Final Decision: JAMES VS JAMES

Miksolo

Basically, which ones do you think I should get? Which James is better, and if you can find a reason why, go ahead and add that in, too. I'm stuck in deciding between the newer Plarail James with the CGi face and AA battery, or the old James without a whistle on top of the cab, and that comes with a tar wagon.

Super

Was there ever a James that was Tendered Powered or do you just mean the battery was in the tender but the motor was still in the engine?

sunhuntin

if you arent good with soldering, or dont know how, i would go with a new james to minimise broken wires. i dont think i have a funtional james because of this.

Nigels

Get the Japanese talking Tomy PlaRail James, or I think there is a new re-engineered Tomy PlaRail James as I recall from some other posts round here - Super you remember that one?!?

Miksolo

Nigels wrote
Get the Japanese talking Tomy PlaRail James, or I think there is a new re-engineered Tomy PlaRail James as I recall from some other posts round here - Super you remember that one?!?

I'm not going to get any Talking Engines very soon. Maybe when I start making my own money and start collecting for real, but until then, I only mean the normal new James.

sunhuntin wrote
if you arent good with soldering, or dont know how, i would go with a new james to minimise broken wires. i dont think i have a funtional james because of this.

I actually have never broken one of those wires before! The only wire I ever remember breaking in my life are earbud wires and the Steam Along Thomas.

Super wrote
Was there ever a James that was Tendered Powered or do you just mean the battery was in the tender but the motor was still in the engine?

Yes, I mean the motor is in the engine, and the battery is in the tender.

DalaGStanator

In Plarail, I would've much rather gone for the tender battery version, as I don't like their new James and Gordon very much (for Gordon, they should've used the old tooling with a CGI face and detachable tender. In TrackMaster, I would've actually chosen the 2012 James (with the AA Battery in the engine), as my new Edward (from the UK) is the 2012 version.

I say you should try to find the previous design for a reasonable price.

Aresedale productions

I say the tomy James but if you want a good one buy the rc James with the fuel wagon from 2008 I think he's easy to find on eBay

Miksolo

Thenewduckthegwr engine wrote
I say the tomy James but if you want a good one buy the rc James with the fuel wagon from 2008 I think he's easy to find on eBay

I don't know if a new in-box RC James is within my budget. I'm planning on choosng only between TOMY James and the new version of TOMY james.

Tramp

I'm a big fan of the tender-battery engines, in my Gordon I cut out enough of the tender to fit x2 AA batteries in (but I'm pretty sure that you can fit in x2AAA batteries without much effort) that means if you want to do a 3v conversion it's a lot more feasible. Also the engines with the combined battery/drive are usually flat drive transmissions, they are fine but when your upping the power there isn't much room for additional ballast. when I did my Spencer mod I had to move the battery pack into the tender which wasnt ideal as the coupling is the disconnect type rather than the fixed loop to loop,
Not only that, but because I had moved the battery I had to ballast the engine to keep it on the tracks, and the only real place to add additional weight is in the battery oriface

So for me I would always go for the tender with the battery in (even if the wires can fail)

Miksolo

Bumping up this thread a bit to get the conversation going again. The poll will close a few days after April 1st, and it can't be stuck at 50/50.

Miksolo

I'm still unsure about which ot get; the poll is still 50/50 right now. :c

Super

Miksolo

Super wrote

But coin tosses are so~ last century. Also then I'll be having trouble choosing which version of James should be heads, and which tails.

Super

LOL...nothing like making an old guy feel older. Looks like you may have to man up and make a decision...would that be something, so in this Century? 🙂

Miksolo

Super wrote
LOL...nothing like making an old guy feel older. Looks like you may have to man up and make a decision...would that be something, so in this Century? 🙂

lolidunno

Miksolo

sunhuntin wrote
if you arent good with soldering, or dont know how, i would go with a new james to minimise broken wires. i dont think i have a funtional james because of this.

Just remembered that nowadays, the tender engines that have wires have this covering around the coupling between the engine and tender so the wires aren't as exposed. This is present on my Edward.

sunhuntin

this is true, but the wires can disconnect inside either the engine or the tender. 🙂

Miksolo

sunhuntin wrote
this is true, but the wires can disconnect inside either the engine or the tender. 🙂

Oh, how does that happen?! I've had my James, Gordon, and Henry with open wires for at least 5 years, and they aren't at all damaged. o.o

sunhuntin

just rough use by young kids. drops from a height onto a hard surface could break the solder. all the used tender engines ive got that have broken wiring have been broken on the inside.

Miksolo

sunhuntin wrote
just rough use by young kids. drops from a height onto a hard surface could break the solder. all the used tender engines ive got that have broken wiring have been broken on the inside.

Oh, you're right. I do remember seeing where it could break when I took apart my Henry. I think with a solder I could fix it.