Hello Bob,
Thank you for the suggestion.
The fact is the tooling costs are a huge cost in any new item. Adding more tools to make more parts is the fastest way to kill a new tooled project. For example the cheapest tool to make one small parts today is about $6,500 to make it in Plastic or die-cast. That is why in our Rail King Line you will find most of the detail's molded into the boiler or plastic body. That is the cheapest way.
The other way is Brass parts, which first require someone to make a hand made master. The master costs depends on the detail level of the part, but the real cost here is the Brass parts. Brass is expensive and some Scale Steam Engines now have over 200 separate Brass Details made. Adding more adds cost for everyone.
I think your best bet is to look for Brass Models to convert. They are made the way you want.
