Hey Guys,
Piko sent me a sample of the new PIKO #38241 CNJ 2-6-0 Camelback Loco “Blue Comet” & Tender With DCC And Sound. It may not be prototypical but it’s awesome! Really love the blue.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.974863572529455.1073741870.413396772009474&type=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b6bVQp5iGM
http://www.trainworld.com/manufacturers/piko-trains/g-engines/
Anybody got the smelling salts?
It REALLY looks toylike…
Might appeal to the younger set, but if I buy something for kids, at least the eyes will roll!
I guess someone will like it…
Greg
p.s. I think the majority of the forum members are modellers, not toy train operators, I’d rather see something closer to a real model on sale than this “stuff”… just my opinion…
Greg Elmassian said:
It REALLY looks toylike…
Might appeal to the younger set, but if I buy something for kids, at least the eyes will roll!
I guess someone will like it…
Greg
p.s. I think the majority of the forum members are modellers, not toy train operators, I’d rather see something closer to a real model on sale than this “stuff”… just my opinion…
Greg, I’ll second that! But who are we to say, eh! 
OTOH they did finally figured out what it takes to make a decent drive block/mechanism. And it is possible that my picky nature, when seeing product of this kind, will turn to childlike delight in a few more years. One never knows what befalls one next, but I really keep my fingers crossed.
I believe that we should all welcome biggie chuffers , whatever their provenance .
A child will be quite taken by the colour and it may provoke an interest such as to keep this hobby alive , and staffed (if that’s the word) by an ever increasing number of youngsters . And of course , keep manufacture rolling .
Noo bloo trainz iz better than no trainz .
Mike
Ross Mansell said:
Anybody got the smelling salts?
I thought that stuff went out of fashion at the same time as the ladies stopped to swoon quite that often?
Different strokes for different folks!
Ken Bianco said:
Different strokes for different folks!
Quite right, Ken.
But it is still puzzling. at least to me, how PIKO manages to produce some reasonably passable Standard Gauge items for the European market and such caricatures for the NA market.
Hans, maybe that is a commentary on what they thing of the North American market.
I dunno, my neighbor, if she were still here, would probably like that.
David Maynard said:
Hans, maybe that is a commentary on what they thing of the North American market.
I dunno, my neighbor, if she were still here, would probably like that.
I wouldn’t mention that, no, not me. 
I would leave it at having some peculiar consultants.
OTOH I also remember the usual commentary on the German language fora when discussing the newest, latest and greatest coming out of LGB Nürnberg.
First: “What were they thinking???”
Second: “Don’t worry, the Americans will lap it up”(paraphrased to make it suitable for a family forum).
so nothing new, is there?
PS Meant to ask: how old was your neighbour? 
That old?
I think I shall make a suggestion to our Benevolent Leader .
Let’s have a Thomas the Tank Engine thread .
At least that would get British outline on here .
Mike
Finally an engine to match my bow tie!
Mike Morgan said:
I believe that we should all welcome biggie chuffers , whatever their provenance .
A child will be quite taken by the colour and it may provoke an interest such as to keep this hobby alive , and staffed (if that’s the word) by an ever increasing number of youngsters . And of course , keep manufacture rolling .
Noo bloo trainz iz better than no trainz .
Mike
Probably the best reason I’ve read, on forums from both sides of the pond.
HJ, you put my feelings in much better words, and have captured my feeling. A caricature.
I agree that toylike locos that attract kids are nice, but the adults are the people purchasing the product. When they buy something for their kid, a Thomas the Tank makes sense, and other “cute” things, but this loco strikes me as a frankenstein… a proper loco painted wrong, or a kid’s loco that just doesn’t quite make it.
Greg
p.s. blindly “accepting” anything produced does not always help the manufacturer, if it does not sell, then they are in trouble. This is like trying to make all your profit on a trolley car, when not everyone wants one, when you could produce a more popular diesel that many roads had, and can be consisted.
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Ken Bianco said:
Different strokes for different folks!
Quite right, Ken.
But it is still puzzling. at least to me, how PIKO manages to produce some reasonably passable Standard Gauge items for the European market and such caricatures for the NA market.
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
David Maynard said:
Hans, maybe that is a commentary on what they thing of the North American market.
I dunno, my neighbor, if she were still here, would probably like that.
I wouldn’t mention that, no, not me.
OTOH I also remember the usual commentary on the German language fora when discussing the newest, latest and greatest coming out of LGB Nürnberg.
First: “What were they thinking???”
Second: “Don’t worry, the Americans will lap it up”(paraphrased to make it suitable for a family forum).
so nothing new, is there?
PS Meant to ask: how old was your neighbour?
Hans, I understand.
And my neighbor, Leslee, she was, um, ah, well. Almost 60
According to Wiki:
The colors chosen for the *Blue Comet’*s locomotive and passenger cars were ultramarine and Packard Blue, for the sea, cream, for the sandy coastal beaches, and nickel.
Rather blue…
however the loco was a Pacific or Hudson Conventional cab…
Conventional cab. So not a cab-over then?
Next you will see a silver version with a red warbonnet
THANKS For taking the time to share with us a new large scale product , on this forum , with video and sound .
I appreciate new products for the large scale market .
Dennis
While we are all bashing Piko’s train to bits, poor Ken on his video, is trying to promote the thing. It’s like a comedian trying to get a laugh out of a non receptive audience.
If the train doesn’t sell, and the price gets slashed, the passenger cars may be worth salvaging for a repaint. The loco’s future, on the other hand, may be questionable.