In response to a previous thread here are a few detail photos of the forthcoming Mikado. This is a production sample so it has some mileage on it. Detail wise it is right up there with our previous releases in steam. It will be arriving in the near future. Enjoy!
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jack19054/Mikado%20photos/IMG_20150612_090419996_zpsfkn58kab.jpg)
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jack19054/Mikado%20photos/IMG_20150612_090547943_zpsukbqha20.jpg)
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jack19054/Mikado%20photos/IMG_20150612_090505545_zpseowgvq7q.jpg)
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jack19054/Mikado%20photos/IMG_20150612_090500204_zpsnn3corvo.jpg)
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jack19054/Mikado%20photos/IMG_20150612_090449990_zpswb499act.jpg)
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/jack19054/Mikado%20photos/IMG_20150612_090439355_zpsbi2rtzq8.jpg)
Looks very nice. However, most of the USRA Mikes had a fabricated trailing truck (Hodges, I believe) rather than the Delta style cast truck. Which will the final version have?
This is a final version.
Looks very nice, will it have sound? May have to get a few.
Dave
I am looking forward to it as well.
Yes, some will have sound, depending on the roadname you want.
Already planning the detailing project. As ebtnut pointed out, it will need a hodges trailing truck. I hadn't noticed that before. Also, one may want to shave off the molded on piping, and install wire pipes, that sort of thing. Should be a great project. Been anticipating this one for quite a while.
Thanks Yardmaster!
Regards,
Jonathan
Oh, I forgot to ask... Is the loco belt drive like a spectrum, or a gear drive like the 2-8-4? I tried blowing up the photos, but I couldn't see between the boiler and drivers.
Regards,
Jonathan
Yardmaster;
This is a question I've had for a long time. A lot of steamers I have seen seem to have a blue-ish sheen to them. I have tried mixing Enchantment Blue with Engine Black, and have a close match-but it lacks that "oily" look the prototype had. What approach would you recommend here? BTW; this looks really good on factory machinery, like overhead shafts, sheaves, etc. Most factories I have been in tend to take pretty good care of their equipment.
Rich C
SGT C.
Quote from: jonathan on June 12, 2015, 01:57:39 PM
I am looking forward to it as well.
Also, one may want to shave off the molded on piping, and install wire pipes, that sort of thing.
Regards,
Jonathan
Seeing cast sand pipes and other piping and the seeminglack of the plate between tender and engine is a disappointment when comparing this engine to what we came to expect with the Spectrum range.
A step backwards I'm afraid.
Cheers
Roger T.
Quote from: rogertra on June 13, 2015, 01:23:02 AM
Quote from: jonathan on June 12, 2015, 01:57:39 PM
I am looking forward to it as well.
Also, one may want to shave off the molded on piping, and install wire pipes, that sort of thing.
Regards,
Jonathan
Seeing cast sand pipes and other piping and the seeminglack of the plate between tender and engine is a disappointment when comparing this engine to what we came to expect with the Spectrum range.
A step backwards I'm afraid.
Cheers
Roger T.
I'd have to agree with you there. Compared to the 2-8-0,2-8-2(SY), and 2-10-0 that I have, this is lacking a lot of detail. Technically my 2-8-0's are the standard version but they retained the spectrum detail. Even the 2-8-4 that I have has separate sand pipes I think... Makes me wonder why they went even FARTHER back. Oh well.
This is a Standard line loco - not a Spectrum item.
Bachmann has never gone "Backwards" - this product is a definite leap forward in our standard line of product. This locomotive features DCC/Sound, a very robust drive train and a very high level of detail - at standard line pricing. Sure we could have put a full Tsunami in it and added the small number of pipes that are integrated into the boiler and labeled it Spectrum but that would have driven the retail price up as well. We make no apologies for the way this locomotive is designed and executed. It is the result of experience, research and retail trends. A good model railroader knows that molded on detail can be washed and dry brushed to look very realistic. Molding some of this detail on makes it much easier to service the model as well - having disassembled numerous Spectrum locomotives I can attest to the fact that it is virtually impossible to get one apart and back together without damaging the piping. Took apart a 2 truck Climax recently and it took a few hours to get it back together due to the amount of piping detail.
