QuoteDear All,
As reported here, some (many? all?) K-27s have loose counterweights that can bind from time to time. Dave Goodson has examined the locos and made a suggestion, which has been independently corroborated by a couple of other Large Scalers.
We have been in contact with China, and shim sets are being prepared. A call to the service department will get you a set. I'll post here when they arrive; please hold your calls until then.

Bach Man,
Wow, I had hoped for something better than that. I don't think that this is the best solution.  I am a relatively experienced modeler and this is a task that is not for the faint of heart.  I have placed brass shims in four counterweights so far and they have varied from .004" on the drive axle to just under .008" on the fourth axle. They don't go on real easy and some of the axle ends have to be filed down a little.  Also, a lot of people are going to end up with those little plastic retainers broken.  The thicknesses of the needed shims vary some from model to model which will make for a difficult fix unless a variety of shim thicknesses are provided.  There are a lot of folks that won't mind taking this on but I don't think the majority of your customers are going to want to be filing away on the axles.

I think a better, but admittedly more costly solution would be to make up new counterweights with the correct fit at the axle and a little bit thicker so that the axles wouldn't have to be filed. I wouldn't even mind paying for better fitting counterweights.

Sorry to make this observation because this is a beautiful model, perhaps the nicest looking 1:20.3 model I have ever seen.

Thank you.
John

Ricky,
The only true 1:20.3 passenger cars that I know about are the Hartford Products kits, (combine and coach at $470. per kit), the Accucraft brass San Juan cars that are even more expensive,  and the new Accucraft (AMS) plastic coaches that are in the $160. - 180. range.

A couple of years back Don Winter had some budget type, open platform passenger cars. (A coach, combine, baggage and an RPO).  I bought one of the coach kits but I was not real happy with it. The roof ends were a cast urethane and the profile was more like a trolley car roof than a D&RGW roof. The trucks left a lot to be desired as well.  However they were pretty much the right size for the K-27 and the price was well under $100. as I recall.  Some of the D.W. kits occasionally show up on Ebay.

John

How about 6' diameter curves? I think that would work.

So will the K-27 have that nice, smooth, lead based paint?

Larry,
The GRAMPS frameless tank cars didn't have ladders on the domes. Bachmann has them just right.

QuoteRe: 1/20.3 K-27  Has anyone seen these advertised anywhere?  I'm looking to see how much I need to save to meet the street price...

Ridge Road Station is advertising the K-27.

83096 K-27 Steam Loco Rio Grande South #455
83096 K-27 Steam Loco Rio Grande South #455
Stock Status: Backordered
List Price: $1,400.00
Our Price: $1,120.00

If anyone at Bachmann cares or is counting, I would like to put in a vote for NO sound system or at least an optional sound system. There are just too many variables, individual preferences and system requirements to make everyone happy. Spend the money on a great motor and drive train and leave the sound system to the buyer.  

John Lyans

I finally got around to doing the fix on the screws to the gearbox cover. I highly recommend that you do this if you have not done so. It is very easy, it only takes about 15-20 minutes and you get a good idea as to the mechanism of the rail truck. When you see the gears and the retainer/cover that is not fully screwed down you can see that it is a stripped gear waiting to happen. Thank Dave.

John Lyans

Very clever Noah.

John

I am anxious to see the new versions of the 4-4-0's.  That and the 2-6-0's are sweet engines.  I was very disappointed that "It that which must not be mentioned" . . . . . . was not mentioned.