The new F7s started shipping this week. Anybody have pictures? I’m particularly interested in the ATSF Blue Bonnet version. I bought the Yellow Bonnets last year and they are fantastic.
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There a YouTube of them on erics trains, they goofed again and made vestibule different colors
Thanks, Tom! Yeah, the vestibules are annoying, but that’s an easy fix through fairly cheap parts. They might even send them out for the asking. Otherwise, the paint looks awesome on them. Again, thanks for the link.
Mine arrived today; the AA set and superbass B. Unfortunately they have the same Warbonnet flat spot and blue diaphragms as shown in Eric’s video. I will just live with the paint issue but will buy replacement black diaphragms next time I order parts. To be fair to Lionel, the catalog image of the B units shown them with blue diaphragms so they did deliver what they showed.
I'm personally okay with how the Bluebonnets turned out. They look really good.
The real question, personally, is how the Great Northern Empire Builder units turned out...
Agreed, Thomas. I also would like to see the Rock Island and B&M versions. If done correctly, those stand to be fantastic.
Well, I bought a set of the Blue Bonnets. They look fantastic. I’ll get them programmed and tested over the weekend.
As noted above, the vestibules are different colors, but, in fairness, that’s how they were cataloged. The ends of the B-units are painted blue and the vestibules match (the ends of the A-units are silver). The B-units on the Yellow Bonnets from last year are the same way (blue ends and vestibules). Interestingly enough, a simple Google search shows the Blue Bonnet B-units painted similarly (blue ends and vestibules) in other scales, so who knows?
One other note, they finally took the operating couplers out of the B-units to shorten the gaps. It looks a lot better. I’m going to order dummy couplers from parts and take out the operating couplers from my Yellow Bonnets and Red Bonnets.
I got my Blue Bonnets programmed and running today. They really are stunners. The finish and details turned out terrific. They are extremely smooth runners. The smoke units are awesome - some of the best of all my Legacy diesels.
The removal of the electrocouplers from the B-units and replacement with dummy couplers creates a much smaller gap between units. Coupling the units together is a bit tricky until you get the hang of it.
All and all, these are some of the best F-units Lionel has built. They are a bit pricey for an ABBA set, but I’m very happy with them.
One final thought: after programming four of these (and then assembling the Legacy lash up), I sure miss the orange modules.
