Thank you Bob for sharing your line up of Challengers ...
Nice to be able to compare models next to each other .
Earliest ad I've found for the Lobaugh Challenger is January 1939 in Model Railroading .... ... by December dealers are offering the Challenger RTR for a mere $225.00 ...entry level Ford $700
Rollin had a booth at the SF fair 1939 ( Treasure Island ) with workman building trains on site ... no doubt a few Challengers were being built whilst new buyers were lining up ..to test run.
In an article during the war, Rollin was quoted as selling 200 Challengers (kits) before the war .... he mentioned having one on his mantle .
So the post war models have the larger sand domes and smoke stacks etc ?
Cheers Carey
- 1939 MR Jan Challenger first ad.jpg (937.41 KiB) Viewed 4395 times
- 1939 Dec MR ad.jpg (1.57 MiB) Viewed 4395 times