Need a starting point for an S scale 4-4-0 or 4-6-0

[porthos]

I have searched the internet with little luck finding an S scale 4-4-0 or 4-6-0, standard gauge engine, circa 1880. So I need some help figuring out what might be a suitable starting point to begin kitbashing what I need. Naturally there are a couple of requirements so some background is needed.

My other (and primary) hobby is miniature wargaming. I'm currently working on what we would refer to as a display game featuring an old west town populated with 28mm miniatures. 28mm is hard to describe as a scale (and one manufacturer's 28mm miniatures are likely to be a different size than another's) and the arguments about what scale it represents are legendary on some of the miniature forums. Suffice it to say that it falls somewhere between S and O scale. It is larger than S Scale but smaller than 0 Scale and there is a lot of back and forth on whether it should be defined as 1/50th or 1/56th.

I do not need it to operate although free-rolling drivers would be nice, so something that is "broken" will probably work fine for my purposes. I would like to only rebuild the cab to match the miniatures that I have but I can do additional work as needed. I would like to avoid having to re-gauge something which is why I would like to go with an S scale mechanism if possible, but in a pinch I can re-gauge something if that needs to be the starting point.

Detail wise, it doesn't need to be an exact prototype of any particular engine, most miniature gamers will be impressed by anything that is well constructed, sturdy enough to be handled and looks the part. Sturdy enough to be handled is key since it will do quite a bit of traveling to various conventions as well as being handled during games.

So suggestions on something that will work?