Bachmann Alco S-4 Latest

[MVW]

Reminds me of the '70s, when the U.S. was spraying paraquat on Mexican weed. And on SNL's Weekend Update, Chevy Chase reported on the story, and said, "If you'd like to have your weed tested, send it to Chevy Chase, 30 Rockefeller Plaza ..."

I've purchased 3-4 DCC-equipped Bachmann engines in the last several years, and all have performed quite well. I didn't go for the S4 because I was more interested in the sound-equipped Atlas S2, which carried my preferred color scheme in the second batch. Otherwise, I would have been all over this, fidelity police be damned. Glad to hear you guys are happy with the engine.


Jim

[R L Smith]

I'm still waiting for the Forum Police to move this to the Product Discussion section...

[towl1996]

Reminds me of the '70s, when the U.S. was spraying paraquat on Mexican weed. And on SNL's Weekend Update, Chevy Chase reported on the story, and said, "If you'd like to have your weed tested, send it to Chevy Chase, 30 Rockefeller Plaza ..."
Jim

Yeah that was funny. I've got mixed feelings about Chevy, especially after Stern raked him over the coals. I do know this, he's no Bill Murray.

[up1950s]

If Bachmann does some for the UP 50's era " Road Of The Streamliners / Serves All The West " I will cover the barrel head with greenery . If Atlas does them I will cover another barrel head as well .

[MVW]

Yeah that was funny. I've got mixed feelings about Chevy, especially after Stern raked him over the coals. I do know this, he's no Bill Murray.

Bill Murray and Steve Martin are undoubtedly at the top of the heap. They can crack me up without saying a word. Chevy, on the other hand, probably peaked on SNL. I was never a huge fan of his movies. Some are amusing, but that's about it.

Jim

[peteski]

It is funny how most of you miss the point.  It is not all about the performance.  If that was all then we would all be happy running a power-chassis with a pill bottle for a shell.    The fidelity and accuracy of the model also matters.  Some of us realize that and comment on it. 

The real gripe here is that the model has some glaring (to some of us) inaccuracies and what is sad is that it shouldn't have cost Bachmann any more in development money to model it correctly.  Yet, they got it wrong. That is the sad state of affairs.

Some modelers (like me) take this one step further and we critique the actual mechanism design. Even if something runs well, that doesn't mean it is the optimal design. But we'll leave that alone here. 

[towl1996]

Bill Murray and Steve Martin are undoubtedly at the top of the heap. They can crack me up without saying a word. Chevy, on the other hand, probably peaked on SNL. I was never a huge fan of his movies. Some are amusing, but that's about it.

Jim

Agreed. Chevy was like one of those guys that peaked in high school.    Saw Steve on Jimmy Fallon, he was promoting the Broadway musical he was starring in.  The guy definitely has skills. Here's a blast from the past;

[JMaurer1]

How often is it that you can say that Bachmann still did a better job with the S-4 then MT did with the foobie horse car?

[sirenwerks]

The rear cab door window.





But as you can see there, it's really all the windows on the rear of the cab that are too tall.  And honestly it's not the fact that they are too tall that's irritating, it's that you can look at any prototype photo and see the the rear windows shouldn't extend below the side windows but in fact, stop well above.

not that we should have to, but a new cab from a Shapeways vendor or an etched wrap could solve the window issue.  Eh?

[peteski]

How often is it that you can say that Bachmann still did a better job with the S-4 then MT did with the foobie horse car?

I guess it is all relative.    MT horse car is a total foob (other than a general resemblance to the prototype, it is *WAY* off) while Bachmann was actually trying to duplicate a specific prototype, but messed up some details.

[tehachapifan]

I still can't help but look at this as a huge success and overall improvement by Bachmann. Awesome operating characteristics aside (and they are awesome), the overall appearance of this model, to me, looks great. The shell relief detail is crisp, the hood doors do not have a big gap around them (huge improvement) and the paint on mine is exceptional. I can also list some detail and dimension errors on other models from other typically-more-respected manufacturers, including cab windows, but don't want to go there and won't. To each, his own I guess. I think I'll go out and run mine around the layout now.

[randgust]

I've had a theory that when it comes time for an N scale model from Bachmann, they just rescale the HO one.   So if there's a glitch in the HO model, it's perpetuated in the smaller scale.   Warts and all.   It was really pronounced on the 44-ton and 70-ton, this is a lot more subtle.    On this one, unless you'd show a picture of those cab windows on a real one, I don't think I'd ever see it.  But... if you look at the HO, yup.

Hmmmm.http://cdn3.volusion.com/ztna9.tft5b/v/vspfiles/photos/BAC-63307-3.jpg?1373869292

[wcfn100]

I've had a theory that when it comes time for an N scale model from Bachmann, they just rescale the HO one.   So if there's a glitch in the HO model, it's perpetuated in the smaller scale.   Warts and all.   It was really pronounced on the 44-ton and 70-ton, this is a lot more subtle.    On this one, unless you'd show a picture of those cab windows on a real one, I don't think I'd ever see it.  But... if you look at the HO, yup.

Hmmmm.http://cdn3.volusion.com/ztna9.tft5b/v/vspfiles/photos/BAC-63307-3.jpg?1373869292

I think that's generally correct which makes the extra window very bizarre. I don't think the cab rivet detail made the scale down either.

Jason

[peteski]

Funny - the H0 version has the squared-off windows (both side and rear) which would work for me. 

I don't know - to me it looks like the N scale model is not a scaled down H0 model.

[arbomambo]

I had a chance to replace the Bachmann E-Z-Mate couplers with some MT 903/905 Z scale couplers. It's not a real difficult task as the entire MT coupler actually fits right into the box used by the Bachmann coupler. One must remove the screw mounting post, then use an appropriate length screw; I used a shortened MT screw. Also, the MT 905 box is longer and the back protrudes to the rear a little more, so I milled notches in the 'shelf' part of the mechanism frame to allow easy clearance when removing the shell from the mechanism.
I also removed the cast exhaust stack so I could replace it with one available on Shapeways (generously provided to me by Otto!!!) I simply masked around the roof panel then removed the stack with a chisel blade. The styrene is suitably soft and careful chiseling produced a smooth surface.( This is going to be far more difficult to do on the Atlas S2)  I filed the base from the Shapeways stack, sanded the correct bevel, the CA's the stack to the panel. Before I applied the stack, I was concerned that it was too short; but it doesn't look bad once it's in place...I'll mask the panel, spray it black, then carefully paint the stack Tamiya Flat Aluminum...
 I also plan to add the canvas sunshades to this one; I'll make sure to document the progress.
Once again, a very nice offering from Bachmann, and a STEAL of a deal, with DCC!
Bruce