Kato 20CL car kits available for pre-order

[thomasjmdavis]

Mine finally arrived today (ok, so it's only Wednesday, but I've had to read about others getting their's for 2 days).  An additional upside, I can give myself credit for completing a kit today (as opposed to "fitting half the brass parts" or "sanding prior to painting" which is often a day's progress) after about 2 minutes, most of it spend getting parts out of the packaging.

[Randy Hein]

After having my kits for several days (and assembled at that!), I just discovered that the window frames aren't painted like the cars in the sets (at least that's how they're shown in Kato's pictures).  VERY disappointing!  Especially considering the price point of the kits and that replacement glass on previous smooth side cars came with the silver painted frames.

My BAD!!! Didn't look at all the pictures!  10-6's and 4-4-2's (which is all I ordered) didn't have them.  Got a quick reply from Kato letting me know.  My apologies to them for my unfounded comments!

[peteski]

After having my kits for several days (and assembled at that!), I just discovered that the window frames aren't painted like the cars in the sets (at least that's how they're shown in Kato's pictures).  VERY disappointing!  Especially considering the price point of the kits and that replacement glass on previous smooth side cars came with the silver painted frames.

The frames are likely not painted but hot-foil stamped. Either way, it is odd that Kato did not decorate the frames.

[bbussey]

Mine are painted/foil-stamped.  On the observation Hickory Creek at least.  I didn't look that closely at the RPO and I don't have any of the others.

Reese's Hickory Creek in the photos above has the detailed window frames.

[thomasjmdavis]

Mine (Chicago River) is also painted/foil stamped with window molding/framing.  If anything, it is too prominent, compared to photos.

[Randy Hein]

My BAD!!! Didn't look at all the pictures!  10-6's and 4-4-2's (which is all I ordered) didn't have them.  Got a quick reply from Kato letting me know.  My apologies to them for my unfounded comments!

[thomasjmdavis]

Randy, now I am confused.  Chicago River- a 10-6 (sitting here in front of my as I type) definitely does have silver frames around the windows on the model. 

[Randy Hein]

OK, I'm getting old (and obviously blind!).  I just looked again and yes, just my 4-4-2's lack the silver frame.  What originally made me notice was putting them on the track next to my original Kato NYC cars.  I thought I had all my
4-4-2's in a row and my 10-6 next the old NYC coach, but it was another 4-4-2.  Tunnel vision on just the two cars. 

This is all too embarrassing!

One thing I know I didn't miss, is that there's no E7B.

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, you guys made me do it, I bought and got today the 10-6 and 4-4-2 to use on my Chief. Nice cars, but I was a bit taken aback by the TTG colors. I’m not a Central modeler and certainly no expert, but the colors seem to me a bit muddy, with not much contrast between them. Is this accurate and was this discussed somewhere? My Centralia cars are much more “contrasty” as is the pinstriping and lettering, and for all I know, they maybe wrong. The Kato cars also have large PULLMAN lettering, whereas the Centralia cars spell out the roadname. My guess is that both lettering styles may be correct for different timeframes, but I’d like to be enlightened.
Feedback appreciated,
Otto K.

[thomasjmdavis]

Otto,
This is my one and only TTG NYC car, so I guess I am lucky in not having anything to compare it to. 
I did notice the low contrast between the light and dark grays, although to my eye it actually has more contrast than in the photo I posted a few messages above, but I think it is one of those cases where the manufacturer probably matched to a Dupont or NYC chart for the color- and encountered the usual problems (a) that is what it looked like the day after it was sprayed at the factory, and it looked different after it had been in sunlight for a year of service; (b) I have noticed with several models that if I wait for a sunny day, and take them out into the glorious 6000 deg K, 5000+ footcandle sunlight, they look different (and more like the period photos) than they do on a layout, even a well lit one with 200 footcandles of color-corrected (6000K) indoor lighting.  It seems like no two manufacturers agree on this stuff.  My Kato 6-6-4s and Centralia 6-6-4s don't match either. 

On the lettering, the Santa Fe Sleeper book says the NYC carried "Pullman" letterboards through 1953 - the time period when they were being interchanged with Santa Fe and running on the Chief.  The book has photos of the NYC cars in both schemes.  The Santa Fe 4-4-2 sleepers normally assigned during that period were pre-war sleepers (also per the book, in toward the end of the section on pre-war 4-4-2s, not in the chapter on transcons).  I think Santa Fe did not reletter the letterboards on those sleepers until they were re-fitted for the San Francisco Chief in late '53/early '54, at least based on the photos I can find- so they may have had "Pullman" letterboards as well. 

It could be worse.  I've never found any 2 production runs (much less any 2 manufacturers) to use the same light green on Erie 2 tone green cars or locos.  Apparently anything from off white to sea foam green to 3 RLM aircraft colors to desert sand pass muster, depending on who you ask or what model you are looking at.

[peteski]

I'm not expert here, but my set of cars looks good (and very elegant) to me.  Here is some photos I found on the Interwebs.




Not sure if it looks closer to those stark Centraila cars, or to more subdued Kato cars. Seems a bit in between.  But as it has been said, the ambient lighting of the subject being photographed makes a huge difference.

[Cajonpassfan]

No question, Peteski, it’s all about the ambient lighting. On the layout, even with good lighting, I’d prefer the colors to be a little lighter than the prototype, but I can happily live with these nice Kato cars in my Chief. Or the Centralia cars. Just not together, in the same trainset.
A first world problem, I guess
Otto K.

[thomasjmdavis]

I’d prefer the colors to be a little lighter than the prototype, but I can happily live with these nice Kato cars in my Chief. Or the Centralia cars. Just not together, in the same trainset.
A first world problem, I guess
Otto K.

We've come a long way in the last 30 years.  Both the Kato and Intermountain are a big step up from a Con-cor GN prototype sleeper, several scale feet short, with a coach interior.