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Model Power N-Scale FP7/FP9: Bought one of these about a year or so ago, mine's in Amtrak livery. The loco has a metal modyshell and chassis, twin-flywheel motor, all wheels driven and pickup on all wheels. There is also a working headlight which doesn't suffer from the common problem of light leakage. Paintwork is nicely applied with crisp lettering and numbering. As people may or may not know, the FP-series locos were EMD F-units stretched to carry larger train heating boilers. The model is noticably longer than a normal F, and has the correct longer space between the lead truck and the fuel tank. The body is a nice, crisp casting with plenty of rivet detail present. To remove the body you simply squeeze the fuel tank at the sides to unclip it, the bodyshell will then just pull off after you unscrew the front coupler. Problems: There are a few. While I welcome the addition of an FP in N, I just wish a few things could have been done differently. For example, the wheels are bright chrome rather than blackened, I'm not entirely sure about the shape of the nose (though this could be due to the livery), somehow it looks too flat. The motor is also a bit odd. As delivered, mine was wired backwards. I simply turned the motor over to fix this, but the motor mounting system is a bit weak - the motor has considerable "slop" in the mountings. The loco also has a pronounced wobble when cruising along at a reasonable speed, probably due to the motor. I also had problems with the metal body rattling until I used some masking tape on the chassis to insulate it. I'll probably try to stiffen the motor mounting at some point as well. So, would I buy another? Overall yes, as I said, this is the only RTR FP model that I know of in N, and most of the deficiencies can be corrected. I'm currently trying to find suitable knuckle couplers for my loco as it came with "Rapido" type couplers. It runs well apart from the wobble, and will move at reasonably slow speeds. I intend to buy another when I can afford to do so. PS. Would people be interested in reading reviews of other model RR equipment apart from US-outline? I have a collection of Fleischmann German N-scale and I would recommend these products to anyone. If anyone's interested I'll post some advice/reviews on Fleischmann and European models in general?
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