Rapido Announces the GARX 37' Meat Reefer in N scale

[Bob Bufkin]

FTFY

Also can we get this in the rotation? Here's a...ahem... link.

Oh Mann, that is disturbing.

[Chris333]

I usually bitch about crap when I'm not happy, but these reefers look good to me    The couplers don't stick way out and it has metal wheels so I can open the box and place it on the layout, nothing I see "needs" fixed.

Now if the second run has a reefer painted green with a large white P&LE down the side, I may bitch a little.

[Sokramiketes]

Pete and Bryan have both mentioned that the "standalone" ladder is oversize... but when I look at it I interpret the ladder as being molded into the car side.  That's why I'm concerned... it looks so oversize that our minds are comparing it to other oversize add-on ladders.  But if it was separate, why pad print the black paint on it like the one pre-production shot?  And look at the shadows, there is nothing to make it look like the rungs are standing off the car body.

Jason- Appreciate your take it or leave it attitude.  These things go back to my 75/25 (or 60/40 or 80/20%, depending on how big or small you think the prototype segment is) comments where 75% of N scalers will buy whatever floats their boat and based on nothing at all other than, "hey cool I don't have one yet."  But if you want a successful product, why not hit all the marks and scoop up that picky 25% of guys as well?  It's still more sales, but some companies decide the 25% isn't work the effort.  (Now we're back to the 80/20 rule... 20% of the work to get 80% right, 80% of the work to get the last 20%!)

Look, I understand the process of sending info to China, seeing some pretty and crisp 3D files to review, wondering how big to make certain dimensions and what will work in plastic, and then actually physically seeing it in plastic.  And once it's in plastic, that means there's a heavy chunk of steel sitting there already and modifications just got a whole lot harder.  But, some of us are just pointing out that this tooling is a little heavy handed compared to other modern N scale releases, hopefully to let you know what we're looking for and where the N market is trending (since you and Bill have decided that selective compression and oversize trains are more fun than real prototype modeling in N) 

I was hoping Rapido would clarify, but given two pages of sausage talk I guess we'll just have to wait and see if those ladders really are separate when the models are presented to the public.

[Rapidobill]

I was hoping Rapido would clarify, but given two pages of sausage talk I guess we'll just have to wait and see if those ladders really are separate when the models are presented to the public.

Sorry... have actually been working today. Have to do it at least a few hours a week or Jason gets upset.... Now, having read through this, I'm getting hungry....

The ladders and grabs are cast on the body. We looked at doing separate parts, but after much discussion felt that the end result would be less grossly oversized by using cast on rather than separate parts.

Bill

[bbussey]

I am very pleased with the meat reefer announcement and the pilot model pics.  Here's a super close-up of the ESM Canadian Pacific XIH that Tom took back before he used it as a canvas for a fabulous weathering Sovereign Modeler masterpiece:



There seems to be very little difference between the ladder relief on the two models, and ESM never has received any negative feedback regarding the relief on any of the three injection-molded models released to date.  I really don't think it will be an issue when the reefer is viewed at normal size.

[rapidotrains]

Sorry... have actually been working today. Have to do it at least a few hours a week or Jason gets upset.... Now, having read through this, I'm getting hungry....

The ladders and grabs are cast on the body. We looked at doing separate parts, but after much discussion felt that the end result would be less grossly oversized by using cast on rather than separate parts.

Bill

No, Bill.  Your new job is to spend the day responding to every little comment on Railwire.

And then for your homework, you need to send a message to the Steam Era Freight Car List that reads "ALL IS FORGIVEN!"

-Jason

[Rapidobill]

No, Bill.  Your new job is to spend the day responding to every little comment on Railwire.

And then for your homework, you need to send a message to the Steam Era Freight Car List that reads "ALL IS FORGIVEN!"

-Jason

That's it... I QUIT!!!!

Mike, all yours.... Until you're fired again anyway...

Bill

ex-Rapido Trains

[John]

Ok .. I give in .. I will buy a reefer 

Seriously --- these threads get old really fast .. now I know why Paul used to lock all product announcements

[chicken45]

Ok .. I give in .. I will buy a reefer 

Seriously --- these threads get old really fast .. now I know why Paul used to lock all product announcements

Yeah, but that was before the Sausage King was in town.   

[peteski]

I had several replies in mind but then the sausagefest happened.  Very cute.    Chicken45's header image does look very disturbing.  We are no longer  s - that thing looks like a dick-head (nothing personal Tom).    Looks like a really twisted sex toy!  Yes, admit it, many of you were thinking that!

I also hope that more people share  view of this hyper-analysis thread (and many similar threads on TRW) than seeing them as whiny or bitchy complaint thread (which is how Scottl seems to see it).  To me this thread presents many valid points and opinions on how to make a better model.

