Again, saw a price I could not pass up…I think this color scheme is a “love or hate” thing for many. I liked it, and it’s growing on me more towards “love it”. The graphics are crisp and sharp, the paint is perfect and solid (not a translucent shell). Detail level is fantastic (note: There are brackets on both ends of the caboose for the lanterns!).
The BIG issue here is rolling resistance. Out of the box and on the track this car sounded like someone was dragging one cinder block across another! More drag than a RuPaul Halloween party. No amount of EZ-Lube made it better. I resorted to removing the brass contact strips. Once removed and with the bushings oiled she rolls like a champ! Of course there are no interior or lantern lights anymore! Even before I removed the wipers I thought the lights appeared dim. It took a fair amount of power to get them bright enough to be noticeable, and by then the engine was screaming along. I may need to break down and light this one with a NiCad. An irritating issue is the coupler lift bar…It’s too short! Here it is on an 8’ dia curve…Note how it pulls out of the coupler. When it straightens out it interferes with the coupler and “pops” up. I will need to fix this into a position where it is out of the way. I have not run this on anything but my indoor layout so I do not know how it will react on 9 or 10 ft dia. track.
Bachmann uses a similar arrangement but has plenty of length to avoid this issue. All in all I like this one, it looks great at the end of a short consist behind my modified Annie. Like all AMS it is not the most free wheeling but once lubed it rolls well enough. The interior is somewhat spartan so lighting won’t show much anyway. Still I want my lanterns lit!
