This is Great! And it means we'll probably get more liveries for the powered F3 soon! Pray for New York Central! 
The way it blows that vapor out, it looks like a steam engine safety valve popping off. I would think that a good ol' Seuthe smoke unit with the smoke just wafting out would look much more realistic.
@B rad posted:I like the water vapor system. They should do that in more accessory items and have the smoke units for the locomotives. That would require much less maintenance. You don't need to worry about corrosion in most accessory items.
Now if they spit water all over the place like some fog machines do than thats another story.
Brad
Had mine running for about 30 minutes and didn't see any "water spit". The mist is very fine, but a lot of it coming out. I added lighting for night time dinning (a street lamp near the dining patio). I looks great on the layout!
The front view is night operation and the rear shot is day operation on the layout.
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I love the water vapour effect. Because of living with a family member with bad lungs, there has never ever been an opportunity to use smoke fluid--it could trigger an asthma attack in this family member, and that was just not worth it. Now, with this water vapor mist, this seems like a great way of getting around that health issue!
Great job, Menards!
Something that the designer(s) overlooked; where do the customers sit and eat when it is raining?
Did anyone mention adding music ?
@PRRMP54 posted:Something that the designer(s) overlooked; where do the customers sit and eat when it is raining?
Not sure if there are windows inside or not, but couldn’t there be a few tables inside?
@Csxcellent posted:Not sure if there are windows inside or not, but couldn’t there be a few tables inside?
The windows are dark, no inside fixtures in the wrap around. The engine shell is empty but does have light bleed over from number boards and headlight.
@PRRMP54 posted:Something that the designer(s) overlooked; where do the customers sit and eat when it is raining?
If it's raining on your layout, I'd be tempted to check the area for a mischievous youngster with a garden hose or watering can. 
@Retired posted:The windows are dark, no inside fixtures in the wrap around. The engine shell is empty but does have light bleed over from number boards and headlight.
its a toy
Keep nit picking with your obvious comments. Menard's is trying to give you a reasonable product at a reasonable price. Be thankful.
It would be great to put that Rock Island livery on the production batch of F-units, along with Santa Fe.
@DMASSO posted:Keep nit picking with your obvious comments. Menard's is trying to give you a reasonable product at a reasonable price. Be thankful.
I usually remain silent on this forum because of the attacks posters receive from others. As for me I will again revert to being silent so my posts don't become a focus for sarcasm, chastising or critical comments.
Signing off!
@Retired posted:I usually remain silent on this forum because of the attacks posters receive from others. As for me I will again revert to being silent so my posts don't become a focus for sarcasm, chastising or critical comments.
Signing off!
Not sure if those comments about your comments are warranted. I appreciate getting product user information because my Menards near me has them in stock but I'm not sure if they have one plugged in on display and I'm not going to see the smoke in action. So I appreciate the detail, @Retired, as you operate the one you bought. Just because the windows are darkened, doesn't make the product bad. And the bleeding engine lights provide some exterior light, which can be a good thing. So thank you for the info.
Menards does a Great! Job , filling in a nitch , that other Mfg.'s have forgotten, making toy trains for kids. For the price dad ,mom or the grand parents, can pick a car ,track . and structures, for that up coming Christmas holiday . I personally dont use their cars or track ( run 2 rail scale) . Their building, I have a bunch of them, love them ! was lucky enough to get the Betta 2 SF FP9, for a future project. Kudo's to Menards for helping get a new generation into toy trains
Just made some room for it, looks great!! Glad to see you back here Menards 😃
thanks Mark, Roger
@Dave Koehler posted:its a toy
I don't think this was a complaint but an observations.
Most of the comments here have been rather positive. A few constructive comments as well about the smoke generator and sounds but I don't see any posts that are out of line. The smoke unit being water is an interesting choice and probably is a better cost option for the price point. Now some will try to make this thread out to be negative and try to make drama but I think we can all agree it's a good product at the price point. Anyone making suggestions is just that. I really don't see anyone seriously criticizing the product.
@MartyE posted:I don't think this was a complaint but an observations.
Most of the comments here have been rather positive. A few constructive comments as well about the smoke generator and sounds but I don't see any posts that are out of line. The smoke unit being water is an interesting choice and probably is a better cost option for the price point. Now some will try to make this thread out to be negative and try to make drama but I think we can all agree it's a good product at the price point. Anyone making suggestions is just that. I really don't see anyone seriously criticizing the product.
wasn't meant to be a complaint, it not a scale museum piece, Its a toy , (If You dont like the term, toy please feal free to look up the definition.) for kids of all ages. As far as the smoke unit using water, thats been around since the 70?s , you may want to use distilled water , it wont leave a white residue on the model
@Dave Koehler posted:wasn't meant to be a complaint, it not a scale museum piece, Its a toy , (If You dont like the term, toy please feal free to look up the definition.) for kids of all ages. As far as the smoke unit using water, thats been around since the 70?s , you may want to use distilled water , it wont leave a white residue on the model
OK where is the disconnect here? @Retired described what he observed about the building he purchased and you said it's a toy. I'm not really sure what you were getting at. He didn't complain. Yes it's a toy. This is a forum. We can comment on a product and even say what we like and don't like it doesn't make it bad. Dave I think you are reading into comments something that's not there or maybe I'm missing something.
