Realtrack Class 156

[GEOEng03]

15 hours ago, charliepetty said:

Whats the name please, as I got a SAE Padded envelope about 3 weeks ago, it had no note saying what is was for, was that you.    'From Newton Abbott'

 

If it is sorry but I am talking to 50 people per week and despatching 60+ parcels per week.

 

Charlie

Hi Charlie,

That is me. Have PM'd you details etc...

Cheers

[GEOEng03]

15 hours ago, charliepetty said:

Whats the name please, as I got a SAE Padded envelope about 3 weeks ago, it had no note saying what is was for, was that you.    'From Newton Abbott'

 

If it is sorry but I am talking to 50 people per week and despatching 60+ parcels per week.

 

Charlie

Hi Charlie,

Yes that sounds like it could be me - Kingsteignton.  Sorry, I thought I had dropped a note in it!

 

Appreciate you are busy. have dropped you a PM.

Cheers - Bryn

[Rammstein2609]

Hi All

 

I thought it would be worthwhile adding a few photos of my latest two Class 156's to this thread since they're in a livery Realtrack haven't done yet.

 

 

These beauties have been resprayed by Rainbow Railways and look stunning in the Scotrail Swoosh livery numbered 156485 and 156457.  All I need now is another Barbie livery unit and two Spotrail units to complete my 156 fleet for operating over 3 time periods.

 

 

 

Cheers

Martin

[Daddyman]

Thanks for sharing that. This is the one livery I'd buy. The masking lines look very good. I wonder how smooth the finish is, but RR's photos never quite show models in a light where that can be judged. 

 

Were the front window surrounds ever black? 

[Rammstein2609]

2 hours ago, Daddyman said:

Thanks for sharing that. This is the one livery I'd buy. The masking lines look very good. I wonder how smooth the finish is, but RR's photos never quite show models in a light where that can be judged. 

 

Were the front window surrounds ever black? 

Good catch on the window frames, it’s something I never specified when I asked RR to repaint for me as I never actually thought about it.  Something for me to address before fitting the etched windscreen wipers.

 

As for the paint finish, it’s silky smooth, as good as a factory finished model I’d say.  I believe RR spray a base colour then the model is setup in a jig inside a special printing machine where the livery is then effectively printed onto the model giving a consistent finish since the machine works from artwork downloaded from a computer.  This means there are no blurry masked lines between colours and no ‘steps’ between colours which are usually caused by a build up of multiple coats of paint.

 

Here is a crude close up of a section of the livery to show how clean it is:

 

Cheers

Martin

[adb968008]

I have the Northern 156 by Rainbow, and totally agree the finish is better than many rtr.

 

Not a trace of the original livery, no blurring edges, its crisp and sharp all round.

 

i’d love to see the technicalities of how they do it, as it doesn't feel like a conventional respray at all.  The price is pretty good too.

 

 

[G-BOAF]

What is the general opinion on the 156 vs 158. I'm weiging up getting one or other for nestalgia reasons!

I was looking at some Rapido coaches on the Rails website and they are around £85each! Therefore for two powered units, the 156 seems a bit on the cheap side. Is the 156 of similar Rapido finesse, or is it simplified for the UK price point?

[MRDBLUE17]

Hi G-Boaf,

 

Just my opinion of course but the 156 is an excellent model, with so much added detail you will not be disappointed. I’ve got 4 and they are all nice smooth runners with superb lighting functions. If you like sound and can stretch your budget Bifs sounds with numerous destinations etc add a lot of play value. Bachmanns 158 is a nice model too but the 156 has a lot more separate detail parts, especially in the underframe area. 
 

Hope that helps?

 

thanks

Mark

[G-BOAF]

1 hour ago, MRDBLUE17 said:

Hi G-Boaf,

 

Just my opinion of course but the 156 is an excellent model, with so much added detail you will not be disappointed. I’ve got 4 and they are all nice smooth runners with superb lighting functions. If you like sound and can stretch your budget Bifs sounds with numerous destinations etc add a lot of play value. Bachmanns 158 is a nice model too but the 156 has a lot more separate detail parts, especially in the underframe area. 
 

Hope that helps?

 

thanks

Mark

I presume you don't mean sound decoder will change the headboard blind at the front?

