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Q&A
What is that car made of? The
new generation Red Ball HO and O kits are primarily made if injection
molded styrene and photoetched brass. The ex-troop cars use the
Cannonball styrene core and brass sides photoetcvhed for the EXACT
prototype. None of this "just pain em different colors" stuff, they
are p[rototype specific. Our Mann's Creek hoppers and Log Buggies are
styrene (in O & HO) or wood (other scales) and brass.
What is that engine made of? It
can''t be brass for $59.95.
The ubiquitous Baldwin-Westinghouse class B steeple cab is brass
for solder or glue assembly. First run coming shortly at $59.95.
This Hospital car has great detail.
Another booth has warped $100 grainy epoxy copies of a wood roofed kit
Wxxxxxxx made years ago.
Cannonball's WWII hospital car has a
photo etched brass wrapper for roof & sides that covers a styrene
core. Our tooling is brand new and original with us. With decals it will
be much less than the $100 pirate shop job.
Does it include trucks &
couplers? Cannonball
military cars include truck frames that accept you choice of wheelsets.
Red Ball kits are less trucks and couplers (link & pin couplers ARE
included in Mann's Creek kits-or you can install draft gear boxes.)
Are you REALLY going to do THAT
CABOOSE? YES Northern
Pacific, Great Northern , D&RGW, Sacramento Northern, Wabash, and
Missouri Pacific pictures were shown, They are following the NYC,
Rutland, B&O (2 + variations), N&W(3), Virginian(2), NKP (2
+variations), C&O, CN and GTW cabins now in tooling. No, these are
NOT different paint jobs, they are different cars.
What are they made of? The
Red Ball caboose series will be injection molded styrene flat kits with
correct detail castings and etchings. Special cars (ex troop BAR,
D&M; Milw rib side etc) will be made in the brass LTD series.
Is that wood? Our
new Bristol Series kits are not "just printed in color" on white
Bristol stock. Many months of fine tuning colors, multiple layer
printing and securing very special papers were involved in developing
the high degree of realism for wood buildings, realistic textured brick
(seven colors with the mortar in mortar color) corrugated iron and
period roofing materials.
Why not print it on styrene?
The Bristol Series kits can
be easily laminated to foam core or plain styrene for high humidity
situations. I WAS rather amused that some of you out there think you
have high humidity. Those Bristol structures have survived 95 degree,
95% humidity here in corn growing country endless days on end. The
special appearances we've developed simply defy printing on white
sheet styrene and the cost of that process was involved in our
discontinuing previous HOMETOWN production in the 1980s (some of you
recalled those kits had existed).
Do you have a Catholic Church?
Several specific buildings
and construction material sheets were requested. We have plans to expand
the Bristol line a great deal as our first effort/investment is accepted
and purchased by you folks.
What are you doing for us S scalers?
Well, right now we have a Mail Pouch Barn
and a brass troop sleeper. But the brochure we handed you explained that
most of our new railcar kits and structures are being designed to allow
production in other scales. (We'll send it for an SSAE) [ Upon our
return, Barb showed me the first S scale house kit off the press]
Reservations are accepted for brass kits.
What are you doing for N scalers?
We showed you four Bristol Series kits and
have more coming. The same sheet given S scalers explains how to use our
VOTING BALLOT on the website to get N scale kits happening. We can gang
up different troop express kits on the same sheet to cut down on the
number of reservations needed-and the Baldwin B is close to having
enough now.
What do you do for Z Scale?
Well we showed you N scale barns that can be
used in Z to see if you'd nibble, and gave you the sheet explaing how
to vote for Z kits. The ball is in your court.
And for O--- Is that O scale Troop
Sleeper For Sale? ETC YES
it is in stock right now as an unpainted brass body kit with or without
decals. And yes, we have a builder who will build it reasonably. He will
also build the Mann's Creek hopper and log cars in O. And yes, they
can run on )n3, On30 or standard gauge O Arch Bar trucks. Ex Troop
Sleepers in O? Yes wihen reservations reach the dozen level onm as given
car.
