I'm getting to be a real fan of the Railking Scale engines from MTH. Lots of value for your money and the details aren't too bad either.
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I'm getting to be a real fan of the Railking Scale engines from MTH. Lots of value for your money and the details aren't too bad either.
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Here ya' go:
Notice: "1/48 Scale Proportions".
Lew
MichRR714 posted:I'm getting to be a real fan of the Railking Scale engines from MTH. Lots of value for your money and the details aren't too bad either.
Nice picture! And that engine is new
I couldn’t agree more. Given a choice between a RK scale and a Premier of the same loco, I would generally go for the RK Scale. When I was first building my roster, I went exclusively with Railking, because, as you say, they are the best bang for your buck. Lately I’ve been gravitating to Premier. At this point I have about equal numbers of each. After getting the Premier version of a loco (for example the Alco PA-1) that I also have in regular (less than scale) Railking, the Railking version just doesn’t cut it anymore. But my Railking Scale locos still get plenty of run time. I especially like the RK Scale BLW AS-616, Alco RS-3, FM H10-44 and EMD SW-1. In some cases (the AS-616 for example), the Railking Scale loco is made from a die that was previously used for premier locos, but doesn’t have all the details (like see thru grills) that are currently seen in the Premier line.
Agreed, and to think these were the locomotives that were "top of the line" Premier when they were first introduced to the market in the late 1990's.
Very nice engine CHARLIE, enjoy!!!!
I love the "Scale Kings"
Scott Smith
Typically, the smaller Premier locomotives have extra lighting, smoke, and more added detail. I have several of the RK scale locos, they're nice units, and they are a real bargain.
i was pleasantly surprised when i bought the #1 gauge RK Hudson and measurements showed it to be very close to 1:32 scale. i have a feeling that RK is sometimes used not because of the scale, but because of the detail.
Relevant photo I took yesterday of my new Railking Scale Metra F40PH next to a Premier PS2 Amtrak F40PH:
The shells are sized almost identically but there's a number of add-on details on the premier version that the Railking version is lacking (as expected) - notably:
- See-through radiator screens and spinning fans
- Windshield wipers
- Marker Lights
- Add-on steps
- Nose ladder hand rails
As noted in posts above, the value for money is pretty great and with a bit of careful paint work, the Railking Scale F40 can be brought pretty close to the premier version
I agree, when I was still actively modeling, I had one of their Southern Pacific MP-15AC switchers (PS2 version) and was quite impressed with the Premier-level of add-on details, especially paying attention to prototype-specific features.
The only cosmetic quibble I have with it is using anachronistic (1938- mid-1940s era Blomberg-B trucks (same as those used harking back to Lionel postwar F3s and Geeps) when MTH already had appropriate modern-era B trucks in the Premier line. But other than that, it's a terrific model
While not "RK Scale" I have also found, among frameless tank cars, that the RK "modern" tank car (in appropriate private-owner paint schemes) blends in pretty well with its Premier siblings. In real life, one can frequently see 1:1 tank cars of wildly varying size next to one another, and the RK/Premier relationship works well to re-create that effect.
For that matter, the RK Airslide hoppers are nearly indistinguishable from the Premier versions. Like the tankers, the challenge is finding them in non-fanciful paint schemes.
---PCJ
The best example I've found of the merging of the two levels is the bobber cabooses. I have an assortment of RK and Premier bobber caboose models, and if I didn't know from the box, I wouldn't be able to tell you which one was Premier and which one was RK.
I have several RK scale diesels. Only one Premier diesel. The RKs are certainly a great value!
Just a comment to the earlier poster who mentioned "1:48 Scale Proportions" on the side of a Rail King loco box. There might be a difference between 1:48 Scale and 1:48 Scale Proportions. If a loco were 10% shorter, 10% narrower and 10% lower in height, but in all other respects a scale model, would it still be "1:48 Scale Proportions"?
Chuck
The RailKing Scale Alco RS-1 is an almost Premier level model. It has smoke, separate grab irons, deck tread, and cut levers. The only Premier features it's missing are see through step tread, and hole drilled for Kadee couplers on the pilots.
Stuart
The RS-1 is super nice. Great detail on it too.
A used RailKing Proto Sound PRR steam passenger set was my first O gauge buy when I got back into the hobby 11 years ago after a 25 year hiatus from model railroading. The crew talk and impressive smoke as well as other features are what got me hooked back into this hobby and I haven't looked back since
When they say "Rail King Scale" or proportional 1/4" scale, you can count on a full size model for 1.177" gauge. Of course they do not come in that gauge, but that is the gauge for 1/4" scale. We 2-railed a series of SD9 Diesels a while back, and the only difference we could find from Premier was the plating on the whistle.
Also you can get premier locos on sale at dealers like Trainworld like a premier Seaboard GP9 for $350 or a EMD SF FT for $320. The MTH FT is closer to prototype than brand L model.
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