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12/01/06 - We have added a number of new photos to the production model pages and we will be adding more as time allows. We will also be adding many new photos to the construction pages to show in more detail how this project was developed. Be sure to check back in the near future for me new data and information.

2/20/06 - We are working very hard at this point to get our K-4 models shipped out and the demand continues to increase. After the showing of the models in Germany the K-4 has become a new found favorite in Europe as well as in the states. We still have more detail photos to process and post, we hope to have this done near term, but we are concentrating on deliveries at the moment. We have posted photos of the various versions that we produced and we have received many comments that it has been very enjoyable to see the variety that has been offered with this project. Several magazines present at the Nurnberg Toy Fair took the occasion to photograph the K-4's on display for articles that will appear near term overseas, we will offer more detail regarding these articles as it becomes available. We will be posting new info to the K-4 site as we steal away a bit of time here and there from our shipping efforts.

2/06/06 - We are adding a few more detail shots below of our K-4 until we get the entire production portfolio processed and posted to the K-4 site. We are anxious to share with you the detail that we have incorporated into this model so here goes!

1/22/06 - We are slowly but surely getting our photos of the production K-4's shot, but we have been diligently working to get models shipped, that is the priority at the moment. Shown below is another view of the K-4sa version showing it's unique 130P75 tender equipped with radio antennas. We hope to have additional images posted soon and there will certainly be a selection of photos included in the new general mail update that is production now.

1/10/06 - A belated update to let everyone know that the K-4 production models have arrived in our shop after finally clearing customs. The inspection, testing and packing process has begun and we will be working diligently to get the models out to their new owners just a quickly as possible. This project is particularly difficult to prepare for shipping because of the unique numbering we offered, each plate on the loco and tender has to be matched up so that everything is correct and prototypical, there is no shortcut for doing it right. While we prep the models we are also working to get some new photos shot to share with you all so you can see the great variety of versions we offered with this project, the range of detail differences will amaze you, it certainly did our builder Mr. Lee!

We'll have more to share very soon so check back regularly.

12/16/05 - Just a brief update for those of you waiting for a K-4 delivery; the models are on the way into the country at this time and we expect them to arrive at Detroit Metro airport before weeks end. As usual, the process will then be up to U.S. Customs. We will continue to update on the progress, we understand that many of you are very anxious at this point. We have been lucky thus far, Korean Air is on strike in Korea and that pushes the burden of airfreight on the remaining carriers, big shippers typically get the preference on moving freight as you mite expect. We will be providing a rundown on the final inspection process in both words and photos as soon as we handle some of our shipping for the holidays.

More soon!

11/30/05 - Shown below is the first painted sample model for our K-4 project, it is shown undergoing testing on our test layout. Please note before you start 'counting rivets' that not all of the appropriate detail is in place and there are adjustments required to finalize this particular model. The actual measured pulling power of our K-4 was approximately 80% of that provided by our Union Pacific 4-12-2, needless to say we are particularly pleased with this performance considering that there are half the number of drivers on the rail. We'll be posting additional detail photos in the next day or so, there are a number of things that have never been modeled before and we're anxious to share what our collective team has accomplished.

You may note in the photo that there are several different brands of track, we test our models on virtually everything that is available. I suspect that you would be very surprised how much variation there is between brands, particularly with turnouts.

More soon!

11/27/05 - We have been struggling to keep our K-4 project site updated with all that is happening, but it is important at this point to announce that final notices will be going out to all of our reservation holders this week. We will update the site with more photos and information this week as the production phase winds down. We are extremely pleased to say that the results of our collective efforts are outstanding and our best to date!

Stay tuned for more details.

9/01/05 - The third project update has been mailed, a bit latter than originally planned, but if you are a reservation holder for our K-4 project you should be seeing the update very soon. The progress on our K-4 project continues at a rapid pace with the painting well underway as of this writing. New samples will be in hand near term and once we have had a chance to photograph them we'll be posting photos. More information will be posted near term so check back frequently.

8/05/05 - Just a brief update to let our reservation holders know that a new project update has been completed and will be in the mail this weekend, be looking for your copy next week. Additional photos and information will follow shortly in this project site, check back soon.

