holiday village Archives - The Silicon Underground

O scale Christmas village choices

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:00:15 +0000

If you’re looking for an O scale Christmas village or O scale holiday village to go with a Lionel train or similar train of another make, you’re in luck. You have two good choices. The biggest names in Christmas villages

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Department 56 vs Lemax

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 11:00:49 +0000

Department 56 vs Lemax is a battle between the two biggest names in holiday villages. There are a lot of similarities between the two brands, but the differences may matter to you. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering

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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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Tips for using Dept. 56 and Lemax-type buildings with Lionel trains

Dave Farquhar — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 11:00:17 +0000

A frequent question I see regards the proper scale of snow village-type buildings, like Department 56 and Lemax, and whether they’re suitable for use with Lionel electric trains. The answer is that their scale varies, but the buildings work very effectively with

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What is On30?

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:37:37 +0000

To a newcomer, and even many people with years of experience, the phrase “On30” is confusing. Basically, it’s O scale models (1:48) of narrow-gauge (30 inches in this case) railroads. And that probably raises a few more questions, so I’ll

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Cheap source of parts for projects, electronic or otherwise

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 26 Oct 2004 02:54:22 +0000

I went to Dollar Tree today and picked up some of the street lights for their Cobblestone Corners holiday village series. It's a cheap way to get some parts for projects, electronic or otherwise.

Where else will you get a battery pack for two AAs--complete with two-position sliding on/off switch--some bits of wire (22 gauge?), and up to three grain of wheat bulbs for a buck?

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Tin litho buildings for a traditional pre-war train layout

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 29 Sep 2004 11:00:49 +0000

It's time to come out of the closet. I'm sick of hi-rail.

Hi-rail, for the uninitiated, is the practice of "serious" model railroading in 1:48 or 1:64 scale using Lionel or American Flyer trains, respectively.

I find two things annoying about it: the snobbery and the price. If I'm gonna pay $100 for a train car, it'd better be older than me and it'd better still be worth that next week. But I found my way out.

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What day is it again?

Dave Farquhar — Sat, 28 Aug 2004 03:57:10 +0000

Passing a few minutes before a movie started tonight, my girlfriend and I went into a nearby store to look around. And what did we find?

Christmas stuff.

Am I smoking crack, or is it still August?

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