How good are Life-Like Products freight cars? I have been offered an amazing deal but I won't buy them if there crap regardless of price.
Lillen
Hi Lillen;
It depends. If they are LL's Proto 2000 line, they are excellent. Proto 1000 line are okay, and the regular train set line are not.
For a specific example, regular LL hopper are often offered very inexpensively. Once you carve off the molded on details, replace the trucks, add draft gear, add back the details removed, add brake details, add missing features, paint and decal, you will have a pretty good hopper - almost as good as a Proto 2K hopper.
The Proto 2000 cars can be nice, but all the companies seem to have their toy-train-set low-end stuff.
Look at it. If it looks like a toy and has horn hook couplers and the detailing is superficial, don't get it.
If it has Kadee couplers, has metal hand rails, metal wheels, (or at least not cheap plastic) and you like the way they look, get them.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
Proto 2000 cars
Proto 1000 cars
Standard line
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In Canada, some of the P1000 cars are near as good as the P2000, so I would agree with the P2 or P1 being good.Note that they never came stock with Kadee (metal) couplers, but with their own brand of Kadee compatible coupler. Still OK though.
Stay away from the train set types, they would not be much of a "deal".
This hobby is not as straight forward as it first looks is it?
Lillen wrote: How good are Life-Like Products freight cars? I have been offered an amazing deal but I won't buy them if there crap regardless of price. Lillen
Lillen--
The Proto 2000 cars are pretty terrific, but very difficult for me to build.
I'm not familiar with the Proto 1000 cars.
The 'train-set' Lifelike are, if I remember correctly, the old Varney dies, and while they were awfully good for 1956, they're certainly not up to today's standards as far as details go. I'd stick with Proto 2000 if you're interested in their products.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Personally, I do not care for them... they look like just exactly what they are - cheap imports from China.
Brian
Well the verdict is in. I won't buy them. Especially since I have been dissapointed with cheap crap before. Only quality items for me in the future.
Personally, I think they would be great to have.
Great to practice weathering on.
Great to learn superdetailing on.
Great to learn how to strip and repaint on.
Why screw up a good car when you can learn on a cheap one?
Just my thought.
Craig
That is a good point and I have been considering get some just for that purpose. I mean I can get 10 of them for 25$. Ad some kadee couplers and re-paint them and they should probably look ok. But the wheels are an issue. I hate plastic wheels and replacing them would be more expensive then the cars themselfes. Anyone who knows any cheap wheels to change them with?
Would these be good?
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/380-520
Lillen wrote:Would these be good?
Lillen wrote:I mean I can get 10 of them for 25$.
They are ok. I use them to practice weathering and other uses. For the $2 or $3 I pay for them they are great.
RMax1
The Proto 2000 line is pretty good. I'd avoid the cheaper stuff.
Hal
As mentioned above, the cheap "toy-line" Life Likes (as well as Tyco and Bachmanns) are great pieces for airbrush and kitbash practice.
I still have a couple of "mutilated" LL and Bachmann cars that I have no intentions of getting rid of.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
Ok, is this the verdict? They suck. BUT can be used as training and by using more money then it would cost to buy a "normal" quality item you can make them nice.
Well, I will buy ONE and try it out perhaps.
Lillen wrote: Ok, is this the verdict? They suck. BUT can be used as training and by using more money then it would cost to buy a "normal" quality item you can make them nice.
Very good. One sentence that neatly encapsulates the drivel that the rest of us spent a page and a weekend writing.