I have kit of Hightliner F Units, but am troubled with choice of a power unit.
I have F units RTR models of BLI and PCM and Genesis.
But I wants to make the best thing with oneself from a kit all because I am unsatisfactory.
A sound system intends to use Loksound.
As for the power unit for F-Units, which is the best?
Thanks
P.S.
Somebody, Please tell me the shop which still sells “Farr Air Grilles” and “Chicken Wire”.
NOSUKE
Tokyo,JAPAN
Many of us favor the Athearn Genesis mechanism; it has an efficient Roco motor and the weight is nice for traction; also it was designed for the Highliner body. Be sure to order the proper unit as the A unit and B unit chassis are different; the A unit front end has a taper for the bulldog nose. Intermountain or Stewart mechanisms are also nice; the new Stewart mechanism options include a Loksound decoder; however either the body or the frame must be modified to fit.
For detail parts I recommend the Happy Hobo in Tampa, Florida (813) 886-5072; They normally stock the Highliner F unit detail parts as well as the Farr and EMD grilles from Detail Associates.
I personally think the athearn genesis F-unit drive is among the best currently available.
for detail parts, try Walthers
search for highliner parts
hope this helps
b0b
Hello, welcome to the forums.
For Model Detail Parts go to http://www.walthers.com and type in Detail Parts or specific parts like “FAN” or “Grill” in the search bar. You will have to try different searches with different words until you find what you want.
I dont have any experience with Highliner Units. However I have heard that they are fine kits.
I think I understood you to say that your kit building skills dont satisfy you. There are some choices here.
Remember if you choose to build a kit, be careful and slow. One peice at a time. It is better for a season to complete and have it right than to waste and lose a good product.
Athearn Genesis
Broadway Limited
Precision Craft Models
Intermountain
Stewart
Atlas
Brass Imports
etc. All have F units already built with or without sound ready to run on your HO scale track.
You ask which one is the best? I say you choose what YOU like. All can do a good job BUT… all are different with electronics… some better than others. Some pull better than others and some dont have good detail.
10 years ago there was not very many F units on market. Now there is plenty to choose from.
Me. I have a BLI F unit set with QSI sound. I personally cannot think of any better unit than these. HOWEVER… they dont quite have the fine detail like some of the others and they can cost a little more than other F units.
Recent MR Issues has tried to assist us with F units in HO scale. I forget the Month and Year of issue but perhaps one of the moderators can assist with that question.
Good luck!
NOSUKE is saying he wants to build the best F unit possible; many F units are criticized for having an inaccurate nose; this is a popular topic amongst prototype modelers, especially those who have first hand experience with the prototype. Highliners shells currently are the most accurate in this respect; also if you have not seen on of their kits they offer more options for grilles, fans, side panels, nose doors, etc the ANY of the others.
Although Walthers carries the parts, I recommended the LHS not because it happens to be here in Tampa, but because the owner and the manager are prototype modelers and have experience working with Highliner shells and the various accessories (as they are many) for this particular kit. The Hobo specializes in parts for the scratchbuilder and prototype modeler.
Thanks,river_eagle
I get advice now and think that Drive Units of genesis is better・・・・
I looked for a page of Walther first, but the thing which I wanted was already out of stock entirely.
NOSUKE
Tokyo,JAPAN
Safety Valve,Thank you for welcoming me.
It is all right and does not break a certain finished products now.
I love F Units, and I want to make the best model so that cmarchan writes it.
For these past several years, splendid products increased.
I went away by having a model of an American model during about 10years.
I looked at a site of a model of US after a long absence and bought “PCM F3” on impulse.
Because I liked the F series, I purchased Warbonnet F7 of BLI after having thought.
There were splendid ranning and sound, and I was charmed.
However, there was sense of incongruity in form of a window together.
Therefore I purchased it in search of Warbonnet of genesis, but the details were different slightly.
I knew that a kit of Highliner was released later.
I looked for a kit of Highliner, but was not already found very much anymore.
However, I was able to find it, fortunately.
I want to finish this in the best model.
I think …
F Units of genesis is splendid, but there are roughness and contradiction of Detail for the finish slightly.
F Unit of BLI and PCM has a difficulty to a window of part and Cab of a nose.
I am a custom builder and designer of a brass model in Japan.
Therefore I think that there are only some technique.
