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Post by kcjones on Jun 29, 2015 8:21:14 GMT -8
It looks like crap!!
On the lighter side....
I was looking forward to picking up my ICG "Floyd R Mays" 6030 this weekend. I worked at Mays Yard in New Orleans for several years and recall seeing the 6030 on several occasions. I got it home and took it out of the box and from the get go something didn't look right. I looked over at my Bowser 636 and yikes!!! The color is way off and so is the lettering.
First the color....
Went back and pulled up ICRR3067's thread about redoing his 636. We had discussed the variations in IC orange and his choice for NH orange. One of the post from ATSF3869 nailed it. If this 6030 is orange, I'm a monkey's uncle. The Athearn 6030 looks almost brown in color. Pulled out my Tangent hoppers and not even close. Nothing in my IC fleet even comes close.
Next the lettering...
Way too tall. The font looks ok, but the lettering is too tall. There should be about a 10" gap between the bottom of the lettering on the sides and the O/W separation line. Athearn has the lettering touching the line.
Didn't run it...
Back in the box...
Back to the store it goes!!
JL
Vancouver WA
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Post by bigblow69 on Jun 29, 2015 10:35:33 GMT -8
It looks like crap!! On the lighter side.... I was looking forward to picking up my ICG "Floyd R Mays" 6030 this weekend. I worked at Mays Yard in New Orleans for several years and recall seeing the 6030 on several occasions. I got it home and took it out of the box and from the get go something didn't look right. I looked over at my Bowser 636 and yikes!!! The color is way off and so is the lettering. First the color.... Went back and pulled up ICRR3067's thread about redoing his 636. We had discussed the variations in IC orange and his choice for NH orange. One of the post from ATSF3869 nailed it. If this 6030 is orange, I'm a monkey's uncle. The Athearn 6030 looks almost brown in color. Pulled out my Tangent hoppers and not even close. Nothing in my IC fleet even comes close. Next the lettering... Way too tall. The font looks ok, but the lettering is too tall. There should be about a 10" gap between the bottom of the lettering on the sides and the O/W separation line. Athearn has the lettering touching the line. Didn't run it... Back in the box... Back to the store it goes!! JL Vancouver WA Yeah I feel your pain. My SD40's they did had the same problem, as did the Proto U30B. Don't own them anymore. Even the Tru-color paint i have is way too brown. The older Accupaint seemed to be the correct shade. Athearn's CP rail "bright" red is a joke too. Way too dark even for a dirty locomotive. That is something i can't bash MTH on. Looks like they got the red correct on their ES44AC's. I wish more care taken in trying to match these colors. Heck even the tyco c630 is more correct shade than the models I mentioned above. |
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Post by icrr3067 on Jun 29, 2015 11:01:16 GMT -8
I don't model the ICG so I didn't pick up any of the engines but I did see them and they are terrible! I'm going to stick with making my own orange and white engines.
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Post by kcjones on Jun 29, 2015 15:09:03 GMT -8
Tim,
You're timeline must be right before the merger. As far as I can remember, the orange remained the same until the SD20's came out in the orange and grey. The ICG went to a darker reddish orange on the gray units.
JL
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Post by atsfan on Jun 29, 2015 17:35:54 GMT -8
What engine is this ?
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Post by icrr3067 on Jun 29, 2015 17:47:28 GMT -8
It said right in the subject line. The new athearn 40.
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Post by kcjones on Jun 29, 2015 18:36:09 GMT -8
New SD 40-2 just released.
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Post by kcjones on Jun 29, 2015 19:54:09 GMT -8
And please let me add...
We need a Genesis SD 40-2. That ICG unit looks naked without any tread plate on the walkways.
Nuff' said!
JL
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Post by WP 257 on Jun 29, 2015 21:30:04 GMT -8
I bought the previously released Athearn SD40's a few years back. The Athearn "orange" is a sickly brown color that is just way way off from any reasonably prototypical shade of IC or ICG orange I've ever seen.
I sold all those SD40's, along with my Proto U30B's and GP38-2's, quite some time ago.
John
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Post by atsfan on Jun 30, 2015 5:38:15 GMT -8
It said right in the subject line. The new athearn 40. The subject line does not say that. Hence my question. |
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Post by onequiknova on Jun 30, 2015 6:33:15 GMT -8
Is the orange different than the one pictured on Athearn's website? I'm no IC expert, but this orange seems to match various prototype pictures I looked at well enough.  |
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Post by peoriaman on Jun 30, 2015 7:09:10 GMT -8
Ouch! That lettering is definately too big.
I'm not a fan of the numberboard font either. Its close - like maybe 90% right. But its just off enough to bother me.
Shellscale makes the right font.
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Post by kcjones on Jun 30, 2015 9:05:05 GMT -8
That's what irks me!! The orange in the photo on Athearn's websight isn't even close to what the real model looks like. And I checked the spacing of the lettering on the side. It's length is correct, but they are too tall. I'd say the model is about 50% orange and 50% brown.
JL
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Post by eh49 on Jun 30, 2015 9:15:05 GMT -8
Sounds like the LV GP38-2 fiasco all over again!
