Atlas SD45's shipping

[peteski]

Are the air tanks metal too and part of the casting? That seems like a missed opportunity.

In reading this thread and seeing our puzzlement at some of the design choices, it makes me wonder how long this locomotive was in development.  Had this come out ten or fifteen years ago, I think our collective reaction would have been more praiseworthy.   But in the mean time, the Scale Trains SD40-2 detail level passed it by (fuel tank kerfuffle aside) and it's hard to unsee it.

I suspect that Scale Trains is targeting different audience than Atlas (or Kato for that matter).   Atlas (or Kato) aren't "River Counter" models, but still attract a good share of purchasers.  The truck's mechanical design to me seems backwards (since Atlas used the Kato-type truck design for many years). But it is what it is.

[C855B]

Are the air tanks metal too and part of the casting? ...

Yes. That surprised me when unwrapping the undecs.

[spookshow]

The truck's brake cylinder and piping on that SP unit seems much lighter gray and translucent. While it is nice to have a separately applied part, it is not looking very realistic.

I think that's mainly a result of the bright light source in the photo washing out the color. Here you can see that the cylinders and piping are the same color as everything else -



-Mark

[spookshow]

I'm confused by all this talk of "cab interior" lights. My SP model doesn't appear to be so equipped (at least insofar as there is no light function that illuminates the cab interior). There is an enclosed LED wired up inside the cab, but that appears to be solely for the upper headlight (or, I guess, gyralight) and not the cab interior.



-Mark

[spookshow]

Oops, nevermind. I see where jagged ben figured out that F24 is for the cab interior light and F27 is for the number boards. These are a big secret as far as the included function list is concerned (it simply lists them as "FX3 Function Output" and "FX6 function output").

-Mark

[C855B]

Oops, nevermind. I see where jagged ben figured out that F24 is for the cab interior light and F27 is for the number boards. These are a big secret as far as the included function list is concerned (it simply lists them as "FX3 Function Output" and "FX6 function output").

-Mark

For the LokPilot (no sound), cab light is F1 and number boards are F6.

[spookshow]

I'd like to get my hands on the chucklehead who thought that hiding the fuel tank screws underneath the trucks was a good idea, especially since they were loose on mine and in need of tightening 

-Mark

[spookshow]

I can't say that I'm a fan of metal horns that get bent and lose their paint if you so much as look at them wrong (especially since shell removal involves putting the locomotive on its back in order to remove coupler screws). Was there a problem in need of fixing with plastic horns?

-Mark

[wmcbride]

I can't say that I'm a fan of metal horns that get bent and lose their paint if you so much as look at them wrong (especially since shell removal involves putting the locomotive on its back in order to remove coupler screws). Was there a problem in need of fixing with plastic horns?

-Mark

I hope that a lot of the issues/redesigns for these SD45s are somehow tied to the change in sound decoders away from ESU.

I worry  that the inbound U23Bs, GP60s, and U33Bs will be similarly "improved."

[peteski]

Metal horns?  Interesting.  With this loco it seems that Atlas has really changed the way they make their models. Are those horns lost-wax brass  castings, or some crumbly white metal? I actually prefer those brass horns (like all brass locos used to, and were sold by BLMA) since to me they seem less fragile than most plastic horns.

As far servicing locos upside down, why you (of all people  ) don't have some sort of soft cushioned cradle which will support the model in a "dead bug" position so you can work on it without causing any damage to delicate detail parts.

I have couple of cradles. One is  made from a green foam cradle which originally held premium Washington State Cherries. It had multiple troughs which held rows of cherries.  After the cherries were gone I though that each trough would make a perfect loco cradle.  I sliced off individual troughs into loco cradles.  They were too short for long steam locos (like  the BigBoy, so I opened the ends so the the model can hang past the foam cradle.



The other cradle is  a freebie I got from DM-Toys. It came as a kit I had to assemble.



And if I have to loosen some super tight screw under the model, I hold the model in one hand and the screwdriver in the other hand. That way I know I will not  damage any shell details.

[jwaldo]

Metal horns?  Interesting.  With this loco it seems that Atlas has really changed the way they make their models. Are those horns lost-wax brass  castingas, or some crumbly white metal? I actually prefer those brass horns (like all brass locos used to, and were sold by BLMA) since to me they seem less fragile than most plastic horns.

Maybe some of BLMA's horn castings are finally finding their way into Atlas's models. I'll take metal horns any day. At least if I screw them up I can bend them back; the plastic ones usually just break.

[spookshow]

I don't know why you would assume I don't have a foam cradle, because I do. However, it does not guarantee that a horn won't bend.

And although bending is easily dealt with, the accompanying damage to the paint is not.

-Mark

[peteski]

I don't know why you would assume I don't have a foam cradle, because I do. However, it does not guarantee that a horn won't bend.

And although bending is easily dealt with, the accompanying damage to the paint is not.

Yup, I assumed based on the info in your post.  I apologize. But also as I mentioned, if I need to deal with some really stubborn screw or other part on the bottom of the loco I don't use a cradle - I hold the model in my hand.

[spookshow]

The work I was doing required two hands and I don't have three like you apparently do.

-Mark

[spookshow]

I'm really getting discouraged with this thing as I'm constantly having to clean (and re-clean) the wheels and track to keep it running for any serious length of time.

Case in point - I left it running overnight at speed step 7 (a slow, but presumably maintainable speed) and woke up this morning to a stalled loco that would barely move until I gave it the Minitrix wheel cleaner treatment (again). WTF?

-Mark