Thank you Shane / ScaleTrains
Sept 28, 2016 13:00:03 GMT -8
mlehman, valenciajim, and 2 more like this
Post by calzephyr on Sept 28, 2016 13:00:03 GMT -8
Shane
Thank you for your reply in the now locked review. I really want to thank you for the fine Museum Quality model that I purchased and I also own 3 brass GTEL's models. Your model is by far the best detailed and you should be extremely proud of the results. This model was the last one I would have guessed would be the first for your new company, but it certainly is welcome to most of us in Model Train industry.
I am looking forward to the SD-40-2 models since I expect them to be excellent and set a new standard for diesels.
Abe said,
You can please some of the people all of the time,
and all of the people some of the time, but
You can't please all of the people all of the time.
Before we address the three primary topics about our "Big Blow" Turbine in this thread, we want to be sure we're all on the same page. No operating scale model locomotive from any manufacturer is 100% perfect. Aiming a shrink ray at the prototype and receiving an exact reproduction is impossible. Although manufacturers rarely share the compromises made, every locomotive has some.
For example, the model "A" unit includes the radiator fan housing behind the radiator grilles at the top. The real locomotive has fan blades that were left out of the model intentionally so we could place the speaker inside the housing.
A shaft from the radiator fan extends to the air compressor below. This was not included in the model because attaching the bottom of the shaft would interfere with the drivetrain and hamper the performance of the locomotive. I'm also sure we'd all agree stopping the shaft abruptly and leaving it hanging in mid-air would be a greater eyesore than open space.
For readers unfamiliar with the “A” unit, the prime mover is located in the center of the locomotive and not visible. The other diagram shown in this thread is a General Overview Drawing (GOD). This drawing provides basic overall dimensions. Based on what is left in the interior of #18 and #26, the drawing is not to scale. Also, most of the interior space is open in the prototype.
Finally, we never stated there would be interior detail behind the radiator grilles. Manufacturers rarely include this detail. The model used as an example sits much “taller in the saddle” so there is plenty of clearance for the drivetrain.
Sometimes compromises are made because of tooling constraints, type of material, ease of assembly, etc. The bottom, outside corners of the windshield have a compound radius curve. Compound radius curves require an undercut in the tooling which is physically impossible to render with a one-piece body. The alternative is to make a separate part and install it on the model. In this case, the part would consist of the windshield area of the cab.
The windshield radius difference is minimal so we decided molding the body in one-piece was better than risking an alignment problem when the windshield area is attached to the body. We would likely have a high defect rate and discard a-lot of bodies in the sub-assembly process. The shape of the nose is critical and if the parts were misaligned, it would be a much greater distraction for more modelers than the radius.
The documentary Scale Trains, Big Dreams by TrainMastersTV shows how much effort was exerted to ensure the complex compound curves of the nose and cab including the “cheeks” were rendered correctly. If you missed this in-depth look at the development of the Turbine, the 3-part series will be available at no charge during October.
Finally, the lifting lug cover plates on either side of the headlight stand slightly proud off the surface of the prototype. The bolt detail is a noticeable feature so we created separately applied cover plates. Due to tooling constraints, there is no way to render this detail because of the direction the slides inside the tool are pulling away from the one-piece body during molding.
While we do everything within our abilities to ensure our models are as accurate as possible, we are human and will make mistakes from time-to-time. In addition, every model is hand-assembled from hundreds of pieces. The 3-unit Turbine has over 1200 parts! When we fall short, we’ll do everything within reason to resolve the issue.
As for the "Big Blow" Turbine, we believe our model is as close to perfect as it can be. From the comments we’ve received, most people agree. We hope you do too.
Thanks for taking the time to read this long post. We appreciate your support.
Shane
Shane Wilson
President
ScaleTrains.com, Inc.
Read more: atlasrescueforum.proboards.com/thread/4991/review-scaletrains-museum-quality-turbine?page=7#ixzz4LaNovxSM
Thank you for your reply in the now locked review. I really want to thank you for the fine Museum Quality model that I purchased and I also own 3 brass GTEL's models. Your model is by far the best detailed and you should be extremely proud of the results. This model was the last one I would have guessed would be the first for your new company, but it certainly is welcome to most of us in Model Train industry.
I am looking forward to the SD-40-2 models since I expect them to be excellent and set a new standard for diesels.
Abe said,
You can please some of the people all of the time,
and all of the people some of the time, but
You can't please all of the people all of the time.
Before we address the three primary topics about our "Big Blow" Turbine in this thread, we want to be sure we're all on the same page. No operating scale model locomotive from any manufacturer is 100% perfect. Aiming a shrink ray at the prototype and receiving an exact reproduction is impossible. Although manufacturers rarely share the compromises made, every locomotive has some.
For example, the model "A" unit includes the radiator fan housing behind the radiator grilles at the top. The real locomotive has fan blades that were left out of the model intentionally so we could place the speaker inside the housing.
A shaft from the radiator fan extends to the air compressor below. This was not included in the model because attaching the bottom of the shaft would interfere with the drivetrain and hamper the performance of the locomotive. I'm also sure we'd all agree stopping the shaft abruptly and leaving it hanging in mid-air would be a greater eyesore than open space.
For readers unfamiliar with the “A” unit, the prime mover is located in the center of the locomotive and not visible. The other diagram shown in this thread is a General Overview Drawing (GOD). This drawing provides basic overall dimensions. Based on what is left in the interior of #18 and #26, the drawing is not to scale. Also, most of the interior space is open in the prototype.
Finally, we never stated there would be interior detail behind the radiator grilles. Manufacturers rarely include this detail. The model used as an example sits much “taller in the saddle” so there is plenty of clearance for the drivetrain.
Sometimes compromises are made because of tooling constraints, type of material, ease of assembly, etc. The bottom, outside corners of the windshield have a compound radius curve. Compound radius curves require an undercut in the tooling which is physically impossible to render with a one-piece body. The alternative is to make a separate part and install it on the model. In this case, the part would consist of the windshield area of the cab.
The windshield radius difference is minimal so we decided molding the body in one-piece was better than risking an alignment problem when the windshield area is attached to the body. We would likely have a high defect rate and discard a-lot of bodies in the sub-assembly process. The shape of the nose is critical and if the parts were misaligned, it would be a much greater distraction for more modelers than the radius.
The documentary Scale Trains, Big Dreams by TrainMastersTV shows how much effort was exerted to ensure the complex compound curves of the nose and cab including the “cheeks” were rendered correctly. If you missed this in-depth look at the development of the Turbine, the 3-part series will be available at no charge during October.
Finally, the lifting lug cover plates on either side of the headlight stand slightly proud off the surface of the prototype. The bolt detail is a noticeable feature so we created separately applied cover plates. Due to tooling constraints, there is no way to render this detail because of the direction the slides inside the tool are pulling away from the one-piece body during molding.
While we do everything within our abilities to ensure our models are as accurate as possible, we are human and will make mistakes from time-to-time. In addition, every model is hand-assembled from hundreds of pieces. The 3-unit Turbine has over 1200 parts! When we fall short, we’ll do everything within reason to resolve the issue.
As for the "Big Blow" Turbine, we believe our model is as close to perfect as it can be. From the comments we’ve received, most people agree. We hope you do too.
Thanks for taking the time to read this long post. We appreciate your support.
Shane
Shane Wilson
President
ScaleTrains.com, Inc.
Read more: atlasrescueforum.proboards.com/thread/4991/review-scaletrains-museum-quality-turbine?page=7#ixzz4LaNovxSM
