John , It is indeed the one good thing about trash brass .A good modeller can rehabilitate any pile of crap brass model .It all depends on what your skill level is ,how many spare parts and specialized tools you have ,and how much time is on your hands .In the days of yore any buyer of brass knew he would have to rework the mechanism and some of the details , before he dissembled , stripped ,painted and decaled his model.Times have changed , though .The average modeller(and human being) has less time to do what Dennis O'Berry had to do to make his Sunset C-16 run and look good . The prices are many times what they were in the 1960s when a very good ,straight brass model could be had for under $50 . The current models out are , however ,better detailed and run better ,mainly because for the money paid ,brass buyers demand that . Some of us guys who buy brass laugh at older modellers who refuse to pay more than $50 for any model . On the other hand, collecting brass models is not unlike shooting heroin .It can get insatiable....and rediculously expensive .
One interesting point...You can't hardly find trash brass or even basket cases for sale .Why ? Even the sorriest brass model can find a home with a fine scratchbuilder who can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear !