Iskra
Established Member
I just thought this would make an interesting topic for discussion, and also help fellow forumites make decent purchasing decisions. When looking through retailers sites you see a huge variation in the level and quality of factory weathering; from barely anything to extremely grimy steam locomotives.
What examples do you have within your own fleets of good examples and bad examples of factory weathered models? Should manufacturers even offer weathered models, or should they leave it to the end-user third party experts? Overall, I'd say the standard of factory weathering isn't great, as it often has glaring omissions such as carriage or loco roofs, so should manufacturer's just stop bothering and pass on the cost saving? Please note, this thread is meant for models in as new/factory delivered weathered condition by the original manufacturer, and not for discussion of weathering services provided at additional cost by third parties.
From my fleet, I think the best example of factory weathering is my Heljan BR Green class 27. It's got good underframe, side and roof weathering, as well cab front weathering and looks 'just right' really. Many manufacturer's totally neglect the roof and cab front. The only minor niggles would be some of the engine exhaust/vents could have done with a quick spray of black, but overall I believe this to be an excellent out of the box example of factory weathering:
Another fantastic example would be this Bachmann Class 47 (although I have added some small finishing touches). Obviously the paint job is deliberately very worn and may not be to many modeller's taste, but I think the factory weathering and overall effect is superb, with even the windscreens done to professional standard and the separately fitted plough coming pre-weathered:
At the other end of the scale in my opinion, is this Bachmann Railfreight wagon. Okay, so you might say that it is only a wagon and therefore the price doesn't justify a high-quality finish, but this wagon was around £40 and I'm of the believe that if you offer weathering it should be done properly. I was really disappointed that the roof is still pristine and as are the ends of the wagon which would probably be one of the muckiest bits in reality. Other than the underframe, it just looks like a total bodge-job with very little of the wagons' detail being picked out and the three identical splashes of black around the handles isn't very convincing. To rub salt into the wounds, both sides of the wagon are done identically, so if you buy multiple you can't flip them round to present a more varied set of weathered wagons.
Your thoughts on the subject?
What examples do you have within your own fleets of good examples and bad examples of factory weathered models? Should manufacturers even offer weathered models, or should they leave it to the end-user third party experts? Overall, I'd say the standard of factory weathering isn't great, as it often has glaring omissions such as carriage or loco roofs, so should manufacturer's just stop bothering and pass on the cost saving? Please note, this thread is meant for models in as new/factory delivered weathered condition by the original manufacturer, and not for discussion of weathering services provided at additional cost by third parties.
From my fleet, I think the best example of factory weathering is my Heljan BR Green class 27. It's got good underframe, side and roof weathering, as well cab front weathering and looks 'just right' really. Many manufacturer's totally neglect the roof and cab front. The only minor niggles would be some of the engine exhaust/vents could have done with a quick spray of black, but overall I believe this to be an excellent out of the box example of factory weathering:
Another fantastic example would be this Bachmann Class 47 (although I have added some small finishing touches). Obviously the paint job is deliberately very worn and may not be to many modeller's taste, but I think the factory weathering and overall effect is superb, with even the windscreens done to professional standard and the separately fitted plough coming pre-weathered:
At the other end of the scale in my opinion, is this Bachmann Railfreight wagon. Okay, so you might say that it is only a wagon and therefore the price doesn't justify a high-quality finish, but this wagon was around £40 and I'm of the believe that if you offer weathering it should be done properly. I was really disappointed that the roof is still pristine and as are the ends of the wagon which would probably be one of the muckiest bits in reality. Other than the underframe, it just looks like a total bodge-job with very little of the wagons' detail being picked out and the three identical splashes of black around the handles isn't very convincing. To rub salt into the wounds, both sides of the wagon are done identically, so if you buy multiple you can't flip them round to present a more varied set of weathered wagons.
Your thoughts on the subject?
