Silk ears and sows purses

A few things today. I did a bit of thinking yesterday and have (sort of) decided to make a start on some buildings. However i did put some pencil thought into the Ka/Ja project as well, which looks like it will be the big project for next year. Track laying doesn't count as a big job to me yet, though that may change once I work out whats actually involved doing it.

The other thing today is regarding commercial mechanisms. This comes about every time that people start building a kit, or looking at doing a new one and the big question is how to power it. Its not so much of a problem for the modern diesels which are all from the US, but the EE and Mitsubishi stuff is extremely problematic. As a case in point I have the current Ew problem, and while I've come up with what I think is the answer, I'm still not convinced that it will work. The Dsc discussion is also leading down some interesting paths. One modeler is even looking at using a Lima mech that's 30 years old. While I do applaud (to some extent) the 'outside the box' thinking, I d have some doubts of the realities of using a poorly running mechanism (Go to the N scale loco reviews link just down on the left and see what the reviewer has to say about anything Lima). Now I realise that not everyone is made of money. Indeed I was once the prototype for the cashless society as I was never given any. However, I do feel that what money one does have for the hobby should be invested in the best quality one can afford. This means avoiding the lure of the bring and buy tables where you can buy something cheap, and then are forced to try to work out just what you can do with it. I've been burnt like this in the past, spending my meagre money on Bachmann steam locos that only broke my heart. Now days I'll only buy something if its exactly what I want for a price I'm willing to pay.

Actually, what I would like to see would be a selection of mechs that can be made up using Kato/Atlas wheels and drive trains along the lines of the S scale north yard stuff. These would not be overly expensive I think as the bits themselves are reasonably cheap and readily available online. It doesn't have to be high tech to work.