JNR Steam Maintenance - Water Towers

[David]

I was looking at Kato's Steam Engine Facility Set (23-229) in my local hobby shop today and I was wondering how prototypical/realistic the water tower is?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Steam-Engine-Service-Facility-Set-Kato-23-229_W0QQitemZ200412227712QQcmdZViewItemQQptZModel_RR_Trains?hash=item2ea97fe880

 

Mainly it's the overly bright colors, which ensure the model looks like a plastic toy. When I think of steam I tend to think of colors like coal black and wood brown. For example an American prototype water tower (that I'd love to pass as Japanese if it proved prototypical) in typical brown:

 

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/product_p/imx-6333.htm

 

For example a really close match to a Japanese prototype here:

 

http://img.blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ybi/1/11/a9/kihakisahakikuha/folder/1772935/img_1772935_48610551_0?1232633404

(may need to open that in IE or Chrome, FireFox just shows a lot of text)

 

There is also this one, of which I kept falling over pictures of, from different angles, at different times of the year

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB:Okitsu2.jpg

[marknewton]

The Kato model you've linked is quite prototypical, it just needs to be weathered to tone the colours down a bit. The brick plinth and green-painted tank are typical of JNR practice during the steam era. The psuedo-American water tower you linked wouldn't pass as Japanese, in my opinion.