Soviet Rail/Train Plaques.

[matteti]

Hello fellow members,
I recently bought a soviet railroad metal plaque (very similar to the one depicted here, but it is not the one). When I opened the box, I imediately noticed it was very different from another plaque I own and which I know is genuine. The new plaque seems to have "'air bubbles" in the metal, the surface is not smooth, but more rough, the writing is very blurry (instead of crisp) as well as the details that are not sharp at all. I get the feeling this is a low-quality cast-copy of a real plaque.

My question is, was there such "low-quality" plaques in used or this is definitely a fake done recently to deceive?

I am sorry not to have a pic at the moment. I will get some and post them on the forum tomorrow hopefully.

Thanks for your comments!

[Lapa]

These are faked, and the fakes are today more plentiful than the originals :mad

Marc

[matteti]

Thanks Marc!

I got a case opened with Ebay and they offer to reimburse me if I return the item to seller with a tracking number. The seller is not accepting return and/or refund but Ebay's buyers protection has me covered. So, the plaque will go back.

At least I have one real plaque I got from a man in the US that also sold many such plaques to our member friend Bryan and that will probably remain my only railroad plaque.

[matteti]

here are some photos of that plaque which I am pretty confident is fake. I am going to return it to seller even though he doesn't want to reimburse me. Ebay's policy requests me to send it back to receive some reimbursement from them. Before I ship it today, feel free to post some comments in case I was mistaken and it was a genuine item (can I dream?)

[matteti]

and more...

[Lapa]

Not a hint of a shadow of a doubt after such pictures :thumbsdown

Marc

[rocketscientist]

During my presence in Baikonur, I have seen these plaques on many train cars, and they were of different quality, depending on the luxury of the train. For instance wagons for transportation of freights were equipped with simpler and lower quality crests than passenger cars. The best example was the following, seen on the car escorting rockets to the launch pad.

[rocketscientist]

Some time ago I have purchased a plaque which is pretty similar to the one showed in my previous post.
My impression was and still is positive, but now that I learn they are faked, I would like to have your opinion. Thank you

[Christophe]

I like these plaques. I have none of them, and would be happy to get one. Unfortunately, I know nothing about them, and have no reference except those few posted here... :cool:
Thanks for posting them, rocketscientist. :thumbsup

Ch.

[rocketscientist]

Hi Christophe,

The one I saw on a train in Baikonur was still there in 2007 and beside the color, it is very similar to the one I purcheased. I have seen also poorly manufactured plaques on cargo trains that even I am sure they were original, someone could have wrongly imagined they were fakes. I have got skeptical opinions on my plaque from italian collectors of soviet memorabilia, that's why I am a bit confused, and worried about its genuinity.

I am very happy you like these items, and I wish you good luck in your quest for an original example.

cheers
sergio