Continuing the series, I have kept plugging away on this project of trying to make resin castings of American OO car bodies.

The initial castings were OK but I felt that some parts needed a stiffer resin. Micro-Mark sells three types, I had been using the medium type but tried the harder one. For these parts in the photo I think the harder resin is a plus, the section is fairly thin and you can feel the difference. For thicker parts, however, I noted that the difference was hardly noticeable.

So, my plan for now is to use up all the medium resin making those thicker parts and keep working to make the parts that need the harder resin too.

There were also some parts I was trying to make in vintage molds that were made by Temple Nieter in the 1970s. The issue has been even using very heavy coatings of mold release those molds tend to want to stick and tear. Bottom line is that I will need to back off using those molds. Fortunately, I have made some good copies of the hopper car side now and I have originals of the ends and another needed part.

The next purchase will be more of the mold making material. I am wishing I had made my new molds generally larger and thicker, so that is another tweak coming in the next batch of molds. I may try to make another car type in the molds, too, pondering needs and what materials are on hand.

As to offering these for sale, at this point hardly any parts are actually perfect to the level I would sell them, if I do go that direction that is a ways in the future. And, with the cure time involved, I only at best get one good part a day.

But with that I think there is enough info here for any of you out there thinking about making a mold and casting parts to give it a try. It is not that hard to do really, the most time-consuming part is mostly setup. Give it a try!

Continue to Castings! Part IV