Lionel Legacy J Engine

Can Anyone post any "before" pics. I'd like to compare the different colors. 

It turned out great, DJ! Glad it got resolved.

Nice to hear a positive outcome!! 

These are shots of my engine before and after in Harry’s workshop. 

DJ Haney posted:

The thread on the J engine repaint is closed so I thought I would post my thoughts here.  Harry just finished my Lionel J Engine and boy what a difference.  It actually looks like the real thing!  I am grateful that Lionel took the time to fix this issue and I want to thank Ryan and his team for coming to a resolution to this issue and eating the cost.  I was very vocal about this issue and express my displeasure with their handling of the situation so I felt like it was my duty to thank them for finally fixing the problem.  

Below are pictures of my 611 Harry repainted for me.  The decals look pretty good and although not perfect are an adequate solution to the problem.  My only warning would be to make sure you really want the engine repainted before you get it done as the lettering decals are not as nice as the printing Lionel did.  They’re a little but smaller and don’t stand out as much.  But you have to ask yourself, like I did, can you live with the wrong color or smaller letters?  To me the color won out.  Lionel made a great model and I am happy to say that my 611 is finally the way I want it.  Thanks again to all that reached out to Lionel, Ryan and his production team, and Harry for the hard work.

Looks awesome. Glad it worked out well for you.

Pat

Momma mia!!!  I am glad that you had the J Engine redone. From a fire engine red to a muted tone....looks great from the pics. 

Is there still a chance to send mine in? I'm not sure if I exactly want to yet. I mean the red that it came with doesn't seem bad to me, but the darker red is nicer looking and more accurate.

Peter:

You had until today to send it to Harry for a repaint.  After today Lionel would not cover the cost of the repaint.

Neal Jeter 

N&W 1218 posted:

These are shots of my engine before and after in Harry’s workshop. 

That workbench itself is evidence of a lot of painting in the past. It's a real work shop warrior. Talk about weathering!

That workbench is a work of art in itself.

Lionlman posted:

Peter:

You had until today to send it to Harry for a repaint.  After today Lionel would not cover the cost of the repaint.

Neal Jeter 

So it's too late? Maybe replacement parts will have the correct shade of red.

Peter Araujo posted:

Lionlman posted:

Peter:

You had until today to send it to Harry for a repaint.  After today Lionel would not cover the cost of the repaint.

Neal Jeter 

So it's too late? Maybe replacement parts will have the correct shade of red.

Peter,

    Call Lionel Monday morning tell them you were in quarantine and just got out. I bet they will give you a RA to send it to Harry. If not you can always call Harry directly and pay the bill yourself.

JohnB

Peter Araujo posted:

Lionlman posted:

Peter:

You had until today to send it to Harry for a repaint.  After today Lionel would not cover the cost of the repaint.

Neal Jeter 

So it's too late? Maybe replacement parts will have the correct shade of red.

That would be a long stretch at best, most likely not....and not to mention, that would be mucho expensivo!.........Pat

Peter Araujo posted:

Lionlman posted:

Peter:

You had until today to send it to Harry for a repaint.  After today Lionel would not cover the cost of the repaint.

Neal Jeter 

So it's too late? Maybe replacement parts will have the correct shade of red.

Sorry to say it’s too late probably to have the coat covered by Lionel.  However Harry will do it for you, you just have to pay for the shipping and the service.  Probably looking at around 75-100 dollars.  

Of course if you live in NJ or close to it then you can save on shipping cost if you drop it off at his place.  That’s actually what happened to me.  I work in a train store in NJ and by total luck I discovered that Harry live legit 3 minutes from us.  I was first going to send it to Muffin which would had cost me over 100 dollars, then when I discovered Harry was local and I got in touch with him it was going to cost me around 50.  Then when while it was getting fixed Lionel made their announcement.  I actually got really lucky haha.  

Just for a color match reference, here is the repainted engine with a Weaver RPO car. The improvement is huge. I've talked and seen a few photos. There are some minor inconsistencies with the yellow stripes around the running boards but that seems to be the biggest drawback to the re-stripe. Bottom line is the color is 100 times better and it brings this locomotive up to the standard that it should have been in the first place. I appreciate what Lionel has done to correct the problem and the engine will see plenty of service on my layout. 

Glad that worked out. Fifty bucks is an absolute bargain!  I wouldn’t unpack it for that.  Looks great!

Decals are tricky. Any yellow or Dulux letters or numbers must be printed twice, first in white and then overlaid with the proper yellow shade.  Once set, I find the film almost completely disappears with a Q-Tip- applied coat of Future Floor Wax.

RickO posted:

DJ Haney posted:

  I was first going to send it to Muffin which would had cost me over 100 dollars, then when I discovered Harry was local and I got in touch with him it was going to cost me around 50.  Then when while it was getting fixed Lionel made their announcement.  I actually got really lucky haha.  

Lets not forget that Mr. Muffin is the one that got the ball rolling on this in the first place. I think Steve deserves the brunt of the credit.

Having said that, I'm sure folks could still send it to Harry and have it corrected albiet out of pocket. IMO I think Lionel should have given at least a year from the release date for folks to get a "free" repaint.

