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Hi All,
Received my Bachmann PC E33 a few weeks ago ,having at
last found time to look at it thought it might be of interest to some folks to
read about some Preliminary Observations?Most of which is applicable to the
Conrail model also.
1 New clear plastic interior box! I like it (at the moment
i am in the middle of a major DIY in the spare bedroom-guess where everything is
stored in the mean time :-( Sigh.) it allows one to place it on a
table/shelf ,well protected from dust and most accidental knocks and just
enjoy it. One hopes that all future loco models come packed this way. The way to
go for sure IMO.
2 Getting the loco out of it's box i found ,is
fairly straight forward (more than can be said for some manufacturers products
including Bachmann) .First Impressions - Very Good - best yet from
Bachmann, overall dimensions appear to be correct (have not been able to
find a scale drawing) there is a lot of detail on this model some of its
correct, some of it even the correct scale, the model overall reflects a
lot of thought and effort that has been put into it.
3 The first and most obvious mistake is the oversized PC
logo on the front of the short hood, not easy to remove -- I have managed to do
so, but have found the plastic very soft and easy to mark.
A good point for Bachmann - the body is
reasonably easy to separate from the frame and/or chassis, more than can be said
for a lot of other models - take note Kato and Athearn.
4 It unfortunately suffers from the usual generic problems
re Bachmann products , what appears to be scale grabirons superglued in
- tight against the body -, this is really noticeable re-the step/grab
irons for reaching the roof of the locomotive. The toe kicks/kick
plates(?) are missing in this area - again very noticeable. I
have managed to unglue some of the grab irons but will have to replace a number
of them.
5 Another generic problem break cylinders are
too small- , for me they will have to be changed.
6 Re - Truck centres......E33 model = scale 41.5'
....(U25C = 42 ft).
7 Re - Truck length.........E33 model = scale 13 ft
....(U25C = 13 ft).inserts
8 Re - length of chassis/frame..E33 model = scale 64 feet
(U25C= 64.5).
9 The see-through grills are incredible - a wake-up
call to other manufactures well done
Bachmann.
10 Trucks - against photos look fair representation
though I think a lot of us will be adding further detail.
11 Frame --is made of metal, which has a good side as this
helps to add weight to the loco, though the steps are plastic
inserts with see-through square holes. Unfortunately there are
several no no's with the pilot faces -- most of the detail is either wrong
scale, wrongly placed, or doesn't exist on prototype, or should be
but isn't there at all!
One of them, the missing footboards, would be okay
for Conrail - all PC photos that I have seen have them in place - this
part by the way is made of plastic and looks to be under scale?
The various hoses are well detailed but look to be under
scale? They are plastic as is the piece of right angle plastic that they
are attached to - this is over scale.
The two grab irons above are incorrect, and I have already
removed mine.
The uncoupling lever I can live with but unfortunately
sits to high, OK I hear you say -- so what! Well if you want to add the
correct full width hand rail they will end up being far too close together IMO
and will look odd.
The mu cable on the pilot front I have only seen on the
preserved Virginian livery loco, not on any others.I have taken mine
off.
Incidentally the handrails from the top of the
frame/pilot do not descend far enough down -- see photos re -- George
Elwood site and/or PC Web site. Of course it is far easier to do these
corrections with a plastic pilot than a metal pilot :-(.
12 the handrails alongside the long -- hood are
commendably fine/thin maybe too much so? The worst problem I have noted is
either the delrin has shrunk or the holes in the frame have not been correctly
spaced ? Several of the stanchion posts are misaligned leaning in one direction
or the other , plus all the white paintwork should be yellow on the ends of the
handrails, this includes the steps and the grabirons,plus uncoupling lever.Piece
of chain each end will be needed for between the handrails above the
pilots.
13 Crew are included and are fixed to the metal frame ,
though unpainted, are at least to HO scale - I happen to like crews in my
cabs it doesn't make sense to me to have a well detailed loco, but no crew
in the cab IMO. I slightly changed the body forms of my crew and painted
them.
14 Nos on side of the cab are not of the correct style -
haven't made up my mind whether i will change them or not a lot will depend on
how easy it is to obtain replacement decos for the nos and of course a new PC
worm on the nose.Any advice in this direction would be appreciated, particularly
who would be likely to have them in stock.
15 Headlights at either end are nice but too small. Number
boards also look under size but not too sure.Without a scale drawing its
difficult to say, if anyone can advise me on where i can obtain a scale drawing
it would be greatly appreciated .
16 Roof- the handrail (?) above the lights are non
existent in the PC/Conrail era, but appear to be in place before that . Horns i
don't know , don't have a good enough photo to say one way or the other . In
general the roof detail appear very good indeed to my untutored eye, but i am
sure others better placed and more experienced than i will hopefully come
forward and give us the benefit of their wisdom. The lifting irons for the
various access hatches are included, but for some bizarre reason are standing
upright rather than laying flat as most photos seem to show. Incidentally
through the fine mesh you are able to see a facsimile of what i presume is the
cooling fan for the motors/generators.
17 Included as extra part is the Pennsy signal box ( first
time ever i think) but unfortunately seems to be too small?
18 Also included are 2 side mirrors/wind
deflectors 4 really are required, again i am not sure whether these are the
right size?
19 Side skirts good news for those of us who like to
create individual detail, these are separate pieces and therefore would be able
to be cut down to fit those locomotives that were so equipped - by the way the
air tanks and some pipework are included behind the skirts, altogether nice
thinking on Bachmann's part.
20 Some window wipers are included and are fine scale,
have not got around to working out whether they are correct for this
loco or not yet, but at least a move in the right direction by Bachmann.
Cab side windows do slide too and fro, perhaps just a little too
easily.
In summary - I have been a customer of
Bachmann's for many years, at one time from both sides of the counter, and apart
from the English thing of rather having a soft touch for those regarded as the
under dog have always followed their progress with interest if not somewhat at
times with frustration. seeing their potential for being one of the top guys yet
always seeming to fall short at the last hurdle. With this last effort they seem
to almost get over it , but not quite . I very much like this model and despite
its problems i am sure quite rightly will be very popular, particularly in NH
and Virginian liveries apart from the fact that also its unusualness and its
uniqueness , so how about it Bachmann, at least sort out the pilot plate
problems + those awful brk. cly. and you will be well on the way.
Mechanically i am not yet in a position to say for reasons already stated , the
people that sold me the locomotive tested it for me and were impressed by both
the running and the looks of the locomotive and just putting some test wires on
the trucks i didn't find it overly noisy, but of course these are subjective
observations, i leave it to others with the place and equipment to so this - the
ultimate test?
Regards,
Ken
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