Thinking about getting back into the hobby, and considering N scale.
Is there an N scale equivalent to athearn blue box locomotives? (you know, something that works perfectly well, isn’t the best, but doesn’t cost an arm & a leg?).
The idea of dropping $100 on an engine freaks me out. $50 is managable.
Any ideas?
Athearn is now making N scale equipment.
Ch
True, Athearn is now offereing N scale equipment, but a very limited selection at this time.
It’s not exactly equivalent, but Atlas makes a pretty good line of diesel locos and rolling stock. Their diesels can be found for $60/$70 from online vendors. Their cars are quite nice and (imho) reasonably priced.
Unfortunately, good steam in N scale will set you back a bit more (but you can occasionally find sales).
You might want to check out a couple of on-line sites just to get an idea of pricing and variety.
www.atlasrr.com (their home site)
http://www.wig-wag-trains.com/ (Wig-Wag)
http://www.buynscale.com/ (Brooklyn Loco Works)
I’ve got no connection with those sites, I just know them to be reasonable.
Regards
Ed
life-like
Watch for ELTS sales on their websites. Many have closeout specials. A $90 engine may be discounted to $60. A lot depends on your choice of roadname for the particular model. The split-frame design is the key to a good running Nscale locos.
Athearn has only one entry in the Nscale market, to mixed reviews due to the high running speed. Check the section of MR and other mag review.
In today’s market, I’d rate Atlas as the best, with Kato second. IM has a slight nod over MT for their FT models. New Lifelikes have the split-frame, their old GP-38 and F40 do not. Old F unit shells can ride on GP20 drives.
Inexpensive diesels: Life Like on sale ($20-$40)
Inexpensive steam: Bachmann Spectrum on sale ($50-$75)
Inexpensive freight cars: Industrial, Life Like, Model Power, Roundhouse (on sale), Atlas (their older, constant stock stuff, not their new limited release stuff) ($3-$8)
Inexpensive passenger cars: Life Like, Bachmann, Model Power ($5-$10)
Of course, you always get what you pay for. Micro Trains cars might be a bit pricey, but they run flawlessly and still have the best detailing in N scale. Atlas and Kato diesels are expensive but run flawlessly and look fantastic. At least the best steam in N scale is made by Bachmann (Spectrum), and they keep their prices lower than the competition!
I’ve built my N-scale fleet on discontinued Roundhouse kits, Lifelike locos, and the occasional Atlas closeout (off ebay). But these are all getting harder to find. Horizon pulled the Roundhouse kit sale ($4 each was a steal), Lifelike’s newer limited releases are pricier, and Atlas closeouts much harder to find on ebay.
I think it comes in cycles, so maybe this spring (after a very crowded release lineup) will bring a lot of sell-offs on ebay? It probably won’t matter to me because my MRR budget is nil for the foreseeable future… [:(]