Walthers GP9 Review
Walthers
GP9M...
Walthers makes a GP9M that in a word is....CRAP.
I wouldn't suggest anyone buy this kit. Mine is so bad that I chopped
it up and repainting it to make a WM GP9 chop-nose. If you want an
accurate and good looking GP9 out of the box get a Proto 2000. I
would also not suggest the Athearn GP9, since it is actually a GP7 that
is sold as a GP9. Walthers kit sells for around $30.
The paint job on this car stinks. The yellow is
translucent (you can see light through it). I have painted the inside
of mine black and will paint the outside UP armor yellow to make it opaque.
The orange is almost a neon orange instead of a reddish orange. The
C&O 6073 number is bogus. No C&O GP9s were chop-nosed.
All still had their high hoods in the Chessie Era. The horns included
with this kit don't match any prototype, either C&O or WM. The
handrails are black not orange like they should be. I could go on
and on.
The closest this kit comes to right out of the box are
the 21 Western Maryland GP9's with the chop-nose. Below are pics
of the real 6073 and a WM chop nose. Compare these with the kit picture
below.
Below is one pic of my Walthers GP9 right out of the box
and one finished. As you can tell, it looks nothing like the prototype.
You can see why I made mine like WM #36 above. The model is much
closer to a GP9 with a short hood. Look at my Walthers
GP9M tips page for a complete "how to" article. For even more
info on WM Chop nosed GP9's see my 36cs-wm
locomotives page.