I can't justify sound on this model - I can barely justify the model (doesn't really fit my heritage line era - yet), but my first brand new model as a child was supposed to be a Lima 156 in "Super Sprinter" livery - our local shop had the dummy car, brand new and boxed, and was supposed to order in the motor car, which proved impossible - presumably the single unpowered car had been boxed and supplied to him in error; I never got my 156! So now is the chance to rectify!

[GordonC]

11 minutes ago, G-BOAF said:

I presume you don't mean sound decoder will change the headboard blind at the front?

I can't justify sound on this model - I can barely justify the model (doesn't really fit my heritage line era - yet), but my first brand new model as a child was supposed to be a Lima 156 in "Super Sprinter" livery - our local shop had the dummy car, brand new and boxed, and was supposed to order in the motor car, which proved impossible - presumably the single unpowered car had been boxed and supplied to him in error; I never got my 156! So now is the chance to rectify!

 

The sound decoders have PA announcements on them that you can hear coming out the speaker. The headboard blind at the front doesn't change easily. Both the Realtrack Class 156 and Bachmann Class 158 are superb models, probably the best modern image DMUs available.

[MRDBLUE17]

36 minutes ago, G-BOAF said:

I presume you don't mean sound decoder will change the headboard blind at the front?

I can't justify sound on this model - I can barely justify the model (doesn't really fit my heritage line era - yet), but my first brand new model as a child was supposed to be a Lima 156 in "Super Sprinter" livery - our local shop had the dummy car, brand new and boxed, and was supposed to order in the motor car, which proved impossible - presumably the single unpowered car had been boxed and supplied to him in error; I never got my 156! So now is the chance to rectify!

Hi, 

 

As Gordon has already replied no the destinations don’t change. Strange coincidence I got the 156 for my 10th Birthday, it was a good model back then but you’ll certainly enjoy the new model. Have you seen the Hattons reductions on them at the moment? Hope that helps

 

cheers

Mark

[giz]

3 hours ago, G-BOAF said:

I presume you don't mean sound decoder will change the headboard blind at the front?

I can't justify sound on this model - I can barely justify the model (doesn't really fit my heritage line era - yet), but my first brand new model as a child was supposed to be a Lima 156 in "Super Sprinter" livery - our local shop had the dummy car, brand new and boxed, and was supposed to order in the motor car, which proved impossible - presumably the single unpowered car had been boxed and supplied to him in error; I never got my 156! So now is the chance to rectify!

ISTR that Lima sold the dummy car singly so that it could be added to the 2 car unit to make a 3 car as running in Scotland during their early days.

[G-BOAF]

35 minutes ago, giz said:

ISTR that Lima sold the dummy car singly so that it could be added to the 2 car unit to make a 3 car as running in Scotland during their early days.

WOW! Very interesting, presumably this is an example:

https://www.hattons.co.uk/204209/lima_l205053_hd02_class_156_dummy_car_52470_in_br_provincial_blue_pre_owned_detailed_with_passen/stockdetail.aspx

 

You have solved a personal mystery that has been ongoing since around 1992!

 

Now will Realtrack sell one-car additions for similar purposes... :-p

[GordonC]

11 hours ago, G-BOAF said:

WOW! Very interesting, presumably this is an example:

https://www.hattons.co.uk/204209/lima_l205053_hd02_class_156_dummy_car_52470_in_br_provincial_blue_pre_owned_detailed_with_passen/stockdetail.aspx

 

You have solved a personal mystery that has been ongoing since around 1992!

 

Now will Realtrack sell one-car additions for similar purposes... :-p

 

Yes, they did, and I had one of those too to couple up to the set I had 156480

[APT Fan]

Why are the Realtrack sound decoders so expensive? I mean, you are forced into buying two decoders due to the DMU setup but that shouldn't justify a charge of £160-£180 just to add sound when the actual hardware costs are what £20 maximum? I understand time has gone up to make the sound files etc. but these prices are way over the top just for the sound. That's on top of purchasing the actual model which is arguably justifiable due to its quality. £400 plus for a two car DMU with sound seems an awful lot to me.

[BR Blue]

Good luck with buying the hardware for £20.

[Dungrange]

41 minutes ago, APT Fan said:

when the actual hardware costs are what £20 maximum? 

 

Where can you buy a sound decoder for £20?  A budget non-sound decoder will be around £20.  I think the cheapest sound decoders are the Hornby TTS ones at closer to £40, Zimo sound decoders are around £100 and ESU Loksound decoders are around £120.  The Class 156 is fitted with two ESU Loksound decoders, which is what gives the model it's price tag.  The hardware costs a lot more than £20.

