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Post by carrman on Aug 28, 2022 20:35:33 GMT -8
The black painted strips are covering the ends of the ribs making that section look more like a square than a rectangle. However, it is clear when looking at the upper and lower ribs that the headlight opening is molded slightly too large compared to the prototype. Repost of image from page 2:  Thanks, Mark Oof. Once again Rapido shows why you don't pre-order from them. What a dog. Dave |
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Post by lvrr325 on Aug 28, 2022 20:56:47 GMT -8
Good news and bad news: One large midwestern distributor finally received their container load of Rapido PA's yesterday. However the orders were coming in so furiously that they had to momentarily stop processing orders as their inventory was getting a bit out of sync and they realized they had to get a better handle on what they still have available. So good news is I won't have to modify a DRGW PA-1 to fix the grabs because apparently they are most likely all gone or otherwise spoken for (that's the bad news for me). The distributor was "99% sure" that I can have one NKP unit which may show up here in about a week. Other distributors are reportedly showing complete or nearly complete sellout. Because I've been selling some trains through my friend's local store I have plenty of credit I can spend on new models ordered from any distributor or importer that they are able to buy directly from, but having just also purchased 5 new RS-3 models, I don't have cash right now, so I can't scarf up any (more) units of anything off ebay. (I'm selling stuff on Ebay but they hold the cash raised for weeks). I'm also backdating my freight car roster to basically 1960's as I just really fell in love with the RS-3 model after never really being interested in them before. As of tonight I can get either road without sound but only NKP with sound. They must have got more because D&H are in stock and those showed out on the first day they were available. Somewhere I have a beat up Proto I bought cheap at a show, be interesting to compare the two side by side. I have an undec too that was from the run where some D&H had a loose motor wire, it didn't run and I got looking at it and noticed it had silver trucks so someone swapped chassis out. |
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Post by gmpullman on Aug 29, 2022 1:31:35 GMT -8
Somewhere I have a beat up Proto I bought cheap at a show, be interesting to compare the two side by side.  NKP_181_Rapido-Proto by Edmund, on Flickr Hard to make out in this photo but the radiator fan screens are off by a few degrees. I'd have to check, does the bracing go X or does it go +  NKP_181_Rapido-Proto-rear by Edmund, on Flickr  NKP_181_Rapido-Proto-rear-1 by Edmund, on Flickr My NKP pair arrived Friday. A few random observations. The headlight LEDs are too "cool white" for my liking. Plus the LED must be set back a way from the lens making the headlight look anemic or shadowy. The Mars Light pulse rate is way too slow but I think I've already corrected that using Lokprogrammer. Mars Light intensity is weak as well. The windshield glazing looks clunky in photos mostly due to harsh lighting. In reality they're not too bad but still noticeable. Running qualities are superb. Of the three bells available on the decoder there's bad, worse and grade crossing bell. I want my passenger power to have a good-sounding (Alco Brass) bell at a slower rate than a switcher. I can probably tweak this with CVs but haven't looked into it yet. I have one fuzzy paint separation line that bleeds over onto the door jambs, too. My guess is the sand filler interfered with the mask somehow.  NKP_181_Rapido-paint line by Edmund, on Flickr Yes, the brake cylinders are not parallel with the rails but slightly canted to follow the arc of the truck casting. I haven't explored correcting this yet. Typical of Rapido there are at least three Easter eggs on the sound file. One is a nice radio ad for the New Haven. My cut lever IS missing in the rear-end view of the Proto 2000 engine. Here's a correct one:  NKP_187_Cut lever by Edmund, on Flickr Under slightly warmer lighting:  NKP_181_Rapido-190-Proto by Edmund, on Flickr I do like the fit of the numberboard housings to the nose. On the FL9 they were poor and the FAs only slightly better. The FL9 even had light leaking from around the "sheet metal" of the housing.  NKP_181_Rapido by Edmund, on Flickr  NKP_181_Rapido-1 by Edmund, on Flickr The couplers are the worthless Macdonald-Cartier Kadee "almost" clones. One was jammed open, another the pin fell out and a third was sagging so low it took a chunk out of one of my grade crossings. I've already replaced them with genuine Kadees. The cab interior looks nice but I haven't examined it too closely.  NKP_181_Rapido-tunnel by Edmund, on Flickr I DO like that they captured the brushed-stainless that the NKP began to install on the numberboard frames in later years.  NKP_PE6 by Edmund, on Flickr Thanks, Ed |
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Post by atsf_4 on Aug 29, 2022 6:02:33 GMT -8
Thank you lvrr325--
Well, after looking at the images of the DRGW and with the issues that would have to be fixed, then I'm glad my friend just apparently changed my order to one NKP.
