Hey all, very really post much, but ran into a slight problem. I purchased an Athearn genesis sd60m with sound, when i went to remove the engine from the box i noticed that athearn fastens their engines down with a type wooden or card board block. And it’s screwed in place, well i’ve never encountered this type of device to keep a product in place. Anyway i lifted the whole cradle out of the genesis box and realized that the engine is held in place by two screws which i’m sure many of you have noticed . Well i was struggling to remove these screws off of the base of the cradle. As i removed one of the screws the front truck of the engine completly fell off, I automaticaly knew that was’nt right. So i put the truck back were it fell off from and reattached the screws to the cradle that was holding the engine in place. My question is , do all genesis engines come prepacked in this fashion ? And if they do is it really mandatory ? I’m debating if i should try to fix this problem myself or send this to athearn for repair ? Any comments welcomed !
I think this type of packaging is now standard for all Athearn Genesis locomotives in an attempt to prevent damage during shipping.
Take the loco back to the place of purchase and get a refund or replacement if possible. It sounds to me like you have a defective unit.
If you bought it at a train show and can no longer contact the seller, your only hope is to contact Athearn repair service and see what they advise you to do with it.
zxb1…
You are currently experiencing what many of us have already experienced, if you bought a Athearn Genesis locomotive in the last 18 months.
This method was used on the SD60M’s as well as the F45/FP45, and some of the other larger Diesel locomotives.
It proved to be a very, very poor solution and the good news is that Athearn has now changed back the the clear cradle type of packaging. (thank God)
I had purchased several of the SD60M’s with this style of packaging and had to use a screw gun to get the @!# things off.
I’ve also spoken to several hobby shops(i.e, Mainline Hobby Supply, Discount Model Trains, etc) and they shared with me that many of their locomotives had the problem of the front or rear truck(s) literally falling off while removing them from the packaging.
Athearn is well aware of the QC issues and obviously has addressed them moving forward.
Unfortunately, for those of us who want models from that batch, you’ll have to live with the packaging - which shouldn’t be a problem unless you use the box frequently to transport your models to a club, etc.
Athearn has had a rash of QC problems and I don’t know if it is related to the Sanda Kan issue or not, but it appears that Athearn is diligantly working with its current builder to improve the quality. However, there are still noticeble inconsistancies from model to model on the most recent runs - some are excellent, others are unacceptable - so there is a lingering problem.
I had recently purchased a Genesis NS GP15-1 in the all new packaging and upon removing the engine from the packaging, the rear truck was hanging by the pick up wires and the front and rear Celcon handrails were all broken lose and disfigured. At the same time, I had bought a SP SW1500 RTR for less than half the cost , and it was perfect.
Needless to say, this went right back - and with no hassles. I just bought another one last week at the Temple TX Centra Mod show and I examine
This is the unfortunate side effect of the new handrails and shipping from overseas factorys. The new Athearns look awsome, but they are so damn fragile, almost to fragile to haul from home layouts to a club layout and back again. To have to pack them in thier original boxes to transport is a major pain in the arse. While the old blue box era engines handrails were not as fine, they could take the repeated handling on a club layout. Now if Athearn would move away from micro bulbs and to LED’s and fiber optics it would be so much better. I hope the quality improves, but I doubt it, just a fact of Chinese production. Maybe the fast rising costs of production will push Athearn to move production elsewhere, maybe even back stateside. Some of the newest freight car pricing is getting out of hand, literly pricing the shoe string budget folks out of the hobby if they want the newest items. Glad there is plenty of older product out there! Good luck with your trains. Mike
Well i am definetly going to get in contact with athearn, i was very surprised at the quality of this product. At first i thought it was something i did, but after reading on this site that this same error has occured with other modelers i don’t feel so guilty. Thank you sincerly for pointing me in the right direction on what to do about this situation here.
Being a long time Athearn fan/customer, I have been following this thread just for the information. I must make it clear that I do not have any of the models in question as they are WAY outside my modeling interest. I model the early fifties and do not buy models outside the scope/theme of my layout.
Addressing a number of comments that have been made I have a few thoughts, some I have commented on in the past.
First, it is obvious Athearn has/had a PACKAGING problem with the models in question. No doubt it is important and necessary to get the product to the customer in one piece, and these do sound like more than just a few isolated problems.
But I don’t see that as a PRODUCT quality problem or a problem that relates just to China production. No matter where the thing is made, it will have to be shipped, and the roughest handling is likely to occure as it gets closer to the end user - via the UPS truck - not in the container on a ship or flat car.
