Lionel's new M1

I asked Dave Olson and his response: "It’s a modified Lionel M1b boiler. We tooled a lot of new slides for it."

Here is my friends new M1 and legacy M1a chugging along with a set of coal hoppers at our last get together.

The passenger version was calling my name but fortunately I did not answer.

The world of O scale is obviously an exercise in compromise, and I agree depending upon the nature of the compromise it will bother some folks and not others.  While someone like me would miss the step omission having never seen the real thing, color scheme and other cosmetic gaffs are harder to accept.

Totally agree. Considering the two videos that Ryan Kunkel did extolling the accuracy of Strasburg #90 and the 20th Century proclaiming to the effect that both were the most accurate versions ever to appear in O scale and other hyperbole which was not reflected in the finished product; it seems to me that Lionel is a victim of friendly fire. The expectations they create in their marketing does not always result in fact.

The result is unrealized/unrealistic expectations which create client/prospective buyer discontent.

The irony is that then the client/prospect are blamed for being too critical.

Compounding the problem is the inconsistency of the products that Lionel delivers, making the BTO model a crap shoot.

While other model train importers may suffer from the same scenario, it seems that Lionel receives the majority of criticism.

If so there must be a reason.

I'm not as big a critic for the very fine, road-specific details as I am the more basic slip-ups.  But I can understand how some of you would frown on details that are overlooked in production. 

The one touchy spot for me in recent years that is pretty much a deal-breaker on steam engines has been the chalky-looking, primer gray color used on the boiler and smoke boxes.  Nothing more than that screams "O-27 starter engine" on an otherwise well-detailed scale model.  Thankfully, Lionel's factory has avoided that "appearance" on steamers that have caught my eye in 2023/2024 catalogs.  Although the catalog illustrations still aren't 100% accurate, the recently delivered scale steamers have a pleasing darker satin gray or bright silver smoke box... depending on the model.