Steam Models by Steam Engine Enthusiasts

Steamech is comprised of a small team of experienced and skilled engineers, who are supported by local precision engineering component suppliers.

The team is lead by Bruce Robertson - a professional engineer with many years of experience in precision product development and manufacturing. Perhaps even more importantly, Bruce brings a real enthusiasm for steam models, and an absolute commitment to producing only the finest quality products.

Beautiful Steam Engine Models from Beautiful New Zealand

Our steam engine models are all produced in Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand www.newzealand.com - famous for its natural beauty and friendly people. Less well known is that Christchurch is also a haven for technical innovators and high quality manufacturing, as illustrated by the following interesting examples:

Sir Earnest Rutherford (1871-1937) - first person to identify alpha, beta, and gamma rays, and first to produce and observe a nuclear reaction.

Richard Pearse - pioneer aviator who flew a powered aircraft eight months prior to the Wright brothers, but with unresolved debate as to whether it was sustained flight or not. In either case Pearse was a significant contributor to early aviation technology.

Sir WIlliam Pickering (1910-2004) - New Zealander who began his tertiary studies in Christchurch and later went on to direct the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 22 years. Pickering is the man recognised as singularly most responsible for the success of the Apollo moon landing - among many other missions.

Whisper Tech www.whispertech.co.nz the first company to fully comercialise a product using Stirling (hot air) engine technology.

Britten Motorcylces www.britten.co.nz - developers of arguably the most advanced, and most beautiful, high performance motorcycle ever produced.

Model Steam Engine Design

The cornerstone of our activities is the design of model steam engines. We invest a large amount of time in the design, development, and testing of a new steam engine before it is ready to manufacture and offer for sale.

We use the leading computer aided design (CAD) software to assist in the design process. Our objective with engine design is to produce a steam engine model that is both beautiful to look at now, and that will also stand the test of time for generations to come. No shortcuts or concessions are made - there are no pop rivets (all BA thread steel fasteners), no plastics (all steel, brass, bronze, copper construction), no brass plating (solid brass only), no soft soldering (silver soldering only).

Manufacture of Steam Engine Models

Once ready for production, components are either outsourced to local precision engineering suppliers, or hand produced 'in house'. Parts are only outsourced for reasons of producing higher quality, never solely to produce cheaper parts. Examples of this are laser cutting of profile components and CNC (computer controlled) folding of sheet metal parts. Boiler assemblies are all silver soldered copper construction, ensuring maximum strength and resistance to corrosion. Integrity of every boiler is confirmed by a hydraulic safety test at four times the boiler working pressure.

Every Steam Model Hand Finished to the Highest Standard

All steam model painting, polishing, and assembly is completed by hand at an individual engine level, rather than using a production line approach. This ensures the highest level of attention to detail, and a steam engine model that is sure to impress all who see her.

Upon completion every steam model undergoes a commissioning process wherein it is operated on compressed air for the purpose of adjusting the engine, and confirming everything operates correctly.

Finally all steam engines are carefully packaged in dedicated packaging, together with fuel and an operating manual - ready to be enjoyed by its new owner.