Hey Dennis,
Finished?! I going to finish this thing? I agree with many of your points as to where this can lead. One aspect I really like is seeing parts of a K-36 that we just don't get to see. Not sure what kind of number I'll put on the cab. Have thought about 485, which has a certain attraction, maybe just 48-waterbag.
I'd been out of the hobby for some 30 odd years (HOn3), but it was never too far from my thoughts. I occasionally think about hard modeling again, but don't have the space or money - but you never know. Just for fun I'm going to attend a big S gauge meet hear in Chicago this month, check out the Sn3 stuff.
For now, I'm just trying to keep the momentum going, maybe a part or two each week.
Mike