Peter, Since you brought up 2 of my favorite subjects, brass and S Scale, I thought I would throw this out. Since I believe that the advanced S Scale modeler should not be forced to survive on 1 coupler alone, I took action about 10 years ago. Here is a list of custom Kadee couplers I had made in brass
#5 shank (long & short) with a # 802 head #5 shank (long & short) with a # 802 UP head coupler. They are on my Rex Docksider Regular #802 body #802 with a completely solid shank There may be another variation or 2 in there somewhere.. The Fig Newton is it is a 1 for 1 lost plastic process. I give 1 plastic master and get 1 brass coupler back. My caster almost killed me when I sent him a massive plastic tree to cast. It also took an obscene amount of time to make as well. The first thing to happen is your plastic master dies. It something goes wrong you don't get brass parts and the plastic master is charred ash. That presents problems in ANY mass production scenario! Any of the above custom couplers does not exist in quantities of more then 20 pieces each. Since they are for my personal modeling I am sure Kadee would not have anything to say about it. (NOTE - NONE are for sale for ANY price) I don't think I have ever given them away either. But this could give you ideas on how to tackle your own difficult coupler installation. Get me plastic masters of what you want and we can go from there. There are the 2 minor issues of the Kadee patents and the infamous "somebody with the checkbook" to pay for it all. Someone smarter then me will have to investigate the Kadee patents. The alleged oversize of the 802 head never bothered me. I just needed a variety of custom couplers for applications like the Rex engines originally designed for the #5 and I wanted # 802 in there. I have also mounted the SHS coupler in the pilot of my RRM PRR J1. Lately I have been leaning towards the SHS coupler for everything especially in the custom and difficult installations. They are small and have a short swing. If y'all want to campaign to Kadee to get a new S coupler made, I don't think the incorrect head size should be the only reason to present to them. It does not make sense and is not practical on Kadee's part. They already have an S coupler that sells X units per year. Invest $$$ in another coupler that may sell some and possibly take away from the current S coupler sales? There is no motivation here. I see the tight lock coupler as a possibility for passenger and modern applications as a likely candidate. Some up head couplers and a variety of shank lengths might be good too. The mass email thing is good to a point but a common goal and request needs to be formed for Kadee to digest it. That oughtta keep you busy for the next 20 years - figuring out want an S Scaler wants and get 5+ people to agree to it! Thank You, Bill Lane Modeling the Mighty Pennsy & PRSL in 1957 in S Scale since 1988 See my finished models at: http://www.lanestrains.com Winner of the 2007 Josh Seltzer NASG Website Award Look at what has been made in PRR in S Scale! Custom Train Parts Design http://www.lanestrains.com/SolidWorks_Modeling.htm PRR Builders Photos Bought, Sold & Traded (Trading is MUCH preferred) http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRphotos.xls ***Join the PRR T&HS*** The other members are not ALL like me! http://www.prrths.com http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRTHS_Application.pdf Join the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines Historical Society It's FREE to join! http://www.prslhs.com Preserving The Memory Of The PRSL ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
