I worked at Phil’s Hobby Shop and was still too broke to afford airplanes, so I stuck with R/C boats and cars. As soon as I did have the money, I realized that I had no room in my dorm for an airplane, so I bought a R/C Helicopter, A Kyosho Concept 30. That lasted about a month. As soon as my bills arrived, I had to sell the Helli to pay them.
That Helli had a sad ending, the two brothers who bought the helicopter decided not to get an instructor. They thought it would be safer to fly it in their barn. Well, that helicopter lasted about 30 seconds in the air before it hit the first rafter, then the second rafter. Just like a pinball machine. What a sight!
Well, I have had, and still have, plenty of hobbies through the years to keep me busy. When my wife and I married we lived on York Avenue in New York City. We definitely had no room for an airplane. So instead I was into model sail-boating.
I kept the Vencencina, an R/C sailboat named after my mother and built with my dad, in the conservatory boat house in Central Park. At the time, the permit was $2.00 and you had to apply with the parks department in early April or May. It was extremely cool to walk down to the park, and all these people looking at the sailboats, and you walk into the boat house and walk out with your model. The club members were great too. Always teaching and encouraging, and just having fun. It is still a great place – stop by and see them if you are in New York City.
So then life comes at you fast. We moved to New Jersey 9 years ago and now with two boys, one 11 and one 2, I realized all our hobbies were indoor hobbies. We were not doing much outside. We needed something to get us outside, and something my and my oldest son could do together.
In the meantime, about a year earlier I stopped by U-Fly Hobbies in Freehold, NJ. and purchased a ParkZone J-3 Cub RTF Electric. We flew the Cub a few times and then early spring this year we took in out and started flying everyday. Crashing mostly. It was a bad scene! I love the plane, but I must have spent more on parts than on the original plane.
Then we found the local AMA club, the Momnmouth Model Aircraft Club (MMAC). That was it, I had to do this! I made the decision, I was going to fly this year. We joined the AMA, we joined MMAC, and we hooked up with the instructors of the club. I figured my little electric would be ok, and for Father’s Day my wife bought me another plane, the Sig Kadet Electric.
Well, the great guys at MMAC suggested I get a larger trainer, as it can get windy out there. One of the members graciously gave me a trainer, a .40 size that was given to him, I was hooked! I had been waiting too long to fly. In a few short weekends, with great help of the club’s instructors, I have soloed and I have been given the OK to fly on my own.
It feels great! My son is working on his solo….soon I am sure. But either way, we get to spend some good time together at the field. We both have some new great friends, and we are enjoying being part of the club.
So HELLO WORLD! Welcome to my blog.
-The Hobby Guy
The Hobby Guy 