Class 66 in OO Gauge - New Announcement

[James Makin]

I believe it’s definitely a worthy discussion to have, I think to let people make their own mind up!

 

I’ve a reasonable amount of modelling experience behind me (I‘ve remotored many locos and scratchbuild my buildings) but based on what I’ve seen I wouldn’t try tackling a Hattons 66 purely as it’s putting drills through the very key parts affecting the good running of your model forever more - a lot of pressure there! I’ve been running exhibition layouts long enough to learn the old mantra of ‘if it doesn’t run properly - it’s coming off’ to know there’s a lot riding on perfect performance! 
 

In the back of my mind if I’d truly bodged the repair to make it unsalvageable then it’s dodgy ground over whether you can return it, and you’re probably going on goodwill alone if you wreck it yourself, are Hattons truly no-quibbles on all returns if a modeller has gone rogue?

 

I feel for the Hattons guys, I’ve met them and they’re a smashing bunch of lads who wouldn’t have wanted this cloud to hang over their top release, however as a business I think they probably ought to be accepting now that each loco needs to be hand tested before despatch just to reduce the volume of new customers adding further negative experiences to these threads, they need some good news stories here!

 

The running is a significant part of any RTR model, in different sector, but my Ford Focus got recalled for a new head gasket that had a shoddy design - if I was Hattons I’d be looking into the cost of replacement bogie parts for models already sold and just putting a down to earth human message out there now that ‘don’t worry, we know we’ve got some issues but it’s our first RTR diesel, we’re working as hard as we can on getting a permanent fix during these pandemic conditions and for now we’ll hand-test each 66, bear with us while we do so’! 
 

I’m very much looking forward to buying some original EWS versions once they get over these issues for good and I’m confident the guys will work something out given a bit of time! 
 

Cheers,

James

[No Decorum]

18 hours ago, Edna Clouds said:

No, go for it Eddie. I truly agree with the people who demand a £150 model to work perfectly from the box, however there are also those of us who quite enjoy a bit of a fiddle with something that's not quite right and get a great deal of enjoyment from fixing them. So don't cast us out chaps please! 

Currently, I'm on a boat in Hebden Bridge off which the propeller has fallen this afternoon: how I wish that fixing that was as easy as sorting out a Hatton's 66 wobble! Hey-ho!

Thankfully not in mid-ocean or you wouldn’t be here telling us about it. You’d have been sunk by a container ship from China full of model railway stuff. 

[Rebuilt 37]

On 31/07/2020 at 11:16, Eddie R v2.0 said:

But this is my point. You have had to take a Dremmel to a brand new “ready to run” loco just to get it to run properly. Not everyone has the time/skill/knowledge to do this on a loco that costs £150. I’ve never had to resort to this sort of work to get any Bachmann/Hornby/Dapol/Vitrains loco to run properly. 
 

Cheers

I think there comes a point when you can have just too much detail & too many features on an 00 gauge locomotive.

As regards the Class 66, the Hornby model has too little detail & for me, the Hattons 66 has too much making it prone to damage & problems. I'm happy with the Bachmann offering.

Just my opinion. Others may disagree, possibly quite vehemently.

[YesTor]

10 hours ago, Hilux5972 said:

This argument is getting quite boring.

 

7 hours ago, rob D2 said:

Principle isn’t the same at all.

Modifying is taking something that actually works and adding value to it......not fixing poor design , manufacturing and QC.

 

@rob D2 I'm kind of with you on this, but to be fair maybe what @Hilux5972 is essentially getting at is that this entire argument is becoming at best quite tiresome and repetitive. 

 

Best

Al

[YesTor]

3 hours ago, James Makin said:

If I was Hattons I’d be looking into the cost of replacement bogie parts for models already sold...

 

I, for one, would applaud a move such as this in spades...  @Hattons Dave

 

Best 

Al 

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by YesTor

[rob D2]

3 minutes ago, YesTor said:

 

 

@rob D2 I'm kind of with you on this, but to be fair maybe what @Hilux5972 is essentially getting at is that this entire argument is becoming at best quite tiresome and repetitive. 

