Weathering: Enhance Value or Reduce Value

A good weathering job enhances the value. All you have to do is check eBay for proof of this phenomenon. This also applies to 3 rail scale.

Any change to engines or rolling stock of Lionel items drops its value and collectors will not touch it. They rate the products by condition, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT, MINT it must be original.

If you ask me I think it enhances the value greatly if done right. Already rare piece made one of kind and as real as it gets; nothing better than that.

I am still trying to find the courage to weather my passenger trains. Freshly wash racked but still like the real thing.

Lee Turner (c) photo copyright
Demonstrated weathering done right.
Kohs Model courtesy Butch H.

Industrial Models weathered $75 atlas cars fetch $1000's

=)

http://www.industrialmodels.net

That Challenger is amazing.

Some eye candy:


http://www.kohs.com/Weathered%...0Model%20Photos.html

Too early for me to tell if weathering is a plus or a minus on the value, but I do know they look a lot better without all that "shine" on them.

Erik, I need some pix of some weathered Cab Forwards

Agreed - if done right. 

 

Far too many are done wrong or excessively to be "artistic".  There are specific pattens for weathering - one just has to locate some prototype photos and work from those references.

 

I have done some of my cars, but all too frequently after completing a project, instead of wathering I just start another project...........  The backlog for weathering is crazy long.

Weathering = Fun Value Now

Money Value = Something for the next person

I personally do not think weathering adds or detracts from the value of a model.   I don't pay a premium for it.    As mentioned above it is a matter of taste.    I like it done rather lightly so you can still read the numbers and reporting marks.    Too many I see are weathered to heavily for my taste.

 

All that said, our model trains are not a very good investment.   If we bought them to get a good return on our money, we probably were given bad advice!    We should just enjoy them for ourselves and feel lucky if we can anything back from them.   

 

Most model collections do not appreciate over time.   Brass did for a while, but has now come back down to earth.   I don't think (key word think) that the mass-produced plastic will ever appreciate.    

I do it for me...

Like many others who posted here I'm a strong believer in weathering, if done right. We are trying to recreate models of the prototype and how long did a locomotive stay shiny and new. There are few who do weathering right IMO, but that number seems to be increasing every day. Lee Turner is in a class of his own. When I saw what he had done to his RS he entered in the March Meet model contest and the RC GP-9 he heavily modified and weathered, I knew he was my man and I had no fears of sending him my Challenger #3960 (thanks for posting Erik).

 

If you will notice, he even painted the stack surround graphite (like the prototype) before weathering the model. As delivered by KOH's they are incorrectly painted black, one of a very few mistakes I've been able to find on this magnificent model.  

 

I'm waiting my turn (again) to have him weather a 1993 OMI 3 Unit Turbine, but I know it's worth the wait and will be an improved and magnificent looking model when he finishes with it. 

 

So, I'm very pro weathering and I don't think if it's done right if will detract from the value of a model. Obviously a collector might feel differently, but I want the most real looking model I can own and I'm running into more and more modelers who feel the same way.

 

butch 

Value is definitely in the eye of the beholder.... but good weathering does add value and enjoyment to the hobby. The best weathering is subtle and matches a prototype. Here are some of my favorite examples from the web (not my work): 

 

 

 

Don Smith is obviously in the same class as Lee.     You guys have an eye for detail and know how to layer it on a model. You guys are true artists in your medium. 

 

butch

the trick with weathering is not to go too far so the model loses its "identity" or looks like your 5th grader did it in art class  

 

Graffiti?

In the 1950's it was a different story.

I weather and paint and detail to photos and research of the specific locomotive or car (if available).

Appreciation for art done right is often a taste some will never have. A layout full of shiny new toys. If that's your desire than I can't argue with that.

This is a Red Caboose geep I painted weathered for a customer.

I doubt he would ever sell it for less than 1K

This is about where my Graffiti starts and ends in my modeling era.

This is a customer car (not finished trucks not done, he wants P48 Protocraft waiting for them). I hand paint the Herbie graphic and lettering. I also often times add him and his trusty dog. Not usually.

I sell these for $250-$300 typically never tried ebay. This was a $30 Intermountain box car kit I bought off ebay.

To me, most weathering that I have seen for steam locomotives is unrealistic... i.e. rust streaks where there was no water or steam source, sand where there could not possibly be any, way too much color variation on the model, etc. Those who do this work realistically appear to do the necessary research that includes knowing the basics of a steam locomotive and how it operates, all the sources of water, steam, and exhaust and looking at photos, etc. Some painters paint main and side rods. I have never seen or photographed painted main or side rods in service either on NYC or NKP. The rods were a yellowish brown, probably as the result of exhaust steam from worn piston packing mixed with valve oil.

While I recognize the existence of old and weathered rolling stock, I prefer to think of the railroad as a "better maintained" environment than it actually is.....

I would not buy a weathered model at any price, since a lot of "artists" who weather motive power always seem to overdue. However, some modelers like weathered models, so beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder.

Some years ago a magazine photographer photographed my layout for a model railroad publication. He asked me to position engines and trains in certain areas of my layout, and was genuinely surprised that my layout actually "ran". He told me that most of the layouts that he photographed were more like dioramas, that fewer than 3 out of every 10 could actually be operated, and that their owners were more like "artisans". I concluded that I must be in a different hobby than many of those whose layouts appeared in print.

The best as others say is following a prototype , like this sliding and plug door Railbox boxcar from a Weaver . making cars that have never been done is fun too.

Obviously this prototype had not seen much road time , still fairly clean , but probably not for long.Getting rid of cast on details helps a lot.

