From My Workbench

Greetings everyone, I just finished up my MMR CAR AP entries number 3 and 4.


To obtain the Master Model Railroad Car Builder Certification you are required to build a total of 8 cars of various styles. 4 of the 8 are required to be scratch built, and of the 8, 1 has to be a passenger type car. With that said, I have completed 4 of the 8 required. These next two cars will supplement the HoN3 flat cars that can be seen on the blog.

This water tank car is a HoN3 style wooden tank car towards the end of its life. I scratch built just about everything on this car excluding the trucks and couplers. This was also my first attempt at mold making and casting my own parts. The dome as well as the end pieces of the tank are custom made using silicon and plastic resin. A lot of fun actually.

I have also learned some really cool ways to mimic rust. This technique was developed by Brett Gallant of Sierra West Models of whom I recently met at the LSR NMRA regional convention. I really like the technique and Brett outlines how to do this on his website. While your their take a look at his craftsman's kit his offers for sale. These kits are out of this world.







This next car was really something that morphed into what is is now, a blacksmith car. I fully in tended on building a gondola but when I placed my first side on the side I stumbled across another blacksmith car on online. One thing lead to another and this is what I came up with.

I outfitted the interior workbench,forge, tools, coal bin, and even a cuspidor. I enjoyed these builds and hope that they will merit at my next NMRA meeting.

4 more cars to go... Stay tuned...