Oh, so YOU do Red Ball now?? Well,
we've made tons of the Red Ball kits since 1975-longer than its
founder, M Dale Newton (1939-55) or Howell Day (1955-75). The trucks and
some old time kits were sold at various times by al three owners.
Today's Red Ball is a new generation of multi media kits heavily
relying on injection molded styreneand photoetche brass to continu the
tradition of unique, specific prototype kits. There have been pirates
over the years copying or extensive line of billboard caisides, een
making rubber molds from our parts. Patronage of such firms simply
encourages them to continue stealing from those of us who work to bring
you neat new kits.
Do you still make those cardboard and
lead kits? (A publisher who didn't bother to stop by to see us, but
cashes our advertisingspace checks)
No. Red Ball cardsided kits have not been
made since 1975. Much existing inventory was sold out as "QuicKits"
in the late 70s when we switched Red Ball to wood sides.
Are those express cars painted? Do
they include decals? Etc We
are developing decals for many of our kits now days. Microscale DOES
have suitable decals for all the express cars we showed painted. Most
roads had 2-4 paint schemes for them over the years-so. We do have a
reasonably priced custom builder (in USA) available for our unpainted
kits if you'd like. ,
Did you build those ? Before
going blind three years back I built many of the railcar models we
showed, Alaska RR fans recognized two as Durand built. Doug Hunt,( who
works with George Dollens and I on kit design ) built many of them more
recerntly. After doing a couple of HO troop cars I got their time under
an hour apiece and ready to be painted. Barb built most of the Bristol
buildings. I'll introduce her farther down the page.
When are you doing these in Western
roads? Troop cars in
western express service were owned ONLY by Rock Island, Burlington (and
D&FtW, C&S), Frisco and M&StL. NYC and B&O cars would
cross the Mississippi to enter St Louis. Many others did come west in
off line service. The REA cars were common on your lines but other
western US roads did NOT have them in revenue service. Some had them in
MofW use. We ARE zeroing in on other headend cars for you-the SP "Economy Baggage" are listed in next year's ballot being posted in
August. Our LTD series will feature specific unique western cars as
well. Available plans & photos can motivate us. Designing the kits
and tooling AFTER digging up the reference is all three of us can
handle, so help in the digging can get the kits you want rolling.
Are you rerunning the plastic
Steeple Cab? The molds
are steel and as good as new-- more can be made. We hear there may be
new HO power trucks coming into the market. If so-- YES. If YOU will buy
a few hundred-YES, just for you. If we run a thousand only to sell a
handful a month-NO.
I'm looking for stone sheets.
I'm looking for N scale brick sheets.
Or S or O
Well they aren't yet available – but
we've got a wide selection of them coming soon.
Are you the charming lady on the
800 phone? No, this question
was addressed to Bea, not me. The charming lady is Barb. She operates a
specialty printing business two doors from our building on Main St in
Roanoke, IN. Barb fed our cat while we were in Seattle, takes your
orders and produces our Bristol Series kits and Red Ball Christmas
cards. We'll put a photo of her smile in here. Please call her with
your ORDERS M-F 8-5 EST at 1-800-672-8762. Please don't call her for
information though (I pay her for every call you know-800 isn't on
Bell ). Please use our email response form. I read & respond daily
when kitmaking needs a break (or next day if off at a show, meeting with
molders, researching a prototype, meeting with George, Doug, mold makers
, etc-that's why my phone isn't posted). Some of you have asked
for me to CALL and I've tried--talked to YOUR machines as many as a
half dozen times.).
Barb Doug George
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The MRRW Prototype Specific Products
Booth displayed 26 HO models on the left not available from any
other source-as well as O scale TROOP SLEEPER (also available in S)
and Mann's Creek Cars. There's a Mann's Creek Log Buggy (F scale
–1/20.3 scale) standing there to the left of Boss Merle and a whole
flock of the new HOMETOWN Bristol Series kits to the right (her left) of
his wife Bea. We really had a lot packed in -folks who checked out the
Bristol construction sheets were amazed at seven colors of HO
brick. And YES, there will be several stone sheets soon, and N and O and
S. We also represented City Classics and Bethlehem Car Works who were
unable to attend. 
