I just got an email that their version 3.0 F- unit is available, for those interested.
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Was available as it already sold out! I considered it this morning but decided that I will let others have a shot at it as I have the Beta 1.0 release and it will be sent to the Cleburne shops for overhaul in the not too distant future.
Sold out.
@GG1 4877 posted:Was available as it already sold out! I considered it this morning but decided that I will let others have a shot at it as I have the Beta 1.0 release and it will be sent to the Cleburne shops for overhaul in the not too distant future.
What do plan on having done Jonathan?
John
Doesn't this come under the old adage of "Fool me twice?"
Or here, rather, "Fool me three times."
@Mannyrock posted:Doesn't this come under the old adage of "Fool me twice?"
Or here, rather, "Fool me three times."
Why was anyone "fooled"? It seems to me that everyone knows that these are pre-production units, and so are not likely to be perfect.
Mike
No Mike, I agree. You are correct.
Just don't understand folks lining up to spend $150 a throw, just to test something out that is in the works. And for some folks, . . .three times!
Oh well, it's their money. But $450 plus shipping? Ouch!
Mannyrock
@GG1 4877 posted:Was available as it already sold out! I considered it this morning but decided that I will let others have a shot at it as I have the Beta 1.0 release and it will be sent to the Cleburne shops for overhaul in the not too distant future.
I hope it doesn't come out as a CF7.
@Mike D posted:I hope it doesn't come out as a CF7.
Nice to see someone got the joke!
In all seriousness, I plan on reworking the original beta model fully. Adding the nose headlight, gutting the electronics for ERR, adding grab bars on the engineer's side of the nose, correcting the 7" lettering to the correct 5" height, simulating plated panels where appropriate, adding class lights, renumbering in the the 290 series after the highest numbered F9, adding real grab bars, and painting the chrome base in the correct silver color.
Why would I do this? Because I can and in many ways the FP9 would have been a logical choice for many of Santa Fe's branch line passenger services had they not gone with passenger equipped GP7s and GP9s. Living in the Phoenix, AZ area, an FP9 pulling trains 42 & 47 is not out of the realm of creative imagination, especially post 1955 when the train ran at six cars or less.
@Mannyrock posted:No Mike, I agree. You are correct.
Just don't understand folks lining up to spend $150 a throw, just to test something out that is in the works. And for some folks, . . .three times!
Oh well, it's their money. But $450 plus shipping? Ouch!
Mannyrock
Thanks for the clarification.
You're definitely on the right track here. I think I'll wait for the final product, and let others do the voluntary "testing" beforehand.
Mike
Having the beta 1.0 unit, the one I received had several issues that I reported to Menards. It definitely wasn't ready for the mass production market as mine didn't even run with the remote until I fiddled with it for several hours. Even then, the sounds didn't work correctly. Add in the scuffs in the paint due to the packaging and you have a real loser of a unit.
However, I can't fault Menard's approach. By getting the hobbyists involved at the beginning and being clear that this was a beta unit, they have been successful in getting modelers invested in the product. I have no complaints. I know what I was getting myself into.
We have been beta testing Windows since version 3.1 and Microsoft has never marketed the product that way.
I have two 1.0 versions and enjoy them. They have a lot of runtime on them. Horn is an issue, start up is overcome by using less voltage at the transformer. Everything I've read indicates these and the paint scuffing issues were resolved with 2.0. It will be interesting to see what 3.0 does. Even with issues the 1.0 are nice. The beta method is actually very logical for a first time locomotive effort. They are learning. Face it, Lionel etc would just release them at 3 times the price and the leave it to you to wade through the repair process.
Steve
Big fan of asking customers for what they want.
I managed to get signed up this time while walking the dog. Should I pick up the poop or get signed up before it sells out? I managed to do both and hope to contribute to the hobby in some way. 😄
