Hello,
This is my review/take on the N scale Rapido/PS N scale FPA-4 locomotive (A unit with DCC & Sound). I have the CN 1954 paint scheme which I bought direct from Prairie Shadows. I've owned this for a week as of writing this review. As with all reviews, the comments/compliments/complaints are very subjective, in this case as I see them and I understand (and hope you too) that your point of view may be different. So, here goes..
In a nutshell
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I'll give you the bottom line without making you infer it by reading through the whole review. This is yet another great offering from Rapido courtesy Prairie Shadows. And by that I mean a great looking, great sounding and a great running locomotive. I've come to expect this quality from Rapido from my experience owning their 2 previous models, the GMD-1 and the FL-9. This is not to say that this locomotive is not without its quirks or flaws as we will see in the remainder of the review, however, this locomotive certainly ranks among the best I own and have seen. Overall, I'm very pleased and happy I bought this model.
General information/buying
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I bought just the A unit direct from PS. You can get the A+B unit from other Canadian dealers such as PWRS, Credit Valley etc for a lower cost than direct. However, the A unit separately was available only from PS when I bought it. The box/packaging is the standard Rapido N scale box that came with the GMD and FL-9 just that it has the Prairie Shadows logo predominantly. The box comes with the loco and a small baggy containing spares mostly of small detail parts. I did not find extra number board decals or other documentation that I've seen with other Rapido models. There is no information on the DCC functions both within the box and I was unable to locate a PDF online from Rapido's site. Oddly, the marketing (launch video etc) on this locomotive is scant at best and non-existent for the most part. The loco had a mention in Rapido's newsletter when it was nearing delivery, but that was that. I emailed Rapido about this and they've left it to Prairie Shadows as the promoter of this model to do the marketing.
@spookshow has done a review of this model where you can find detailed descriptions/pictures of the internal mechanisms among other aspects. Given the sticker shock of this model, I will not be popping off the shell for sometime, so this review will cover only the exterior.
Operation/Running characteristics
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The model runs smoothly out the box albeit a little bit jittery at speed steps 1 and 2. Setting CV 54 to 0 (slow speed optimization on ESU decoders) produces no noticeable improvement. Comparing, my FL-9 out the box was jerking/stuttering real bad and CV 54=0 has improved slow speed to a point where the FPA-4 is out the box. From speed step 3, the operation is very smooth. Top end speed appears to be be a bit low although I've not measured it. The loco operates very reliably through all turnouts, no stutter/stalls even at speed step 1. My FL 9 on the other hand does not share the same operational reliability stalling below speed step 5 and is most likely headed back to Markham. Overall, I'm quite pleased with how this locomotive operates. I have not done a pull test on this model but it is fairly well weighed for its size so I guess it will be a decent puller.
One quirk/annoyance, most likely with just the unit I have, is the whining noise of the motor (or the gears?) that is very audible when the sound is turned off. The whining sound is audible even through the prime mover sound when it approaches closer to me on the layout but only when I try to hear it. I will say though that I've not run this locomotive for long (just a few minutes now), so I don't know if this is the kind of a thing that gets better with time (or worse !).
Detailing/Cosmetic attributes
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@rapidotrains deserves lot of credit for pushing the bar up for N scale locomotives when it comes to detailing. These guys have only themselves to match when it comes to details and the FPA-4 being no different, is rich with separately added details all through. There are grab irons on the nose, hood and on the roof top and there are numerous other separately applied components on the roof such as the bell, fan detail etc. I really like the fan detail on this locomotive and I appreciate the effort that Rapido has put in to give the impression of a real fan (with see through grill and a blade). This kind of detailing puts Rapido a step further than their competitors and really makes their products that much more special to own. This locomotive also has the distinction of having accurately scaled & replicated dimensions through laser scans. There are the other usual goodies such as great truck detail (springs etc), crisp painting and excellent vent detail through the sides of the locomotive which are accentuated by the paint scheme of this model/era. The GMD-1, while no slacker itself, has mostly molded grab irons etc, Rapido notched up higher with the FL-9 and FPA-4 in terms of separately applied details. The FPA-4 is certainly a job well done!
