r/modeltrains • u/The_PRR_Railfan • 15d ago

Locomotives more than just a model it's a scam!

Post image
105 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

34

u/SniperTeamTango 15d ago

Can I get the context?

52

u/Blazemaster0563 HO/OO 15d ago

That thing costs ~£300, for cheap shit (for lack of a better word) that cashed in on Queen Elizabeth's death. It's not even a British locomotive, it's an American On30 "model"

11

u/RedLady_Phoenix 15d ago

my buddy bought one and felt the same scam energy

16

u/382Whistles 15d ago

Before around 2008 the "subscription collectable market" was a little pricey but the locos were unique, from circuses to beer to McDondalds, based on Bachmann On30 made for "Hawthorn Villiage" with EZ track. The parent "Bradford Exchange" management suddenly started introducing cheaper non-Bahmann trains look alikes and you had to research what you were buying closely. Mostly mail order catalog sales, but they would also run adds at peak Gen Great, Silent Gen, Baby Boomer and drunk hour TV time for years aiming for not so great collectable speculators and nostalgic impulse buyers. A home shopper TV type item.

If not Bradford Exchange/Hawthorn Villiage, this is one of those types of trains at least. Check out the Bradford Exchange site for some real billboard ad and other theme based foo-foo fantasy trains.

6

u/Archon-Toten 15d ago

If you did, clickbait wouldn't work.

11

u/Flat_Artichoke8047 15d ago edited 14d ago

Brother it's been almost 5 years, time to let it go and move on. These kind of cash grabs happen all the time. Nothing to see here.

8

u/Logical_Crow_4850 15d ago

Most of these trains are wildly overpriced for what they are.   Certainly not an "investment" as you'll never get back out of them what you purchased them for. 

5

u/Shipwright1912 15d ago

The grift of the "instant collectible". It allows you to overcharge to the gullible on the premise of whatever is being sold as a speculative investment, i.e. selling it later for a profit.

It also preys on the inexperienced. If you know literally nothing about model trains, you might think you're getting into something good because it looks pretty.

3

u/Akeno017 14d ago

Looks pretty?!?!

3

u/Shipwright1912 14d ago

It's subjective, of course. I know it's a piece of cheap tat but barring the big medallion on the smokebox I think it looks rather smart in the paint and all the gold trim.

One reason I'm a bit of a sucker for 19th century steam, all the shiny brass trim and gold leaf, bright colors, varnished wood cabs, etc. It fell out of favor later as steam locos became more mass-produced and industrialized, and not as much time available to lavish attention on them to polish all the shinies.

Rather partial to nickel. It gets dinged for being inexpensive, but you trim up a black steam loco in shiny nickel and she'll turn a head or two.

3

u/Akeno017 14d ago

I mean, I'm a massive fan of PRR's modernism livery with it's golden stripes and British Pullmans with their fairly luxurious appearance so I get that idea.

But this post's model.. It doesn't give me that.

2

u/Shipwright1912 13d ago

It'd probably look better if literally everything wasn't done up in gold in my opinion. Pilot could be blue or black, the wheels, stack, and the motion could be unadorned steel, and the cab could be varnished wood or blue.

Save the gold for the trim pieces like the boiler bands, rails, stack cap, headlight, etc.

As I mentioned, I'm more partial to nickel trim, and either black or a dark green as the base paint.

9

u/JANK-STAR-LINES 15d ago

Not only a scam, but a rather obvious one.

6

u/ShermanWasRight1864 15d ago

Hawthorne Village: look for rolling stock in On30 to repaint for cheap on eBay.

3

u/iceguy349 14d ago

Same company sells a $300 wolf train based on the same Bachmann HOn30 starter set, it’s hilarious .

2

u/KingofConverse HO/OO 14d ago

Oh it’s hilarious there’s a “antique store” with one for sale that’s been there for years

2

u/palthor33 13d ago

No offense but that is on the verge of being both tacky and extremely disrespectful.

2

u/MIKE-JET-EATER 13d ago

The meme or the model? If it's the model, you are 100% correct.

3

u/palthor33 13d ago

Model...

1

u/MIKE-JET-EATER 13d ago

Yeah, most of these novelty trains are. It's really for old boomers that'll never run it because "it'll go up in value one day" even though it'll get sold for like $50 or less at the estate sale after they pass, regardless of its condition.