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Heljan Class 16


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Surely a class 16 would be a Heljan class 15 with extra vents?

One has to suspect that someone on the NBL design team had an interest in a vendor of louvered panels. Now this would be a model that could justifiably be offered in an unpowered version as standard. Someone in BR at the time reputedly claimed they were the world's largest wheeled paperweight, or words to that effect.

 

One more nail in the coffin of NBL's once towering reputation.

Edited by 34theletterbetweenB&D
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I think that's every BR Mainline diesel loco being made now in RTR (excluding the shunters class 01-13). Calum Sellar.

The bottom of the barrel still hasn't been reached. The LMS Bo-Bo number 10800 (original and rebuilt forms) and the Fell 4-8-4 are still down there somewhere, and (rather surprisingly) so are the class 43 Warships.

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Guest Max Stafford

I'd be very fond of one as a model - I like 'em!

I always thought they looked like a British GP7/9 (General Motors!) - if only they had had the reliability of the US product!

Cheers,

John E.

 

More like an FM H16-44 to my eyes.

 

Dave.

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Seriously underwhelmed by yet another model of a useless pilot scheme mobile scrapheap. You can't help but wonder at the commercial case for such a limited interest model when there remain a fleet of potentially wider interest dmus which haven't been modelled yet - the Swindon Cross Country units, for example, which ran pretty much all over the country, and the Derby Suburban units which ran on the Western, Eastern and Midland regions and which ran in a range of liveries would I'm sure become good steady sellers, and help bankroll other esoterica.

 

Very odd choice although well within the Danes seeming obsessive compulsive desire to model British freak diesels.

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Seriously underwhelmed by yet another model of a useless pilot scheme mobile scrapheap. You can't help but wonder at the commercial case for such a limited interest model when there remain a fleet of potentially wider interest dmus which haven't been modelled yet - the Swindon Cross Country units, for example, which ran pretty much all over the country, and the Derby Suburban units which ran on the Western, Eastern and Midland regions and which ran in a range of liveries would I'm sure become good steady sellers, and help bankroll other esoterica.

 

Very odd choice although well within the Danes seeming obsessive compulsive desire to model British freak diesels.

 

 

It would appear that the popularity of the Class 23 and the fact that the first batch of Dapol 22's will probably be endangered species after this weekend leads me to one conclusion.

 

Sir, you are wrong.

 

DMU's leave me cold but each to their own, I certainly wouldn't complain that Bachmann's Derby Lightweight is a waste of time, yet it fulfills all the criteria you use to criticise the decision to make models of most of the pilot scheme diesels, being geographically limited and having quite a short working life.

 

To me your post smacks of sour grapes, sorry.

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Is the Class 252/ 41 Prototype HST in anyone's sights yet? Much shorter-lived than the Derby Lightweight (those put in some serious years' work, bluex5, sorry) and with the 'glam' factor that Heljan harvested with Kestrel, to name but one.

 

The 16 leaves me colder than cold sick, personally. But each to their own. Personally, locos like this will enter my 'cringeworthy layout cliches' when they start to appear out of all proportion in due course.

 

Maybe Heljan could be encouraged to do the Highland Baby Sulzer? I mean, it's not like the market size as demonstrated on here is insignificant, nor does it consider itself well-served by the multi-compromized Barwell BR-Sulzer in any of its forms.

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The bottom of the barrel still hasn't been reached. The LMS Bo-Bo number 10800 (original and rebuilt forms) and the Fell 4-8-4 are still down there somewhere, and (rather surprisingly) so are the class 43 Warships.

I say - have a care, sir! We have a member called 10800 who may be offended, which would be a pity, as he's jointly building the Ouse Valley Viaduct, a structure we might admire. We also have - as has been noted above - a member who is ultra-sensitive to the merest mention of the Fell. Having fed my grumpy Fell pony mare earlier this evening, I can't imagine what his issues are, of course.....

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It would appear that the popularity of the Class 23 and the fact that the first batch of Dapol 22's will probably be endangered species after this weekend leads me to one conclusion.

 

Sir, you are wrong.

 

DMU's leave me cold but each to their own, I certainly wouldn't complain that Bachmann's Derby Lightweight is a waste of time, yet it fulfills all the criteria you use to criticise the decision to make models of most of the pilot scheme diesels, being geographically limited and having quite a short working life.

 

To me your post smacks of sour grapes, sorry.

 

No, not sour grapes at all, Heljan clearly have found a niche market doing one-off freak diesels and there are people who will enjoy them, and good luck to them. However, comparisons with the Class 22 and 23 are not really comparing like with like, although both classes had limited lifespans, they were arguably slightly more successful than the Classes 15 and 16. The Class 22 in particular had a relatively long-ish lifespan for a Hydraulic and apart from the discussed elsewhere issue of a "Warship" was probably one of the gaping holes in RTR for transition era and later Western modellers. The Class 23 has the all important King's Cross kudos which will guarantee sales, plus one of them lasted until quite late with Derby RTC, which is the only one I ever saw in real life, so again, if you want to model something off the wall it makes some sense. It just seems to me that in a period of much talked about austerity for Heljan to invest in such an esoteric locomotive of limited use is decidedly odd.

 

I know dmus leave some "cold" but they were a fact of life, and anyone modelling BR from the mid fifties onwards will almost certainly require at least one no matter how much they may prefer steam as there were very few areas of the country which didn't see them. Given the widespread use of say the Swindon cross-country units from 1957 until 1987 (ish) on Western, Midland, Eastern and Scottish regions, and occasionally even onto third rail territory on specials, it has to stand to reason that a larger number of modellers would probably like at least one, whereas the Class 16?

 

I'm sure those that want one will love it (hopefully, based on recent models from Heljan) and as the prototype never went anywhere near my areas of interest, it saves me some money, so definately no sour grapes there. I just think it seems odd and I'll be honest, I don't understand the obsession with wierd and unsuccessful pilot scheme types that even BR didn't see fit to develop further. Each to their own.

Edited by wombatofludham
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Seriously underwhelmed by yet another model of a useless pilot scheme mobile scrapheap. You can't help but wonder at the commercial case for such a limited interest model when there remain a fleet of potentially wider interest dmus which haven't been modelled yet - ...

Look at it another way: Heljans's very clearly discernable scheme is to run every body possible on each chassis they get tooled up. Their business skill is making and finishing plastic mouldings, the chassis they sub out. The 16 was going to follow the 15 as sure as night followed day. They are offering DP2, probably every chance of a class 55 to follow. The railbuses, they seem to intend several types.

 

They will have a DMU chassis at some point in the future, for the parcels car they have announced. My guess would be that chassis will get every other suitable body it can take... Although for my money they should go after the far more wonderful steam locos of which there are hundreds of classes without a RTR model; why cater to the tiny minority interested in bogcarts?

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Ian, as you can see, my sig has now been changed to reflect the true horrors of my four letter trigger-word :girldevil:

And we're all going to have a lot of fun until the great day dawns when someone really does produce one in OO, whereupon there will be an RMWeb whip-round (ooh!) to buy one for you to savour......

 

EDIT Preferably a sound-equipped version, natch.

Edited by Oldddudders
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When that apocalyptic day dawns I shall take comfort from the fact that the sponsoring party will be reduced to releasing the abomination in fake liveries like First Dynamic Lines and Saltire, and still not turning a profit.

 

 

 

 

Hang on. That mention of Saltire.....

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