HO Adam's Italian Diversions: Ein Supermodell (Brawa Köf)

Yorkshire Dave

Western Thunderer
Reminds me of a story when helping friends operate their large Austrian layout many years ago.

On one of my trips to München during the late 1990s/early 2000s I spotted this on a ÖBB coach so I offered to add graffiti to one of their HO models and the answer was yes.

München.jpg
When at an exhibition running the coach in a train a punter sharply remarked 'there's graffiti on that coach! I run mine (trains) as it should be' to which I replied ' We run ours as it appears today'. Admittedly it was difficult to control our mirth after apparently upsetting chap by defacing a Roco coach.

Obviously it's horses for courses and I think a bit of graffiti on some stock does not go amiss if you're portraying what you have seen.
 

Jordan

Mid-Western Thunderer
When at an exhibition running the coach in a train a punter sharply remarked 'there's graffiti on that coach! I run mine (trains) as it should be' to which I replied ' We run ours as it appears today'. Admittedly it was difficult to control our mirth after apparently upsetting chap by defacing a Roco coach.
I do hope you had that photo with you, to wave under Mr Knowall's nose. :D
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
...but is it not sad that we have the consider graffiti as "normal"?

Brian

Sad or not, it seems part of the human condition: I spent an hour or two last week reading about medieval graffiti (13th, 14th and 15th century, mostly) for work and this triggered a conversation with a colleague about Roman graffiti which is apparently very common archaeologically. Go to Bodiam Castle, for example, and there's examples from the 18th century through both World Wars and the 20th century and that's just on the main gate! Ok, so the stuff we know about and that remains is largely incised in stone, brick and plaster but it's far from rare. The difference, I guess, is that spraypaint makes it easier to make a colourful and - apparently - durable impression.

Adam
 
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oldravendale

Western Thunderer
Good point, Adam, and I must admit to having carved my initials on the occasional school desk lid.:)

My sadness about "modern" graffiti is that it so rarely has any artistic merit or originality (like it or not, Banksie certainly has that). In fact well executed graffiti can add character to a location, as I saw in several places in Lisbon. There is also no care about where it is applied. In my frequent trips to Rome and less frequent ones to Paris, for example, I was always saddened to see the daubs which appeared on old and frequently important buildings. There's also the matter of the defaced structures all along the lineside in the suburbs when on the train in to London from pretty well any direction.

These are, of course, sweeping and personal generalisations and I'd not want to impose my views on everyone else - at least until I become President of the World.

Brian
 

simond

Western Thunderer
Brian, I’m sure there are worse candidates...

I recall from the days I regularly took the Eurostar to Paris that there was a wonderful mural of a windsurfer & a huge wave. A glorious splash of summer colour in a drab environment.

Best
Simon
 

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
True Simon, but that falls under my classification of "Well executed graffiti".:)

I reckon all we're proving here is that it's a very subjective matter, but I'll continue objecting to "DOZ", "MUBBER", and other similar identifiers in ten foot high letters on the walls of public buildings as well as "Give peas a chance" (yes, really) which can't be considered as having any artistic merit whatsoever, although I don't disagree with the sentiment of the last one.

But, to get us back on the original subject, as this sort of rubbish graffiti exists then modern layouts should reflect the reality.

Signed by this particularly miserable old git.:))
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
And here are the first three completed Italian vehicles, replete with couplings, new wheels and weathering. First 'Les Ferrailleurs':

Monfer_004.jpg

And with the first of a rake of eight, a different pattern of grain hopper, by Jouef. Here's one of the real thing: Tag monfer | Photos de wagons marchandises, trains, locomotives et architecture ferroviaire

Mine is not quite as faded and worn, but it is pretty grubby:

Monfer_005.jpg

And on its own:

Monfer_006.jpg

Finally, for the moment, in the company of a bogie flat (Rgmms in UIC terms) from OS.KAR:

Monfer_007.jpg

Back to decorating and the Cricket World Cup now (some football match having cancelled my afternoon's cricket).

Adam
 
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AJC

Western Thunderer
Next up, something very common in Italy, a German wagon in the form of ROCO's rendition of the Eaos which has been treated to a bit of minor detailing - couplings, brake pipes (a bit of 0.45mm wire with a drop of epoxy on the end to represent the connector) and new footsteps, much like these: Scattergun - Adam's Italian Diversions: A trio of continentals

Schenker_EAOS_001.jpg

It's all a bit clean, right now. This will change...

Schenker_EAOS_002.jpg

Adam
 

Yorkshire Dave

Western Thunderer
It just shows how well detailed these models are to begin with.

I suspect the HO meddling (or modelling even) makes a welcome change from having to mess around building underframes for and correcting UK rolling stock.
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
It just shows how well detailed these models are to begin with.

I suspect the HO meddling (or modelling even) makes a welcome change from having to mess around building underframes for and correcting UK rolling stock.

Absolutely - though I reckon these are mostly the equal of much modern OO stock (though the moulding tools are probably much older). It's all good fun, of a different sort to EM wagon bashing.

Adam
 
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AJC

Western Thunderer
Modelling time has been somewhat limited of late - long evenings, rain and the Cricket season all play their part so rather than titivate brakevans, here's a bit more detailing of continental stock (a variation on the theme of Eaos, an Ealos, the extensions on the side were, I think for timber traffic, but I suspect this will end up loaded with bales of scrap).

Here's the real thing, literally, in fact: 835927000-2_31_Ealos

Klein Modellbahn have modelled the exact vehicle (Trenitalia seem to have had a brief phase of painting wagons turquoise, their house colour, but not many based on what I've actually seen in Italy). It's really very nice and needs relatively little attention - handrails, air pipes and couplings. The weathering will be most enjoyable, I predict.

Ealos_001.jpg

Note that the air pipes are representaional - a bit of 0.45mm wire with a blob of epoxy on the end while the couplings are Masokits. They''re not quite right for RIV couplings of course, but they are bomb-proof and easy to couple.

Ealos_002.jpg

Adam
 
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ChrisM

Active Member
Just been catching up on this thread Adam and must congratulate you on the Monfer hoppers - they had me reaching for the Joeuf website immediately... very charismatic.
 
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AJC

Western Thunderer
Thanks Chris :) - one of the reasons for these diversions is the opportunity to play with weathering effects (including graffiti). Among the others is that big bogie stock is quite aesthetically appealing and 'Les Ferraileurs' cheerfully combines both. Let's face it, in my UK '60s era modelling I'm really unlikely to be trying to fade anything painted turquoise!

Adam
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
So my bright, garish, Ealos has caught the sun, the rain and (apparently) years of use. I’ve replicated this with a multi-stage fading process - washes of pale grey/white sealed with matt lacquer (Halfords) prior to a succession of rust-coloured washes to build up the effect. A bit of touching up with fresh Trenitalia turquoise here and there and I’ll be happy to call it done.

F81A6EB1-432B-44DE-A128-F63002246A44.jpeg

Adam
 
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