If a kit succeeded, I intend other models remodel it, and to paint it again.
Thanks,NOSUKE
Thaks,cmarchan
Because I obtained a good thing with much effort, I want to make the best thing.
I am glad because I am not good at English when there is an email or Web…
I try to confirm it at once in a shop.
I thank for advice of all.
NOSUKE
Tokyo,JAPAN
I think you are really missing out if you don’t try a Stewart. I have all the ones you mentioned above and keep going back to the Stewarts. If you can find one of the original “Kato-drives” for the Stewart then you absolutely have the best of the best.
The Highliner Shells should be a direct fit for the Stewarts also.
AND I didn’t know this until right now… They come with the LocSound preinstalled.
http://www.bowser-trains.com/Stewart/Stewart%20Sound%20Chassis.htm
The Highliner units should have come with the chicken wire and Farr grills, as well as a zillion other detail parts. Granted I purchased mine about 15 years ago, but all the options were in the box.
I, too, highly favor the Stewart drives but they don’t have to be the older Kato versions to be good. Stewart’s newer Canon and Buehler drives are absolutely terrific pullers and run VERY smoothly. I have a Stewart FT equipped with a Lenz Gold decoder and it’s probably my best crawler at speed step 001.
Although the Stewart shells won’t be quite as nicely detailed as, say, a Genesis shell, the superdetailing kits available for them make them look very, very nice. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one.
And, given the choice, I’ll take a better operating locomotive over a better looking locomotive any day of the week. Even so, the Stewart shells are not shabby by any means.
Tom
I have to agree about the Stewart. I have over a dozen Stewart/Katos. Some of these are over 12 years old. My one B&O ABBA set has run at shows for hours on end and short of a bit of lubrication, they have performed flawlessly. The new Stewart drive is a good runner. I have 6 of these. I don’t know the longevity of them, they have only run a few times.
The best F unit in my opinion is to use the Stewart chassis and fit the Highliner shell. The Highliner is the most accurate and detailed one to date.
I see that P2K is comming out with their F unit. They boast that the shell is exact and is to be offered in road specific detail. I do like the Proto drives, but not sure if it can compare to Stewart or Genesis. I don’t really like IM w/ Regal drive. Have known others to have some problems.
I’m not that happy with the few BLI units I have. Maybe I’m just unlucky, the problems seem to be with the QSI loosing control and always needs a reset when this happens. Besides the paint, lettering and detail is not as good as other units especially the Highliner.
The Genesis drives have begun to show some issues at my club. These are units that have had some serious run time on them. Exactly what the problems are I’m not sure, haven’t torn one apart yet.
I dont run my BLI F units very much, but I do take them out to test once every 3 months or so. They just completed thier summer roundup in a successful fashion on my workbench.
Without further ado:
http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x173/fallsvalleyrr/?action=view¤t=BLIF7ConsistFinal.flv
Dailup warning, this file is about 50 megabyte in size.
I thank the all of you who commented on me.
I decided to buy Genesis Drives and tried to look for a net shop.
However, doubt was heated when I looked for it.
An object to look for was changed for Stewert drives when I noticed.
I looked at a Bowser website, It was “Back Order”, and was expensive.
I intended to buy a thing of the Loksound decorder deployment, but was out of stock in a main net shop.
I thought how I would have it.
Result, I decided to buy a drive and a decoder separately.
I found Chassis without sound decoder in a net shop, I thought a little, and I took it off for the purchase.
I feel attractive a price of Genesis and Inter mountain.
However, I felt charm in Stewert for some reason.
I chose Stewert and seem to have succeeded.
Stewert use CANON Motor?
I have Genesis(ATSF F3 ABBA) and BLI (ATSF F7 ABBA) and PCM(CB&Q F3 ABA,D&RGW F3 ABBA), but it is not to have run a long range.
Because I do not own a fixed layout, I sometimes enjoy it in UNITRACK of KATO.
I use a kitchen and living and a corridor of an apartment to run a passenger car.
When I occupy there in long time, my children are pleased very much, but my wife is angry very much.
It is very difficult to check the durability.
However, the durability is important to enjoy it after this for a long time.
Other than a thing with a few parts, I think that there is still a problem.
However, the first step for a wonderful thing is begun by cooperation of all of you.
