wjstix but they don't seem bad
but they don't seem bad
Stix,
Is it a new develpmet or release of the older LL? Being main line and not Proto 2000 makes suspect/presume it is nothing but release of an older version with some upgrades.
Regards
Walid
Life-Like was bought by Walthers, who still make many of their products - often in improved versions. They make PA units in ATSF warbonnet scheme under their "Walthers Mainline" series. May be pricier than what you're looking at, but they don't seem bad. TrainWorld's website shows single DC units for $109.99, DCC-sound for $159.99.
https://www.trainworld.com/manufacturers/walthers-ho-n/walthers-mainline-ho-910-series/mainline-engines/mainline-alco-pa/
dknelson One PA model not mentioned is the unpainted metal one from Hobbytown of Boston. Dave Nelson
One PA model not mentioned is the unpainted metal one from Hobbytown of Boston.
Dave Nelson
I discovered this one after I posted. Watched the building process by a briliant DarthSantaFe on youtube. However, the age of the kit is obvious, and the final results does not justify the effort. No matter what the skills of the builder are, you cannot make a leon out of a monkey.
Walthers does not catelog separate shells, or any other parts for that matter (from time to time they do bring in wheel sets to replace the defective geared wheels for original LifeLike diesels; that is about it for parts). However if you get to Milwaukee and visit their showroom, from time to time they do sell shells on the "damaged/discontinued/raided for repair parts" shelves which are not part of the catalog and not available through mail order. Whether that includes PA shells I could not begin to guess, and things change constantly on those shelves. Sometimes they have boxes full of shells*.
* Amended post. I was at Walthers yesterday. They do have a few boxes full of various Proto shells for sale, but no PA shells.
Painting the ATSF Warbonnet paint scheme is not difficult because the decals are available (at least they were recently), and the set I had came with a template to cut the mask. It is really only two colors, red and silver, the rest is decals.
.
The hard part for me is masking. I am awesome at painting, I am terrible at masking. The good news is that there is a multicolor stripe between the red and silver, so your masking mistakes will be covered.
If this is your first attempt at locomotive painting, it is a bad choice. The areas that need to be masked run over gills and thick trim pieces. You should hone your skill on more basic projects first.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Dear All,
I have the chance to buy LL Alco PA A-B-A set for a reasonable price. When it comes to US locomotives, I try to limit my interest to a specific rail company, otherwise I will have to sell the house, wife and kids to get the complete collection of a specific engine. The set I found does not belong to that rail company I am looking for: ATSF. How difficult would it be to buy replacement shells in the desired paint scheme? Are they still offered by Walthers, or elsewhere?
That was the main question, now a bit around and about the subject: As far as I know a Santa Fe version of the rail queen, the Alco PA, was offered only by Athearn (ancient model), Maerklin (AC/3 rail), Trix (Perhaps the best PA ever, but Union pacific only), Life Like and MTH. LL is long gone and almost no where to find. MTH units are still around, but in different liveries (the next off-topic point).Although I am trying to stick to a single road as mentioned earlier, I could not resist when I found an MTH PA A-A set with sound and smoke generators sold on Ebay for 149 $US. There were several versions of the set. I have choosen the Lehigh Valley because I liked the livery the most. Finding mtching cars proved to be, however, a challege. I can find nowhere Lehigh passenger cars that fit this units. They do not have to be the most accurate, but something that resembles at a first glance the cars hauled by these locomotives. Is there a chance or do I have to kitbash, strip and paint?
Speaking of the devil, painting, I also came across a built, but not finished brass A-B set of the same locomotive. Not cheap, but reasonable for a brass set. I am not afraid of painting, and already experienced with air brush, spray cans, clear coating, polishing,...etc....etc..., but a brass set is too nice and would be a pitty to end less than perfect. Any advice on detailing and finishing brass models?Regards