Bachmann Press Day - July 2017

[arran]

The cast 20ft container is on the wrong type box but hey ho the original 10 and 40ft containers look good

 

Arran

[toboldlygo]

Dismiss why not ?                  

 

        Ok, in these cases the colour photos are preserved examples, if there are any coloured photos of Thompson's in LNER service they would be much appreciated to be viewed.

        Does  anyone seriously think the quality of the scumbling even slightly compare with the Bachmann effort ?. Bachmann have simply done panels all the same colour with little or no variation between each panel. Teak is a beautiful subtle grained  wood it does not have streaks/lines . Look at the detailed Hornby Gresley coaches from 5 to 10 years ago that is what the graining should look like.

 

10033.jpg

 

10077.jpg

 

20856.jpg

 

a thommo teak 2.jpg

 

1 a thommo.jpg

 

post-3717-0-13520100-1373391592.jpg

 

MFI this looks familiar.

 

1 a MFI.jpg

 

The latest Hornby efforts are even worse.

 

To me the Bachmann efforts look like they have used the sticky back plastic - available in Wilkos

[Brocp]

Dismiss why not ?

 

Ok, in these cases the colour photos are preserved examples, if there are any coloured photos of Thompson's in LNER service they would be much appreciated to be viewed.

Does anyone seriously think the quality of the scumbling even slightly compare with the Bachmann effort ?. Bachmann have simply done panels all the same colour with little or no variation between each panel. Teak is a beautiful subtle grained wood it does not have streaks/lines . Look at the detailed Hornby Gresley coaches from 5 to 10 years ago that is what the graining should look like.

 

10033.jpg

 

10077.jpg

 

20856.jpg

 

a thommo teak 2.jpg

 

1 a thommo.jpg

 

post-3717-0-13520100-1373391592.jpg

 

MFI this looks familiar.

 

1 a MFI.jpg

 

The latest Hornby efforts are even worse.

I'm sure there is a shot in "The Big Fpur In Colour" of a Jubilee pulling a couple of 'teak' Thompsons.

[R Marshall]

Andy,

 

What does the good news on the J72  (ie progress) mean in respect of the Farish N Gauge version, please?

 

Regards,

 

Roy

 

PS any word on the Thompsons in N also, please?

Edited July 6, 2017 by R Marshall

[lochlongside]

Good day Andy,

 

was there no mention of the 94XX ??.....

[Richie Kynaston]

It is increasingly evident that Bachmann are looking at bringing more added value to products and exploring where additional features can increase the appeal of products, a prime example of this has to be the Mark 2F coach range.

 

The latest EP samples were shown as below and the lighting functionality was demonstrated. Each coach contains a circuit board with built-in DCC circuitry so there’s no need to purchase or fit an additional decoder which allows the saloon and guard’s compartment (if appropriate) lighting to be independently controlled. Each coach will have a functioning LED at each end for a tail-lamp, the user can choose whether to fit the oil-lamp or battery-lamp mouldings or a blanking plate. The tail-lamp can be selected to be continuous or flashing (as appropriate to the lamp style chosen). Later variants of the coach will feature central door locking lights by the doors and these are selectable so that only the side of the coach which is at the platform is activated. The DBSO also features directional head and tail lighting and cab lighting.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK-jnGOUin4

 

 

Hi Andy,

I really think Bachmann should be congratulated for the work they put into the media briefings, it was obviously an in-depth day!  The latest modern image coaches and Freightliner wagons look stunning, I'm hoping, looking at your pictures, that there are some available without the CDL images, as they would not have been around in my modelling period!!

 

Impressed as well with the DBSO, although its out of region for me, but the lighting they are now working with looks superb, perhaps a little more work needed to prevent any light leaks into the comparments, but these are only samples I guess.  Andy, did you note from any demos/conversations any comments about the flashing tail lamps, im being super critical here, but it looks like the flash is a bit too slow and with common timings for both on and off - real tail lamps, in my experience, have a quicker flash and a slightly longer 'off' period than 'on'?  Was there any comment, or any suggestion that there is still work to do?  Is it possible to pass the comment back as 'constructive' feedback?  I would add that bringing such features, will likely up the price, but also in my opinion increases value for money, and I think they have done a superb job with these from what I can see!

Richie

[Gilloverland]

Put me down for a J72 or two and I think those Thomson are stunning!

[Ian J.]

