Hey Binnie! Most medium to large centres will have clubs running and each will do a yearly exhibition; check their website. Plus they organise in a national exhibition they travel to; it was in Christchurch in recent years. I hear great things of the clubs; I am not retired and never been a club-joiner but I know 3-4 people who are non-engineers (but retired of the careers they did have) they have done remarkable things with help from a club; building ride-behind scale live steam successfully. While I feel like I couldn't achieve these builds, they assure me I could; with club help. For now I enjoy the cheap models I get; I still have kids and although money isn't a problem I am not used to dropping 10K-20K on models and gear at one go; like on a 2" to 4" scale traction engine. I keep doing this mental calculation that has served me all my life: how much will it cost compared to the hours I'd get out of it? Does it hold value? And what else could I do with that money? Despite letting my business slowly coast downward now, my wife's business is very busy, kids are young and I can't just be a playboy of leisure, yet...time of life, as always :)
@Thomas PCGuru ENGINES thanks for such a thorough response. I will check to see what's available locally. I'm not a mechanic or studied it by any means, but I always worked on my motorbikes and really keen to learn. Until I discovered the reasonable price Chinese models. Just like you, I am not able to pay crazy amounts on these engines while I know deep down I would struggle to enjoy . But these Chinese models, while far from perfect, give a good challenge to make it our way, see it run, and have good fun without worrying where my 10-15k is gone. I only have 6 engines overall, but I truly feel happy running each and disconnecting from the world. If you ever attending any of these gatherings let us know and I try to make it there, and get to meet you as well😊
MOTAT, in Auckland, has a live steam day once a month when they run the steam loco's, and once a year they have a lot of traction engines and models turn up. They don't advertise it much but if you're interested you should get in touch with them. I can't remember when they do it, but some time in the warmer months no doubt. It's not a full steam fair as such, but it's nice to see a few traction engines working in the middle of Auckland.
**Now with some editing, for reduced nausea... turns out my model engine cam is not so great for steam & vintage shows. Will get a steadycam next time
Hey Thomas, is there any model engines conventions in NZ ? Would be cool to see what other enthusiasts have or made
Hey Binnie! Most medium to large centres will have clubs running and each will do a yearly exhibition; check their website. Plus they organise in a national exhibition they travel to; it was in Christchurch in recent years.
I hear great things of the clubs; I am not retired and never been a club-joiner but I know 3-4 people who are non-engineers (but retired of the careers they did have) they have done remarkable things with help from a club; building ride-behind scale live steam successfully.
While I feel like I couldn't achieve these builds, they assure me I could; with club help.
For now I enjoy the cheap models I get; I still have kids and although money isn't a problem I am not used to dropping 10K-20K on models and gear at one go; like on a 2" to 4" scale traction engine. I keep doing this mental calculation that has served me all my life: how much will it cost compared to the hours I'd get out of it? Does it hold value? And what else could I do with that money? Despite letting my business slowly coast downward now, my wife's business is very busy, kids are young and I can't just be a playboy of leisure, yet...time of life, as always :)
@Thomas PCGuru ENGINES thanks for such a thorough response. I will check to see what's available locally. I'm not a mechanic or studied it by any means, but I always worked on my motorbikes and really keen to learn. Until I discovered the reasonable price Chinese models. Just like you, I am not able to pay crazy amounts on these engines while I know deep down I would struggle to enjoy . But these Chinese models, while far from perfect, give a good challenge to make it our way, see it run, and have good fun without worrying where my 10-15k is gone. I only have 6 engines overall, but I truly feel happy running each and disconnecting from the world. If you ever attending any of these gatherings let us know and I try to make it there, and get to meet you as well😊
Nice, really nice :) You're talking my language there Binnie " I truly feel happy running each and disconnecting from the world."
MOTAT, in Auckland, has a live steam day once a month when they run the steam loco's, and once a year they have a lot of traction engines and models turn up. They don't advertise it much but if you're interested you should get in touch with them. I can't remember when they do it, but some time in the warmer months no doubt. It's not a full steam fair as such, but it's nice to see a few traction engines working in the middle of Auckland.