This review is on Kato's HO scale Phase Ia GP35 diesel, one of the first non-brass models to represent different prototype "phases."
Although it's now been 16 years since these were first released, the GP35's fine detail is just about as good as anything they make today. There are a couple minor mistakes around the shell, but there are also some parts I would say are better than more recent diesels from Kato. The main body castings are made perfectly, with no visible seam in sight. All the separate detail parts, like the grab-irons, handrails, and truck details, come unassembled, and are packed in the bottom of the box. Detailed instructions show where all the parts go, and everything presses into little holes in the shell. Most of the parts went in easy and hold fine, but a couple others (like the long pilot grab irons) were a little tight. Except for the oddly colored navy-blue horn, all the parts are molded in black. The handrails and grab-irons should be blue and white instead of black, but some good painting can fix that. The detail matches photos of Conrail GP35s for the most part, but there are a couple little things that are different. The pilots have steps with finely made see-through grating (which is about the only see-through detail you'll ever find on a Kato) which don't belong on Conrail GP35s, the side grab-irons on the nose are on the wrong side (right instead of left), and the steps should be black instead of blue. All of these things can fortunately be fixed easily (now back to the model's positives). All the roof and side ventilation, although not see-through, is some of the finest I've ever seen, and there are even fans visible in the four fan vents on the roof. The cab has a full interior, which was an uncommon feature around the time this one was made. There are fine silver windshield wipers molded onto the front and rear windows, and they look better than Kato's attempt at making separate wipers, in my opinion. The walkways have fine, realistic tread molded on all the way around. Like the steps, they should be black instead of blue, but this can be fixed easily. There's a turned brass bell under the walkway on the left side, which looks much nicer than a plastic one would have. The trucks, like the rest of the model, are very well detailed, and they're also molded in black. The paint is coated very smoothly and evenly, and doesn't ruin any of the fine detail. Kato did miss painting the underside of the shell and walkways, but this isn't noticable while the engine is on the track. The lettering is printed clearly with very little fuzz around the edges, but it is a little thin in some areas. The model came with very heavy horn-hook style couplers, but Kadee #5 couplers and slightly modified boxes replaced them easily. The directional incandescent lights are mounted in the middle of the engine, and the light travels through high quality light bars to get to the headlights.
Although the detail is all very nice, running is where this model really shines. The GP35 ran very smoothly and quietly right out of the box, but the gears and bearings were bone dry and had to be greased and oiled before run too much. The maximum speed running free at 12 volts was 71 scale MPH, with a current draw of 0.12 amps. The minimum speed maintained was 3 scale MPH at less than 2 volts, and this is without a skewed-armature motor. The maximum stall current was 1.15 amps. It ran through my rather poor, cheap-as-free (they were literally free) Atlas switches without a problem, and just coasted right through them from low-speeds to full-speed. The gearing is all nearly silent and works smooth as glass, and the high-quality blackened nickel-silver wheels are rounded perfectly and have RP-25 flanges. All the wheels have electrical pickup. The 5-pole motor is a strong, quiet runner, and it has perfectly balanced brass flywheels at both ends. The driveshafts have a ball and socket mount at one end, which is quiet except for a little noise on tight curves, and silent running hex couplings on the flywheel end. The frame is metal and provides plenty of weight and a low center of gravity. There's also a weight on top of the motor. I don't have the track to test its pulling power, but I'd expect the GP35 should be able to pull more than a realistic load. The wiring and directional lighting circuit are very simple, and the model's just a little too old to have a DCC socket (nothing did until the mid 90s, as far as I know). Everything is isolated, so DCC shouldn't be hard to install, and there should be just enough room for a decent HO sized sound system if the top weight is removed.
I've found Kato's GP35 to be an impressive model all around. The detail quality is great, and the running quality is excellent, so I'd say this is one of the better diesels available in the lower than $100 price range.
_________________________________________________________________