I've been asking for Lionel to remake the unstreamlined J3a for at least the last 10 years. The last ones they did, 5433 and 5444 in 2002, were probably the best detailed Hudsons Lionel ever produced. Only problem was the tender gap was unsightly!
There will be 4 versions of the J3a. I'm guessing one will definitely be the first 5405 "as built" with all the striping and white walls and older lettering and numbering.
The other three may vary in a few possible ways. Lettering and numbering may be old style or new. One may have the standard tender or a PT tender. They could have or not have classification lights as J3a did not have them when built (no longer requires on the main lines in 1938 but still required on secondary lines) but many had them added when they were reassigned from the premier to secondary service. Half the J3a fleet had Scullin disc drive wheels and half had Boxpok. Some of the J3a's had flat Selkirk front ends, which I've seen beneath the shrouding on the Dreyfuss and ESE Hudsons and later used in rebuilding. And lastly, the possibility of elephant ears.
I'm hoping that Lionel doesn't do what it did on the recent Niagara.
1. Don't use that silvery gray color on the smokebox. Black or a dark graphite smokebox are much more NYC looking.
2. Don't do white walls and striping along with blackened drive rods. It's either a show piece or it's not.
In addition....
3. Don't let the Chinese make these decisions. Past attention to the details on the high ticket stuff.
4. Make sure there is some form of quality control, especially with the current strained economic relationship.
Having way too much time on my hands, but thanks for listening.
