@Jeff_the_Coaster_Guy posted:@RSJB18: I bought an item listed as "Undecorated / Unfinished" in the 3rd auction and it specifically said "no motors / parts" in the auction listing. It had no motor or PS2 board, but it had all of the externally applied detail parts which a big deal for me.
MTH clearly had some sort of internal process to bring a new piece from design on paper to final product. As with most engineering and manufacturing processes, there are several "milestone" steps along the way. MTH has marked many of these items directly on the product or on the packaging in similar ways which MIGHT lead to the conclusion that these things are in similar states of readiness / completion:
For example, these all appear in MTH's handwritten notes visible in many of the phots and are NOT simply a description offered by the auction house:
- Pilot Sample
- Prototype
- Engineering Sample
- Production Sample
- Photography Sample
I'm guessing that MTH's internal procedures had a specific meaning for writing those words on the boxes.
I'm perfectly happy with my "Undecorated" PRR S-1. I've got a thread going about its rebuild here so you can see what went into bringing the "undecorated" item to a working state.
Good luck!
Thanks Jeff- the loco I'm looking at is a production sample with matching OB. Looks like a PS-2 model. I will look it up on the MTH site to see if it has 5V boards or not.
@gunrunnerjohn- I agree that the bargain may not be worth it in the end.
Bob
