Trackside MULTI-SCALE DETAIL PARTS
Manufacturer: Trackside Details, 1331 Avalon Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405. Price: (No part number) solid brass replacement sand and steam domes for LGB Moguls $28.00 per pair; TD-104 cast plastic roof vents for passenger and work cars $5.00 per bag of eight.
OUR PAL PETE Thorp, the Prince of Parts, Duke of Details, King of Castings, Boss of Brass and, of course, Potentate of Plastic is back with something old and something new.
The old something is the pair of solid brass dome turnings to fit LGB Moguls. C&S fans will recognize they are of the proper height and diameter to represent the larger domes on such well known Moguls as Numbers 22 and 9. The smaller domes on LGB's 2019S, for example, are closer in size to those on Moguls Number 6 and 8. So, depending upon what locomotive you want to model, Trackside Details' sand and steam domes may be a real blessing. Each weights about 3/4-pound and attaches to the existing Mogul dome bases if you cut off the original dome, sand the base top flat, and insert the protruding base ring of the replacement dome into the resulting hole. Epoxy will hold it in place.
The domes will enhance the performance of your Mogul as well as its appearance. The additional 1 1/2 pounds of weight sits directly over the drivers. It increases pulling power and smoothes operation.
The machining (by Dean Lowe) is absolutely excellent, the proportions appear accurate, and the steam dome even comes cored for a whistle and pop valves.
The new somethings are plastic roof vents. They should be perfect for modelers kitbashing Bachmann or LGB passenger cars as well as those topping off a scratchbuilt passenger car. Most passenger cars used such hardware to vent smoke from the kerosene lamps hanging above the aisles. Many photos show them in pairs along the car roof centerline. The cone shaped types most often vented bathrooms and coal stoves. The castings have a 3/32-inch peg on the bottom. Just drill a hole, insert the peg and, if the roof is plastic, touch the underside of the joint with a solvent-type cement such as Tenax, Testor's Liquid Cement for Plastics, or MEK. The parts come on a sprue so they will require some clean up after you remove them. The quality of the castings is excellent. The smaller vents have a maximum diameter of about 5/16-inch and the larger are 3/8-inch.
Both parts are nominally 1:22.5 scale but should work equally well for many models between 1:29 and 1:20 scales. Trackside Details' domes and vents are excellent products.-RR.