To get back on track, since we are discussing an upcoming model, if the ladders are molded-on then that is another item that could have been done better (again, I'm sharing Mike's eloquently presented opinions).  Compared to the greatly magnified photo of the ESM boxcar (BTW, excellent model Bryan!) the reefer's ladders seem heavy-handed.  I expect state of the art models from Rapido - this seems to fail short in couple of aspects.

Bryan, to get back to another comment I made earlier about not buying Atlas wood reefers (like Mike used one to show how much finer the gaps between boards were than the Rapido prototype model's), it is all in my perception.

I collect billboard reefers (several hundred and counting) and a great majority are MT reefers.  I admit that I'm not an expert or a research freak. But I also know when a model looks right to my eyes.  I know that many of the MT reefers I have are foobs, but I still bought them - because they looked good.  MT figured out how to make them look right (to me).  The surface engraving and details (like ladders, hinges, and brake wheels) seems to be done just right).

When Atlas reefers first came out I looked over one of them in a hobby shop. Comparing to MT reefers they just didn't cut it (again, to me).  They just looked cruder. It was many years ago, and I don't remember exactly what made them not look as good as MT reefers. It might have been the thicker and more toy-like rendering of the brake wheel and the hatch hinges.  I don't remember exactly, but I haven't looked at them since.  Looking at Mike's recent photos, the engraving of the boards doesn't look as bad as I remembered it (but that N scale wood-grain is a bit silly).  Obviously when I compared Rapido prototype reefer to Atlas, I was wrong. Maybe I shroud have compared the board engraving on the Rapido car to the sides of the Bachmann old-timer cars?  Would that have been more appropriate? 

I also know that collectors, not runners or hyper-accurate modelers will buy the bulk of the production run.  Still, the more accurate the model is (and if it has the right look) the more will get sold.

[bbussey]

I just don't see that great a difference between the Rapido and ESM ladders, but that's me.  Yes, there is a slight difference, but I know that at normal magnification it's a non-issue ... to me anyway.

When the MTL reefer was introduced back in 1980 or thereabouts, it definitely was state of the art.  It's a PFE prototype, and the fact that the hatches could be positioned in ventilator mode was a plus.  But since then, other reefer models have appeared.  Yes, the relief on the Atlas model is more pronounced.  But the hatch detail is more fine, and the hatches also are functional.  The InterMountain reefer is an FGE prototype, which is a much better fit for me than the MTL reefer, and I prefer the detail on that model to the MTL model.  The InterMountain steel reefer also has operating hatches, and the latch is better detailed than the three MTL steel reefers.  Yes, some nifty billboard schemes have appeared on the MTL models over the years, but there have been some great schemes on the Atlas reefer as well.  It's a matter of what your preference is.  I will keep a couple of the MTL steel ice reefers in my fleet (equipped with InterMountain latches).  But due to my region and era quite frankly, I can't justify the MTL wood produce reefer with suitable models of indigenous prototypes available or about to be available.  The Rapido reefer fills a huge roster hole for me, just as the InterMountain wood reefer did.

[sirenwerks]

Maybe we should stop prodding the manufacturers into meating our expectations (self-gratuitous italics omitted intentionally, find your own stinkin' puns).

[Angus Shops]

I like 'em, I'll by some. Regards separate ladders, they are like 'chicken wings'; detailed but useless. Just 'ribbing'.

Geoff

[sirenwerks]

As for separate ladders/grabs, I think manufacturers who don't should look at Trainworx models.  They are the shite.

[Sokramiketes]

I just don't see that great a difference between the Rapido and ESM ladders, but that's me.  Yes, there is a slight difference, but I know that at normal magnification it's a non-issue ... to me anyway.

Bryan,  you spent a couple posts telling us that the ladder was oversize but had to be oversize because it was "standalone". Your eye recognized it as oversize, just like mine. I made the same assumption at first because dimensionally it looks just like an Intermountain stand alone part.

I don't see how now, with confirmation that it is molded on, you can change your opinion and say it is the same as an ESM molds on ladder. I really don't think they are the same dimensions (will look forward to measurements that prove me wrong).

Proportions are proportions. No matter how larger or small the photo. And a ladder has nothing to do with car length.

One of the problems with molded on ladders is that it's easy to design them just as they are on the prototype with the same protruding surface dimension. Except then we fill in behind the ladder with plastic, add draft angle to make it even larger as it hits the car side, and wind up with this ugly thing that stands out too much in the overall look of the car. So artistically you can cheat... Leave the ladder closer to the body, and finer, and while it might not protrude as much as prototype, it will mimic the fineness of a prototype ladder better and just be a blip on the car side as your eye scans across.

I hope that better explains my bulky ladder comments and why these don't have the appearance of recent N tooling.

And Bill, no worries... I was more commenting on the pages of worthless sausage talk than not getting an immediate response. I figured my comments were lost in the noise.