“Rivet Counter”
The term conjures different perceptions to many people in our hobby and like many things in our contemporary world, they are frequently highly polarized. “Damn rivet counters!” and “Those rivet counters are ruining the hobby!” or “If the rivet counters don’t stop, Rapido [or Tangent, Kadee, Atlas, ….] won’t make models for Santa Fe [or Pennsy, New Haven, Espee, B&O, …] any more” are common refrains, albeit what you have heard might be slightly paraphrased and include some additional, colorful adjectives. Well, as a rivet counter, I would like to provide some context (granted, it’s my own) and also correct a few (mis)perceptions.
First, what is a “rivet counter”? I don’t know of a dictionary definition, but I will provide what I believe is an adequate one. Rivet counters are railroad modelers who demand a high degree of accuracy and fidelity in the models they create. “Rivet counter” seems to apply primarily to rolling stock and locomotive modelers, although there are modelers of structures, vehicles and other subjects that fit the bill. And in certain instances, that does involve "counting" the rivets on a model.*
What is a “high degree of accuracy and fidelity”? That has many facets. Does the subject follow a known prototype? Are the features dimensionally accurate, within acceptable tolerances? Are the features the same as the prototype, e.g., does that model lettered for a C&O AAR box car that is supposed to have a Viking roof have a Murphy panel roof, making the roof inaccurate for the prototype it is lettered to represent? Is the lettering accurate, e.g., does that same C&O box car have a “3-46” reweigh date, but a ‘straight line “FOR PROGRESS”‘ emblem, making it an anachronism? The list is long, but the net goal is to replicate the prototype in miniature as accurately as possible, within the bounds of the materials used.
It is the last phrase in the previous sentence that I believe is where the conflict arises. The modelers of 50, 60, 70 or more years ago were constrained in ways that we are not. Styrene was not a readily available medium. Airbrushing to apply paint was not a common technique. Etching as a process was not available for modeling. Precision machining and injection molding were for highly specialized items and did not have the resolution we enjoy today. Resin casting and the materials to support it as a tool for creating models were not available. “Printed” details like rivets and other surface features that could be applied via decal backing did not exist. Finally, 3D printing and the world of possibilities it offers were a flight of fancy (and for many things they still are, but are coming!) Lastly, we have access to troves of information that were far more difficult to access in the bygone pre-internet or even early internet days.
How does all this progress intersect with those “rivet counter” types? Over the past few decades, we have seen a dramatic shift in the accuracy and availability of railroad models of all types. We have specific cars and trains for passenger modelers, ready-to-run freight car models of railroad-specific (or a couple railroads or fleets like UTLX), and plastic or brass hybrid models of road-specific steam locomotives, to name a few. While some of the connections may be thin, I can draw a straight line to this phenomenon and it is the work of a devoted rivet counter and a manufacturer who was willing to listen and take the plunge. Circa 1994 Richard Hendrickson collaborated with Life-Like to create the freight car kits under the Proto 2000 moniker. In an unheard of move, the cars were only decorated for railroads that actually rostered the prototypes!** This was a huge shift, but the cars were extremely well received for their separate details and ease of assembly. At about the same time and soon thereafter, Branchline launched the Blueprint series and Kadee released their PS-1 (both through collaboration with Ed Hawkins, another rivet counter.) The shift to accurate models was in full swing and it was the result of prodding by rivet counters. Countless cars and locomotives later, we are enjoying the bounty of models. Even resin kits have evolved with markedly improved details and 3D printed cars are coming into their own.
A different misperception about rivet counters that I wish to dispel is that we are elitist, exclusionary, mocking, etc. I am unsure of the genesis of the idea, but some people have a sense that at any gathering of model railroaders, we wander around with some imaginary scorecard of things we see that we can ridicule or tear apart. This couldn't be farther from the truth. We do walk around, but it is to admire others' work and to discover new techniques to improve our own modeling. And if you think that rivet counters are an exclusionary bunch, attend an RPM. You will find a welcoming bunch accepting of all levels of interest in the hobby, eager to share information and stories about modeling, layouts, and the prototype. Come see for yourself.
So while you may not be a rivet counter and may shake your fist at their ilk, you are likely a direct beneficiary of the tenacity of rivet counters to get things right. The availability of high quality accurate models and troves of information is in no small part due to their desire to create accurate models and drag the rest of us along for the ride, be it in the aisles of a hobby shop or at an RPM meet.
*when I say that a rivet counter counts the rivets on a model, that usually means the most noticeable ones. I have included some examples, but it doesn't generally mean counting to make sure that there are 238 rivets in that row. What it means is that if a certain feature or detail should have 3 rivets and the model has 2 or 4 or 5, that error is quite noticeable. Please see the examples below
**there are some things amiss with a few of the Proto 200 models, as time and the availability of information has shown, but in general, they raised the bar for what a freight car model and locomotive should be
Some Burlington XM-32 Modified 1937 AAR box cars had several distinctive features as highlighted below:
Soo Line and DSS&A Modified 1937 AAR box cars also had some distinctive features as highlighted below, plus square corner 5/5 Dreadnaught ends (highly unusual on the Modified 1937 AAR box car):
