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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 19, 2013 13:31:04 GMT -8
Athearn HO Scale Norfolk Southern heritage units are rolling in. Here is my review of the first four units:
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Post by atsfan on Oct 19, 2013 15:46:36 GMT -8
I want some but funds are scare. What to do  |
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Post by NS4122 on Oct 19, 2013 16:48:58 GMT -8
Thanks for the nice review James. The only thing that jumps out to me is the somewhat distorted front and rear handrails on some of the units. Is it possible to re-form them back to normal?
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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 19, 2013 17:32:53 GMT -8
Thanks for the nice review James. The only thing that jumps out to me is the somewhat distorted front and rear handrails on some of the units. Is it possible to re-form them back to normal? I'm not sure, I'm going to try to reshape them tomorrow. |
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Post by bnsffan on Oct 19, 2013 18:17:09 GMT -8
Nice review! What radius are the two tracks that pass by the church?
Respectfully,
BNSF Fan
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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 20, 2013 0:52:22 GMT -8
Nice review! What radius are the two tracks that pass by the church? Respectfully, BNSF Fan 27 inner and 30 outer. Also, on a side note the handrails are wavy in areas. Some areas seem correctable and some do not. I see the argument for metal handrails but it will probably tack on $5-$10 to the MSRP. |
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Post by nscaler711 on Oct 20, 2013 1:40:52 GMT -8
Nice review! What radius are the two tracks that pass by the church? Respectfully, BNSF Fan 27 inner and 30 outer. Also, on a side note the handrails are wavy in areas. Some areas seem correctable and some do not. I see the argument for metal handrails but it will probably tack on $5-$10 to the MSRP. This is a problem with athearn lately, they have made me not want to buy a few locomotives, one being a DCC sound GP50 that's rear handrails were so bent out of shape they snapped... huge QC deal.. |
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Post by curtmc on Oct 20, 2013 9:15:37 GMT -8
$5-10 for straight, prototypical looking handrails WOULD BE A BARGAIN compared to the cheap, wavy garbage 10 cent ($10 MSRP with markup) handrails that they are currently putting on $300 and $500 MSRP (DDA40X) locomotives...
From wavy handrails, to busted/broken/mis-designed anticlimbers, to terrible looking quick burn-out lighting, to paint/lettering errors to 40% price increases, for right now I'm done with buying Athearn units... And recent emails and replies from them have given me the impression that beyond the sales face they try to use to get/keep customers, that down inside they really just don't care about getting stuff right or giving their customers the quality and accuracy that they deserve. And until they can improve the QA/QC in my opinion they can just keep their garbage and shove... er... let's not go there...
By the way James, it would be helpful to know if you are paying for the units you review or if Athearn is providing them (free or at discount) for the reviews. It would make many trust your reviews more if Athearn is not providing you with the units.
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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 20, 2013 9:40:58 GMT -8
$5-10 for straight, prototypical looking handrails WOULD BE A BARGAIN compared to the cheap, wavy garbage 10 cent ($10 MSRP with markup) handrails that they are currently putting on $300 and $500 MSRP (DDA40X) locomotives... From wavy handrails, to busted/broken/mis-designed anticlimbers, to terrible looking quick burn-out lighting, to paint/lettering errors to 40% price increases, for right now I'm done with buying Athearn units... And recent emails and replies from them have given me the impression that beyond the sales face they try to use to get/keep customers, that down inside they really just don't care about getting stuff right or giving their customers the quality and accuracy that they deserve. And until they can improve the QA/QC in my opinion they can just keep their garbage and shove... er... let's not go there... By the way James, it would be helpful to know if you are paying for the units you review or if Athearn is providing them (free or at discount) for the reviews. It would make many trust your reviews more if Athearn is not providing you with the units. Curt, I have paid out of pocket for all 21 heritage units. I ordered all 11 Athearn ones with sound from Overland Hobbies. Brian Marsh charged me the same pre order price as all of his customers. You can feel free to contact him to verify this. As for Athearn, during my visit I was witness to how they treat customers and how they listen to the customer. They are far from perfect but in my opinion they try harder than most other companies to take care of customers and improve their product. Also, I mention in my video that I have a great dealer who gets me the units very fast. That would be overland hobbies. I can't win though because if I pay for the units people think I'm some out of touch rich guy who buys them and puts them on the shelf, if I'm given a unit my reviews can't be trusted so everyone is a critic either way. |
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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 20, 2013 10:44:03 GMT -8
