In my case that does not work. I spend it all on postage and our Swiss taxes, including handling fees! With CH being a particular bother these days. They only ship DHL Express abroad. I would not mind waiting a few extra days for the money I could save. Good thing I can have non-urgent items sent to my son in Chicago. But it means having to wait several months before one of us visits in either direction. There are several Swiss stores that carry US train stuff. But the selection is extremely limited and their prices are very high. The majority of items are on special order only. Thus, I have to wait anyway, meaning I may as well get the stuff directly.
Hi Robert, My K-36 is flying logo and has large font 480 on the cab whereas the K-37 in herald has a smaller font 497 on the cab. The size differences match up to the pictures in NG Pictorial V XI. The same size differences are observed on the numbers on the tender rears, flying logo being larger than herald. It also appears that the same rules applied to my herald K-28, however, the flying K-27 has numbers that are about the same size of the herald K-28. Something else to look into I guess....
Number sizes Regarding the K-27, I said in post #50 that the numbers on the cab sides differed according to the type of cab as well. That is just for the flying RG paint scheme. The steel cab 461 (it was the only one with such a cab, except for the post-wreck RGS 455) had the large numbers like all the other K types. The other K-27s (all of them with wood cabs) kept their smaller sized numbers when they got the flying RG letters. The larger number version would not have fit into the indentation of the cab side. Blackstone faithfully reproduced this on their HOn3 models. Now to the tender: I don't know about the prototype, but on my HOn3 Blackstone models, the numbers at the ends of the tenders correspond to the lettering style. Thus, my 464 with its flying RG has the small numbers on the cab, but the large size on the tender. MMI, however chose the same (smaller) size for the tender on my 463 despite the flying RG lettering. As they issued only a single style tender, I would assume that the lettering was also done less prototypically than what Blackstone was able to accomplish. But the overall impression of the MMI model is excellent anyway. And when it comes to running quality, it's definitely better than the "Blackstones".
I am not verry impressed with the new k-37, It has so many various problems like the doghouse being on boards, the distance from the cab to the tender being way to far apart, and specifically on mine the technical faults, but I think that once i get mine weathered, DCC, sound equiped, and make some minor changes in the construction of the locomotive it will be a masterpiece
Have you made any progress in the direction you intended? Here is the present state of my K-37. I had previously added a coal load and lowered the doghouse. Meanwhile, I mounted the toolbox next to it. The somewhat unusual position seems to be prototypical for my particular model. I used two pictures by John West for determining it. I also added the shroud to the cab roof. This has changed the appearance quite a bit. Also, I had to tackle several manufacturing defects. That's actually the main reason this model was sitting on a shelf without the tender for quite a while. The only weathering I have done so far is on the rods and counterweights. Finally, I cut off a portion of the bell frame on the right side. That way, the appearance is at least a bit closer to the prototype. Overall, I'm very pleased with this one as it is now. Though some further detailing is planned for some time in the future.
oh u guys does it have a DCC controller, or is there an easy way to fit one, seems dammed tricky to me
Hi Greaser-Girl, These units do not come with a DCC controller. That said, there are a few issues with installing them that you need to be aware of. The number board lamps as well as the marker light bulbs may have limited life if not dealt with correctly. I'm not DCC savvy so I suggest that you contact the supplier of the units you plan to use. Contact Mark at PSC/MMI for his advice since he is responsible for the production of these MMI locomotives. http://www.precisionscaleco.com/ Selct the About PSC tab to get their phone number. Also, The On3 forum at Yahoo has also had quite a few threads about installing DCC on these units. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/on3/ Welcome aboard!
Are they ever going to re-release the K-27/K-28? I've been waiting for a while now, but they're out of stock everywhere. The K-37s are simply too large for my tastes... the K-27/28s manage to seem large without it becoming overwhelming (I suppose that the K-37's standard gauge ancestry probably has something to do with it). It seems like there is a lot of demand - certainly enough to justify a second run of these - but I've heard nothing from MMI about it. As nice as their new 4-4-0s are, IMO they don't hold a candle to their D&RG stuff.
Southwest Narrow Gauge has K-27's in stock and indicates that a new run of K-28's will arrive this month. http://www.i-sng.com/On3/On3_Locomotives/new_die/new_die.html
What kind of turn radius can these take? I was toying with a minimum 24" radius on my new railroad, but is that too small? If I pick one of these badboys up as a graduation present, I can change my railroad's theoretical design at this point to accomodate its needs.
I believe they recommend 36" minimum radius but I think Swissboy has run his down to 34". For the price these are great units. I have a K-27, K-28, K-36 and K-37. As well as two of the C-16's on order. They run well but can be prone to shorting issues with the brake gear details etc. I haven't run them beyond mmy 3' test bench yet. Got to get the basement remodel finished. Very soon!
I have heard people comment about difficulties with wiring them for DCC and sound because of a difference in ampage. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
I have no experience with installing DCC on these units. However MMI did produce these to be DC or DCC compatible. I may try one later but my layout needs to be built first. That said, it is supposedly straight forward. One will have to take note that some of the units use both 12V and 1.5V bulbs and I've read that the DCC decoders will burn out the 1.5V bulbs if no series resistor is added to them.
MMI says their On3 C-19 takes 32". And yes, my own tightest curves are 34". This is fine for all my MMI Ks, also for the San Juan cars that are built for 34".
