To paraphrase Vane Jones, "Knowledge is of little value until shared with others."

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Sources of Parts etc. for the Portable Substation (PSS) or Any Model

These are the potential sources of parts for the model. Since you are reading this on the internet you should be able to look-up the catalogues of the vendors the same way. I am not suggesting the purchase of all the parts direct from the vendor. You can use your local hobby shop and/or the vendor. Remember keeping your local hobby shop in business may be an asset you cannot do without.

Northeastern Scale Lumber Co. URL = http://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/
Evergreen Scale Models URL = https://evergreenscalemodels.com/
Grandt Line URL = http://www.grandtline.com/
PSC URL = https://www.precisionscaleco.com/

A number of Grandt Line castings were developed for On3.These castings can be used on standard gauge models without any problems.

PSC has their O scale product line broken into 3 different catalogues - steam locomotives, diesel locomotives, and freight/passenger cars. Some items are repeated in all the catalogues while others are only in a specific catalogue. Be sure you look in all of the catalogues.

For that matter be sure to look at the entire web site and/or catalogues of all the vendors.  When it comes to scratch building you must become completely familiar with what parts are available from various sources!

There are other sources for parts both plastic and brass. These include Des Plaines Hobbies and P&D Hobby Shop. Both have a web site and appear at major O Scale Meets throughout the year. Although, it's best to contact them by phone for the availability of parts and to place your order.

Des Plaines Hobbies URL = http://www.desplaineshobbies.com/store/
Ron and Sue purchased the exceptional line of "Custom Finishes by Bob Rzasa" brass detail parts. Des Plaines calls them "O Scale America" Detail Parts.  In this product line are handholds (grab irons) and other unique parts. You need to see these to understand how unique these parts are. Of course the store has other hobby items.

P&D Hobby Shop URL = http://pdhobbyshop.com/
Pat purchased the Kemtron GP7 and RS3 brass kits. P&D has had these kits originally in brass and now in plastic. P&D has also had a F7/9 kit in plastic. Over the years detail parts and a drive to power the kits have been developed. It's the detail parts and power drive in which you will be most interested.  And, of course the store has other hobby parts.

Another old time source is Bowser-Trains  URL= http://www.bowser-trains.com/
If you "click" on the "O Gauge" button at the top of the page and then on "Cal Scale", you will find the Cal Scale line of lost wax brass parts. I've used the windshield wipers, horns, and other parts for many years on my trolley models. 

Three other vendors with small parts applicable to scratch building are:
American Scale Models  http://americanscalemodels.com/
Wiseman Model Services  http://wisemanmodelservices.com/
Scale City Designs  http://scalecitydesigns.com/

Each of these have a number of detail parts. While castings from the many vendors may be more expensive than parts you can make yourself,  the castings will give you uniformity and often save you time.

Cheers,
Ed

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