Making Moulds Again

It looks like resin season is in full swing here with a flood of orders for my range of SAR wagon kits.

The FR shop has requested another run of all three kits - plus the guards van which is coming soon - so I am digging out the masters and making a new set of silicone moulds.

In the picture above are the main parts for the DZ & B wagon kits ready in their styrene 'boxes' for the RTV mixture to the poured on top.

Box Of Bits

It's not a lot to look at but this is the result of 3 days of hard graft resin casting.

Contained within this humble Tupperware box are more than a hundred castings which will make up 7 complete NG-Y ballast wagons.

Yes, folks, production has commenced in earnest.

To start with I am making up the kits for customers who have placed advanced orders and then I will turn my attention to providing some to sell from stock via the FR shop and Narrow Planet's trade stand at exhibitions.

It's a slow process, however. Such is the complexity of this model I can only produce, on average, 2 kits per day.

But, as British Rail used to say, we're getting there.

Window Dressing

Here they are then, the pair of wagons for display in the F&WHR shop at Harbour Station.

I've finished the B wagon in the style of the latest batch imported from South Africa which is why the V hanger is picked out in yellow.

Some SA NG purists I know have rather turned their noses up at this embellishment when the wagons were refurbished at Sandstone prior to shipping to Wales but I have to say I rather quite like it.

The DZ wagon has been done up to represent one of the WHR examples with the cut down, straight-top ends.

I hope they do the trick and drum up some passing trade for the kits.