Railway modeling is a hobby with many facets. The main goal of a railway modeler is to build and operate a layout - this is often repeated in the model railway press. But even among modelers who own or build a layout, there are people with different emphasis on different branches of the hobby. Some modelers like to build a huge layout, and they do this during their whole lifetime. Other fellow modelers prefer to operate trains on their own or on a club layout. Among those building a layout, there are people who build their structures themselves, others buy them ready made. In America it is usual to buy cars and sometimes locomotives in kits, assembling them is also a branch of this hobby. There are fellow modelers without any layout, like the collectors.
Scratchbuilding is a very interesting and admittedly time consuming form of this hobby. The scratchbuilders make structures, locomotives and less frequently cars from "scratch", ie. from raw materials, rather than buying and mixing kits (kit-bashers) or ready-to-run models. While structure builders use all possible materials that seems to be suitable for their models, locomotive and car builders usually build from plastic or brass - nowadays often nickel silver. Of course - depending on their workshop equipment - the scratchbuilders often buy ready made components, like motors and wheels, or pre-processed materials, like brass profiles, screws and rivets.
A ready-to-run brass locomitive model is really valuable and expensive. But usually not this is the main reason for scratch building. The scratch builders invest huge amount of effort and time in their models, and these efforts can hardly be justified by the price of the model, not even in Eastern Europe, where the average vages can be as low as $3-4 per hour.
I think besides the common approaches the world's scratchbuilders have slightly different attitudes towards their hobby.
In the US the market for diesel locomotive models is huge, most US prototypes have a plastic model. Less known prototypes can be set up using common diesel parts and many companies deliver shells and detailing items for those. Plastic steamer models are available in the US only for the most popular railroads' best known engines. On the other hand the Far-Eastern brass model locomotive industry makes a model of almost all possible steamers. It is also easily possible to build models using the available locomotives as basis. In my opinion, this is the reason that among the many US modelers there are relatively few scratch builders.
In Canada the situation is different. There are only few Canadian models. The prototypes were and are however similar to those US ones. It is often possible to build Canadian models using US models and detailing parts.
In Central Europe, in the German speaking countries, the model railway hobby is very popular. There are also many manufacturers. Thus the best known locomotives all exist in plastic model. Compared to the numbers of the modelers the number of scratch builders are moderate. Many of them builds in larger scales, often in "O" or "I", but sometimes for Garden Railways. The strong model industry, however, offers many parts that can be used for scratchbuilding projects.
In France and Italy in my opinion the railway model hobby is less popular. Many German, Austrian and Italian companies offer models for these countries, but the less known prototypes give good opportunities for scratch builders. There are many small companies that offer limited run models - very nice ones but very expensive.
In Great Britain the hobby is rather popular. Unfortunately the old, traditional model railway companies aren't active any more. The other European companies produce models of British prototypes only moderately, probably due to the popularity of the British 00 scale. These models are hard to sell elsewhere than in Great Britain. As I observed, scratchbuilding is quite popular in Britain. Maybe a result of the long metalworking tradition, and probably the British modelers aren't really satisfied with the quality of the widely available models. There is a relatively large market for parts and components too.
The railway structure Eastern Europe is relatively dense. Trains were and still are very common travel and transportation tools. The railways still play a more important role in the life of the Eastern European people than those in the Western Countries or the US.
The model railways are less common however. This has many reasons. In general, the average level of tolerance for other people's habits or hobbies is much lower here than elsewhere. While a "normal" East European goes to soccer matches, spend his weekends working in his weekend-garden or makes woodworking jobs, the modeling, especially the railway modeling is considered as something infantile. Model railway exhibitions attract huge crowds, but nobody would admit if he is "playing" with models.
The other reason is the availability of models. In the Communist Era one country, Eastern Germany was appointed to "supply" the Eastern Block by models. Although there was an emerging model railway industry in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary - and even in the Soviet Union in the '50s, this was cut down in favor of the - admittedly higher level - Eastern German one. The state owned East German industry produced models of other East European prototypes, but it was often hard to buy them. In the '70s and '80s most layouts in Hungary were populated with German structures and trains. I suppose this was similar in other East European countries.
Most modelers build layout or models of local prototypes. This is also true in the US, where only few Californian modelers build a PRR layout - except if they are native Pennsylvanians. Thus I think it is normal that a Hungarian tries to model Hungarian prototypes. The hungarian railway history offers many interesting engines and cars. It is a pity that most European manufacturers ignore this field. Taking in account the size of this market, however, this is probably understandable.
In the Communist Era the East German state owned manufacturer, Piko offered a few Hungarian models. As a locomotive they sold the Class M61 EMD-Nohab C-C engine. They made a Hungarian version (Class M62) of the Russian origin (German Class V120) "Taigatrommel" too. Although the Piko catalog mentioned that some of the Preussian G8s (BR55) were used in Hungary as Class 510, as far as I know this version has never been offered by them. They made a - rather shorty - model of the OSShD international express car, the coach and the sleeper, and even the baggage version also in Hungarian colors. They offered an open waggon, a boxcar, a rather rare "Italian" type reefer and two tank car versions also in Hungarian colors. Unfortunately they did not make any typical domestic passenger cars. Now, Piko does not produce Hungarian models any more and the models described here are rare and expensive.
After 1987 a small Hungarian company was established, Fuggerth.
They offer a typical modern engine, the
MÁV Class M41
diesel hydraulic locomotive.
They also offer typical domestic passenger cars,
the center door short distance versions,
the long distance versions and the versions with driver's cab,
that are used in push-pull trains.
Other manufacturers' Hungarian models are rare. Roco offers the UIC Eurocity (Eurofima) passenger car in Hungarian colors too. Modellbahn Klein in Austria offers an open fright car (gondola) with Hungarian script. Actually many freight cars in Hungary are similar to other European cars, thus it would be easy to make decals for them, but I don't know if anybody offers such solutions.
Every year new and new scratch built and modified models appear on model railway exhibitions in Hungary. This shows, the scratch building hobby is not unknown there. I estimate the number of active scratch builders to some 15 people. The quality of the models varies, but in the last time there were a few really nice models presented.
This page was updated last time on 5th August 1998
© János Erö
