Hmmm.... So why ask why? It's Bachmans business and they have been successful at it while others struggle or stall. Maybe they just wanted too. Maybe someone higher up in their chain wanted it.. Maybe they need negative selling products for tax reasons. Who really cares so hard anyway? They are making product. Getting it to us. And improving their products. (Long time coming right?) As for why the make thing not quite perfect? Oh well.. Basher need something to do anyway. And complainers will just complain.... I do agree about prices getting out of hand. But then again, hamburger is $5 a pound.. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
What today is not PRC plastic? And let us not forget that the final word is that of the party that originated the order. As for this locomotive being "non Spectrum" I believe that to be a non issue. I think Bachmann has dropped the Spectrum designation. The original 2-8-0's were designated Spectrum but the newer DCC models are not. However, they are basically the same design with DCC added.
But then again, hamburger is $5 a pound.. If Bachmann sold it, it would be $15 a pound MSRP, but available for $7.50 a pound at certain stores and on the internet
I have read a lot of threads on Bachmann's releases on multiple forums over the past month or so. I don't understand why there is so much vitriol over this. Look, I am no big fan of Bachmann's quality, QC, designs, or their engines in general. But I can tell you this. I ran one of those Bachmann K4's at the Portland NMRA show. That thing runs good, period. It runs far better than the Berkshire (which I have also tested and taken apart and consider to be a horribly designed engine). Does the K4 run as well as the Kato FEF? As well as the Kato Mikado? Or an Atlas or Kato diesel? Nope. No way. And the way it's designed, it never will. And that's one of the reasons I would never buy one even if I still modeled PRR. I expect better for $230. But it does run good, and in fact, it runs far better than any brass PSC K4 I've ever seen. Is the K4 priced fairly? For me, I say "no". But $230 to $250 for a *new* engine that runs well is a better value than brass scarfed off eBay, where you can only buy one, with no service or parts support. And of course, the demand for a PRR K4 is huge. People have been waiting for it for years. All the manufacturers had their chance to make one. Bachmann decided to do it. Well then, they deserve the profits for it. That's business. --------- So now, why a GG1? Maybe because Bachmann thinks they can sell one cheaper than Kato, or because they can offer one with DCC and sound ready to go. It's clear from their last few offerings, which only come with full DCC and sound, that they think that's where the market is headed. I think they are probably right. I don't like it. I don't like buying engines with DCC because I don't use DCC, and even all the DCC guys often like to use their own decoders and would rather buy the engine without to save money. If Bachmann's GG1 is cheaper and has DCC built in, I bet it will work for them. And again... it's all about business. They are making what the consumer wants. Forget the narrow segment that lives on these forums. The mass of their customers are not Trainboard (or Railwire) denizens.
Hopefully they are making what the consumer wants. We really do not know how they decided there indeed was a significant mass market awaiting this product.
Bachmann's non-sound GG1 is not cheaper. In fact, the street prices I've seen so far are higher than the MSRP for the Kato version, and the non-sound one is not DCC equipped, it's DCC ready.
Correct you are, sir. I went back and double-checked this. Sorry for my mistake. BLW, for example, is listing it at $146. The engine is due in 2016. If the price stays above Kato's, then perhaps Bachmann's strategy is that Kato will not produce anymore or that people will be willing to pay a premium price for a GG1 that has DCC and sound ready-to-go.
The problem B-mann has had over the years. A locomotive will run admirably better then others but it will tear itself apart while operating on your railroad. While my Kato locomotives are still running. Just something to think about. My sucker light has been on to many times and the locomotives I purchased have eventually ended up Bad Ordered or sitting on the Dead Line, to be torched. Is your sucker light on? Two weeks ago, I tried to get a friends HO GS4 in for repairs and was told to look up the parts myself on the internet and if the parts or chassis is still available it can be fixed. Excuse me, you have a parts list right in front of you and I have to what? Now that is real special service. Wow! I'm impressed....NOT! Sometime it's wise to be a member of the DGAS Committee. You'll figure it out. Anyway, the friend who owns it boxed it back-up and plans to sell it at the next swap-meet. Beware!
