Heljan LNER Tango 2-8-0

[jjb1970]

Taking this a little further and knowing that Heljan have been well regarded for many years in HO Continental outline,I have just taken a quick look at Heljan DK's online catalogue. Their Danish steam outline DSB Litra E991 is priced at 499.93 EUR.....and very handsome it looks.

 

I think we need again to ask ourselves some painful questions.Are we prepared to pay that rate.....double plus in the case of theO2 for perhaps better quality ? Everything manufactured is down to a price.It has to be that way.Transit problems...well.maybe.Component and assembly issues....that's another matter.The thing is with Heljan,when all is well,the performance is second to none and the finish is a bobby dazzler..witness the delightful Met.electric .Not too long ago they were using some of the best motors available.

I really look forward to a purchase of an O2 safe in the knowledge that it will pull an elephant without fuss without bits falling off ,glitches in derailments or expiring motors.

I think this is a sound argument when it comes to detail, DCC functionality and fidelity to prototype but regardless of lower UK OO prices the models should work out of the box and be supplied in good condition.

 

On Heljan, all of mine have ran superbly and I've been very happy, I won't be buying one of these as its not my scene but it looks to be well done to me and the price is what I'd expect for a large steamer in todays market.

[No Decorum]

BrushVeteran, thank you for putting me right about the spectacle windows.

 

The trouble you have gone to might well pay off, if others react like me. As I've said, I have now ordered an O2/4. The different tenders are icing on the cake for me; the different boilers look as if they needed some serious tooling to produce. Provided that nothing goes wrong, I should think I'll join the queue for the O2/1 and O2/2.

That's in contrast to the O4. Eight parts to model plus an O5. How many Bachmann O4s have I? One, not including the 8K.

 

Your posting mentioned an O1/1 and an O1/2. No doubt a slip of the finger as the O1 didn't have class parts. Not that I'll take that as an excuse. Mistake or not, once the O/2s are done, I'll hold you to producing an O1.

 

The erudite Tony Wright was, of course right about the O2s being a minefield. I've noted that 3962 was built as an O2/1, got a side window cab in 1939, was re-built to O2/4 in 1944, re-numbered in 1946 and reverted to an O2/1 in 1950. Then you have all the livery variations and the re-numbering carried out by that nice Mr. Thompson, with old and new number series overlapping.

 

Anyhow, keep up the good work and don't hang about. I'm waiting for a Gresley K1 and a K2. It might be easier to do the K2 as a reboilered K1. Sorry, getting ahead of things, there.

[Market65]

Hi. It looks as if Rails have been extremely unlucky! It seems, of the others, most of the rest of  this first batch is pretty good, thank goodness, and I may yet be making my purchase - just need to see it running. The standard bearer has, however, to be Hornby's remarkable little J15 0-6-0. I think it will be hard to reach the performance standard of that model with it's five pole, skew wound motor, with a fly wheel at each end. It cannot be faulted. I love mine. I hope that I will soon be thinking the same about this O2 from Heljan.

 

With regards,

 

Rob.

[Herbert Nigel]

I received mine from Liverpool this a.m. Found several small components had detached in transit but all were still within the packaging. Not a problem to replace them but as Ardvark warns some are indeed very tiny. Take care when opening lest you lose any. The worst was a handrail knob from the smokebox door! In fact this may be the only problem with this model - how far into miniature (in plastic casting) can you go before the component becomes too fragile for handling!?

None of the mechanical problems someone reported earlier though and a delightful model all in all. Nice touch to see a certain couple of gentlemen credited for their assistance with development on the Instruction sheet.

[Joe MCMLXI]

Another 2-8-0 'Tango' arrived in Derbyshire....

 

On opening all looked fine, no parts to be seen in the packaging. Hand rail and knobs all on. So off out to the garden shed for a little test run.  

 

First run was going fine, but then she wobbled and derailed, the cause was found between the rails, one of the 'brake shoes' had come adrift and dropped off under the drivers.... will put this back on and check the others down in the house under better lighting.

 

First impressions? Excellent, very smooth and quiet in both directions, nice slow speed control, looks good. Very impressed with my purchase. As said before, it's nice to see acknowledgement  for people outside of Heljan who have helped push this model forward...

 

Hooked it up to a small rake of PO's and a LNWR brake van ( this is a LNWR flavour layout - but I just can't resist any heavy freight loco's - most of the recent releases can be found on this layout!)  and off it went.....  joe

 

A couple of Videos to wet your appetite....

 

http://vid454.photobucket.com/albums/qq267/tidzaboy/Garden%20Shed%20Railway/Heljan%20tango%201_zpswfavnvcg.mp4

 

 

http://vid454.photobucket.com/albums/qq267/tidzaboy/Garden%20Shed%20Railway/Heljan%20Tango%20slow%20run%202_zpswyo4rinn.mp4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2016 by Joe MCMLXI

[cctransuk]

 

 

 

 

It looks very nice indeed; my only quibble is with the bright yellow numbering.

