This Chinese-made model replaced the old Mehano/Yugoslavia "standard cupola" caboose originally imported by Life-Like. And as such, I'm assuming it's some sort of knock-off of one of the earlier cupola caboose designs (either Roco, Atlas or Mehano). These models are stamped "Life-Like - Made in China" on the bottom. I'm not sure when exactly they first came into being, but my guess is sometime during the 1990s. As of this writing (2008), Life-Like is still cranking these things out.
These models have metal wheels and shell-mounted Rapido couplers.
This ubiquitous eight window design has been a staple of N scale since the beginning, with virtually every manufacturer offering one version or another of it. It is based on the "ATSF 1900 Series" prototype.