There are some not so great aspects though. The biggest gripe I have is the clearly visible pickup strips on both trucks (see pics). When looking at the locomotive from a ground level, the golden pick up strips stare right back at you and spoils the aesthetics. If you change the angle to top down even just a bit, the strips are no longer in sight, which is a good thing. I can see the strips clearly even when the locomotive is boxed. The strips are well hidden on my FL-9 and are not visible on my GMD-1 so I don't know why this one had to be so different. The other area where Rapido can improve is the lighting department. Now, this is a mixed bag - the headlight on this locomotive is a gorgeous dual beam LED much like the FL 9 so that's great, but what is hard for me to accept is the absence of lighted number boards. To some this is not a major miss, but I feel if there can be lighted number boards on an (Atlas) Alco S2 or a Bachmann, Rapido's models should not be missing it, not certainly at these price points. Intermountain and Scale trains are coming up with alternating ditch lights on their models so number boards are no longer a novelty on N scale. In addition to the headlight, the FPA-4 also has a rear backup light (through F5) which looks great and is well done.
Another gripe, and I may take some heat for saying this is the PS/Rapido markings at the bottom of the fuel tank. Some may say it's not a place that you are going to be looking at in the normal course of operation but for a company that prides itself with prototypical underbody details (pat in the back), why spoil that look with huge PS/Rapdio markings
I like how my fuel tanks look on the GMD-1 and the FL-9 and I would much prefer they remain that way. I do hope this is an exception being a PS commissioned model and not the norm for all fuel tanks in future.
DCC & Sound features
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This is another area where the ESU/Rapido combination has excelled yet again. The locomotive sounds great and has all the usual sound features - startup, shutdown and prototypical prime mover sounds. The horn is great with an echo effect (though not new to this model, you can get it on the GMD-1 as well). The locomotive also has other nice sounds such as the hissing air release when it starts from a standstill. One quirk (maybe not) on my model is that after the locomotive is shut down, I can hear some sarco-valve like spitting/static sounds (maybe that's what they are) but they go on and on (I counted, 33 times
!) before they finally stop. I don't know if this is a quirk or as intended but if it was intended, 33 times is a bit too much. If it's a quirk, then it's still fine, it does not drive me nuts (as annoying as it is) I turn the power supply off completely and they do eventually go off even if the power is on.
On DCC features, there is no documentation on what the different functions do, but I will lay them out based on what I've seen. F0, F1 and F2 are standard (light, bell & horn). Not sure if F3 and F4 do anything. F5 is the rear light. Not sure what F6 is. F7 is a true yard/switching mode where the speed of the locomotive is reduced (halved?) once you go past a certain speed step. I like this feature, it exists on my Atlas Alco S2 and is a lot of fun if you are simulating a yard/switching scenario. F8 is startup and shutdown. F9 is interesting and my favourite DCC feature - it locks the speed and direction of the locomotive (be it stationary or moving) but allows you to change the sound (notch up/down). This allows for simulation of different load/running scenarios such as going up/down hill, pulling a heavy load or revving up while stationary etc. Other ESU models have implemented different variants of this feature (Intermountain, Atlas etc) but I find this implementation to be the most fun as you need just one function to notch up/down as opposed to two (as with IM and Atlas). Past F10, there are other usual functions such as brakes, doppler sound effect etc. No sign of the Rapido Easter egg sounds, honestly, I'm not the one to miss it.
I guess that's it from me. Do refer to the pics. I've tried to cover both the good (details, lights etc.) and the bad (those pickup strips
) that can be shown through pictures. This is my first review so I will get better reviewing with time. Though the text where I complain can seem longer than the text where I compliment, let me make it very clear that this is a great model that I'm happy to own and be running. I like Rapido as a company and and for those like me, you will not be disappointed by this model. If you got this far, I appreciate your time in reading my review
. Any questions or things I've not covered, don't hesitate to ask
