diburning
AlcoHaulic
Did april fools come early this year?
I find it hard to believe that stubborn old Mike Wolf would really change his mind.
MTH SD70ACe BNSF 9370
- Thread starter BNTorsney
- Start date
Did april fools come early this year?
I find it hard to believe that stubborn old Mike Wolf would really change his mind.
ChevelleSSguy
Member
Did april fools come early this year?
I find it hard to believe that stubborn old Mike Wolf would really change his mind.
I dont think he changed his mind. I think this may have been a plan all along. The real question is do you get all the regular DCC features.
Its obvious that they had no choice, they thought that even with dcs lots of people would rush to get them, but now athearn has announced a launch date for its own sd70ace, some people might have said "lets wait 6 month and buy a model that works 100% with dcc". When the athearn genesis will be released they will have a massive drop in their sales.
My Two Cents
I've read comments about there front lights being to big, this may or may not be true, but to me the fact they NEVER have to be replaced, "trumps" their slightly larger size.
My MAIN reason for being in this hobby at this time is to have FUN. Simply put, these MTH locomotives give me more enjoyment than any Kato, Atlas or Athearn locomotives I have ever owned.
For my two cents, I think your splitting hairs. These locomotives are so superior to ANY top of the locomotive available on the market, that if they don't do EVERYTHING available in DCC, who cares? The only thing I have found that they can't do is an advanced consist; am I missing something else?
I've read comments about there front lights being to big, this may or may not be true, but to me the fact they NEVER have to be replaced, "trumps" their slightly larger size.
My MAIN reason for being in this hobby at this time is to have FUN. Simply put, these MTH locomotives give me more enjoyment than any Kato, Atlas or Athearn locomotives I have ever owned.
They also can't be speed matched with anything else (stated earlier in this thread), so you can't run them with anything not MTH. You can "old style" consist them, but if what you consist with doesn't run with the MTH model, you're stuck.
This may not sound like much but I know modelers who like to run dissimilar units together. I like to do that myself, a 2-10-2 helping a 4-8-4, a 2-8-0 helping a 4-8-8-2, or F units helping steam, and vice versa later on in the timeline. As for being superior to everything else...that's a matter of opinion. I saw the MKT Heritage unit at one of the LHS here. Nice looking. Too new for me. When Athearn releases their Tsunami equipped unit, we'll see how that one sells. Lots of modelers I know are waiting for it. It depends on where your priorities are. MTH is obviously doing exactly what you want. OTOH, they are missing the boat with many others. Different segments of the hobby have their fun in different ways.
I saw a fellow club member's NYC streamlined Hudson. Very nice model. But for $499.95, I'm not willing to settle with incomplete or inaccesible features. In the end it will boil down to the almighty dollar. Whatever makes the company the most money will be what sells.
I will give them credit for taking care of the toy like drawbar spacing on their steamers. The new Hudsons have a closer hole for those who want a more prototypical appearance and aren't trying to run everything around 18" radius curves, and they seem to be phasing out the "train wreck sound"
Maybe they'll eventually offer full DCC compatibility. Time and money will tell!
diburning
AlcoHaulic
If no one cared, then why do we have 19 pages on this subject?
LEDs do burn out/fail over time, just not as fast as bulbs. They will have to be replaced when they burn out.
They use light pipes for the ditch lights. It's not like they put the LEDs into the housings itself. They could have made the light pipes thinner. They also make LEDs ridiculously small now so that they would fit into scale size housings and still fit a lens in front. If they're charging so much for a product, we expect to get our money's worth. (not that I'm saying the MTH model is not worth it)
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diburning
AlcoHaulic
I agree about what you said about buying what we like. Everyone has their own opinion. Thats why this thread is here. It's for people to voice their opinion on the product.
hamltnblue
Active Member
It all comes down to how you run your layout. If you want to consist then you're out of luck with the MTH. You can consist with some DCC systems if you go with the old style. You could change the decoders which adds cost to each unit (I've done 2 and am happy with them as tsunami's). Or you could pass and wait for the Athearns and their flimsy railings. So like ericsauto said buy what you like. I add do what makes you happy.
By the way when I did my George Bush SD70 tsunami conversion I took a pic of the light pipes since I didn't do that the first time. Here it is and yes it could have been smaller but who knows, maybe they tried and didn't get the right amount of light out of it.
By the way when I did my George Bush SD70 tsunami conversion I took a pic of the light pipes since I didn't do that the first time. Here it is and yes it could have been smaller but who knows, maybe they tried and didn't get the right amount of light out of it.
KCSRailfan
KCS Railfan,and Modeler.
I had seen the MKT unit and GB unit at my LHS the other week. Me personally havent had a problem with the Athearn handrails or for a fact none of my Athearn units.But its good that we have 2 SD70ACes that we can choose from now a days.
-Damian
-Damian
ChevelleSSguy
Member
This months Model Railroader has a feature on an MTH NYC Hudson. It says right at the end of the review that the DCC support on this locomotive is limited. I dont see why this isnt going to apply to any other MTH DCC equipped locomotive. You guys that like them, fine. Im happy that your happy with your purchase.
But myself. I just doesnt make any sense to leave things on the table just because a customer doesnt have a DCS system. Splitting hairs? Yea right.
As far as im concerned. Say what ever you want about Atlas, Genesis, etc. Athearns SD70ACE cant come out too soon. Im really looking forward to it and the pre-production unit looks pretty good so far. Ill gladly give my money towards a unit thats fully compatible with NMRA and not some marketing BS to get people to buy this DCS system that has no support outside of MTH. Im not intrested in a locomotive that has a partial support of DCC when there are quality competitors out there that would give me what I want.
