Intermountain f unit improvements?

[wm3798]

I stand corrected!

I was going by the announcement to delivery of the Western Maryland circus units.  They were announced when I was still running trains in my attic, and I tore that layout down 11 years ago this month.



I had to resort to desperate measures!
Lee

[mark.hinds]

Guys, guys....  It's N scale.  The mechanism has to work, that's priority ONE.  If the calipers tell you that the proportions are off even a tiny bit, it's because the damn thing works.
When you're standing next to the layout with a bourbon in your hand, and the trains are whirring around the loop at speed, three feet away without a hitch, does it really matter a rat's patoot that there's a micro millimeter of light visible between the truck and the shell if, and only if, you're laying on the layout with one eye pinched shut?
If you're worried about your photographic efforts being sullied by such an afront, perhaps you should take some time and build a layout.

And let's not overlook the major gaffe which is the nose herald on the WM RWB unit if you want to bellyache about something you can actually see...

Sheesh.

You waited 12 years for the last run of F units from Intermountain.  12 years.  They aren't in a hurry to bend to your will.
Lee

Maybe I'm misinterpreting your position here, but are you objecting to fellow modelers who care about equipment height? 

[wm3798]

I'm not objecting, but there's an old saying that if you want to model EQUIPMENT you model in O scale.
If you want to model a TRAIN, you go with HO
If you want to model a RAILROAD, then N is your choice.

I just think that once you put the damn thing on the rails and put it to work pulling cars through a scenicked layout, all this niggling obviates itself as nonsense.

They changed the pick up scheme to lower it the first tiny bit, then everyone carried on about using the soldered wires they needed to engineer to get rid of the pick up strips.  Now it's something else.  Some of you will never be satisfied, and to you, I humbly suggest you consider modeling in a larger scale where this type of accuracy is less likely to be compromised.  Consider also, that maybe we had to wait for 10 years for this release because the poor schlubs at Intermountain were struggling desperately to design a chassis that wouldn't make a tiny percentage of their market dig out the torches and pitchforks.

I may be wrong, and maybe I'm coming off wrong, but unless I miss my guess, most of you who are down in the weeds on this don't post much in the way of a functional layout.  All I'm saying is stop staring at the models through a microscope, and build a diorama, a module, or a layout to run it on.  Once accomplished, I can 99% guaran-damn-tee you that you won't care about a micromillimeter.

Respectfully submitted,

Chairman of the JFRTM Committee

[thomasjmdavis]

I dunno Lee...I guess I am from the "both and..." school. I am just starting on layout #8 of my lifetime, so I do like to run trains, man....but at the same time, I am particular about some things. I've gone to the trouble of building passenger cars from sides and core kits, and kitbashing others, to get the right look. I am a "kit builder"- that is a "fun" part of the hobby for me. And, frankly, if a manufacturer wants $150 for a model locomotive (as nowadays it seems they do), I expect them to (a) run well, (b) be accurate dimensionally and (c) be well detailed. Now, do I still run Life-Like E-8s? (that run well, have funny noses, and sometimes questionable paint jobs, and detail is clunky)- Yes, I do. But I paid between $25 and $30 for them on closeout, not well over $100.

[peteski]

Here we have an example of N scale rivet counters.  Yes, they do exist in N scale too.



Hey, if someone enjoys their hobby by counting rivets or verifying model's dimension, it's ok. And if they do some bitching and griping about it here, that's ok too.  That's what online forums are for.   We have happy modelers, and frustrated modelers.  Equal opportunity for all.

Remember the lengthy thread about board gaps on Rapido meat reefers?  In that one I was one of the most serious bitchers.  Hey, I had my fun there. so I don't see much problem with others doing their bitchign here. 

[wm3798]

@thomasjmdavis you raise good point about price vs value.
My perspective is clearly jaundiced by the fact that I haven't bought a "new" loco in over 15 years!

Lee

[Rich_S]

Just my humble opinion, but these things are pretty sweet. My Local Hobby Shop only had the DC versions in stock. From what I can tell, these things will except the Next18 DCC decoders, so two  ESU LokPilot Micro V5.0 DCC decoder with the Next 18 plug are on order.



For the time being, the Long Valley Branch is in DC mode 

[mark.hinds]

I'm not objecting, but there's an old saying that if you want to model EQUIPMENT you model in O scale.
If you want to model a TRAIN, you go with HO
If you want to model a RAILROAD, then N is your choice.

I just think that once you put the damn thing on the rails and put it to work pulling cars through a scenicked layout, all this niggling obviates itself as nonsense.

They changed the pick up scheme to lower it the first tiny bit, then everyone carried on about using the soldered wires they needed to engineer to get rid of the pick up strips.  Now it's something else.  Some of you will never be satisfied, and to you, I humbly suggest you consider modeling in a larger scale where this type of accuracy is less likely to be compromised.  Consider also, that maybe we had to wait for 10 years for this release because the poor schlubs at Intermountain were struggling desperately to design a chassis that wouldn't make a tiny percentage of their market dig out the torches and pitchforks.

I may be wrong, and maybe I'm coming off wrong, but unless I miss my guess, most of you who are down in the weeds on this don't post much in the way of a functional layout.  All I'm saying is stop staring at the models through a microscope, and build a diorama, a module, or a layout to run it on.  Once accomplished, I can 99% guaran-damn-tee you that you won't care about a micromillimeter.

Respectfully submitted,

Chairman of the JFRTM Committee

Your personal hobby preferences are legitimate, but not everyone agrees with you.  You shouldn't let that bother you. 

IMHO, your only valid point is your concern about people trashing IMR, with this leading to fewer releases.  Although this has occurred a lot in Railwire, not so in this thread.  In fact, based on the images posted by GM504164, IMR has adjusted their F-unit height to close to 14 scale feet, which is presumably what the OP wants to hear.