Micro-Trains' new Civil War armored set

Well, well. Isn't this a pleasant surprise. Micro-Trains Line announced that it will be releasing a new set in its Civil War Era line: a U.S. Military Railroad Armored 4-pack! It's set to ship in March. I'm very tempted to preorder this one, since they're always limited runs of these things.

Something new and different from MTL!

To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything like this from MTL's CWE line. For years now they've been simply releasing the same boxcar-flatcar-caboose models, just with different livery. Frankly, it's getting worn out. I even asked them a while back if they were exploring doing a USMRR passenger car run. They said no, but deep down I've been hopeful. This new armored set gives me more optimism that MTL is open to more variety in its Civil War offerings. I'd also like to see some stock/cattle cars. There were plenty of them rolling down the rails during the war. 

My only--minor--complaint about this set is that they included a conductor car/caboose. A standard boxcar would have been more appropriate. But I'm not letting that dilute the excitement about this newest release. 

Video update: Weathered boxcars, supply wagons, new army depot scene

It's been a while since my last post. So I wanted to prove I didn't give up on this thing. I finally got around to making a new video tour of the layout. Not much has changed since I posted it (you should subscribe), but I'll tell you a few upcoming things after the video.



Things you'll notice...

• The Micro-Trains Civil War era boxcars have been given road numbers and weathering. It's makes such a difference. Also, they're all fitted with metal wheels. 
• The tender load is tungsten putty covered in firewood I cut from leftover laser kits. 
• Soldiers! I finished the Union Army supply wagons. They look great and add much-needed life to the layout. They were a breeze to paint, even if my eyes were screaming at me for trying to focus so small. I haven't gotten to adding more miniatures, but painting has started slowly. I'll have two more wagons (these from Good Ground Minis) soon.
• The freight station and other scenic changes were covered in the last post. 

Things in the works... 

• I found one of Mark Watson's ventilated boxcars. It's based on a post-war prototype from the Virginia and Truckee, meaning it won't be historically accurate on a Civil War layout. However, it's a good way to add variety to the rolling stock for now. 
• More wagons and miniatures. 
• If I'm adventurous enough, I'm going to paint over the Pennsylvania Railroad markings on the PRR 1510. It'll be a little scary since I really don't want to disturb any of the other ornamentation. But as long as the black paint matches up well enough, it'll be very cool to finally use the U.S.M.R.R. locomotive decals that have been sitting on a shelf.