A couple of weeks ago I found an N scale E8 from LifeLike in the full "racehorse" scheme. Since I missed out on the HO versions, and I've recently gone to N, I put this little hummer in layaway. Next up- the LifeLike FAs, also in Frisco. And best yet, LL got the yellow color right! That's been my biggest beef about Stewart and Walthers' diesels- the yellow is faded-out (Stewart's F3 in black & yellow), or the Mandarin orange is too red (Walthers' FM H-12-44). The best representation of Frisco colors I've seen yet have been Athearn's SW1500, GP38-2 and SD40-2. I have quite a few pieces of rolling stock in Frisco livery in HO, and am looking for more in N. Let's hear it from you Frisco Fanatics out there- what models are correct, which ones are bogus, etc?
Hello Bob; Yes Life-like got the paint right but the Alco FA's aren't correct. Frisco had slanted numberboards and no dynamic brakes. Quite a number of A units had a second headlight added in the door position...the prototypes that Life-like modelled after had these lights. The B units are ok except for the dynamic brakes. I am not a rivet counter so I bought these anyway and will run them as-is. I like the way these run...not quite Kato but they pull a lot and run well at slow speeds. Kato and Atlas made a U25B years ago, these were excellent runners but as you mentioned the color was redder than I remember Frisco units to be. If you think the Life-like E8's are nice then you ought to try BLW's Kato Versions. These engines are spot on for features and prototypical paint and decalling. A bit pricy at $145 but are well worth it if you want the best pullers and lookers. There was an Atlas FA unit built back in the 70's painted in the correct Frisco Black and Yellow. I buy these sometimes on E-bay for 15-20 bucks and change the numbers and repower them. Other than that, Frisco in N stinks. The last run of the Atlas GP7 Phase 1 I bought 20 of them and had them custom painted and decaled....I will probably do it on this next run and might even make some extra's and see if anyone else might want some. Could be a good moneymaker if there is any interest.
Yea verily.... I modeled Frisco in HO scale since 1984, and still have several Atlas/Roco GP38s, clunky handrails and all. I did add a paper air filter, Gyralite nose light, and other superdetails to make it look a bit better. To get any decent Frisco diesels, I've had to detail, paint & decal- I don't expect any improvements in N scale. But hey, what's life without a little challenge?
Yes, we could use some more power in proper Frisco colors, but I agree with the post about the Athearn units--They are the best thing that's happened (in HO at least) for Frisco modelers. I remember modelling the Frisco in the '70's, when the ONLY piece of store-bought Frisco equipment I had was the Athearn hopper car. Everything else pretty much had to be painted and decalled. Although not difficult to paint and decal, I wouldn't mind seeing a Frisco EMD switcher (by Athearn) in the black scheme (or even orange and white, as the only one now is the SW 1500).
