Any of you modern guys run graffiti laden cars or consists?

  I am trying to locate an artist to graffiti some of my stuff..it is real world.

I don't run it, but it always grabs me when I see it real world.  I know it's defacement, but some of the graffiti is wild! Also, the new Lionel RTR Batman set has graffiti right out of the box and does look pretty cool.

If only that time and those resources & materials were put to good, productive use.

I remember a couple of years ago someone was selling graffiti decals.  Maybe these are still available for sale? 

Jim

I have done a few using decals.........  as stated, it is the real world and when I weather modern cars,  it gives it that realistic finish.   I don't like the idea of encouraging graffiti but I keep them to myself for the most part (note the absence of photos here )

Mark

Not at all......

Peter

I'll third it (can you do that?). Some of these folks are really talented. Too bad it's wasted on defacing buildings and rail road cars. If they put that to doing something constructive they could do some amazing work.

I don't do that to any of my trains. I still like my trains nice, new and shiny as in right our of the box. I've seen some incredible weathering around here, but that is not yet for me, just can't do that to a nice new car or engine. Maybe someday?

Not on my railroad. It is criminal and not art.

I have a set. Ended up selling the car I was planning to put them on.

Gilly

Modeling graffiti on rail cars/buildings/etc:

It's your miniature world, trash it up/screw it up if you want to.

O scale graffiti decals.

I have a bunch of sheets of them. I've also made my own from photos I've taken of real cars.

In the future, I would do my printing on white water slide paper and not clear. Two reasons: First it is the easiest way to get white lettering. Second, it makes the colors stand out better on any color of car because they are opaque. Decals printed on clear need light colored cars to look decent.

That's a very good point. Modeling is about replicating the real world in miniature.

Morality loses out to fidelity in my world.

OK,  guess I won't keep it to myself............  nothing we can do to stop the weathering guys,  unfortunately.   Here is a photo of one of the decal sets available (or it was about 10 years or so ago when I did this one)  : 

I think this is somewhat a generational thing..........  my daughter likes them weathered since that is what she is used to seeing on the RR today.  It is all she has ever known so it seems right to the eye.  Obviously it is wrong to deface private property and it was a good discussion to help her understand that.  But as toys,  some like them too look more realistic with all the weathering and graffiti and some like em factory fresh.

Point was made and I agree,  an all perfect train,  looks more like a toy to me.   Nothing wrong with it,  I just like to model the real thing if/when possible.

In my fantasy world it doesn't exist in any form. I have a 'killroy' on a WWII era box car. Those were chalk and didn't deface private property.

I've always thought of it as part of the vandalism problem the railroads deal with.  Never gave it any thought to include it on my layout...

TAKES TALENT I DO NOT POSSESS

I have been seeing a lot of action on the UP railroad coming thru Alpine, TX (Sunset Route) lately.  It seems strange to me that fans cannot get access to yards since 9-11, but graffiti artists seem to have FULL access.  I can't remember seeing so much paint on almost every boxcar, mech reefer, etc.  It is difficult to see such a car that doesn't have "murals" and messages on it.  If a person is modeling today's corporate railroads, they would HAVE to put graffiti on 80% of the consist.

As prevalent as graffiti might be, I won't put it on any of my rolling stock or locomotives.

is there any theme to the graffiti? religious, gang, sexual, down here in rural NC just do not see it, only stuff we see is on TV

curious

would imagine in the south west it would be latino

east coast as in NJ, NY, Mass latin and black??

the comment about too much time on their hands is quite correct, but according to the President the job situation is getting much much better, and they should be at work unless the pres is not telling it right??

Right in the middle of St Paul, I-94 passes under the CP tracks. The same cut of gray 3 bay ACF hoppers has been sitting for at least 3 months. Target of opportunity!!!

DaVinci probably painted the Mona Lisa in less time.

There are many kinds of graffiti, always have been. The large colorful ones are not usually done by gangs. They are simply the modern version of Kilroy in a more permanent medium. Doesn't everyone want to be famous?

 This guy does! I seriously doubt he belongs to a gang.

I love this one, and want to use it on one of my cars. It's rather funny.

After a few hours with Corel Photohouse the image is clean and ready to print.

This one is political. I had to sanitize it for the forum.

How long did this take? Can you even buy a canvas this size?

I have hundreds more photos. I've only done a few cars so far, but have plans to do a lot more.

