BLI PA/PB couplers - oops

[C855B]

Not that I don't agree with you, but I don't think the tooling is entirely new, either. They've run the PA's before, so this is probably the same exact shell and tooling on a "new" mechanism ...

I have a set of BLI's first-run PAs, and, yes, they have the same über-thick stirrups. But it's not like you couldn't spend some quality time with a fine needle file and make 'em less honkin'-looking, however.

What I need to do is get off my butt and solicit BLI for non-tire wheelsets for these and my non-sound (1st run) E-units. They sound like crap in m.u. because the tires stutter on even the slightest speed mismatch. 

[peteski]

Not that I don't agree with you, but I don't think the tooling is entirely new, either. They've run the PA's before, so this is probably the same exact shell and tooling on a "new" mechanism (new being the rolling tur... I mean thunder decoders). Now, they could have made the steps thinner with a re-release, but that was likely money that they weren't willing to spend on a re-issue. BLI has always sort of been okay with compromises in N scale, so it doesn't' surprise me they didn't change them; they're target audience will eat them up while those of us who complain will have our comments fall on deaf ears.

Well then, you have a point.  They have redone the sides on the recenly released F3/F7, and that was a major rework.  I suppose the steps are not as important for the fidelity of the model. 

[thomasjmdavis]

Of course, but why should I be futzing around with a brand new model? You know that I'm capable of little more than just replacing steps. - that is not the point. There really are no good excuses for a new model (designed in CAD) to need this type of rework when they could have just as easily made those steps look more accurate.  This is not just couple of rivets out of place - it is a major mistake.

That was actually my point. For what they charge for these models, they should not need replacement parts designed 50 years ago.  Which goes a long way to explaining why I don't own any.

I need to find a "sarcasm" smiley....

[ChristianJDavis1]

Well then, you have a point.  They have redone the sides on the recenly released F3/F7, and that was a major rework.  I suppose the steps are not as important for the fidelity of the model. 

That's actually a fair point I didn't think of. I guess it's a difference of a major flaw (being backwards) versus something that isn't so much as wrong as visible unappealing (too big). Maybe the F's got more backlash than the PA's? I know if I were buying either model, I could live with the steps being too big (because if it bothered me I could fix it myself) versus the grills being backwards, which I don't think I could fix as easily. I may be drifting off-target, though, so I'll concede the point.

[Point353]

I heard back from BLI and they said that they weren't expecting the factory to use those particular couplers on these models (instead, they were expecting the larger couplers that normally get used on their diesels).
Lastly, he apologized for the inconvenience and said that the current pandemic is having an impact on QC both here and abroad, which I can certainly understand.

Wouldn't you think that the customer (BLI) would tell the vendor exactly which couplers to put on the model, instead of "expecting" that they would use the correct ones?
Sounds like the tail might be wagging the dog.
Using the current pandemic situation as an excuse also seems pretty lame. Has BLI never heard of drawings and bills-of-material?

[spookshow]

Yeah, everyone trying to work from home for the first time is a lame excuse for QC problems 

-Mark

[u18b]

Wouldn't you think that the customer (BLI) would tell the vendor exactly which couplers to put on the model, instead of "expecting" that they would use the correct ones?
Sounds like the tail might be wagging the dog.
Using the current pandemic situation as an excuse also seems pretty lame. Has BLI never heard of drawings and bills-of-material?

Unfortunately, we have heard story after story of how the Chinese "help" out the American company by making changes that were never asked for.  This is not a BLI problem but a Chinese problem.   I've heard that Atlas must deal with the same thing at times.

Sometimes things are better.  Sometimes not. 

But it is usually frustrating.

[eja]

This thread reinforces my conviction that I will never buy a new BLI locomotive.

They seem to produce a nice product, but a very high price. At their price point, I will not accept the fact that a gross design error can be easily corrected if I purchase a replacement part from another vendor and perform the required installation myself.

It seems that the discussion in this thread happens with every new release.

Sorry BLI, you manufacture several items I would like, but I will pass !

[muktown128]

At least you can see thru the steps unlike the cattle cars...

[Point353]

Unfortunately, we have heard story after story of how the Chinese "help" out the American company by making changes that were never asked for.  This is not a BLI problem but a Chinese problem.   I've heard that Atlas must deal with the same thing at times.
Sometimes things are better.  Sometimes not. 
But it is usually frustrating.

Way back in the last century, a company I once worked for started using a subcontractor in China - initially with mixed results.
Ultimately, they ended up hiring a quality control person to live in China full-time to oversee the operations at the subcontractor.
I'd also liked to have seen the bills for the daily fax traffic, much of it having to do with constant requests for changes and substitutions made by the subcontractor, not to mention the time spent by employees on the US side replying to those requests.

[nickelplate759]

Unfortunately, we have heard story after story of how the Chinese "help" out the American company by making changes that were never asked for.  This is not a BLI problem but a Chinese problem.   I've heard that Atlas must deal with the same thing at times.

Sometimes things are better.  Sometimes not. 

But it is usually frustrating.

I disagree. It's a management problem and has nothing to do with the country of manufacture.  I've seen this happen even within a single company (not the one I presently work for), where the manufacturing was done in the US and so was product design, but design and manufacturing were done in separate organizations with separate financial management and accountability.

The factory would attempt to cost-optimize their work, and would make what they believed to be insignificant changes in the product in order to make it more cheaply (like changing the resistor supplier and assuming that any resistor with the same published specifications would work equally well),  those changes ultimately affected product reliability and customers noticed.