This model is a great runner, sounds excellent and has plenty of detail. Sorry to those who are not pleased with the model but as stated earlier we are pleased with the results and are expecting it to do quite well amongst beginners and experienced model railroaders.
Do not Mistake my Meaning, it is a nice locomotive, had I any money I'd buy one, though by backwards I was mainly referring to the fact that the 2-8-4 carries more detail. I think the commentary mainly stems from the apparent discontinuation of the spectrum line as the number of models in it continues to drop with no additions in years. Spectrum level detail Was always preferred. I'm sure Bachmann did the market reasearch, and if they found that they would gain more from standard models, then I do not hold it against them. Bachmann is, First and Foremost, a company.
As someone with next to no skill adding detail, My experience working on locomotives is limited to maintenance and repairs, so I'd be unlikely to be able to add separate detail. I've found that, yes, spectrum Locomotives are hard to take apart (never managed to get the 2-10-0 apart) but that isn't a huge deterrent, for ME, again, I cannot speak for the market.
All that said, again, maybe this is just me, but I'd take detail level over the soundvalue that comes in both spectrum and standard line models. The sound is nice and all (I have one, the 2-10-0) but one thing irks me, I cannot for the life of me get the chuff rate to sinc up, and STAY synced across speeds, loads and grades. This, for me, bugs me a lot.
I like it. Just might find it neccesary to buy a few.
I am very happy with the decision to bring a mike in the standard range as instead in the Spectrum one.
The sound value version will cost me in Austria 289 € (app. 325 USD). With rising labour cost the additional detail of a Spectrum one would bring the price in heights I am not willing to climb. As the locos are shipped from China to the US and than to my hobby shop in Germany and than to Austria the more additional detail the more likely that I will receive a damaged one. When collecting OO gauge British models a lot of the hobby magazines and modellers on the forums asked for more and more details and the manufacturers delivered. Than the prices went through the sky and most of the locos I ordered had detail parts broken when they arrived. I am happy that there are no corners cut regarding performance as I like to play with my trains and therefore the locos should run well.
I really like the Bachmann range as I think it is great value for money and the sound value decoders have a lot of programming options and offer great motor control.
My only quibble with the Bachmann range of mikes is that by murphy`s law the road that I want (Rock Island) is not offered as sound value and that the motive power department of the Santa Fe did not have the foresight to order some of these locos so that Bachmann could bring it.
I am very happy it's a standard line. I love to tinker. In fact I've already ordered some detail parts for it. I usually wait til I've purchased the model, but I want to be ready when the time comes.
Keeping the price down is very wise. Otherwise I would have to go get a brass mikado.
Regards,
Jonathan
Dear Bachmann, could you please post a foto of the loco on a 20" radius? I would like to see how this loco looks on smaller curves.
Thomas
there is a video of the engine on Facebook under the bachmann account. I believe it shows it on 18 inch radius curves. Might be on 22 inch radius though. Hard to tell.
The way I look at it is does it run great. I would reather have a great running locomtive than to have a great looking locomotive that runs poorly. I can always add details.
I already have 3 of these engines from the competition, so I won't be getting one. If I was, though, I'd do a few things detail wise:
1. The biggest thing - blacken the running gear and the driver tires. The driver tires are over scale but when blackened this error will go away.
2. Put a fabricated USRA trailing truck on instead of the more modern cast Delta one ..... Although that's a hard call, my road the Missouri Pacific put Deltas on some of their 1300 class engines.
3. Blacken the bell, pop valves and whistle. Look at prototype photos. Although these items, excepting the whistle sometimes, were brass, they didn't stay brass looking very long in service. Getting rid of shiny stuff like this and the running gear/driver tires goes a long way toward realism.
