All of my S scale rolling stock offerings, except the Barber trucks, were created in HO before being converted to S. An HO kit that I produced last year has not been offered to S scale so I thought I'd remedy that now.
Go to this link: http://www.smokymountainmodelworks.com/HO_gondolas.html The 2 SR 52'-6" gons at the top of the web page have not been mentioned before so if there is interest, now's the time to chime in. For the purists out there, these Pullman-Std. cars were built only for the Southern (as far as I can determine), however, they are VERY close in detail, rib count and length to ACF's version which a LOT of roads owned (visit www.tangentscalemodels.com to view the HO ACF paint schemes). The primary spotting differences between the P-S version and ACF are the ends and end sills; ACF ends were available as a drop-down option and ACF end sills were angled. The HO cars have sold reasonably well since it's never been produced in HO. It's a "steam-era" car (1 batch built in 1953 delivered in Roman, 1 batch in 1958 delivered in Block) that ran well into the 90s in MOW service. I shot 2 in the mid-80s still wearing very beat up Roman lettering. The proposed S scale kits would be available as a 1-pc body with separate urethane underframe, brass weight, etched tie down U-loops that run the length of the car on both sides and decals. The etched fret also includes the brake platform. I think an "econo-kit" option is applicable for this one since ladders are short (easy to scratchbuild) and trucks/couplers/Grandt AB brakes are readily available. The remaining parts are round and flat wire (for steps) and miscellaneous styrene strips (ladders). Depending on how many kits are reserved, I can probably sell either decal option kit for around $60. Decals and etched parts are VERY expensive and the latter requires new artwork and minimum sheet order quantity. A mini-CD containing 22 pages and TONS prototype pix completes the kit (a full-size CD is available upon request for Mac users). This kit would follow the SAL B7 car which is now being designed in HO and moving along well. Please reply off-list if you are interested in either/both of the SR gons. Jim King Smoky Mountain Model Works, Inc. Ph. (828) 777-5619 <www.smokymountainmodelworks.com>
