Kato blows it again!!!!

[jagged ben]

Neither trucks nor truck sideframes can be swapped between the Kato SD40 and SD40-2 (any version).    The tooling is completely different.  The truck centers as well as the truck swivel points on the models do not line up whatsoever.

The axles distances within the truck line up well enough that maybe one could possibly fake the Conrail trucks by gluing SD40 sideframes onto the SD40-2 truck.  As mentioned the center axle would be ever so slightly off. 

 

[TiVoPrince]

HO folks are a lot more vocal so they get the correct detail and detail specific road names. For the most part, N-scalers are pretty complacent with what is offered. Compromise here and there and as long as it looks right, there is no complaint.  When there is an error in HO scale, the whole world comes unglued and teh manufacturers get more than an ear full at train shows, their facebook sites and on all the forums. N-Scalers barely make a ripple if any.

Brian

Please
find the HO'er that complains more about proto-accuracy and than I do.  Manufacturers may never do another Nscale SP unit in my lifetime.  I will bare knuckle fistfight them for the complaint champion crown and title.

Pinning a couple of SP specific details on a DRGW SD40T-2 shell while marketing its accuracy is about the same as painting a Kato SD40-2 in conrail blue and leaving HT-C trucks in place.  Many railroads have 'signature' details, unfortunately SP tunnel motors had multiple signature items ignored by InterMountain.  Athearn has shown that there is a market, at least in HO, for detail accuracy with an accompanying price over the old blue box models. 

Not bad, but if you actually see the error you can never 'unsee' it or erase the bad taste of unnecessary compromise that is left in your mouth...

My plan is to actively campaign for additional WoT PC&F boxcars in the endless variety of door arrangements at the Atlanta Nationals in July.  I will also seek anyone who is willing to listen politely about Nscale detail parts, unique SP diesels, and early intermodal...

[Ike the BN Freak]

For a Conrail unit, I'd use a snoot and cut the nose down.

Then graft Flexicoil truck sideframes onto the HTC trucks after cutting off the "traction motor."

Reason I'd use a snoot is that it doesn't use the sprung trucks.  The Flexicoils may fit into the SD40-2 mech, I've never tried it myself to see if it will.

[jlong]

I would have to say the level of scale fidelity we get today is about as good as it gets for $100 and under for a diesel. It could be better but it's way better than the 70's and 80's when you figure inflation. Just compare a vintage Minitrix U boat to a Kato U boat of today. For those who expect a higher level there's Overland and Key Imports. At a price of course.

I had brief stints with N scale in the 70's and 80's. Both were a disapointment. It wasn't until 2005, I became impressed and I've been enjoying N scale since. The scale has come a looong way.

[6axlepwr]

I have expected more, but have learned to scale back my expectations. With the current crop of motive power. The best improvement I have seen is when Atlas did the SD35 and dumped the Delrin handrail/walkway combo and then went back and redid the GP38/40 series the same. I really wish they would go back and redo the GP30/35 as well and would really like it if Kato would follow suit. I think that is asking to much though.

I think the biggest leaps in N-Scale have been the freight cars, track and supporting scenery elements. They have really stepped it up. Moreso than the motive power.

One thing I had to learn before I could convince myself to pull out my N-Scale stuff and start working on it again is that N-Scale is more of the overall viewing of the model and scene. Not needing the detail level of the larger scales although it is fun to push the levels of detail on my n-scale models too. N-scale models do look a WHOLE lot better than they did when I started back in the early 1970's. They look fantastic at standard viewing distances. When you have a nice layout with todays quality locomotives and rolling stock, n-scale really looks GREAT! They do not really cut it though as stand alone models without at least some detail work.

Since I finished teh ICG SD40's last week, I have started on a detail project just to see how it will come out. Today I finished the pilot work on the SD40's and half of the U30C. The U30C required an under the coupler coupler lift bar and after finishing it, I got pretty excited and am really looking forward to see how these four models turn out. One of the SD40's is going to be kitbashed into a phase III SD40. I will graft the radiator hatch and DB hatch fom an SD40-2 onto it. I will have to make a few compromises though, but that is part of the modeling and I think it will be OK. I am learning to live with that and it keeps me moving forward rather than putting it away because there would be to much work involved in fixing the compromise. Now, if Kato would follow suit with getting rid of the handrail/walkway combo and do what Atlas has done. Then I would not have to compromise. So beit.  .

Although I have done a lot of modeling in HO, n-scale is still my favorite. AS I said above, I just need to learn to live with the compromises, move forward and enjoy it.

