Model Die Casting Inc. By Art Nadler Model Die Casting Inc. of Carson City, NV. has been on the same track since 1938 - and darn proud of it, too. The company, located in a 35,000-square foot building at 5070 Sigstrom Drive, manufactures more then 1,600 model trains and accessories. Its main line includes three scale models of trains: an N scale, 3 inches in length; HO scale, 6 inches long and a G scale, ranging from 1 to 1 1/2 feet in length.

The trains mirror intricate reproductions of real locomotives and boxcars from the 1930s to present day. Using original blueprints, the high-strength plastic and metal boxcars and locomotives are authentically matched using similar colors and side lettering. Jon Fox, Model Die Casting art director, says no decals are used on the boxcars. Lettering and logos are done by hand. Some are so small that a magnifying glass is needed to see and read what's printed. "Everything we do is made to run on tracks," Fox says. "We can take a product from concept to tooling to making the packaging. We are probably No. 3 in the industry worldwide." Two musicians formed model Die Casting, whose product trademark name is Roundhouse Products, in July 1938 in Hollywood, Calif. When the partners ran into financial difficulty, they sold the company to two part-time employees - C. H. Menteer and Charles Voelckel. Shortly after World War II, Menteer and Voelckel took on two additional partners, but three of them were eventually bought out. Menteer became the sole owner in 1956 and decided to move to Carson City in June 1993. "I got into this because I didn't know any better," a joking Menteer says with a coy smile. "But we always made a good product. We have some products that others don't have, and we have a reputation of being a long-term company. We back our products up." The boxcars and locomotives are virtually inexpensive in comparison to what other model train manufacturers sell, Fox says. Prices range from $5 to $75 depending on the scale of the model. Roundhouse Products are sold in hobby shops and some select retail stores, Fox says. Hobbyists can't buy models directly from the company, except to purchase discontinued models, G-scale kits and parts and accessories. "You can get into this hobby for $5 or $6," Fox says of the inexpensive model trains. "You can buy piecemeal in the beginning." The typical model-train builder is a person who is interested in the past, or becomes interested after seeing a movie with a train in it, Fox says. And it tends to be tied to the economy, he adds, in that when the economic conditions are bad, people tend to stay home and do more hobbies. Model Die Casting Inc. produces its models by die casting them in metal and through injection plastic molding. Zinc or a zinc alloy is utilized for metal parts, and three brands of plastics are used in the boxcars and for wheels and gears. Some models are completely cast in metal. The company employees from 25 to 30 fulltime and part-time employees on average. Fox says occasionally a train company will contract with his company to reproduce a model for a special occasion. Ingersoll Rand, who produced the first diesel locomotive, recently asked Model Die Casting to make an HO-scale model of that locomotive. For people who don't have the patience or skill to work with intricate parts in building a model locomotive or boxcar, Fox says Roundhouse Products sells kits that are completely assembled. The company began shipping parts to China in November 1999, where trains are put together and shipped back to the Carson City factory. Fox estimates that 25 percent of Model Die Casting's business is derived from these assembled kits. To make a boxcar or locomotive, Fox says the company must invest from $75,000 to $150,000 for each die-casting. Prices fluctuate on how intricate a die becomes. "We do all the box designs here, too," Fox says, adding that packages are printed in Reno. For more information, contact: Model Die Casting Inc., 5070 Sigstrom Drive, Carson City, NV. 89706. Phone: (775) 884-4388. Fax: (775) 884-4391. Their e-mail address is: www.mdcroundhouse.com.