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 Chris Walas.... Quick Buddy L Bash.....  While doing a few other projects this weekend, I challenged myself to at least paint the new Buddy L loco I picked up. My challenge was to do what I could and have the loco operational by the end of today. I took the whole thing apart to get to know it (I won't even list the disappointments):    I threw some rod and snaps in the barren cab to "fill it up".    Oh, I also did the engineer and fireman figures. I think a lot of this has probably been said elsewhere and better, but here’s my take on this item. In General This unit is somewhere between a toy and a model. It isn’t accurate enough to be equated to a Bachmann Big Hauler, but that’s the nearest model to it in terms of design. It’s just a hair shorter than a ten-wheeler, but noticeably taller. Overall, while I wouldn’t say this is a great model, it is likable. I’m not sure I’d suggest this one as bashing material, because there really is a lot of work to get it “realistic”. The toylike qualities are not easily removed. If you can live with the look, though, I think it’s a nice looking loco overall. I really wish they’d spent just a little more designing the thing as a few minor improvements would make all the difference. With a serious amount of dedicated work, it might be brought up to “model” status, but I’m not sure it’s worth it. I can’t vouch for the drive.  Pluses Size. This is not a 1:22.5 loco. The cab is much larger than a Bachmann ten-wheeler cab. The boiler sits higher as well. Easily convincing as 1:20.3 in size, if not in accuracy. Operating front coupler. Not sure why Bachmann hasn’t been able to do this yet! The couplers are very similar in size to Bachmann’s and these come with metal pins. I have not had one open unintentionally in about four or five hours of operation. Sound System. This is a rather low grade, stepped chuff, monophonic system. It’s definitely louder than the Bachmann. I suspect on the older Heritage Express version that it may have used six C batteries for the sound, because there’s room for that under the coal load. However, this one uses three AA batteries. Chassis. The drive unit drops out very easily (two screws under the cab area and one under the stack) and reminds me of the LGB Mogul unit a little. In fact, it looks like the cylinders and running gear were copied from the LGB Mogul. So it would be easy to bash a new body for it. Headlight. The incandescent bulb in this is especially bright! It’ll be interesting to see how long it lasts! Motor Fan. I thought this was a good idea.  Congdon Stack. Great for something else! It’s small for 1:20.3, I suspect. Minuses; Smoke unit. This is the same unit as used in the Scientific Toys battery operated Mogul. It puffs (quite meekly) by the black p lastic tube from one of the cylinders. Both cylinders have these obvious tubes, but only one is functional. Smoke output is probably fine for under the Christmas tree but not much more. The unit is housed in the stack itself. I just ripped it out for later replacement (maybe). Sound System. While it’s an attempt at something more, the sound in this unit seemed to have a hard time operating properly. I’ve read that others worked better. The whistle sounds like a beached whale (horrible, but I kind of like it!) and the chuffs only occasionally appear in sync with the loco. The whistle also cuts out for a second in between toots. Mine does ring the bell in reverse occasionally, but not consistently. There are other sounds it makes, I just haven’t figured out what they’re supposed to be yet! Another minus here is that the new battery compartment isn’t under the coal load, it’s built in to the top surface of the tender, behind the non-functional light. It’s a plain battery box lid with “Made in China” embossed on it. Detail The detail is sparse and very toy-like. It would be easier to bash if they’d just left most of it off. There are the typical leaf-spring suspension castings, but only on one axle! The molding on the headlight bracket is a large, clunky piece that extends to include part of the stack base. Rivets tend to be too large almost everywhere. Diecast Boiler. I just don’t get this one. I assume it has some ad appeal or something, but it doesn’t do much for the model. It appears to be a pot metal casting, copper plated that is then painted (poorly) and sealed with a gloss coat of some kind. I would have preferred plastic. Pilot and Trailing wheels. The mounts on these seem to be a bad design. Not much allowance for vertical play and the springs are far too strong. So much so that when sitting on the table, the drive wheels on one side were lifted off the table! The model bottomed out on a couple of dips in my track, but still made it through. As the flanges on these wheels are HUGE, I’m removing the springs entirely. Weight. The model is WAY too light. Mine wouldn’t pull three Bachmann boxcars as delivered. I added weight and it pulls like an Annie now, but I have no idea what the weight is doing to the drive. So far, it sounds okay. Plastic. Much of the plastic used is of a more brittle styrene type. I managed to snap off several tangs that normally shouldn’t have broken. The chassis is made of this plastic and I wonder how well it will do in the long run. The loco doesn’t run without the tender attached and the connecting wire is stiff and too long. Haven’t had a chance to look at remedying this yet. Lastly, I would suggest anyone try and get a look at this loco in person before purchasing, particularly if bashing it is what you have in mind. Hope this helps! Well, this thing keeps running and running pretty darn well, so I added some piping, whistle, decals, weathering, scratched a new stack, toolbox. I also switched out the too large figures for more 1:20 ones.  My feeling is that it's getting better looking...slowly.  It's starting to lose some of that toy quality.  Chris |