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Post by gmpullman on Oct 5, 2014 16:22:11 GMT -5
Hello All
I missed the boat on preorders for the full set of the Rapido Budd Canadian cars, which I hear had been quite some years ago! I was first made aware of Rapido's offering when a review appeared in the August, 2013 issue of Model Railroader. By then it was way too late to find any as they were sold out of the limited run. So I was quite pleased to discover that Rapido has made runs of some of the individual cars and I was glad to get my hands on Kootenay Park a 3 bedroom 1 drawing room dome lounge observation car, one of my favorite passenger cars of all time. I was fortunate enough to ride The Canadian on two occasions in 1972 and 1973 from Toronto to Winnipeg and enjoyed some relaxing miles in these cars.
Although I wouldn't call this an official review, I thought I'd share some photos and a few comments, opinions if you will, on the build of these cars from Rapido.
OK, my first "Oh No" moment! Check out the crooked window which also seems to be too small for the opening (a tighter fit would have lessened the chance of the skewed glass) and I have to take away a few points for the less-than-flush fitting side glass at the rounded end (Walthers seems to do a better job of this on the several observation cars of theirs I own). Not apparent in this view but the glass seems to have an oily film on the inside as well. I won't know until I open the car some time in the future and check. Checking photos of the actual cars it looks as if the marker lamp housings were sometimes painted the Tuscan red color of the letterboard but more often remained silver or natural aluminum. A 00 brush and careful painting will help the appearance of the markers. The tail sign has to be installed by the buyer and I used canopy glue to secure it in place. Four different tail signs are supplied... nice touch!
Oops number two... the lettering on one side runs off the bottom of the (left) letterboard! This one won't be easy to fix. I'm debating weather or not to send Jason an email about this one. I'd sure like to see a better fit where the dome ends meet the window frames. I have some Broadway Limited C-Z domes and their fit seems to be a little tighter. The two SMD LEDs shine up through the floor to light the dome. If I ever open the car I think I would try to place a diffuser over these to tone down the light a bit. The actual cars usually kept the ceiling lights off in the dome and relied on small lights mounted near the floor. The dome seats look fantastic and have white antimacassars as well!
The CANADIAN PACIFIC lettering on this side of the car is level but perhaps just a bit high. All the photos I have show the lettering centered in the Tuscan band. A bit of light spills into the window above the tail sign, another thing to see if I can fix when the car is opened up. The tailsign is illuminated beautifully! BEST in the business! No shadows or hot spots. Nice red glow from the marker lamp but as I said earlier, a little Tuscan or silver can help that. The battery box just fore of the "skirt" is glued on a bit crooked but I think I can pry it off and re-glue it.
I'll continue this thread as time permits and provide a few more photos and close-ups. I can't comment on the operating qualities as I have not run the car yet... stay tuned! Ed
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Post by backshophoss on Oct 5, 2014 17:00:12 GMT -5
Could that "oily" finish on the windows an attempt at window "tinting"?
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timberley
Member
Posts: 189
Primary Railroads: VIA Rail Canada, AMT (Montreal)
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Post by timberley on Oct 5, 2014 22:38:34 GMT -5
Thanks for posting your thoughts (and photos) Ed! I have several of these cars in VIA Rail paint (two from the exlusive-to-VIA runs and one from the current release), so I've spent quite a bit of time with them. First off, I can say that all three of mine have the windows in the tail section perfectly flush-fitting. Unfortunately it looks like the issue may be specific to your car (perhaps a deformed or poorly formed window section?). Perhaps you could try contacting Rapido to see if they have any replacements on hand. Might also be a good time to mention the crooked/out-of-place lettering. I do agree that the lights in the dome could be toned down a touch. It would have been nice if they could have put in a switch to have those controlled by the magnetic wand (like the marker/tail lights are). The dome lights are typically off at night, save for the floor-lights. Given the location of the LEDs, perhaps a diffuser of some sort could make a very convincing replica of that floor mounted light. Other option would always be to simply disconnect those lights if you want the dome "in the dark". Could that "oily" finish on the windows an attempt at window "tinting"? The windows are tinted in what is probably the most realistic recreation of Solex green/blue that has been done to date. It's more visible when the lights are off of course. I'm not sure the oily sheen is related to that, as none of the cars I have show this at all. |
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Post by backshophoss on Oct 6, 2014 2:19:56 GMT -5
Considering that Sader-Kan's production is only for Bachmann,which ever factory in China that Rapido uses does good work,better keep that name under wraps! That glitch with the end glass a just a minor flaw on a very well done model.The same goes the lettering glitch, the painter had an "off"day.(or a bad cup of Tim Hortons coffee!  ) |
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Post by gmpullman on Oct 6, 2014 16:04:31 GMT -5
Thanks for the comments, guys...
