Athearn May Announcements

[flight2000]

Athearn announced the following re-runs today for delivery in January 2014.

SD70M - CSX, NS, and UP 
http://www.athearn.com/newsletter/050713/18_N_SD70_050713.pdf

SD75M in BNSF H2 and SD75I in BNSF Superfleet
http://www.athearn.com/newsletter/050713/19_N_SD75_050713.pdf
 
Husky Stacks - 4 Schemes 
http://www.athearn.com/newsletter/050713/20_N_Husky_Stack_050713.pdf

50' FMC Plug Door Boxcar - 5 Schemes 
http://www.athearn.com/newsletter/050713/21_N_%20FMC_Box_1_050713.pdf
http://www.athearn.com/newsletter/050713/22_N_%20FMC_Box_2_050713.pdf

Brian

[Leggy]

Non operating ditchlights in this day and age? 

[flight2000]

Non operating ditchlights in this day and age? 

Is it just me or is there an echo in here....    

Brian

[Leggy]

Uh.....

[ljudice]

The ATSF boxcar is correct, I believe, but the rest are foobies right?

And yet there are schemes they have not been done in which are correct.

???

[mcjaco]

Um, yeah because Atlas' B-40's have working ditchlights too.....


Can we get off the constant Walther's/Athearn nit picking?

[Denver Road Doug]

Um, yeah because Atlas' B-40's have working ditchlights too.....

Can we get off the constant Walther's/Athearn nit picking?

Most (all?) B-40's did not come with ditchlights in the beginning.   Atlas "stance" on this has been that if the locomotive had them from the factory, then they will have them on the model.   Atlas' Dash40CW's have ditchlights, as do all of Kato and FVM's wide-nose post 90's era diesels.   (and a couple of Kato's post-90-ish SD40-2's also)

Anyway....it's a discussion forum.   People can argue till they're blue in the face that forum participants are "rounding errors" from a statistics standpoint, but bottom line is there have been many documented cases of change effected as a result of a suggestion or criticism of products on the forums.   Does it happen a lot?  Probably not.    But would you rather us just not voice opinions about stuff, and then manufacturers can just wonder why their stuff doesn't move?   

In fact, the SD75M is a perfect example of this "process".   Started out with 5-pole motor and "un-DCC-able", then 3-pole, not much better DCC-friendliness, then 5-pole still not much better DCC, then 5-pole DCC "almost-really-friendly-sorta".   Those changes didn't happen out of the kindness of their hearts, trust me.   They want their customers to buy their product.      Maybe someday the Athearn SD70-series will *have* DITCH lights and DITCH the coke bottle windows.   I would buy one then.

ALL manufacturers do things that are "lazy".  ALL of them.   Atlas is far and away the least of the offenders, I'd say.  After them, it's a pretty significant jump on the lazy-meter.   When I say "lazy", I don't mean it from a work-ethic standpoint, but rather a complacency/short-cuts versus cost type of attitude.  I'd say most genuinely TRY to make a quality product, but either don't dot the i's/cross the t's, or choose to just go with an error or inferior process/material and suffer the law of averages.   It's always a cost issue, and I think most modelers "get it" that sometimes it just isn't meant to be and you take the compromises.   But on the other hand, the reason for the Walthers/Athearn/<insert_name_here> rants is that they seem to be always pushing the envelope of "what can we get by with" versus "what can we do that knocks their socks off".  And they've both been around since dinosaurs, electricity, and the forward pass...and "should know better" in a lot of folks minds--their expectations, etc.   I think Athearn N especially gets hammered because many n-scalers were in HO at one point and Athearn was "great"....but that's relative....they were great because they were cheap, had easy to build FUN kits, and generally were consistent, good quality, and good value.    But nowhere near the proto-specific mindset we have now.   So Athearn and Walthers are probably unfairly held to a higher standard that Atlas, Kato, et al have set.   But I still think they have to take the criticism, goes with that big bullseye you get when you're a BIG DOG.   

[packers#1]

Norfolk Southern SD70M? oooo tempting; I dig the boxcars too; nice schemes and a different modern boxcar design. 

[kalbert]

Those SOO box cars will be welcome variety on my tracks. Not something I need at all, but something I'll probably get a couple of.

I'm sick and tired of manufacturers producing these cheap locomotives though. I mean, come on. You'd think in this day and age they could build an RTR N scale SD70M with working diesel electric components and retail them for $99 ("street" price around 60). To have a big clunky electric motor that gets it's power from the rails just isn't going to fly on my railroad. I'd rather have no locos at all than anything less.

[Bob Bufkin]

Nothing for me.  No complaints, jusy wish they woud do something in the eras I model.  All too modern for me.

[tappertrainman]

FYI it looks like your second link in the boxcars is incorrect (copy of the first link) the correct link is below:

http://www.athearn.com/newsletter/050713/22_N_%20FMC_Box_2_050713.pdf

Thanks for posting this!  I'm interested in the boxcars, even if they're foobies.

[CodyO]

Nothing for me.  No complaints, jusy wish they woud do something in the eras I model.  All too modern for me.

+1

Nothing for mine, good for the guys that got something

[daniel_leavitt2000]

First announcement in two years! I hope this will quiet the "Athearn don't care" crowd.

Does anyone know if the CSX YN3 on the SD70M scheme would be good for 1998?

[ljudice]

YN3 came around 2003-2004 or so,  definitely later than 1998.

Dan - you said YN3 but meant YN2 - which should be correct as a paint scheme - but the SD70M's came after Conrail I believe, they were the ex EMD demo/lease units - I think they are not correct for 1998.

The NS units are not correct - they have the tapered nose.  The Kato units have the right nose but a slightly incorrect radiator - 2 screens instead of four I believe.

Robbman???

- Lou

[ljudice]

Athearn - 2 years - and LPG/Ethanol cars bid to extreme levels on Ebay - and we get this!

Amazing!