Athearn Norfolk Southern GE Dash 9 (C40-9W) Diesel Locomotive Review HO Scale HD

Описание: As last my Athearn GE (General Electric) Dash 9 in the Norfolk Southern livery from their "Ready To Run" range has arrived to me and overall the model is very nice. But there is some issues that Athearn need to look into regarding quality control at the factory in China because I had to refit one of the dummy ditchlights which was loose in the box with my modelling tweezers. Also the offside handrail had come off away from the model and had to be refitted as well as I needed to tighten up the handrails as some were loose. Those issues are easily fixable if you are a modeller with medium knowledge. But as this is supposed to be a ready to run model, I didn't expect to see as many glitches as these I have mentioned. Also is another loose part in the tray which I am trying to work out where the heck its supposed to go, but I have no idea. I am not bashing Athearn in anyway and their older USA made models are fantastic as my Dash 7 is very robust. But surely a 2010 issued model should be made better than this? Now for the positives, the model is good for detail as the livery is crisp and I like how the small warning decals are applied as its a nice touch to the model. The model has etched grills and nicely painted steps as well. The model is DCC ready as well, I am planning to fit some LED lighting to replace the dummy ditch lights and I would like to see Athearn add working ditch lights to this model in their future range. I would have given this model an 8 out of 10, but because of the quality issues and the build quality of the model being poor. I am going to give this model a lower score than I would like to. I will still buy Athearn models in the future as I want the GE P42 in Amtrak livery as well as an EMD F59PHI in Metrolink and Coaster livery as well.

Overall Rating: 5/10