Only Variable?
Yeah... there are a bunch of Fs out there, all of a sudden... Athearn, Athearn Genesis, InterMountain, Stewart, and now Broadway and Proto 2000. Of course, F3s have been around for years in the 1000 line- the only real difference being handrails... or lack of them.
I own a half-dozen Genesis F3s in G.M. & O. livery and an A/B set by LL Proto 1000. I also have some Stewart FTs. I have always ben critical of the die work on the nose, windshields and headlights on "F" units; until very recently, I considered the Kato 'N' scale F3s, 7s and E8s to be the best "Bulldog nose" ever done in ANY scale. But the Highliners/Genesis shell is just as accurate. And, being HO, the headlight bezels are better and the headlights are scale diameter. InterMountain:close, Stewart: close, Proto 1000: very close(it's hard to tell my G.M. & O.s apart... including the way they run!
It'll be tough to beat the Genesis line... I can't imagine why anyone would bother to try. They(Athearn) cover it all: from F2s to F9s, Farr Grills or fabricated. Type one, Phase 93, Version 86... they are all there. F3s with chicken wire, two portholes, three portholes, Farr grills, tall fans, short fans... Whatmore could an "F" aficionado want? A couple M.U. lines and some brake hoses and, Voila! Any blasted "F" unit anyone could possibly want or dream up. Plus, they ALL run like dreams ...
I can't tell if there is a Genesis F7 in Great Northern, but there must be. My guess is, judging from the past editions, that they will be indistinguishable from each other (with the possible exception of handrails, which are metal on Genesis and plastic on Protos.
I had always hoped that Life Like would offer both trim levels on every product; The F3 could be offered both with the xtra details, while the BL2s and PAs could be offered in "dumbed-down" versions for those on a budget; I probably would have purchased Life Like F3s throughout, had they been available in the road numbers and detail level of the Athearn Genesises. I added grabs and handrails to the 1000s and they are virtually identical to the Genesis/Highliners engines, at about half the price.
Jim Snyder
Monterey
Yeah... there are a bunch of Fs out there, all of a sudden... Athearn, Athearn Genesis, InterMountain, Stewart, and now Broadway and Proto 2000. Of course, F3s have been around for years in the 1000 line- the only real difference being handrails... or lack of them.
I own a half-dozen Genesis F3s in G.M. & O. livery and an A/B set by LL Proto 1000. I also have some Stewart FTs. I have always ben critical of the die work on the nose, windshields and headlights on "F" units; until very recently, I considered the Kato 'N' scale F3s, 7s and E8s to be the best "Bulldog nose" ever done in ANY scale. But the Highliners/Genesis shell is just as accurate. And, being HO, the headlight bezels are better and the headlights are scale diameter. InterMountain:close, Stewart: close, Proto 1000: very close(it's hard to tell my G.M. & O.s apart... including the way they run!
It'll be tough to beat the Genesis line... I can't imagine why anyone would bother to try. They(Athearn) cover it all: from F2s to F9s, Farr Grills or fabricated. Type one, Phase 93, Version 86... they are all there. F3s with chicken wire, two portholes, three portholes, Farr grills, tall fans, short fans... Whatmore could an "F" aficionado want? A couple M.U. lines and some brake hoses and, Voila! Any blasted "F" unit anyone could possibly want or dream up. Plus, they ALL run like dreams ...
I can't tell if there is a Genesis F7 in Great Northern, but there must be. My guess is, judging from the past editions, that they will be indistinguishable from each other (with the possible exception of handrails, which are metal on Genesis and plastic on Protos.
I had always hoped that Life Like would offer both trim levels on every product; The F3 could be offered both with the xtra details, while the BL2s and PAs could be offered in "dumbed-down" versions for those on a budget; I probably would have purchased Life Like F3s throughout, had they been available in the road numbers and detail level of the Athearn Genesises. I added grabs and handrails to the 1000s and they are virtually identical to the Genesis/Highliners engines, at about half the price.
Jim Snyder
Monterey