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Video: Sunset Models HO class Z-6 Challenger
Just when you think you have seen it all in a model, it gets better.
It is quite possible that NP’s Z-6 is even more beautiful than what ran on the UP which is no slouch, either. I would LOVE to see this magnificent machine offered in N scale. To quote the Bard of Avon, it is “the very mold of form”.
that is so cool . that is the coolish train in the world
Looks like a very well made model great sound effects but for that kind of money it looks a little odd not having even a little bit of smoke ?
Aloha
Beautiful engine. looks like it runs well and of course the sound is great too. How much does it go for?
Excellent Locomotive. Would look great on my layout. But like Joseph asked, HOW MUCH DOES IT GO FOR?
For those of you asking about the price of this locomotive, please see the link to the product review that’s located right under the video with the label RELATED ARTICLES
Thanks,
Dana Kawala
Senior Editor
FANTASTIC! Fine looking and sounding model. Also, it’s great that you chose a Northern Pacific model! It seems NP doesn’t show up a lot in new models.
Nicest locomotive I have seen in a long time. However, the price puts it on my when I win the lottery list.
Appears to need wide radius curves. What, no smoke? Nice looking locomotive.
Thanks Dana ,
Nice Review
John
Nice looking engine but the sound seems tinny to me. An engine this big needs much more bass for the chuff effect. I think if I were to buy it, I would replace the sound with a Tsunami and the speaker with the largest one I could fit into the tender. For nearly $1300 bucks I guess expected more.
Needs to smoke it up a bit to make it even more realistic. Other wise it appears to be a super model, even if it is pricey.
No Smoke I can live with, although I prefer smoke at my finger tip! The quality of the sound needs help. The biggest issue is the drivers sound are not independent of each other. The chuffing should be going in and out of synq. A ESU LokSound Decoder would be a huge improvement!
It would be nice if the headlight’s glow would increase gradually with the revs of the dynamo like on the early BLI engines .
Does it have doppler?
…And how come these videos never show an engine going from stop to full throttle?
great sound, allmost like the real engine
This model is about $1149.00 w/ no sound & $1249.00 with sound. Your favortite dealer my have some room for discounts of 10-20% but that’s up to them. This price is OK for a brass model of this quality and Sunset is a well established company of good reputation. MTH offers a very good die cast version that is loaded with performance and features but detail is not quite up to the Sunset Brass. I would look at the quality of the gear box and gearing as another possible quality difference in the models. Modern Brass offten has better quality grearing but not always. Like others, I would also like to see a timed, fan driven smoke unit in this engine as well as marker lights & cab lights with engineeer and fireman figures. BLI offers the Brass “Hybrid” models for arround $600 or so that are also feature rich, quality models or their plastic/diecast paragone 2 models for $250 - $499. I believe the Sunset model offers better quality and detail but $1200 is a lot of dough. Oh; I forgot Trix! they have the best quality drive train, motor and components I have seen but very limited offerings in US pototypes. Trix detail is similar to BLI and MTH HO scale but better quality at a higher price. Trix/Marklin trains are a good, solid value for those who can afford them; so is the Sunset challenger with more detail than the others. In my experience, I would rate these products from 1 - 10: BLI-8, MTH-9, Sunset-9.5, Trix- 10. I used overall quality for price as my measures. Detail would go to Sunset, hands down. (My opinion of course)
I will stick with my Athern model - thanks!
Great model! You did a great job showing it Dana. The only problem I have with sound is the whistles don’t sound deep enough and the bells are too tinny.