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It's really a pretty simple kit, with most of the piping details molded on the the boiler, unfortunately. But I have seen some extremely attractive static models built from it, and a couple of running locomotives with Bowser and Rivarossi guts. I have one on the shelf here waiting to become a scrap-line / pre-restoration piece.

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As a former RR modeler, my two bit suggestion is to kill any gloss and weather it to no end. There are LOTS of good youtubes of these engines. If you look for Union Pacific Challenger or Big Boy (their two big articulated engines) you can get a real good idea of typical grime. If you have never tried washes, this is a fantastic kit to try it on as "too much" is never a concern with a steam engine. Look at the colors...not the "paint" and you will see a huge difference. For example, if you do alclad, use it on the top of the rails and the wheel surfaces but beyond that, everything is basically grays, blacks, and browns.

It is a great little kit and is indeed "HO" scale. Lots of model RR folks get them and just park them on their layout. A whole lot cheaper than a $1000 one that runs..

Good luck and keep us posted.

Peace.

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Weren't the big boys built by Baldwin in Lima,Ohio?If so I only live about 30 miles from there.

I believe both the Challengers and the Big Boy engines were built by the American Locomotive Company, also known as Alco, in New York. I always thought Baldwin was in Pennsylvania, but Lima Locomotive Works was in Lima, Ohio.

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  • 11 months later...

The thing is huge alright.

 

I believe both the Challengers and the Big Boy engines were built by the American Locomotive Company, also known as Alco, in New York. I always thought Baldwin was in Pennsylvania, but Lima Locomotive Works was in Lima, Ohio.

Correct. Here's a snap of 4006 at the transportation museum here in St Louis.

Building 050.jpg

Edited by Roadrunner
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What a magnificent machine. I've never seen a Big Boy up close and personal,  but I'm thankful that I was born early enough to see the end of steam power on American railroads, and I'm still saddened it had to end. Yes, I know they're high-maintenance heavy polluters, but there's a soul to these things, and a romance associated with railroading (and aircraft, ships and even cars) that's all but gone. Heavy steam locomotives were still pulling coal and freight through Ohio when I was a kid, and it was the high point of my week when we'd ride down to the station and watch one come through. 

I preferred the world before most everyone's head was firmly shoved up his (or her) apps.

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