Herd that kato is having trouble with the molds and the engines are not going to be avalible untill fall of 2001 can anyone confirm this.
<font color="336633">i have heard from my dealer that due to lack of intrest in both N and HO Kato have put them back a while</font> ------------------ Matthew wheres all the C636's???? stickymonk.com Matts Photo gallery TrainBoard member #257
Lack of interest???? On who's part? Sounds like Kato is dropping the ball. I'll bet there are plenty of modelers in both scales who want a '90. Sheesh.
I think it would have something to do with the lackluster sales of Kato's recent releases. Their SD40-2's weren't all that great performance-wise IMHO, and performance is one of the things people expect from Kato. Also, the detail level of Kato's products has basically remained the same since their first HO release, the SD40, while new products from companies like Atlas, Athearn, and P2k have consistently raised the bar on details, paint and overall quality. All that, and Kato's frustrating, extremely limited-runs have put Kato in the doghouse with myself and many other modelers. I own some of Kato's earlier releases, like the SD40 and GP35, and am happy with them; however, I picked up an SD40-2, and I'm sorry to say I was disappointed with it...I actually prefer the retooled Athearn models, which I have several of. The Kato didn't live up to many peoples' expectations. Maybe Kato is taking a breather to step back and re-evaluate what needs to be done to make a better, more competitive product. And as for the popularity of the SD80/90, while there are now more paintschemes that can be done for it, there are still lots of locomotives higher up on most folks' want lists...like the SD70MAC, SD35, B23/30/36-7, and MP15AC, to name a few. None of these have been done in high-quality plastic, and there's definite demand for them. Myself and others were surprised to hear Kato was doing SD80/90's. Just my opinions, though...your mileage may vary! ------------------ Have A Nice Day! [This message has been edited by Mankind (edited 18 December 2000).]
<font color="336633">i was suprised at the lack of sales from the latest release of the GP35, i was talking to a model shop about it and he said all the Atlas GP38's had been and gone and he cant shift the 35's he also had loads of SD40-2's snoots and early ones. I wouldnt be suprised if Kato re think their product and produce something that has better detailing (and maybe for once get the paint right ) i will wait and see what they do b4 i place any advanced orders, and these days it really dont seem any point in it</font> ------------------ Matthew wheres all the C636's???? stickymonk.com Matts Photo gallery TrainBoard member #257
While I have no interest in the SD90 or whatever from Kato (because I model ATSF in 1989), it is true that they have an image problem over the SD40-2. I have ten of them, all with the correct snoot nose for Santa Fe from Cannon, and they all run very well, but I tweaked each of them while installing decoders. With tweaking, on my railroad, which is built for operation primarily, they run at least as well as other Kato products. I think the GP35, which I already had a potfull of, was a mistake, because Atlas was bringing out their GP40 (and GP38) which as far as detailing blows the dynamics off of Kato. My big gripe with Kato, which someone else mentioned, is the incorrect paint jobs, for example, painting the walkways on SantaFe diesels yellow. Yeeeesch! Bob Miller