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Post by TBird1958 on Jun 30, 2015 9:58:30 GMT -8
The real deal, in comparison the model's lettering doesn't look quite correct.......10-12 years after delivery the shade of orange hardly matters.   |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jun 30, 2015 10:22:43 GMT -8
It's interesting that the size and positioning of the road name as shown on Athearn's artwork is very close to the prototype. So, it appears someone thought it would be a good idea to change from said artwork. I wonder how that happened. And why.
Ed
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Post by icrr3067 on Jun 30, 2015 10:31:05 GMT -8
I don't know why but it seems like athearn drops the ball when it comes to IC equipment. Their first run of SD70's, the run of the SD40's, the IC piggyback trailers and the newest run of the piggyback trailers. And now these, and I don't think they will offer a new she'll like the LV's because these are ready to run not Genesis.
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Post by icrr3067 on Jun 30, 2015 10:34:44 GMT -8
Is the orange different than the one pictured on Athearn's website? I'm no IC expert, but this orange seems to match various prototype pictures I looked at well enough. You are right rumor has it that the ICG used bad paint or got bad paint, or even used old paint left in the shops and the orange weathered bad. And if you're looking for the weathered look then use the model. Also the numbers on the side of the engine are way too light. The IC did use a chocolate brown lettering but it was so dark that it was almost black. |
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Post by icrr3067 on Jun 30, 2015 10:36:21 GMT -8
It said right in the subject line. The new athearn 40. The subject line does not say that. Hence my question. Subj: review of athearn ICG 6030 Hence the new 40-2 |
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Post by kcjones on Jun 30, 2015 11:11:47 GMT -8
OK...Looking at Athearn's photo. If you look at the top of the walkway above the ariduct and the shadow that is cast by the handrails, that is the color of the model. Not the brighter orange along the frame sill.
JL
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Post by kcjones on Jun 30, 2015 11:15:02 GMT -8
Then again...Maybe Athearn got their paint chip off the real 6030's snowplow and forgot to wash it off!!
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Post by WP 257 on Jun 30, 2015 13:14:32 GMT -8
I think Athearn tends to photograph models under fairly intense light--and I know from personal experience that the previous Athearn SD40's didn't look so bad in their photos either, but looked absolutely terrible in person--a very brown shade of orange that is nowhere close to being correct.
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Post by Judge Doom on Jun 30, 2015 13:18:57 GMT -8
You are right rumor has it that the ICG used bad paint or got bad paint, or even used old paint left in the shops and the orange weathered bad. And if you're looking for the weathered look then use the model. Also the numbers on the side of the engine are way too light. The IC did use a chocolate brown lettering but it was so dark that it was almost black. The thing with reds and oranges is they're the most susceptible to paint fading and colour shifting. Poor paint probably compounds the issue. A lot of action red CP units originally painted in the 80's have shifted from red to a more orange colour (I'm looking at you small multimark CP SD40-2's delivered from GMD). Some CP repaints have shifted to action pink over the years. Really bad are some of the late 80's/early 90's GE Santa Fe warbonnets, known as fadebonnets in many railfan circles. Does anyone have a photo of the Athearn SD40-2 production model that they can post, so we can see how far off it is compared to the preproduction and prototype photos? |
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Post by eh49 on Jul 1, 2015 5:43:53 GMT -8
Can anyone post a photo of one of these?
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Post by kcjones on Jul 1, 2015 6:28:48 GMT -8
I took mine out of the box to get a pic. Now it goes back in the box.  |
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Post by kcjones on Jul 1, 2015 7:41:15 GMT -8
BTW... Good thing Al didn't do a review on this thing. Might have ended up looking like this!!  |
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Post by markfj on Jul 1, 2015 8:14:44 GMT -8
I think Athearn tends to photograph models under fairly intense light--and I know from personal experience that the previous Athearn SD40's didn't look so bad in their photos either, but looked absolutely terrible in person--a very brown shade of orange that is nowhere close to being correct. That’s a very interesting point, I wonder what the model in the photo posted above would look like if it was photographed under more intense lighting. If we can replicate the same or similar conditions that Athearn uses to photograph its models, we’ll have solved at least one piece of the puzzle. I would be upset too if I purchased this model; the color is way too "off" in my opinion. |
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Post by nightmare0331 on Jul 1, 2015 9:17:06 GMT -8
I have nothing useful to add to this discussion other than I painted most of the ICG SD40-2's years ago.  IIRC, I used Scalecoat II NH Orange. Enjoy! Kelley. www.dufordmodelworks.com |
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Post by kcjones on Jul 1, 2015 11:15:33 GMT -8
Kelley, Now THAT looks like an ICG SD40-2!! Before I put mine back in the box, I took a pic under a much brighter light per Mark's suggestion. It does make a difference. The brighter light brings out the orange more and subdues the brown. Here is a back to back view of the 6030 and a Bowser 636. JL  |
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Post by bigblow69 on Jul 1, 2015 13:27:43 GMT -8
I am very happy with my bowser C-636's but before them was my OMI. Probably a bit too orange but that was the old Accupaint formula painted over white base coat. i see what you mean compared to Kelly's model on the lettering. Looking at the recent Tru- Color IC Orange that I purchased its way too brown. A lot of this goes back to if you want it done right have to do it yourself. The CP ES44AC's are the same way. No way that red is correct for a newer loco and it really is a shame because its probably the best performing and detailed model of he ES44AC's out there, at least my experience has been. Attachments:
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