The best thing about this new run is that after all the whining is done, Kato will still sell every one of them.
Yep, Kato will prevail - although they started out making models for ConCor, Atlas, and others believe they have been under the same ownership for decades - please correct if wrong. The mood on this and other model railroad forums is downbeat. I admitted on the OGR forum that the new Lionel VL Hudson was very desirable but at $1600 not affordtable for me. People used to be excited and say they plan on buying new products in all guages. Maybe people could admit it when a new product does not fit into their budget instead of just finding fault. "Its the economy studpid".
I don't know that I would call the mood here downbeat, only observant. I think what you hear is the result of the time that has passed since these were last released in the 90s, and the disappointment that the U30C/SD45?C30-7 just aren't up to snuff in terms of the paint and detail quality that is expected today. Now if you want to hear howling, just wait until Con-Cor re-releases the U50 and the Gas Turbine......
There is nothing to admit, and nobody is stupid (I find your use of that expression to be degrading). If it's just a matter of the economy, you would hear people picking apart the Atlas releases as well. It seems to be that the originator of this thread actually bought the product that he has made these observations about.
I think the photo at the start of this thread comes under hard facts and observations and shows that Kato's depiction of Santa Fe yellow has deteriorated over the years rather than improved with each run, but as some said it's not just ATSF but all yellows that they seem to be having problems with lately. They can simulate stainless steel better than anyone but seemingly have trouble with plain colours. Other than the paint problems there is nothing wrong with Kato and I'll take a Kato mechanism over anyone else's.
Lionel trains retail as high as $2100 and I'm convinced that some forum members were dumping on the Lionel VL Hudson and other Lionel trains because they could not afford them so I admitted that $1600 was too steep for me - nothing wrong with that. By the way when Atlas's last new N guage model was released - the wide cab dash 8 - people were complaining about the price - much higher than a Kato loco on this forum.
It is not a sin to air disappointment of an item being beyond ones budget. After a couple of edits this evening, Staff believes this topic has run it's course.