Hornby king

[DCB]

It's not washed out, it's "scale colour" designed to be viewed from 10 feet away.

Its genuine mid 1970s Barry Scrapyard Green.

[B15nac]

Looks like there's some new Kings in stock at Hornby

 

Regards Neil

[B15nac]

See some pictures of these have gone up on some websites they look good

 

Kind regards Neil

[gwrrob]

See some pictures of these have gone up on some websites they look good

 

Kind regards Neil

 

Do you think the green has improved, I'm not sure.

 

 

[G-BOAF]

Do you think the green has improved, I'm not sure.

 

 

R3516_3283449_Qty1_1.jpg

 

Not particularly, especially when compared with the recent Castles which are much improved from earliest REF issues (Wellingon especially). Why on earth is the King different (assuming they are also REF) - either way, whichever factory needs to be pulled into line in terms of colour/finish.

https://hattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net/products/R3454_3197051_Qty1_1.jpg

Edited March 16, 2018 by G-BOAF

[Black 5 Bear]

The finish of the latest GWR King's doesn't appear to be any better than R3331 King James the 1st. The main difference being the recent incarnation are nearly £190 at RRP.

Up until recently Kernow model centre had KJ for £69.99.

Apart from the blue e/c, most variants can be purchased from around the £99 Mark.

How long before these are discounted,the market is currently awash with this class of loco ?

Edited March 16, 2018 by Black 5 Bear

[The Fatadder]

I had been giving serious thought to upgrading my existing kings to the new post war release if they had fixed the green, or at the very least adding a 4th to the fleet. Looking at that green it’s as bad as ever, worse even in that he lining appears to have deteriorated

Oh well money saved...

[Ian Hargrave]

If the above images are an accurate representation of the verismo model livery (not wanting to sound like Jezza Corbyn) it would appear that supplies of sagebrush green paint are still plentiful in China.Mind you,their paint over there does last an awfully long time as the current Terracotta Warriors rather wonderful exhibition in Liverpool will attest.....still paint on 'em chaps after 2K years and a bit.But it's mainly red that's left .No green that I could spot.We shall see....

[40F]

Do you think the green has improved, I'm not sure.

 

 

R3516_3283449_Qty1_1.jpg

 

 

No but it `s tender looks big

[Ian Hargrave]

The finish of the latest GWR King's doesn't appear to be any better than R3331 King James the 1st. The main difference being the recent incarnation are nearly £190 at RRP.

Up until recently Kernow model centre had KJ for £69.99.

Apart from the blue e/c, most variants can be purchased from around the £99 Mark.

How long before these are discounted,the market is currently awash with this class of loco ?

Depends upon how many in the current tranche.Discounts on other "Final Day" models are hard to come by ATM .Hornby appear to be keeping a tighter grip on their distribution (as opposed to quality control) for now at least.Depends upon who blinks first.Let's wait and see.

[Black 5 Bear]

On looking at the posted photograph of R3516 from Hattons, it appears that the mark on top of the boiler behind the chimney (common on the R3408/9) is still present.

I think Ray of Silver Sidelines fame, highlighted this fault, caused by poor packaging.

Disappointing to say the least that the paint and the latter issue haven't been addressed !

Edited March 17, 2018 by Black 5 Bear

[G-BOAF]

On looking at the posted photograph of R3516 from Hattons, it appears that the mark on top of the boiler behind the chimney (common on the R3408/9) is still present.

I think Ray of Silver Sidelines fame, highlighted this fault, caused by poor packaging.

Disappointing to say the least that the paint and the latter issue haven't been addressed !

And to think that the internet raves about the 'ice block' packaging, because it looks cool and holds models so firmly, but I have seldom seen criticisms of the DAMAGE that HARD plastic does to model finish or indeed the body itself if something is very slightly tight or out of place [1]. With expanded polystyrene plus tissue paper[2], while care was needed in extracting the models[3], the actual material has sufficient give to prevent impact or paint damage.

 

[1] I had to look through an entire Modelzone stock worth of an 'a' version of Evening Star to find one where the rear cab roof corners were not folded back on themselves due to the inflexible packaging. Never a problem with expanded poly, although subsequent releases of the 9F do seem to have been OK.

[2] which online video reviews also seem to slate and make a point about throwing away, seemingly ignoring the purpose for its presence.

[3] for me the best packaging was Hornby’s ‘split’ packaging which dismantles around the model. OK there are some storeis on here about models falling out, but if done on a table/workbench and not in mid-air (i.e. taking care!), this shoudl not be a problem. With transit brackets in place, no damage can occur.

 

Rant over.

[robmcg]

....

[3] for me the best packaging was Hornby’s ‘split’ packaging which dismantles around the model. OK there are some storeis on here about models falling out, but if done on a table/workbench and not in mid-air (i.e. taking care!), this shoudl not be a problem. With transit brackets in place, no damage can occur.

 

....

