Model Railroading > Possible GEVO or 70ACe by Athearn?

Will Athearn announce the Gevo or Ace at Ihobby? I say the Gevo will be announced.
Charlie

nikon1 Wrote:
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> Will Athearn announce the Gevo or Ace at Ihobby? I
> say the Gevo will be announced.
> Charlie

I would argue thats the best bet. As far as I know, the SD70ACe was still a uncompleted mold when Athearn bought it.

I have heard from a few sources that we will not see any ex T55 stuff from Athearn until early 2010. Hard to believe but maybe true.

Bruce

brfriedm Wrote:
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> I have heard from a few sources that we will not
> see any ex T55 stuff from Athearn until early
> 2010. Hard to believe but maybe true.
>
> Bruce


Ditto on what Bruce has stated. I've heard the same. But you never know.

James

I have heard the same as Bruce stated. I heard it directly from Athearn.

brfriedm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have heard from a few sources that we will not
> see any ex T55 stuff from Athearn until early
> 2010. Hard to believe but maybe true.
>
> Bruce

This should be a positive as Athearn will probably move the Genesis line a little farther along with the Evolutions and the ACes in pursuit of better runnability and greater scale fidelity and detail. These will not be rushed to market. We are seeing a glimpse into the future of the Athearn Genesis line with the latest SD60Ms and SD60Is. These models have a startlingly realistic look to them, and the GE Evolutions and SD70ACes / SD70M-2s will follow suit and continue to advance the state of the art in plastic models.

MARK

sasquatch0000 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> brfriedm Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I have heard from a few sources that we will
> not
> > see any ex T55 stuff from Athearn until early
> > 2010. Hard to believe but maybe true.
> >
> > Bruce
>
> This should be a positive as Athearn will probably
> move the Genesis line a little farther along with
> the Evolutions and the ACes in pursuit of better
> runnability and greater scale fidelity and detail.
> These will not be rushed to market. We are
> seeing a glimpse into the future of the Athearn
> Genesis line with the latest SD60Ms and SD60Is.
> These models have a startlingly realistic look to
> them, and the GE Evolutions and SD70ACes /
> SD70M-2s will follow suit and continue to advance
> the state of the art in plastic models.
>
> MARK

Makes alot of sense.

How dedicated is Athearn in making correct molds from each run/delivery. Almost every GEVO delivery from every RR so far there has been something changed. Case in point is BNSF's big ES44AC delivery, take a look at photo's from where the order started in the 5700's and then look at a 5900 and continue to a 6100 and then finally the last ones into the 6200's and see all the things that changed along the way. Alot of times it's the radiators but the dyno brake section has changed alot too! So basically every run for every RR needs a re-tooled mold. I hope they just don't do a bunch of "well thats close enough" models. That was the reason why I waas prepared to stick with T55 if they had survived, they took the time to get the model right like the OMI counterparts. In short i don't want NS ES40DC's running around with Nose headlights and junk like that. Do them right Athearn!

DeutzHDL, I gotta tell you that there is still reservation space open for Overland brass Norfolk Southern ES40DCs for the next run. These are definately expensive but they're worth every penny. I have a few of the BNSF and UP brass ES44DC and AC45ACCTE versions. Maybe Athearn will do them, maybe they won't. If you think you'll be sorry if you miss these... strike fast!

MARK

DeutzHDL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How dedicated is Athearn in making correct molds
> from each run/delivery. Almost every GEVO delivery
> from every RR so far there has been something
> changed. Case in point is BNSF's big ES44AC
> delivery, take a look at photo's from where the
> order started in the 5700's and then look at a
> 5900 and continue to a 6100 and then finally the
> last ones into the 6200's and see all the things
> that changed along the way. Alot of times it's the
> radiators but the dyno brake section has changed
> alot too! So basically every run for every RR
> needs a re-tooled mold. I hope they just don't do
> a bunch of "well that's close enough" models. That
> was the reason why I was prepared to stick with
> T55 if they had survived, they took the time to
> get the model right like the OMI counterparts. In
> short i don't want NS ES40DC's running around with
> Nose headlights and junk like that. Do them right
> Athearn!


I have to tell you that I think you would be better off ordering the Overland Brass units. One of the reasons that T55 had trouble was trying to get every "phase" correct. It is very expensive to redo a plastic injection mold every time you want to make a change. I can't see Athearn doing that. It is just not cost effective. There will probably be some changes or "phases" but most likely there will be more of a generic model produced. Headlight placement, horns, will be done properly, I can assume that because they do that now, but other things such as dynamic grids and radiator grids will most likely have to be more generic.
Just my two sense.
James

You used this same reasoning over and over with T55 and you were incorrect. T55 took their time because they had no money to move along their projects that were poorly managed. According to several sources, Athearns delay on GEVO's and ACE's is strictly due to their project books being filled and they will have to schedule in the ex T55 stuff into the schedule like anything else. They have work to do. They have to design new drive systems for the GEVO's. The have to design handrails for the GEVO's. They have to decide if they are going to upgrade the molds to run different GEVO variations for CSX, NS and others. It is doubtful that the market will absorb many more UP and BNSF GEVO's as they didn't even sell well under T55. Shoot, the only GEVO that sold well out of the gates from T55 was the BNSF H3 followed by the UP with the red sill stripe. After that, they fell off a cliff. As for the ACE's, they need to finish the molds and then design a new drive system for that. Then MRC has to get out into the field and record and build sound decoders for ACE's and GEVO's. Athearn has been building incredibly detailed stuff for years if you have not noticed. It did not start with the SD60M's. We all have our opinions on the handrails and drives, but the detail work has been excellent and rising for years. If Athearn announces GEVO's and ACE's sooner then early 2010, I will be fine with that but I susepect this info I have heard is true.

Bruce

sasquatch0000 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> brfriedm Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I have heard from a few sources that we will
> not
> > see any ex T55 stuff from Athearn until early
> > 2010. Hard to believe but maybe true.
> >
> > Bruce
>
> This should be a positive as Athearn will probably
> move the Genesis line a little farther along with
> the Evolutions and the ACes in pursuit of better
> runnability and greater scale fidelity and detail.
> These will not be rushed to market. We are
> seeing a glimpse into the future of the Athearn
> Genesis line with the latest SD60Ms and SD60Is.
> These models have a startlingly realistic look to
> them, and the GE Evolutions and SD70ACes /
> SD70M-2s will follow suit and continue to advance
> the state of the art in plastic models.
>
> MARK

Bruce, you're funny. You'll take any opportunity to disagree with somebody who agrees with you. We agree... read a little closer.

Cheers! MARK

They aren't going to announce any modern units. It will be the FP7 and FP9.

Rick

It won't be a modern unit, but it won't be an FP7 or 9 either. It will be an EMD though...
It has 4 axles and between 1000 and 2000 HP.

BNSFCSX