A burning issue

Please don't set fire to your models!

Something I've noticed recently that is spreading among the younger members of the model bus community is a trend towards depicting a burnt out vehicle by setting fire to it. For many reasons this really isn't a good idea at all so I cannot condone such behaviour and I feel I must write something to warn of the dangers and hopefully put an end to this idiotic practice before someone gets hurt.

This makes me cringe. So dangerous and not even realistic.

Not only is the use of naked flames inherently dangerous and unpredictable, the materials that a typical model vehicle is made of are not guaranteed to be safe when set fire to. Every diecast model these days contains a large quantity of plastic parts that may be perfectly harmless under normal circumstances but could give off toxic fumes when burnt. Is it really worth risking your health and safety for the sake of a few minutes' entertainment? The above pictured scenario is especially cringeworthy as the burning model is on a wooden floor and near a cardboard box, about the most flammable environment possible, so the whole house could easily have gone up in smoke.

Damage like this just can't be modelled by setting fire to a model, so please don't even try it.

This trend may be understandable if the results were convincing, but models don't burn the same way as real vehicles so the damage isn't even remotely realistic. For instance, real buses have windows made of glass, which gets blackened by smoke but doesn't burn, but model windows are made of plastic, which will simply melt in the heat and form an unrealistic molten blob. Similarly, real seats are fabric and metal but again are represented on the model by plastic, so what happens when burnt is not the same as burning a real bus seat. In just a few seconds, setting fire to a model will reduce it to a pile of worthless rubbish that is fit only for scrap. Why anyone would want to do that to something they paid good money for is beyond me.

What a waste. A few minutes earlier it was a usable model but now it's just a molten mess fit only for the bin.

On the other hand, I have seen some superb examples of burnt out vehicles and these have been modelled without any use of fire whatsoever. The key to success is observation: find photos of a fire victim and study them carefully, or even better examine one in person if possible, and think what caused the damage and how to replicate it. A good friend has won much praise for his ultra-realistic burnt out models, created with careful cutting and bending of parts and application of weathering powders to represent the charred effect, and unlike the melted wrecks that have been set fire to, these really do look like they have been in a fire. It does take a lot of care and attention to detail to get results like this, but please don't be tempted to think the use of real fire is an acceptable short cut.

These excellent models by Mike Barber really do look like they've been burnt out but no fire was involved. A lot more effort but both much safer and far more realistic.

Please, for all the reasons above, just DON'T even think about setting fire to one of your models. Not only is it needless destruction but it is also very bad for your health and safety and the results aren't worth it. You may get a few minutes of entertainment from watching it burn, but the potential consequences really don't bear thinking about. Take heed of this health warning and don't do it!

As a postscript, the person responsible for the destruction of the Thames Travel Scania above has proved himself to not only be an idiot for thinking this was a good idea but also a thoroughly unpleasant character, having directed a foul-mouthed tirade of obscenities at me for writing this piece. Needless to say I quickly deleted his comments and blocked him as I don't want to associate with people like that who bring the hobby into disrepute. Why does the model bus world attract so many obnoxious characters?