Brian

[jlong]

The improvements I see come in tweaks from one production run to the next. Of course there were a few break throughs such as the Kato drive and Kadee Microtrains freight cars that revolutionized N scale.

[kalbert]

I don't understand the apparent anger towards Kato for not announcing Milwaukee Road SD40-2s. There are MANY road names that would likely sell well that they haven't produced in a while. As a Milwaukee modeler I don't take it personally when my favorite road is missing from announcements from any manufacturer, so again I don't understand the complaint. By the way, I sold three of these last year via the Railwire trading post for a reasonable amount. It does happen. There is a 25 post limit to access the trading post so I encourage newcomers to post pictures and descriptions of their projects. That is what people find to be the most valuable contribution to this forum.

Best wishes, Dave

I'm with you. People sure like to bitch alot. Lets see some photos of projects or techniques or some operating videos or something!

[delamaize]

*sigh*
If a manufacture don't make the road you want, find a paint scheme that is close, and repaint it. or find a cheap one, strip it, and repaint it. Besides, MILW didn't exactly have a hard liverly to paint.

[Bruce Bird]

The very first run of any North American Kato locos in N scale was a group of GP38-2s that included Milwaukee Road- imagine that!  They thought so much of the Milwaukee modeler that they came out with that on their very first run.

Of course, for those old enough to remember, the lettering was white instead of black on the hood sides.  D'oh!

But they also offered to swap out the shells for a corrected shell with black lettering.

Bruce

[jlong]

Nobody's bitchin. Just posting wants from Kato with some drama thrown in. Sorry for not using emoticons. Kato listens only if there is something to listen to.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

For a Conrail unit, I'd use a snoot and cut the nose down.

Then graft Flexicoil truck sideframes onto the HTC trucks after cutting off the "traction motor."

Reason I'd use a snoot is that it doesn't use the sprung trucks.  The Flexicoils may fit into the SD40-2 mech, I've never tried it myself to see if it will.

Bingo!

That's what I did for 6366. As far as the trucks went, I just modified the HTCs to make them look more like Flexioils: filled in the extra hole, cut off the traction motor on the end and removed the shock absorber. It's the same surgery I did on the Atlas SD50 trucks too.

Some in-progress pics:

[Dave Schneider]

Nobody's bitchin. Just posting wants from Kato with some drama thrown in. Sorry for not using emoticons. Kato listens only if there is something to listen to.

So you think that Kato reads the Railwire for product suggestions? If that were the case they would be offering a new run of Conrail every other week. 
You are probably a nice guy in real life, but to wander into a forum and start shouting....   

Best wishes, Dave

[OldEastRR]

Tying in this thread with the usual one about "why do they keep making the same locos over and over?" made me think. The changes in N scale have come pretty rapidly, as thing go: from the first locos with wipers and plastic frames, then to metal frames, then  to Kato-type end-axle pick-ups, then to excellent details and road-specific locos, then to DCC-ready, and next probably DCC and sound-ready ... a loco CAN be done and re-done by multiple companies because each new version would incorporate another advance. I can think of five  different GP7/9 versions (internally) from various companies that came out over the years that were ahead of their predecessors in advances yet less than their successors. Even a single manufacturer can re-do the same loco to incorporate new features -- the Kato U30C is a recent example. Did I have an old version? Yes. Did I moan and bitch that they re-issued it again? No -- because this version was DCC-ready and the old one was not. So I got a new one. However outside they were exactly the same (they put in smaller LEDs, tho).
DL-109s re-issued as DCC-ready? Don't know why that didn't happen. There are probably other versions of locos that were made but never re-made DCC-ready.
Add this to the fact that there are many road names never done for all kinds of production locos, and that refutes again the complaint for re-issuing or re-doing a loco "done to death". Maybe companies should look into making limited-run batches of "little" railroad names on their locos -- something like a "Trainman/Masters" pricing system where a CR loco is cheaper than the same loco done in MRL or P&W.  I'm sure many people would be glad for factory-painted locos of the RR the want even if they had to pay more, rather than go without or having themselves or someone else custom-paint one.

[Leggy]

Just to add, if you were to mill out the end sections where the bogie towers fit into the mech the whole Flexicoil bogie would be a direct swap.

[6axlepwr]

Just to add, if you were to mill out the end sections where the bogie towers fit into the mech the whole Flexicoil bogie would be a direct swap.

That is interesting because I have a mill.  So now I have to get one of these locomotives and a set of high mount brake Type II flexicoils and give that a try. If it truly works out, I'll have to get me a fleet of SD40-2's and get them done up right.

Thanks for that bit of info. breaths life into yet another project to build. My projects are building up rather fast!

Brian