The Challenger isn't out yet & will definitely cost you an arm and a leg. It
will probably be so detailed that it will require 48" radius curves if it is
anything like their 4-6-4's or 2-10-4's. The Overland is a model of the
original version's w/elesco feedwater heater and was originally supplied with
a tender that was grossly oversize. They imported the correct tenders
seperately. Be careful what you get. Oriental offered all the different
versions in either painted and unpainted. Only trouble was the drawbars do
not couple at anywhere near a scale distance, leaving the loco and tender
with about a 10' scale gap between them. A little unsightly considering they
were supposed to be vestibule tender/loco. Probably the best bargain for the
buck tho. Custom brass imported the O-5a & O5b. As I recall they left the
ash pans off. Not a big deal--just a little funny looking on the coal
version. PFM imported 4 or 5 production runs including the 25 hand built
ones. State of the art at the time they were built. Best ones are the 2
runs in blue "Toby" boxes. If you plan to run your O-5s you probably don't
want to think about one of these. Run well enough--its just that the
collectors have run price up to the $2500-3000 range. "Look--there goes a
used car pulling my freight train around the layout!"
Nolen
|