My review of the Lionel VL Reindeer car.

Saw your post on YouTube. Shame they messed up the color AGAIN. Otherwise seems like a fun car.

Nice review MARTY!!  Hope Lionel makes it right for you.  I need to make a recording of that for Deer Season here in PA.😉😵‍💫😱😳. Enjoy!

Sounds like Donkeys.

Jim

Good review, Marty - thank you!  Looking at them side-by-side, the blue is definitely worse than the red. It also appears the lettering is more yellow than PolEx gold - is that due to the video or is it also the case?

Thanks again for taking the time to make the video.

Wow, @MartyE, very interesting video, you covered all of the features and because of your playing all of the sounds, we now know what Reindeer sounds are like. So, you mentioned the different color of blue from the other scale polar express cars, I think you could say it just came out of the paint shops. It’s not that different. My serious issue is seeing the wiring through the window and no Reindeer in the other window, and $369 should have covered that. I have the L&N scale horse car and you can see the wires in this car to. No horses in the other window either. The cattle car set came with some nice cows, Wow.
So, everything considered, I think Lionel did a good job on these cars, and the sounds are crisp and clear. I like the aux 3 button, the whistle reminds me of Thomas for some reason. Maybe that’s the Polar Express whistle, it’s just a lot of fun to play with these fun to run StationSounds cars. Merry Christmas to you to. Thank you for all you do to promote our hobby, it’s the Best Hobby In the World. Happy Railroading Everyone

@leapinlarry posted:

Wow, @MartyE, very interesting video, you covered all of the features and because of your playing all of the sounds, we now know what Reindeer sounds are like. So, you mentioned the different color of blue from the other scale polar express cars, I think you could say it just came out of the paint shops. It’s not that different. My serious issue is seeing the wiring through the window and no Reindeer in the other window, and $369 should have covered that. I have the L&N scale horse car and you can see the wires in this car to. No horses in the other window either. The cattle car set came with some nice cows, Wow.
So, everything considered, I think Lionel did a good job on these cars, and the sounds are crisp and clear. I like the aux 3 button, the whistle reminds me of Thomas for some reason. Maybe that’s the Polar Express whistle, it’s just a lot of fun to play with these fun to run StationSounds cars. Merry Christmas to you to. Thank you for all you do to promote our hobby, it’s the Best Hobby In the World. Happy Railroading Everyone

Larry

That's why I'm on the fence.  Yes it's lighter but as I said in the review, I don't think it's as bad as the RPO car was.  I will still contact Lionel though.  I like the car overall and I will have to see it in the entire train to see if the color bothers me.

@Rider Sandman posted:

Good review, Marty - thank you!  Looking at them side-by-side, the blue is definitely worse than the red. It also appears the lettering is more yellow than PolEx gold - is that due to the video or is it also the case?

Thanks again for taking the time to make the video.

I didn't find the lettering too bad either.  It maybe a little more on the yellow side but doesn't seem as off as the blue, which again I find to be better than the RPO cars.

@MartyE posted:

I didn't find the lettering too bad either.  It maybe a little more on the yellow side but doesn't seem as off as the blue, which again I find to be better than the RPO cars.

Thanks, Marty. The functionality of the car does look like fun. Please keep us posted on your discussion with Lionel. If they commit to new shells, I’ll pick one up and then paint the roof black to match the original release of the cars. It would be a fun add-on to the growing PolEx consist (which is getting close to needing a helper diesel … haha).

I am still waiting for the Gold one to match my anniversary set