 

Not a rant at all. I like the two-part expanded foam type too but it fails completely if not used in conjunction with many and various foam inserts. It is a complete horror story buying a 2-part foam-wrapped s/h Schools or 4MT 4-6-0 for export to NZ, or delivery anywhere,  it is all but impossible to prevent such models moving inside the foam enclosure, chimneys, cabs, smokeboxes, buffers, smokebox darts, domes, cab windows, all very vulnerable.

 

Although Bachmann's older single foam enclosure with soft tissue was annoying for re-use, it in my experience allowed the best protection from mail and courier handling, OTOH try to buy an undamaged s/h Bachmann Standard 2-6-4T and you might have to look very hard. The plastic surround for the smokebox front is a complete riddle to re-insert, requiring a university degree in package-sequencing. I'm not sure if your average seller quite has this skill.

 

I think one of the most amusing packages is the early Duchess foam one-piece by Hornby where you have to bring the cab out first and release the inner smoke deflector... 

 

To be honest I am very impressed by the thoroughness of recent formed-plastic packaging, given the relatively short production runs these days, it must be a considerable portion of production and labour costs.

 

The way reviewers tend to throw packaging away suggests to me that few have the issue of storing models high on their list of priorities.

 

edit. and p.s. the early Hornby West Country/BoB packaging was a good test of front lamp-holder integrity, a few degrees away from exactly parallel extraction and oops...   

Edited March 17, 2018 by robmcg

[brushman47544]

On looking at the posted photograph of R3516 from Hattons, it appears that the mark on top of the boiler behind the chimney (common on the R3408/9) is still present.

I think Ray of Silver Sidelines fame, highlighted this fault, caused by poor packaging.

Disappointing to say the least that the paint and the latter issue haven't been addressed !

Could these Kings have been made at the same time as the earlier batch and held back for some reason, such as a decision on livery and loco number? Would explain the colour and packaging problem.

[The Stationmaster]

Could these Kings have been made at the same time as the earlier batch and held back for some reason, such as a decision on livery and loco number? Would explain the colour and packaging problem.

 

Certainly makes me wonder.  Hornby has been steering away from Year 3 models in the last year or so but here we are with Year 3 'Kings' coming into a pretty well sated market where prices iff earlier models have continued to fall.  While that's a typical marketing error of Hornby's past years it does seem odd that they have repeated it with the 'King' when they were dumping remaining stocks of earlier models long before Year 3 catalogue listings were even on the horizon.

Edited March 18, 2018 by The Stationmaster

[gwrrob]

At least Hornby should be congratulated in releasing a King in a different livery to the usual fodder and think out of the box for once. Perhaps someone at Hornby was at this weekend's SVR gala and seen how nice 6024 looks in blue too. Not everyone models 1930's Great Western.

 

[Ian Hargrave]

Certainly makes me wonder.  Hornby has been steering away from Year 3 models in the last year or so but here we are with Year 3 'Kings' coming into a pretty well sated market where prices iff earlier models have continued to fall.  While that's a typical marketing error of Hornby's past years it does seem odd that they have repeated it with the 'King' when they were dumping remaining stocks of earlier models long before Year 3 catalogue listings were even on the horizon.

It is odd,isn't it ? I'm hesitant to draw any conclusion with regard to the green but from what I see online....and that in itself is a tricky one......then there is no evidence that the livery improvement demonstrated with the latest release Star and Castle has been similarly applied here.I'll be interested to see one up close and personal.But for now.....judging by a trawl through King stocks on the Rails website......the latest offerings look the same as the rest of the gang.We wait until someone gets a hands on.

[coachmann]

When it came to LMS crimson lake, Hornby showed that where there is a will, things can change, and so they contacted people for assistance. 'Sir William Stanier' was the result. To date, Hornby has not shown the same determination to adopt a better GWR/BR green. 

 

When I repainted the locos below, exactly the same green was used on the 'King' and 'Hall', and like LMS crimson lake, the green I and other professionals use is chameleon and changes in different lighting conditions just as it does on the real thing. This is without taking into consideration other factors like film emulsion, camera exposure and colour temperature....

 

 

Undergoing detailing....An as-purchased 'Hall' in Hornby green...

 

Edited March 18, 2018 by coachmann

[brushman47544]

When it came to LMS crimson lake, Hornby showed that where there is a will, things can change, and so they contacted people for assistance. 'Sir William Stanier' was the result. To date, Hornby has not shown the same determination to adopt a better GWR/BR green. 

 

When I repainted the locos below, exactly the same green was used on the 'King' and 'Hall', and like LMS crimson lake, the green I and other professionals use is chameleon and changes in different lighting conditions just as it does on the real thing. This is without taking into consideration other factors like film emulsion, camera exposure and colour temperature....

 

WEB King repaint.jpg

WEB Hall 7.jpg

WEB Hall 9.jpg

 

Undergoing detailing....An as-purchased 'Hall' in Hornby green...

WEB Hall 1.jpg

Superb painting. That unrepainted Hall says it all really.

