On Sat, 23 Dec 2000 10:59:52 -0500 Kathe Robin <kathe@cheatriver.com>
writes:

Be aware that Cal-Scale (Bowser) has PERMANENTLY discontinued their
part
#199-290 and #190-291, which were KC brake sets in plastic and brass
respectively!! The mold is worn out/damaged, and since they were
doing
the brass sets via "lost plastic" casting, those got canceled also.

Lee English tells me it will cost ~$28, to make a new mold and the
order
rate just doesn't justify it. In fact he specifically said that
while
they redid the AB brake mold, the order rate is such that he figures
it
could be 35 - 50 years just 'till he recovers the money spent, to
say
nothing of lost interest and available capital for other product.

Sorry to be the messenger of bad/disappointing news.

Max

Max,

What Lee neglected to tell you was that they did such a poor job of
tooling it that anyone who's knowledgeable will shun them. Besides,
while they were off the market several others became available which have
permanently replaced the mess that the CalScale set had turned into. Try
comparing the castings as they were originally made 40+ years ago (or
Grandt Lines current set) to the current CalScale. The original patterns
had been distorted by their "repair" over the years to the point that the
AB valve was about half the height it should have been (you couldn't
attach more than 3 pipes where 6 need to be placed) and one side of the
reservoir was larger than the other half. The cylinder and retainer
valve were also shortened but nobody would know because nobody knows what
the correct sizes should be. Unfortunately, that is what Lee English
copied to make the new tooling. They got what they
bargained for.

The irony is that some of the new sets are no more than copies (rip-offs
is the technical term) of the inferior CalScale sets.

The best set on the market, IMHO, is from Grandt Line. The components in
it are closest to scale size. Try mounting a reservoir ATSF style with
the Tichy set. In my humbler opinion, my sets ain't too bad either!!

BSR (doing what he does best!)
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