After the head scratching debacle that has been the last two Athearn releases, the FP7s and GP15-1's, I would like to get some data from the community on how you all feel about Athearn right now. I know some people like to read, but not post so I have included a poll that you can cast your vote in. For those of you that do post, feel free to express your feelings here. The more input we can get, the better results we can expect from Athearn going forward. For those unfamiliar with the situation, each model has their own ongoing thread discussing the issues. http://frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/athearn-genesis-fp-7s-annouced-01-24-20.12723/ http://frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/athearn-emd-gp15-1-second-run-announced-5-29-2020.12868/ Please, keep it civil folks. Rants about stuff being made overseas vs here won't help our situation.
I'll get the ball rolling here. I haven't completely given up on Athearn yet, but my confidence in them has been shaken enough to make me think twice before buying something. I definitely won't be preordering any more, unless we can get some sort of guarantee for accuracy on the product. I would really like Athearn to go back to giving us real pictures of the models before they're shipped out. As we have found out, there's some details that are difficult to see on the announcement artwork. Lastly, they need to listen to us when we do find problems on the announcement artwork. I know we pointed out the issues on the F9B and they didn't fix it before production. Athearn has said they will produce a corrected shell, but they wouldn't have to if they had listened to the community early on.
I clicked "Maybe". Mainly, that's because I'm quite focused on my own theme, so additional models of prototype's are not truly needed. At this point I only have one Genesis engine: Frisco #594. (Though I'm okay with the shade of yellow/gold used for stripes, I must confess that to me, it is a bit dark. There, I said it.) Genesis will be hampered further in that I'm at the point that I have adequate KC&G power to supply my layout. (Thank you Keith along with a resilient hobby fund!) Now the time is here that I truly need to start running KC&G units through the paint shop. Athearn as a whole appears quite capable of making a very good product. The #594 runs excellent, sounds good (TSU2), and the fidelity of the details is very nice. I'm puzzled at how they can miss things that (to me) seem to be a bit on the obvious side. Athearn is a bit puzzling at this point. Above strictly FWIW, which ain' t much. Andre
Ethan, Let me start by saying I grew up on Athearn "Blue Box" kits and have been a loyal Athearn customer for nearly three decades. I think most of the issues with the FP7 and GP15-1 can be chalked up to supply chain disruptions and breakdowns in quality control as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and worsening relations between China and the West. Gabriel G.
Well it's been two weeks now and Athearn never responded to my inquiry about the situation. So, I will have a hard time convincing myself to buy Athearn products in the future.
They do but I've been picking corn 12-14 hours a day for the last 2 weeks so I haven't had a chance to call them yet.