I would have wanted 2 NKP units but with the various issues these models have, well, my money would be better spent on the Bowser NKP RS3's in the second NKP paint scheme coming in the spring. I'm a freight railroad guy anyway and will be demoting the NKP PA to freight service at the end of its life.
Sad that with all the advances in model making technology Rapido seems to be falling behind competitors in actual delivered model accuracy. Everyone else seems to be doing a better job though I haven't bought any Bachmann's lately.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Aug 29, 2022 6:43:50 GMT -8
Interesting that Rapido put that porthole back by the boiler--they weren't there on the NKP locos.
Ed
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Post by gevohogger on Aug 29, 2022 7:14:25 GMT -8
Interesting that Rapido put that porthole back by the boiler--they weren't there on the NKP locos. I wonder if they were covered up in later years? That prototype photo of 187 looks like it has the porthole. Note that the other one in that consist has a different screen type than the 187 has. |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Aug 29, 2022 7:26:16 GMT -8
Yup, that's it. I found a photo of a pair of them that DID have portholes from the mid-fifties. It appears they were removed a couple of years later.
So these will be the as-delivered version.
Ed
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Post by lvrr325 on Aug 29, 2022 8:15:04 GMT -8
Well, I'm going to say it. The Rapido looks better than the Proto to me, despite it's flaws.
Late NKP offer the challenge of notching the nose for the bell, too, so that's probably why they did those as delivered.
These are bringing close to full price on eBay, the cheapest I see are $200 DC and $290 sound. Are they cheaper direct from the discount sellers?
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Post by bn7023 on Aug 29, 2022 10:53:30 GMT -8
Next is a photo from a book published in Japan in 1962 entitled "Enjoying the World's Railroads with Photographs". I believe this is a PRR publicity photo taken at the St. Louis Union Station.  |
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Post by atsf_4 on Aug 29, 2022 11:04:05 GMT -8
Maybe the Rapido NKP as built version looks ok--late version would also require a nose side ladder in addition to the cutout for the bell.
However, for a Rio Grande unit, I would buy the Walthers Proto due to the horrible, incorrect style, and too fat nose grab irons on the Rapido.
For ATSF or D&H: I'm glad I don't have to decide that. Might lean more toward other models that did a better job with plating, etc.
Overall for a brand newly tooled unit, the new model has some disappointments. For the high price point, highest price of any current rtr diesel (ok, save the Genesis 2.0 DDA40X monster) the ATSF/D&H/D&RGW units should probably have been offered with illuminated side numberboards, or at least the ATSF/D&H.
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Post by gmpullman on Aug 29, 2022 14:52:02 GMT -8
One drawback of calling the Nickel Plate PAs "as delivered" is the fact that the first seven units delivered in December of 1947 the lighter colored paint used was a metallic "nickel" and appeared somewhat darker than the later-day "aluminum-gray" which had no metallic pigment. I believe the second unit in my above PE tower photo shows the "nickel" metallic paint.
The nose herald went through several variations as well. The notched bell was first applied to 187 after a trial of actually mounting the bell on the nose in line with the windshield center post (I'd like to see a photo of that experiment!) The notched bell was subsequently applied to the rest of the PAs as they were shopped beginning in January of 1959.
Changes to the original Alco side intake grills were a process that began in 1954 and went through 1957 when Farr-Aire grills were installed. The rear port hole was plated over in this process.
The single lamp Mars light was replaced by the dual-lamp red-white type in 1953-54. Nathan M-5 air horns began to be applied in 1950. The windshield wiper motor location was also changed from the bottom location to above the windshield around the same time.
Windshield access ladders and grab irons were subsequently applied beginning in 1960 but the grab irons above the windshields and one just ahead of the engineer's-side nose were added in the early 1950s.