7/12/05 - One of the new sample models that was displayed at the NMRA National Train Show was our K-4sa, be sure to check out the photos on the versions page. Additional photos taken of other samples shown at the show will be posted shortly, check back soon.

7/04/05 - Although we have not done a project update recently, the project has been moving along at a rapid pace, ultimately the reason why there has been little time for updates! We will be showing three (3) production samples for this project at the NMRA National Train Show in Cincinnati, Ohio at the end of this week and we are very excited to let everyone see what we have done with this project since the early samples. Shown below is a 'post-war' sample model that has been used for the development of specific detail and while it is not complete or totally accurate, it does provide some insight into how far this project has come. Immediately following the NMRA show, a new project update will be prepared and sent out to all of our reservation holders, as it currently stands, we are looking for completion of this project late next month if all continues to go well.

5/11/05 - We have started posting photos of the production process. Although we have shown the construction of early sample models in great detail, we thought that it would be interesting to show more of the actual final production process to provide a better idea of the massive effort required to complete a brass locomotive project. If you have an interest in a particular aspect of the production, let us know and we'll try to give special attention to that process. We hope that you find this enjoyable and informative.

4/28/05 - An informational note to all of our reservation holders; updated reservation statements are being prepared now and will be in the mail by the first of next week. Our apologies for the delay in processing the incremental payments, getting caught up has been very time consuming, but we are getting there slowly but surely! We will be offering update info on the project in general over the next few days so stay tuned for the latest!

4/03/05 - We are now starting to get caught up on our paperwork for this project. We are doing updated statements based on the incremental payments that we have received, so if you have a reservation for a K-4 and have made the latest payment you will be receiving your updated statement shortly. We do appreciate your patience as we struggle even more than usual in trying to stay current.

We have written often about the difficulties of documenting this project and making choices related to model configurations, it never seems to get easier, even as we gain more experience. Although the design work is complete and the production is started, we continue in our effort to tweak the detailing based on every new piece of information we receive. Unlike the Union Pacific project where we had extensive information that was fairly chronological and simply had to be digested, with the K-4 we have the same level of documentation, but so much of it is conflicting in terms of what was planned versus what was actually done in practice that trying to achieve the definitive answer on many questions is extremely difficult to say the least. With over four hundred prototypes built and the number of modifications that were made over an extended period of time, pinpointing when and how is a researchers nightmare. The one consoling fact is that we have the best possible assistance in wading through the data. With the planned versions of our model, we have determined that no less than seven (7) variations of the tenders we are offering are mandatory simply based on the different time period configurations. Our next update will highlight what these variations are. The challenge that we have faced has been well understood by most and very constructive comments and input have been offered, as always, that has been greatly appreciated.

Another inspection tour is pending and upon completion our new update will be prepared and mailed out to all concerned.

3/06/05 - Reflecting back on the Nürnberg Toy Fair a bit more, it was amazing to us how many of the people attending the show that came up to us had been following the development of the K-4 project online, they were already very familiar with many of the features and intricate detail. The photo below is of the 'Postwar' version sample with a 110P75a tender that was previewed at the show. A third sample was also shown at the toy fair that highlighted prototypical construction of the frame, suspension and boiler, keen attention was paid to the inner workings of the model as that level of detail was unique among the models being displayed by all of the manufacturers/importers. The natural progression of questions led to 'what European prototypes will you be doing with this same level of detail'?

3/05/05 - Just a brief update for today to let those of you that have sent in incremental payments know that we have not begun to process them as yet, that will begin to happen this coming week. As we process the payments we will send out our usual updated statements for all reservation holders. We will be providing additional update information over the next couple of days so be sure to check back. Don't miss our latest sample model photos listed on the project home page.

1/04/05 - Our first update of the new year for our K-4 project is to let you know that the sample model has arrived in our shop. We have received an overwhelming number of comments about the series of photos that we posted of the sample before it was completed, I can tell you that the sample looks even better now! We are shooting a new series of images and they will be posted as soon as we can get them formatted for the web site, check back soon for the latest info and photos.