4. Trim down the oversized cab window muntins, or since I model the South, take the sash out altogether.
5. Add cab window awnings.
None of this stuff is a big deal to do. I'm doing most of it to the engines I already have.
Quote from: Trainman203 on June 14, 2015, 11:30:42 AM
I already have 3 of these engines from the competition, so I won't be getting one. If I was, though, I'd do a few things detail wise:
I've gotten 4 from other manufactures(3 from one, 1 from another) but I'd like to get a bachmann one. But they are only doing my road with sound, and I don't do sound so i wont be buying one. :'(
What is the origin of that trailing truck? I see it described as a Delta, but the shape of it does not look like any I recall seeing on a North American locomotive.
Quote from: BaltoOhioRRfan on June 14, 2015, 11:46:46 AM
I've gotten 4 from other manufactures(3 from one, 1 from another) but I'd like to get a bachmann one. But they are only doing my road with sound, and I don't do sound so i wont be buying one. :'(
3 easy solutions:
1. Remove the sound decoder and speaker
2. Mute it
3. Program the CVs to disable the sound
Quote from: austrian on June 14, 2015, 04:45:08 AM
Dear Bachmann, could you please post a foto [sic] of the loco on a 20" radius? I would like to see how this loco looks on smaller curves.
Quote from: BaltoOhioRRfan on June 14, 2015, 09:07:05 AM
there is a video of the engine on Facebook under the bachmann account. I believe it shows it on 18 inch radius curves. Might be on 22 inch radius though. Hard to tell.
The video is 22 inch radius I think, I saw a 22 inch manufacturer's recommended minimum radius listed for this locomotive.
I'd have to look more closely but I bet the front extensions of that trailing truck are heavily trimmed away to help get around our ridiculously sharp model railroad curves, and the even more absurd train set level curves.
The 2-8-2 trailing truck represents a cast steel item seen appearing after WWI . Cast frame trucks were also replacing fabricated trucks like archbars on freight cars too. Fabricated trucks had too many potential failure points. The pioneering half cast/half fabricated Andrews trucks were soon followed by early Vulcans and Bettendorfs.
Point of interest..... the Central of Georgia started calling their Mikados "McArthurs" after Pearl Harbor. Some of us down here still call them that.
BLI's mikado runs on 18" radius so I would assume the bachmann would run on the same. Time will tell.
Quote from: Trainman203 on June 14, 2015, 04:47:55 PM
Point of interest..... the Central of Georgia started calling their Mikados "McArthurs" after Pearl Harbor. Some of us down here still call them that.
Baltimore & Ohio also called theirs McArthurs as well. even though i'm a B&O fan i still call em Mikados since it comes off the tongue easier.
Yardmaster and plans in the future to do the Sound versions with non sound and vice-versa? I really like to get one but i don't do sound so i'm not gonna sit here and pay for it just to rip it out of the tender.
Road names will switch around at some point.
Who does not like sound? It gives your layout a whole new dimension.
Yardmaster - OK, given that the Delta-style trailing truck is the "standard", any chance of including the Hodges style truck as a separate part. I believe the Light Mountain truck is correct. Issue would be the distance between the axle and mounting screw centerlines.
Yardmaster;
Are they doing that mike in B&M logo? Ifnot, are they doing one in "painted unlettered"?
Rich C.
Quote from: davidone on June 15, 2015, 03:16:14 PM
Who does not like sound? It gives your layout a whole new dimension.
I don't..Just listening to the videos on YouTube drives me up the wall..I did buy a CD with steam engine sounds and that is more than enough to set the "mood" for the railroad...
Gus.
Quote from: guslcp on June 16, 2015, 06:58:17 AM
Quote from: davidone on June 15, 2015, 03:16:14 PM
Who does not like sound? It gives your layout a whole new dimension.
I don't..Just listening to the videos on YouTube drives me up the wall..I did buy a CD with steam engine sounds and that is more than enough to set the "mood" for the railroad...
Gus.