Regards, Ed
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35eh
New Member
Posts: 26
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Post by 35eh on Aug 29, 2022 16:04:46 GMT -8
Overall for a brand newly tooled unit, the new model has some disappointments. For the high price point, highest price of any current rtr diesel (ok, save the Genesis 2.0 DDA40X monster) the ATSF/D&H/D&RGW units should probably have been offered with illuminated side numberboards, or at least the ATSF/D&H. The Rapido PA ATSF has illuminated side and front numberboards… |
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Post by atsf_4 on Aug 29, 2022 17:32:27 GMT -8
So the large side panel numberboards behind the cab door are actually illuminated on the ATSF?
Because for Rio Grande they merely provided a glue on plate to represent that large numberboard.
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35eh
New Member
Posts: 26
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Post by 35eh on Aug 29, 2022 18:38:03 GMT -8
So the large side panel numberboards behind the cab door are actually illuminated on the ATSF? Because for Rio Grande they merely provided a glue on plate to represent that large numberboard. On the Rapido ATSF PA units, the large side panel numberboards are illuminated… |
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Post by gmpullman on Sept 1, 2022 1:40:09 GMT -8
So, now I know how a doctor feels when resetting a broken bone. Tonight I decided to look into straightening the brake cylinders. I set the PA into a cradle and simply grabbed the middle part of the cylinder with my smooth-jawed Xuron pliers and gave a twist. C R A C K!Quite fortunately the cylinder/slack adjuster assembly seems to be on a single pivot, and a seemingly robust one at that. Out of 16 cylinders, I readjusted 14. Two looked like they were close enough not to bother with.  NKP_186_after-brake by Edmund, on Flickr After I broke the cement joint, some cracked easily and a few were more securely cemented, I leveled them the best I could and applied some thin Tamiya (green cap) styrene cement between the sideframe and cylinder. On the Nickel Plate units anyway there's enough blue paint that the cement won't interfere with the surface and after about two minutes the cylinders stayed put level to the horizon.  NKP_186_after-brake-B by Edmund, on Flickr The whole operation took less than fifteen minutes per engine. While I had the units belly-up I found one truck sideframe crossmember had become dislodged so a realignment and touch of the same Tamiya cement corrected that. Regards, Ed |
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Post by atsf_4 on Sept 1, 2022 7:46:53 GMT -8
Units look much better now!
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Post by theengineshed on Sept 1, 2022 13:18:27 GMT -8
The whole operation took less than fifteen minutes per engine. While I had the units belly-up I found one truck sideframe crossmember had become dislodged so a realignment and touch of the same Tamiya cement corrected that. After all the fuss, those units do look the part. |
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Post by wmrdgfan on Sept 5, 2022 19:49:40 GMT -8
I guess it doesn't matter, since these are sold out at Rapido, but is it too much to ask for a picture of the actual model being sold on the dealer websites? The drawings of these models shows the LV units with black roofs. The you tube video that Jordan did of the unboxing shows the LV units all red.
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Post by atsf_4 on Sept 5, 2022 20:55:21 GMT -8
Disappointment is there are other discrepancies in the colored drawings, too.
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Post by ambluco on Sept 6, 2022 5:08:35 GMT -8
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Post by middledivision on Sept 6, 2022 7:55:02 GMT -8
I guess it doesn't matter, since these are sold out at Rapido, but is it too much to ask for a picture of the actual model being sold on the dealer websites? The drawings of these models shows the LV units with black roofs. The you tube video that Jordan did of the unboxing shows the LV units all red. They were supposed to come with black roofs. I guess they didn't pay attention to the final production samples. |
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Post by atsf_4 on Sept 6, 2022 11:57:27 GMT -8
I think they published the colored drawings prior to the production samples and did not ever bother to update the drawings. They clearly cannot be trusted to get their own drawings correctly matching the finished models. They made other errors on the drawings of other PA's.
I always thought the purpose of colored drawings was so that prospective buyers would have some kind of reasonable idea of what they are actually getting, but apparently not.
Well, then I don't care to buy.
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Post by ambluco on Sept 8, 2022 5:41:03 GMT -8
I can conform the artwork on the box end for the Lehigh Valley PAs has a black roof. The model does not.