Nosuke,
I think you’ll be very happy with the Stewart drives. The Fs come with the Canon drive. My VO-660 switcher came with a Buehler drive. Both are excellent.
It’s always good to make your dear wife happy with things pertaining to the house. Hoping that you will be able to work out something so that you and your kids can run your passenger trains without stirring up any strife between you and your wife.
Nosuke, let us know when you get your Stewarts and how you like them.
Tom
Tom,
I can make a splendid model by splendid advice of all of you.
I make it in an interval of work, it is slow, but I want to do a progress report.
Now Japan is midnight, I write a drawing because I should finish a drawing of a HO model of “electric trains” made by six types of brass by Monday.
And it is going to be released as a kit of brass in the latter half of next month by a company of my friend.
My work is a design of a japanese brass model and a custom builder of a japanese brass model.
It is wet season from now on in Japan until the middle of July, the painting thinks that it is finished in autumn at the earliest.
It is too humid in this season, it isn’t shine of paint.
And Summer season is too humid and too Hot in Tokyo.
The painting is not possible and trouble with my work in this season.
Though I wrote that my wife is angry, you do not have to worry that much.
It is difficult to be understood by most of women in Japan, and it is slightly different from U.S.
Perhaps the reason that she gets angry at may be jealous of a railroad model…
It is one of the reasons that I am absorbed in a toy …
Thanks
In my home I find it is easy to take care of the home, do a few extra things more and when the wife is happy I play a little bit of trains. I am careful to not play with the train if there is a problem with a angry wife. It is a constant balance from week to week. Sometimes there is sunshine and other times it rains.
I owned a Stewart VO switcher and I dont know what was inside it. But that locomotive probably exceeded my Atlas units in quality of running. I regret selling it a little bit.
Kato Unitrack needs careful use and with proper workman use it will last a long time. I use it myself because my railroad needs to be able to be more easily moved at this time. But I would never run anything on the floor. There is too much contaminant or bad things that can hurt the toys… uh. Trains. =)
BEST? - Best at what?
Those with Genesis will say “Genesis”. Those with Stewart will say “Stewart”. Those with the old clunky Athearns will probably say “Athearn”. I have had all 3 - So?
FIRST off Genesis (so far) - only comes with a pre-painted shell - if it is the road you want - and the sound unit is on board. Scratch Genesis for chassis’.
Stewart and InterMountain and ProtoPowerWest offer superb independant drives: ALL of which are more dependable than Genesis’. The InterMountain comes with TWO headlights. the Stewart comes with ONE, and the PPW 0.
A ‘Deluxe’ combination will include a realistic flashing ‘Mars’ light from http://www.richmondcontrols.com/
KEY to the selection of which chassis, are the window grabs that keep the chassis from falling out when lifting. COMPARISONS are ACADEMIC: SINCE they are all excellent. Differences are slight and primarily on emphasis:
Stewart is cheapest (if you think expensive, you probably won’t want the Richmond lights),The InterMountain the best puller (heaviest), and the PPW (with Richmond Mars light) the primE attention getter at shows - (also quietest - if you are adding Sound).
THEN, of course there is the PAINT JOB.
Nosuke,
My wife is very supportive of and patient with me in my hobby endeavors. However, I know there is a limit to her, too. She’s very particular about things to do with the house. (I think women, in general, are like that.) Anyhow, I know I need to be sensitive about how hobby-related items effect the look and atmosphere of the house and how much time I spend at it.
Tom
I dont know about pulling power too much but I chose the BLI units because of the QSI sound quality. Together those units probably generate close to; if not more, than a pound of TE. (Tractive Effort)
I value pulling power and track stability more than looks.
Safety Valve,
When I neglect consideration to a wife, my time decreases greatly.
If it increases the time when oneself can play freely, it is important to increase in time to take care of a wife.
A Japanese man is not good at that I can soften with a feeling of a woman.
It is … including me
I must not forget consideration to a wife.
I know a weak point of UNITRACK.
As for it, a voltage descent is intense.
A lot of poor contact for “Joiner”.
As a result of these obstacles, a rail becomes black immediately.
I make a lot of feeders to reduce these problems.
Transform it with shape of a floor greatly.
I cannot use it on a Japanese tatami mat.
I use it only on a flat floor.
Why do you use it?
It is easy to obtain it in Japan, and the reason is because a model of a European type runs.
But I use it well because I know a weak point.
Thanks,