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Post by jonklein611 on Nov 14, 2024 9:50:24 GMT -8
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Post by lvrr325 on Nov 14, 2024 13:09:56 GMT -8
I mentioned on that other post I wound up with two extra sets by accident. They sold in about an hour on eBay, before FedEx even got here with them.
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Post by slowfreight on Nov 15, 2024 14:17:57 GMT -8
The myth of "too regional" is now officially shattered.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Nov 15, 2024 14:49:14 GMT -8
The myth of "too regional" is now officially shattered. I think Big Boys did that awhile ago. 483 miles of track in two states. But I model PNW, but just HAD to pick up a set. And, I do not model commuter. So I get your point! Lombard put their BN 3 car sets up less than 24 hours ago. 24 of set #1 went down to 21. 18 of set #2 went down to 13. They've sold about 25% in less than a day. I wonder when they'll sell out their last 7 BN E's. Ed |
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Post by onequiknova on Nov 15, 2024 16:37:51 GMT -8
The myth of "too regional" is now officially shattered. I think Big Boys did that awhile ago. 483 miles of track in two states. But I model PNW, but just HAD to pick up a set. And, I do not model commuter. So I get your point! Lombard put their BN 3 car sets up less than 24 hours ago. 24 of set #1 went down to 21. 18 of set #2 went down to 13. They've sold about 25% in less than a day. I wonder when they'll sell out their last 7 BN E's. Ed That's at least their third restock on the BN E9s. When they first put them up on the website, it was such a feeding frenzy, I'd add one to the cart, and it'd be gone before I could check out. It took four attempts before I managed to buy one. With that fresh in my mind, I got impatient waiting for Lombard to release the bi-levels, so I got a set from elsewhere. |
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Post by oldmuley on Nov 16, 2024 6:43:32 GMT -8
Nice nod to the old "SCTV" intro at the beginning of the video. Now I want to watch the Schmenge Brothers.
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Post by slowfreight on Nov 16, 2024 7:20:22 GMT -8
The myth of "too regional" is now officially shattered. I think Big Boys did that awhile ago. 483 miles of track in two states. But I model PNW, but just HAD to pick up a set. And, I do not model commuter. So I get your point! Lombard put their BN 3 car sets up less than 24 hours ago. 24 of set #1 went down to 21. 18 of set #2 went down to 13. They've sold about 25% in less than a day. I wonder when they'll sell out their last 7 BN E's. Ed While I would otherwise agree with you, for roughly half a century model manufacturers would give those exact words when we asked for Chicago commuter equipment. Athearn said it with a straight face while pumping out the 3 GP40P-2s ever made. |
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Post by peoriaman on Nov 17, 2024 6:06:46 GMT -8
I wonder when they'll sell out their last 7 BN E's. Ed That's at least their third restock on the BN E9s. When they first put them up on the website, it was such a feeding frenzy, I'd add one to the cart, and it'd be gone before I could check out. It took four attempts before I managed to buy one. With that fresh in my mind, I got impatient waiting for Lombard to release the bi-levels, so I got a set from elsewhere. I never did see them go back up on the website, so if they did, they didn't stay long. I was thinking of modelling the abandoned E9 by O'Hare, the one covered with graffiti.... Oh well, I can always use the $179 I'm saving for other projects. |
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Post by slowfreight on Nov 17, 2024 15:36:05 GMT -8
