Bachmann GP38-2

[dave_long]

Reinhard
Sorry to drag this thread out of the depths. Did you use Athearn non dynamic blisters or another brand or did you scratchbuild? I'm in need of a fleet of gp38-2 s without dynamic brakes, can't afford genesis and athearn spares seem a little thin on the ground lately at least East of the Atlantic.

Did you have any issues with fitting a new blister to the shell?

Regards
Dave

[faraway]

Dave, they are scratch built from three rectangle parts of styrene and two stacks from "Detail Associates #2402".
I made the sides first and glued the roof on top. It was an easy sanding job when the cement had set.

ps. You may also cut the stacks from the old roof and sand them down.

[dave_long]

Reinhard
Thank you for the reply. I shall give it a try when mine arrives. You have done such a good job with it as I had thought it was a commercial offering. I have a batch of DA exhaust stacks so will stick with them.

One other question if I may, are you still happy with them?

Regards
Dave

[faraway]

Dave, you are welcome. I am still happy with Bachmann GP38-2. You get a good value for the money.
It would not be fair to compare the shell with Athearn Genesis and the drive with Atlas. The new Bachmann engines remind me somehow on Aldi (currently heavy attacking the UK grocery market). A good quality a tad over average at a low price.

ps. The DCC decoders are simply junk! You need to replace them.

[dave_long]

Thanks. I'd read in several places that the decoder is junk. Yes I'd love a Genesis But my budget won't allow. Even now a train man drive and athearn rtr shell will command almost twice of what I can get the bachmann for and if I can detail it to my specific railroad all the better as it won't be a bachmann model it will be my model. Even if you detail an old bb the cost of fixing the drive again outweighs the deal.

I like the Aldi analogy, a lot of UK models crave the new Aldi special item announcements especially the cheaper range of tools.

Many thanks.

[Steamtrains]

It's good to hear B'mann diesels work nicely...'Cuzz their steamers' power pick-up is a disaster...I have two 2-8-4's that will stall right in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. I have a sizable roster of steamers and these are the only ones I have problems with...I'll probably have to do a complete renewal of the pick-ups to insure reliable operation...

[faraway]

It's good to hear B'mann diesels work nicely...'Cuzz their steamers' power pick-up is a disaster...I have two 2-8-4's that will stall right in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. I have a sizable roster of steamers and these are the only ones I have problems with...I'll probably have to do a complete renewal of the pick-ups to insure reliable operation...

I have only some 2-8-0 steamers from Bachmann. They are great runners BUT I had to add all wheel pickup in the tender. Bachmann uses only one side of each axis to get power. You get teliable pickup from the two tender trucks if you use each wheel. Kaddee coupler springs are great pickup springs.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Aldis make me mad. They just bought up a smaller but better chain of "cheap" grocery stores by me. The stuff in an Aldis didn't compare to the Bottom Dollar foods.... but I digress.

[dave_long]

It's a strange concept to most brits, as for British outline models Bachmann is a premium brand, arguably the genesis/master gold of the UK market. Yet their US HO is considered in terms of the base market almost toy like.

[torikoos]

I'm not too familiar with the OO scene, I never liked the fact that it was 1:76 scale, on 1:87 scale track... might not be that noticeable to the eye, but knowing it is 'wrong' is enough for me :-)

I grew up on the continent, HO all the way, and model US RR since 1989 or thereabouts...
I have to say that the stuff I've seen in the average hobby shop (Hornby etc) is dreadful, and I wondered where the better models came from that I've seen on covers on RR mag. Compared to that Hornby stuff, Bachmann is a lot better, but I wonder how Rapido's first offering (the APT ) will be received in terms of quality. I know it's a rather 'special' model that might not attract modelers in droves as it would had they done the HST's (who knows in the future).

I do like the new Bachman USA releases, and if it weren't for the fact that I have more than enough projects on my plate, I would get a couple..

[Green_Elite_Cab]

It's a strange concept to most brits, as for British outline models Bachmann is a premium brand, arguably the genesis/master gold of the UK market. Yet their US HO is considered in terms of the base market almost toy like.

What tends to get Bachmann in trouble is that they have a "You'll buy it" mentality. The people who run the show as far as details and accuracy go, are more in line with making "toys" rather than accurate models. This is further exacerbated by the tendency of bachmann reps to make dishonest claims about their products.

Ultimately, they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

I've had my own experiences with Bachmann reps insisting their Conrail E33s were painted properly and that they had photos. I know now from my extensive research of this small group of engines that this is probably a lie, and at the very most, one engine may have been painted that way briefly, but there is no evidence.

Then there is this excerpted from the PRR Technical & Historical Society website. Rick Abramson is a pretty well known modeler as well, I think his New Haven Electrified layout was featured in either 2004 or 2005 on the cover of Model Railroader.

I was at the Amherst Show in W. Springfield, MA today and saw the new Bachmann GG1. Three interesting items I noticed; on the 4935, the red stripe on the side windows was done incorrectly. Rather than going around the outside perimeter of the window, they painted the window frame. On the single broad-stripe scheme, the "PRR" letters in the keystone were buff rather than white as was the striping within the perimeter of the keystone. The "shadow" on the keystone was also done incorrectly. I discussed this with the Bachmann rep. He informed me I was wrong on all 3 counts and that the PRRT&HS supplied all the data and they got all the info on 4935 at Strasburg. . .including the red striping around the window. I told him I am not speaking for The PRRT&HS, but I doubted very much they would give out incorrect data.

I spoke with the head of R&D for Bachmann on 2/10 about the incorrect PRR logo on their GG1. He basically informed me they spent many hours researching the engines and what they did is "correct." I just let it go at that.

Which was followed by a response by the PRRT&HS president-

Rick - I can assure you that the PRRT&HS Modeling Committee was NOT involved in this model.

Regards
Bruce Smith, President, PRRTHS

This sort of thing has been happening for years with Bachmann USA. Its nice that in this case, we can get some solid proof from the people involved. It just gets to be painful when you KNOW they didn't put any real effort into the model. These mistakes are 100% unnecessary, and its basically due to laziness.

Anyone with eyes can go look at a photo of the GG1s involved and see the difference from the model. The PRRT&HS will give you the specs to make it right! Bachmann, being located in Phildalelphia, is barely an hour away from the REAL 4935 at Strasburg, not that there aren't already a zillion photos of this engine from every angle.


That said, it doesn't matter, for reasons already posted on this thread. People will buy them because its cheap, and so it makes little difference how accurate they are.