Very interesting, good to see some new stuff. I think I’ll get a flatcar to go with my other old MDC cars, seems to be the same size.
I like that PIKO is being active and at least getting something new out in the market, I just wish they would put the level of detail into their American style locomotives (and cars) as they do there Euro stuff.
Yes; “Reprints” of the old Model Die Casting stuff just doesn’t cut it in today’s market…but, there are some fine people that find that it suits their needs.
Fred Mills
I thought all their rolling stock was 1:32, but looking at some of the locos, it seems to be a different scale.
Clearly the MDC reprints are 1:32.
I’m mostly wondering about the new Santa Fe work caboose…
Greg
Lets not knock Piko. Most of the regulars on this forum are mature modelers. Most often seeking the ‘special cars’ with fine detail and scaling. BUT, there are a whole bunch of hobbist who are just getting started and /or on a very tight budget. These and the Bachmann’s Big Haulers allow the entry level guy to get started and enjoy the hobbby at a moderate costs. Once hooked they will upgrade. Piko fills this nitche.
At least they are coming out with new products… gotta take that as a positive.
Again, are their locos 1:32, they look larger.
Greg
Greg Elmassian said:
At least they are coming out with new products… gotta take that as a positive.
Again, are their locos 1:32, they look larger.
Greg
Basically “No”. At least not those I’ve personally seen/measured.
When they first came out I sat down with a Taurus and a set of drawings - the body shell is more or less accurate to 1:27 though if memory serves it might have been slightly over height (can’t say at this distance in time whether that was the molding or just the standing height). The trucks were to a smaller scale, I think that was 1:32, but wouldn’t swear to it now.
I’ve always wondered if the ‘split’ represents a late change of heart in target market - almost exactly that did happen to Lima 30odd years back, they started to tool up for UK outline models in HO and after the first few were released and they got feedback from retailers they rapidly swapped to OO mid-stream which is why the otherwise excellent (for the time) Lima 37 and 50 had OO bodies on HO trucks.
Back to Piko. I also had a less thorough look at the BR80 (steam) and BR218 (diesel) locos when they came out and the story seemed to be the same there - basically a 1:27 scale loco except where they’ve compromised for manufacturing. ie The core block on the BR218 is the same as the Taurus, so they share basic dimensions that aren’t quite right for wheels on a 1:27 BR218.
As far as I’m aware, and based on the fact that it all looks basically right together, I think the 1:27 scale convention applies pretty uniformly to their German outline standard gauge stock, except where compromises have been made to commonise parts or get them round model curves.
One oddity in this is the Harz “Kamel” loco. In real life they were second hand standard gauge 4 axle locos dropped onto pairs of 3 axle narrow gauge trucks - they’re huge compared to the stock they run with. The Piko model isn’t the 1:22.5 it should be to represent a metre gauge loco, it’s the same 1:27 shell as their ‘standard’ gauge version on 3 axle blocks derived from the BR80 mech.
Then you have the ‘new’ US outline stuff. The electric is just a reliveried Taurus (so a 1:27 model of a european loco), the saddle tank is a rebodied BR80 with no prototype I’m aware of, and the mogul seems to be new but entirely freelance - it’s running gear is mostly an amalgam of ‘standard’ pieces already in use elsewhere. I was vaguely surprised that the running gear didn’t subsequently turn up under the BR64 and BR24 but they seem to have wound up with a much finer scale (and more expensive) unit. Maybe it was to test the waters.
Then there’s the ex MDC stuff. As far as I’m aware this is nominally 1:32 but actually freelance, but there are probably plenty of other people on here who do know about it, given its origins as a US market product. As for the work caboose, I can’t tell you, but if I had to put money down I’d guess it was MDC derived but otherwise freelance. Whether that counts as being any given scale is up to the prospective purchaser.
J.
Thanks Jonathan.
Having had several MDC products myself, when measured they scaled out well at the advertised 1:32.
The Piko locos looked huge to me in comparison, so your observations and measurements help me know I’m not terminally insane (yet).
It just looks huge and won’t really go with any of my 1:29 scale stuff.
That “camelback” is larger than my Aristo Mikado.
Before everyone jumps on me for being negative, it’s just important to see where these products “fit” with the other rolling stock I have.
Unfortunately, since I’m all standard gauge 1:29, nothing is exactly right. I might be able to do something with that work caboose, but will have to get the dimensions. It might be the similar situation to the USA Trains “work series” where they have an excellent MOW set of cars but not 1:29.
Regards, Greg
I think the MDC caboose was 1/24 for some reason. All their cars were 1/32. Piko go all those molds. I see Kidman’s is making loads for the MDC cars.
I thought the Camelback was very impressive mostly because of the sound quality. I’m a big sound guy and most factory sound models (Steam) seem to fall short of what I expect to hear from a large model. That and rarely to you hear a steamer with the correct chuff every 1/4 turn of the drivers. Overall the model is wrong for my needs but I would have one if it fit in.
Greg Elmassian said:
At least they are coming out with new products… gotta take that as a positive.
Again, are their locos 1:32, they look larger.
Greg
Totally agree with Greg…it’s nice to see that there’s at least one manufacturer trying to provide new and consistent product to the market. However, my problem with PIKO is the ‘toy-ish’ look. They have VERY nice European prototypes (especially their loco’s) but their American prototypes just look…cheap. LGB America had the right formula in my opinion, detailed prototypes (with some artistic license with proportion) that ran on R1 curves. I’m so tired of Moguls though…c’mon guys, I’d kill for a Pacific series (4-6-2) that’s affordable and runs on R1 curves.
Yeah, I want a Pacific for my passenger trains. I bought the Accucraft K4, and it had hardly any power (so I bought a second one)…
I also bought a USAT Hudson to pull passenger trains.
Neither of these guys will do R1, and affordable would not really apply.
The Aristo Pacific can do the job, after you lap the axles so they don’t spin and you add some more weight.
Regards, Greg
Fred Mills, BSc, BS, SD (Hons) said:
Yes; “Reprints” of the old Model Die Casting stuff just doesn’t cut it in today’s market…but, there are some fine people that find that it suits their needs.
Fred Mills
Fred, I agree. For the price I would at least like to see separate ladders and grab irons. I can get Aristo and USA closeouts and NIB at auction for the price (or less) then the Piko American boxcars and hoppers. But I do have some of Piko boxcars, mixing a few into a train of 1:29 boxcars adds visual interest, since not all 1:1 boxcars were the same size during the transition era, the era I tend to play in.
Just watched the video (hadn’t before, Piko US outline isn’t really of interest to me), and…
It looks to me as though the work caboose a bunch of extra bits on top of the ATSF flat car - they both have 8 stake pockets aside, and the goldola sides obviously plug into those. Aside from the sides/toolboxes and the actual cabin on the caboose, the only mechanical difference I can see between the two is that the caboose chassis has an extra centre step whereas the flatcar only has them at the ends. It’s obviously a separate part and looks to attach behind or underneath the sill, so it’d be easy enough to assemble flat cars without it and not have the unused mount sticking out like a sore thumb.
Somewhere about half way through, the flat car gets it’s own mention as having been new tooling sometine in the last year, X livery already out, Y&Z to follow. Presume that means the basic shell is new, trucks are the same as everything else, and details - handrails, trusses, whatever - are new if they didn’t already have something suitable in the stable.
That might all be 2+2=5 of course. But if the two models are related that way, I’d still be thinking in terms of the flat car being 1:32ish, either a freelance generic or some genuine car in the 40-50ft area, which suggests the caboose is going to be the same width with height in proportion.
J.