Buckeye Scale Models

12/26/2025

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas to you all!

Not much to update as of now, however development on a few new releases (in the wee hours of the morning sometimes!) have slowly progressed along as working 6 to 7 days a week has taken priority.

Expect to see the following products added to my eBay store in the next few weeks:

-Athearn Bluebox Motor Mount Replacements (Printed in TPU)
-Multiple Steam Locomotive Headlights (Ready For LEDs in Multiple Scales)
-WWII Sherman Tank Flatcar Load (Yep. You heard me right!)

No set in stone timeline for these yet. Stay tuned!

-Austin

05/10/2025

Hello everyone! Since today is National Train Day, and the anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike in Promontory, Utah, I figured I’d better crawl out from under my rock and talk more about the future of Buckeye Scale Models.

During this time off, I’ve been reworking how my small business is structured and regearing it towards being able to release new products in a more timely fashion. Of course, since this is merely a side business for me, there will still inevitably be some delays from time to time. If I am able to crank out a couple of new releases per month, I’ll be pretty happy with that.

So what is in store as far as products? While I’m not quite ready to release information about a few of the bigger projects, I can say that I’m looking to diversify a little and start working on some structure kits! I’ve been on a bit of a scenic detail oriented phase lately, so I will probably also throw in some smaller details for towns and industrial facilities. Don’t worry, I am still working on products for locomotives, and recently a trip to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad to ride behind Nickel Plate Road 765 has inspired me to create a few new, potentially innovative products for berkshire modelers. I am also working on a large personal project that might eventually benefit you, the customer. Stay tuned!

I have not yet decided on a return date, however it won’t be much longer. I appreciate your patience for those who have stuck around, and I look forward to a bright future ahead with new releases! Happy Railroading!

-Austin

(Photo taken by my fiancé Erin Fowler , great job!)

03/14/2025

Hey everyone, I hope all of you are doing well out there. I've made the difficult decision to put my business on a hiatus for a little while. I haven't been making as many sales on my products lately, and ideas are drying out as I approach burnout. I'm not sure if I need to change my approach, or whether I need to get some more people on board to help me out. I need a little time to figure some things out with this. I will be back someday, exactly when I'm not sure. I'm not going to put a timeframe on it for the moment. I will still post occasionally to get some ideas or ask how everyone's projects are going. I apologize for needing to take a bit of a break, I think the business will come out better on the other side of this. I hope you all understand and will still be there when I return. Until then, happy railroading.

-Austin

03/01/2025

Can you believe that it's already March? Where is the time going? We're happy to announce a couple of new products that will be joining the Buckeye Scale Models lineup in the next few weeks!

First up, we have a basic conversion kit for Athearn Genesis USRA Light Mikado that alters their appearance to make a Nickel Plate Road mikado. The kit will include a set of flying number boards, a bell and bell mount (most NKP Mikados lost their USRA shelf mounted bell over time), a drop-in headlight replacement with a new LED included, and a NKP style four slat pilot. A mars light variant of the headlight assembly will also be available as a substitute of the stock headlight!

Next, we have a couple of replacement components to keep your older Mantua locomotives looking great. We'll be offering a replacement pilot assembly for Mantua/Tyco's 4-6-2 Pacific, 4-6-4 Hudson, 2-8-2 Mikado, 2-8-4 Berkshire, and 2-10-0 Decapod steam locomotives. Two versions will be offered in this initial run, more details to come later this week.

Finally, in our replacement part lineup, we will be offering a new boiler front assembly for Mantua/Tyco's 0-4-0 "Pony", 0-4-0 "Shifter", both 0-6-0 tender engines (Power-Torque and standard line), and 2-6-2 Prairie steam locomotives. Note that this part is only compatible with models that have plastic shells, NOT metal shells. With several varieties coming in the initial run, we'll be sure to release more details upon their release.