I think we can all agree that Menard's is offering some pretty cool stuff and a good value.
@Dave Koehler posted:wasn't meant to be a complaint, it not a scale museum piece, Its a toy , (If You dont like the term, toy please feal free to look up the definition.) for kids of all ages. As far as the smoke unit using water, thats been around since the 70?s , you may want to use distilled water , it wont leave a white residue on the model
Distilled water is a great idea. It may also keep the smoke feature working well for a long time.
10 years ago I bought a gallon of distilled water for my Postwar #38 water tower, which has worked flawlessly ever since. I still have plenty of that distilled water left. Arnold
@MartyE posted:OK where is the disconnect here? @Retired described what he observed about the building he purchased and you said it's a toy. I'm not really sure what you were getting at. He didn't complain. Yes it's a toy. This is a forum. We can comment on a product and even say what we like and don't like it doesn't make it bad. Dave I think you are reading into comments something that's not there or maybe I'm missing something.
I think we can all agree that Menard's is offering some pretty cool stuff and a good value.
not directed at you,but rather a statement of fact
@Dave Koehler posted:wasn't meant to be a complaint, it not a scale museum piece, Its a toy , (If You dont like the term, toy please feal free to look up the definition.) for kids of all ages. As far as the smoke unit using water, thats been around since the 70?s , you may want to use distilled water , it wont leave a white residue on the model
Good point about the distilled water. Still, it seems counter intuitive to use water around electronics and/or metal items that are prone to rust. Marklin did this a few years ago with one of their loks. The same concerns were raised. Frankly it is a neat idea, but water? I think they offered one or two loks and that was it.
Steve
I like the people sitting outside effect. It expands on the diner and creates the illusion that there is both indoor and outdoor dining and makes the whole scene look larger in a fairly compacted space. I have the Starbucks and the Country Suite and both do the same thing. There is a lot of value here with the lighted signage and smoke unit, too.
@RoyBoy posted:It would be great to put that Rock Island livery on the production batch of F-units, along with Santa Fe.
Here is a thought: I wonder if the RI paint job is complete on all of the shell, including that part covered by the order window extension. If it is, buy the diner and use the shell on a chassis. Food for thought.
@RideTheRails posted:Good point about the distilled water. Still, it seems counter intuitive to use water around electronics and/or metal items that are prone to rust. Marklin did this a few years ago with one of their loks. The same concerns were raised. Frankly it is a neat idea, but water? I think they offered one or two loks and that was it.
Steve
its a structure, not an engine and water has been used for well over 45 years and I don't remember an issue ever being raised in any publication. This is not a new concept, would you rather have smoke fluid (oil )dripped on the carpet or water. and as every thing else ,if you don't like it, don't use it
I give Menards a thumbs up for the products they bring to us.
So I find it interesting that these are already showing up on that famous auction site we all know for well over $200 but you can get it straight from Menards for $100. Are people really that dumb?
@RideTheRails posted:Good point about the distilled water. Still, it seems counter intuitive to use water around electronics and/or metal items that are prone to rust. Marklin did this a few years ago with one of their loks. The same concerns were raised. Frankly it is a neat idea, but water? I think they offered one or two loks and that was it.
Steve
When my son was little he was sick a lot. We had the humidifier running in his room almost every night for probably about a year. His train, the MTH SP 2-8-0 starter set, was basically coated in the white film from the humidifier. Nothing rusted. I was never able to get all the white residue out of the realtrax road bed though.
Hey put a little Vicks in that. I would enjoy that this winter!
Evidently people really are that dumb (? by B rad) One sold yesterday on that "site" for 214.99 +25 shipping
Thank you Menards for another great building!
Has anyone thought of adding sound? Something like the short ditty on the K-Line Starlight Diner?
Anyone with experience with a soundcard; what brand, pointers how to do it, etc?
@gunrunnerjohn has designed some remotely triggered sound modules that should work for adding sound to this accessory. Hopefully he'll see this and offer details.
Should be a piece of cake to supply multiple sound clips to this one, remote controlled if you like.
Just round up the sounds and write them to the microSD card with the included reader/writer and you're all set.
Very nice looking building! I personally just wish you could use smoke fluid with it. Would love to have JT Mega steam bacon, baking bread, grapes, etc. coming out of it. Still, a nice building for a good price. Maybe I will pick one up if they ever put a smoke fluid unit inside.
@John Ptak posted:Very nice looking building! I personally just wish you could use smoke fluid with it. Would love to have JT Mega steam bacon, baking bread, grapes, etc. coming out of it. Still, a nice building for a good price. Maybe I will pick one up if they ever put a smoke fluid unit inside.
You could always add a fluid unit if you desire. It looks great and I sure wouldn't pass it up because of a smoke unit. At 1/48 how much smoke does a restaurant actually generate?
If you really need a smoke unit, add a back door BBQ unit with a smoke unit.
I thought the diners could use some lighting to see what they are eating, so I added a couple LED self adhesive strip lights. One on the front and one on the side. Turned out nice, I think.
Photo 1 is the Diner as it came from Menards on my layout with the room lights on. Photo 2 is with the added LED lights on with the room lights on also. Photo 3 is with the added lights on and the room lights off.
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James, Did you use the strips that use 12v plug in?
