Owl Mountain Models
Well, it's been about a while again since our last update on the website. July 2020, brings our reservations for the new Conversion Kits for 'Common Standard' C-8/9/10 class 2-8-0s for kitbashing Bachmann/Spectrum models. This kit is designed to form the basis for a kitbash to make SP C-8/9/10 class engines. The cylinders and domes are very close to UP/OWRN/OSL C-class as well.
Feel free to email your reservations and any questions to us at sales at owlmtmodels.com.
This project will consist of several 'module kits' which we will be offering. We will be offering other kits later down the road, but this will convert the standard Bachmann engine to a reasonable stand-in for SP Pacific Lines 2-8-0s and help in kitbashing the hardest parts of the conversion.
Cylinders (3d-printed) - Exact Price TBD on run size, etc. Estimates are in the $20-25 range for these parts.
Cylinder 4013 with covered Speedie-Bypass cylinder block and yoke/rod kit.
Four cylinder options are going to be offered to match your prototype SP C-8/9/10 class engine. The Speedie Bypass valves were abandoned in the 1920s and their openings in the cyliner castings were plated over. Our models 4013 & 4014 replicated the abandoned Speedie By-pass cylinder blocks with the sealed covers over where the by-pass valves had been located. We do not currenlty plan to model the pre-1920s "functional" by-pass valves, which extended out each end of the cylinder block (forward and backward). The SP however never bothered to cast new cylinders, with many C-class engines keeping the old cylinder blocks until their end in the 1950s and beyond.
Photo of the (3D printed) Dome conversion kit #4015.
We're still looking into research on UP, IC, CoG, ERIE, & C&A engines if a similar kit will allow modeling of those engines.
Reservations will be closing out for the July 2020 run on August 14, 2020. Contact us at sales at owlmtmodels.com to put in your reservation for the 2-8-0 Conversion Kits. These will be produced based on reservations and be a short run of kits, prices are somewhat going to be driven by the production run size.
Update July 1, 2020
SP 36" Sideboards (SP Style) - These should be added to cars modeling SPdeM and UP F-50-4s as-built. Many T&NO cars had sideboards fitted for stone loading and other assignments. SPMW Supply Flats often had sideboards as well, when delivering smaller items such as barrels, kegs, boxes, etc.
Picture from earlier this year of our 3d printed prototype of the SP 36" Sideboard set from Febuary 2018. These will be injection molded with wire tie-rods. Click photo for larger photo.
Several other projects are planned to be released before we return to the future flatcar releases. We'd love to tell you all about them, but we can't yet. Listed below will be our 'publicly' discussed follow-on kits based on the models we have on the market now, but don't be surprised if we do other things before we get to these!
The next step in the F-50-Series of projects will be the #2001 & #2006 Kits for the F-50-4, with new tooling for the single-beam underframe and new brake detail and parts.
This will allow correct F-50-4 class models to be built of the 1500 cars for SP and SP Subsidiaries; NWP, PE, SPdeM (SP of Mexico), CP, O&C, AE, GH&SA (Laster T&NO). This will be Kit #2001. SPMW received F-50-4s starting about 1937 and mostly ending in about 1951-52, according to the 1956 SPMW Roster. Many others went into logging service as LF-50-series cars in 1952 (see further ideas for those below).
The #2006 kit will be for the 300 UP and OR&N F-50-4 cars, and in addition to the tooling upgrades for #2001, this kit will have a new set decals - probably a two color set with white and yellow lettering styles.
More research will be needed on the UP roster of flatcars for these classes of cars. From what information we do have, there were over 1500 cars in these classes. These cars had different side sills and end sills than the F-50-4 and SP designs, so these UP classes will require extra tooling to produce. Hopefully this kit can use the same decals which will be done for the #2006 kit (above).
OwlMtModels in the future hopes to continue to expand this series of models based on the F-50-series flatcar. Which of these projects will get enough interest to justify injection molded tooling is a bridge we will come to after the currently planned F-50-4 (2001 kit) are released.
Some ideas include the SP LF-50-4,-5,-8,-9,-10,-12 type logging flatcar and SPMW Wheel flatcars (with wheel racks).
There are some other interesting add-ons we are considering and our friends in the modeling community have asked us to look into. While we may move forward on them at some point, we are focusing on the main car kits and the add-ons listed above as our priority.