$5-10 for straight, prototypical looking handrails WOULD BE A BARGAIN compared to the cheap, wavy garbage 10 cent ($10 MSRP with markup) handrails that they are currently putting on $300 and $500 MSRP (DDA40X) locomotives... From wavy handrails, to busted/broken/mis-designed anticlimbers, to terrible looking quick burn-out lighting, to paint/lettering errors to 40% price increases, for right now I'm done with buying Athearn units... And recent emails and replies from them have given me the impression that beyond the sales face they try to use to get/keep customers, that down inside they really just don't care about getting stuff right or giving their customers the quality and accuracy that they deserve. And until they can improve the QA/QC in my opinion they can just keep their garbage and shove... er... let's not go there... By the way James, it would be helpful to know if you are paying for the units you review or if Athearn is providing them (free or at discount) for the reviews. It would make many trust your reviews more if Athearn is not providing you with the units. also compared to MTH, Athearn is far more prototypically correct. Mth has way over sized windows way over sized main body they have metal handrails but all the supporting posts are crooked and have to be straightened and still some cant be straightened. Plus the front and rear hand rails are distorted. I understand your argument on the incandescent bulbs and I understand they need sturdier handrails but there has to be a happy medium between prototypical thickness and durability. again, don't get me wrong Athearn is far from perfect but if you had to choose between the Athearn version and MTH version I would far prefer Athearn for accuracy, reliability CV functionality and sound. |
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Post by HurricaneFec on Oct 20, 2013 12:29:41 GMT -8
Thank you for your hard work
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Post by ambluco on Oct 20, 2013 14:04:03 GMT -8
Don't pay attention to people who won't ever buy them anyway. $5-10 for straight, prototypical looking handrails WOULD BE A BARGAIN compared to the cheap, wavy garbage 10 cent ($10 MSRP with markup) handrails that they are currently putting on $300 and $500 MSRP (DDA40X) locomotives... From wavy handrails, to busted/broken/mis-designed anticlimbers, to terrible looking quick burn-out lighting, to paint/lettering errors to 40% price increases, for right now I'm done with buying Athearn units... And recent emails and replies from them have given me the impression that beyond the sales face they try to use to get/keep customers, that down inside they really just don't care about getting stuff right or giving their customers the quality and accuracy that they deserve. And until they can improve the QA/QC in my opinion they can just keep their garbage and shove... er... let's not go there... By the way James, it would be helpful to know if you are paying for the units you review or if Athearn is providing them (free or at discount) for the reviews. It would make many trust your reviews more if Athearn is not providing you with the units. Curt, I have paid out of pocket for all 21 heritage units. I ordered all 11 Athearn ones with sound from Overland Hobbies. Brian Marsh charged me the same pre order price as all of his customers. You can feel free to contact him to verify this. As for Athearn, during my visit I was witness to how they treat customers and how they listen to the customer. They are far from perfect but in my opinion they try harder than most other companies to take care of customers and improve their product. Also, I mention in my video that I have a great dealer who gets me the units very fast. That would be overland hobbies. I can't win though because if I pay for the units people think I'm some out of touch rich guy who buys them and puts them on the shelf, if I'm given a unit my reviews can't be trusted so everyone is a critic either way. |
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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 20, 2013 14:37:00 GMT -8
Don't pay attention to people who won't ever buy them anyway. Curt, I have paid out of pocket for all 21 heritage units. I ordered all 11 Athearn ones with sound from Overland Hobbies. Brian Marsh charged me the same pre order price as all of his customers. You can feel free to contact him to verify this. As for Athearn, during my visit I was witness to how they treat customers and how they listen to the customer. They are far from perfect but in my opinion they try harder than most other companies to take care of customers and improve their product. Also, I mention in my video that I have a great dealer who gets me the units very fast. That would be overland hobbies. I can't win though because if I pay for the units people think I'm some out of touch rich guy who buys them and puts them on the shelf, if I'm given a unit my reviews can't be trusted so everyone is a critic either way. I have no problem with people liking MTH, I like MTH. I just think on certain models, Athearn is the better model. I feel that it's part of my duty to tell people on youtube which model is better. I own both models (one MTH NS heritage SD70ACe and 4 Athearn NS heritage SD70ACEs until the others arrive). I feel between the two models, Athearn is better. If you MUST have LEDs and MUST have a super heavy engine, then go with MTH. I have no quarrels with people that choose MTH. The only time I blatantly disagree with someone is when they tell me that MTH has a more accurate model of the SD70ACe. A blind man can see that is not true. Thank you for your hard work Thanks for watching! |
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Post by markfj on Oct 20, 2013 16:33:12 GMT -8
Hey James, Great review! Since you picked the Reading heritage unit for your review, I’ve taken the liberty of posting a link to this thread on the Reading Modeler forum. I’m sure the modelers and enthusiasts that visit there will enjoy seeing it. Thanks again and please keep posting these informative reviews. |
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Post by curtmc on Oct 20, 2013 20:53:27 GMT -8
James,
Thanks for the reviews. I agree on the Athearn over MTH but that doesn't mean that Athearn couldn't improve on the existing SD70ACe (which I have 10 of by the way) with better handrails and bulbs.
