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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2012 4:27:49 GMT -8
Last week while snapping photos for the thread on the Intermountain model I noticed the short handrails, from nose to step well, were not connected to the peg hole in the step wells. We've all had handrails pop out of mounting holes, so I put on my trusty OptiVisor grabbed my fine tweezers and gently touched the end of the handrail to put it in its mounting hole. As Gomer Pyle used to say...."SU-prise, SU-prise, SU-prise".
The handrail is a too short. Trying to put the end in the hole results in putting strain on the handrail.....when you do this......it breaks!
I called Intermountain and had and interesting conversation with the person that answered the phone.
I mentioned the EXCESS GREASE and was told this was a "problem with these models and (Intermountain) has informed their factory of the complaints." I read between the lines that I am one in a long line of people that have taken the time to phone, write or e-mail the company about these oozing grease balls called models. The person also said "they hope not have this problem in the future". You got to love having others build your products.....because you quickly learn you don't have much if any control.
Then I told the person about my broken handrail and how it comes up short and doesn't properly mount in the step well hole. The person at first said "this is also a problem too", but then quickly tried to back peddle a bit and take back their words, saying they will forward my parts request to the parts department.
Now in honor of having the regular referees back in NFL....."upon further review" about the handrails on the SD40-2W.
My handrail broke not at a bend but in the middle, where it is painted white. I could swear that the handrail, which appears to be cast in your typical delrin, seems brittle. I then wondered to myself if the paint used at the factory could have had an effect on the elasticity of the plastic. Don't know, but I do know I've never had a handrail break by barely touching it. I think it would have broken by a speck of falling dust.
And........when I get my replacement, I will NOT TRY to properly mount it in the step well hole.....I guess the model will always have some loose poorly fitting handrails.......Now how much did I pay for this model?
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Post by Brakie on Oct 1, 2012 6:27:41 GMT -8
Now how much did I pay for this model? ---------------------------------------------------- Hopefully it was a blue light special deal. That's ridiculous.. Seems the problems/complaints keep raising with each new model. And that's a scary thought Maybe I should carefully pack my newer locomotives and go back to BB?  |
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Post by fr8kar on Oct 1, 2012 6:49:38 GMT -8
I saw test shots of these models a couple years ago at the OKC train show and decided I would pass. Glad I did.
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Post by bnsf971 on Oct 1, 2012 8:25:26 GMT -8
If the handrails are the same now from the same factory I had some dealings with, they are what is called "regrind". That is, they are remelted and recast, and, along with fresh material, are what is used. It is still Delrin, but could be contaminated by the paint.
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Post by espeenut on Oct 1, 2012 14:19:54 GMT -8
...guess that makes me very very very happy that I still have all of my Kato SD40-2's, still the best model available of one of the most ubiquitous locomotives ever built. And yes, that includes the one's with the bad pickups as they can be corrected quite easily. I just wish that Atlas had done this particular model in HO, that would have been truly awesome...
cheers,
Lorne Miller
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Post by bnsf971 on Oct 1, 2012 14:43:16 GMT -8
...guess that makes me very very very happy that I still have all of my Kato SD40-2's, still the best model available of one of the most ubiquitous locomotives ever built. And yes, that includes the one's with the bad pickups as they can be corrected quite easily. I just wish that Atlas had done this particular model in HO, that would have been truly awesome... cheers, Lorne Miller Just an FYI, Kato does not (or at least did not, as of 5 years ago) use regrind Delrin. Virgin only. |
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Post by buffalobill on Oct 1, 2012 15:04:23 GMT -8
Lorne: I agree the Kato's run very nicely, even the ones which needed the wiring fix. I am still sitting on my pile of them. I think its only a matter of time before Jim throws in the towel on this one. Even with the fancy paint job.
Bill
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Post by atsfan on Oct 1, 2012 17:42:40 GMT -8
The original test shots of these were scary bad. I have seen a few in stores and passed. I am hoping next year IM will get their act together finally on these. In the mean time I think the Kato Model is the best SD40-2 on the market all things considered. Time for MTH to make one ! ;-)
Of course MTH is now many months late on their GP35's. They would have sold more SD40-2's.
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Post by espeenut on Oct 1, 2012 19:40:13 GMT -8
...guess that makes me very very very happy that I still have all of my Kato SD40-2's, still the best model available of one of the most ubiquitous locomotives ever built. And yes, that includes the one's with the bad pickups as they can be corrected quite easily. I just wish that Atlas had done this particular model in HO, that would have been truly awesome... cheers, Lorne Miller Just an FYI, Kato does not (or at least did not, as of 5 years ago) use regrind Delrin. Virgin only. ...wasn't really talking just about the delrin railings, but the overall QC issues with these Intermountain models...but thanks anyway... |
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Post by atsfan on Oct 2, 2012 5:50:46 GMT -8
Lorne: I agree the Kato's run very nicely, even the ones which needed the wiring fix. I am still sitting on my pile of them. I think its only a matter of time before Jim throws in the towel on this one. Even with the fancy paint job. Bill Gut it for a a dummy engine?> |
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Post by johndmock on Oct 2, 2012 8:23:26 GMT -8
Intermountain no longer uses Delrin for handrails. If I am correct there were some advertisements about the switch in handrail plastic. They switched to a form of ABS plastic that can be painted, and is still allegedly flexible....I'm saying allegedly because imo it is too easy to break! I believe MTH and Bowser are now using similar grade plastic for handrails, or the stanchions (MTH uses metal railings). The ABS is reported to be better than Celcon, holds paint much better than Celcon, can be glued, and retains some flexibility--but the plastic stanchions and some plastic handrails on all those engines must be handled with care, or they will break. The MTH stanchions are fat and pretty tough--but if bent the paint can still crack and peal. Having attempted to glue broken Intermountain GEVO railings, I had only limited success, and ended up custom bending my own with piano wire that The Station in New Cumberland, PA, had on hand.
As much as I like many of the newer products, this is one reason I have been quietly buying up previous model releases where high quality Delrin handrails were used (like the P2K RS-27, and Kato units). I personally prefer the Delrin handrails. I like that models with Delrin (or all metal) handrails can be handled and used without fear of damage.
The MTH Alco PA's seem to have all metal handrails and grab irons, based upon the one Erie unit I just received yesterday.
I am sorry to say I've been passing up a number of recent diesel releases because I have been very disappointed with the handrails from most manufacturers--instead, I'm buying older models still available on the market, or the F/FA/PA units which tend to have metal handrails and grabs now (depending on manufacturer).
In hindsight, it seems Kato had the right idea even if handrails were sometimes a little bit heavier or molded slightly "off color".
John
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2012 10:23:34 GMT -8
Celcon and Delrin are basically the same thing. Both are polyoxymethylene (POM), also known as acetal, polyacetal and polyformaldehyde which are engineering thermoplastics.
Delrin is DuPont's trade name for their version of POM and Celcon is Ticona's version of the material. There are slight differences between the companies version of the plastic.
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Post by johndmock on Oct 2, 2012 14:29:11 GMT -8
For whatever reason, I do not know Athearn's design tolerances for fit versus Kato, P2K and others, but the fact is that Athearn's Celcon handrails just don't stay mounted to their models as well as some of the others, at least not for me. So they have to use Hobbytac or an equivalent water soluble adhesive to get them to stay on their models (sometimes some pretty nasty glue has been used too).
In any case, due to the handrails plus the fact that I'm basically an Alco fan (with limited exceptions), I gravitate toward makes other than Athearn, though I am happy with the most recent Genesis F Units, which are working out just fine for me.
John
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