Hi all, I am trying to build a coal train out of Thrall J301 coal gondolas. The first car body is roughly finished. Now I can start with the detail parts. I will try to copy the styrene body in resin. This is a new adventure for me... hopefully I can show more car bodies soon.
Looks great Frank. I made a Thrall Woodchip Gon that looked a lot like that, it's as though they used the same design but beefed it up for the heavier payload. http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/1048/1_Thrall_Deep_Rib_Woodchip.jpg
Hi Frank, looks good, cast first the body before starting detailing, casting things like stir ups don't work...
Thanks for the advice. I'll try etching details and add after casting. There are lots of road possibillities, but at least a couple will be drgw.
No D&RGW modeler running J301s should be without PSCX (Public Service Of Colorado) cars. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=240731 http://www.carrtracks.com/drgw.htm Here's the Athearn N scale version, on an EB #702...
Frank, That looks like a very clean squish mold! Good clean crisp mold lines. I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes out. John
All, The first resin casting looks promising. Just a couple of imperfections, but these can be fixed. See the rough casting with air channels still attached. I did a bottom fill through the middle channel, which is connected to the bottom of the gondola bottom.
Vacuum will also work to get the bubbles out. If your mold set is small enough, the food type vacuum pumps and containers (like FoodSaver) can work. I bought mine on sale and got the largest hard container I could find. JamesTraction
Very cool. Do you plan to sell any? I'm an n-scaler but I've been tempted to buy some MKT and BN SD40-2's and build a FPPX train. Or maybe sell a mold and I could make my own? I've never done any casting either so watching the process is interesting.
All, I have repaired the first casting (white spots of styrene), added some lead, installed MTL Barber roller bearing trucks and did a first test run on my switching layout. Not yet a coal train, but it is a start.
I did attach a hosepillar to a 'keep fresh' box and connected an air pump used for inflating air matresses. You can use this pump also to suck out the air. After pouring the resin, I close the box and lower the pressure in the box temporary. It sure improves the quality of the resin casting, but still the tub trim at the top needs rework with styrene strips.