I was hoping your units came from a normal dealer (and I know Brian and he's a good guy) and not direct. That makes your reviews more credible than if you were getting freebies like MR and others...
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Post by Gary P on Oct 21, 2013 5:02:18 GMT -8
James - As always, nice and thorough reviews. Thanks for taking the time to review some of the items that I am interested in. Makes purchasing decisions easier, even if it just tempts me even more than usual!
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Post by atsfan on Oct 21, 2013 8:53:03 GMT -8
James thanks for the reviews. I dont think you are an out of touch rich guy or an Athearn shill so keep up the good work.
I passed on the MTH units. Right now it is a cash flow issuedor me getting any of the Athearn units.
I don't really need any since they rarely run out west, but there are lots of things I probably don't need ......!
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Post by Gary P on Oct 22, 2013 5:10:01 GMT -8
James thanks for the reviews. I dont think you are an out of touch rich guy or an Athearn shill so keep up the good work. I passed on the MTH units. Right now it is a cash flow issuedor me getting any of the Athearn units. I don't really need any since they rarely run out west, but there are lots of things I probably don't need ......!Agreed..... How true, how true!  |
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Post by antlorch on Oct 22, 2013 6:08:01 GMT -8
James thank you for your review. I know noone is making you do these. These are all very helpful for the people who dont know much about the product but have questions before they buy. You answer those questions and it gives that person a good chance to think about if they really want it or not..
On another note it is noone elses business how you get your products or what you paid for them..
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Post by thebessemerkid on Oct 22, 2013 7:35:04 GMT -8
Nice reviews.  With respect to the procurement of product, it is standard practice to disclose if items are being provided by a manufacturer, or purchased blind out of the market. This is the way it is in all industries, as mfg-supplied parts can be tweaked or selected to provide a better representation than the entire production run. Consumer Reports used to make a big point of buying things 'blind' in the market. We'd like to think that manufacturers would never stack the deck with pre-screened product. Buying the models individually takes that possibility out of the equation (and deserves an extra hat-tip for sharing the information) |
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Post by bigblow69 on Oct 23, 2013 5:22:45 GMT -8
I want some but funds are scare. What to do Like the song goes you can't always get what you want, Get what you need. I'd love the IT & JC but will have to wait till after Christmas. If they sell out maybe the second run. |
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Post by calzephyr on Oct 23, 2013 5:22:57 GMT -8
Thanks James for your reviews. Our hobby industry needs more people that are willing to share information of the latest items to all of us. My era is not modern, but the UP and now NS Heritage units have been my favorite paint schemes in recent years. The original colors of the Fallen Flag railroads updated to show the Heritage is a railfan's delight and now we have them in HO!
Larry
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Post by bnsffan on Oct 23, 2013 7:18:35 GMT -8
I like the way James shares information. He doesn't imply that modelers who disagree with him are second rate. He does not hurtle off into a spit slinging tirade when he finds a product issue. James is just a level headed young man who likes trains. We need more guys like him on this forum and in this hobby.