 

Best

Al

Very true, but that’s how the internet works I guess.

i like tomatoes , I prefer cucumber, well I like tomatoes, nah I like cucumber.....repeat until death or senility intervene 

[YesTor]

Whilst on the subject of bogies, has anyone dismantled the bogie assembly on any of these?  I'm looking at mine and there appears to be six clips holding the baseplate in place over the axles, or maybe it's one solid piece with just two clips...  fairly difficult to tell (without breaking it)... 

 

Al 

Edited August 1, 2020 by YesTor

[drs37038]

Has anyone asked hattons about the colour of 66623 since its release, just wondering what there response was after the picture they published on social media last week showing the colour difference

[TomScrut]

37 minutes ago, drs37038 said:

Has anyone asked hattons about the colour of 66623 since its release, just wondering what there response was after the picture they published on social media last week showing the colour difference

 

I asked on a Facebook post and got no reply.

[newbryford]

13 hours ago, Hilux5972 said:

We are modellers after all! Not box openers. 

 

To do some modelling, I generally open the box first....

 

2 hours ago, rob D2 said:

 

i like tomatoes , I prefer cucumber, well I like tomatoes, nah I like cucumber.....

 

I don't like tomatoes or cucumbers.

[Hilux5972]

11 hours ago, bartram108 said:

If you're not interested in this thread then why bother reading it?

Who said im not interested in this thread? I like opening it to see people’s videos and images of their locos. 

[rob D2]

1 hour ago, newbryford said:

 

To do some modelling, I generally open the box first....

 

 

I don't like tomatoes or cucumbers.

Well, there is no pleasing you then ....

 

[Edna Clouds]

7 hours ago, No Decorum said:

Thankfully not in mid-ocean or you wouldn’t be here telling us about it. You’d have been sunk by a container ship from China full of model railway stuff. 

Happily no contact with ship from China made! More happily, a dry dock not far away, so a bit of a pull on the ropes for a bit giving much amusement to the passers by. A two hour job to fix it with 'proper' lock nuts and a pin and away home! Back tomorrow in the playpen with the fabulous class 66s. Great joy!

[YesTor]

12 hours ago, bartram108 said:

If you're not interested in this thread then why bother reading it?

 

Perhaps some of us keep on returning in the hope of finding something new and inspiring...?   

Edited August 1, 2020 by YesTor

[classy52]

Ok I'm a box opener & I don't want to do sh!t with a £150 or more priced locomotive (but in my case it would be £265 as I only buy sound fitted), we are talking about serious money here and if paying that still requires me to modify the product to run properly then I'm not having it.

My sense &  wallet spoke & I haven't purchased any until Hattons can assure me it does run out of the box without bits falling off and then requiring extensive modification to work as it should.

Fantastic looking product but poor execution and hopefully Hattons learn from it and deliver on their promises in the future and I'll end up buying tonnes of them...I play the lottery on Wednesdays & Saturdays not when I buy a new tooled diesel locomotive.

Edited August 1, 2020 by classy52

[adb968008]

Perhaps this is an appropriate juncture to point out, that prior to Hattons announcing the Class 66, the RRP of the Bachmann version was c£169 and the Hornby (R3573) was £100.99.

 

Both companies have since reduced the price of new class 66’s as we’ve seen..£74.99 and £149.

[newbryford]

2 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

Perhaps this is an appropriate juncture to point out, that prior to Hattons announcing the Class 66, the RRP of the Bachmann version was c£169 and the Hornby (R3573) was £100.99.

 

Both companies have since reduced the price of new class 66’s as we’ve seen..£74.99 and £149.

 

And you can buy Bachmann 66s for £70 now...

https://www.modelrailwaysdirect.co.uk/locomotive-diesel-electric/Bachmann-32-738-class-66-66711-sence-gbrf-aggregates/

 

 

[TomScrut]

2 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

Both companies have since reduced the price of new class 66’s as we’ve seen..£74.99 and £149.

