Non-Slip Casting

I'm in a mood to finish off some projects which have been held in abeyance for too long.

One of them is the well wagon project which has been sitting waiting for something to represent the Durbar plate decking.

My original plan was to get something bespoke in etched brass which would help give strength and weight to the structure, and would be user-friendly if the wagon ever got added to my range of kits.

I'd sent off some design sketches but nothing as come of them - and I'm reluctant to nag or chase-up - so I've decided to try one of the alternative approaches I had in mind originally.

Years ago I bought a packet of very thin, etched brass plates, which I can't seem to find being sold anymore.

They weren't big enough to cover the whole lower deck of the wagon, and I don't have enough of them in any case.

What I can do, however, is use one of them as a master to make a mould and cast a number of copies in resin, which I can then join together to make a master for a large piece which does fit.

This is what I have done, and you can see the result in the picture at the top of the post.

You can still make out where the join is but I'm hoping it won't show up too much when the wagon is painted and perhaps given a bit of weathering too.

Next, I shall be making some smaller pieces for cover the slopes and the upper platforms above the bogie pivits.

This will mean that the wagon still probably be a little on the light side, still, but the solution will probably be just to run it loaded.