I am really chuffed about this find. It seems to be new in box but hard to tell for sure. Looks really good. Really, really good. I have the newly released Genesis GP9 Series III and frankly I prefer the older model.
Supposedly has a Tsunami decoder. ?? The start up speed and slow speed control are truly amazing especially when compared to the Genesis. Very happy with this purchase at half the price of the Genesis.
I’m with you. I have one of the P2K GP9’s with sound and it is an excellent runner.
I have really mixed opinions about the Genesis models. They generally have a nice level of detail. But on my last three purchases, I’ve had parts missing, couplers at the wrong height, and paint applied so heavily that it built up around the details. Athearn agreed to replace the missing parts, but it’s been several months now…I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Now, I’m probably being a little unfair, because I did have to replace the axle gears in the P2K unit, but it runs soooooooo good.
Recently, I’ve been buying Rapido, Atlas, and Kato and have been very happy. Unfortunately, Kato doesn’t have a big selection of HO stuff.
–MT
Factory-installed sound in all Life-Like branded products were from QSI. Easy way to tell: press F10 when sitting still, and a QSI decoder will say, “I D XXXX” (where the X’s = DCC address). If you press F3 and get a short horn sound, it’s a Tsunami.
Life-Like was bought out by Walthers in 2005, so any LL branded product is at least 16 years old.
I prefer the Genesis because of the road-specific details. I have several P2K GP9’s and Genesis GP9’s. My P2K’s are generic GP9’s that happen to be painted for the NH. The Genesis GP9 is specifically a NH class DERS-4 with the extra water tanks, extended-height handrails, and Hancock Air Whistles.
In my experience, my Genesis GP’s run better than my P2K’s but YMMV.
What color is the box? Does it actually say LifeLike on the back?
Sheldon
It’s the later brown toned grey. It’s the Canadian distributor’s version. Lifelike marketed in Canada by Hobby craft or something like that.
Looks like the decoder is QSI.
A picture would be great? Grey? Silver? That sound like stuff from after the Walthers buy out.
The first boxes (1989, way before sound or DCC installed) were a light tan/beige color.
Then light blue the rest of the time LifeLike owned it. Then a silver grey right after Walthers took over starting about 2006.
I can’t speak specificly to stuff marketed thru Hobbycraft.
In any case, I’m happy with all my Proto2000 stuff, most of which is pre Walthers.
But none of it is DCC.
Sheldon
I have three of the later box colour. Two GP 38-2 and now this GP 9 I. I was very surprised to note the DCC and sound. The price was comparable to what I’ve paid for DC only P2K in factory painted CPR colours. The box colour is hard to describe accurately. I’d call it grey but it’s definitely a brown grey. The lettering is gold, not red. The boxes are half the size of the blue boxes.
The boxes make no mention of Walthers. These are all “distributed exclusively in Canada by Canadian Hobbycraft” which is still operating as far as I can tell, but with a modified name. Interestingly, the DCC ready models are branded Life like Baltimore. The newer acquisition GP 9 with DCC and sound is branded Life Like Canada although the Baltimore company name is still there. Maybe Canadian Hobbycraft had some sort of licensing contract that overlapped with the Walthers buy out.
I’m estimating my latest acquisition is from 2005 and it appears to be new or virtually new. The box is slightly larger than the GP 38-2 boxes.
I’m pleased. If I see more of these late pre Walthers P2K with DCC I’m likely to buy them. In CPR colours only, though.
Walthers aquired the whole LifeLike hobby division in 2005, but the LifeLike contract with Hobbycraft did not expire until 2006 and Walthers had to honor it.
All product and parts inventory was moved from Baltimore to Milwaukee right away and wasnot relabled or repacked in any way.
And, here in the States, Proto product continuted to leave China and be sold by Walthers in LifeLike branded packaging until the old packaging production runs were exhausted.
New offerings and new productions runs from Walthers then started to appear in the grey boxes.
Sheldon
Lastspikemike, Hobbycraft Canada is now gone. They operated under the Trueline Trains name for a time but slowly folded up and closed a year or two ago. I believe the owner,Dennis Altbaum, had some health issues. There was a recent announcement that they had sold their molds to Atlas. Hobbycraft Canada was the Canadian distributor of plastic model kits, cars and airplanes, for many years before their foray into model railroading. They were a supplier to the company where I worked for 35 years.
CN Charlie
There was a short period of time where the Life Like locos were sold in the new Gray/Silver box but did not carry the Walthers name. I know the P2K GP38-2 was designed and built as a LL, and when it came to market was about the time Walthers acquired LL. So to have a contemporary silver/gray box P2K loco with a LL name and logo on the back or in small print would not be unusual.
And I think they made their early DCC/Sound units under the LL name. These would have the Athearn cloned trucks (not necessarily cracked), before Walthers switched to their current truck design. So having a high hood GP QSi Sound in a silver/gray box but under LL badging is not uncommon. It would have been one of the last locos LL made…a very early run Walthers/LL Sound loco.
Here is an image of the sliver/gray box that is not a Walthers box.
And here is the difference in the back. The top box was before Walthers fully took charge.
I have two of the upper box style. The third with the GP 9 has the same colour scheme but is slightly larger for no apparent reason.
Today I bought the GP7 version with DCC and sound.
Really nice models these final Canadian market Proto 2000 by Lifelike.
Odd thing, both models have warped end handrails. Same end. Same warping pattern.
I plan to try the hairdryer heating and flattening method. Anyone know a reason not to try that?
I have a pair of LifeLike GP9 locomotives I got through MB Klein shortly after Walthers bought the company. They were in Walters boxes. They were DC only. I first put simple DH123 motor decoders in them. Later, I replaced one motor decoder with a Tsunami. Eventually I may do the other one. Yeah, they both had cracked axles and those got fixed, too. I did some minor detail painting, like the MU hose couplings, and some light weathering.
These engines cost me the princely sum of $40 each. I was looking to upgrade a couple of 50’s vintage Blue Box geeps, but really, I couldn’t have replaced the old motor, the old wheelsets and the original horn hooks for $40.
Thanks, LifeLike, thanks Walthers, thanks Soundtraxx, thanks Digitrax, and even thanks to Athearn for those old BB geeps. One of them still rides my rails, as a sound dummy. That one now loafs along, providing the sound for a consist with a Walthers GP9M. I got very snarky and numbered the original engine to be the one that eventually got converted to the 9M model…
