3356 Horse corral "melt marks"

Hi Mike,

I assume by "melt marks" you mean little tiny almost-prick-like dots, typically in pairs, in the corral. If so, these are caused by a reaction between the horses' "feet" and the plastic of the corral. Sadly, I learned this lesson the hard way after my daughter, who was then young and liked to play with the horses, left them in the corral instead of making sure they were back safely in the car. Ugggghhh! So much for my like-new horse corral. Hope this answers your question, Mike. It's a good lesson/warning for all horse car owners NOT to leave the horses in the corral when the accessory is not being used. (I assume the cattle car corrals also are susceptible to this; I don't own one of those so I'm not sure.)

Happy training and God bless America.

Chris

Thanks Chris,

These are like 1/8"-1/4" hash marks like from the blade of a hot flat-tip screwdriver.  So it is some chemical reaction btwn the horse & corral materials?  The cattle platform is metal so not an issue.

Anyone have a repair technique??

Thanks again Chris,

Mike

Hi Mike,

Hmmmm. I wonder if some previous owner was soldering nearby the corral and the tip touched the corral. The plastic reaction issue is still a possibility, but with a culprit other than the horses themselves. (Magic Rub Prismcolor white erasers also react with plastic with which they come in contact. Back in the days of VCR time-shifting, I used to keep an eraser handy to erase the labels when I reused a VHS tape for a new program. One time I left the eraser sitting on top of a cassette for what turned out to be a few weeks, and the eraser actually melted the plastic and "ate" its way right into the cassette.)

As for a repair, other than some localized filing of the high spots and filling in of the low spots with something like Squadron Green putty, then sanding and repainting the corral, I have no simple solution. Of course, that, and probably any other "repair" approach, would render the corral no longer "original" from a collectors' standpoint.

Good luck, Mike.

Chris

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall that the base of the 3356 horse platform is metal but the horse runway itself is actually plastic. 

The 3656 platform was virtually all metal construction which includes the runway but that doesn't go with the horse car.

Hi All,

The 1st time I saw it I assumed a careless past user...now I notice the marks on nearly every corral I see.  I attached a photo that kind of shows extremes.  The top corral is one of the worst I've seen, so I replaced the platform.  The lower corral only has slight marking on the path edges and just 4 marks in the actual path.  The vibrator is under the center raised portion and is the only potential heat source that I'm aware of...

Anyone tried to repair these marks??

Thanks again, Mike

Sorry, make that 6 marks in the path and thanks Chris for the repair ideas.

S/F Mike

You can also try to see if some shops that specialize in postwar parts such as Olsen's or Hennings may a replacement ramp assembly that's in like new or new condition.  The part # itself is 3356-51

Mike,

I think those marks could definitely be from the horses having been left on their sides in the corral, perhaps with something heavy on top of them. Maybe if the corral was reboxed for a long period of time, with the horses left in the corral. The chemical reaction between the horses' material and the plastic of the corral certainly surprised me when I saw it.

Good luck, Mike.

Chris