mwb said, " 'Challenging' might be a very polite word to use," regarding the construction of LW Kits...
I fully agree! I own several of these LW Kits and find they are very basic that require significant skills and equipment for detailed brass soldering and construction. Often, the Kits' build instructions were incomplete, generic, or even missing! IMHO, I take pride in constructing a Brass Kit that lasts a lifetime instead of purchasing a read-to-run plastic model, where detailed plastic models will become brittle and easily break over time.
LW specificly tried to sell products to a much smaller model builder market by reduced pricing for basic kits with mixed Brass/White Metal parts. IMHO, I believe that LW Brass Kits were made for a lower cost at a time when the needs and interests of O-Scale modelers were different... LW Kits seem intended for O-Scale Modelers willing to "get their hands dirty" while building these Kits for a sense of pride when completing a difficult task. Less detailed and fewer Brass Kit parts enabled lower LW Kit pricing. However, other smaller 3rd-party companies started to made individual detailed brass castings (ie Cal-Scale, PSC, and Bowser) that could be purchased as add-ons for LW Kits and other manufacturers like CLW.
The USA Consumer preference for O-Scaled products later changed where if a product breaks or needs repair, just throw out the old product and buy a newer product for immediate personal gratification! The USA O-Scale consumer market also changed where 2-Rail products with plastic parts and shells are now delivered ready-to-run with more detail at a lower cost. The higher manufacturing cost and time needed to cast Brass shells and parts led LW & other O-Scale manufacturers to slowly transition from Brass to to more use of Zamac or "White Metal" castings.
Lionel blew away the vintage O-Scale collectors market for older and heavier pre-1970s USA-made plastic models when they flooded the O-Scale consumer market with mass-production of ready-to-run locomotives manufactured at a lower cost overseas. This over-production marketing "push" to consumers seemed to contribute to Lionel declaring corporate bankruptcy reorganization 2 times. I wonder if this type of marketing push and over-production recently resuilted in MTH going out of business without a coprorate buyer.
Many smaller companies that make Brass parts have merged, been sold off, or are no longer in business, while brass parts are much harder to find. As a result, I have started to make my own detailed Brass parts using a basic 3D printer. I am still learning about detailed casting my own 220/260 Grade Brass parts using lost-wax sand methods since I purchased a Thermolyne FD-1530 small Furnace for melting Brass. I wonder if the future of detailed O-Scale modeling will eventually shift back to "make your own" Kits with "print your own" Brass Kits...
