More Color More Color - O scale trains

Product News & Reviewsneeded. In actual practice, this featurewas never used and was eliminated fromfuture designs. Milk was chilled to 36°F prior to loading The mass of 6000 gallonsof cold milk within an insulatedwood car body was enough to keep themilk at a safe temperature, even for severaldays. Temperature gain averaged 1to 2 degrees between the receiving stationand the processing plant during thesummer months. It was kept from freezingduring the winter by the samemethod.The kit as offered is a completelyassembled resin car body whichappeared very neat and square. Someshiny areas on the casting surface werefrom solvent used in making the originalpattern. That is an indication of howaccurate the casting process is.With the difficult assembly workalready done, the modeler is left to performthe installation of details, painting,and lettering. Milk car modeling in thepast has been frustrating due to the lackof prototype lettering schemes availablein decal form. Rails Unlimited hassolved this problem by offering a newseries of exclusive decals, many ofwhich have not been done before. Inaddition, Highball Graphics is offeringseveral new milk car decal sets whichmay be purchased separately.Detail parts can be acquired fromRails Unlimited ranging from PrecisionScale brass or plastic to a bag of pewterparts created just for this kit. This smallbag is recommended because it containsparts such as roof lifting brackets andbuffers which are not available elsewhere.Six and a half foot wheelbasetrucks are appropriate for this car andmade by PSC or Keil-Line.The model should be washed anddried before starting work to removeany possible casting residue. If you usea hair dryer to dry the model, do not useheat. It is assumed that the modeler willsupply their own wood strips for the18 • O Scale Trainsroof walks and various sizes of brasswire and strip for forming other detailssuch as piping, brake rodding and steps.Refer to the instruction sheet for sizesand other application details.Instructions are minimal and areprinted on a single page. Line drawingsare provided for parts placement. AnHO size drawing is included in eachdecal set for lettering location. Prototypeplans and photos of this car can befound in the March 1986 issue of RailroadModel Craftsman. Additional photoscan be found in Volumes 1&2 ofRailway Milk Cars, currently availablefrom Bob’s Photos, 37 Spring Street,Ansonia, Conn., 06401.Choice of paint material is left up tothe modeler based on personal preference.My choice is Floquil primer andlet it cure for 5 to 7 days. Most of thecars in this series were painted a Pullmangreen. A few special schemes usedwhite car sides. I prefer to paint withregular Floquil, using Weathered Blackfor the roof surface and Grimy Blackfor the underframe and trucks. Since thecar will be decaled, it will need at least asmooth semigloss overcoat to avoidtrapping air under the decal. After thedecals are placed and dried, I apply anovercoat of a 50/50 mix of Flat Finishand Crystal Coat to yield a satin finish.If you are a modeler interested ineither enhanced operations or an unusualcar to add to your collection, this is amodel for you. Hats off to Ted Schnepfat Rails Unlimited.REVIEW: 200 Ton Flatcar KitAuel Industries, 13050 Veronica Ln,North Huntington PA 15642,[auelogauge@msn.com]Reviewed by Marshall Vine, U.K.This is a recently re-introduced kitfor a heavy duty 16 wheel flatcar whichwas first produced many years ago. Adrawing of a C&NWR version of thiscar is in Train Shed Cyclopedia No.17on page 204, and a photo on page 201.The model is spot on to the drawing,and follows the prototype closely. Bothdrawing and model are to 17 ⁄64 scale, typicalfor O scale when the model wasfirst introduced. Like the prototype, themain body of the model is one largecasting which reproduces the complexwebs and recesses of the car body andalso means that the most complicatedconstruction work has already beendone. In fact, apart from packs for twopairs of trucks, (your choice of either