Because those of us that called Lionel, I believe the number was approximately 12 had nothing to do with this. 

Im glad folks are getting satisfaction though regardless of who gets the credit. 

MartyE posted:

RickO posted:

DJ Haney posted:

  I was first going to send it to Muffin which would had cost me over 100 dollars, then when I discovered Harry was local and I got in touch with him it was going to cost me around 50.  Then when while it was getting fixed Lionel made their announcement.  I actually got really lucky haha.  

Lets not forget that Mr. Muffin is the one that got the ball rolling on this in the first place. I think Steve deserves the brunt of the credit.

Having said that, I'm sure folks could still send it to Harry and have it corrected albiet out of pocket. IMO I think Lionel should have given at least a year from the release date for folks to get a "free" repaint.

Because those of us that called Lionel, I believe the number was approximately 12 had nothing to do with this. 

Point being, If I recall correctly even you yourself were becoming disappointed in the length of silence from Lionel over this issue. In spite of you and the 11 other people that called.

It wasn't until AFTER Mr. Muffin set things up with Harry that Lionel came along a week or 2 later and said they would pick up the tab. Had Steve not made the effort, maybe silence would have continued. Too bad for folks that buy these from today on....I guess they're S.O.L.

Im glad folks are getting satisfaction though regardless of who gets the credit. 

Agreed, see above statement.

 

MartyE posted:

Peter Araujo posted:

Is there still a chance to send mine in? I'm not sure if I exactly want to yet. I mean the red that it came with doesn't seem bad to me, but the darker red is nicer looking and more accurate.

Do yourself a really big favor and send it back to Lionel for a refund if you still can! 

Well as of March 1st all of the refund, repaint, return options are off the table.  So any correction will be on your dime.  Lionel was very clear on the options and time limit. 

Enjoy your locomotives.  

I talked to Harry today and he said that he’s done between 80 & 90 Js. He’s also repainting some Cavalier cars the correct shade. 

It’s awesome that Steve Nelson solved this problem for Lionel.  I guarantee you that he would be the first guy to hope his ideas are not needed on the next run of J’s. 

Actually what would have been awesome would have been if every one (read ALL) of them were shipped back to Lionel! That would have been the right thing to do. That way everyone would have gotten their money back and Lionel would have been sent a message that the consumer wasn't going to put up with this nonsense. Then, if Lionel decided to rectify the situation, you all could have re-bought a factory fresh model, not one that had been over-painted!

Tough crowd.  Don't buy stuff you will not be happy with, or negotiate a right to return.

Big Jim posted:

Actually what would have been awesome would have been if every one (read ALL) of them were shipped back to Lionel! That would have been the right thing to do. That way everyone would have gotten their money back and Lionel would have been sent a message that the consumer wasn't going to put up with this nonsense. Then, if Lionel decided to rectify the situation, you all could have re-bought a factory fresh model, not one that had been over-painted!

To borrow your usual bluntness, well, duh.  Yeah, a factory recall was the the perfect solution and it was indeed offered by Lionel. Repaint it or return it. Steve’s idea of a repaint and Lionel’s willingness to buy them back solved the current problem. I’m willing to bet the next release is bingo. 

Rider Sandman posted:

Big Jim posted:

Actually what would have been awesome would have been if every one (read ALL) of them were shipped back to Lionel! That would have been the right thing to do. That way everyone would have gotten their money back and Lionel would have been sent a message that the consumer wasn't going to put up with this nonsense. Then, if Lionel decided to rectify the situation, you all could have re-bought a factory fresh model, not one that had been over-painted!

To borrow your usual bluntness, well, duh.  Yeah, a factory recall was the the perfect solution and it was indeed offered by Lionel. Repaint it or return it. Steve’s idea of a repaint and Lionel’s willingness to buy them back solved the current problem. I’m willing to bet the next release is bingo. 

What you don't seem to understand is that the problem wasn't really solved. You aren't getting back a "factory fresh" model. You are getting an over-paint!

I fully understand that. And so do those who opt for the repaint option as opposed to those who opt for a full refund. At the end of the day, buyers were given an option. The “recall” to avoid the “repaints” you want to avoid was offered - send it back and buy the next release. I get it, the current release of the J was not good. Options exist to avoid it. Pick one and move on. 

N&W 1218 posted:

I talked to Harry today and he said that he’s done between 80 & 90 Js. He’s also repainting some Cavalier cars the correct shade. 

And yet only 12 people called Lionel.  I'm sure it was on the "to do" list of the other 78 people and or dealers.  The good news regardless is those 12 people  with Steve's intervention were able to get an outcome that was positive for everyone by way of return or repaint.  Unfortunately with the small number of calls, Lionel could not justify a new run of shells.  I am happy folks are getting satisfaction.

bob2 posted:

Tough crowd.  Don't buy stuff you will not be happy with, or negotiate a right to return.

 How about.....Don't sell stuff you can't manufacture correctly.... or don't base it on a recognizable prototype so consumers can tell if the paint is incorrect..... or don't get it right on a previous run so that customers "assume" they will be happy knowing what to expect on the current run.