New Train Arrivals! - Introducing the M100 & M200

Last autumn I started looking for a way to get models of the older M100 and M200 trains to my layout, and this project is now nearly complete :)

The whole layout started from an inspiration I got from the M300 model that I got a hold of, with only 400 pieces being made as a one-time run. This would mean that these models wouldn't be available forever and even though my layout is far from finished and I don't even know what the future of it is going to be eventually, I knew that I would at least have to gather a complete collection of rolling stock anyway. I wouldn't want to find myself with a space for a complete up-and-running layout in ten years with no trains available!

After getting hold of a good amount of these M300 models and digitalizing three of them for the layout, I decided that I also have to find a way to include the older M100 & M200 stock. After all, this kind of special layout has a very limited amount of prototypical rolling stock anyway, so I want to at least be able to display all of them. So, after gathering some material and figuring out the best and also at least somehow cost-effective way to produce these models, the solution came in a form of a private professional model builder who has a unique cost-effective way of producing models, that don't have the same factory-built quality like the big manufacturer's models have, but still capture the essence of the prototype and look very good and pleasing to the eye.

So now that I had found a suitable way to produce these models, I had to decide what and how many of them I want. I figured out that the best way is to just take the hit and get all the models done at the same time, rather than spreading the manufacturing and costs over a longer span. After all, a slight 'mass-production' usually also serves to reduce costs a bit. After a lot of research and thinking I decided on four complete 4-car trains: four motorized two-car units and four unmotorized ones, adding up to a total of 16 cars. What I wanted to achieve was a maximum amount of variation and interest to the fleet and thus my plan was to have:

M100 - non-refurbished

1: A model of an old non-refurbished version of the M100 train. Three of these units still run on the
real system. The cars are numbered 101 to 106, and my train includes the first four of these cars. The differences are very subtle: The decals will be a bit different, with black road numbers instead of white ones and a colorful version of the operating company's logo instead of a white version, different mirrors and a slightly different front.

M100 - refurbished

2: A model of a standard refurbished M100 train. This is the most common sight in real-life too and
has new-type mirrors and detailing. My train will include cars numbered 153-154 and 177-178.

M100 - refurbished with advertisements

3: A model of a standard refurbished M100 train with one of the units being fully covered in a
purple 'Sonera 4G' advertisement, cars numbered 119-120 and 165-166. The car number 199-120 is used for these ad's in real-life with the Sonera ad being a nice and easy example to model. I decided on this just to bring some more color to the fleet and reduce uniformity a bit. This kind of advertising really just makes the trains look more ugly and unbalanced than the 'clean' ones and that's what I wanted to achieve too.

M200

4: A model of the M200 train, made by Bombardier and introduced in the early 2000's. This is
currently the second-newest (and second-oldest) type of train running on the real system. The real system has much less of these than the older ones, so that's why I also opted for only one example to have a similar scarcity of these present in the layout.

One way to reduce costs was that I decided on using the chassis of an M300 model and only ordering a new body to the train. This reduces realism slightly, since the M300 chassis isn't 100% correct in size (it has some 1-2mm differences in certain measurements) and of course the 'undergarments' are a bit different, but I think the price reduction (about 2-3 times less!) more than makes up for the slight reduction in realism.

I ordered the trains last autumn and after about 8 months of waiting time, I sent the chassis's to the model maker and got the finished products back in a couple of weeks time. I'm very impressed with the results and couldn't be more happy by this huge new addition to my collection. What's left is that I now still have to do the digital conversion to these four trains and of course order and apply all the decals to them. After that I have seven complete metro trains for my project!

PS: These are most probably the only H0-scale models of these trains in existence ;)