Yet another question for brass runners

[tbdanny]

Hi all,

I've seen a few interesting looking brass locos by a company called 'Balboa', but I've read mixed reviews of this company's products.  I was wondering what the experience of the modellers on these forums has been with this brand of loco?

Thanks in advance,

tbdanny

[twhite]

Danny:

First of all, almost ANY of the older brass importers are going to get mixed reviews, simply because each locomotive is hand-crafted.  

As to Balboa--I have several SP prototypes imported by Balboa--an MT-4 Mountain, an ex-B&M 2-8-4 (which SP bought during WWII) and an AC-9 2-8-8-4.  All three are good running locos, but as with all brass--they take some 'tinkering' to get running in top form.    And, as with all brass, they take additional 'tinkering' to KEEP running in top form.   But that's what you get with brass--and as a modeler whose steam roster is mostly brass by 'default' because of the railroads I model (SP, Rio Grande), I'm perectly willing to 'tinker', because when they run well--there's very little on the market that can out-perform or out-haul a well-balanced, well-motored and well kept up brass steamer.   And they WILL run well and for years and years and years.  My oldest brass locos date from 1960, and they're still earning their keep. 

Balboa was not a manufacturer, per se, but an Importer (like Westside. Akane. PFM, Max Gray, etc.) and used several Japanese manufacturers for their product.   So again, it could be a 'crap-shoot' as to their overall quality. 

However, the ones I have are good locomotives.  And I run them a lot.

Tom

[climaxpwr]

I second the crap shoot.  Balboa did use a mixture of actual builders so quality varried.  PFM almost always run excellent with minimal upkeep once properly tuned up.  As does Tenshodo, Westside and many of the NWSL engines.  Post up what actual models your looking at and someone might have the same one and can compliment on how well or not well it runs.  Brass is very much the tinker's hobby, needing upkeep, lubrication and some TLC from time to time.  Mike

[tbdanny]

Guys,

Thanks for the feedback.  I'm not actually looking at purchasing any models at the moment, I just wanted to know if I had the choice between a Balboa model and another brand, which one to lean towards, for future reference.

Season's greetings to all.

Tbdanny

[dinwitty]

heh yay me who bought a Westside Triplex finding out it needs TLC. Happy I have the engine now I no longer need to buy it, now its getting it up to snuff. It can be fixed, it's just "doing" it.

 

 

[Forty Niner]

Balboa imported primarily from a builder by the name of "KTM", a very old and high quality Japanese builder. The predesessor of Balboa was Max Gray Modelsfrom the early to late 1960's at which time they became Balboa Scale Models under new owners. (I beleive due to the death of Max Gray, a real person.) Then in the early 1970's Balboa was purchased by Dick Truesdale and Balboa became Westside Models, still with KTM as the primary builder. Eventually Westside was sold sometime in the late 70's-early 80's and it became Key Imports. By this time it had switched almost entirely to Korean builders, primarily Samhongsa. I do not know if Key Imports is still in business or not but I suspect they have since folded their operations, not sure of the exact date but I'm guessing sometime around the late 90's to the early 2000's.

All of the models of these companies imported very fine models known for their excellent detail and running qualities. Several of the models that Balboa imported were also imported by Westside, the primary differences being Westside imported "most" of theirs with an "idler" gearbox and usually had a bit finer details.

Westside Models were primarily Balboa reissues in the early years but very quickly offered a wide range of products.

Most any of the items from any of these importers are high quality items at reasonable prices, there were a few "duds" naturally but they are all guilty of that. Overall you can't go wrong with most any of them.

Mark

[B&O SteamDemon]

When I was stationed in Korea in the late 80's I bought many brass engines direct from the manufacture.  Most of what I bought was Samhongsa, all were unpainted so on my off duty time I was busy detailing and painting engines and tenders.  I have to agree what everyone else has said about upkeep of equipment, this also goes for rolling stock and passenger cars as well.  You pay more for the quality but you get what you pay for compared to plastic equipment.  Don't get me wrong there is some good ones out there, I have many Italian made Riverossi engines and passenger cars as well.  I was just lucky enough to be in Korea so it was cheaper for me to buy them there and bring them back than buy them in the states.  Look on ebay under brass imports and you can see some equipment that is reasonable to buy ifyou are wanting to get your feet wet with brass.

[Forty Niner]

I forgot to mention that the biggest problem with most older braqss are the open frame motors, even when they are lubricated if they are not run frequently the oil will evaporate leaving you with dry bearing surfaces whcih cause undo noise and excessive current draw.

Installing a modern "can" motor in the older brass usually makes for a 100% improvement in running as well as a much reduced current draw. My advice is to plan on a can motor installation in most any older brass for many years of "trouble free" operation.

This applies mainly to Japanese brass as most all Korean brass came with can motors already installed. The problem with most of those however is the motor was usually to weak for the size of the engine.

Case in point: Sunset 4-8-2's had a weak motor in them, by upgrading to a stronger motor, Sagami 20X32 or equivalent, produces a great running loco. I have used the old motors in my smaller engines such as 2-8-0's and 4-6-0's that originally had open frame motors. These weaker motors were not only an excellent fit but also had enough torque to operate the smaller engines most effectively.

Mark