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Post by gmpullman on Sept 15, 2022 5:48:45 GMT -8
A follow up and some routes to improvements. I pried open one of my NYC A units to get a look around inside. I was relieved to see that I would be able to eliminate the prism or maybe it is more like a periscope? that pipes the light from the LED circuit board up and out the headlight opening. See my comment about the anemic headlight and Mars light on the NKP engines.  Rapido PA-4203-shelloff by Edmund, on Flickr The prism housing clips over the board and can be modified by prying out the glued in, right-angle clear styrene piece then drilling two holes to pass through the leads from a 3mm LED that is the color of your choice. I keep some yellow-white, or sunny-white ones on hand.  NYC_PA-4203-headlight-prism-LED by Edmund, on Flickr Once the new LED is in place it can be wired right to the existing leads from the decoder motherboard as the voltage here is 2.8 so no additional resistor is needed.  Rapido_PA-4203-LED_headlight by Edmund, on Flickr While I had the shell off I installed a nice-fitting pair of Scale Sound Systems speakers for a HUGE improvement in the sound.  Rapido_PA-4203-F-speaker by Edmund, on Flickr All that space inside and Rapido cheaped-out on crappy speakers in loose-fitting brackets. The SSS speakers are easy to install and fit perfectly. I used some tacky glue-dots to hold them in place. I also have some nice fuzzy tape that I apply to the sides of the frame that helps reduce any vibration. One point I discovered about the models with the small number boards is that the class lights do not function the way they do on the 45° board models. I guess this is because the class light lens is too close to the number board and they couldn't design a way to make them change colors. They are white only and on or off with the number board lights. This is what the LED board looks like:  NYC_PA-4203-SMD-LED-board by Edmund, on Flickr It is retained by the clip-on prism housing. A thin strip of Tamiya masking tape behind the number board itself improved the color and toned-down the brightness.  NYC_PA-4203-number-nose by Edmund, on Flickr The direct-view LED is a great improvement over the refracted light plus the color is closer to a headlight lamp than the cool-white look of the factory original.  Rapido PA-4203-dusk by Edmund, on Flickr Regards, Ed |
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Post by atsf_4 on Sept 15, 2022 7:06:38 GMT -8
Definite improvement. Still your unit, like mine, has light leaking out the bottom of the cab.
Unless supposed to be a step light, lol.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Sept 15, 2022 8:18:20 GMT -8
For models set up as early-ish passenger power, it might make sense to block out, somehow, the illlumination of the class lights; as they'd normally be off.
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Post by gmpullman on Sept 15, 2022 8:35:34 GMT -8
Definite improvement. Still your unit, like mine, has light leaking out the bottom of the cab. Unless supposed to be a step light, lol. Quite a few diesels had "ground lights" and that is what they are supposed to represent. Still, too bright and not the right "shade" for an old incandescent lamp. Like the numberboard treatment I think I'll try to place a small piece of the thin, off-white Tamiya masking tape over it and see if that improves it. They CAN be turned off using F17 if I recall correctly. I agree, especially on the Central where most passenger trains were scheduled, not extras. Still, the "large number board" PAs have class lights assigned to a function (F11 as I recall) that toggles Off — white — off — green. I had suggested to Rapido to at least go with white / red since it was more likely the engines might be running backward with red markers than as a "section following" classification. Especially on the Pennsy where many of the class light housings had fixed red lenses to be used as markers. Thanks, Ed |
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Post by craigz on Sept 15, 2022 12:10:48 GMT -8
Ed, great improvement with the lights. The white-only class lights are disappointing. Rapido must have purchased those iPhone speakers in mass quantities and are still burning thru them. I'm going to be fitting the Scale Sounds speakers and Power Packs to my units.
I also noticed my New Havens' shells were loose enough to rattle.
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Post by riogrande on Sept 15, 2022 12:21:30 GMT -8
Is that an Iphone 4 speaker that was in the bracket before replacing with the Scale Sound speakers? One guy had replaced the ScaleTrains speakers with the iPhone 4 speaker and it was a marked improvement. But the Scale Sound speakers are reportedly about the best you can get.
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Post by gevohogger on Sept 15, 2022 12:37:27 GMT -8
I agree, especially on the Central where most passenger trains were scheduled, not extras. And on most other railroads as well.
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