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Well, I got my Santa Fe 18 back from repair Friday evening and am happy to report the sound issue has been fixed.   So 3 months after the much delayed release of the Santa Fe’s, my A-B-B-A set is finally complete.

 According to MTH, it was only a bad speaker.  They honored the warranty in spite of my mucking around with the LEDs and speaker connector.

 So, here they are, finally together in all their imaginary 6000 horsepower glory:

MTH F3 2 061717 001MTH F3 2 061717 006

 I still have to tweak the CV’s and move some functions around (DCC) to get everything to my preferences, but everything seems fully operational at factory default.  I’m planning on giving them some run time before doing any fine tuning.  With three powered units blasting away, you don't even notice the lack of sound in the dummy B.

I have to say this whole affair has been a bit bewildering.  It took MTH five months to get all the F3’s out the door after four years of waiting.  I thought of cancelling several times. 

The Santa Fe’s were dead last, with the 19c being the last of the dead last, arriving another month and a half after the other Santa Fe's were shipped.   Plus even with the delays, it seems like the Santa Fe’s were rushed through a bit.

Particularly, the silver paint is inconsistent over the four units.  The 18’s silver is flawless, both B’s are a bit grainy and the 19C is a little bit of both.  At three feet away, it’s not so noticeable, but up close…  I know MTH can do better.

When I scalified my friend’s NYC A-B-A set, I noticed no painting flaws.

And of course, there was having to send in the 18 and waiting another month for the repair work.

So, would I buy any future MTH F3’s or F7’s? 

The answer is…  Maybe. 

Let’s say I’m satisfied with my MTH F3’s, but not as enthusiastic about them as I once was because of the delays and inconsistent silver finish.  Any future F-unit purchases will depend on my mood, finances and roadname.

Rusty

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  • MTH F3 2 061717 001
  • MTH F3 2 061717 006
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Realizing that this has been a heck of a frustrating experience for all who supported MTH and their F3 releases, these appear rather lackluster compared to all the interest and excitement generated about the Atlas and 3rd Rail models with their striking and beautiful stainless finish.  

I had Flyer as a boy and always admired the other guys' F3s.  To finally be able to purchase a quality F3 in S sale is a milestone of sorts but what a long drawn-out project....

Kudos for making it through to the end Rusty. I think after a battle like that the natural reaction is to look at what is "wrong" with them. I've learned recently (and you know this better than I) that being in S means enjoying what is available and making the best of it. They aren't perfect, but they are a still a beautiful set. The SF War bonnet scheme is one of my all time favorites even though I don't model the SF.

Enjoy!

 

MTH F3 2 061717 006

Enjoy 'em!

Mark

I've had an issue with the shape of the curve of the red paint on the side of the engine. It's much more elongated than that of the prototype, and looks kind of odd compared to the correct paint job. Actually, there's little curve at all, just a tight little one, because the red has been extended so far back on the engine. Some of Lionel's scale F-3s have a similar curve problem, though not quite this bad. The new Atlas version has done a better job with this detail.

Last edited by breezinup

Breezinup,

That's an interesting observation about the red paint on the sides.  It does look elongated.  MTH extended it around the second square grill from the front, whereas the prototype, AM, and SHS have it curve around the first one.   I like them with the larger radius, less elongated look.  I bought enough SHS diesels and steam engines that I still enjoy the ones I have, sold off a few, and converted some to TMCC.  I'm not really in the market for MTH locomotives until/unless they produce something SHS did not already sell.  I hope those that do buy MTH units have tremendous success with them and get to enjoy many years of smooth operation like the SHS engines I purchased have rendered and continue to provide.SHS SF f-7AM SF FP-7.  

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Images (2)
  • SHS SF f-7: S-Helper SF Passenger F-7
  • AM SF FP-7: American Models FP-7
Last edited by Sgaugian
breezinup posted:
 

MTH F3 2 061717 006

Enjoy 'em!

Mark

I've had an issue with the shape of the curve of the red paint on the side of the engine. It's much more elongated than that of the prototype, and looks kind of odd compared to the correct paint job. Actually, there's little curve at all, just a tight little one, because the red has been extended so far back on the engine. Some of Lionel's scale F-3s have a similar curve problem, though not quite this bad. The new Atlas version has done a better job with this detail.

The elongated warbonnet is correct for the first part of the order for the 16 class F3's (16LABC to 21LABC), which were delivered with the 3 porthole side panels.  The warbonnet extended past the center porthole:

EMD F3 ATSF 19LABC

This is what the MTH model represents.  As the locomotives were upgraded to F7 specs, the "long" warbonnet was retained:

EMD F3 ATSF 18LABC

EMD F3 ATSF 16C

The "short" warbonnet began with the second part of the order, along with stainless steel panels and other changes, beginning with the 22LABC:

EMD F3 ATSF 26LABC

Two things about the Atlas model:

  • It's a model of the 37 class F7, not the 16 class F3
  • It's not S Scale

 

And, just for fun, a side-by-side comparison of a 16 class F3 and a 37 class F7:

MTH F3 AT&SF 040217 008

Both represent their prototypes correctly.

Rusty

 

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Images (5)
  • EMD F3 ATSF 18LABC
  • EMD F3 ATSF 26LABC
  • EMD F3 ATSF 19LABC
  • EMD F3 ATSF 16C
  • MTH F3 AT&SF 040217 008
Last edited by Rusty Traque
RoyBoy posted:

Mine is still at Charles Ro for warranty repair. It's been a few months, but they sent a notice last week that they are working on it. They must have a long repair queue and probably no parts available.

Mine FINALLY came back from Charles Ro warranty service. It works on the bench. I just have to put down some track and test it that way.

They re-assembled it wrong, with the fuel tank tab sticking outside of the shell, so it had to be taken apart again to fix that.

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