A number of years back, one of our OGR members painted up some cars with graffiti.  The work was superb.  The poor guys was blasted 7 ways to Sunday for promoting vandalism and so on.  I will not mention his handle, however, if he desires to jump in and show his work would be great.

I myself do not have cars with graffiti or weathering effects nor do I plan on doing so in the future.  I greatly respect those who wish to create/recreate realism on their layouts.   All of these varying points and takes of things are what make this hobby so fascinating.  

I personally don't have it on any of my rolling stock or engines, it's not my thing.

No, don't personally like it and would not promote this activity in any way.

Yes I Do....

The only graffiti cars I run are factory made Lionel 2-bay covered hoppers that came that way.  I like them both, but that is enough graffiti for me.

6-17013 in NYC...graffiti reads "99...LIONEL RULES..."

6-17014 in Golden West Service...graffiti read "LLC  FOREVER YOUNG"

I would send it to the paint shop.

Ray

Lionel's new auto carriers make a good canvas.

I recall when a new guy joined the forum and showed a lot of scale cars with graffiti had had applied. Maybe a few members came down on him harshly but overall many of us just added that we thought it was wrong on real rail cars.

But as for chasing him off I kinda doubt that. All his work was for sale on ebay and never saw any layout or talk of one.

He had talent.....and if he had used a canvas considered an artist. But a art form that almost insists it can only exist as a form of trespassing and vandalism.....we are the wrong audience.   

I agree that graffiti on trains is vandalism.

That being said I don't think portraying on a model encourages it.

If I am modelling what I see in real life in a freight yard, I might have a couple cars with some graffiti on them.

When I am on road trips in the middle of nowhere and stop to take pictures or trains coming by, the camera invariably picks up some cars in the background with the so called art work.  

II'm not going to worry about it if I include  a graffitied car on my layout.  

Even though I know it is today's real world, I am trying to mainly model the 1960's and it wasn't prevalent then.  I do run modern trains, but dislike graffiti and chose not to add it to my trains.

Art

A business acquaintance of mine had a son who got picked up for applying graffiti to railcars. Were talking a country/rural kid who I believe was sort of a failed art student. I think he was applying graffiti and others were doing some vandalizing.

He was bored. Fines, legal fees, community service, criminal record was the result. 

I'm not what I would call an artist but I do have a BFA and taught in art school.

Not a fan of graffiti one bit. I see loads of it daily. 

Hate the look altogether.  You couldn't pay me to have cars with graffiti on my layout.  Real world or not.   Why encourage such a senseless activity?  

David 

Now try selling them.  

David

That's the context I put it in when someone calls it 'ART'.

Is someone keying your car in a pretty pattern 'ART'???

Eh, vagrancy is also a crime but many of us have hobos on our layouts.

Exactly. I'd find it hard to believe that ONE person has been encouraged to participate in actually putting graffiti on something after seeing it on a model railroad. Just like how having a pub on my layout doesn't encourage anyone to drink.

My layout is 32" above floor level. That works out to 128 scale feet that O Scale vandalizing creatons fall after being caught by my O Scale railroad police force. Since it's my world, officers are rewarded for eliminating creatons. They get to hang out indefinitely with the hot chicks. The crime rate is low and incidence of repeat offenders is "0".

Gilly

I guess I didn't put as much thought into it as some of you.  I purchased the MTH subway cars with graffiti a while back and I love them.  I run them as part of a two track elevated subway loop.  I guess it just reminds me of old New York...at least those years are the old New York to me.  I don't condone it but in my youth that's what they looked like.  BigRail

I suspect that certain less favorable aspects of society such as hobos are more tolerant with modellers within the landscape they create because, just as in real life, their presence tends to be more subtle than a string of cars that were prominently tagged.

 "I really hope to see some pics or better a vid of some O gauge graffiti." 

  I've added graffiti to a lot of O models over the years, most have been sold since I've switched to S scale due to downsizing my house in the future. I'm glad the taggers showed up as the mergers began,their work replaces in a way the dozens of individual railroad paint schemes  we used to see. It would be very boring if only the remaining mega merger lines paint schemes were all we could see.......DaveB 

If I did modern-era I certainly would; often the most entertaining thing about a common car. I have put graffiti on one or two modern cars I have lettered - I would like to do

a few more, but haven't. A modern-era layout doesn't look quite right without it. 

