Rumors of Bachmann N Scale K4

[djconway]

Not holding my breath.  If it ever gets here i`ll look.
Just like the M1....
WHEN?

[eric220]

Not holding my breath.  If it ever gets here i`ll look.
Just like the M1....
WHEN?

According to the ad, as soon as the announcement is made! That should come next week.

[victor miranda]

the rumors included the news that the junker was shipping now...

I will rush out just as soon as I possibly can that way I can be all the rest of the way done
with any doubts I want one.

I may be surprised that the pilot is not short and  I can't figure out what tender trucks are under there

the rest.... I will have to wait...

victor

 

[Englewood]

I'll wait for the Penn Central version... 

[basementcalling]

I used to think the Trix K4 was ugly, but that Bachmann version needs a nose job, and someone needs to remove that giant wart of a coupler on the front. 

Couple typhoons in the Pacific right now so the container could wash overboard.   

But seriousky, $400 for that?  So glad Kato made my FEF steamer for 1/2 that.

Hope it works out for the best for those interested. Bedford may see less spending as all the SPFs start saving their money.

[reinhardtjh]

Praise God.  Now what will you all beller for?

Oh, just an L1s, J1a, G5, E5 (Victor!), H8/9/10s, I1sa...

And don't forget the  T1, Q2, S1 also.   

A few points and some questions:

1. We hear all the time that a manufacturer has to announce years in advance to a) avoid competition that would adversely effect sales b) secure preorders to help ensure a profit.  This release isn't like that - why? The Arnold SW-1 was announced like this, too.  Is something changing in the business?
2. How could this have not leaked out? How could all the Pennsy modelers in the historical modeling groups not have known?

Theories for:
(1)  Like Dave said, Bachmann is the heavyweight, lots of resources to throw at a project and since they
(2)  have had a K4s in HO for years so the research was already done.  That said, I don't think the PRRT&HS had much to do with the HO version. I've seen lots of talk about helping BLI with their various PRR models but nothing about helping Bachmann.  Possibly a difference in philosophy at the home companies (Bachmann in China and BLI in the USA).

But seriousky, $400 for that?  So glad Kato made my FEF steamer for 1/2 that.

An MSRP of $399 isn't that out of line.  "Your" FEF is MSRP $275 for a DC version, $310 for a non-sound DCC and $425 for an ESU Soundlok version.  The Bachmann K4s is with sound and MSRP $26 less than the Kato FEF with sound.  Granted it's quality is likely to be lower, but it's a lot better than nothing (I sure hope  )

[Blackout]

If the mechanism doesnt turn out a complete disaster, it can be used to kitbash a spoked drivered NYC Hudson, right?

[up1950s]

Long overdo , and as a plus a source for a delta trailing truck . Now as a note , the DLGE version so shinny with the spokes so rusty will be an easy enough fix ...........I hope Bachmann realizes that is unrealistic for a working K4 , and should leave the weathering to the purchasers discretion in the future . 

[prdave]

SPF's everywhere break out in celebration...

[jdcolombo]

So, I will say that before everyone starts a rousing chorus of "Happy Days Are Here Again," we should wait and see how this thing actually runs.  As Chris noted yesterday, the Berkshire is at best "OK" and only after some serious tweaking of both the mechanism (including driver quartering) and the decoder.  In the end, I tore out the Sound Value decoder and replaced it with an ESU LokSound to get better performance and better sound.  But the Berk still doesn't run anywhere near as well as the EM-1 or the 2-8-0 because the mechanism just isn't engineered/manufactured as well.

I hope the K4 is terrific, because nearly every railroad used them (albeit mostly with significantly smaller drivers); if the base mechanism design is good, one could imagine Bachmann using a more-widespread 74" driver and doing a slew of additional roads in the future.

John C.

[sirenwerks]

Here's the actual ad:



You wanted it, but at that price?

[sizemore]

I am happy for all you SPF's. I'm just worried that its going to be junk like the Berkshire.


The S.

[C855B]

... someone needs to remove that giant wart of a coupler on the front. ...

Coupler doesn't bother me as much as the front wheelset in the headline pic, which jumps out at me as FLANGE!!!!... oh, there's a locomotive behind it. Hopefully real life is better. At any rate it's not a flattering angle.

[sirenwerks]

Um, flanges can be turend down.

[C855B]

Yes they can, and yes, I have, but after 50 years of product evolution one would think we'd be further along than that.