I recieved 2 SF F7 units for Christmas and i must say i am impressed. The detail is amazing, it even has windshield wipers which i almost missed because of their size. It runs quiet and smooth. It out shines Kato's units imo. These are my first IM engines i have had and it won't be the last. I did have the cab forward on order and was bit worried it may not be that good but after seeing those F7's i can't wait for it to show up. Dave
My IM F7's are among my favorite engines.These engines,along with Atlas' SD24s(also among my favorites)are the main reason I decided to back date.I already had the SD24s and as soon as IM announced the SOU units the decision was made.I hope they will do the F3s and FP7s in the tuxedo scheme soon.
WOW These units! That is all I can say. All the details they have I could go on and on. I had a chance to run some BN F7's A and B. Awesome!!! I am going to finaly get some FP's and a F9B for the Nebkota Railway, NRI.
The IM FT, F-3 and F-7 units are all excellent running diesels with outstanding detailing. IM did a fine job with these loco's:thumbs_up:
How about the ride height and tjhe extended coupling distance between units? Others have panned these units for these things.
It's relatively easy to lower the height on these diesels as well as change the couplers to Unimates.
Check for a thread by Sizemore in the How To forum. Do a "Lowering Intermountain F7" search in that forum. The tutorial is a really bunch of photos in his RailImages albums.
The only bad thing that I can say about the IM F7s is that the side grills bend or gets warped real easy. The grab irons can break real easy too. I have two of these locos, a Santa Fe blue-bonnet and a Santa Fe yellow-bonnet. They are nice but I am afraid to handle them because of their details. I actually prefer a locomotive with less details.
I own numerous FT, F3, F7, FP7, and SD40T2, SD45T2 & SD45-2 units from IMRC. There are some issues with ride height and couplers (breaking off); plus some sloppy assembly. Mechanically, these are superb running models. Of course... I do not absolve Intermountain for their many 'Quality Control' issues over the years... but they tend to be mainly cosmetic rather than mechanical. IMRC has made mistakes over the past five years and they've paid the price of being thrashed on forums by many of us (me in particular). I continue to buy from them because they are putting out models we were not getting from other manufacturers in a timely manner (Kato in particular). They have always done well in the customer service area whenever a problem does occur and stand behind their products... admit mistakes and work hard to satisfy customer concerns. While I'd like for them to be perfect... I appreciate their efforts thusfar... and continue to purchase their products. I am waiting for a new shipment of F7' any day now. HansCampbell... the fine grab-iron details on the Intermountain F units are made of phosphor bronze wire and will NOT break-off easily. The etched brass (or etched stainless steel?) grilles have not given me any problems over the past few years. I must admit that I do not run these engines a lot... and handle them with 'kid gloves' so as to avoid damaging the detail parts. The details for the most part appear to be able to withstand some handling (with care).
I have 12 of the F7's and 3 A-B sets of the FT's. All of them are awesome runners. I can't wait to get more of them.
