These should be the N-scale version (which is the subject of this thread). Atlas's A-Z shipping schedule http://www.atlasrr.com/ordership.htm Shows the Non-DCC versions shipped to dealers on February 14th. Paul
Hope they sell a lot of the "N's". Maybe that would help convince Atlas to do another run in HO. Higher numbers this time, please (SLSF 525 or higher). Ken
Mine is N Scale, non-DCC. Runs well. BTW, Atlas has announced for its Golden Spike Club, HO & N Steel Rebuilt boxcars in the Frisco red & tan FFF scheme. A flyer came with my locomotive. It's too pricey for me to join then buy the car. Maybe someone will have them at the Frisco meet this fall?
I hope the decoders used in the N scales units are better than the decoders in the HO Atlas GP38s. Anyone know anything about the decoders?
OK Now that the Atlas B/Y GP-7 is "out" in both HO and N (With the YELLOW walkways, by the way), what is a good fix for painting those fantasy walkways? I think I'll try to paint them with acrylic flat black and a small sable brush. Any other ideas? (Here we go again, another super model with a glaring detail omitted--why bother if it isn't going to be done right??) Tom
I don't have mine yet, since i ordered the dcc version, but but if these are like the other atlas GP7s i own, or the RS-1s, The tooling for the models have a 1 piece casting for the walkway treads and handrails. Unfortunately, this means we either get yellow walkway treads or black handrails. Paul
Atlas knew better as on the HO model GP7's the walkways are black while the handrails, separate pieces, are yellow. Somebody made a bad decision on the N's - it probably would have been an easier fix to have black handrails and then just paint them yellow. Tom - For delicate work like this I always prefer a microbrush and acrylic paint (Modelmaster Acryl). But, that's HO experience talking - I've never tried to paint anything in N scale. Ken
I have have plenty of small brushes and acrylic paints and can do the painting alright, my beef is that I shouldn't HAVE to! The model is super in every other detail except the walkway (& steam generator stack) including the stripes, lettering and nose chevrons. The color of the stripes lettering is perfect, but if they're going to the trouble to do it, looks like they'd want to do it right. That's what I don't understand. But then we're "just" the Frisco, not Pennsy, Santa Fe, UP or BNSF we won't know the difference. And hey, we'll go ahead buy whatever they put out and be glad to get it. Tom (For some reason the word "model" is repeated in the first line and I can't edit it out??)
Well, at least part of the argument for doing the handrails in yellow is that if they were painted yellow ( either at the factory or by the modeler) the paint tends to chip off when handled. Many n-scallers do modular railroading, so we know the models will be handled. Paul
Robert; Could you please tell me what color the headlights are on your engine. Atlas has been all over the place with the headlight color on these GP7s and GP9s. I have a couple with the "golden white" that have the blueish tint and a couple of others that are white and one that is the orange color. Thanks for the information. Dale S.
What a great looking engine except the yellow walkway really does scream "PAINT ME BLACK!!!" I thought you guys were just nitpicking and this would be something I could live with on an otherwise very desirable engine. The yellow walkways really stand out and when viewed from above, as most layouts are they really make the paint job look wrong with way too much yellow showing. I can't see any easy way to mask the engine for spray so it looks like brush painting for me too. I could use a whole fleet of these but will have to see how the painting goes. Glad I didn't reserve a bunch of em. Two may be all I can stand. Man they were oh so close to a really great product. Wonder if this was a production decision or if Atlas was misinformed on the paint colors. Seems if they got it correct on the HO model then it was a production decision. &#@% Chinese factories! Hopefully there will be a future run with corrected walkways. Dale Rush Carthage, MO
Sorry I haven't been on in a while; I caught some bug that's giving me sinus congestion. Been sleeping most of the week. As to the lights, the headlight and number board lights appear white. The lights come on the cab end when the moving in that direction, and the when moving in the opposite direction the other lights come on.
This is what my #500 looks like now. I disassembled the shell and painted the walkways black. While I was at it, I moved the horn to the cab roof, added the steam generator details (by the time #500 didn't have a steam generator, it was in a different paint scheme). I also added the boxy exhaust stack extensions seen on this unit in photos from the early 1960s, and the extended boiler exhaust stack as well. It's hard to tell, but there was some light weathering as well. painting the walkways was a huge improvement over the factory look. My #502 is in progress, but I'm trying to make it appears as it did in the mid 1970s. From what I can tell from the photos, #502's more modern black schemes were painted over the as delivered scheme, and some of the photos show the second coat of paint weathered off, revealing the original stripes (almost to the point of it looking like it was never painted in the newer scheme.) I'm waiting for spark arrestors before I finish that project. The proper flared spark arrestors are made by detail associates and miniatures by eric. The detail associates ones are hard to find in hobby shops right now. I have some of the miniatures by eric version, but they are wider than the detail associates ones, and they just don't look right to my eye, so for now I'm going to wait for the others. I may change my mind and install the miniatures by eric parts, but we'll see how long that takes. Paul
Today's Frisco Archive photo of GP-7 510 shows just how Paul detailed his Atlas geep: Steam generator and exhaust stacks and roof-top air horns. The photo also shows how the Frisco used GP-7's as "B-units" in passenger trains. One other detail in the photo: the car coupled to the geep is one of the 15' RPO cars with plated over windows and converted to a baggage car. #222 was one of those, converted to baggage car 444. #510 is a little more weathered than Paul's model. )) Tom G.