I tend to agree with both of you. I have sound equipped locomotives but I have the sound turned down so the prime mover and steam chuff, when the locos are working, is just audible from four or five feet away. All the other sounds, with the exception of the whistle and horns, are turned way down with the bell set to be just audible over the sounds of a working engine, just as in the prototype.
I do find the audio does set a mood but my mood setting is mainly for the correct use of whistle signals and the proper use of the bell.
Truth be told,
all and I mean all HO scale sound systems sound like a 1960s tinny transistor radio, with no real bass line, hence the awful tinny sound of the prime mover and steam engine chuff.
If most YouTube videos are to be believed, most modellers have the sound way too loud, which doesn't improve the tinny sound effects, and do not know how to correctly use the whistle and bell.
Cheers
Roger T.
Quote from: rogertra on June 16, 2015, 08:55:11 AM
Truth be told, all and I mean all HO scale sound systems sound like a 1960s tinny transistor radio, with no real base line, hence the awful tinny sound of the prime mover and steam engine chuff.
If most YouTube videos are to be believed, most modellers have the sound way too loud, which doesn't improve the tinny sound effects, and do not know how to correctly use the whistle and bell.
Cheers
Roger T.
Thats the main reason I don't like sound, it sounds too high pitched, espically in steam engines. It doesn't have that deep sound to it like the real thing.
The other reason is the price of it.
Quote from: ACY on June 14, 2015, 04:17:24 PM
Quote from: BaltoOhioRRfan on June 14, 2015, 11:46:46 AM
I've gotten 4 from other manufactures(3 from one, 1 from another) but I'd like to get a bachmann one. But they are only doing my road with sound, and I don't do sound so i wont be buying one. :'(
3 easy solutions:
1. Remove the sound decoder and speaker
2. Mute it
3. Program the CVs to disable the sound
Quote from: austrian on June 14, 2015, 04:45:08 AM
Dear Bachmann, could you please post a foto [sic] of the loco on a 20" radius? I would like to see how this loco looks on smaller curves.
Quote from: BaltoOhioRRfan on June 14, 2015, 09:07:05 AM
there is a video of the engine on Facebook under the bachmann account. I believe it shows it on 18 inch radius curves. Might be on 22 inch radius though. Hard to tell.
The video is 22 inch radius I think, I saw a 22 inch manufacturer's recommended minimum radius listed for this locomotive.
Sorry i missed your post ACY, but why should i pay $400(MSRP) with sound when I could get the same engine for $80 less without? Why pay for something I'm not going to use and probably get thrown away?
Before the discussion goes off on a tangent - Some folks like sound and some don't. There is NO right or wrong. If the version you want is not available the way you want it you will need to be patient and wait for it to be released in the other version or do some paint work. One advantage of the Sound Value version is that it is DCC. The majority of our customers prefer the dual mode decoder so that they have the DC/DCC option.
Quote from: BaltoOhioRRfan on June 16, 2015, 09:09:00 AM
Sorry i missed your post ACY, but why should i pay $400(MSRP) with sound when I could get the same engine for $80 less without? Why pay for something I'm not going to use and probably get thrown away?
If you remove the sound and speaker then you can easily sell it to recoup the price difference. Why would anyone in their right mind throw away a perfectly good decoder and speaker that has a value of around $50-100? Nothing is prohibiting you from selling the decoder and speaker if you don't want them. It only takes about 30 minutes to remove the decoder and speaker and get everything sorted.
To those who have asked about the trailing truck on this loco. Our product development director confirms that the trailing trucks will be appropriate for the specific road names.
OK, that's very good news. Thanks, YM.
despite my original disappointment that it was another USRA prototype I will say I am excited that this is a standard line locomotive which means I could buy more in hopes of using the chassis for many projects lined up. I really like the way it looks! Will be looking forward to picking up a few. I was going to use spectrum 2-10-2 frames and chop them down to a 2-8-2 configuration because I like the running gear on those. But now that bachmann is coming out with this mikado I'm most excited for easier projects! ;D