For those that didn't get to read diburning's post before he removed it, I don't think it was offensive, but perhaps someone would have thought of it this way. I feel he was just posting his opinion and feels strongly about it... This is a forum, right? Guys, I don't want to start a flame war either and I'd like this thread to help anyone curious about how these two locos compare to eachother. Not sure about most of you fellow modelers, but $289.00 is a lot of money and I want to make sure my money goes to the right place, ya know? I still haven't got my loco yet, but I don't think I will be disappointed at all. I originally wanted an MTH... Still wouldn't mind having one, but my preference (due to all of my past experiences) would go to the Athearn. Even their RTR stuff is MUCH better than it used to be. Very prototypical as compared to their earlier run-of-the-mill offerings. I do have to admit, I wish Athearn would go to some really pretty and durable metal handrails like those found on the Tower 55 locos and MTH's. Diburning and the gentleman on the video also made mention of paint quality. That is hard to make a good comparison due to sunlight reflecting on the prototype loco the company takes a picture of for example. Some of the fallen flag railroads don't have good pictures to go off of anymore and so its virtually impossible to get the shade correct for everyone's eye. To me, as long as its not THAT bad, its okay with me. A particular company (whom I won't mention; this isn't a bash someone's effort's thread) painted some of their Chessie System locos bright yellow, deep red and bright blue! Caused a big ruckus in the forums due to its inaccuracies amongst Chessie fans, but its always fixable with some basic paint fading, complete repaints, or just realizing that it is just a model. However, I do have to agree it was MUCH more off than any other manufacturer previously offered. I know these locos aren't the ones in question and this is just an example. As far as customer service goes, I can't specifially say how exactly Athearn has done well with their customer service, but they have always been very good to me. Soundtraxx also answered their phone when I had a problem with one of their decoders. I am sure MTH is great too...Just haven't ever owned one and have subsequently never had to deal with them. I have heard great things though. All in all, from what I have seen (still haven't seen the Athearn yet) both of these locos are great in their own ways. I really don't care for the MTH DCS system though. To me it seems like a big drawback though and much bigger over having sound that's too quiet. At any rate guys, this thread is getting interesting. I'd like to hear more opinions if anyone has them, biased or not. Please no flamewars though...This is good for those of us who want to make educated decisions about where our hard earned money should go. Thanks!
-Rich