Really, you think that vagrants walking around is more subtle than some spray paint on some train cars? 

Come on, how do you not love a boxcar with a picture of a UFO and "You Will Be Assimilated" written under it?

I don't like to see it on the real trains, but I do have a couple MTH high cube box cars that I bought that were weathered and have some graffiti on them.  They were inexpensively priced, too, I might add.

Larry

Dave, great pics. What method did you use? They look so realistic. I'm guessing, not decals.

Which of the two scenarios stands out the most to you?  Are railroad hobos as mainstream in the public eye as graffiti?

There was a guy on this forum from NY several years ago that painted rolling stock with heavy graffiti on them. I don't recall his name (it may have been pitigo) and he has apparently lost interest, but he was quite good at his art. As for my layout, graffiti didn't come around until the popularity of the paint spray can came about The time period that I model is the 1950's and at that time chalk was the popular way to scribble. People back then generally had more respect for property.

One more for no, I don't have any cars with graffiti and don't want the look of it on my layout.

I like to wait at a road crossing and watch the trains go by just as much as many people on the forum do, and I usually see a lot of graffiti on cars in the "real" world, but that's not the look I remember growing up as a kid.

If you want it, go for it, they are your toy trains to enjoy however you want.

And I agree with the opinion that it's a lost opportunity of effort that could have been applied in a much more constructive manner for the good of people in need.

"Come on, how do you not love a boxcar with a picture of a UFO and "You Will Be Assimilated" written under it?"

  I doubt many SP fans  loved the assimilation :>     Here's the complete car and the other side. It is one of the old CMCC USH flat kit cars, probably some of the first modern era kits built.....DaveB

 "What method did you use? They look so realistic. I'm guessing, not decals."

    I don't think any of those O scale cars had decals but I do use them if I have them for certain spots. I don't like to put decals over ribs or other raised features so I'll use them on flat sided car mostly or cut them to fit between the ribs and then paint the ribs to match. These are two of my S scale cars. The SP boxcar is a Lionel O gauge hi cube converted to S scale, it has decals on the flat body panels and hand painted tag on the doors. The UP hopper has a decal cut to fit between the ribs with paint matching the ribs to the decal and some other small tags applied with sharpies. Depending on the car and the scale many different methods work best, the blue GE gondola is a TT scale car that was made by printing a photo out and then gluing it to a plastic body, then adding ribs and painting them to match the side photo artwork....DaveB   

If one were modeling modern era and didn't like graffiti you could model "buffed out" cars which is the term for cars that had been graffitied but then painted over in a patched out manner. It is not graffiti but realistic I the since that you see cars like this every day in consists.

Here is a Youtube link to a tounge in cheek short documentary called The Subconcious Art of Graffiti Removal.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cv5JBpZPOl4

No Vandalism here

Clem

My thought is that graffiti on cars is like weathering.  If you like it go for it, if not then don't.  Personally, I would never tell anyone what belongs on their layout and what doesn't.

One reason that I don't have any graffiti on any of my cars is the same reason that nothing is weathered, I simply don't have the skills to do it well.  Another reason is that most of my stuff models the 40's, 50's, and 60's.

Jim

On one of our local freight yards they treat taggers with deadly force. The yards are surrounded by 10' chain-link with 4 rows of razor wire. During the daylight hours they have rolling security. At night and weekends it's doubled. BTW  Deadly Force is authorized, and posted as such. UP & BNSF pay top dollar to keep their premier customer cars unmarked (tag free) and the customers pay for this service, also.

The big roads pay hundreds of millions a year trying to keep their cars tag free. Part of the solution is to always send the tagged cars to the same areas. That's part of the reason behind your always seeing the same cars in the same area.

Let's not get started on the hobo population this time around. The ones out there now are trash for the most part. 

Think of the children!

I actually suggested it to my son when he was 12 and he was upset that we would put illegal stuff on the layout.  Didn't do it but still love this picture.

RichO,

Personally, I love the same picture as well, I'm not embarrassed. I have quite a few Thomas items in my trainroom. 

There is no art in graffitti causing the deaths of young children, ask the LAPD how many kids die from them tagging over some other kids so called art or someones personnel property.

Insanity

John P

Deadly force is authorized?  By whom?  For trespassing and vandalism?

Jim

  "By whom?"

   Warren Buffet?  :>