Hi! Did you guys notice Aspen Models as a source for really neato N Scale steamers? http://www.aspenmodel.com/index_am.php?l=ijllm They have in N Scale standard gauge steam a 4-6-0 Casey Jones and two types of Climax types. In Nn3 they have all kinds of stuff, including a Galooping Goose in the correct gauge!
Did you also happen to look at the prices? They are as much as high quality brass, but lack the realism of high quality brass. :cat:
The feature is that they have never been and never will be offered in "high quality brass". The RTR models actually work very well, something any small steam fan should be very happy with. As a kit, the prices aren't too bad, a good starting point for making a particular model. Did you notice that the Casey Jones' tender is appropriately sized?
Yes, I know this company. One of our clubmembers has some steamers and the Yukon & White Pass diesel. I think he also has the Galopping Goose. Nice models, but pricy! One of the people of this company visited our layout last year, because she knows this clubmember.
some of the Aspenmodels kits, like the K28, DO include a mechanism. However, the kit with mechanism is $694.60 mg: However, if you look at some of the kits whose price doesn't make you apoplectic, you'll see that they don't include the mechanism. These are the "cheaper" kits, in the $100-$200 range. That said, the "Casey Jones" kit for $154.50, coupled with a Fleischmann 7161 from wheels.co.uk for L48 (about $90), and you've got a decent US-profile ten-wheeler for $250. Still a bit steep, but if they can get the prices down on their kits I think they would sell a ton and make a fortune. I've never seen one in person, though. Ray
Aspen Model Nn3 models interested me when I saw them in person at the 2002 NMRA show. The cost was prohibitive though. At the time, I had not begun to buy Nn3 Micro-trains rolling stock. There are no really 'affordable' (less than $200.00) ready to run Nn3 steamers available... and sadly... I doubt it will happen any time soon. I believe that the motors used in these models are Faulhaber coreless motors which are very expensive.
AspenModels had a booth at the NSC San Diego Convention last year. I did talk to them briefly but we did not discuss any plans to broaden their product range. But that they were present seems to indicate that they have an interest in the US market, so start the lobbying.... Cheers Dirk
The other great alternative is Republic Locomotive works - they have the Nn3 GHQ kits - some really nice stuff - at much better prices even if you have to go fish your own mechanisms or buy them via RLW. I was very intrigued by the Aspenmodel Climax B, and studied it before I began mine. It's a real hybrid - very creative. It uses an 0-6-0 type mechanism where the center axle is converted to the jackshaft, and adds two additional axles as idlers at either end of the 'trucks' - and the 'trucks' don't actually pivot - the idlers slide. So you really have only two powered axles from what I was told, one on each end. The jackshaft spins at the same rate as the wheel, which isn't quite right either - it should be faster, but not double or anything. And there's a couple minor details on the vertical-boiler A that kinda baffle me. They ran into the same problem I did with a Faulhaber motor - you get stuck with the square tank tender to fit a motor into. Only from my research, if there was ever a square-tank tender with a vertical boiler, I never saw it in any photos or Climax records. All the vertical boilers used the small round tanks, which just barely fit with a Kato drive and the tiny motor. And the 'wood load' on the front end - if you look at it - features wood that would never fit in the firebox of a vertical boiler. That's nitpicking, perhaps, but when you're paying that much I think you have a right to nitpick. That gives you a nice short mechanism, but if you study it and 'real' Climax drawings, it's close but not close enough to justify the high price. Using Faulhaber motors and a Z mechanism puts the material cost alone in at the $200 range. Given that approach, I don't think there's much to decrease the price significantly. The one good thing about it (and the Class A) is that the more people study it, the better my Class A on a Kato mech looks either as a kit or builtup, so I probably have them to thank! Interestingly enough I've NEVER seen one of these come up on Ebay, so I suspect they are very, very rare. I've heard they run quite well. They supposedly work in a flywheel and I'd love to see one firsthand to see how they pulled that off. I'd studied doing a Class A 18-ton on a Z F7 mechanism (kinda like what RLW did) and decided it would just be too expensive. The $24 Kato Critter mechanisms are what makes the difference. I'd still like to try something like that in Nn3 but the dual-gauge trackwork is beyond my current skills.
