John Maxwell Drawings

Thanks, Steve.
I have been aware of the website only recently from a link provided here.
I've been aware of the Maxwell collection and his work for many years. I'll try to be as kind as I can with my following comments.
What perhaps most people these days are not aware of is that while Mr. Maxwell's drawings are quite nice, and much better than RR folio sheets in detail, many of his dimensions were provided from available sources like folio sheets, not actually drawn from field measurements. In earlier days, several model projects, including some rather expensive (for their time) brass models and kits were made from Maxwell drawings and mirrored numerous errors contained within them. These errors often would occur because of errors in his information.
While Mr. Maxwell did produce some very nice and accurate work, he also produced some work that what might be considered "ballpark". This is of no use to someone in need of nit-picking accuracy if there is any way that actual dimensional information can be confirmed. Some of the drawings, rare though they may be, have erroneous dimensions as simple as one side elevation of a car or a structure may not equal that of the other if you add up all the lengths. Sometimes, the dimensions are just not correct at all. This is not terribly uncommon in his work, and probably isn't even his fault in many cases, because he just didn't have accurate information. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell the difference without a lot of research.
Modelers should be aware of this and always use Maxwell's drawings with this in mind. They make a fine source of additional information, and can be used if you are OK with what is provided, but do be careful.
Mr. Maxwell was a friend of my Dad's and I am proud to say I knew him, and I don't mean to sling mud on the fine work he did. As a whole, the collection is a wonderful body of work and a vast source of information. Individually, they just can't always be relied on as a difinitive source. Maybe his B-7 is right on the money, I don't know, but I would not have built my B-7 from a Maxwell drawing alone. If anyone has a copy, I'll be happy to confirm anything from what I what I have.
Mike