Doug, Clark, Folks,

When the “Iron Modeler” concept first came up, as I recall we had several ideas in play. The first would be that at a meet like Prototype Rails, we would have a head to head “competition” with two modelers at adjacent tables building something from the same pile of stuff, like Iron Chef. The logistics of that quickly got the better of the idea, since model building takes time, even under pressure (although Clark might have no problem with that!). The next idea was more of a “silk purse from a sow’s ear, where modelers, with a fixed amount of time (but weeks, not hours) would start from the same raw material and make it into something better. We were actually to the point of having selected a kit, but as I recall, it sort of sputtered and died out there. I even have the kit on my shelf, an old Athearn quad hopper.

Regards,

Bruce Smith

Auburn, AL

Clark I’m glad to see you bring this thread back around to modeling. Intriguing concept of just “dumping” some parts in front of someone or raiding the “parts box” and seeing what they produce. Your models look very plausible, raising a “what if” concept. Esp helpful for those who incorporate freelancing in their prototype modeling. I could easily see a few of those CI&WC cars running on my layout.

Doug Harding

https://www.facebook.com/douglas.harding.3156/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK8X8Yb8NEAZqbZjHT5z0sA

Hit the wrong button. Here are a couple photos