Got one of these babies today. I paid $157 from an e-bay seller with DCC and sound - MSRP is $225 so I'm feeling like I got a pretty good deal.
First impressions was that the packaging was much better than earlier P2K's. Easier to open and you didn't feel like you were going tear off parts getting the engine out. There was a package of detail parts, another package of couplers, a blow-up view of the model, and a DCC/Sound guide.
The engine itself is very well detailed with see-through steps and foot boards. The diamond tread on the walkways really looks like diamond tread. The paint is very sharp, as is the lettering. The only problem is the gray is a little darker than I'd like to see but there was so much variation in Harbor Mist Gray that it's hard to say this color is wrong. One big error was the trucks. They look great but they are painted kind of a dull gray. The UP had bright silver trucks on all their GP-7's so this is a major error to me since I'll have to repaint the trucks. The grab irons are nicely done but they are are also painted gray, even in the yellow parts of the model. This is another error that I will have to correct since the UP painted the grabs the same color as the background color of the engine. The handrails are also all grey with no white safety striping. Even the MU hoses are grey. None of these are a big deal but I expect Walthers to get this right for the price.
The first real problem is that this model comes with no couplers installed, just some big plastic pieces to hold the model in place in the box. Once I got those off, there is virtually no room to slide the coupler pocket and coupler into the pilot of the engine. There are no instructions included about how to install couplers. No problem, I thought, I'll remove the shell and have plenty of room to work. After taking out the 427th screw (well, it was nine, but it seemed like 427
) that were hidden all over the engine, the shell slides right off. I'm sure there's a motor in there but, except for seeing one flywheel, everything else is electronic boards and a speaker installed on the fireman's side. It's amazing how much stuff is crammed in there.
The saga continues. I installed the couplers and then found that the pilot openings would not fit an installed coupler no matter how many ways I twisted the shell around. OK, off come the couplers again and I reinstalled the shell. Once you assemble the coupler box, you have to literally push it through the coupler opening with a small flat bladed screwdriver. I don't mean a little shove, you have to put your weight behind it get the coupler box through the hole. Then you have to get it in position and try to get the coupler box screw back in exactly the right place with no guide hole and 2 mm worth of space to work with. Knowing what I know now, I'd enlarge the coupler hole in the pilot very slightly so you could maneuver the whole thing without all the pushing and shoving. I think it took about an hour to get both couplers in which is way longer than it should for this class of model.
I haven't put any of the detail parts on yet but they too come with absolutely no instructions. It's a nice selection of parts with winterization hatches, all-weather cab windows, sunshades, wind deflectors, and MU stands. All this is nice because I know what they are. A beginner would be totally baffled at what they are and where they go.
Now, how does it run and sound? First, a disclaimer. I'm running a Bachmann E-Z command system. Yes, I know it's a POS but it's a cheap POS. Nevertheless, I was able to easily reprogram it from the standard address of 3 to 5 to match the ending number of the engine. For some reason, it thought forward was reverse so I reprogrammed that as well. After studying the enclosed DCC guide, which is quite good, I figured out all the things an E-Z command system could (and couldn't) do with this engine. All the major functions, like the horn, bell, dynamics, Doppler effect, flange squealing, and fan nosies were no problem. There are some other things I'd like to do, like adjust the headlight brightness, which the E-Z command system can't handle, but it works fine for all the major functions. The engine runs smooth as silk ansd pulls like a champ. It hauld a 20 car feight rai without even straining The horn and bell even sound like the UP. The flange squealing is amazing. It even adjusts the sound of the prime mover as you climb a grade and turns on the dynamics on a down grade. While idling, the engine burbles away just like a real diesel. It even will pump up the air periodically. All in all, the sound is much better than I expected. There's a reed switch adjusted by a magnet that allows you to set sound volume that I haven't tried yet but this thing is LOUD. The prime mover spools up before the engine starts and spools down before it stops. Even the bell has a few faint rings after it's stopped like the real thing.
I MU'ed it with my Atlas SD-24 and they both ran fine together. I haven't tried it yet with my other P2K engine to see if there's the famous gearing mismatch.
So, on a 1-10 scale, I'd give the P2K GP-7 the following ranks:
1. Packaging - 9
2. Instructions - 2
3. Detail - 8
4. Paint quality -10
5. Prototype paint matching - 6
6. Ease of installing couplers - 0
7. Running qualities - 10
8. Quality of sound system - 10
9. Pulling Power - 10
Now, a question to anyone else who has one of these. The rear headlight stays on dim while running forward. The rear headlight also stays on dim while at idle regardless of direction. Anyone know how to change it so the rear headlight is off while running forward and the front headlight stays on while idling? I'll tell you what, though, listening to that thing at idle really brings back memories of those 567 engines.
