I was doing some research through the MR Archive CD when I stumbled across this little ad tucked away in the June 1982 issue:
Behold S Scale crawling out of the primordial soup of the "scratchbuilder's scale." Notice no mention of Flyer compatibility and your choice was of undecorated or Pennsylvania. All for a mere $129.95 in 1982 dollars. At the time AM had no track of it's own and only the 40' boxcar and plug door boxcar to keep the FP7 company. 85' smooth side passenger cars didn't appear until late 1984.
Six months later (by then Union Pacific was added) and the AM FP7 was reviewed by MR staff. After a brief history on the prototype FP7, they gave a positive review, stating the model matched all the dimensions they could locate, had NMRA RP-25 flanges, could negotiate 20" radius curves (tighter curves with modification to the steps) a minimum speed of 3.14 smph and a top speed that was "just a shade slow for the prototype FP7's" and the model was equipped to mount Kadee #5 couplers, which is what many S Scalers used at the time.
Conclusion: "With it's smooth mechanism and good looks, it's a winner."
I would agree.
Rusty
