Au contraire mon frere! The metal color makes Great deal of difference, to some folks anyway. When was the last time you saw a big Corliss engine with red brass flywheel rim showing!? :-o If it was iron on the real one, then I feel like it ought to be iron on the model. I'm just like that. Regards, Harry See Harry, Jeff has answered the conflict over wheel rim colour perfectly. Howsomever, I will leave the Bernays completely in the nude so to speak. Now, those beautiful engines Keith makes generally have their flywheels made of steel with the sides of the rim painted. Jesse in W. Tennessee MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.