[G-BOAF]

Not a rant at all. I like the two-part expanded foam type too but it fails completely if not used in conjunction with many and various foam inserts. It is a complete horror story buying a 2-part foam-wrapped s/h Schools or 4MT 4-6-0 for export to NZ, or delivery anywhere,  it is all but impossible to prevent such models moving inside the foam enclosure, chimneys, cabs, smokeboxes, buffers, smokebox darts, domes, cab windows, all very vulnerable.

 

I DID experience a damaged Castle with the split packaging as I carried it (in hand baggage) home from Australia, although damage entirely due to the hard plastic front piece. Somewhere along the way, the loco moved forward slightly in the packaging and crushed the corner of the cab roof. However my OWN FAULT for not insisting the transit brackets were refitted in the shop. This said, quite why a small 'bubble' was not left in the front piece to prevent contact on one of the most fragile pieces of the model, I don't know.

Having purchased at RRP in AUD, this was not a cheap model, and the damage was visible in terms of a white line on the corner of the cab roof. I basically arrived at Heathrow with a scrap model (or scrap for what I wanted to do with it...)

HOWEVER - it spawned a new project... which, after two years, I hope to be able to report more on in the next few weeks.

 

So, in summary - split packaging FINE if assembled/used properly. I agree its a faff, BUT does work when faffed with! Unlike this vacuum formed 'ice block/cube' unforgiving rubbish, which as my Evening Star story demonstrates, destroys a model even if used properly!!

Edited March 19, 2018 by G-BOAF

[B15nac]

Has anyone seen one of these new releases in the flesh yet?

 

Kind regards Neil

[Vacuum]

I would be surprised if the NRM were to agree to 6000 being painted in GW livery as it is quite a long way from being in the condition it was in at 31 December 1947 let alone how it was when built. a goodly chunk of it is of BR vintage, the boiler, front end of the frames, inside cylinders while it also has the final pattern double chimney and final version of superheating and cylinder lubrication.  In fact if anything I suspect its only authentic livery for its mechanical condition is with the second BR emblem and not the early one. 

 

In my view it would not make preservation sense to paint an engine which has some fairly major components less than 60 years old into a livery it could have worn over 66 years ago.  Hornby might well do it on a model but somehow I hope that the NRM don't do it with the real thing.

Edit to correct typo.

 

Sorry to raise this so belatedly but I recently came across my platform ticket which enabled me to view KGV at Kensington Olympia during her Return to Steam runs during October 1971.

 

I am attaching a copy and from the photo it will be observed that, apart from the tapered buffers, the loco is in its final condition (including the later pattern double chimney) yet the tender bears the cycling lion emblem. The same photo is reproduced in  G.C. Wood's "6000 King George V a chronology" published by the 6000 Locomotive Association in May 1972. In that publication the photo is credited to B.R. Western Region and is dated January 1957.

 

Said photo would appear to indicate that KGV did indeed run in her final form (apart from the tapered buffers) with the  earlier B.R. emblem although presumably for a short time. However as the photo appears to be an official B.R. portrait I suppose it is possible that the tender was paired with the loco for photographic purposes only.

 

Views anyone?

 

[Silver Sidelines]

You have one answer - the offical BR picture was taken in 1957 (with Early Emblem) and appears to have been reused on your ticket?

 

I am pretty sure that for its final years in revenue earning service the engine would have been paired with a tender displayng a Late Crest.  If you want to know what happened when it was pensioned off to Bulmers you will need pictures (off Flickr?)

 

Views anyone?

 

.

[Vacuum]

You have one answer - the offical BR picture was taken in 1957 (with Early Emblem) and appears to have been reused on your ticket?

 

I am pretty sure that for its final years in revenue earning service the engine would have been paired with a tender displayng a Late Crest.  If you want to know what happened when it was pensioned off to Bulmers you will need pictures (off Flickr?)

 

 

Yes, like all her classmates she appeared in her final revenue earning service years with tenders displaying the later crest, I believe from at some point in1957 onwards. 

 

The point I was trying to make, in response to the Stationmaster's comments, was that there is at least a possibility she also appeared before then in her final condition (but still then with tapered buffers) with the earlier crest, albeit briefly.

 

The livery in which she appeared when I saw her in 1971(with the early crest) was the same which was applied in 1968 when Bulmers paid for her restoration. The 6000LA publication to which I referred says that the Curator of the Transport Museum, Clapham (which then retained direct control of the loco.) insisted that the loco be painted and lined out as she would have been at the time of her last modification and also states that the later pattern double chimney was fitted in December 1956

[MG 7305]

With reference to the detailing of 6947. I should point out that the drain on the LHS coming from the oil pipe cover should not be there. Such a drain is indeed on the RHS, driver's side but it comes from the vacuum ejector exhaust pipe, not the oil pipes. The oil pipes each have a shut off cock but are subject to boiler pressure and have no need of a drain.

 

Best regards