 

I have no recollection of BR numbering being anything but cream / white.

 

Not a difficult job to renumber it, though.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Edited January 25, 2016 by cctransuk

[Clive Mortimore]

One of our club members had an O2 running tonight. It looked good hauling a reasonable number of mineral wagons.

 

What did concern me was the chap who owns it is a LMS man normally.................lets hope he doesn't start buying _ _ _ .

[micklner]

Sorry this does nothing for me in the looks dept.

 

For £175 I wouldn't expect 

 

Chrome handrails , some bent as well, with plastic knobs !!

 

Dreadful Chimney

 

Snifting Valve looks weedy

 

Bent vacumn return pipe

 

Oversize shed allocation on Bufferbeam and Worksplate.

 

Safety valves painted Brass ?

 

Frames/Footplate  look very flat .

 

Prominent  seams on top of Boiler.

 

It appears to be covered in oil patches in the above photos ?

 

 

 

The Hornby Thompson O1 is light years ahead in looks .

 

 

http://www.lner.info/locos/O/o2.php

Edited January 26, 2016 by micklner

[westonp]

Mine arrived last night, and will be returned this afternoon.

[Markeg]

I did not pre-order one.  Was waiting to see if and when the GNR cab version came too.

Due to the fact of the Beyer-Garratt experience and too see it in the flesh, well photos and reviews.

 

And on that note I will not buy one.

I have a Hornby 01.  Only bought it because it cost me around A$120 (Australian) (at the time about GBP75) and then duly added sound.

Mark in Oz

[Horsetan]

Looks like this early batch is cementing Heljan's habit of producing curates' eggs.

[Ian Hargrave]

Looks like this early batch is cementing Heljan's habit of producing curates' eggs.

Just like the little girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead.......

[Earlswood Nob]

G'day all

 

I am pleased that LNER prototypes are being modelled.

 

However, I have a small criticism of the LNER post 1946 variant. 3965 (ex-3835) had a tender with a stepped out coping.

 

63983 was fitted with a flush sided tender.

 

Earlswood nob

[BrushVeteran]

G'day all

 

I am pleased that LNER prototypes are being modelled.

 

However, I have a small criticism of the LNER post 1946 variant. 3965 (ex-3835) had a tender with a stepped out coping.

 

63983 was fitted with a flush sided tender.

 

Earlswood nob

Then the models are correct surely?

[AGR Model Store]

Had little play with what was going to be my personal model, but sadly as previous said in the thread, small parts can break off easy. ( please note this model was already damaged when receiving it from Heljan direct ) 

 

 

Was impressive, but never got round to pulling any kind of load with it.

[gr.king]

The cruel camera close ups make me wonder:

 

Is the factory method for removing chimney caps from the moulding sprues rather rough and ready?

 

Are the cab window apertures a bit on the large side and would the highlighting "key line" around the front one be better on the glazing piece rather than on the frame?

 

But.... in the flesh, from normal viewing distances, the example that ran around the Grantham layout at the Grantham show last September looked entirely convincing.

 

Even at the higher than average price, a defect-free example of this RTR model must still compare favourably with the true full costs of a kit or scratch built example.

[Joe MCMLXI]

Mine will be off to Yorkshire soon, for a 'heavy weathering' from a friend, so shiney handrails, safety valves etc will all disappear under a nice layer of 'grime', to join my fleet of heavy freight loco's..... 

All to be viewed from a safe distance.... if you are putting one in a cabinet, just to look at, then I can understand some people's disappointment in some aspects seen on the models.... but for me, they're to run on a layout, £152 well spent in my eyes.....

 

joe

 

[stewartingram]

I may have missed this information somewhere. but is it possible to see a definative list of the models that Heljan are intending to produce, and their basic variations? (Not just the initial releases now available).

 

Stewart

[jonny777]

It looks very nice indeed; my only quibble is with the bright yellow numbering.

 

I have no recollection of BR numbering being anything but cream / white.

 

Not a difficult job to renumber it, though.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

 

 

Post number 143 in this thread includes a couple of photos with the orange/yellow numbers, although not as bright as the model but that represents ex-works and they didn't stay like that for long.

[cctransuk]

Post number 143 in this thread includes a couple of photos with the orange/yellow numbers, although not as bright as the model but that represents ex-works and they didn't stay like that for long.

 

Sorry - that's not orange / yellow; that's cream with a dose of railway muck - I know, I was there.

 

Derby Works Horticultural Show - also known to us spotty 'erks as Derby Open Day - was the opportunity in the East Midlands to see locos ex-paintshop.

