Jul 16, 2010

Märklin HO and toy trains

Märklin train

Now, I'm not quite sure if most of the Gnome's Lair readers will be interested in little electrical models of trains and tiny model breweries, but, well, I thought that model-making is closely related to Warhammer and playing with toys is a sort of gaming too, so, uhm, please bare with me. After all, it's not everyday one discovers a forgotten hobby and this is exactly what happened to me yesterday, when me and the lady of the lair decided to unpack my ancient Märklin sets in order to design a coffee-table/diorama hybrid.

Yes, indeed. We'll be creative in a very hands-on way and hopefully come up with something beautiful, unique and very retro, as the origins of this very train-set are almost lost in antiquity. Or at least trace back to a few months after I was born...

The good news is, everything seems to work fine (yes, the trains, the crossings, the lamps, everything) and we'll start working immediately. Oh, and I'll be posting pictures and updates as regularly as possible. Hope you luvs enjoy this one too.

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8 comments:

  1. Sounds wonderful. My oldest brother had a train set in the early 50s when he was a kid and I have fond memories of our all playing with it.

    A couple of years ago, I flirted with the idea of getting one.

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  2. Taking into consideration I'm not the perfect person to ask right now, I'd say go for it. Both you and the kids are bound to love it. These tiny trains are just beautiful.

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  3. I've always wanted one of these. I used to have a miniature steam engine that used bricks of fuel to run. I don't know what ever happened to it.

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  4. Hey, don't look at me! I didn't grab it. Mine runs on electricity. Really. Look, look!

    (points furiously)

    Seriously though, such an engine sounds incredibly cool.

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  5. Ooh I'm looking forward to your updates! I'm not big on trains irl, but I was a bit of a mad inventor/model maker when I was a wee lad. If it wasn't nailed down, I had designs on how it could be 'improved'.

    I had one of those Hornby trainsets: a modern electric thing with a modern train, but I later acquired a little electric blue steam engine that I fell in love with. I'm still quite fond of steam engines to this day.

    I remember my older cousin had access to all these bits of cardboard from his work, and I have fond memories of him teaching me how to make little houses and giving me all his issues of Railway Modeller.

    I've still got most of my bits and pieces stored in the parents attic back home - I never really did finish building my model railway -the track's a bit bent now so the current doesn't flow so good, but that little steam train still runs fine. Damn I have to try again now.

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  6. That's funny, it was my childhood hobby too! Although mine were of the slightly smaller TT scale.

    My dad promised me to make a diorama for me, because I was crap with this kind of work, unfortunately, he never did. But the whole paraphernalia is down there in the basement somewhere...

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  7. Yeah, mine was the more common '00' gauge that is so prevalent over here. I always had trouble fitting it on my baseboard though, so I would've liked to have tried a smaller gauge. I like the idea of the outdoor ones too, that would be cool=)

    Ah, the diorama was always the main attraction for me but I never did make much beyond a small village square. I loved all the little details though. The cousin I mentioned had his model railway running around the four walls of his bedroom with different landscapes on each one. His wife didn't seem to mind and I was so jealous=)

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  8. Well, dear friends, more updates will follow, as you all seem quite keen on little trains. Or at least modelling. Well, we all have our fond memories, don't we?

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