HELJAN UNVEILS ‘OO’ GAUGE 25/3 AND ‘ETHEL’ FOR 2019

[ColinK]

I hope the NEM pocket is at the correct height and that any coupling in it doesn’t droop.

[Clive Mortimore]

1 hour ago, Phil Bullock said:

Not you surely Clive???

 

Can see what you mean looks worse from some angles than others

 

Phil
 

 

Hi Phil

 

With a dab of yellow on the front it might look better. Being all of one colour when we are use to seeing them with yellow can or might be deceiving our eyes.

[Porcy Mane]

21 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

With a dab of yellow on the front it might look better.

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

Birmingham New Street.1977 25263,25253,25274. by Stephen Burdett, on Flickr

 

Hi-Res R0095 by Bill Wright, on Flickr

 

 

 

P

Edited July 3, 2019 by Porcy Mane

[Clive Mortimore]

What are all those rivets to count around the windows?

 

But it must be good it has a etched radiator grille. I like the moulded one at the number two end, one like that at the number one end would look great, but as I say an etched grille makes all the difference.

 

And the rainstrip above the cab has gone walkabouts.

[Phil Bullock]

And so have the buffer beam footsteps!

 

Easy to fix that though....

 

Phil

[Zunnan]

The relationship between the cab door and cab side windows still looks amiss, either the door window is too short or the cab side window is too tall; possibly both, and I think the door aperture itself is a smidge too low which forces its window to be low. Porcys pics show them perfectly, the door window and side windows should be the same height. Those window rivets are also rather heavy handed though nowhere near the level of the Bachy 47, perhaps better to not have them at all. None the less, I'm looking forward to the livery samples.

[Guest JiLo]

Maybe its the angle, but the bodyside windows look a bit too low?

[GordonC]

14 hours ago, JiLo said:

Maybe its the angle, but the bodyside windows look a bit too low?

 

I think they look right in relation to other bodyside features against the photo above  - lined up with the bottom of the cab windows and compared to the bodyside steps

[brushman47544]

16 hours ago, JiLo said:

Maybe its the angle, but the bodyside windows look a bit too low?

 

I don't think they're too low, but rather they are too shallow. The top should be higher up.

[blueeighties]

**New Heljan 00 gauge class 25**

Very happy to reveal the first painted sample of the Heljan class 25, in BR blue livery. What do we think?

[The Ghost of IKB]

Rivets around the windows and tail lights are far too pronounced. Also the cab front rainstrips should be blue not yellow.

Otherwise I like it.

Certainly happy to replace my Bachmann ones with a fleet of these.

[Zunnan]

The underframe captures the class where Bachmann failed miserably, the deep set in solebars really set it off. And the detail around the rear of the bogies really will benefit from some judicial weathering to bring it out, considering how open that area is. Its a shame the diagonal support behind the etched grilles isn't there, that really would make them stand out, but as long as the bodyshell here is open I can see adding them not being beyond the realms of possibility for those who want them. I think the cabside window frames are a bit on the heavy side too, which gets me into what really bugs me about this model...Those heavy rivets and the lack of definition of the windscreen seals, they spoil the face of it a bit, and the more I look at the cabside the more I wonder exactly where things are off.

 

Those rivets around the windscreens, side windows and marker lights, for me at least, really swamp out the look of the model. With weathering they'll only stand out more. And I'm not sure if its the thickness of the paint which is doing it, or those rivets overpowering it, but the seam around the windows really seems to lack that characteristic definition, especially when they got invariably dirty and stood out even more. Something else seems a little bit off with the way the windscreens rake back, I can't quite put my finger on it...Its either the yellow front not going quite straight below the cab windows, which I think and hope is the case as that's an easy fix for production, or there not being quite enough curvature in the nose which means the bottom of the middle window doesn't sit quite far enough forward.

 

I hate to say it but with the acne ridden cab, poor definition to the outline of windscreen seals and out of proportion relationship going on with the cab doors/side windows I feel a little deflated on seeing the painted sample. I really hope there is scope for alterations in those areas as otherwise its shaping up nicely.

