N scale sd70ace units!!!! Yay

The announcement for the Union Pacific SD70ACe locomotives (including Heritage units) in N Scale was made not long ago. Good day for N Scalers. Eventually, I hope, they will come out with HO. What do you guys think? Can Kato be successful with these locomotives? There is already a picture of them on the Kato website. Is it me or do they look short in length? Maybe im just seeing things. I want me a Ferromex and a BNSF unit as well :thumb:. Any comments?
 

Herc Driver

Active Member
If they make the Heritage Units - I'll be buying a few and probably so will many other people. IMHO, Kato needs to move the bar up a bit in terms of detailing on their diesels. Other manufacturers are making highly detailed (granted, sometimes the detailing isn't prototypical) designs for less money with drives just about as smooth as Kato's. If they can produce these popular Heritage units with sharp paint/lettering and a bit more detailing, I bet they'll sell out quickly. Anyone with hobby store connections know any details about this announcement?
 
I saw the ad at a hobby shop here in san antonio. so far they are only announced for N scale. I do agree, Kato's detailing is not the best. I will reserve the units as soon as they are available. I cant wait for the BNSF and the Ferromex units (if they even make those :( )
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
WOW, and i thought i was picky...are you guys running brass?:119: when i was into N scale, i had a Kato SD90/43MAC and an SD40-2SN, they were BAR NONE the best running and best looking engines i had out of my whole fleet:thumb: ( i still have all my N scale stuff too:winki: ). in HO, my Kato SD90/43MAC, SD38-2 and SD40-2 run every bit as good as my Tower55, etc., and i find the detail to be no less then my Atlas's, Proto 2000's or BLI's:winki: .

I am GLAD to hear they have the Heritage units coming out in N scale, i am sure HO will follow soon after. I would be MORE THEN HAPPY to add those Kato Heritage units to MY fleet:twisted: .
 

Herc Driver

Active Member
Not to disparage Kato...but in the few years since I've been back modeling Nscale, I thought Kato was the cream of the crop. They certainly had the smoothest drives and some nice detailing. Then the LifeLike Proto-N came out with smooth drives/motors, crisp lettering an detailing. Then Atlas seemed to up the bar a bit with their diesels. Even Bachmann, not exactly known for their great Nscale motors, added lots of detailing to their engines (granted, it was somewhat oversized for Nscale...but looked great from two feet away). Returning to Kato...they IMHO still have the smoothest drives, but are now trailing in the detailing area. Would I buy their diesels? Absolutely! And I look forward to adding two or three of these Heritage units to my fleet...but I hope they take notice of the competition and take the time to better detail the diesel shells like those of their rivals.
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
OK Herc, THANK YOU for answering:thumb: , keep in mind, i have been out of N scale for just over 6yrs:winki: , my eyes started going, and N scale just got to be to small for me to see what i was doing:eek:ops: , so i went back to HO.

Still though, i think their HO engines are just as good as any, and my HO Kato's run the slowest and smoothest of them all really, excellent motors:thumb: .
 

Herc Driver

Active Member
No worries Deano - I'm always happy to answer! As for the Kato-debate I sort of started...I too think they have the best motors in Nscale. (If I was nit-pickin' I'd say their newest knuckle coupler is a bit tricky to operate)...but their motors are great. And considering I have 16 of their diesels...I've backed up my appreciation of their modeling efforts with cash. I am happy to see the main manufacturers really try to improve the fit/finish and motors of Nscale engines. Not to say I haven't bought a few duds from most of the major engine makers, but overall the quality seems to improve each year. And I checked today...my LHS doesn't have any advance reservation information from Kato yet regarding these new units. So I'm left to sit here and wait.......patiently.......ok, maybe patiently.....:thumb:
 
ive also been looking for for pre order information on these units but my lhs doesnt have any info. tried looking online but no info. im anxious
 
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