 

Sound decoders are more expensive than non sound decoders because they need to have memory to store the sound files and an amplifier to drive the speaker, which is not necessary on a non-sound decoder.

 

If you've already got a sound decoder, then you'll be able to find someone to re-blow in for you with a new sound project, but that will typically set you back £15 or £20, which is to meet the costs of providing the sound files.

[charliepetty]

44 minutes ago, APT Fan said:

Why are the Realtrack sound decoders so expensive? I mean, you are forced into buying two decoders due to the DMU setup but that shouldn't justify a charge of £160-£180 just to add sound when the actual hardware costs are what £20 maximum? I understand time has gone up to make the sound files etc. but these prices are way over the top just for the sound. That's on top of purchasing the actual model which is arguably justifiable due to its quality. £400 plus for a two car DMU with sound seems an awful lot to me.

I am not quite sure what world you are living in, the cheapest decoders available are TTS from Hornby and they cost around £85.00 for a pair.

 

The Bachmann 158 with sound is around £300.00+

 

Charlie

[John ks]

10 hours ago, APT Fan said:

when the actual hardware costs are what £20 maximum?

 

My understand of APT Fan comment was that the components (hardware) cost less than £20.00

The brains of a Decoder is the PIC chip & these can cost only a few Pounds when bought singularly

The rest of the components on the decoder should only cost a few more Pounds 

When bought in bulk the component cost drops 

I think APT is being generous with the £20.00 price tag

The next cost to make a decoder is the software & I don't know enough to comment on that

John

 

Edited November 30, 2020 by John ks

[Dungrange]

43 minutes ago, John ks said:

The brains of a Decoder is the PIC chip & these can cost only a few Pounds when bought singularly

The rest of the components on the decoder should only cost a few more Pounds

 

Okay, but that is only buying the basic components.  What about the costs for the design of the printed circuit boards?  What about the costs of the manufacture of each decoder (ie the operatives time as well as the cost of the equipment used to assemble your collection of basic components to produce a blank decoder)?  That needs to be allowed for as well in terms of the 'hardware cost'.

 

Once you have the blank decoder, you then need to add the software to make it work, so you need to allow for the cost of developing and testing the software (ie the programmer's time) and the cost of installing this software on the decoder.

 

Then you have storage and transport costs and a margin to cover the company overheads (rent, rates, utility bills, admin staff handling and shipping order etc) and of course some profit for the shareholders (ie of ESU). 

 

The blank decoder is then supplied to Realtrack, who need to record all of the sounds, create the sound project, upload this onto the decoder that they have bought in and fit it to the model.  Realtrack also need to apply a mark-up to cover their overheads as well and of course Realtrack also need to make a profit on the work that they have undertaken.

 

Ultimately, the fact that a few electronic components can be bought for a few pounds isn't really relevant because it's a small part of the overall cost.  If anyone wants to buy a PIC and a handful of other electronic components and make their own sound decoder, there's nothing really stopping them, apart from the fact that they probably don't know how to change these components into a working sound decoder.  They are therefore paying for the knowledge and skills of those who do.  It's really no different from something like a mobile phone.   The basic components can probably also be had for tens of pounds, but that can translate into a product retailing for several hundred pounds for exactly the same reasons.

[TomScrut]

On 29/11/2020 at 23:56, charliepetty said:

TTS from Hornby and they cost around £85.00 for a pair.

 

Which do they even do a 156?

 

Are the new models now available for pre order? The website looks like they are.

 

 

 

[TravisM]

I think a re-run in Scotrail’s Saltaire livery would be most welcome as the original batch are now selling at silly money.

[46444]

On 01/12/2020 at 14:22, jools1959 said:

I think a re-run in Scotrail’s Saltaire livery would be most welcome as the original batch are now selling at silly money.

 

I'd second that. Hopefully Charlie will bring some Festive cheer on a re-release of these...

[richierich]

Any chance of another Neville Hill based 156 in BR Super Sprinter livery?

Edited December 15, 2020 by richierich
Spelling error.

[charliepetty]

1 hour ago, richierich said:

Any chance of another Neville Hill based 156 in BR Super Sprinter livery?

No Sorry,  the Provincial Ones have been done, only a few left.