ho scale Archives - The Silicon Underground

What happened to Tyco RC and trains?

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 11:00:28 +0000

Tyco is a name I certainly remember from my childhood. While I never had either of them, many people my age had Tyco slot cars and/or a Tyco train set growing up. If you’re wondering what happened to Tyco, or

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Scale vs gauge: Not quite interchangeable

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 11:00:35 +0000

Wondering about scale vs gauge? You’re not alone. It’s a common question, and I’ll try to provide a simple answer. The two terms may appear interchangeable, but they aren’t quite. Gauge is the distance between the two rails, or the

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Bachmann vs Lionel

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 12:00:13 +0000

Comparing Bachmann vs Lionel is a contrast between two very old, established names in electric trains. Lionel, in one form or another, has been selling trains since 1900. Bachmann, the largest seller of trains in the world, was founded in

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An HO scale Christmas village

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:00:41 +0000

Occasionally someone asks me to recommend an HO scale holiday village or HO scale Christmas village. The big-name villages are too big for HO scale trains, generally speaking, so I understand. There’s no big-name HO scale holiday village but there is

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What scale are Hot Wheels cars?

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 11:00:37 +0000

What scale are Hot Wheels cars, you ask? Unfortunately it varies a bit. They tend to be a bit less than 1:64. But scale isn’t Hot Wheels’ objective. Fitting in the package is. That means the size of Hot Wheels cars is between

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What scale are Matchbox cars?

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 11:00:01 +0000

What scale are Matchbox cars, you ask? Unfortunately it varies a bit. Nominally they’re around 1:64 scale. But scale isn’t Matchbox’s objective. Fitting in the package is. That means the size of Matchbox cars is between 2.5 and 3 inches,

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How to sell Lionel trains

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 11:00:51 +0000

Since I’ve covered other makes of trains, someone asked me how to sell Lionel trains. So I thought I would give similar advice on selling Lionel trains. Lionel is an iconic, legendary part of Americana, so there will always be some market

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Cleaning Lionel wheels quickly and easily

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 11:00:51 +0000

If you have a Lionel locomotive with dirty wheels, cleaning them can be a challenge. Here are some tips for making the job of cleaning Lionel wheels easier. This winter I discovered an easy, effective method for cleaning Lionel wheels

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Department 56 vs Liberty Falls

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 11:00:51 +0000

I had an interesting question come in the other day: What are the differences between Department 56 and Liberty Falls? There are some significant differences between them but it turns out it’s entirely possible to use them together. Here’s how. The first difference

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Selling Tyco trains

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 11:00:08 +0000

I got an inquiry last week about selling Tyco trains. As a child of the 70s and 80s, I certainly remember Tyco, and in recent years Tyco has gained a bit of a following. If you’re looking to sell some

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