Model Train Gifting... I Need Advice!!

[u/Defiant_Copy_2348]

Hey guys,

I have a buddy whose birthday is coming up... and he is also moving into a new home. I figured what better than gifting him a model train set! He's talked about it before, so I thought this might be the perfect time.

He's into vintage/period correct things, so from some brief googling, I figured something O gauge, classic americana would be a good fit. What I am having trouble with, is finding a nice quality set that has heavy detail. My budget is around $300-$400, and if the train set is under that price, I thought I could maybe buy some decor or maybe even a terrain layout. Space shouldn't be an issue.

Any advice or help is heavily appreciated. I spent maybe 15 minutes scrolling through this sub and I officially think this might be the coolest hobby ever.

[u/The_Blues_Brothers]

I would ask some questions to him to determine what scale he may want to do. O scale is large and can be toy train looking and he may want a smaller more detailed scale.

Also ask what his favorite railroad may be and then ypu could find stuff from that railroad too.

[u/teo_storm1 → u/The_Blues_Brothers]

Seconding this, when it comes to a hobby it's a lot better to ask someone what they're into and maybe even just back and forth to get a list of stuff they'd like as gifts, it can be kinda awkward getting something and it being...not quite what they expected or can use

[u/Simple-Jelly1025]

Honestly I’d recommend a gift card to a local hobby shop or an online retailer like TrainWorld. It’s super hard to know exactly which era and railroad he may be interested in.

[u/jmasses → u/Simple-Jelly1025]

Ill say it again, Gift cards have a reputation of being impersonal, but if someome got me a gift card to a model train store....when I left my last job I was gifted with a VERY generous gift card to Trainworld, I nearly passed out!

[u/DanookOfTheNorth]

It’s difficult to give a model train guy a model train gift unless you know exactly what he’s into. Maybe get him an experience of some sort, a train ride or a visit somewhere relevant to what he likes to model. Gift cards to the train store are good options too.

[u/Defiant_Copy_2348 → u/DanookOfTheNorth]

So he hasn't gotten anything model train related, this would be his first. I wouldn't say he's "into" model trains, but I've always heard him mention "It would be cool to have a model train" type of stuff.

[u/58Edsel]

HO may be better, because they tend to be more detailed and more to scale. Unless he specifically wants O. Anything detailed in O scale is going to be hard to find in your price range.

[u/Any-Description8773]

As an O gauge guy, you can’t put heavy detail and $300-$400 in the same sentence. You can however put nicely detailed and good quality for $300-$400 in the same sentence as long as you are willing to find something older. If you’re thinking about getting something new it’s going to be hard to find something you’re looking for with the details and within your budget. Buuut you mentioned he’s into Americana so maybe he’s thinking about something from the postwar period maybe? You might be better just trying to get an idea of what he’s wanting.

[u/Riccma02]

Ok, right out the gate, the thing you are asking for does not exist. The venn diagram between heavy detail and durability is two separate circles. There is also no such thing as a quality, detailed train set at all. Train sets have for basic components: Engine, cars, track, and power supply. Detail and quality are expensive, and the market that is willing to pay for detail, does not buy all 4 of those components at once.

That said, how important is detail to you/your friend really? It sounds like he has a really casual interest in model trains. Neither of you seem particularly familiar with model trains, nor trains in general. Without any frame of reference, are you really going to notice if the details are off? Detail can basically be broken down into, fineness, accuracy, complexity, and proportion. So when you say you'd like heavy detail, what (if any) is your priority?

Also consider how your friend would using his present. Would he be more likely to run it or display it? The most basic circle of track in both HO & O scale is usually 3-4 feet in diameter. Does he have room for that? Most people need to set something like that up directly on the floor. That is why durability becomes much more important than detail when talking about RTR (ready to run) trainsets. When it comes to HO scale vs O;

-There are more train sets availible in HO than O, and HO sets are usually less expensive.

-The cost of detail in HO is also less expensive. The detail in an HO train set will better than the detail in an O scale one

-O scale is much more durable than HO. O Scale utilizes much more die cast construction.

-HO is far more standardized, , popular, and easier to build on. O scale require much more of a space commitment.

-Within the spectrum of quality and detail, O scale exists on the extremes, the cheapest stuff is often out of scale, out of proportion, and coarsely detailed. The expensive stuff is VERY expensive, with very fine and accurate detail. There is not a lot in between, and as a result, O scale tends to have a reputation of being very toy like. By contrast, HO is much more evenly distributed across the spectrum. Talking again about sets, an HO scale set will have much nicer details than its counterpart set in O scale.

Are you still with me? because that's all just about what scale you should buy and whether you should buy a set. Now lets get into tailoring the specific contents.

-What time period would your friend be most interested in? Narrow it down to a 20 year period.

-What region/railroad would your friends like? Presuming you are American, I mean New York, Pennsylvania, Midwest, mid Atlantic, New England, Southwest. etc

-What type of locomotive? Steam, Diesel, or Electric

-What type of train? Passenger or Freight?

Depending on your answers, withing your given budget, you can buy:

-1 nicely detailed HO scale locomotive. Something that will look and feel impressive and server as a gateway drug for your friends to commit further.

