Kato doing UP 1943

[Baldylox]

Matt (FVM) did stop production and has his nose striped fixed after it was pointed out.

i know its a minor detail to many, but imo its more noticeable to me than if some shell detail was wrong.   what pissed me off, is they told those of us who questioned it, that they cater to 98% of the market who doesnt car and that the 2% should go buy from someone else then.   not exact words, but thats the gist.   Plus, UP approved the design flaw......thats saddens me too.  They are the big bad of licensing accuracy, shows they really dont care.

[peteski]

Matt (FVM) did stop production and has his nose striped fixed after it was pointed out.

i know its a minor detail to many, but imo its more noticeable to me than if some shell detail was wrong.   what pissed me off, is they told those of us who questioned it, that they cater to 98% of the market who doesnt car and that the 2% should go buy from someone else then.   not exact words, but thats the gist.   Plus, UP approved the design flaw......thats saddens me too.  They are the big bad of licensing accuracy, shows they really dont care.

I really have no stake in this, but seeing inaccuracies (in the overall shape, details, or decoration) of some N scale models released in the last few years, I'm not really surprised that we could be seeing another instance of not 100% accurate model. 

[Englewood]

With the factory closure, when will we see the FVM version?

[sundowner]

MR has good look at the shell from the NMRA show, looks like all the stripes are there.

[wcfn100]

MR has good look at the shell from the NMRA show, looks like all the stripes are there.

If this is the picture you're referring to, the stripes are missing across the top.



Jason

[eja]

it's UP .. who cares?   .. runs and hides

[tehachapifan]

This thread made me curious, so I started looking for proto-photos showing the top of the nose on this unit. It appears to me that the white stripes do not extend all the way across the top on the real unit. I see no white stripe under the windows nor on the front of the uppermost (flat) section of the nose. A white stripe does, however, extend all the way up to the uppermost (flat) section of the nose along the front edge of the blue stripe but stops there.

[wcfn100]

It appears to me that the white stripes do not extend all the way across the top on the real unit. I see no white stripe under the windows nor on the front of the uppermost (flat) section of the nose. A white stripe does, however, extend all the way up to the uppermost (flat) section of the nose along the front edge of the blue stripe but stops there.

That's what I see too.  Athearn did the stripe across the windshield but not the flat part of the nose and Lionel did it across the flat but not the windshield. 

Jason

[Point353]

[hegstad1]

My two cents.  It would be soooo easy to add the missing stripe with a decal.  It would not be as easy to alter an inaccurate detail. 

[Baldylox]

for me its not so much about the stripe anymore. anyone can decal or paint that little part of the nose. Its how it was dealt with.  piss poor customer service.  why in the world would a rep for your brand tell you, that you are a minority, your opinions basically dont matter, and they will do what they want anyway.   if this guy worked for me, he have been fired on the spot.  /shrug

my FVM will look good in my case and if i choose to snag up the KATO ago, ill paint the damn nose and actually run it for its reliability. 

it is funny how certain angles, you cant even notice the stripe on the nose.  "magic stripe"

[nightmare0331]

I'm going to guess that he is talking about the stripe on top of the nose, where it should be complete all the way around. Honestly, the FVM version (whenever it actually is shipped now because of factory) isn't correct either. You can look at the end of the AC box and the box at the end is not the same. Matt did not retool from what he had whereas Kato retooled both cab and long hood.

So pick your poison. Wrong tooling or supposedly missed stripe on nose (as only pre production shots are out there currently).

This pic here kinda shows the stripes are there compared to the ones posted on Twitter.
http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/sites/model-railroad-hobbyist.com/files/users/JeffShultz/IMG_1963.jpg

I can't tell from the one pic I took at the show for sure, but the nose stripe does look to be there now. Honestly a missing stripe would be easier to replace with a decal versus chopping a long hood piece off and putting a correct on.

@nightmare0331 Do you have any insight on this possibly?

Chris

As was explained to Mr. Gowers yesterday (baldylox?), it was a tradeoff in manufacturing in order to bring the model to market.  That stripe couldn't be pad printed on without an additional 2 setups which add time and cost.  This call was made by the factory.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Having been a custom painter myself and understanding how passionate some people can become on certain issues, I can appreciate the devil is in the details for some.  I *personally* replied if Kato doesn't make the widget you like, either modify it, live without or buy a widget from someone else.  98% of people who actually want this model (probably higher) will be satisfied with the finished model.  If it's not your cup of tea, you have options.

Anywhoo....the samples are pretty fantastic to see in person.

Enjoy!

Kelley.
www.dufordmodelworks.com

[MK]

Always two sides to a story! 

[Point353]

Kato should offer/announce a KOBO version of this loco with the missing stripes added on.
Then we'll see if the "two-percenters" are really serious about buying a more correct model or whether they'd rather just post their complaint on multiple forums.

[peteski]

for me its not so much about the stripe anymore. anyone can decal or paint that little part of the nose. Its how it was dealt with.  piss poor customer service.  why in the world would a rep for your brand tell you, that you are a minority, your opinions basically dont matter, and they will do what they want anyway.   if this guy worked for me, he have been fired on the spot.  /shrug

my FVM will look good in my case and if i choose to snag up the KATO ago, ill paint the damn nose and actually run it for its reliability. 

it is funny how certain angles, you cant even notice the stripe on the nose.  "magic stripe"

While I too can also be very vocal about shortcomings of some N scale models, I also realize that I am not the average model buyer.  Modelers like you or me, who strive for perfection, need to realize that we are in a very small minority.  As I see it, the answer you were given seems more like honest answer (which to me is refreshing) rather than poor customer service.  Kato knows they will not fix that stripe and they simply let you know that.  They even provided their reason as to why it wasn't modeled accurately. What more can you ask for?

I also echo Kelly's statement that 99.9% buyers of that model will not care, or even realize that there is a slight inaccuracy in the stripe.  That unfortunately is the truth. 

If you want a 100% accurate model  decorated and detailed to your satisfaction (from any mass-produced model from any manufacturer), you need to work on it yourself, or have someone custom-build/paint it for you.