First impressions was that the packaging was much better than earlier P2K's. Easier to open and you didn't feel like you were going tear off parts getting the engine out. There was a package of detail parts, another package of couplers, a blow-up view of the model, and a DCC/Sound guide.
The engine itself is very well detailed with see-through steps and foot boards. The diamond tread on the walkways really looks like diamond tread. The paint is very sharp, as is the lettering. The only problem is the gray is a little darker than I'd like to see but there was so much variation in Harbor Mist Gray that it's hard to say this color is wrong. One big error was the trucks. They look great but they are painted kind of a dull gray. The UP had bright silver trucks on all their GP-7's so this is a major error to me since I'll have to repaint the trucks. The grab irons are nicely done but they are are also painted gray, even in the yellow parts of the model. This is another error that I will have to correct since the UP painted the grabs the same color as the background color of the engine. The handrails are also all grey with no white safety striping. Even the MU hoses are grey. None of these are a big deal but I expect Walthers to get this right for the price.
The first real problem is that this model comes with no couplers installed, just some big plastic pieces to hold the model in place in the box. Once I got those off, there is virtually no room to slide the coupler pocket and coupler into the pilot of the engine. There are no instructions included about how to install couplers. No problem, I thought, I'll remove the shell and have plenty of room to work. After taking out the 427th screw (well, it was nine, but it seemed like 427
) that were hidden all over the engine, the shell slides right off. I'm sure there's a motor in there but, except for seeing one flywheel, everything else is electronic boards and a speaker installed on the fireman's side. It's amazing how much stuff is crammed in there.The saga continues. I installed the couplers and then found that the pilot openings would not fit an installed coupler no matter how many ways I twisted the shell around. OK, off come the couplers again and I reinstalled the shell. Once you assemble the coupler box, you have to literally push it through the coupler opening with a small flat bladed screwdriver. I don't mean a little shove, you have to put your weight behind it get the coupler box through the hole. Then you have to get it in position and try to get the coupler box screw back in exactly the right place with no guide hole and 2 mm worth of space to work with. Knowing what I know now, I'd enlarge the coupler hole in the pilot very slightly so you could maneuver the whole thing without all the pushing and shoving. I think it took about an hour to get both couplers in which is way longer than it should for this class of model.
I haven't put any of the detail parts on yet but they too come with absolutely no instructions. It's a nice selection of parts with winterization hatches, all-weather cab windows, sunshades, wind deflectors, and MU stands. All this is nice because I know what they are. A beginner would be totally baffled at what they are and where they go.
Now, how does it run and sound? First, a disclaimer. I'm running a Bachmann E-Z command system. Yes, I know it's a POS but it's a cheap POS.
Nevertheless, I was able to easily reprogram it from the standard address of 3 to 5 to match the ending number of the engine. For some reason, it thought forward was reverse so I reprogrammed that as well. After studying the enclosed DCC guide, which is quite good, I figured out all the things an E-Z command system could (and couldn't) do with this engine. All the major functions, like the horn, bell, dynamics, Doppler effect, flange squealing, and fan nosies were no problem. There are some other things I'd like to do, like adjust the headlight brightness, which the E-Z command system can't handle, but it works fine for all the major functions. The engine runs smooth as silk ansd pulls like a champ. It hauld a 20 car feight rai without even straining The horn and bell even sound like the UP. The flange squealing is amazing. It even adjusts the sound of the prime mover as you climb a grade and turns on the dynamics on a down grade. While idling, the engine burbles away just like a real diesel. It even will pump up the air periodically. All in all, the sound is much better than I expected. There's a reed switch adjusted by a magnet that allows you to set sound volume that I haven't tried yet but this thing is LOUD. The prime mover spools up before the engine starts and spools down before it stops. Even the bell has a few faint rings after it's stopped like the real thing.I MU'ed it with my Atlas SD-24 and they both ran fine together. I haven't tried it yet with my other P2K engine to see if there's the famous gearing mismatch.
So, on a 1-10 scale, I'd give the P2K GP-7 the following ranks:
1. Packaging - 9
2. Instructions - 2
3. Detail - 8
4. Paint quality -10
5. Prototype paint matching - 6
6. Ease of installing couplers - 0
7. Running qualities - 10
8. Quality of sound system - 10
9. Pulling Power - 10
Now, a question to anyone else who has one of these. The rear headlight stays on dim while running forward. The rear headlight also stays on dim while at idle regardless of direction. Anyone know how to change it so the rear headlight is off while running forward and the front headlight stays on while idling? I'll tell you what, though, listening to that thing at idle really brings back memories of those 567 engines.
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