12/14/04 - The photo below is of Mr. Lee our builder posing with the nearly completed first sample of our K-4 project. We will be posting a batch of new photos to the 'construction photo' page on this project site and they should give you a really good idea of how seriously we are taking this project. We are taking our suspension function and detail to the next level; every leaf spring from the lead truck on the loco to the rear truck on the tender is fabricated from a special stainless alloy, no more spring castings. The piping is also being taken beyond what has been previously done by any builder/importer, the photos will speak for themselves. The sample will arrive in or shop by the first of next week and the sample of a second version will follow close behind. Mr. Lee is telling us at this point that the completion of production should be accomplished by late Spring of '05, that will make this the fastest development of a project since we started in business and that is with no compromise. It seems that our new development approach is working, not only to improve timing, but quality of finished product as well. Stay toned for more details in the next few days.

12/05/04 - A brief update to let those with reservations for this project know that there will be a printed project update for our K-4 project combined with the forthcoming news letter going out this coming week. The progress that has been made on this project is stunning and the photos that we will share in the update will illustrate what we are referring to. The detail in this project is being pushed to new levels, just when you thought there was no where to go with additional detail we are adding more. Be watching for the mail update, the new information will of course be shared on this site as well.

10/27/04 - We have started to catch up with processing a series of construction photos for the K-4 sample, some of the backlog has already been posted on the project site, be sure to check them out before you leave. The completed sample model is due in our shop shortly and we anxiously await the opportunity to share the sample with you. More coming soon!

10/04/04 - Just a brief update for the moment to let those with reservations for our K-4 project know that a new project update will be mailed out next week with our general update, this should go a long way towards letting you know where this project stands. The progress has been impressive as we have reviewed it in person and this project promises to be an outstanding and long overdue faithful tribute to this classic prototype. We will be posting new info on this project site in the near future as well.

7/08/04 - We have added a number of new Construction Photos for this project and we will be adding more as time allows. When you view the work in progress you can gain an appreciation for how much effort goes into accurately creating the many parts required for each model project. More often than not, when you get a part wrong there is no salvaging what you have done to that point, you get to start over from the beginning and that is why we have been working to revamp of design and development processes so we can eliminate as much of the wasted effort as possible. We have been committed to doing things right and that has been extremely painful time wise (time is money) on many occasions. We hope you enjoy seeing the process in photos, let us know what you think as we proceed

7/03/04 - Although we have been concentrating on finishing up our Union Pacific project, that does not mean that our other projects are not moving forward. If you refer to the K-4 'Project Information' and 'Version' pages, you will see that the three primary version designs are complete as are the two basic tender designs. Shown below are the first of the sheet metal parts for the first sample models, this photo is a bit dated at this point and considerably more work has been completed on the first samples, new photos will be posted in the very near future. Visible in this photo are the machine cut main frame rails at the top left and a combination of other loco and tender parts. We are extremely pleased with the quality of progress we are making utilizing our altered approach to developing this project and we will continue to refine the effort so that future projects will run even smoother and faster. Updates and new photos will be coming more frequently from this point forward, so stay tuned and keep checking back for the latest information. We are working on the first post-reservation printed project update and hope to have it out to our reservation holders in the next week or so, we are trying to complete this in between getting ready for a couple of major shows and another Korea visit.

6/01/04 - We have just received the design files for the three primary versions of the K-4 project and are currently making final corrections. Portions of the design drawings will be presented in the forthcoming project update that will be mailed out to all reservation holders, we will also posted slightly modified drawings to the project site for version reference, slightly modified so competitors may copy at their own risk and it will be obvious if they do. Stay tuned for the new postings over the next couple of days.

5/18/04 - We are in the process of preparing our first project update mailing for our K-4 project and we hope to have it in the mail early next week. The reservation process has been extremely successful with over 80% of the production planned already reserved! The approach we are now taking with this project is offering less for us to show you at this point in the development, because the design correction work is being accomplished in the CAD (computer aided design) phase rather than with an early sample model.. We believe that what we are doing will allow us to complete the project quicker and with more accurate results. We will begin to share some of the drawings with you, but we obviously need to be careful in doing so since there are other importers working on K-4 projects. At the same time we are working on physical design, we are experimenting with DCC equipment and concepts with the hope of making the K-4 our first 'DCC Ready' locomotive model. We'll be sharing the results of our experiences as we progress since we know that many of you are interested in the technology, but are concerned about the usability. Stay tuned!!

