The HLC series 2 coal container mold didn't last long at all however. By the second or third casting, the top-corners where the curvy bit meets the overhanging beam along the top had begun to rip away.
Still, I managed to get 5 good containers, plus one slightly sticky (eeeuw) prototype which we're still awaiting the verdict on, and could probably manage more as the increasingly messy corner undercuts will probably be under the tarps anyway. There were a few air bubbles in the end details from time to time, but probing around the mold with a tiny bit of brass wire/rod after the resin was poured scared most of them up to the 'surface' (which is actually the bottom of the container where nobody can see them). This tactic was so successful, that after the initial sticky first one, all the top corner posts came out perfectly, so I must remember to do this with future tricky castings.
While I was in a duplicitous mood I ran off another HLC3 (the tall HCC) and some more UKs and PKs. These molds are just starting to show the first signs of small tears, but while not producing the most spectacular NZ120 models you'll ever see, they have been extremely good value, contributing bases for more than forty wagons and thus quite a number of blog entries over the past year or so.A little paint, glue and weathering later, the enriched HLC raw materials are ready for tarping with magic tinfoil. And they're certainly looking decent (by NZ120 standards anyway), so while the paint is setting I've hidden them on my workbench so Hans Blix can't nick off with them.
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