PASSENGER CAR DETAIL PARTS
Manufacturer: Trackside Details, 1331 Avalon Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405. Price: TD-103 Seat Ends $10.00 per package of 12. California residents please add 7 1/4-percent sales tax. All customers please include $1.50 shipping.
HE HAS RETURNED. Who? The Duke of Details, King of Castings, Prince of Parts and, veritably, The Boss of Brass. To that we now may add The Potentate of Plastic. I refer, naturally, to Pete Thorp, owner of Trackside Details, who brings us yet another exciting product: injection molded styrene seat ends for passenger cars.
Bachmann's nice passenger car kits will really benefit from Pete's Parts because the interior is so visible through the windows. As the package indicates, each packet contains enough to adorn the aisle of a combine. Since the coach has twice as many seats, it will need two packs. If you have completely lost your mind and also want to add ends to the side of the seats along the wall, you'll need another pack or two, depending on the car.
The quality of the castings is exquisite. None of the pieces in our sample package had a trace of flash. The detail was crisp and the appearance superb.
Pete admits the instructions really should include a drawing. He sent a sketch showing how to assemble the part (it has two pieces) and where to glue it. I have included a photo to help you. Plan on spending about thirty seconds assembling the seat end and another five, maybe six, seconds cementing it to the side of the Bachmann seat casting. Use liquid solvent-type styrene cement and it's a snap.
If you really want to go crazy, build up your own seat cushions from styrene and add the TD castings to each end as in the third photo. Pretty good documentation in this review, huh? Imagine what a prize winner you could scratchbuild with seats like those!
Trackside Details seat ends may be a slightly esoteric product but they are welcome additions and nowhere will you find castings of higher quality.-RR
