I’ve not see an Overland side by side with a BLI E series Loco.
The question is: Is BLI the nicest best detailed without going to the expense of Overland, and is Overland the best brass E8 for instance.
I know Protos are nice, I have some.
Jon - Las Vegas
I myself don’t own any BLIs yet, but from what I’ve heard about their SD40-2, it’s not as detailed as a Kato.
Regarding diesels,
The BLI E units look nice with the separate grab irons and other minor detailing parts.
The other units are decent but not outstanding. You’re paying more for the sound system than the other features.
On a positive note, Atlas and P2K units are coming available with QSI sound and the usual nice detailing.
Overland? Of course, these units are usually detailed nicely!
Can’t tell you about the diesels, but the BLI steamers I have are very close in detail to the brass steamers I’ve got. They certainly don’t look out of place next to my Keys, Sunsets or PFM’s. God knows they don’t look like PLASTIC locos!
Tom[}:)][}:)]
Brass usually have EVERYTHING on the unit as on the protoype. I own three BLI’s and they look ok. They aint IHC and they aint brass but they will look good enough for the camera. The money is for the factory installed QSI sound and the DCC.
Bachmann Spectrum steam is right up there with Proto 2000 Steam. The rest I judge to be train set stuff. But looks arent everything. I had a very nice steam engine that looked really great but could not pull anything near what the BLI can.
Function is more important to me than form. But not that much more.
P2K and Athearn Genesis are probably the most detailed diesels you can bu short of brass - and then oly newer brass, older brass diesels were rather poorly detailed, witness the old Hallmark Geeps with sideframes worse than the cheapest train set loco. The BLI SD40-2 is probably the WORST of theirs, I’m not sure what happened there, but the SW’s are MUCH MUCH nicer. Steam-wise - I can’t fault the M1A, more detailed that other plastic steamers and if you mute the sound and run it - SUPER quiet drive. Electrics - the GG1 is better detailed than the Rivarossi/IHC/Mehano ones, which are the only other RTR GG1’s on the market. Plus at shows I see the IHC dual-motor units going for $70. For $50 more you get a METAL body, sound, and DCC. No brainer.
Hard to compete with Overland. But then again, hard to compete with Overland’s PRICES, too. Personally I think the price of brass is insane. And my father in law has a diesel with an Overland drive, which supposedly were benchmarks for quality drivetrains at some point. I am not impressed. Any one of my Proto2000 locos, which cost a fraction of what just that chassis cost, run smoother and quieter.
–Randy
The BLI’s and my P2Ks fit in very nicely with my brass steam locos.I sometimes have to look closley to see if I’m running brass or plastic.And as a added bonus… they run great.Even a couple of IHC’s that I super-detailed and painted fit right in when I’m operating.
Jon; when it comes to E units in plastic, P2K and BLI are even for the most part. They both have some flaws, and you will have to compare the model with photos of a particular prototype to decide which is closer to the particular locomotive.
I just picked up a BLI GG1. Looks nice and the level of detail is there…but then again, GG1s don’t have a tremendous amount of details to begin with. Compared with the other models I’ve seen of one though…hands down better.
Everyone
Thanks for the input.
Jon - Las Vegas