Athearn FP45 paint issues


bnsf971

Gomez Addams
Staff member
About 6 weeks ago, I got an Athearn FP45, in ATSF warbonnet. Not that it matters, but it is the DCC and sound version. I've had it out of the box about 3 times, run it, and put it back in the box. Saturday morning, I had some friends over, and wanted to show off my new locomotive. Imagine my surprise when I pulled it out of the box, and found part of the "Santa Fe" lettering on the sides has disappeared. I now have a "San a Ie" engine on one side, and a "S n a F " on the other.
I've sent an email to Athearn about this, and I don't expect a reply on a weekend, but want to know if anybody else has experienced this, and if so, how did you keep it from recurring? It's not like I pull the thing out of the box every five minutes, I've only handled it a half dozen times. Does it need to be a shelf queen?
 
That's odd! To me, it seems like you might have gotten something on them, but maybe it was just a defect?
 
Terry, is it possible that you need to wash your hands before handling your models?:D;):):rolleyes:

That's odd! To me, it seems like you might have gotten something on them, but maybe it was just a defect?
The lettering isn't smeared, it's just--gone. And not all of it, just parts of the letters. The silver paint underneath is just fine, no smudges, spots, or anything. If it is something on my fingers, it's pretty darn selective. I handle my locomotives by the fuel tank, you would think that would be the first place to lose paint, especially silver. Athearn hasn't responded yet, but it has been only one business day, plus they just moved from Carson to Long Beach. I pick the best times to have weird problems...
 
The lettering isn't smeared, it's just--gone. And not all of it, just parts of the letters. The silver paint underneath is just fine, no smudges, spots, or anything. If it is something on my fingers, it's pretty darn selective. I handle my locomotives by the fuel tank, you would think that would be the first place to lose paint, especially silver. Athearn hasn't responded yet, but it has been only one business day, plus they just moved from Carson to Long Beach. I pick the best times to have weird problems...
Ahhh, must be a pad printing problem then...
 
Contact Athearn, most likely they will replace it.
I've emailed them, no response yet, but like I posted above, it's only been one business day. I also called, and got voicemail. Left my name, number, and problem.
 
I managed to get a live person on the phone on Friday, they told me to remove the shell, and mail it in. They'll mail back a replacement. Ordinarily they wouldn't want the old one back, but this is the first instance of this happening they have heard of, and they want to do a failure analysis on it.
 
Glad you're getting yours fixed. Next time you have them on the phone ask them why they painted the new Rock Island SD40-2's in Santa Fe red.:mad:
 
Update:

I sent off the shell to Athearn, and a few days later got a replacement. I talked to their customer service people after they got my old shell, and they said it looked like there was a printing issue, and were sending the shell back to the people that painted it for failure analysis. They said the printing should not be so fragile it would smear and come off after only a few times handling it, but since the replacement is the same as what I sent, I know I'll have to be very careful every time I touch it.
As always, their customer service is great, and they stand behind their products. I just wish they hadn't had to stand behind this one...
 



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