1:32 SCALE COVERED HOPPER
Manufacturer: Model Die Casting, Inc., 3811 West Rosecrans Boulevard, Hawthorne, CA 90250. Price: G4262 D&RGW covered hopper $39.95 each suggested list.
NONE OTHER THAN "Mr. One Scale", Gary Raymond, writes in the October/November 1992 OR, "[Model Die Casting's two bay hopper] happens to be the most accurate of their 1:32 scale models; its overall dimensions are within only two scale inches of the original." Since Gary wrote that after spending a couple of hours climbing over actual Rio Grande hoppers with a measuring tape, his statement saves having to research the car's accuracy and detailing any further. Let's proceed to the critique of the model itself.
It is nothing more than the same car with a rather elegant cover and a new paint job. The color is now gray and the lettering black. The only roadname currently available is Denver & Rio Grande Western and the primary nit to pick with its decoration involves the "D&RGW" lettering. It is close, but wrong. The Rio Grande uses a distinctive "Railroad Roman" lettering style unavailable in large scale except from two or three decal and dry transfer manufacturers. Aside from that, the paint job on our sample was excellent and the lettering sharp and opaque; the entire car makes a realistic, handsome impression.
The crisp detailing on the new hopper cover reflects that of the rest of the car. The rivets are perfectly formed, and are particularly nice around the grab irons and hinges. The grab irons, roofwalk, and all other details are plastic ridges instead of separate add-on parts. The vast majority of smaller scale rolling stock shares that characteristic and so do some older LGB freight cars. Most recent large scale rolling stock has separate press-in hardware and, since 1:32 scale has so far tended to attract many detail conscious modelers, MDC may want to consider producing future cars with more elaborate detailing. A brake reservoir and associated hardware on the correct end, for example, would help.
Construction is almost entirely plastic except for metal screws and axle centers. The model's dimensions are about 12 5/8 inches long, 3 7/8 inches wide, and 4 3/4 inches tall from railhead to roofwalk. In 1:32 scale, that works out to about 32 feet 9 inches by 10 feet 4 inches by 12 feet 6 inches. It will negotiate 2 foot radius curves on 45mm Gauge One track.
The car comes with LGB-type hook-and-loop couplers but, as Gary Raymond's article showed, adding the much more realistic Kadee knuckle couplers is a thirty minute job. The plastic wheels have attractive, crisp lettering on their faces ("AAR 1938 CHILLED WHEELS") and cooling ribs on their backs. On the other hand, their flanges and overall diameter are far too large for 1:32 scale. Replacing them with wheels of an appropriate size from one of the metal wheel manufacturers will do wonders for the model's appearance and overall realism.
Is this a harsh review? If MDC were producing toys it would be. But they produce generally very precise models for a discerning group of hobbyists in 1:32 scale. That group is uninterested in toys. It wants accurate model railroad equipment. MDC has tantalized them with first rate mold work, excellent proportion, and good overall detailing right down to the Bettendorf sideframes, then lets them down by molding on the grab irons and other hardware, equipping the model with toy train wheels, and offering no provision for drop-in Kadee couplers.
Overall, MDC's covered hopper is an attractive and excellent product. It's primary failure stems from marketing. The manufacturer hit the bullseye but was aiming at the wrong target.-RR