Looking at the Thompsons, I'm less troubled by the faux teak, than I am by those garish curtains. I'm still not convinced that printing them on the glazing works, and they all look far too similar. In reality they would have had myriad variations in positioning and bunching. I think that allowing an aftermarket transfer to be applied would have been a better option. But then, when it comes to populating carriages, I'd still prefer to fit my own passengers, or at the very least have pack of passengers included with the carriage that I could fit myself if I wanted to.

 

I'm now awaiting the replies of complaints from those who far prefer such things be done for them...

[Stanley Melrose]

Surely the simple answer to those wondering about the pseudo teak finish on the early samples of the relevant Bachmann coaches is either not to bother buying them or to do so and re-paint them to their satisfaction.

 

I shan't be buying any of them - nor of any of the other items announced because they are irrelevant to my interests but that is beside the point, isn't it?  I'm sure Bachmann will note the criticism and may even take appropriate steps to correct any real or imagined deficiencies but even if they don't, I bet a good few will buy them anyway.

 

And now ------ relax . . .

 

Stan

[John Rich]

Put me down for a J72 or two and I think those Thomson are stunning!

Yep, really looking forward to the J72, multiple orders will be a must.

 

John

[surfsup]

Those Mk2s look frankly Stunning. Yes, they've taken a fair few years since the announcement but this will I'm afraid, blow the Hornby Mk2 D efforts out of the water - No fake solebar, no odd lightbars, bogie detail etc. It's also interesting to see how the 90 will 'ahem' pan out, with the furore around Hornby's 87 pantograph and the likelihood of it being a plastic fixed position only BW Pantograph, this 90 does look to raise the bar even higher.

 

Thanks for the update Andy!

[adb968008]

D'you think IKEA might produce a more plausible result?

Maybe, but it would arrive flat packed, and need an Allen key to put the coach together.

 

The wood effect isn't far off in this 1950's ikea display (ikea museum in Almhult Sweden)

[John M Upton]

As a non DCC user, I find all the bells and whistles on the DBSO very nice but for me, totally unnecessary as I cannot make use of them so a vanilla version (in N scale in my case) is essential to avoid forking out an extra twenty plus quid on internal gubbins that if I do any repaint will be stripped out and binned anyway.

[Horsetan]

To me the Bachmann efforts look like they have used the sticky back plastic - available in Wilkos

Now there is an idea, surely? Sticky-backed faux-teak strips, marketed under the name "Fotique".

[coachmann]

Few professional model painters have mastered teak finish and those who have know what to charge for their time and expertise. The Thompson teak coach is ready built and painted, and that is what you get for around 50 quid.  To me it is a bargain and I can do the lot in brass. Bottom line? I bought Bachmann's...! 

Edited July 6, 2017 by coachmann

[chrisf]

Andy wrote:

 

"The long overdue new tooling for the Class 158 was addressed with a statement that the chassis design is being carried out in parallel with the Class 117 and 121, not necessarily from a total commonality perspective but from a design principle point of view. The drive will be at a low level to keep the passenger area clear with a single motor bogie for each driving car; one decoder will be required per unit to operate all of the DCC functions and a dual speaker set up from one sound decoder to simulate separate engine sounds is under development."

 

My interest in this relates to the 117.  I could never understand why Bachmann's dmus thus far had socking great lumps of metal spilling out of the guard's compartment and into the passenger saloon.  Clearly the 158 does not have a guard's compartment to hide the motor bogie so a rethink is necessary.  I hope that I can be confident of Bachmann's ability to produce an inconspicuous drive mechanism without resorting to the arrangement used in the Dapol 122.

 

Chris   

[phil gollin]

.

 

Well the CADs for the crane look nice, but as Bachmann say all those gears won't work, but I would be more concerned with the cable pulleys.  I'm sure it will look nice, but there will need to be compromises IF they want the jib to elevate.

 

.

[sandwich station]

There's a video on Youtube showing you the technique for scumbling.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg_d9Tim5sM

[The Black Hat]

3. They will do them at the pace which suits their resources, plans and production slots - I didn't see a magic wand in the cabinets yesterday.

 

Will the magic wand be DCC Sound? If not that's something else to add to the wishlist poll....

[The Black Hat]

Put me down for a J72 or two and I think those Thomson are stunning!

 

Agreed - looking at the Birdcage stock with more than envy. The stock is totally wrong for me, and I wont be getting any as its the wrong area - but if Bachmann made a nice ex-NER stock rake, then I think the results would be fantastic. Something like these... in fact that J21 would go well with them.

 

 

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

 The pie chart of 'locomotives by brand' looked interesting, and accords with my perception of shelf occupancy in model shops. Have they got to parity with Hornby overall I wonder (units/net worth of sales, whatever)?

