@CALNNC posted:Would that have increased the MSRP on the set significantly to add those extra wheels?
[And, in a second post:]
Maybe I am chastising them for it, yes it is a low end starter set . . . but the bellwether item of the set is the loco, so why not doll it up to at least be somewhat accurate? I ran into similar issues with a Lionel made Florida East Coast GP9 diesels, the horns were on the side next to the cab windows, and they had dynamic brakes. Both easily correctable, but still, Lionel could have left the dynamic brake plastic casting off the roof and the exhaust exposed.
In answer to your first question, yes, it would have significantly increased the MSRP. Adding a pilot truck would likely mean an entirely new mold, but regardless, would destroy the critical margin on such a set, as @PSM said.
Regarding the FEC GP9, are you able to pull off the dynamic brake "blister." In the original GP9/GP7 mold the dynamic brake blister was a separate part simply pressed on to the shell. Here's a Williams GP9/7 which uses the original postwar mold. (I think the only difference between the postwar and current molds are the filling in of the two holes on the top of the long hood and the removel of the louvres on the battery boxes.)