But myself. I just doesnt make any sense to leave things on the table just because a customer doesnt have a DCS system. Splitting hairs? Yea right.
As far as im concerned. Say what ever you want about Atlas, Genesis, etc. Athearns SD70ACE cant come out too soon. Im really looking forward to it and the pre-production unit looks pretty good so far. Ill gladly give my money towards a unit thats fully compatible with NMRA and not some marketing BS to get people to buy this DCS system that has no support outside of MTH. Im not intrested in a locomotive that has a partial support of DCC when there are quality competitors out there that would give me what I want.
Retirement, something to do!
The thing I love most about being retired is Model Railroading. It something I can afford and there is ALWAYS something to do! The reason I'm such a big fan of MTH is they give me more for my dollar; this company is owned by an individual not a GREEDY corporation! I wonder what size BONUS the CEO of Altas RR took for himself?
Is anybody going to the NMRA's 2010 winter meet in Palmetto, FL?
I'm not rushing, but in the time I have left they will NEVER burn out. We have nineteen pages because it's an interesting subject and MOST people like to voice there opinion somewhere.
The thing I love most about being retired is Model Railroading. It something I can afford and there is ALWAYS something to do! The reason I'm such a big fan of MTH is they give me more for my dollar; this company is owned by an individual not a GREEDY corporation! I wonder what size BONUS the CEO of Altas RR took for himself?
Is anybody going to the NMRA's 2010 winter meet in Palmetto, FL?
Problem Trucks
The Proto trucks are also more free wheeling when just rolled across a flat table top. It appears as though there is a considerable internal friction in the Genesis trucks, some of it possible coming from interference between the gears and the housing. This could result in the wheels 'skidding' rather than free rolling, and that could help contribute to the derailing problems experienced with these Genesis trucks.
Just a little experiment I carried out...I had a couple extra SD70 Athearn trucks I had picked up somewhere, and the some 3 axle trucks I have off of a Proto 1000 DL109 I'm working on. I took the two of them and ran them back and forth over a series of short radius turnouts I hooked together in a row to provide an obstacle course. It was surprising how well the Proto trucks negotiated the course SO much better than the Genesis SD ones...and these Proto trucks are longer than the Genesis ones which should make them more vulnerable to derailing.Hamltnblue said:
The Proto trucks are also more free wheeling when just rolled across a flat table top. It appears as though there is a considerable internal friction in the Genesis trucks, some of it possible coming from interference between the gears and the housing. This could result in the wheels 'skidding' rather than free rolling, and that could help contribute to the derailing problems experienced with these Genesis trucks.
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I'm sure the CEO of Atlas is just raking in the dough
It's ok to really love a company/product but you are talking MTH up like they are the second coming of Christ.HUH? MTH is a privately held corporation. It's not owned just by Mike Wolf, although he is the major shareholder. MTH has been a crashing disaster as a business. In 1998, the company had about $60 in sales and 135 employees. MTH started losing sales rapidly as it began to produce unauthorized copies of Lionel and other companies O gauge equipment. Lionel operators and collectors refused to buy from MTH, and MTH was involved in a number of lawsuits with Lionel. By 2004, the company was down to 57 employees about $30 in sales. It entered the HO market to attempt to increase revenues, at the same time suing QSI, claiming it had a patent on digital sound systems, a case he ultimately lost. His actions put some features of DCC sound on hold for years, although his claims were found to be groundless. This is not a case of David fighting Goliath. He was Goliath, having the largest market share in O scale trains in 1998, and now being number 2 behind Lionel, partially due to his aggressive and questionable business practices. Since the company is privately held, it doesn't release financials, but the latest estimate is that MTH is down to 30 employees and had 2008 revenues of about $21 million.
If you're going to start on an anti-capitalist rant, at least know what you're talking about first. You are really starting to sound like an MTH shill.
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diburning
AlcoHaulic
Couldn't have said it better Jim.
I was going to say... Is Mike Wolf suing people out of the goodness of his heart? Or is it because he's greedy?
FYI most people don't sue out of the goodness of their heart. THEY SUE FOR MONEY.
By "they give me more for my dollar" I think he means MTH pays him to go around to message boards and post good reviews about the company and its products. MTH has been found to do that on the Atlas forums, and other larger model railroading forums.
I was going to say... Is Mike Wolf suing people out of the goodness of his heart? Or is it because he's greedy?
FYI most people don't sue out of the goodness of their heart. THEY SUE FOR MONEY.
By "they give me more for my dollar" I think he means MTH pays him to go around to message boards and post good reviews about the company and its products. MTH has been found to do that on the Atlas forums, and other larger model railroading forums.
Sony is doing that too on game forums to sell its playstation. In my opinion this is the most disrespectfull to consumer AND forum member
Ericsauto
Well-Known Member
If you want to be fair, it was told to me at a business seminar that almost every company does it. That is why you can not count on reviews 100%. Research products with every avenue available. It is just the way some businesses do it. Mth is not the only train Company doing that , you can bank on that. I own a business and I think it is dirty to do things like that.
Thus brings the line line again, " Buy want makes you happy and enjoy" . It may not be the best to everyone else but if it makes you happy so be it.
Thus brings the line line again, " Buy want makes you happy and enjoy" . It may not be the best to everyone else but if it makes you happy so be it.
What in my comments are "anti-capitalist?" Its got absolutely nothing to do with that, it's all about G R E E D!!! Unfortunately, in this GREAT free system of ours, some people AND Corporations tend to take advantage.
Cjcrescent
Master Mechanic
You answered your own question.
This thread has run its course. Time to lock it!
