1:29 SCALE TANK CARS
Manufacturer: ARISTO-CRAFT TRAINS/Polk's Model Craft Hobbies, Inc., 346 Bergen Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07304. Price: Ready-to-run ART 41606 Baltimore & Ohio and ART 41610 Oilzum triple dome tank cars and those in 16 other paint schemes $54.95 each suggested list.
THE TRIPLE DOME tank cars from ARISTO-CRAFT are here and should be every bit as popular as the single dome versions of two years ago. ARISTO-CRAFT has based its model on an all steel car typical of the era from about 1930 through the 1970s but apparently follows no specific prototype.
The Oilzum tank car has a colorful orange, black, and white paint scheme. The B&O car has a dark blue tank, black underbody, and white graphics. Both have solid brass handrails, end steps, and grab irons. The rest of the car, except for the steel axles, is plastic. The die work is good with plenty of detail, crisp rivets and seams, a nice representation of the hardware on the dome, and a reasonable approximation of the underbody brake rigging. The lettering is crisp and appears accurate. The quality of the paint and graphics is superior to that of the old single dome cars.
ARISTO-CRAFT has added stanchions around the long handrails surrounding the tank; no longer do the rails feel loose. Unfortunately, the brake wheel's cross section is still too heavy and its staff is still too short. If they bother you when you unpack your car, replace those details. The brake cylinder ARISTO-CRAFT modeled represents a Westinghouse "KC" brake; while earlier cars did have KC brakes, this car suggests a slightly later prototype and probably would have had the more modern "AB" type. (The graphics indicate builder's dates of 1949 and 1953.)
The car is shorter than other ARISTO-CRAFT rolling stock, but actually that is correct. The length is 15 inches, the width 3 7/8 inches, and the height above the rail about 6 3/8 inches. In 1:29 scale that equates to about 36 feet 3 inches long by about 9 feet 3 inches wide.
In comparison with the dimensions of a 1:32 scale tank car costing far more, the 1:32 scale model is three scale inches longer overall and exactly the same scale width (it also has Westinghouse AB brake gear). That means 1:32 scale modelers as well as those in 1:29 scale may use the ARISTO-CRAFT car, so expect it to sell out that much more quickly.
ARISTO-CRAFT provides an extra set of tank bands to represent the more common four strap method of securing petroleum tanks to the car frame. They also include six different sets of stick-on hazard labels to fit over the four warning placards on the sides and ends of the frame. The hatch covers on the domes open and, as all ARISTO-CRAFT trucks, the sideframes have individual working springs. The car comes with both hook-loop and ARISTO-CRAFT's more realistic knuckle couplers.
ARISTO-CRAFT's triple dome tank cars are good models and are likely to be very popular.-RR
