Ukaflyer posted:Roundhouse Bill posted:OK, the original was plastic and not cast. Would you accept plastic now?
A couple of years ago Lionel said that if people would accept plastic steam engines the tooling was a whole lot less. I did a survey of sorts here and the result was about 50/50. Lionel is afraid that plastic wouldn't sell.
Opinions??
I personally don’t have a problem with steam locomotives having plastic bodies. If it enabled production of new locomotives to the bland repetitive offerings now, then I can only see it as a bonus.
I also see an advantage of greater detail which would be a plus for both the hi-railers and the scaly groups, a win win to me.On the flip side what are the advantages of die-cast bodies for some people, they have heft to them but what else do they offer? I don’t see extra traction being a real positive for die-cast bodies, look at the plastic bodied PA’s with traction tyres, they will probably pull more than most people need and are lighter for a combined weight of chassis and body.
At least plastic doesn’t suffer from zinc pest which is always a worry, especially if you have a lot invested financially into a locomotive.
100% agree. It is not 1950 anymore. Being built of metal is not an indication of quality. The die cast locos still had traction tires. And, one of my standard gripes, get rid of the stamped steel frames; make plastic ones with coupler pads.
Brendan
