Well, one is twice the price of the other and one has DC and Sound. The other is half the price and DC optional. That seems like two very different market segments to me.
Except I can put DDC and sound in the KATO. Those are an add-on accessory and not indicative of the quality. The KATO is made better with a better mechanism and doesn't look out of scale.
I think that Kato has the nose contours on the E8 and the F3/F7 as close to "prototypically correct" as possible, with BLI/PCM a close second with their E units, and Life-Life a very distant third. There are viewing angles associated with the LL E units that make my brain go "Huh?", and some other angles that seem to be okay. The old Atlas and Con-Cor E units were decent in the nose contour area as well, but are essentially obsolete with the detached, truck-mounted pilots. E7's were very often modified by railroads due to the peculiarities of their air intake and ventilation systems. This tended to give the side panels a wide variety of configurations - not many railroads kept their E7's in their original factory configurations. And most E7's had screening over the radiators - not the longitudinal, corrugated vents typical of Life-Like models. BLI/PCM E7's do have simulated screening over the radiators.
I agree, the Kato bulldogs are the benchmark for N scale. I do think that Life-Like failed on the E8, but their E6 and E7 were pretty damn close to the real deal. The mechanism just never did it for me. Now that LL is not doing E units that we know about, Kato should step in and do the 6/7.
The whole E unit debate is frustrating since we now have so much great passenger equipment to run on our layouts. We need more varied E units. I realize KATO avoids smaller roads and isn't particularly interested in increasing its US market share. I want LL-Walthers to produce the E7's that they did some years ago in HO. Since they did a Maine Central E7 (green/gold) in HO I'm hoping to see one done in "Proto N" by them. I don't need DCC or sound. Just want a smooth running MEC E7 to pull my Wheels of Time baggage cars and Lima/MTL heavyweights around my basement!! I talk to the Walthers rep about this at the Amherst Society Show in West Springfield each January. So far, no E7's. Has anyone experienced Walther's Proto N E8/9's that they offered in the past (not the old LL version but the more recent offering with powered A & B units)? Was the machanism decent? Does anyone have any insights into Walthers plans for their Proto N locomotive offerings?
The second generation E8's with the metal chassis are outstanding runners (albeit not DCC Ready). I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a re-release, though. There doesn't seem to be much commitment to N scale coming from Walthers. Cheers, -Mark
Life Like E7s and E6s noses look better than PCMs. Their cab windows are also in scale. The Life Like E8 is totally wrong.
