I don't think I've seen anyone try to use crowdfunding to raise the capital needed to bring a model railroad product to market, but here is an example.

Prototype Junction. a new company, is raising funds to tool an assortment of HO scale Pratt-truss single-sheathed box and auto cars. These plastic cars would be available RTR and as kits. Parts would be made available also.

Here's the link if you want to learn more about what they are doing and why:

One of my hobby goals for 2020 is to make more progress on structures, and I decided to start by trying to fill the largest gaps between existing structures today.  Job #1 is the abandoned Ready Mixed concrete plant (later found to be Wilson Concrete, but in 2001 this plant was acquired by Lyman-Richey Corp., parent company of...Ready Mixed!) just east of UP's Pool Yard in Council Bluffs.  Here are a couple prototype photos from September 2001 and June 2005, respectively:

Who builds resin kits? I have long thought that only ultra serious prototype modelers build resin kits. While I am a prototype modeler I am not what I would refer to as ultra serious and as such I do not build resin rolling stock kits. The problem is that I see the availability of injection molded plastic kits slowly drying up with only expensive RTR models available. While were are not there yet, IMO we are well along the road heading in that direction.

Immodestly I think I am getting pretty good at weathering standard boxcar colors using powders and Pan Pastels.  But the era I model, around 2000, has more colorful cars.  My experience trying to fade these out has been somewhere between bad to a disaster.  My latest attempt was a Chessie blue boxcar I tried to fade with white Pan Pastels, did not work out.  I have heard of spraying a thin layer of a lighter shade of the car color, but would that not also affect the lettering?  I have also read to do this with white or gray.  I have tired oils on several projec