I hope I didn't come off as being too picky about the car. Overall it is superb! I get the impression that the production crew was "under the gun" as it were, to meet a deadline for shipping. Several years ago I had a brass copy of a Park series that I paid three times what the Rapido car sells for and it was an unpainted empty shell (I forget but it may have been Lambert?) Today we are blessed with a HUGE variety of passenger equipment with details and options that are simply amazing!
Jason has raised the bar again and this car is no exception. The underframe detail alone is a work of art! I know he spent a ton of time on the "Superior Stainless" finish and, as objective of a subject that it is, I would have preferred it to be a bit more reflective. To me it does represent a slightly dusty, road-weary appearance. My recollection of stainless passenger cars, even the run down Penn-Central stuff I saw here in Cleveland was still pretty shiny and it reflected the surrounding signal and roadside lights very well.
Last night while cleaning up around the layout room I found an odd shaped piece of aqua tinted clear plastic on the carpet. My first thought was !?! I found it where I had un-boxed the car then it dawned on me that it sure looks like a dome-end window. Sure enough, one of the end windows had popped out (Rapido says there are over 200 parts to these cars and a few may shake loose on their journey from the Guangdong Province) so I'll make an attempt at sticking it back in with some canopy glue.
I'll try to get a decent photo of the glass ripples that I'm talking about. Maybe it's some mold release? I agree that the tint is a perfect match for the Solex green (shouldn't the Dutch door glass be clear, though? Just sayin')
Another BIG plus is the interior seating and bulkheads in appropriate colors. Walthers is left in the dust here. Even MTH has beautifully done interiors in proper colors.
I just picked up a pair of the Rapido Budd coaches, one in NYC and the other in PRR Fleet Of Modernism paint. My Rapido Turbotrain is another fine example of a highly desirable model that I get great enjoyment from. So, aside from the few glitches I point out here, I'm sure glad Jason Shron and his Rapido team are making all this neat stuff available! |
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Post by backshophoss on Oct 7, 2014 0:49:36 GMT -5
Is the plan to populate the car with HO scale "people"?
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Post by stevef45 on Oct 7, 2014 3:22:37 GMT -5
The grabs on the left side of the photo aren't drilled properly either. THey missed the "nbw" but not on the right side of the photo.
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Post by steve greiner on Dec 25, 2014 0:32:35 GMT -5
When I was 10, in 1971 my great-grandparents took me on a trip from Vancouver to Montreal on the Canadian. Our accommodation was one of the two rooms at the rear. I still remember the name Kootenay Park! would love to find out where she ended up. I didn't realize at the time how fabulous the room was. Would love that trip at my age now.
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Post by backshophoss on Dec 25, 2014 1:29:02 GMT -5
Believe most of CP's passenger cars wound up with VIA,however,I'm
unaware of any roster books or roster websites of VIA's fleet of cars.
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Post by gmpullman on Sept 13, 2015 1:05:09 GMT -5
Here are some photos that may rekindle some memories: Kootenay Park
As far as I know, the car was rebuilt and updated and still runs on VIA VIA Rail Park dataGlad you had fond memories! Ed |
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