megabus Posted January 15, 2013 Share #1 Posted January 15, 2013 Hello friends, I would like to know if the HO scale is widely used by North American train modelists. I noticed that the scale O scale was often used in US, In Europe and France it's quite rare, most often modelers use 1/87 scale (HO, HOm or HOe) and the N 1/160 scale. C.U.Soon, Laurent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamen Rider Posted January 15, 2013 Share #2 Posted January 15, 2013 HO sees plenty of usage. But don't forget that Lionel, and it's O gauge line, was a cultural insitution in the US for many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Concourse Posted January 15, 2013 Share #3 Posted January 15, 2013 I personally prefer O gauge because the parts are more sturdier. HO are plastic and one wrong touch and you could snap off some small handle or such on a car. HO is just too fragile imo. I mean it's nice and more detailed, but I just like O scale more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GojiMet86 Posted January 15, 2013 Share #4 Posted January 15, 2013 Every model and set I have are HO. I never liked the big trains. They take too much space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RookiePhenom Posted January 15, 2013 Share #5 Posted January 15, 2013 I've been an HO person for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quill Depot Posted January 15, 2013 Share #6 Posted January 15, 2013 HO is where you can find most stuff... it is also relatively cheaper. I'd suggest it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kentsfield Posted January 17, 2013 Share #7 Posted January 17, 2013 I never understood the appeal of O. Isn't the roller power pick up off putting as a compromise in model realism? And the starter set curves are uselessly tight. At a minimum O-48 is needed for anything somewhat realistic. O gauge only dominates the high end range of american model railroads but not the larger market. Except for dear mta, HO also has the best availability of amtrak and commuter railroads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamen Rider Posted January 17, 2013 Share #8 Posted January 17, 2013 obviuosly the answer to that is no. there are much worse offenders in that department, Marklin has a upsidedown and sideways pantograph on their 3 rail HO system. realisim isn't the concern of everyone. For me it's mostly the fun of running them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Concourse Posted January 17, 2013 Share #9 Posted January 17, 2013 Exactly. ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megabus Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share #10 Posted January 17, 2013 Ok, so HO scale is very well represented. I asked this because I couldn't find a lot of models (cars, buses, trucks) in this scale. I never understood the appeal of O. Isn't the roller power pick up off putting as a compromise in model realism? And the starter set curves are uselessly tight. At a minimum O-48 is needed for anything somewhat realistic. O gauge only dominates the high end range of american model railroads but not the larger market. Except for dear mta, HO also has the best availability of amtrak and commuter railroads. Me too, I don't very like O scale. You say "except for dear MTA", it would mean that there is no subway models in HO scale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novabus 5000 Posted January 20, 2013 Share #11 Posted January 20, 2013 I Deal with O scale mainly due to model buses. HO scale buses are a bit harder to customize however if you have the skill it can be done. O scale buses arre easier for me. O scale trains is another story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dj Hammers Posted January 20, 2013 Share #12 Posted January 20, 2013 I run HOn3, mostly because it was grandfathered in when I inherited a large collection of brass geared locomotives and mallets from my grandfather (I'd never dare to run them though). Whatever model trains I run is mostly restricted to a little 44 tonner and a couple little brass flatcars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megabus Posted January 20, 2013 Author Share #13 Posted January 20, 2013 I Deal with O scale mainly due to model buses. HO scale buses are a bit harder to customize however if you have the skill it can be done. O scale buses arre easier for me. O scale trains is another story... It is true that it is much easier to customize buses in O scale, which is widely used by Europeans modelists who collect static models. But we have a lot of bus of different French networks colors in HO scale, much more than the scale O. And they take up much less space! If you want I could put pictures of model O which have been marketed. I run HOn3, mostly because it was grandfathered in when I inherited a large collection of brass geared locomotives and mallets from my grandfather (I'd never dare to run them though). Whatever model trains I run is mostly restricted to a little 44 