Too shiney and new

Why do builders finish their locomotives as if they have just come out of the paint shop at Crewe.

I've yet to see a loco that is weathered and worn, far more realistic than the shiney and new showcase models that people build.

For the same reason that they won't drill a hole in their Myford to fasten a much needed piece of equipment ?

I can understand the desire to put a perfect finish on the object you have spent so much time creating. To distress the finished article really seems to go against all you have bee trying to acheive for all those hours (years). That said the best models Iv'e seen and certainly the ones I look at for longest at shows are the one where the model engineer has done just that. Not making it look battered about but really trying to understand the loco or traction engine in use. Foot steps and hand hold worn shiny by usage of crews odd corners uncleaned where it's difficult to get a rag in. Paint knocked of on corners that get hit by shovels, oil cans or lumps of coal and the detritus of daily use. These are the things that make a model come alive to me... Anyone else feel this way?

bright and shiney so it can go back into the house after running, I suppose.

I have drilled holes in my Myford and cut/bent spanners for restricted access.

People who have the patience and the attention span which allows them to build complicated things often also have a thing about attention to detail

So mucking something up goes against the grain

"People who have the patience and the attention span which allows them to build complicated things often also have a thing about attention to detail"

Surely simulated rust around the chimney base or lime scale around the steam dome is just as much detail and more accurate than a highly polished back head or mirror finished paint job.

Edited By Eric Cox on 08/07/2013 10:00:24

Surely if they start off shiney and new they will "mature" to " weathered and worn" over time? Whenever I've bought a new ( or "new" S/H) car it starts off shiney and new and I try to keep it looking like that. In a very short time I give up and it looks "comfortably used". Why should models be any different? I've never found a need to simulate rust as that seems to happen automatically.

Norman

The methods used to weather models are not that durable so would be hard to keep intact on a loco that was used regularly. I've seen it done on other models such as this hit & miss engine and this guy did WD colours on his TE though not covered in mud

It is also 'custom and practice'. In model railways and model boats it is a recognised option to produce a weathered model and be duly credited for the achievement in exhibitions. In ME it simply isn't normal. Perhaps due to the fact that often full size they did endevour to roll a loco out of the shops in imaculate contidion (mainline not shunter) or a Victorian waterworks would be made as a marbled hall with a polished brass beam engine inside.

Just look at the equivalent today - do Airbus deliver you a new jet with pre-applied oil leaks?

Sadly if it's got Rolls Royce engines then the answer is probably yes.

Andrew

Perhaps the same reason some people will take a well-preserved, running, vintage motorbike or car and "restore" it with a standard of chrome, paint and polished aluminium even brighter and shinier than it left the factory with.

Some people just like to make bright and shiny things. Others like them worn and comfortable.

Maybe Mike but if you've spent months (nay - years! - or even years and years) working away at something maybe you prefer it to LOOK nice at the end - I know I do. Shiny always appeals to me more that dull.

If you are driven by the need to compete for prizes and "authenticity" gains extra points then I guess you have to follow that path but how many folk ARE driven by competition? I do this for "ME" and if I'm satisfied then thats what I seek - which brings me back to shiney!

Would I drill a hole in my Myford? - I'd much rather not - so I'd seek a workaround if possible. When you do stuff for a living like John S then the drivers are different.

Norman

mine looks well weathered and I only just finished it...looks like it was painted by an idiot.....ah!!

I prefer models to look at least vaguely like the real think Boatbuilders are the worst offenders - brass railing replace rusty, may-times painted iron with a texture like 'The Thing' from the Fantatstic Four.

My shunter looked like a toy as originally painted, I had to matt it down, but I still fee like adding 'rust'. It also showed up the tiniest flaws, while with a matt finish they just look like part of teh 'character'. Excuse the poor colour balance on these shots.

Neil

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