I should post this... As close to 3RS as I've gotten with my weathering...

 

A lot of nice looking models came out to play on this thread!

This isn't really what I'd call weathered, antiqued maybe?  Just looks old, except for the bling drivers, how it came.  Before long it will be, after it gets reassigned to it's new road.  

 

 

Some three rail F units for the Fla East Coast and some nice palm trees .

I don't think there is a right or wrong. You either like weathering or you don't. But, it's got to be good weathering not garbage. It's very subjective.

 

I also don't consider graffiti to be weathering, but a criminal act, regardless of the quality. If you're modeling the modern era, then it's very much a part of your modeling world, but fortunately I model the transition era. I can imagine how a 1950's yard bull would handle one of our modern day Picasso's painting up a car in his yard. 

 

For the 1st 20+ years in O scale I made sure I never did anything to affect the resale value of any brass loco I owned. For the past 5+ years I don't care as I'm doing it for my enjoyment, but I don't think I'd have a problem selling my Challenger with the weathering. 

 

butch

 

 

I never do anything with resale in mind.  Resale is a business, and I am in this as a hobby.

 

That said, I discovered right after my first scratchbuilt locomotive that if you wanted to place in a popular vote contest, you had to be painted and heavily weathered.

 

I have seen crooked junk with lots of weather beat out exquisitely crafted brass scratchbuilt that was unpainted.  I have seen a stock Sunset cab forward with a light dusting of Floquil weathered black not only beat out extremely well built scratch models, but also make the front cover of OST.

 

Once I discovered that secret, my models started gathering first place ribbons.  My models are straight, and moderately well detailed, but they won't go near a contest unless the weathering is intense and colorful.

I suspect that need is directly related to vision limitations of those judging....

I personally will not buy a car or engine or any type of model that has been weathered.  I like my models to look like they just rolled out of the factory.  On the other hand, I have seen some models that have been weathered and they look great.  But, for me, no weathering.

 

Rick

Simplot , cryogenic french fry boxcar , I did see them in the yard near me years ago.There is a McDonalds cold storage warehouse in an industrial park and that's where they would go.Another car that should be made .

Weathering is a form of Artwork in my opinion. It is subjective to the buyer, but good examples will always have buyers willing to pay a premium because it is beyond their own artistic capability. The proof, as others have pointed out, is what good examples sell for. There are talented people out there making a profit by selling their art.

To me, weathering trains is like modifying cars:  it definitely affects resale value (it could be worth more to someone who wants the modifications you did, or less to someone who does not want those modifications) but in the end it's the value that it adds to my ownership experience that drives me.  Cars, like trains, aren't investments, they're consumable material.  If you're trying to decide based on what it's going to be worth, you're probably missing the boat.

 

In terms of quality of weathering, I agree with what some others have said... I've seen some pretty bad weathering, even on the pages of OGR magazine.  I have a theory that there is a whole subgroup of modelers attempting to weather locomotives, but they're using photos of other weathered engines as their guides instead of looking at real locomotives.  I've never seen a real locomotive that looked like someone made fuzzy vertical stripes of different colors with an airbrush and then drenched it in dullcote, but I see that theme frequently on 3-rail locomotives.  I've never pointed it out specifically out of common courtesy, but I see it a lot.  

Check out this link if you don't think weathering, done right, can add value to a model. I've seen models go for 2 to 3 times this amount on open auction. Hopefully the link works. 

 

butch

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/O-Scal...Complete=1&rt=nc

Three rail but still willing to pay top dollar for this level of quality. Erik, in this case, is expending time, effort and talent to transform a mass produced item into one that entirely unique and therefore highly valuable. If I could get this done locally I would.

Well, if I ever mess up a weathering job I'll always refer back to this as my guide:

 

 

 

That must have been painted with a brush

 

A good caption would be "Let's splash some paint on it, they'll never notice!".

Would you weather your Ferrari?

 

Not my cup of tea. If your schtick is 100% realism, go for it!

 

As for selling an item, the pristine piece can always be weathered, but not so much the other way. Given that thought, why don't some of you guys come up with removable weathering! Then we could have our cake and eat it too, and you as the inventor would likely make a jillion$$$$!

 

Simon

In the real world, sand blasting would be the preferred method to remove weathering, but I don't think that will cut it in the hobby. What about the chalks that are used, are they washable, or is a dull coat applied in all instances to preserve the weathering?

I like weathering, but it absolutely has to be done right. There are several examples of this on this and other forums, Laid off sick comes to mind, just to name one. As for value, that would depend on the buyer.There are a few guys at York who specialize in weathering, and one I talked to does quite well. Just like anything else, as was mentioned by others on this thread, it's a matter of preference. Good topic!

Don

All the above can easily be accomplished using two processes.

Mineral Spirits then soap & water. Anything done, can be un-done, but why would someone attempt to do that?

Atlas O T-man PD’s are an exception because the lettering washes off using mineral spirits. (Poor supplier Quality)

 

As for value, there are several scenarios:

Weathered –

Track record on Pro-Weathered cars sell for decent money, however most don’t re-sell a second time very well or at all.

Most people want the realism and plan to keep them.

 

New supplier Stock –

I don’t follow 2r but the new car market has been over in 3r for about 3 years now. When $33.00 cars jumped to 55-75, buying basically stopped.

Big time collectors along with the investment crowd have also become a thing of the past. The changing society is simply not interested in trains like we all were.

H ow do you guys that weather make your models look like they have been abused.  Wow.  The work is truly impressive.  Looks like the rolling stock I see from my office window every day.

 

Larry