This review is on the brass HO scale Los Angeles Railway Type F Streetcar by Soho/KMT.[:D]
This brass model was made by KMT in Japan sometime in the early-mid 1970’s, and imported by Soho. It’s one of the more affordable brass pieces available from the time, built with quick and simple construction, and basic exterior detail. It’s not the best work I’ve seen from KMT, with lots of visible markings from soldering and sanding, but it’s still clean and sharp enough that it should look very good with a nice coat of paint. Some of the solder joints had to be repaired, though.
The quality of the detail is pretty good, with everything assembled nice and straight, and it represents the Type F well. The brass is thin, but also sturdy, so it looks better than most similar plastic and diecast models, most noticably around the windows. The pantagraphs are sprung and mounted in nylon bolsters, so they can be wired for over-head power. The nylon bolsters were mounted extremely loose however, and I had to epoxy them in place to keep them from leaning at about a 15 degree angle (this won’t affect functionality). Pilots and couplers aren’t included, but they at least give a pack of screws (for the couplers) and pre-threaded holes for mounting some.
Being a less expensive model from the 70’s, there are about as many negatives in the detail as positives, but most of them can be fixed with some time, skill, and extra parts. The most obvious thing is the large square motor, which sits near track level and extends up to the windows. I don’t usually fault the looks of the motors, but boy! That thing is UGLY! It can be covered up a little with some painting and tinted windows (no window material i