How far have we come? In the 1960s, Zircon Models released the first kit for Pullman smooth-side bilevels. This car had silk-screened plexiglass sides, wood roof and floor, and white metal ends/doors/trucks. This became the Holgate & Reynolds kit that was the mainstay of commuter modeling in the rare years when it was actually produced. At some point, Holgate & Reynolds tooled up a kit for the Burlington and Milwaukee Budds, using an extruded aluminum shell, wood floor, and the same white metal parts as the smooth-side cars. If you didn't buy one before 1980, you were out of luck until 2000, when 3 Brothers acquired the H&R line and rereleased it. Their biggest contribution was vacu-formed windows that fit flush into the openings. We all dreamt of modeling the Budd bilevels for years, so I bought 3 coaches and 2 cabs. I've posted earlier threads on my misadventures of trying to bring those cars into the modern age. They're a horrid mix of versions, and I couldn't buy enough #78 drill bits to add grabs on those aluminum shells. But I had me a 5-car train, and eventually peddled off 2 cars to fund other projects. Wood floor got replaced with styrene. Metal trucks were tossed and replaced with Walthers. LED lighting and decoder in the cab car, plus a few other details. Switch Line provided RTA decals and end stripes. Alclad really redeemed the models. By themselves, they look pretty good behind a (mostly) stock Kato F40PH.   But now that Rapido finally took the plunge we'd all been asking for, how do these 1970s vintage kits--with LOTS of lipstick--compare to the Rapido cars? Disclaimer: Rapido did the Burlington variant. 3 Brothers is a mix of Burlington roof, MILW ends, and RTA sides.        I feel that the 3 Brothers cars look like a Walthers Red Box next to the Rapido...not offensive when on adjacent tracks, and great club runners. If I had a little more skill with the Alclad, I could have gotten closer to the sheen that Rapido chose, but Alclad requires more skill than any other paint system I've tried. My final conclusion is that if Rapido continues with MILW/ROCK and RTA versions at the level of the Burlington cars, then we have clearly arrived. |
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Post by peoriaman on Nov 17, 2024 16:25:02 GMT -8
How far have we come? In the 1960s, Zircon Models released the first kit for Pullman smooth-side bilevels. This car had silk-screened plexiglass sides, wood roof and floor, and white metal ends/doors/trucks. This became the Holgate & Reynolds kit that was the mainstay of commuter modeling in the rare years when it was actually produced. At some point, Holgate & Reynolds tooled up a kit for the Burlington and Milwaukee Budds, using an extruded aluminum shell, wood floor, and the same white metal parts as the smooth-side cars. If you didn't buy one before 1980, you were out of luck until 2000, when 3 Brothers acquired the H&R line and rereleased it. Their biggest contribution was vacu-formed windows that fit flush into the openings. Brings back memories of the N-scale C&NW bilevel kits I built back when I was in H.S. It was a kit consisting of flat brass sides, a wood floor, various metal castings for the details under the car, and ends made (I think?) also of cast metal. The roof supplied with the kit was from either an Atlas/Rivarossi car or (more likely) a Con-Cor car. It was the kind of roof that was cast in clear plastic and had the car windows molded onto it. The idea was that you assembled the sides, floor and ends and then dropped in the roof/window piece to make the complete car. Naturally, you had to supply your own clear plastic windows for the lower-level seating, since the kit windows didn't go down that far. I was young and broke at the time and tried building the kits with whatever glue I found around the house - I tried some sort of "Household Cement" which didn't bond ANY of the dissimilar materials at all, then I tried superglue from the hardware store and it created fumes that fogged the windows horribly. I'm pretty sure none of my kits ever turned a wheel on the layout. The same company also made some Santa Fe Budd "Hi-Level" cars, using an appropriate Budd roof from a Con-Cor Slumbercoach. Same construction design. I've long since forgot what the name of the company was. |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Nov 17, 2024 16:42:03 GMT -8
Mine are on the way, so it's nice to get a preview. I fell in love with these and the accompanying E's back when I first saw them in the 1973 BN Annual.
I could do without the pink cast on the Rapido. Maybe it shows less in real life, but it kept me away from the BLI CZ. Might have a problem when/if they do them in original Burlington, as I have the Walthers plated E's, and they might look funny together. Plus side is that I can find out if I'm going to have a problem by using the BN cars as a test.
Everything else looks very nice.
I think I'm going to be very happy with mine--thanks for showing the photos.
AND: Good work on the old stuff. You did a great job!
Thanks so much for sharing the pix!
