Another post got me to thinking about unprototypical car produced by various manufacturers. I have to place my vote for the series of N Scale grain cars produced by Model Power to represent Canadian Grian cars. They had great paint jobs but were completely the wrong car. OK!! All you rivot counters post your selection here!
Boy that's a difficult one. Most manufactuers make comprimises to prototypical accuracy in the name of mass production. Even the expensive stuff usually requires some minor corrections to be accurate. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining - I would rather buy a $10 box car that needs an hour or two of modifications than buy a $50 boxcar that is 100% perfect. That to me would be a let down. Sure it's perfect, but anyone can just buy it. So I guess the least prototypical would have to be Tomas the Tank Engine! Of course we can't forget the Model Railroader anniverary boxcars either
Our vote is for the MODEL POWER Search Light car they produced a few years ago. The brakewheel was just about correct for O-Scale, the lens of the searchlight melted if left on too long (surprised they never got sued for posing a fire hazzard) and the two figures that were mounted on the car seemed to be extra shiney
I forget who made it but how about a GG1 electric in Conrail's blue and white . I think it might have been from the dreamworks at Concor?
Some of my runners up where the Bachman "Reading" 484 oil fired steamer.The Concor NYC 636 and the Atlas RSC-2 in NYC(The central never used any C trucks) .But nothing looked as bad as the GG1 in Conrail blue and white.Truly tasteless and I'm a New York Central fan , I sure felt for the Pennsy people.
How about Bachmann's 2-8-2, Bachmann's high nose GP50, Con-Cor's 4-6-4's in anything other than NYC or turbines in anything other than UP? For cars, Model Power's refrigerator cars with only two ice hatches and lateral running boards, or box cars with same have no prototype either. I believe we have also been treated to flat cars with automobiles, boats and missiles, but those are so repugnant I forgot who made them, but it was either Bachmann or Model Power. UGH!! [ 22 May 2001: Message edited by: Gregg Mahlkov ]
I'll vote for Con-Cor's sw1500, heck they only have 2 strips of plastic to represent something like a fuel tank.
What about the deluxe inovations atomic waste hopper???? The car glows in the dark. Now, there is something that NEVER had a prototype. But then again, it was made as a novelty, a humorous piece...not like some of the other "Models" mentioned that the company tried to sell as serious models... Jeff Augsburg & Concord R.R. (a fictional shortline in Central Illinois) http://www.geocities.com/revnjeff/index.html
Why do manufacturers run fantasy paint schemes? Because we buy them and because they need to recoup tooling costs. There are only finite numbers of NYC (Hudson) and UP (turbine) modelers out there. So once you offer the correct roadnames, you test the market to see what sells. And to one extent or another, we do buy them. I believe there was one Wisconsin Central boxcar with the Model Railroader logo on it. And what about the acknowledged leader in N freight cars selling Pepsi and Smokey the Bear items? Sure the Rivarossi SW1500 has a crude fuel tank but remember the tooling dates to 1968. And I always thought the angled cab roof was not prototype -- but check out the photo of ICG1492 here http://gelwood.railfan.net/other/ic/icg1492k.jpg Yes it came out of the Paducah Shops under the SW14 rebuild program but who is say that the prototype wasn't "reverse engineered" from the model?. And what about our many N diesel and steam locomotive models? 100% wrong because they run on supplied electricity instead of fossil fuels. Only electric locomotives run on supplied electricity. If the only items available on the market were 100% rivet counting, micro-meter scale perfect either (a) they wouldn't work, or (b) they would break too easily (not all dimensions scale down perfectly) or (c)they would be priced so high you could not afford it--look at the price of N brass articulated steam locomotives......... or (d) no manufacturer could afford the cost of tooling up another brand new model every time he turned around. I yield the podium, DB [ 22 May 2001: Message edited by: dbn160 ]
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dbn160: I believe there was one Wisconsin Central boxcar with the Model Railroader logo on it. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yep, there was one. An ex-Soo 7-post FDL-built if I recall correctly. MTL and Con-Cor did representations, with the MTL unit being the closest. Both had the MR logo printed on the car sides, but the prototype had the logo on a plate attached to the ribs. Gary.
Matt, You mean you don't like the U50 Amtrak?? Guess that means you don't like the Santa Fe blue bonnet turbine either, eh? Probably the dumbest thing I've seen is the guy who stripped and repainted a 4-6-6-4 into Pennsy green with 4 stripe livery. He was arguing with the local train shop owner that "he was from PA and he knows they had one" Too bad he can't count, cuz somewhere between PA & UT it growed 4 more drivers! 2slim
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 2slim: Matt, You mean you don't like the U50 Amtrak?? Guess that means you don't like the Santa Fe blue bonnet turbine either, eh? Probably the dumbest thing I've seen is the guy who stripped and repainted a 4-6-6-4 into Pennsy green with 4 stripe livery. He was arguing with the local train shop owner that "he was from PA and he knows they had one" Too bad he can't count, cuz somewhere between PA & UT it growed 4 more drivers! 2slim<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I believe Universal Rule No.1 applies here. You know the one that says (paraphrase) It's my railroad and I'll do as I want. Universal rule No. 2 also applies. (paraphrase) In event of any discrepancies with prototype refer to rule No. 1.
I can't think offhand what would get my vote... i was thinking Concor stuff too though As a kid i did have some of them Model Power searchlight that melted if left on too long... lol 14volts in bare plastic
I think the Thomas/Annie/Clarabel set in N Scale looks pretty prototypical to the series (minus to moving eyes and changing facial expressions of course lol)
