At last the Mikes are available from BLI, unfortunately there seems to be an issue with many of the engines.
http://precisioncraftmodels.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=910
I stated in a thread several weeks back that BLI was having problems with QC in Blueline, and it didn't go over very well. I think it was about the time the lawsuit was settled and BLI lost the tooling for the Big Boy, GG1, and some diesels. Now this?
I don't know what to think, except that I agree with one poster there when he says BLI should consider getting out of the Blueline and twin decoders for those who want them for DCC operations and can't get their Paragon counterparts...far too many unhappy customers.
I hope BLI can get up to full scale production to keep their share of the market because I like their steamers. But they have to get their act together.
-Crandell
I agree, that it would be a shame to see BLI decrease their market share. I have a few of their Paragon engines (steam and diesel) and am quite satisfied with their perfromance overall.
One can only hope that the QC issue is addressed in a timely manner. There is no doubt that BLI has for reduced the price of the Mikes to sell quickly.
PASMITH wrote:Does anyone have any information on the BLI AC4/5's? They were supposed to be shipped in May, then September and now October.Peter Smith, Memphis
And on and on it goes. Their schedules are only best wishes at the time they are printed. The AC12 was announced and immediately went to TBD. The Bad Delivery??????? Thought to be Dead??.
The AC12 was a model that many wanted and they just let it go for the last two or more years. It would be perfect for any steam era Southern Pacific fan and as a helper for the MTH Daylight pulling the BLI passenger train. The GS4 is TBD also. Truely Bad delivery!
Maybe it means (TBD) Today's Big Delay. The Big Disappointment!!!!
don7 wrote: I agree, that it would be a shame to see BLI decrease their market share. I have a few of their Paragon engines (steam and diesel) and am quite satisfied with their perfromance overall. One can only hope that the QC issue is addressed in a timely manner. There is no doubt that BLI has for reduced the price of the Mikes to sell quickly.
Unfortunately, a "timely manner" is not weeks - or possibly not even months!! With most of our models made in China, there are many problems in making a change: 1. Language translation. 2. Time from completion of a model to it arriving at the importers - and then to distribution to your LHS. 3. Possible contract changes to protect the importer & manufacturer - this alone can be months! 4. If the manufacturer has X many models started,partially completed, or ready to ship, they will want to "get rid" of these before making any changes. There are probably many other issues that us "mere modelers" don't know of that add time to this.
Not to change the subject, but does everyone think that Athearn is happy with the QC issues they have suffered because of the infamous MRC decoders? Many of the above issues probably apply to them also - along witha contract with MRC that they probably can't change/get out of. My
I don't know how many times I have to say this, but I would like to remind folks that Athearn has absolutely no say in what sound goes into their engines. That decision was and has been made by their owners, Horizon Hobby. Horizon is an R/C company, and the MRC remote control probably appeals to them...and MRC probably is the cheapest (tho' Rapido has been quoted as saying that MRC, LokSound and QSI were all about the same price for his TurboTrain).
So if you want to blame someone for the MRC mess with Athearn, blame MRC and Horizon.BTW, speaking of production problems in China, I've seen a pre-production model of a New Haven product where the NH script logos were placed upsidedown. Imagine what could go wrong with a sound decoder or a more complicated product.
Paul A. Cutler III************Weather Or No Go New Haven************
Sometimes the instruction sheet translation gets downright humorous, too. Instructions for the "Push Hammer" sold by Micro-Mark say to "Just hold Push Hammer and power it!"
Back to the topic at hand: Tony's web site says they returned all of their sample 2-8-2 Mikados to BLI because they all had the same flaw, so it's not a case of a single sample slipping through QC with problems.
In view of the problems with the new release of the Heavy Mikes I opted out and purchased one of the old run BLI DCC Mikes with the Quantum sound.
The item is new old stock. Priced just about the same as the new model but comes with DCC/DC.
Hey Don, Who's logo and Where? I have been scouting around for one to either stripe to put into Milw colors or either a GN with the glacier green.
The engine is the GN version with the Glacier Green boiler.
I had checked a couple of the larger on line hobby shops and decided to check out e-bay when I spotted this engine.
I had previously seen the old Paragon series engines listed off and on, quite often at a premium.