Ed
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lhr
New Member
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Post by lhr on Nov 17, 2024 18:03:52 GMT -8
The myth of "too regional" is now officially shattered. I think Big Boys did that awhile ago. 483 miles of track in two states. But I model PNW, but just HAD to pick up a set. And, I do not model commuter. So I get your point! Lombard put their BN 3 car sets up less than 24 hours ago. 24 of set #1 went down to 21. 18 of set #2 went down to 13. They've sold about 25% in less than a day. I wonder when they'll sell out their last 7 BN E's. Ed The last BN E sold today. Was sitting on the counter with paper work waiting for payment from Pay Pal. It had been on the shelf yesterday. As far as the amount of cars they had, the guy working there raised his hand above his head by about a foot and said they were stacked on the floor along the counter about 20' or so. Considering they got them on, I believe Thursday, they sold quite a few, from either pre orders or from people stopping in to get them. I asked how well they did against the Atlas Nippon cars and he said they were doing about the same as far as sales was concerned. |
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Post by slowfreight on Nov 18, 2024 7:51:48 GMT -8
Mine are on the way, so it's nice to get a preview. I fell in love with these and the accompanying E's back when I first saw them in the 1973 BN Annual. I could do without the pink cast on the Rapido. Maybe it shows less in real life, but it kept me away from the BLI CZ. Might have a problem when/if they do them in original Burlington, as I have the Walthers plated E's, and they might look funny together. Plus side is that I can find out if I'm going to have a problem by using the BN cars as a test. Everything else looks very nice. I think I'm going to be very happy with mine--thanks for showing the photos. AND: Good work on the old stuff. You did a great job! Thanks so much for sharing the pix! Ed Thanks for the high compliment! Who wouldn't fall in love with the Dinkys? For a kid in the northwest suburbs, they were very exotic. I'm intrigued by your reaction to the Rapido and BLI stainless color. On one hand, I think a bit of brown tinge is needed, but on the other I don't know what's too strong a shade. I always thought the BLI Zephyr cars were unequaled by any plastic cars, especially with that green window tint. Between the Rapido and what I did with Alclad--which might be a bit too flat a finish--what would look more realistic? Asking for the group's opinion because I feel stainless passenger cars are very tough to model. |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Nov 18, 2024 11:50:55 GMT -8
I'm intrigued by your reaction to the Rapido and BLI stainless color. On one hand, I think a bit of brown tinge is needed, but on the other I don't know what's too strong a shade. I always thought the BLI Zephyr cars were unequaled by any plastic cars, especially with that green window tint. I dug out one of my BLI undecorated domes, and compared it to a Walthers plated Superliner. The BLI definitely has a reddish tinge. And it has next to no metallic shiny-ness. A freshly cleaned stainless car is pretty not-reddish. and pretty shiny. I doubt this would be a problem if the BLI cars were not mixed with something like a Walthers plated car. My preference is to run my trains in a clean condition--hence my preference for the Walthers plating. I do think, however, that the Walthers plating is too thick (likely a necessity based on their process), and that it shows. But I've decided to accept that, as I want the "proper" shine and color. I'll throw in that I intensely dislike that the windows in the dome are recessed a scale 4", especially because all the other windows are flush. I kinda figured the Rapido cars would be not-shiny, and so decided to run them as if they were in constant commuter service, and not washed all that often. I am slightly thinking of overspraying them to shift the color more towards a blue, but I'm imagining THAT going wrong really easily. Anyway, I think decisions on this matter are going to come down to "does it look believable?". It may, or it may not, if it's a stand-alone model. It may, or it may not, if it's mixed in with other models. Yeah, I agree it can be tough to get right. Ed |
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Post by jonklein611 on Nov 18, 2024 12:18:47 GMT -8
I found the Walther's Amfleets to be too shiny / chrome like. Kato's superliners are decent. Bachmann's are okay, but I don't have any of their recent stuff. I like the look of Rapido's as it looks realistic to my eye.     |
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Post by gevohogger on Nov 18, 2024 12:24:46 GMT -8
I'll be the ol' stick in the mud and predict that at some point Walthers (or someone else?) eventually makes a 1970s-era Budd bilevel, so the folks wanting to model modern-day Metra will finally be able to have all three variants: Rapido/CB&Q Budd, Atlas/Nippon Sharyu, and whomever/1970s Budd. And none of their stainless finishes will match!
Do the ex-CB&Q cars run on any of the other lines? I honestly don't remember but it has been a while since I've been up that way.
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