Athearn MDC tooling body mount couplers

[unittrain]

Athearn just posted on Facebook that they will be body mounting couplers on their old MDC cars.

[jpwisc]

I wouldn't trust them any further than I could throw them. I pre-ordered some RCRX tank cars from them last year. Their flyer said "body mounted couplers" the cars arrived with the same old truck mounted couplers. I contacted them about it. Their response was "Thanks for letting us know, we'll fix the flyer". Bait and switch bastards.

[coosvalley]

This is not "in some flyer". See, look, an actual pic!..

[cjm413]

This is not "in some flyer". See, look, an actual pic!..

Looks like they are still using the wrong PS door instead of the correct Youngstown door

[coosvalley]

Yes, and the same schemes, and the McHugely coupler... ...But I dig the metal wheels, sorta(I'll change to FVMs anyway), and the screw mounted trucks, and now a body mounted coupler!...Baby steps, I guess...

[brokemoto]

Does this apply to the nineteenth century products or just the modern?   I have done some body mounts on some of  the nineteenth century equipment using MT N or Z scale couplers.  I simply trimmed the tongues on the trucks, thus kept the OE trucks.  The results have been satisfactory, even on the sharp curves of my nineteenth century pike.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Does this apply to the nineteenth century products or just the modern?   I have done some body mounts on some of  the nineteenth century equipment using MT N or Z scale couplers.  I simply trimmed the tongues on the trucks, thus kept the OE trucks.  The results have been satisfactory, even on the sharp curves of my nineteenth century pike.

If so, this might be the best news of the year for my dad.

[cjm413]

Yes, and the same schemes, and the McHugely coupler... ...But I dig the metal wheels, sorta(I'll change to FVMs anyway), and the screw mounted trucks, and now a body mounted coupler!...Baby steps, I guess...

Bonus points if they stop gluing the underframe in place

[ryan_wilkerson]

I talked to the Athearn rep at the Bay Area Prototype Modellers meet last weekend and he said they were going to body mounts on new releases. Said the reason was the feedback from customers who said they wouldn't buy if they didn't have body mounts because they couldn't back up their long trains.

[jagged ben]

Well I suppose that eliminates about 40% of the work of replacing them with MTs.

[brokemoto]

customers said they wouldn't buy if they didn't have body mounts because they couldn't back up their long trains.

I guess that it was not the nineteenth century modellers who complained, then, as most nineteenth century modellers do not run long trains.  This is because nineteenth century locomotives could not pull long trains.

[cjm413]

I talked to the Athearn rep at the Bay Area Prototype Modellers meet last weekend and he said they were going to body mounts on new releases. Said the reason was the feedback from customers who said they wouldn't buy if they didn't have body mounts because they couldn't back up their long trains.

Drilling those metal MDC underframes is not fun....

[jagged ben]

Drilling those metal MDC underframes is not fun....

With a 7" jewelers push drill it only takes half a minute.  Less time than properly locating the hole. 

[cjm413]

With a 7" jewelers push drill it only takes half a minute.  Less time than properly locating the hole.

Sounds like a good investment to me!

[ai5629]

At the NSE Convention, I suggested making the underframe available as a seperate part, and the Athearn rep made a note of it.  Thanks.