Good news! Except for the door (which will be done tomorrow), the SAL B7 boxcar kit design is done. Now the review and tweaking begins.
My original intent was to etch the grab irons, steps, brake platform and walkways. As the design progressed, other manufacturing options have been adopted. Etching requires the modeler to fold and fiddle with VERY sharp and small parts, not something that too many folks (including me) like to do. Instead, the side grab irons will either be a combination of urethane U-brackets and wire or a 100%-cast urethane assembly depending on test results from a new semi-rigid urethane. End grab brackets will be flat-cast urethane pieces with cored holes for wire to create the grabs. The remaining etched parts MIGHT be the Apex walkway/corner platform and brake platform. The only way around this is to make SLAs for patterns and cast them in urethane but the holes may close up in several places during casting due to the very small cross sections. I'm still evaluating pros/cons with etching vs. castings. Steps will be my part no. 64-DP-2. Ladders are PRS "Canadian" style so some minor modification is required prior to installation. Final design review will occur this week and patterns will be ordered in 2 weeks. I hope to have a pilot model together by end of May; production will be ongoing while the pilot model is under construction. Here's the link to view today's images: http://www.smokymountainmodelworks.com/S_scale_kits.html This is a LIMITED RUN kit. Due to the high cost of restocking small batches of parts to make a 2nd run, I'm only producing 1 run plus parts to make up to 10 extras. If you have not ordered a kit, there is a LITTLE time left. I will be ordering patterns within 2 weeks and starting flat-casting production shortly after that. Contact me off-list to order, as questions, etc. Jim King President, Smoky Mountain Model Works, Inc. Ph. (828) 777-5619 www.smokymountainmodelworks.com Trainmaster, Craggy Mountain Line RR www.craggymountainline.com