Respectfully,
BNSFFan
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Post by MONSTERRAILROAD on Oct 23, 2013 12:06:13 GMT -8
James reviews really SUCK! He is way too generic! He is such a damn butt kisser to all of the manufactures too!! Why James? Why!?
IF you were smart enough to scroll down and read this you will see that I was just kidding! James does a real nice job reviewing. Yeah he is too nice though, if I see something that is bad or I do not like I get to slinging some poop! LOL Well good job!
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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 23, 2013 15:54:39 GMT -8
James reviews really SUCK! He is way too generic! He is such a damn butt kisser to all of the manufactures too!! Why James? Why!? IF you were smart enough to scroll down and read this you will see that I was just kidding! James does a real nice job reviewing. Yeah he is too nice though, if I see something that is bad or I do not like I get to slinging some poop! LOL Well good job! Al, Unfortunately sometimes I am too nice or too easy on manufacturers. One recent example is Kato. There is absolutely no reason they shouldn't have had windshield wipers installed on a $300 locomotive. But in my video, I just calmly mentioned there are no windshield wipers. I do this because I figure the viewers can choose if they want to deal with models lacking or stick with other models. It takes a lot for me to get irate about a model sucking. Like I said, the closest I came to getting mad recently was the Kato P42 locomotive. I even called Kato up and asked why they would pull such B.S. Anyway, I let the viewer decide. I'm just the reviewer and customer. I do have my personal opinions and if there is enough of an injustice I speak my opinion, but I figure everyone watching my videos has two eyes, two ears and a brain to make decisions themselves. Then there are really picky things that I tend to side with the manufacturer on. Maybe I trust them too much or I understand the stuff some companies go through to get our models, or I just blame the Chinese factory workers for certain things. People recently asked me why I don't call out Athearn on their handrails. Well the answer is I've seen metal handrails on my MTH locos and have problems with them not being prototypically thick. Plus MTH's front and rear handrails are still plastic and were bent to hell on my recently purchased SD70ACe. So to me the choice to modelers in this situation is handrails that might be wavy vs handrails that might be too thick, have the support beams crooked and still be bent or malformed. So if there is something debatable like that, I just let it slide and let the viewer decide. But I agree, I can be a bit of a softy on manufacturers. I also got an MTH Norfolk Southern Heritage SD70ACe 2-3 months ago that was not up to par, I thought I was hard on them in the review but then some guy emailed me and said I was being easy on them. Oh well, I just make the videos and let people get what they want out of them. I've been called about every possible thing from inexperienced, bought by the manufacturers, snob, rich, poor, mean, grumpy, boring, etc. So to me it aint no thang but a chicken wang. |
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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 23, 2013 15:59:36 GMT -8
I like the way James shares information. He doesn't imply that modelers who disagree with him are second rate. He does not hurtle off into a spit slinging tirade when he finds a product issue. James is just a level headed young man who likes trains. We need more guys like him on this forum and in this hobby. Respectfully, BNSFFan BNSFFan, Thanks man! I try to make a good video, and I try to let people have their own opinions. Like I just told Al, if something is blatantly wrong I will bring it up. People recently asked me why I don't call out Athearn on their handrails. Well the answer is I've seen metal handrails on my MTH locos and have problems with them not being prototypically thick. So to me the choice to modelers in this situation is handrails that might be wavy vs handrails that might be too thick and have the support beams crooked. So if there is something debatable like that, I just let it slide and let the viewer decide. Thanks for the support though, there are plenty of people out there that don't agree with you but that's ok too. That's what freedom of speech and freedom of expression is all about! |
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coy
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by coy on Oct 23, 2013 18:19:37 GMT -8
I have watched your reviews for awhile. I was only planning on picking up the IT ACe because I do not model NS, but I do have a small link to Illinois Terminal, but after watching your review I am going to pick up the Reading ACe too.
Thanks for the good reviews.
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Post by Gary P on Oct 25, 2013 2:18:03 GMT -8
To James and Al - Keep on keeping on.... You both may have different styles of reviewing, but bottom line is that they are both very informative. I look forward to them. You give many of us much needed info and insight, and at times, your opinions (which we all have)! The info provided allows US to make our own opinions. Different things are more important than others to some folks, but having the reviews helps us make that decision.
Thanks to you both, and keep 'em coming!
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