3/18/04 - In response to several requests, we have decided to add one more slight variation to our K-4 offering, but it will not increase the quantity of models produced. Since the reservation process has been underway we have heard from several clients that would like an 'end of service' version. This version would be appropriate for the approximately four year period after the PRR lettering was changed from the original gold-leaf to the later 'Buff' color. Inherent in this change are several other detail changes which we will discuss once the final configuration is decided on. If you currently have a reservation for a K-4 in place and would like to change to this configuration just send us a note and we will make the change in our records, we can tell you now that there will be no change in price. This situation helps to explain exactly what our reservation/deposit process is all about; several weeks ago we produced and mailed a project prospectus that outlined our plans for the K-4 project and requested feedback, afterwards there were no requests for such a version. If our reservation procedure did not require a reasonable deposit it would now be difficult to justify adding another variation and a incurring the costs associated with such a decision. The bottom line is that we want to produce as closely as possible exactly what our clients desire while maintaining sound business practices.

We again want to thank all of you that have chosen to support both our PRR K-4 and N5c projects, the response has been overwhelming and very gratifying.

3/14/04 - For all of you that have submitted reservation requests, the confirmation notices have been mailed so you should be receiving them shortly. If you don't see your confirmation by the end of the week be sure to let us know. The next printed project update is in the works and should be in the mail by the end of the month, maybe a little before if all goes well. Great progress is continuing and we are still researching the details of the project as we go, there will be some small detail adjustments made to a couple of our configurations, but that will be discussed in a future update. The biggest questions right now center on the division or region assignments made for individual K-4's, we will be offering a considerable amount of information on this subject on-line, if this is a topic of interest to you, be sure to check back over the next few days.

3/03/04 - Just a brief update for those of you that have sent in reservations for our K-4 project; do not be concerned if you have not received your cancelled check back at this point, we are just now processing the deposit payments made with the reservations. Confirmation letters will be going out shortly to all that have confirmed reservations.

2/28/04 - The reservation process for this project was started just about three weeks ago and at this point it is about 75% reserved, this is even faster than we had anticipated. We are grateful for the trust and support these new orders represent. With each new project there is always a concern on the part of potential new customers that they will not be able to reserve a model of their choice, we are happy to report that a significant number of new customers have been able to reserve the K-4 they desired by not delaying when they received the reservation information. At this point our reservation system seems to be as fair as possible to all concerned.

In the course of taking reservations two issues have arisen that we need to address, the first is the availability of 'Buff' colored graphics for locomotives that operated after 1952 and also, 'what color are we going to paint the cab roofs and tender decks'? Regarding the 'Buff' lettering, we can supply models so decorated if you want a model of a prototype that operated after 10/13/52. The issue of the cab roofs and tender decks was anticipated, but we did not expect it to become an issue quite so quickly. At this point we can tell you that the painting directives for the PRR indicate that the 'red' cab roofs and tender decks were part of the specification until the end of steam. We all know that there were instances of prototypes not being painted in this manner and an effort will be made to determine why that is if at all possible. Was this due to localized lax maintenance or part of a larger scheme that was pre-determined?

2/13/04 - The reservation information for this project will be mailed on Monday the 16th to all individuals that have expressed an interest in ordering one of these models. If you have requested the reservation on formation and do not receive it by the end of next week, please let us know so we can send a replacement.

2/09/04 - The reservation information for this project has been mailed to all existing customers as of Friday the 6th of February, if you are a current customer and do not receive the package in the next couple of days, please let us know.

2/03/04 - Shown below is a portion of the process used to create the driver centers for our K-4. The first two images show the results of the initial machining process, the first image is of the standard 'spoke' style driver and the second image is of the 'web spoke' style driver . Note that the smallest of radii are correctly recreated and that all fastener detail is present at the rim. Every critical dimension is monitored and scaled, the taper of the spokes, the draft contours, and the overall dimensions. The third images shows the finished 'spoke' driver after the machining has been completed. This is a process that has to be completed for every component of the model, we never have and never will use any other builders patterns or castings for our projects.