This review is on Akane’s HO scale brass Maryland And Pennsylvania 2-8-0 steam engine.[:D]
There isn’t much prototype information (mostly just specifications), so I’ll just give a link: http://www.steamlocomotive.com/consolidation/?page=mapa
The model, like a lot of earlier brass pieces, is completely hand-built using mostly very basic parts and materials. The construction is almost completely brass sheet, tube, and rod. The only cast parts I can find are the wheel centers and tender trucks, which are a more typical zinc alloy rather than brass. Although the detail is certainly not up to the standards of today or even 40 years ago, those few people in their little tool shop in Japan made a good looking and pretty accurate model! Many parts, such as the marker lights, are obviously oversized and incorrect, but the model overall looks pretty close to the few pictures I’ve found of the prototype. And if greater detail is ever wanted, most of the less accurate parts can be replaced fairly easily. The greatest discrepency is the complete lack of a firebox, which was left out to fit Akane’s open-frame motor. I’m sure a skilled person could make a firebox from scratch, but this would also require a complete repower of the model. The same goes for a cab interior, which is not present. The cast drive wheels are pre-painted in flat black with the brass rims left in plated nickel. The cast centers aren’t clean, but most of the flash is in the back and is not usually visible. The center drivers are correctly blind. The tender is well detailed and has fewer compromises than the engine, although there are still some inaccuracies. The reverse lig