A prototype picture of a sister loco:


And now for the Roco model:



Here you can see that the prototype loco can travel through many European countries:


The centre region of the loco, also with many printed details:


The left section of the loco:


The full loco in profile:



This livery is available from Piko and Roco - and I think both made the same running number.
I wanted a model with this livery. So I had to make up my mind from which manufacturer I would buy it.
Piko make the ES 64 F4 in the Hobby range - good value for the money, good price, but not many details.
I decided to buy the Roco model as the details on the roof look better, the pantographs look much better and also the details below the buffer beam are much better.

The model:
The detailing is very nice IMHO.

The wind-shield wipers and the UIC sockets at the loco front come in a goodies bag and have to be applied by the customer.
At cab 1 I removed 8 pre-installed parts and installed some details that can only be used when the coupler is removed.
Installing the details took some time, but I managed it without problems.

Technical details:
Under the hood the model is somewhat "old school": light bulbs, red lights cannot be controlled separately, only two powered axles.
The decoder (Zimo) should have one or two unused function outputs and I will try to make the red rear-lights controllable.
One advantage of the light bulbs: you can remove the red bulbs to disable the red lights permanently.

Pros:
- Nice details
- Four different pantographs
- Good five-pole motor, smooth runner

Cons:
- Light bulbs (prototype uses LEDs and the lights are much too warm to be prototypically correct)
- Only two powered axles
- "Old school" NEM 652 decoder socket

Conclusion:
Very good model. I'd say it is an eight on a scale of ten. Not perfect, but with minor imperfections only IMHO.

I am looking forward to receiving my SBB Cargo Lok. I was surprised to see that Roco opted to change the locomotive number to 107. Many sources were reporting that the model was going to be 112, the same as the Piko model.

SBB leased these ES64F4 locomotives to replace the handful of Traxx 186 locomotives that they had previously leased from Railpool. The SBB Cargo fleet includes many locomotives which are capable of operating in Germany and Switzerland and Italy and Switzerland, but did not have any locomotives which were capable of operating in Holland, Belgium and could be used for the entire run from there through the Alps to Italy, meaning that multiple locomotive changes were required.
SBB Cargo also leased a number of Vectron type locomotives from Siemens which are authorized for use in Germany and Austria.
As a result, a number of the older Re 482 and even Re 421 locomotives have been leased to domestic operators in Germany who use those locomotives in Germany only.
The BLS has similarly leased a number of it's Re 486 to German operators for use in Germany, Austria and Italy and then leased additional Traxx 186 which can also operate in Holland and Belgium, as their requirements called for container trains from Rotterdam to Italy.

Regards

Mike C