Like all of us, I am eagerly awaiting the fast-approaching release of TS2012, for more reason than one. Of as much interest to me as the upgrade itself is the coinciding release of RSC's rendition of the Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division from Altoona to Johnstown, and of course the associated rolling stock. It is evident from the screenshots which have been released over the past days and weeks that a great deal of time and effort have been devoted to making every aspect of this release top-notch. It is for this reason that I draw attention to what may seem to some a minor detail but in my opinion is an error which should not go unacknowledged.
The Pennsylvania Railroad X-29 Boxcar model appears, based upon the few images in which it has been featured, to be a highly detailed and for the most part highly accurate representation of the original. Upon stepping back and taking another look, however, something becomes painfully apparent---one end of the car is significantly shorter than the other. The source of the error is not difficult to locate: based on the texture, a near-three-quarter panel-width section of the car to the right of the door is missing. The result is a door offset to the right side of the car, as illustrated by the screenshot below:
When compared to a broadside builders photo of an actual X-29, the missing portion is readily visible (shown below in red):
This issue is by no means any sort of deal-breaker; I have every intention of purchasing this route, especially given the generous promotional pricing. I do however hope that the team at RSC continue to strive for accuracy in their products, and would be highly supportive of any efforts to remedy this error (perhaps via automatic Steam update at a later date).
Out of curiosity, is there any chance that photos of this model were used for reference? When examining each half of the car independently, it is not hard to see how some confusion could easily result as a consequence of the partially-opened doors.
http://www.bluefieldrr.com/detail.asp?carID=5
Ryan
*I can already see the incoming volley of "rivet-counter" cries...