@Trainmaster04 posted:Exactly. Looking back, Lionel has already changed the die for the pilot so they already spent some extra money on this product. Also, if Lionel did not put them on the locomotive there would be two screw holes. Now, if someone wanted to take them off then they could just unscrew the knobs but there will be two holes. In other words, it would be cheaper to do nothing because they do not have to spend more money to make a difference.
Like you said, they are add on parts, not part of the die. It would have been cheaper to not put them on then make them and add them. And due to how far under the cab they are, you're not going to notice the empty holes. But being they are tapped hole, they may not even be in the mold and are drilled after the fact.
But this is a beautiful locomotive. I wish I could have gotten one, but I can't justify the cost at this time in my life.
