On 6 Dec 2020, at 18:24, radiodial868 <radiodial57@...> wrote:

Actually, just 12 USRA Double Sheaths I just finished building at the rate of 1 per month (the one Rapido was any easy month). Covid lockdown was good for something I guess. A mixture of F&C, Westerfield, Ertl and Rapido.  Who did it best? Easy answer - Westerfield by a long shot. 
The Rapido advantage was it is RTR, but a couple of detail short cuts for rougher handling were taken, and since the underframe is convertible between AB & K it had extra holes and supports. 
The Ertls were only $9 each, and while I replaced the removable grabs on one of the 5, the difference between the original grabs and wire grabs isn't as noticeable as I thought. The lettering on the Ertls were all comical foobies, so all got new Westerfield decals and repainted.
The F&C casting is not as sharp as the others and had tooling marks.
Glad the little project is done, as I am soooo tired of building USRA DS's. Ratio wise, that is more than enough of this type for a 1939 western RR (hence heavy on the GN, AT&SF, NWP & SP&S), so no more required anyway.
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RJ Dial
Mendocino, CA

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