Lets talk about the psychology of weathering!
You may be suffering from "Collector Syndrome".
Kits are kits and they are purchased with the intent of building a model. Purchase ready to run off the shelf rolling stock and the mindset changes as it all comes neatly packaged in a nice box and you place the item on the track and it goes. You have paid £10 for a wagon and weathering and any fiddling will destroy its value. When you think about it how often do you see weathered rolling stock on exhibition layouts? Not a lot. Many model railway club members are also closet collectors!
On the other hand did not GWR for example run a ***** and span railway?
They must be the one company where it might actually not be right to apply any weathering to any of their model rolling stock. You may then be suffering from "Modellers Guilt Complex Syndrome" in that you will be presenting your favourite company in a bad light. If you have the same emotional attatchment to BR that many have for GWR then this could indeed be the issue.
On balance it is normally the first rather than the second that puts people of weathering or detailing their models.
I'm all for it as for every item of rolling stock that it messed with by others the value of mint collectables rises!
Yes I am a "Collector Syndrome" sufferer!
The solution is to buy 2 of each item. One to keep in a collectable condition and one to deliberately mofify.
Or to only buy locomotives and items of rolling stock that are weathered by the manufacturers. They will only do it if it is prototypical as any other course will lead to rivet counter complaints that "that loco" or "that coach" was never never seen in "that" condition!
At least with the powdered stuff it will wash off.
All sufferers of the two aforementioned syndromes could seek help from their local practitioner!
Or maybe start a local "Weathering Phobia" group for modellers who have a fear of weathering!
As with all "Watcher" or "Anonymous" or "Phobia" groups the first thing you have to do is to admit that you have a problem which I have done!
Is anybody else willing to be "outed" and own up to suffering the syndromes as described above?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with owning up to a fear of weathering!
And what ideas do folk have to help modellers break these phobias about weathering?
It is a fact that poorly weathered ready to run rolling stock has little collectable value.
A well made well painted and weathered kit on the other hand is highly desirable among those who cannot be bothered to make and paint the kit themselves!
The solution seems to be to purchase Ratio kits and other OO wagon kits and make the wagons yourself!
Happy modelling
Gary

You may be suffering from "Collector Syndrome".
Kits are kits and they are purchased with the intent of building a model. Purchase ready to run off the shelf rolling stock and the mindset changes as it all comes neatly packaged in a nice box and you place the item on the track and it goes. You have paid £10 for a wagon and weathering and any fiddling will destroy its value. When you think about it how often do you see weathered rolling stock on exhibition layouts? Not a lot. Many model railway club members are also closet collectors!
On the other hand did not GWR for example run a ***** and span railway?
They must be the one company where it might actually not be right to apply any weathering to any of their model rolling stock. You may then be suffering from "Modellers Guilt Complex Syndrome" in that you will be presenting your favourite company in a bad light. If you have the same emotional attatchment to BR that many have for GWR then this could indeed be the issue.
On balance it is normally the first rather than the second that puts people of weathering or detailing their models.
I'm all for it as for every item of rolling stock that it messed with by others the value of mint collectables rises!

Yes I am a "Collector Syndrome" sufferer!
The solution is to buy 2 of each item. One to keep in a collectable condition and one to deliberately mofify.
Or to only buy locomotives and items of rolling stock that are weathered by the manufacturers. They will only do it if it is prototypical as any other course will lead to rivet counter complaints that "that loco" or "that coach" was never never seen in "that" condition!
At least with the powdered stuff it will wash off.
All sufferers of the two aforementioned syndromes could seek help from their local practitioner!
Or maybe start a local "Weathering Phobia" group for modellers who have a fear of weathering!
As with all "Watcher" or "Anonymous" or "Phobia" groups the first thing you have to do is to admit that you have a problem which I have done!

Is anybody else willing to be "outed" and own up to suffering the syndromes as described above?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with owning up to a fear of weathering!

And what ideas do folk have to help modellers break these phobias about weathering?
It is a fact that poorly weathered ready to run rolling stock has little collectable value.
A well made well painted and weathered kit on the other hand is highly desirable among those who cannot be bothered to make and paint the kit themselves!

The solution seems to be to purchase Ratio kits and other OO wagon kits and make the wagons yourself!

Happy modelling
Gary