Chooch Ultra Scale GN Pullmans

[texas&pacific]

Seems like forever ago I purchased one of these 80 foot wooden Pullman, pre-heavyweight kits headed up by Rich Miller and his team in the 1980s. I happened on a #616 kit which seems was part of a Great Northern Pullman train - maybe up to twenty cars (#611 to 620A)!?! It is a delightful headache of multiple, semi-rigid to flexible materials (early laser cut thin sheet styrene sides, thick acrylic window panels and resin cast roof, ends and underbody) to test all kinds of adhesives (and instructions call for 2-sided 3M tape, too). I have built CUS boxcars, and this is a step or two up in complexity, to say the least. The kit is beautifully done, but definitely not a weekender bash together. In addition, you would be running a 1900’s era train…
There was a tantalizing list at the end of the instructions of other parts to super-detail, including Bronze Key Models stained glass windows and leaded glass.
Any leads on where I may find more of these kits and the BKM windows?
Realize this may all be wishful thinking, but just maybe….never hurts to check with the pros.
Thanks!

[bob turner]

I would love to have coaches from that era, but I must wait for brass. It will be a long wait; Scott Mann told me they decided there were just too many variants that would scatter the market. My $ would go for the wood Sunset Limited cars, done in brass.

I wish you luck - seems like a worthwhile endeavor.

[texas&pacific]

I would love to have coaches from that era, but I must wait for brass. It will be a long wait; Scott Mann told me they decided there were just too many variants that would scatter the market. My $ would go for the wood Sunset Limited cars, done in brass.

I wish you luck - seems like a worthwhile endeavor.

LaBelle made similar coaches, all very nice wood kits in both HO and O. Westerfield made the Pullman Exhibition Train, in HO, that came in a very nice Centennial box. Don’t know why some brass importer didn’t take them up…seems like pre-orders would gauge interest and doability. They would end up costing $4,000 a car, and I am sure some brass collectors would buy them. They did import lots of other goofy stuff that sold, it seems.

You sure you don’t have some of these in the closet, Bob?

[bob turner]

One LaBelle open platform kit. Otherwise, no. But if, say, MTH did them as good as they did the open platform PRR "woodsides" I might relent and buy plastic. I have a couple of finished LaBelle open platform cars that can be parked alongside the MTH, but it is easy to see the MTH is superior.

[bob turner]

This series of PSC was close - just one generation from the arch window wood cars. I have a few of these in my collection; could never bring myself to paint them.

[texas&pacific]

This series of PSC was close - just one generation from the arch window wood cars. I have a few of these in my collection; could never bring myself to paint them.

Are those Southern Pacific prototype cars? Very nice. Why not paint them…? Would look gorgeous!