[PJ10]

Hi Zunnan,

 

Hmmm. I have to agree with your observations. I too hope that something can be done. As its probably too late for major changes I'd settle for the rivets being corrected and a finer grill with the diagonal support added. Not particularly bothered if this means going back to a moulded grill as long as its fine enough. If there's no changes then I might have to limit myself to an ETHEL. At least the cab fronts won't be that visible between a 37/0 and Mk1s

 

PJ10

[adb968008]

Well the cracks in the headcode box look pretty accurate..

I like the rivetline along the bottom of the cab... that was pronounced..

Edited May 9, 2021 by adb968008

[25901]

Headcode box was not cracked, laminate was failing and I help remove it a few years later.

 

As for the rivet line, 901 at this end was odd due to having a section of another 25/3 grafted on the front to hid a smashed in front. See page 9 to see it after removal.

 

Note. horn grill missing due to opposite end horn button would sometimes jam and a rag was required to shut the bloody thing up lol.

 

Looks like an early run with Alan driving and Terry conducting, I might have been inside kicking the cow to life with Norm and H

[Ian J.]

I hate to say it, bearing in mind the effort going in to make things right, but the front windows, particulary the top of the frame and those rivets, just don't capture the look of the prototype...

[Phil Bullock]

Still cant see any buffer beam footsteps - should be behind the vac hose as per picture of 25901. 

 

 

[Ian J.]

44 minutes ago, Phil Bullock said:

Still cant see any buffer beam footsteps - should be behind the vac hose as per picture of 25901.

 

If you look closely at the front on picture, there are two smaller rectangular indentations in about the right place for a set of steps to be fixed in place. I imagine they will be provided as a loose detail to be fitted by the customer.

[Ray M]

14 hours ago, blueeighties said:

**New Heljan 00 gauge class 25**

Very happy to reveal the first painted sample of the Heljan class 25, in BR blue livery. What do we think?

Whats with the cab door climbing bars, jeez, they even go past the cab door handle itself.

it dont look good to me.

[blueeighties]

19 hours ago, The Ghost of IKB said:

Rivets around the windows and tail lights are far too pronounced. Also the cab front rainstrips should be blue not yellow.

Otherwise I like it.

Certainly happy to replace my Bachmann ones with a fleet of these.

Thanks for that....missed the rainstrips. Now corrected.

[dj_crisp]

1 hour ago, blueeighties said:

Thanks for that....missed the rainstrips. Now corrected.

 

Aha is this one of your paint jobs lee?

 

A nice view of the cabs in the link below 

25093

 

Overall it looks pretty good and agree the front cab windows aren't quite right - it always seems to be cab windows on diesels that need attention!!

 

 

[Legend]

These Rivets round the cab windows are a bit severe , you can hardly see them, if at all , on the real thing . That would certainly put me off buying.

[Zunnan]

Ah HA! I think I can finally put my finger on what I think is the issue, mention of the rainstrips did it.

 

With the rainstrips painted blue, this brings the line of rivets right up to the blue, which means the windscreen seams are coming too far up the cab. The cab front windscreens are in a good position compared to the cab side windows but not the doors, I am now quite convinced because the cab front and cab side windows are too high up by the sliver of metal that sits between the seals and the rainstrips; perhaps 0.5mm or so. This makes the side windows too tall, hence out of proportion to the door windows also by around 0.5mm.

 

Its not a deal breaker for me yet, those rivets are far more offputting and the slightly misplaced paint on the rainstrip actually served very well at hiding what I think is the origin of the cab door issue, and even then its a country mile ahead of the current 25/3 from Barwell. However minor, what is seen can't be unseen, and without direct competition on the horizon I'd very happily take this Rat as otherwise it really is a nice effort...but there is direct competition on the way, as well as a 25/1 retool.

[Clive Mortimore]

13 minutes ago, Legend said:

These Rivets round the cab windows are a bit severe , you can hardly see them, if at all , on the real thing . That would certainly put me off buying.

They are not rivets, and are not visible. They are countersunk screws which hold the window in place.

Image from flickr

 

The cab door window and the cab windows are the same height, not as modelled.

Another image from flickr

 

Note with both images there is a rain strip above the cab, which is missing from the model.

 

But we are going to OK as it has an etched radiator grille.

[37114]

Personally I am hoping Bachmann and SLW crack on with their model. This one is good but not good enough for me so will hold off at this stage.