The link to this video was emailed to me the other day.  I was really impressed with the quality of the model railroad used as the stage for this commercial.

Enjoy!

I finally completed the large slab car model by adding the steps and by adding weathering.

Recently I decided to try another casting method.  This time around I used the Platinum Silicone system from Tap Plastics.

I decided to use the blanket casting method since this material is more expensive than some of the other forms.  The blanket method uses up to a third less casting material.

I mixed up a small batch according to the directions and painted it on the part after I glued it to the styrene.  I then thickened up the rest of the material using the thixotropic agent and spread it over the part (the instructions recommend painting the thin mixture on and waiting a while for it to set before adding the thickened coat).  Skipping this step did affect the final quality of the casting, but it didn’t really matter for this part.

After the material hardened I decided to pour a plaster backing to hold the blanket mold when I am casting parts.  I used a plastic package to create the mold and taped it in place on the styrene.

The final step was to mix the plaster and pour it into the prepared mold.

Here is the end result, a blanket mold for producing roofs for small boxcars.  It has good enough detail in the mold to add very fine texture to the cast part.

The large slab car was an interesting kit, mostly due to the different materials used in the construction.  The part of the load on the right is a resin casting, while the slabs on the left are actually small pieces of wood.  In this picture you can see the difference because I had not yet weathered the wood pieces.

The second picture shows the model almost completed, with only a little bit of weathering, and the steps to be added.

The lettering on the side was done by using water-slide decals.  The real wood pieces now resemble the others because I used my normal India ink and alcohol mixture to dull the color down.

This type of car would have been used to deliver already cut wood slabs to the donkey engines and other steam driven equipment in the woods.  Most likely it would be ran close to the water car for deliveries.

I have been insanely busy lately from work and school.  Here is what has helped to keep me sane:  the pipe and scrap steel car from the Backwoods Work Train.

This particular car took a lot of work, the amount of detail in this model is amazing.   After painting all of the parts that were supposed to be wood by dry-brushing various layers of brown, I used a fine detail brush to pick out individual parts with red green and silver. Rusting powders helped to create the look that a car such as this would have.

A car such as this would have been essential in keeping a small logging outfit running.  From these parts a “donkey doctor” would be able to repair almost anything.