Kato Tweets E5 pic. I'm officially concerned.

[peteski]

Ignoring that different lenses used to take each photo, the model photo and prototype photo are also taken from a different angle.

Model photo appears to be taken more from the front of the loco and from a slightly higher vantage point.  Comparing things like the nose curvature or the crease in the front of the nose will not be accurate.  Seeing photos of the model and a real locomotive taken form approximately the same angle and elevation wold yield a more accurate comparison.

However to be fair, I now see that the area where the top headlight meets the curved nose seems to have slightly different shape between the model and 1:1 loco.  The item above the coupler door (anticlimber or a buffer?) also protrudes further on the real loco.

[bbussey]

I think one needs to see the model in person rather than compare model photos with prototype photos in situations such as this.

[NorsemanJack]

Now if only BLW would post their offering so I could order mine!!

Fixed!!!  Pete has my order for at least one of each 

[nstars]

I know the shape of the E and F units is one of the most difficult shapes to catch in model, but I have to agree with Jason. If I compare the reflections on the real locomotive with the reflections on the model, it doesn't look right. On the model the separation between the top of the nose and the side of the nose looks a little bit too sharp, which makes the nose look long. However, this could also be caused by the way the models were photographed, Fortunately i'm no burlington modeler so I can wait to see the model in real life.

Marc

[pennsyfan1361]

No, actually, this looks hot.





I CAN SEE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE MODEL!     THE PHOTO OF THE MODEL ALL THE LETTERS  AND NUMBERS ARE BACKWARDS        Rich

[robert3985]

I've been attempting not to say this about this model, but I can't help myself.

The biggest, most glaring problem with this model is the fugly Kato Unitrack it's sitting on....

That said, (Whew!!...RELIEF!!) I notice in the close up comparisons that the model suffers from what most injection molded models suffer from...many edges are not "sharp".  The sides of the cab near the front windshields obviously have a sharper radius than on the model, which partially obscures where that line ends on the curve of the nose because of the parting lines.

The other place that isn't as sharp as the prototype is the "point" or "edge" of the angle running down the middle of the nose.  I'm going to guess that the angle is perfect, but, to facilitate removal from the mold, the edge has been "broken" (a machining term).  This is a common practice when designing and engineering injection molds.

The other place that is obviously "not sharp" is the fronts of both headlights.  They're very rounded, whereas the prototypes are much sharper.  This is a consistent problem with Kato models, including all of their F's, E's and even their GS-4, which all have too small lenses in the headlights too.

The headlights are an easy fix, and it was surprising to me how just making the headlight walls thinner (making the hole larger), squaring up the fronts of them, and creating a new light pipe from Lucite or Plexiglass will really make a big difference in the overall appearance of the fronts on all of these engines.

Additionally (as has been pointed out) the lines for the rubber gaskets on the windshields are there...are you brave enough to paint them on?  I figure that would make a big difference too.

I'm actually not too impressed with the appearance of the Kato paint on this model, and I would not hesitate to strip it, fix the problems I see on the nose, and re-finish the model with airbrushed metalizer, then buff it for a true "bare metal" look, just as I'm not hesitating to fix the problems I see on my A-B-A set of Kato E9's along with the rest of the COLA, and re-painting them if necessary.  Of course, decals will never look as good as the Kato pad printing which would be lost.

I'm thinking that these models' lack of "edge sharpness" in a few areas are due to the physics of getting them to reliably pop out of the complex injection molds.  I don't find the lack of "edge sharpness" objectionable as I'm betting they're about as close as yer gonna get if ya want to injection mold 'em, which Kato obviously does.

I hope they sell like hotcakes, which will encourage Kato to continue to make extremely road-specific engines and trains.

Cheers!
Bob Gilmore

[Chris333]

I'm waiting for Jason to get back with us. How did things go at Chuck-e-Cheese?

[nstars]

That said, (Whew!!...RELIEF!!) I notice in the close up comparisons that the model suffers from what most injection molded models suffer from...many edges are not "sharp".  The sides of the cab near the front windshields obviously have a sharper radius than on the model, which partially obscures where that line ends on the curve of the nose because of the parting lines.

Funny, for me it's just the point where the edge looks too sharp (change from top of nose to side of nose) which gives me the feeling it is not perfect. But as I mentioned before, I'll save final judgement until I see the engine in real life.

Marc

[CBQ Fan]

I ordered my complete compliment now that my vendor has them listed!! 

You what really ticks me off is that Kato won't breed tiny 1/160th sized humans and give them away with each engine so you could get a realistic life size crew.  It would make DCC a thing of the past!!!!!!!!!!

[SkipGear]

At this point, it is really too late to even worry about it. Kato is not going to change it now and your only other option is a resin shell and lots of work. I bet these are being boxed and prepped for containers as we type.

I'm certainly not a Kato fanboy that thinks everything Kato is gold. I think the nose is most definitely off, but its not enough to keep me from buying a loco and car set. As Marc mentioned, the curve from the top of the nose to the side is too sharp and too long. The overall nose cheeks are too sharply rounded making it have the appearance of chubby cheeks. This is one of those models that I want, but not bad enough to go to the trouble of building and painting or fixing this one.

[davefoxx]

You what really ticks me off is that Kato won't breed tiny 1/160th sized humans and give them away with each engine so you could get a realistic life size crew.  It would make DCC a thing of the past!!!!!!!!!!

But, with my luck, I would get a 1:160 Ricky Gates.   

DFF

[ntex]

I think the model looks great and am sure it runs like a Kato.  But I'll wait and hope Kato does the complete Texas Zephyr which ran from Denver to Ft Worth.  What does stand out to me, it looks like Kato has a Phase 2 pilot on Phase 1 loco numbers, unless the pilots were modified later on in service like the skirt trucks were.

http://www.katousa.com/N/SilverStreak/pics/SilverBullet-Side.jpg
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=766059

Steve
Frisco TX

[Chris333]

Check out the nose on this one:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1116318

[mcjaco]

I knew I had a side profile pic somewhere....

[wcfn100]

I'm waiting for Jason to get back with us. How did things go at Chuck-e-Cheese?

CEC was good.  No one got hurt, and fears of the man in the mouse suit have substantially subsided since last time.  Also, more tickets in one night than I think I had my whole childhood.  My son got something that was on the wall and not in the case.  Something I can't say I ever got to do.

As for this mess of  a thread.  It looks like there are few who can see what I'm talking about so there should be a fair evaluation when it comes out and that's good enough for me.

No one sees any issue with the windshields?  I was sure someone would see that. 

Jason