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I'm not an expert at painting and the thought of painting an intricate area on a £150+ model straight from the box doesn't appeal! I'm sure some people wouldn't think twice about doing it. Getting the blue to be an exact match for the rest of the body would also be very tricky so I'll either wait for them to do a correct version or simply not get one. Currently working out whether to go for the Southern or BR Green one!

A few people have mentioned the incorrect red bufferbeams on the blue 20001. I also am pretty sure this is incorrect. A Pretty basic error which affects the model greatly. I have seen multiple pictures of it ex works and well worked and all feature a blue bufferbeam which in itself is a rare colour. The release of this model is a really nice surprise and I'll certainly purchase at least one but unless they correct this mistake sadly a blue one will have to left. I mentioned this to the stand at the Spalding show and the person I spoke to didn't really seem interested and said they are already on their way so too late now. That is true but I hope it can be corrected in the future. Then again I mentioned the incorrect shade of warning yellow on the Colas 70 (Except 801) and they didn't take note of that either!

The main bodyside appears to be some sort of transfer/vinyl sticker, presumably due to the complex livery. On one side there were multiple dark grey/black marks from the bottom of the body going up and it was the same on every example in the shop. The other side was fine so seems to be an issue at the factory. I don't know if another batch will be done or if it will be a case of take it or leave it. The Colas 47749 was fine and probably all the others will be too that are painted the traditional way, seems the method of applying the livery is the reason. The Bachmann model will obviously be superior but is way out of my price range.

After a long wait the ROG class 47, 47812 has just been released. It is a shame that they didn't use the correct bodyshell with a flush front at one end but to my knowledge they have never used that moulding even though Lima made it as per my Fragonset 47703. The bigger problem is that in going to the shop to collect my pre order one bodyside had multiple blemishes on it. There were about 6 which were too bad to be accepted. It went back to the shop for exchange but it was found that every other model also had the same problem. In the end I had a refund as none of them were good enough. I have looked on the Olivias Trains website and the example on there has a couple of blemishes but not as many as what mine did. It looks like there has been a manufacturing problem with these models then. Has anyone else had the same issue and is a replacement batch likely to be forthcoming from Hornby or will it be a case of take it or leave it? Shame I've been waiting for this for 2 years and then this happens!

Many thanks for your reply. Thanks for the warning about the HM2000, I had my suspicions about it and you have provided some science as to why. It has been taken off my main running circuit and put on a lesser used track and I've had no failures since. Very surprised that a controller that can damage motors has been available for so long and still is! Yeah the DJ 71 is sluggish isn't it! Hornby one much better which makes the light failure using the HM2000 even more annoying but could have been worse! The video clip and suggestions are much appreciated.

I have done some testing today. I have a multi meter so measured the voltage at the rail on full power with no train running and also with one running. The results are: Gaugemaster series DF Not running - 12V Running - 10V HM2000 Not running - 10V Running - 12V Hornby R965 Not running - 23V Running - 15V The Gaugemaster seems to operate the most normally I would say. The HM2000 is unusual that the voltage was higher with a train running than without! Maybe feedback related. As for the R965, those figures seem risky to me! This would explain models being so much faster using this but my Dapol 122 sounded like it was about to explode on full power! Amazed how much power was going to the track and I think if used regularly this would cause many failures? It is only a back up controller on a siding so think it will stay there. The overall view seems to be that Gaugemaster are the best so I will swap the 2 main circuits from the HM2000 to the series DF as it is a much nicer controller to use. It doesn't explain the failures I have had particularly although the power at track with a train running was higher. I think if that seems underpowered I will consider a Gaugemaster model D which as mentioned above provides more amps to the track at the same voltage.

Thanks everyone for your replies. The 17V reference is from the sticker on the bottom of the controller. Says track 1 and 2 17V. I will use a multi meter tomorrow to see what readings come up from the track at various controller settings as well as work through the other suggestions.

Hi everyone, been looking through these forums for a while but this is my first post. I have quite a few different questions so will write it out best I can! I have a fairly large layout with 4 different tracks and would like to know thoughts on the best controller. I have had layouts for over 20 years so have used a fair few but I have concerns about my current setup. Over that 20 year period I have had a Gaugemaster series DF controller. This has been faultless the whole time and it still powers 2 of the tracks. However I felt that it wasn't the most powerful controller. Many older models, Wrenn, Triang and some Lima etc were quite sluggish and having trialled a different controller I realised they had more speed in them. I was given an old Hornby 900 power control controller and this was very powerful and many models seemed much better. The only drawback was it is very bulky to control one track and it had a bit of a fault with the dial. I then decided to get a Hornby HM2000 controller. It seemed OK but the one I bought wasn't perfect and it had some strange characteristics so I bought another one brand new. It has the same curiosities! Having read other topics it seems that is how they operate with a "dead zone" for much of the dial and then the last little bit, dots 13 to 14 the models speed up like mad! I can live with that but I have had multiple loco failures using the controller and I am worried the controller has caused them. The failures are as follows: Hornby Terrier - Smoke coming from motor, burnt out, dead Hornby County - Smoke coming from motor, took apart and back together and runs OK, no sign of damage Dapol Western - Loco stopped, bit of smoke, totally dead including lights Hornby J15 - Loco stopped, completely dead Hornby class 71 - Lights suddenly went out, works fine but no lights They all seem fairly similar faults and could be caused by too much power going to the motor? I believe the Terrier, County and 71 all failed when the controller was on full power. The HM2000 shows the voltage to track being 0-17V, this seems very high so if 17V is going to the track when on full power are failures pretty likely? Obviously I could regulate the power and stay off full but I would rather have a controller which I can use properly without worrying. I find it hard to believe that a current Hornby controller should throw out too much power for a current Hornby model. My Gaugemaster DF shows 0-12V but also max 9.6VA to each track. I am not an expert with electrics but does that mean it doesn't deliver 12V to the track? I have looked at a Model Q 4 track controller and that shows max 12VA to each track so sounds better. So I am looking at what my options are. I want a controller that isn't going to damage any more models but is also powerful enough so older models run at a decent speed. I am a big fan of the Gaugemaster controller, the dial changes the speed throughout the range unlike the HM2000 where most of the turn makes no difference. The model Q or 2 track equivalent is what I'm thinking, is this more powerful than my current series DF one? This also adds the question of feedback controllers (which I believe is what the series DF is). I don't know what difference they make but don't really want a controller that isn't suitable for certain models. My series DF has never damaged any models. Just one last point. I have a DJ models class 71. On the Gaugemaster DF it is pretty slow. On the HM2000 it is even slower. Bizarrely I have a Hornby R965 small controller and it is pretty nippy on there! I have found the R965 is pretty powerful but it lacked the finesse I wanted for a main controller but the power it provides is great. I don't know though if they could damage models too. I have a number so could use those but just interested to hear any views. I have all sorts of models from Hornby Dublo, Wrenn, Triang, Lima, Mainline, Dapol, Bachmann, Hornby etc and continue to buy the current models so some very different mechanisms and technology but it has all been newer models on newer controllers that have been the problem. Sorry for the long message. There are loads of questions in there but if you have any views on just one I would be interested to hear. Many thanks Steven.