Hi all, Ive always avoided LMB brass. Theyve chosen some good prototypes to model, but Ive always found their details a bit crude. No brake shoes, oversized rods, oversized pipes, etc. Granted these were generally much earlier models.
However, Ive recently taken a look through their catalog and found their L-4b mohawks rather impressive. Its still missing a lot of details which I will have to add such as brake shoes, but overall it looks half decent. Was wondering if anyone had anything good to say about their quality/performance/mechanism to "tip the scales" for me and help me decided whether I should get one or not.
Charles
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Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO
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My friends owned some LMB NYC brass back in the day (when we all played with brass in the 1990's), and their assessment seems similar to yours.
I think to run "well" by today's standards they usually will need some work.
They do have a reputation for being solidly built models.
If you look at what other models are out there at what price, well that might just seal the deal for you. LMB was considered to be a decent value at a decent price.
One NYC alternative would be the Key/Mizuno Hudsons. They are among the best models ever imported from Mizuno, are highly detailed, and usually run very well. However, I'd expect to pay $800 on up depending upon unpainted, factory painted, etc. The Mizuno hudsons have a great reputation, but are a different animal than the Mohawk.
John
Leonard M. Blum was the owner of Hobby House at 8th and Huron here in my native Cleveland. You'd walk into the store and there would be a floor-to-ceiling display case of all the brass you could imagine.
Yes, these were early-to-mid 1960s productions. Quite limited details but for lower-mid range brass just about what you'd expect for the era.
Many of his prototypes were of NYC origin because he had several friends in the research department at Collinwood back shops so getting plans was pretty easy. My very first foray into brass was an LMB Niagara that I picked up at a train show for less then fifty bucks. When I got it home and took a good look at it, then it dawned on me that it had a Union Pacific centipede tender
Surely a mixup the seller or someone boxing up an old collection wasn't looking out for.
A while later I found a "deal" on an NYC H-10 Mike.
IMG_6747_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_8130_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Here I'm in the process of replacing some of the details and piping with later quality Precision and Cal-Scale parts.
IMG_8144 by Edmund, on Flickr
Shoe-lace eyelets for poling pockets? Well, I filled those in, yep. Made some changes to the tender, added a sound decoder and can motor and have a pretty decent runner. It is quite smooth and a good puller.
IMG_8544_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Not quite up to par with an Overland example but after some TLC it is a good model and somewhat unique to the NYC roster. I liked the outside drypipe which was eliminated some time in the early '20s.
LMB_1962 by Edmund, on Flickr
Good Luck, Ed
Yea the mechanisms Im not nearly as worried about as I can easily just swap in a can motor and NWSL gearbox. Was more worried about things like poor QC issues, zinc rot on the wheels, etc. Good thing they dont seem to be too common on LMB models.
Ed, that H10 looks great! I'll be honest for a while there I was debating getting an H10, but I just dislike how the LMB one looks. Besides the crude detail, it looks short and stocky, while the PFM and Division point varients look much more beautiful, if that's a term I can use. I think its partly due to that huge pipe on top, the shorter frame on the LMB, and the lack of airpumps mounted in the front. To my understanding, LMB made the "as built", whereas DP and PFM made the modernized one which just looks so much better. The chances of me ever obtaining one of those, along with a sunset K5 or Key mohawk for under $300 (my budget) is unlikely though, so I dont plan to ever own one.
I think I'll go for this LMB Mohawk. Im not much of an NYC fan, but for $150, you really cant do wrong. Besides, those disc drivers are calling my name...
Trainman440Besides, those disc drivers are calling my name...
Especially helpful if you like to blend in with the crowd
NYC_2726_L2a by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
I'm amused to see the now-familiar outline of the GN Pacific in that LMB ad, considering the thread on the PFM version with sound in the tender that's been going for the last few days...
gmpullman Trainman440 Besides, those disc drivers are calling my name... Especially helpful if you like to blend in with the crowd NYC_2726_L2a by Edmund, on Flickr Cheers, Ed
Trainman440 Besides, those disc drivers are calling my name...
AHHHHHHH
That engine's got it all, the disc drivers, and that unique bracket-mounted elesco over airpumps on the pilot look which I love.
The guide to HO Brass locomotives posted this:
"L.M. Blum is one of the genuinely "old school" pioneer importers of brass models. These companies did not last into the era of even moderate detail level, and most of their models look very crude by today's standards. I can't think of a model from any of these importers that came with a can motor.
One serious problem with early imports is that zamac castings were used for some parts. Zamac is an alloy that expands and fractures with long term exposure to humidity. This is especially problematic when zamac was used to cast driver wheel centers, as the expansion often destroyed the insulation between the tire and the wheel center on the "insulated" side of steam locos, or just cracked the spokes in some cases. And when zamac was used in gearboxes, the expansion could lead to improper mating of the gears, causing bad running and premature gear wear. All of these zamac-related problems are extremely difficult to remediate, and not to be undertaken by most modelers.
Although collecting these early brass models is a personal choice, I cannot recommend it for modelers whose main focus is running and operating, or for modelers who don't have a personal machine shop and lots of idle time on their hands.
-- Eric Bott"
Simon
Shoot...
Good thing their mohawk (having disc drivers) is one of the only locos they made with brass wheels :D
Also impressed to see that this thing actually has plastic brake shoes, signifying that this is one of their later models.
Im fairly confident I can make this guy run like butter, given I get it some upgrades.
PS anyone know where I can find some NYC smoke deflectors? Cal scale and PSC (my go tos) seem to not make any.
I beg to differ on zamac casting issues. I have rarely seen a PFM model with issues with either the gear box or driver centers from this. The issues are not so much moisture(see many models that lived in basements all their life on a layout with no issues), but the metal mixture when the item is cast. If there are impurties or even the sweepings from the shop floor in the mix, it throws off the metalurgy and you get the dreaded zinc pest sooner or later. The LMB models were and still are solid runners, a can motor does them wonders along with some detail upgrades if so desired. Are they on par with modern day brass no, and should not be expected to be. Those models came 30 years later and have the lessons learned in those years. It was years before someone else did the NYC H10 Mikado in brass again and it will set you back a lot more $$ than the old LMB will. I wont hesitate to buy any older brass if it runs and doesnt have any major issues. One learns which models are problematic, such as the Hallmark/Dong Jin ICRR 2-8-0. That one has zinc pest issues with driver centers and a Mantua/Tyco motor! Many early Korean built models have soldering issues, gear boxes that fall apart or strip out with little use. But the older Japanese built brass are, for the most part, tanks. Less detailed in those early years, but the steam drives from the better importers/builders such as PFM/United/Tenshodo, LMB, Gem, Akane ect were pretty darn good. A can motor, and a decoder with a keep alive circuit is really all thats needed to bring them up to snuff, along with being run in some. Mike
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
Mr. Bott's observations on zamak issues don't apply to the LMB UP MK-6 Mikados that I have had. They run very smoothly with not much special attention, although the open-frame motors draw a bit more current than a can motor. I am able to find them cheap enough that adding a few extra details is not a burden. Some of the solder joints are showing their age, but they aren't difficult to clean up.
If you are looking for an engine to actually pull trains with, they're fine. "Modelers" are getting awful helpless and picky.