Got GAS and grief? Relief?

Richard-tx · Dec 28, 2012

If your spouse is giving you grief about your GAS affliction, it may help to remind her that there are many more expensive hobbies out there. Two which come to mind are Stereo/Home Theater audio and Model Railroads.

The high end Stereo and HT word is filled with $8000+ DVD players, $10,000+ amplifiers (two of them needed for stereo) and even $40,000 speakers (again two are needed for stereo).

Model Railroads are filled with $300+ locomotives, $700+ power packs, and more. It is not hard to spend $3000+ just getting started.

So the next time you get grief over the next acquisition tell her you are giving up tractors and am going to get a really nice stereo. When she asks how much, ask her if $4000 ($8k new MSRP) for a used DVD/Blu ray player is too much.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/McIntosh-MV...R-Blu-Ray-DVD-Player-/300825173914?pt=DVD_Players_Recorders&hash=item460a93df9a

It might be helpful to print out some auction items and leave them strategically placed around the house.

If all goes well, the grief she current gives will turn to encouragement.

Richard

jrd · Dec 28, 2012

Good advice

I also fly airplanes, which is way more effective than gravely addiction at burning up money.

Apropos model railroads, and *totally* off topic, I have a mid-sixties Lionel Military train set, in very good condition. I'm not into model trains, but I'm told that this is a very rare set, and worth good money to collectors. Anybody have a pointer to where to get such a thing appraised and/or sold?

Richard-tx · Dec 28, 2012

Ebay is a good indicator of street value for most things.

One dentist I knew had a patient or two that paid him in train sets. He had a basement full of train sets. GAK what the street value was worth.

jrd · Dec 28, 2012

Richard-tx said:
Ebay is a good indicator of street value for most things.

Yeah, I know. I've never seen this set, or any of the components which make it unusual, go by on ebay, and I *have* looked. I once spent some time on a web site for old model train collectors, and the concensus there was that such a set in good condition would probably be worth anywhere between 2 and 4K but that they're rare enough that it's really all about finding the right collector, or the right auction place which caters to those collectors. There were of course a few people there who wanted to low-ball me for it

Who knew, when my mom bought me a christmas present 45 years ago, that it would turn out to be worth something?

Oh well. One day I'll find the time to do the research and figure out what's the best way to move it. Probably when I find time left over from gravely projects

arcam8123 · Dec 28, 2012

Sheldon is into model trains. That's why he only has one Gravely.

ATLANTIC CENTRAL · Dec 28, 2012

Yes, only one GRAVELY, but in HO scale - 130 locomotives, about 100 passenger cars, 600+ freight cars, and working on a layout with nearly 8 scale miles of double track main line in an 800 sq ft room.

I likely have more invested in HO locos than what the 18-GLX and all its accessories cost when I bought it new.

Yes, GRAVELYS are cheaper than model trains.

Sheldon

professor · Dec 28, 2012

I thought this post was about a different kind of gas. She should be glad you don't have that either.

Max · Dec 28, 2012

A guy where I work inherited an old pink Lionel train. He took it to a local hobby shop that sold Lionel and the guy appraised it for him. The amount was considerable...IIRC $600 just for the loco. I have no idea how accurate the appraisal or how rare the train.
So it may be worth taking it to a hobby shop or model RR club.

yamato72 · Dec 29, 2012

Yep, like I needed another hobby. These were under the tree this year:

and

I'm going to custom paint a new body for the truck on the left and it will have a mild Gravely theme.

Canary Al · Dec 29, 2012

Could someone be trying to divert your attention Marc?

yamato72 · Dec 29, 2012

Oh I'm complicit, as I paid for all of them. The green one is for my 11-yr-old. The other truck already has a motor problem. The car, though, is a screamer. The problem with this hobby is that you wrench on them constantly, too!

helixhippie · Dec 29, 2012

My wife tells her friends that my Gravely's are much cheaper than her X's cocaine issues...

CTPhil · Dec 29, 2012

You've got your wife rationalizing for you???

Folks, we have a winner. :thThumbsU

tracktortag · Dec 29, 2012

:trink39: Helix! Sounds like a green light to me.

helixhippie · Jan 11, 2013

Rationalizing? She helps hunt them down load them up & bring them home. She runs a few of them & has a fantastic understanding of how they operate. Yes, she also sews, cooks, cleans & gardens. No, her sisters are already married.

We also work together. On a corporate level, she's my boss & earns more than me. She climbs towers at work with me now & then.

Fla Don · Jan 11, 2013

:thThumbsU:trink39:

Got GAS and grief? Relief?

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