 

Suffice to say, nothing came out with yellow numbers - always cream; which became more yellowy as muck attached itself and the varnish yellowed.

 

It ultimately faded to white as the varnish deteriorated and the sun bleached it.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Edited January 27, 2016 by cctransuk

[coachmann]

When Peter Chatham first started to produce his 'Methfix' transfers on small sheets, yellow numerals were on the sheet as well as cream ones. I always used the yellower numerals that I was familiar with on London Midland locomotives. The large almost white numerals I always associated with the Eastern Region.  Eventually the steam era disappeared and memories faded in the intervening years. Nowadays the ex-PC Models transfer sheets only contain cream numerals.  Brian Haresnape in his 'Railway Liveries 1948-68' book quoted from official BR livery diagrams : - "All (loco) lettering and numerals are Gill Sans in cream, edged with a narrow black band". So where did I get the idea I saw yellowish numerals, in fact where did Peter?  Maybe John Isherwood is right and they did go yellowish due to oil, muck (and cleaning oils). But almost white numerals never sat easy with me on L.M.Region locos, so I wonder if these were used in the 1960's (by which time my interest and contact with BR was diminishing). I have flipped through a LMR Janes album and found both colours, though none were as vivid a yellow as on the Heljan model. I suggest it safer to use the cream numerals if renumbering the Gresley 2-8-0.

Edited January 26, 2016 by coachmann

[BrushVeteran]

I may have missed this information somewhere. but is it possible to see a definative list of the models that Heljan are intending to produce, and their basic variations? (Not just the initial releases now available).

 

Stewart

Stewart

 

The releases planned over the next couple of months are:-

 

3910  3965   O2/3  LNER 1946 livery unshaded stepped tender

3911  63954 O2/3  BR 1948 livery BRITISH RAILWAYS stepped tender

3912  63948 O2/3  BR 1951 livery early crest stepped tender

3913  63952 O2/3  BR 1961 livery late crest stepped tender

 

3920 3962   O2/4  LNER 1946 livery shaded flush tender

3921 63983 O2/4  BR 1951 livery early crest flush tender

3922 63975 O2/4  BR 1961 livery late crest flush tender

3923 63982 O2/4  BR 1961 livery late crest flush tender weathered

 

Regards

 

Grahame

[JeremyC]

Regarding numbering colour, I have some models built in the 1970s and painted in BR green livery. These were numbered using Kings Cross Models rub down transfers (Kingsprint?) and these are definitely yellow, so the idea that BR numbers were yellow has been around before and presumably came from somewhere.

 

Indeed when I first started modelling I was told "Yellow letters for green locos, white for black ones", which as far as I know now is just wrong!

 

Regarding white lettering, Modelmaster list white letters with the following note "Used primarily in the Scottish Region during the early years of British Railways. They were used contemporarily with cream numbers & lettering, apparently due to a shortage of cream transfers at Glasgow Cowlairs, and possibly Inverurie, Works."

 

Jeremy

Edited January 27, 2016 by JeremyC

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...Even at the higher than average price, a defect-free example of this RTR model must still compare favourably with the true full costs of a kit or scratch built example.

Oh yes, a very satisfactory 63954 (O2/3) is now in my possession, and in my opinion is top of the tree in heavy freight, jointly with Bach's 9F. It's heavy you see, performs to its rated 8F capability, and is the first OO RTR 2-8-0 to do so. Runs beautifully, good from the box, gear noise quieted noticeably over the first 30 minutes and now the loudest sound is the wheels on the rails.

 

I especially commend the fine flanges and motion parts. I should think the latter are dead scale. All detail firmly and neatly attached, the chimney profile neat and smooth in all respects. It is going to need careful handling to avoid damage, but that's always been true of finely detailed models. The shiny metal will be dealt with by the dusty grey brown coat of muck compulsory for all heavy freighters.

 

I do have a criticism. Some thought required on closing up the loco to tender spacing to scale - about 2mm closer - because the drawbar has the wiring glued (?) to it. If anyone else has already tackled this, please share. And it needs a fallplate attaching to the cab floor too, once closed up; and I can fix the firedoor while messing about with that.

 

Now I am really looking forward to the O2/1 and O2/2 with the earlier Doncaster GNR pattern cab and tender.

[Ian Hargrave]

Reassuring to read such a positive review. Obviously then an impressive model.Just one point,however.It would be interesting if you could possibly share with the rest of us the data on which you base your judgement that this is the first r-t-r 8F 2-8-0 to perform to prototypical haulage capabilities. In my own experience at this moment in time,my best performance from an 8F comes from a Hornby O1 which IMHO is a stunner in both looks and performance.Admittedly,I have not tested it to destruction.Hopefully,I never will