MTH HO F3/F7

@c.sam posted:

There has been quite a stir over the last couple of years with the O gauge offerings from the various manufacturers finally offering plating on some roads. MTH produced these back in 2010, way ahead of everyone else.

Further ahead, S Helper Service, 2002:

Rusty

I stand corrected Rusty!   Those are indeed beautiful.  :-)

Was thinking primarily of the O gauge models...

@c.sam posted:

The renewed interest in MTH products prompts me to ask for some input from MTH HO gauge owners. Have acquired these exquisite F units recently that have the handsome SS plating.

These are HO? If so, anyone who is in a larger scale who puts down HO as being "too small" should look at these... 👍

Mark in Oregon

@Strummer posted:

These are HO? If so, anyone who is in a larger scale who puts down HO as being "too small" should look at these... 👍

Mark in Oregon

If you think that's sumpthin', you ought to see what Rapido's up to.

Rusty

@Rusty Traque posted:

If you think that's sumpthin', you ought to see what Rapido's up to.

Rusty

That is indeed "sumpthin' "...I remember Rapido when N scale first came out; had one of those metal body FA units...🙂

Mark in Oregon

@Strummer posted:

That is indeed "sumpthin' "...I remember Rapido when N scale first came out; had one of those metal body FA units...🙂

Mark in Oregon

That was Arnold Rapido of Germany.  This is Rapido Trains up in the Great White North founded in 2003.

Rusty

@Rusty Traque posted:

That was Arnold Rapido of Germany.  This is Rapido Trains up in the Great White North founded in 2003.

Rusty

Yeah, I think I knew that; but as a point of reference it's good you pointed that out. 👍

Mark in Oregon

The Canadian Rapido is PRIMO! :-)

Really unmatched except possibly KATO!

Really, the incredible detail and decoration in quality HO like KATO and Rapido matches or exceeds that of many O gauge products.

KATO's drives are top notch, their detail = not so much. They are barely on par with Athearn RTR and not up to ScaleTrains, Athearn Genesis, P2K, Fox Valley, Rapido detail standards.

I have experience with MTH HO Fs and would avoid them, and go with other brands that have more reliable electronics and better road specific detailing.  I think purchasing a model because someone was the first to do it a long time ago is reverse logic.  It would be like choosing an MTH PA over the upcoming Rapido model. And if guys here think Kato offers prototypical or even average detailing you need to bring up the discussion on an HO forum to get more recent information.  If you are asking about O gauge as it is not clear, then 3rd Rail plainly is superior, but unavailable.  They are doing a second run of F3s that may be fully reserved but way better than MTH and not that much more money per unit.  

- Crank