tonner and a couple little brass flatcars. What represents the HOn3 scale exactly? In Europe we have the HO scale (1/87) HOm scale (1/87 metric gauge track) and HOe scale (1/87 narrow gauge). Could you put some pics of yours HOn3 models, like Mallet? C.U.Soon, Laurent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Concourse Posted January 20, 2013 Share #14 Posted January 20, 2013 lol, I guess using Hot wheels or matchbox cars for ho scale is out of the question? I mean, that's pretty much the closest thing I can think of in terms of scale and availability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theaveragejoe Posted January 20, 2013 Share #15 Posted January 20, 2013 lol, I guess using Hot wheels or matchbox cars for ho scale is out of the question? I mean, that's pretty much the closest thing I can think of in terms of scale and availability. Most of them are closer to 1/64th scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
553 Bridgeton Posted January 22, 2013 Share #16 Posted January 22, 2013 I use HO due to the fact alot of commuter cars are available. I dont like the O gauge and they take too much space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yardlet6 Posted January 22, 2013 Share #17 Posted January 22, 2013 I never understood the appeal of O. Isn't the roller power pick up off putting as a compromise in model realism? And the starter set curves are uselessly tight. At a minimum O-48 is needed for anything somewhat realistic. O gauge only dominates the high end range of american model railroads but not the larger market. Except for dear mta, HO also has the best availability of amtrak and commuter railroads. You can find cheaper O gauge by checking the larger train stores and the manufacturers that sell at lower cost. Trainland,Just Trains and Charles Ro have O gauge at good prices. Williams by Bachmann have well made engines at low prices and good quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamen Rider Posted January 22, 2013 Share #18 Posted January 22, 2013 You say "except for dear MTA", it would mean that there is no subway models in HO scale? there are a few IRT SMEE car sets in HO, but the vast majoirty of trains based on the subway are MTH or Lionel O gauge. This is an MTH made set based on the BMT "Q" cars used for the 1939 World's Fair from my collection. I also have MTH's D E and 2 train sets and Lionel's Metro-North M7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megabus Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share #19 Posted January 22, 2013 I think looking at some toys stores in NYC to try to find some models in HO scale to bring with me in France. It's a shame that there was no New York subways models at this scale! I guess there is no MTA bus on this scale. P.S: I sell bus at this scale, almost as French models, some foreigners. If this is someone interested, I can always bring in my luggage for my trip in february. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamen Rider Posted January 25, 2013 Share #20 Posted January 25, 2013 the transit museum store had the HO but i guess ether thier supply is gone or it's not for sale online, I do have a set of those, but bought it at the store in GCT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megabus Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share #21 Posted January 25, 2013 the transit museum store had the HO but i guess ether thier supply is gone or it's not for sale online, I do have a set of those, but bought it at the store in GCT. I take advantage of my trip to see what is available in the Transit museum shop. Hoping that the NYPD museum could reopen by then ... What is GCT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threxx Posted January 25, 2013 Share #22 Posted January 25, 2013 I take advantage of my trip to see what is available in the Transit museum shop. Hoping that the NYPD museum could reopen by then ...What is GCT? Grand Central Terminal. The museum shop is located there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
553 Bridgeton Posted January 28, 2013 Share #23 Posted January 28, 2013 Theres Trainworld on ditmas n mcdonald in brooklyn. Right now they have the green r17 in ho avail for 124.99. Going there on saturday to pick up another set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megabus Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share #24 Posted February 2, 2013 Grand Central Terminal. The museum shop is located there. Yesss ok!!! Theres Trainworld on ditmas n mcdonald in brooklyn. Right now they have the green r17 in ho avail for 124.99. Going there on saturday to pick up another set. Thank you, I will visit this shop also. Could someone tell me if the store is open all the time because on the site it says: opening hours for holidays... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
553 Bridgeton Posted February 5, 2013 Share #25 Posted February 5, 2013 They closed on sundays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.