Any pics of the new KATO SP beauty? I just found one on Ebay, but it doesn't give you a good feeling, because of the strange angle of the photo shot. Thank you for your support.
It looks to me that Kato used the Athearn shell. Handrails in the wrong place, no white paint, no window on the door. To me the Athearn is a better model, at least it has the door window. IMHO!
CSX Paint Observations Just got my two CSX units today. To answer the handrail question, Kato used yellow molded plastic. First look, they look great. When I get close, I am a bit surprised that there's sloppy treatment at the color edges on both. Instead of sharp transitions from the yellow nose, for instance, it appears to bleed into the blue. The rear has the same problems. Most telling of what must have been a rush job, I can clearly see where some yellow nose paint pooled on the below surface at the corners. Not a horrible paint job, but I expected more of Kato. Shawn
I have not seen the models just the pictures on Chuck's web site. I have not been really satisfied with Kato's painting for some time. I only could compare the F3 with the IM F3 (Santa Fe, Western Pacific) which showed that IM did a better job on the color edges. It seemed that Kato uses an outdated method for masking that does not produce crisp color separation. I can recall a discussion on Kato BNSF models that had some paint separation problems but I don't know if that ever got fixed.
The one I have is from the first run with the 3 pole motor. I find that it runs very good. The second release had a 5 pole. Thom
I have several of the Athearn units - they are very good runners, and good pullers also. Quiet and smooth, good low speed operation. All in all I like them and will probably keep them - running them as #2 or 3 units w/ a Kato up front since the Kato's have working ditch lights.
The Atlas GP9 nor the Atlas GP35 are Kato shells... some of the GP35 is made from Kato tooling that Atlas owns and got after the Atlas/kato split, some is made from Atlas' own tooling made after the split. The GP9 is definately not Kato either... anybody who remembers the orignal Atlas/Kato GP9 can attest to that. As to why the ends aren't painted, it's becuase of the handrail/sill construction the models employ. The SD35 has separate handrails, the GP35 and GP9 have sill/handrail assemblies.
Now that I am home I can compare my Kato and Athearn CSX units side by side. I wish I could merge the two to create the perfect model. Paint: Kato has a fuller coat of paint for the white cab roof and sharper CSX logos on the long hood. Athearn has sharp edges as you transition body colors and painted colors to highlight a few tank details. Details: Kato offers working ditch lights and has finer fan detail. Athearn installed sunshades and painted the cab door window. Athearn has thiner handrails. Both use different sizes for the number boards and the numbering on the side of the cab. I haven't figured out who's closest to reality. Shawn
Looking at various pictures, it looks like the Kato unit features 5 steps instead of 4 like the prototype SP units have. I believe the Athearn unit features 4 steps. One more thing to ponder, as I have not decided on which one to get myself. Russ
A few thoughts on the Athearn vs Kato SD-70... I would be happier with the Athearn units if they did not slow down a bit on any kind of a curve, if the cab glass was easier to see through and not so distorted, and if glue wasn't used to assemble the body. I did notice that Kato installed the air hoses and front cab railings, which before had to be installed by the buyer. It also runs very smoothly, regardless of whether it's running on straight or curved track. Has anyone else had a problem with their Athearn slowing on curves?