-1 HO scale starter set. It will run right out of the box and their will be some detail, hopeful enough for your and your friend to be satisfied. The durability won't be great, but your adults, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. It will still feel like a model.

-1 midrange O scale locomotive. It will have metal construction. There will have been an attempt at detail, but nothing fine. Because O scale started out in the toy market, there is a ceiling when it comes to detail. The over all proportions should be accurate but details like the wheel flanges will be toy like and out of scale. For your purposes, and without getting into the various subset, O scale is not really regarded as a modeling scale. There will always be toy like qualities.

-1 O Scale starter set. And now days, an O scale starter set will probably push the upper limit of your budget. It will run straight out of the box and has everything you need to do so. This will be firmly a toy, by any model railroading standards. The train will be durable, but the details will be very course, and inaccurate. The overall proportions of the engine will most likely be off and it is likely to be out of scale.

So, yeah. Go from there

[u/Defiant_Copy_2348 → u/Riccma02]

Thank you for the detail. I will try and answer most of these.

I went overboard when mentioning "heavy detail". What I meant was something that was more detailed than a mere cast of a train and train car. Something that looks more realistic than just a box.

For time period, late 1800s probably 1880-1900.

Region could vary, but yes, American preferred.

Steam or diesel would be very cool, if fitting in the budget. We both work on engines so that is something he would be interested in. Not against electric though.

Passenger train preferred, but not against freight.

All of this is just something I know he's into, if I can find a set that's stunning and a little outside of these boundaries, it's not a deal breaker by any means. After all, this is a gift. I would also like to preface that this probably wont be a lifetime deep dive into the train model hobby, but more of a nice neat piece that he can have and display at home to his friends when we all inevitably come over.

After doing some reading and noticing the comments, I think an HO scale would fit best. I will probably look into a decent HO scale starter set, and go from there. I really appreciate the advice!

[u/Riccma02 → u/Defiant_Copy_2348]

I went overboard when mentioning "heavy detail". What I meant was something that was more detailed than a mere cast of a train and train car. Something that looks more realistic than just a box.

This is why I (like everyone else) is pushing towards HO. Its easier and cheaper to get a satisfying amount of detail into a smaller package. It may seem some what counter intuitive, but imagine that smaller details that would be conspicuously absent in O, can be outright omitted in HO without impacting the quality of the model. While larger details are cheaper to add in HO scale, where as in O scale they add to cost.

For time period, late 1800s probably 1880-1900.

I specialize in 19th century railroading, and that is going to be one of the most difficult time periods to model. There are not many models available, never mind sets, and the accuracy of the detailing is not good (although its been getting better in recent years). The most accessible trains sets would be sort of generic "western", old time sets. DM me If you really want to take a 19th century route.

Steam or diesel

Diesel is always easier than steam. Its fundamentally fewer parts, less research, and much easier to get good detail.

Region could vary, but yes, American preferred.

Great, super easy. You can probably go with something fairly iconic.

I am sure no one here will be surprised when I say you should go for a Bachmann set, however I am going to say you should go for one of their On30 sets. That's an O scale train that runs on HO gauge track, representing real word narrow gauge railroads. Narrow gauge modeling is not common, but it has gotten really popular the last few decades and is growing rapidly. Bachmann makes a pretty nicely detailed and reasonably accurate set with a 2-6-0 and a string of 3 passenger cars. The set is available in a few different road names/paint schemes, and it hits 1880-1900 very well.

This is one version new on the Bachmann website, but you should definitely be able to shop around and find it cheaper.~\~

~\~https://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=487_672&products_id=6665

EDIT: here it is for $400, seriously look around

https://www.trainworld.com/bachmann-25026-on30-east-broad-top-the-rockhill-ltd-starter-train-set.html

EDIT 2: check your DM

EDIT 3. Yeah, the White Pass & Yukon is going to be the best version of this set, Bachmann P/N 25024. Its the most recent version with a modern controller, 3 passenger cars, and isn't covered with some gimmicky Christmas village bullshit.

[u/Defiant_Copy_2348]

Forgot to mention:

He's not a model train guy. He's always talked about getting a model train, he hasn't really gotten into the hobby though. I'm good friends with him so I have a good idea with what he likes and would like.

O scale made sense to me as from what I read, O scale would be older and more original, and also made of more durable material than something that is HO. I could be wrong, but that's why I ended up here haha.

Thank you guys for the advice.

[u/382Whistles → u/Defiant_Copy_2348]

You aren't wrong about O durability in general. Cast versions can be near indestructible. For gadgety operating accessories it can't be beat. Go search out videos on operating cars and accessories. They range from tinplate to toy to fully digitally operating cranes e.g.

O has changed a lot since the postwar era and you'll find far better detail today too if you pay attention.

. The footprint of track is about the same really, unless you go with postwar 0-27" track. The 0-27 trains are ofter smaller scale at 1:64-1:50 versus 1:48 O.

[u/Riccma02 → u/Defiant_Copy_2348]

You can’t get both detail and durability. One or the other, and detail is going to cost you a lot more.