Page Originated 8/1997

Custom Kit Building Services

This is a description of the custom assembly of kits component of my railroad model building business.

Custom Kit Assembly

Custom kit assembly means that I assemble a kit to your specifications. I usually build a kit into the exact model the kit manufacturer intended to provide. Note how the previous sentence was worded. I didn't say "built into whatever the kit builds into." I build the model that was intended, which is what I presume you want.

You may want the kit built into a variation of the manufacturer's intended model, or you may want the model painted and lettered differently from the kit's paint and lettering.

Passenger Car Kits

Passenger car kits are in a class of their own. Usually the body goes together quickly as in the Midland kits. Sometimes just assembling the body takes significant time. Once the body is done, the addition of underbody details and roof details requires determining whether those provided with the kit are complete and accurate, and then locating and obtaining missing/accurate parts, or fabricating those parts.

In other words, the car bodies are completed with major underbody detail and side/end/roof detail. I do not install complete piping detail on the underbody, although steam, and air and signal connections are installed on the ends.

The coupler is mounted on a long swing arm. This provides reliable operation around sharp (for full length passenger cars, less than 72 inch radius is a sharp curve.)

I provide full painted interiors with lights, furniture, and passengers. All wheel electrical pickup is included to minimize the flickering of lights.

Buy Your Kits Carefully

A word to the wise about kits. Many times parts are missing from second hand kits. If the kit is no longer in production, I strongly recommend that you or I inventory the kit before you commit to the job. The time for you to locate missing parts, or the cost impact of having me fabricate them needs to be understood before the job is started.

Also, some kits are of very poor quality, and the level of work involved in their assembly can approach that of scratch building. I recommend that you look at a kit that has been built up by someone other than the manufacturer or their suppliers; determine whether its appearance is acceptable to you, and ask the builder about assembly time and difficulty.

Warranty

Assembled kits are warranted against defects in assembly, workmanship, and parts I fabricate for as long as you own the model. Failures caused by faulty maintenance or abuse are not warranted.

CONTACTING ME

Interested in learning more about 2-rail O scale? Please visit the O Scale Kings web pages.

These web pages were designed and implemented by Rod Miller.
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