Hi Ya'll;
Well, here's a strange one. I have a very dear friend who's older than me by five years. He is into Model Railroads. H.O. is his preferred scale.That's 1/87 to you and me. He spent 24 years in the A.F. and he's likes messing with those little trains and the buildings and such.
I had to start a building set for him. He admits he's a lousy painter. Lousy? How about totally clueless. He has laid out his track and got the trains running. BUT, He hasn't a clue for the rest. I discovered something odd that shocked the stuffing out of me. He's in his entire life, never, NEVER been inside a Hobby Shop ! !
How can someone mess with such a demanding hobby and NEVER have been inside a H.S.? I was taken aback by his reaction when we arrived. Talk about a kid in a candy store. He was so amazed he didn't have the courage to spend money on anything! He was surprised at the cost of the items though. He found it hard to understand a $140.00 pricetag on a 1/48 plane model that had P.E.Included!
And yet, He would buy an Engine for his Freight Train from Walthers Mail Order, for $560.00 because it had D.C.C. ( Digital Command Control) and other bells and whistles. He has never in his Train Hobbying tried to remove molded on detail and replace it with brass or wire to make it look more authentic. When I showed him how wire grab rails looked on an F-8-A engine, he couldn't believe how much better it looked.
Ah, going back to the beginning. He swore to me he'd NEVER been in one of those stores and had alway bought his paints at Wal-Mart and K-Mart when he needed it. He doesn't even know about the paints we use. How, did this happen? 24 years in the A.F. and he didn't know what a Hobby Shop was ? ? No, This is not a joke! !