On Saturday, I stopped by my friends at Eastside Trains near Seattle and picked up my Lionel Budweiser set. Here are some pictures. The packaging is great, and should allow for easy repacking for those that want to have a set that you can bring out for special occasions. I really enjoyed the Five Star General that came out last year with the Bluetooth technology, so decided to get one of these on pre-order.
The back has nice descriptions of Bluetooth. I tried the engine on both an I phone and an Android phone, and the I phone works better. Lionel did make improvements with the Android version of their software earlier this year, but the I phone still works better. I will need to see if they have released a newer version for Androids.
The box sides have descriptions of the contents in the set on one side and a description of the engine and rolling stock features on the other side.
I was surprised to see that they include a Plug-Expand-Play power lock on section, that is an expensive piece of track to purchase separately.
I also purchased the three reefers that were separate sale items.
When you open the box, this is what you see. They pieces fit nicely in the plastic packaging. No foam packing that breaks apart!
Nice gold on the two gold domes and bell! Lionel forgot to paint them on the Five Star General Last year! The three bands are painted White, I suspect that they are gold underneath, but I am not going to scrape them off to find out.
The little Bluetooth symbol is a nice touch.
My phone does not take a great picture of Red, I am really happy with the look.
Smoke Fluid, spare bulb, and traction tires. Matching LioneChief controller.
Underneath the first layer is a white piece of cardboard.
Below the cardboard is the next layer for the rolling stock.
The flatcar has three barrels.
The lids come off.
Nicely detailed horses. The rolling stock have metal trucks.
Close up
The passenger car.
The track is packed away in this cardbord box, the other piece is a filler.
The reading material includes an advertisement for OGR!
The engine has great sound, with the voice being the same as the guy on the Five Star General, different crew talk though. I was kind of hoping for the Budweiser jingle but no luck. The set would look good under a Christmas tree or to entertain friends around the holidays.
