Preferred...


Jannie

Jannie

Member
What is your preferred model make out there?

I've collected Athearn since '96-'97......friday I bought my very first non-Athearn make.....(well it was a bargain)....Bachmann EMD UP SD40-2............& I must say...the detail,when compared with my other SD40-2 Athearn locos,are much better.... well Athearn is cheap over here,but in my eyes still very very nice...the Bachmann just just edges it out....
 
It's really more a matter of who makes what I want. I wanted an HH-660, so that had to be Atlas. I wanted a Baldwin VO-1000, and Bowser does those. I had to go to Walthers Proto 2000 for my E units, PA-1's and SW-1200's. Athearn for the F-units and my newer SW-1500's and my MP-15's

I don't own anything by Kato, but that's because they don't do first generation anything (except the NW-2 and I did have one of those but it took a trip to the floor:mad:)

My steam is mostly brass because Espee prototypes in steam are just about non existant

They all do nice stuff. I buy by prototype, not maker.
 
They all def. do make nice stuff.....other than that,what make do you prefer mechanical wise? ( easiest to work on/maintain ... etc...etc )
 
The basic Athearn BB drive is the easiest to work on hands down, especially for beginners. You don't even need tools! With the added details and sound in todays higher end offerings it gets more interesting, and I'd have to say that Athearn, Bowser (includes Stewart Hobbies) Proto 2000 and Atlas are all pretty close. Not a dimes worth of difference between them. OTOH I'm always ripping steamers apart for painting, tuning and so forth so none of them give me any grief. Been doing it too long I guess :D
 
Hoo-RAy! Another score for Bachmann.
I have several Bachmann locos and have not had narry a problem with one at all. I may not run my trains 24/7/365, but they serve me well. ABchmann has stepped up their quality and details.

Bachmann has worked very hard to upgrade their quality and earn respect form modelers.

I ordered one loco that looked kinda cheapy in the pic as it was "regular line", but when it arrived I found it to be the more detailed spectrum model in the regular {DCC OnBoard} box as apparently they move their spectrum line series into their regular line after awhile to beef up their quality.:)

I hope to get a couple more for xmas.:D

And over here in the USA, they apparently have GREAT warrantee service- even if out of warrantee, or you broke it or it needs to be replaced.
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BOX VAPORIZER
 
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Athearn BB for several reasons. Easy to obtain at shows and easy on the wallet. If you botch a reconstruction (kitbash) it's not much ($) out of pocket and the remainder can be used as replacement parts for others.
They can be made into reasonable nice running models, that's what model building is all about, isn't it? :D

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While these models are not perfect, (part of the learning curve) they are a decent representation of the locos modeled.

Cheers
Willis
 
Willis I recognize the Athearn BB GP9 but those other two don't look like BB shells. What'd you do? :D
 
I don't have a preferred maker, although as of right now I only own Athearns. I would buy any of the brands if it is a loco I want, that I like be it for the price or detail or whatever. The only brand I really wouldn't consider is MTH, as they don't really make anything I need/want and some of the way they do things.
 
Espeefan said:
Willis I recognize the Athearn BB GP9 but those other two don't look like BB shells. What'd you do? :D
Click to expand...

:D:D:D as stated reasonable models of locos cobbled up from what was available at the time

Well the center one began life as a GP7, the frame and drive were mated to an old LifeLike RS11 then cobbled to my version of an RS18 this was prior to LL's R18's they put out a few years past

The 3rd one was a GE U33, frame and drive cobbled to a Tyco C430 cab and a C630 long nose, again a reasonable representation of the loco modeled.

I posted those to show the versatility of the BB locos as opposed to spending big $$ on a model then cutting it up hoping it will turn out right.
The RS18 I thought I was going to have to throw the remains except for the motor drive lines and trucks into the garbage. The loss would not have been great and a lesson learned. However determination won out in the end.

Cheers
Willis
 
Lets just say this. Athearn is what stays in my yard. Aline/intermountain are on the daily trains. All my motive power is kato,all my RTR units are dummy or gonna be Kato swaped.
 
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