 

I'd be interested to know how many Bachmann 66s have sold recently at near RRP/little discount. I haven't looked the side they are on. Mostly because the only one I particularly want is the rainbow one (66720) and it's £150+ second hand.

[YesTor]

9 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

Perhaps this is an appropriate juncture to point out, that prior to Hattons announcing the Class 66, the RRP of the Bachmann version was c£169 and the Hornby (R3573) was £100.99.

 

Both companies have since reduced the price of new class 66’s as we’ve seen..£74.99 and £149.

 

Indeed, just this evening I've seen Bachmann 66s discounted to as low as £69.99 brand new.  I think that's the lowest price I've seen them priced at in around a decade.

Edited August 1, 2020 by YesTor

[TomScrut]

1 minute ago, newbryford said:

 

And you can buy Bachmann 66s for £70 now...

https://www.modelrailwaysdirect.co.uk/locomotive-diesel-electric/Bachmann-32-738-class-66-66711-sence-gbrf-aggregates/

 

 

 

That's an anomaly though most are over £100 still. For some reason that loco has struggled it would seem. Rails and s few others gave been trying to shift them at £90 etc for a while now. One would think with it being a celeb that it would do well although if I am honest I don't particularly like the livery.

 

I made the decision earlier today when playing trains I don't need any more 66s other than maybe a DB one, GBRF a no at least (6 GBRF and 1 FL is my tally), otherwise normally at £70 it would be hard to resist and if it was a plain DB red one it would be bought.

 

[newbryford]

3 minutes ago, TomScrut said:

 

That's an anomaly though most are over £100 still. For some reason that loco has struggled it would seem. Rails and s few others gave been trying to shift them at £90 etc for a while now. One would think with it being a celeb that it would do well although if I am honest I don't particularly like the livery.

 

I made the decision earlier today when playing trains I don't need any more 66s other than maybe a DB one, GBRF a no at least (6 GBRF and 1 FL is my tally), otherwise normally at £70 it would be hard to resist and if it was a plain DB red one it would be bought.

 

 

Ok - we'll go up to £75 for a DB branded ex-EWS one...

https://www.modelrailwaysdirect.co.uk/locomotive-diesel-electric/Bachmann-32-737-class-66-66065-ex-ews-dbs-branding-weathered/

 

At those sort of prices, repainting/renumbering becomes a good option (for those that feel up to it)

Edited August 1, 2020 by newbryford

[TomScrut]

1 minute ago, newbryford said:

 

Ok - we'll go up to £75 for a DB branded ex-EWS one...

https://www.modelrailwaysdirect.co.uk/locomotive-diesel-electric/Bachmann-32-737-class-66-66065-ex-ews-dbs-branding-weathered/

 

Hahahaha yes I saw that too. Very good value. Not ideal for me as I would like pristine and I'd prefer red TBH but at that price beggars can't be choosers springs to mind.

[TomScrut]

Weirdly enough, have Bachmann made the opposite mistake with their forthcoming 66413? The orange looks quite dark, or is the real thing going to be repainted?

[DRS Crewe On A Mission]

1 hour ago, TomScrut said:

Weirdly enough, have Bachmann made the opposite mistake with their forthcoming 66413? The orange looks quite dark, or is the real thing going to be repainted?

 

I don't mean to go off topic but I will for the sake of confirming that Bachmann are now producing 419 in the darker G&W Orange colour scheme, and not 413 as originally planned. This change in decision over the colour and running number were made a few months ago and I believe the Bachmann website has also been updated to reflect this change. 

 

Hope this helps. 

 

Kind Regards, 

 

Danny. 

[TomScrut]

7 hours ago, DRS Crewe On A Mission said:

Bachmann website has also been updated to reflect this change. 

 

Thanks I was looking at retailers.