 

 

I'm sure there is a shot in "The Big Four In Colour" of a Jubilee pulling a couple of 'teak' Thompsons.

 I have gone over the images in that book many times for all the valuable information they contain, and don't recall such, but do give a page number if possible please. These vehicles seem to have escaped notice from those few photographers using colour film at the time. Preservation repros of faux teak are just as much models of the prototype as the Bachmann model, and neither is a reference for the prototype.

 

Based on comparisons to good monochrome photos of the 'faux teak' applied to both the Gresley steel panelled and Thompson coaches, my feeling is that the simulated graining and within panel tonal variation effect seen on the prototypes is quite well reproduced on the model. Bachmann could have been more daring in having more tonal contrast between the - let us not forget - faked panels, which the carriage painters produced. But whatever the protoype may have looked like, it might appear a little much on a model and actually repel purchasers? (By evidence of colour photographs the teak construction coaches could have very large variations in colour within one vehicle, with some coach sides quite evidently laid out to give a regular contrasting pattern between panels. It would be very daring to reproduce that in model form. At the end of the day it wasn't a 'livery' but natural tree wood which was what it was.)

 

Never mind all that, I was hoping to see them in the far more useful BR maroon, garnished with bubbling paint, rust streaks and dents.

[Andy Y]

 

 

1. What does the good news on the J72  (ie progress) mean in respect of the Farish N Gauge version, please?

 

 

2. PS any word on the Thompsons in N also, please?

 

1. No idea; they'll let us know in due course I'm sure.

 

2. They're still at the design stage.

 

 

was there no mention of the 94XX ??.....

 

Not specifically but I can advise it's still at the design stage.

 

about the flashing tail lamps, im being super critical here, but it looks like the flash is a bit too slow and with common timings for both on and off - real tail lamps, in my experience, have a quicker flash and a slightly longer 'off' period than 'on'?  Was there any comment, or any suggestion that there is still work to do?  Is it possible to pass the comment back as 'constructive' feedback? 

 

A fair point and I'm sure the comment will have been read here.

 

Do you have any pictures of same ? or, do we have to wait for Kernow to publish ?

 

 

 

Unfortunately not, it was a bit of a cramped environment to get a tripod etc out but the production sample was in the cabinet. I'm sure one will be with Kernow soon for them to publish some pics.

[Hroth]

Maybe, but it would arrive flat packed, and need an Allen key to put the coach together.IMG_2593.JPG

 

The wood effect isn't far off in this 1950's ikea display (ikea museum in Almhult Sweden)

That IKEA room setting looks rather hygge to me, just right for when the nights start to draw in.  Pity its real 50s, rather than the rubbish "retro" stuff you get nowadays.

 

As for the Bachmann teak effect, they seem to have had a better stab at it than Hornbys recent effort!

[chris p bacon]

 These vehicles seem to have escaped notice from those few photographers using colour film at the time. Preservation repros of faux teak are just as much models of the prototype as the Bachmann model, and neither is a reference for the prototype.

 

 (By evidence of colour photographs the teak construction coaches could have very large variations in colour within one vehicle, with some coach sides quite evidently laid out to give a regular contrasting pattern between panels. It would be very daring to reproduce that in model form. At the end of the day it wasn't a 'livery' but natural tree wood which was what it was.)

 

Agree with your post about Faux teak and have to say that the finish could depend on the painter responsible, the modern Thomson repro's don't look right to me and seem a little 'bland' in their finish.

 

Re the second para. When first built, coach builders went to quite a bit of trouble to match teak panels with teak cut from the same stock and reversed. What causes the differences in colour is bleaching that happened after a few years in service to clean the panels up.

 

I'm not sure the criticism is warranted until they're seen in the flesh.

[Revolution Ben]

Bachmann could have been more daring in having more tonal contrast between the - let us not forget - faked panels, which the carriage painters produced. But whatever the protoype may have looked like, it might appear a little much on a model and actually repel purchasers? (By evidence of colour photographs the teak construction coaches could have very large variations in colour within one vehicle, with some coach sides quite evidently laid out to give a regular contrasting pattern between panels.

Hi there,

 

I think this is an interesting point. The difficulty is that tonal variations might look good on one coach, but on, say, a rake of the same types the same tonal changes in the same positions would look odd. In this case, I suspect going slightly bland is better. I'm an N gauge enthusiast, but if I was getting these and wanted some tonal variety I'd be tempted to experiment with a very thin brown wash on random panels here and there to create that effect.

 

Cheers

 

Ben A.