Second, I will once again voice mt objection to the idea that our models should be made more durable at the sacrifice of high or fine detail. I for one have been in this hobby for 40 plus years, since age 12, and been building models with and adding fine detail to models since age 14 or so. I don’t have any probelm handling models without breaking them. It would be a step backward in model railroading to purposely make models more “toy like” for that reason.
I asure you I have already excluded some of the newest offerings from my “buy list” because they have crude or oversized detail designed to make them more “handling friendly” or because they lack detail that has become common industry standard over the last 10-15 years.
And, on this issue of detail, I do not consider myself a detail nut or rivet counter, but going “backwards” is not an option for me.
As for product quality, all the Athearn products I have bought since the Horizon take over and the move to China, hav
Sheldon ,Being a long time Athearn customer I can say Athearn has a few problems they must overcome…I have several of Athearn RTR cars and locomotives the last being a GP40-2 that has a whine-until you remove the shell then the drive is as quiet and smooth as a Atlas-no joking…I will find the whine and eliminate it…I notice the handrails is a tad tougher on my last 4 RTR locomotives a improvement over those fragile spaghetti thin handrails…
A sore spot with several of my earlier RTR PS 5277s,the FMC 5347s,the 50’ Superior door is the stirrups is fragile to the touch and will break off…The reason is stupid and easy to fix by gluing these stirrups on instead of pressing them in place!!!
Make no mistake I love these great looking RTR cars and locomotives.
Do those stirrups fall off or break off? Not the same thing in my mind.
Well it seems all the product problems are with all these “modern” prototypes that I don’t buy.
But again, I have no problem with “fragile” - they are models.
Sheldon
Sheldon,They fall/break off (your call) at the slightest touch…These are thin metal scale size stirrups and IMHO look quite good when compared to the chunky BB steps.
So Sheldon, you are a detail fan, just admit it and stop denying it. You want them as detailed as a brass model used to be, you said it yourself that you have not bought something because a detail was omitted on the model. I love the fine details, dont get my wrong, but when they are so fragile that a single light touch breaks them is just to much detail in my book. If I want that kind of detail I will go buy a high $$$ Overland or Division Point brass model and put it in a display case. I have several Athearn blue box era diesels that will rival a brass in the detail dept, and with enough robustness to tolerate handling normaly asociated with taking models to and from a club layout. They survive as they are mostly brass and all the grabs/lift rings are fine metal wire and not thin/brittle plastic. I use metal/brass detail parts whenever possible. They tolerate the repeated handling seen in a operating club layout enviroment. As to Athearns packaging, the way the RTR stuff is packed seems to work the best for shipment to the hobby shops, as well as using the same basic packaging around the model, but then encasing in a foam lined box for the Genesis premier line of models. Now if we could get Athearn to totaly abandon that darn “crew frying” headlight bulb in the cab on some RTR models! That all being said, I try at all possible to buy any new engines from either the local hobby shop or a show, where I can remove the model from the box, inspect for damage, bargain on price if there are issues as this is well within mine and most modelers ablites to correct most minor issues. I will buy older models like blue box thru the net or ebay though. Cheers MIke
“So Sheldon, you are a detail fan, just admit it and stop denying it. You want them as detailed as a brass model used to be, you said it yourself that you have not bought something because a detail was omitted on the model. I love the fine details, dont get my wrong, but when they are so fragile that a single light touch breaks them is just to much detail in my book.”
I have explained this before, but here goes. I cannot tell you exactly how much detail is enough, but I know it when I see it, or don’t see it, as the case may be.
I do think some details are better left off rather than being oversized. I think some specific details make some models, and the lack of, or poor execution of some details ruins some models. Example - the poor detail on the diaphrams of most of these expensive RTR passenger cars - for the price of those cars, I would expect more.
I will admit this, I don’t haul any of my stuff around to clubs for other clumsy people to manhandle and bust up, and again, I have no problem looking at a model and figuring out how to lift, handle, touch it without breaking parts off of it. It is called patience and care.
I am not a member of the ADD, ADHD, instant gratification, bull in a china shop, give it to me now, always in a hurry generation. I can and do take my time and be carefull.
I like the slow and relaxed pace of a careful and diliberate life style. I don’t buy on impluse, I don’t try to rush things, and my models hardly ever get broken.
I don’t buy brass, I don’t need or want to. My modeling goals are not served by brass at all. I like to kit bash and modify most of my models. I build a lot of kits and modify most of the RTR that I buy, sometimes just a little, sometimes a lot.
And I’m having great fun with building and running them.
Sheldon