Assistant Editor’s Musings
by Don Hanley
The Compound Effect
Improving your hobby skills
I
am going to start off with a small test. You are given two
choices:
(A) Have $1 million deposited immediately in your
bank account
(B) have $.01 deposited in your account and have its value
doubled every day for 30 days. So, on the second day you
have $.02, on the third you have $.04, and so forth.
The answers are at the end. No peeking.
What does this test have to do with model railroading? A lot, actu-
ally. Model railroading is not an instant gratification hobby. Sure,
you can purchase highly detailed ready-to-run locomotives and
rolling stock, but where does that get you? If you don't have a lay-
out, they either sit in a box or maybe in a display case.
I suspect that every one of us has looked our early rolling stock,
structures, or layout and then, comparing it to more recent work,
simply sighed. The quality of the early work is not up to par with
what we can do now. This is the compound effect in action. The
Publisher’s editorial - 1
