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Before plastic.
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Tatans, all of the above is good information. Noteworthy of that period was a HO guage Lionel die casting (Aluminum and ZinK?) of a J3a Hudson, N.Y.Central. It was outstanding as were the "lost wax" brass castings by Bowser (Mikado and Mountain). Varney, Mantua, English, Penn-Line, Pennsylvania Scale Models, Model Diecasting and Cary Locomotive all made die casts of various quality and detail. Personally, I liked the "cleaner" Cary diesel castings and Bowser steam "detail." Hobbytown of Boston also made some decent EMD. E-6, E-7 (A &B) and Alco PA-1(A &B) castings. The "Cary" EMD, E-6 and E-7 were made for the Athearn plastic EMD E-8 motor/drive frames, both A units and B units. The Pittman d.c. 70's and 90's open frame motors were largely used and the worm gear was of brass. They all had pulling power and were smooth in long consists. The "white metal" gear boxes and steel gears were "touchy" and needed a lot of "breaking-in." John A English made an Alco FA-1 with all wheels powered via a neoprene drive shaft (front truck to rear) that could pull walls down when it was finally broken-in (weeks of running). This era of HO has been called "primative" and "crude" by many plastic devotees who demure from drilling, tapping, soldering or even painting. True, the older metal and wood kits weren't for everyone as evidenced by the wide variation in quality from "all thumbs" to "artisan." Brunton's statement: "...scale modelers would probably equate those who don't at least build from kits with tin-platers of their own era" is accurate. The difference between "Craftsman" and "Hobbyist" has not changed and by definition, it never will.
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