Railway Express Miniatures

[One of One-Sixty]

Anybody know anything about Railway Express Miniatures?  I have seen some of their stuff built up on "The Bay", and was wondering if anybody has put these kits together.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Yep, I did one of their cranes with electro-magnet.

Not a bad kit.

[DKS]

Done several kits. They tend to vary from somewhat crude to not bad at all. They do fill some gaps in the detailing department.

[One of One-Sixty]

What are these kits made from etch Brass, plastic resin?

[ljudice]

Cast metal - I guess pewter - like GHQ, but a lot cruder...

Also they need to be carefully cleaned before assembly since they are covered in some sort of mold release that makes them impossible to CA together...

[CoalPorter]

Yes, I would agree, the kits are similar to GHQ, but lower quality. The kits are white metal and very crude. They look okay for background models or hidden behind a trees. ;D I built the steam shovel twice. The first kit I bought was missing a major part of the frame, so i bought a second kit to get the parts and used the extra parts for a  rusty junk pile. The body was kind of deformed and warped, so I had to build up several areas with solder and grind out to look right. The body is a solid junk, so the cab window are just painted black.
The GHQ kits are much more detailed and better overall.

[DKS]

Yes, I would agree, the kits are similar to GHQ, but lower quality. The kits are white metal and very crude. They look okay for background models or hidden behind a trees. ;D I built the steam shovel twice. The first kit I bought was missing a major part of the frame, so i bought a second kit to get the parts and used the extra parts for a  rusty junk pile. The body was kind of deformed and warped, so I had to build up several areas with solder and grind out to look right. The body is a solid junk, so the cab window are just painted black.
The GHQ kits are much more detailed and better overall.

No arguments there, however they do have some nice items no one else makes. Their electrical cabinets are good; they make a turnout motor that's useful (too bad they don't include more of them in their detailing assortment kit). Their steam steam shovel, crane and vehicles aren't stellar, to be sure, but their Keershaw tie crane is pretty decent--I replaced the roof on mine with a scrap of sheet brass, and it improved the look quite a bit.

[ljudice]

The gondola crane isn't too bad either - and the Pettibone crane can be cleaned up with a lot of work.