These projects will enable us to come up with and produce new variations of these classic components to allow us to keep your older locomotives up to date for years to come! The NKP Mikado conversion kit should be available for purchase this weekend, while the other two products will be available in the next couple of weeks! Stay tuned for further updates, but until then enjoy this brief preview of the new components!

02/10/2025

After a busy weekend and a couple delays, the Westinghouse Cross Compound Air Pump is finally listed on eBay! Be sure to pick yours up for your next project! We will be working this week to replenish our supply on our products, so if you need more than what is available, please be patient! Stay tuned for our next announcement coming mid week!

Proudly made in Youngstown, Ohio!

02/07/2025

Here is a final updated look at the CAD file for our new Westinghouse Cross Compound Air Pump! We have gone to great lengths to make these appear as realistic as the limitations of FDM 3D printing would allow, even including the mounting bracket on the back of the pump "casting" - something that is frequently left out! These air pumps will feature a solid mounting post on the back that will ensure that the component stays firmly attached on your model. You can also cut it off flush and use the scale mounting bracket! We have also included drill points in the appropriate locations to enable the modeler to drill and install their own pipework. A short video demonstrating a few different ways to plumb up your air pumps realistically will be coming to our YouTube channel in the near future!

These will be offered in HO, S, and O scales with options for either a separate air strainer (included) or an attached air strainer (right side of pump) with simulated pipework. These new air pumps should be hitting the eBay store this weekend (Feb. 8-9)!

02/05/2025

Hey everyone, it's your slightly forgetful and too busy to think about anything founder of Buckeye Scale Models here. I got so wrapped up in everything going on in my personal life that I left all of you hangin'! Perhaps it is time to bring in a social media manager...

A few weeks ago, Buckeye Scale Models became the proud owner of a new piece of equipment that will greatly improve our production. The equipment in question is a Creality K1 printer! Gone are the old days with the old Voxelab Aquila C2 (an Ender 3 Clone). This new printer is capable of much faster print speeds and much higher quality detail than the Aquila could ever dream of! With that said, I will be revising the CAD models of our products to allow for better detail on future runs of detail parts. I may significantly discount any remaining old stock from the Aquila to make room for the new stock if there is any interest in it.

As for new products, here is a bit of an update for you on where some upcoming projects stand:

Westinghouse Cross Compound Air Pump: Ready for release, releasing late this week
Generic Steam Turbogenerator: Ready for release, releasing late this week
Westinghouse Single Phase Air Pumps: Both a small and large variant will be offered, in design phase
Diesel Locomotive Ditch Lights: Both low and high mount versions will be offered, in design phase

Several more products are ready for the design phase as well, and I will let you know when they are ready. Finally, an update about the website. I was hoping to have it up and running by now, but that hasn't happened yet unfortunately. This business is more of a side quest for me, and my personal life has been pretty busy of late. I don't have an exact time frame for its launch yet, but I will be sure to announce it when it does launch.

Thank you all for your patience. Happy Railroading!

-Austin

01/14/2025

Buckeye Scale Models products are about to get a whole lot better...

Special announcement coming on Monday!

01/05/2025

Just a reminder that Buckeye Scale Models will be set up at the Youngstown Model Railroad Association's Toy and Model Train Flea Market tomorrow, January 5th. It will be held at the Immaculate Heart Of Mary Parish Center, 4490 Norquest Blvd Austintown, OH 44515. Lots of new products will be announced at the show, and a couple of them will even hit the eBay store later in the day. The doors open at 10am, we hope to see you there!

12/29/2024

Another new product to very shortly be joining our line of offerings is the Westinghouse Cross Compound Air Pump in HO, S, and O scales!

Among the most common of air pumps used on steam locomotives in the United States, the Westinghouse Cross Compound can be found on many steam locomotives from 1906 right up to the end of steam. Expect these to be released by the middle of this week, along with a couple other items to come. Future air pump releases will include a New York style, and a couple of single phase air pumps as well. Stay tuned!

*Work in progress rendering shown is subject to change before final release*