Lionel's website has the instruction manual up for the long awaited defender set. Looks like it will finally make an appearance. I did not order it but I know there are many who have been waiting a while.
Ben
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Just pulled out my receipt from my pre-order at my LHS.October 10th 2010!
Originally Posted by Brad Rock:
Just pulled out my receipt from my pre-order at my LHS.October 10th 2010!
I just checked mine: April 27, 2010.
Question: Will the locomotive have the "low speed ringing bell" like the original?
Better late than never, I guess ...
Click on the left of the screen where it says "read more" for the owners manual.
http://www.lionelstore.com/tra...der-set-s-gauge.html
Ben
Originally Posted by NotInWI:
Click on the left of the screen where it says "read more" for the owners manual.
http://www.lionelstore.com/tra...der-set-s-gauge.html
Ben
Yeah, I saw that a "ringing bell" is cataloged, and that there's a switch to deactivate "sound", but the catalog and instructions say nothing about how the bell works. I'm guessing that since no activation button is included that activation occurs only at slow speeds as was the intent of the original. I'm also wondering if the bell wil be "real" or electronic in this version. Hopefully, we'll find out soon.
Well, the instruction sheet says to turn the sound button "off" to stop the bell sound, so I'd say it will be an electronic sound. Note that although the locomotive is classical powered Flyer, the oiling image shows the exposed gear train of the new Alco three axle units. I, for one, do not like exposed gearing, especially at track level. We'll see how it works, my Texas special engine has that too. (and oddly enough, it has a remote control coupler on the powered A unit's rear end, where it would usually be coupled to a trailing A unit, or a B unit. The trailing A unit has a standard "lift" coupler--and no smoke unit! Not even a red light in the nose!
Oh Well, . . .
Yes, the bell is an electronic one. Remy Convery at Lionel confirmed this via e-mail. The advantage is that one can turn it off, if so desired, but it is not the classic vintage arrangement. I do hope that the drive truck is a four wheel version of the new six wheel drive truck. I have the new 6-wheel power truck on five different L-AF locomotives and its perfomance has been smooth at speed and very dependable -- better than the old Gilbert motor and much better than Lionel's modifications to the power truck over the years.
Other things to note: there is an operating boxcar and a true rocket launching flat included in the set. Some might recall some confusion among a few here in the past on that point. The jeeps on the flat appear to be plastic copies of the Tootsie originals. Understandable and probably unavoidable, given circumstances. If they are painted olive brown rather than made with unpainted plastic, they will probably look OK.
We shall see, of course. Hopefully, the colors are to be reasonably close to those found on vintage Gilbert sets, but what is depicted in the instruction manual suggests that the Defender set might turn out reasonably well.
Bob
