GP15-1

Discussion in 'Diesel Locomotives' started by Iantha_Branch, Mar 4, 2009.

  1. Iantha_Branch

    Iantha_Branch Member

    Were can I get a GP15-1 today with out spending a fortune?
     
  2. Rick McClellan

    Rick McClellan 2009 Engineer of the Year

    Try Ebay for one of the Walthers GP15-1s. They are will proabably sell for about $20-30. Decent mechanism, very inaccurate shell.

    Ship IT on the Frisco!

    Rick
     
  3. meteor910

    meteor910 2009 Engineer of the Year Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    My attempt to make something useful out of the original Walthers Frisco GP15-1.

    The red/orange is too red, and the handrails are way too thick, but it runs well! It sucked up a lot of detail parts.

    Ken
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited by a moderator: May 8, 2009
  4. John Markl

    John Markl Member

    Hey, while it may have some flaws, it certainly looks good enough for general layout use, and even more so, a good unit for "operating nite". If it gets a little nicked up, it ain't like you dinged up a Genesis model. ;)
     
  5. slsfrr (Jerome Lutzenberger RIP 9/1/2018)

    slsfrr (Jerome Lutzenberger RIP 9/1/2018) Engineer Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

  6. HWB

    HWB FRISCO.org Supporter

    Great job! Is that the old or the new release?
     
  7. FriscoFriend (Bob Hoover RIP 4/12/2018)

    FriscoFriend (Bob Hoover RIP 4/12/2018) Passed Away April 12, 2018 Frisco.org Supporter

    Ken:

    Your model looks awesome!

    As far as getting a new one, we all need to be patient and probably wait another 6 months to a year because as I have mentioned previously, Athearn is making GP15-1's for every railroad that had them and in every version. They will be in the Genesis line and have all railroad specific details included including the nose gyralight and the roof beacon. They were showing CAD drawings of all of them at the OKC Train Show and I checked the Frisco ones over and hopefully I didn't miss anything as they looked correct down to the notched side sill!
    I worked with them and have been assured that they will get the color correct. And last but not least, last week Athearn announced that all future releases will be equipped with Soundtraxx Tsunami sound. Since Soundtraxx has just announced a decoder with the non-turbocharged 645 engine, one of the available horn choices is the Leslie 5 Chime, and they have both Pyle Gyra-Light and Rotating Beacon functions, I think we all will be good to go (run) right from the box to the programming track to the layout without even looking inside the shell. Maybe sending them to Ken to weather first might be in order!

    Without saying, we are all going to need to understand that to get this level of excellence, we are going to have to pay more, but this is what most of us have been wanting and actually the way this wonderful hobby is going. To me it all stated with the then $25.00 Kadee boxcar which at first drew some raised eyebrows, but ended up setting a new standard.

    Ethan, as far as your concern about the cost is concerned, I think there there will also be a non-sound equipped version offered. If it is well detailed, the right color, and runs well, buying one will be a good investment. Also, they will probably show up on Ebay as everything else seems to!

    Bob Hoover
    FriscoFriend
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 9, 2009
  8. John Markl

    John Markl Member

    How do the Proto GP15-1s compare with the original Trainline offering?

    Geez, I still have a couple of Smokey Mountain kits kicking around somewhere, along with my brass one........I remember when the 15s first came out. Some of us referred to them as "Baby Tunnel Motors" based on their radiator arrangement.
     
  9. meteor910

    meteor910 2009 Engineer of the Year Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    This is the original Walthers HO GP15-1 release from, what was it - six-nine years ago? I picked it up cheap at a swap meet and, since it ran well, thought I would try to make it look as good as possible. So, I detailed it up. The detail parts cost me more than the locomotive did!

    It looks pretty good, but it is still wearing the original Walthers paint job, which is too red, and ..... the Walthers handrails are about a scale 4" in diameter!

    But ..... it's Frisco!, and it runs very well.

    Ken
     
  10. HWB

    HWB FRISCO.org Supporter


    That's all that matters!
     
  11. Ted Johnson

    Ted Johnson Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Lets hope they do the correct plow pilot and white handrails on the GP15, athearns sd40-2 thats due out in aug. is incorrect.
     
  12. meteor910

    meteor910 2009 Engineer of the Year Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Ted - What did you see that's wrong on the Athearn SD40-2? I'm just curious - I haven't seen it yet.

    Ken
     
  13. FriscoFriend (Bob Hoover RIP 4/12/2018)

    FriscoFriend (Bob Hoover RIP 4/12/2018) Passed Away April 12, 2018 Frisco.org Supporter

    When I get a chance, I will look back at my photos of the CAD drawings that were on the computer at the Athearn booth in Oklahoma City, but I think they got it right. The GP15-1 will be in the Genesis lin vs. the SD40-2 which is part of their regular line, therefore by the variations that were on the computer, they are going to be very RR specific. When I check I will do another post.

    Bob Hoover
    FriscoFriend
     
  14. Ted Johnson

    Ted Johnson Member Frisco.org Supporter

    The handrails on the athearn new SD40-2 are painted red, not white and it also has a black snow plow not the plow pilot the frisco used. Athearn emailed me and said they could not change the painted red handrails but would repaint the plow.
    You would think they could at least get the basic details right.
     
  15. meteor910

    meteor910 2009 Engineer of the Year Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Athearn did the same thing on their GP40-2 and GP35 models - red handrails all the way. Not a severe problem - easy to paint the white segments with a microbrush.

    The same with the pilot - the GP40-2 and GP35's also had incorrect pilots (both should have a plow pilot). However, at least Athearn painted the pilot red on these two earlier Frisco models!

    And, as always with recent Athearn's - the red/orange is too red on their GP40-2 and GP35!

    We'll have to wait and see what comes out on the SD40-2 and GP15-1.

    Ken
     
  16. friscobob

    friscobob Staff Member Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    I agree- the Athearn models are kinda heavy on the red side. Now, outside of stripping off the paint & doing it over, how can you tone the color down?
     
  17. SAFN SAAP

    SAFN SAAP Member

    What's wrong with it? That thing looks beautiful and I HATE diesels. Your never going to get the paint perfectly matched. No matter how you try. Even the actual big boy paint companies can't get a perfect match. Heck, put two of the same vehicles side by side and you'll see that GM, Ford, Chrysler or whoever didn't get the paint the same. That is one beautiful job and should be on the lead of your manifest.

    If you are that concerned about it, make it dirty and neglected. I can't say the Frisco took care of their diesels like they did their steam engines.
     

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