Walthers Proto F's

[cpr4200]

Opinions -- how do the Walthers Proto F units stack up to Genesis/Highliner, Rapido, and IMRC? The Walthers CP Rail FP7's are looking pretty good to me, although the nose contours don't look quite right.

[edwardsutorik]

I have a set of GN ones in Big Sky Blue, and a set in Simplified. The detailing falls far short of what I would expect from Athearn. I'm going to have to fix up all of them. Someday.

If Athearn were to do the Simplified version in the manner I expect, I'd dump the Walthers.

Rapido, too, is weak on accurate detailing, I think. I don't know Intermountain F's, but my feeling is "Nope".


If I were considering picking up some Walthers MILW FP7's, I'd study a lot of photos to see what I'd have to do to them, later. On the other hand, they might have nailed THOSE. Again, I'd study photos.




Ed

[sd80mac]

While nothing can quite compare to the Genesis/Highliner Fs, I would say the Proto Fs are definitely the second-best option out there. While the detail may not be quite as fine as Athearn's, they are loaded with many road-specific details. They are also bricks, heavier than any other HO scale F unit I've owned, and will pull anything I've attached them to. And you can't beat that Proto drive, IMO.

[gevohogger]

The Athearn Genesis has the best nose and windshield profiles, while the Walthers Proto has the best fit & finish and assembly, and the best drive.

[wmcbride]

I have both.

The Genesis have great details and paint but the cab interior has been wrong since they were introduced (those big "storage bins" on the top of the "dashboard" just should not be there.

I really like my Proto F units. They run extremely well and are nicely detailed, painted, and finished.

The best Rapido F unit I had was a FPA4 -- simply beautiful with great sound. I ended up selling it to pursue other things.

I either returned or sold the other 3 F units I had from Rapido. The issues were bad paint jobs - like surprisingly fuzzy demarcation lines.

I have some Intermountain F units (mostly later runs) and I like them. They run well, look good, and, with a little detailing, really look great.

Bill McBride

[drsvelte]

A couple of years ago I was considering purchasing either the Athearn Genesis and/or the Walthers Proto Southern FP7.  The Genesis/Highliner was roundly panned because of some serious painting flaws so I went with the Walthers model.  It's a really nice model although maybe not quite up to Athearn tooling around the nose.  It is a great runner and very quiet; I'm very pleased with that purchase.  At the time, it was also considerably less expensive than the Genesis. Here's a photo of the noses of the Athearn (left) and Proto (right).

[snootie3257]

Jul 3, 2024 14:14:29 GMT -8 drsvelte said:

A couple of years ago I was considering purchasing either the Athearn Genesis and/or the Walthers Proto Southern FP7.  The Genesis/Highliner was roundly panned because of some serious painting flaws so I went with the Walthers model.  It's a really nice model although maybe not quite up to Athearn tooling around the nose.  It is a great runner and very quiet; I'm very pleased with that purchase.  At the time, it was also considerably less expensive than the Genesis. Here's a photo of the noses of the Athearn (left) and Proto (right).

Ah yes I remember when the Proto came out. There was quite the discussion about the printed on door by the headlight.
Steve

[Baikal]

Jul 2, 2024 16:10:17 GMT -8 cpr4200 said:

Opinions -- how do the Walthers Proto F units stack up to Genesis/Highliner, Rapido, and IMRC? The Walthers CP Rail FP7's are looking pretty good to me, although the nose contours don't look quite right.

I have 15 Genesis (As and Bs) and Intermountain (all Bs) F units.  A mix of SP & UP.  I have to look really close to tell the Genesis & IM B units apart.  Paint matches.  They both look great, the IM units probably run a little smoother.

The Genesis/Highliner nose countours are best but Proto and IM are acceptable to me.

If I had to do it over I'd go with all Walthers/Proto where possible because of the better running quality.

[pjm20]

I'll ask, anyone taken the challenge of mating a Proto drive to a Highliner/Genesis shell? Would it be any significant improvement over a Stewart-Kato drive?

[wsor]

I'll ask, anyone taken the challenge of mating a Proto drive to a Highliner/Genesis shell? Would it be any significant improvement over a Stewart-Kato drive?

I think the Stewart/Kato drive is a bit better than Proto, at least for passenger use. The Proto drive is a bit slower than anything else. I had to slow down my Genesis FP7s quite a bit to match my Proto units, all with Loksound 5 decoders.

As my desires run towards FP7s, Genesis and Proto are the only recent choices. The Atlas-Roco FP7 shell is not even close to looking decent.

[marknycfan]

I saw a new Walthers Proto with sound in 2007 operate, GN unit and it looked great, sounded great and ran great. At that time, I knew people who wouldn't consider anything but Genesis, but they never saw the Proto's operate.

[12bridge]

I too was a big fan of the Highliner/Genesis until I got my first Proto FP7. Its a damn nice model and runs great. Detail wise they are certainly just about on par with the Genesis.

[edwardsutorik]

Pretty much, no two Great Northern passenger F's looked the same, which cannot be said of the Walthers efforts. After I got my set of Walthers simplified F's, I then cataloged photographically the various detail changes the models would need. And then put the re-detailing project on indefinite hold.

Most of the work is up on the roof, where everything is Pullman green and soot, so repainting isn't a real problem. Also missing on the front of the A's are the coupler cut levers and MU hoses.

Of course, they all were pretty much the same upon delivery, so the earlier you're modeling, the closer the Walthers will be. The aluminum painted trucks and fuel tanks place those models at around 1960-ish. But then you have the incorrect orange and yellow to deal with.


Ed