F7's by different brands?


Skipjacks

Skipjacks

Member
Does anyone know if the plastic shell of a Life Like F7 diesel would fit on the body of a Bachmann F7 diesel?

I'm talking N scale here.

Specifically I'm looking at this shell....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Life-Like-C...l_RR_Trains&hash=item19fac549ad#ht_197wt_1153

to be able to put on one of these kinds of Bachmann Spectrum chassis....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/N-Scale-Spe...ultDomain_0&hash=item3f460e42ca#ht_234wt_1153

My daughter REALLY wants a purple train for our layout. I don't feel like spending $125 on an Atlantic Coast Line loco. So I want to get a cheap shell and make it a project where we make our own super purple engine that has her name on the side. (There will also probably be glitter involved because she's 4. Oh yeah.....imagine the awesomeness. I fully expect a real rail line to copy this design when we're done.)

I've got the extra Bachmann F7. I just don't want to paint the nice Pennsylvania shell that's on it.
 
Just buy any F7 shell on the cheap & do some "bashing" yourself. Or buy any Bachmann F unit shell & paint that purple. Bachmann probably used the same F unit chassis for any different F models they've ever sold.
 
cajon said:
Just buy any F7 shell on the cheap & do some "bashing" yourself. Or buy any Bachmann F unit shell & paint that purple. Bachmann probably used the same F unit chassis for any different F models they've ever sold.
Click to expand...

Oh interesting....

Because there is this F9 shell on ebay too

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BACHMANN-F9...del_RR_Trains&hash=item43b6a952bd#ht_38wt_906

It's already black so that would be a lot less prep work.

You are saying that F9 shell will fit on the F7 body? Because that'd be easy. And cheap.
 
Model makers are no different than than the makers of the real ones. They are going to use the same body & chassis for different models be they F3s thru FP9s. Most of the differences between them are internal w/ only minor external differences.
 
As long as it will physically fit and lock onto the chassis (You know...how the little plastic sides click onto the bottom of the frame)....I'm happy with that.
 
My personal pref for quality is Kato chassis. I have bought scrap Katos for the shell to paint in whatever road I want/need at the moment. One advantage of being a rail-road barron is I can do whatever I WANT. I have used Kato chassis in Bachmann, life-like etc shells. F3/F7 (covered wagons) even re-powered trolley cars with NEW kato chassis. I also convert them to DCC while I am at it. My tightest fit was a packing a Kato 11-103 chassis in a tiny Bachmann Plymouth industrial switcher , added a rear light via fiber-optic and yes, believe it or not, DCC!

A little practice, car/loco bashing etc and one can create almost anything.......
 
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