Heljan announce re-tooled Class 86 in OO

[Markwj]

Positive review of the Heljan 86 in the latest Hornby mag.

[97406]

5 hours ago, Markwj said:

Positive review of the Heljan 86 in the latest Hornby mag.

I’ll be getting a few of these. Already have 2 on order. Quite fancy the one in monastral blue with no warning panel next if there’s any left.

[The Ghost of IKB]

https://www.keymodelworld.com/article/Heljan-delivers-class-860

 

['CHARD]

11 minutes ago, The Ghost of IKB said:

https://www.keymodelworld.com/article/Heljan-delivers-class-860

 

 

Paywall site.

[Legend]

24 minutes ago, 'CHARD said:

 

Paywall site.

 I got in alright for the review of the 86 . It does look very good 

[Johnson Street IEMD]

Me too, roll on the later cans whilst I can concentrate on my red skodas and maybe a dyson (Accurascales, of course) or two in the not so distant future.

 

Kat@johnsonstreetIEMD

[cravensdmufan]

It appears to be very nice indeed.  I kept pausing the video in full screen mode!  Looks Heljan have got this spot on  

[cravensdmufan]

2 hours ago, 'CHARD said:

 

Paywall site.

Yes, to read the full article but the YT video is excellent.  I kept pausing it on full screen and it's good and clear and the model looks very good indeed.

[Billystanier]

A positive review..... but the video is sponsored by Heljan.

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, Billystanier said:

A positive review..... but the video is sponsored by Heljan.

It may be, but that model looks like a class 86, rather jealous really, I don't have a railway that would suit them and they take me back to my days sat at the south end of Crewe watching trains go by.

[Carl BR]

A very impressive looking model and an improvement on the original Heljan version but the one thing that still looks wrong to me is the amount of space between the recessed roof and the base of the pantograph. In the down position the pan protrudes way above the cab roof. This could be a potential problem on my layout "Alderford" as the OLE wire's drop down quite low to pass under a bridge at the scenic break. Not a problem for any of my loco's & EMU's fitted with Sommerfeldt Pan's and Bachmann's class 90, but for this model it looks like some modification of the height of the pan will need to happen when my 86/4 arrive's later this year.   

[Roy Langridge]

7 hours ago, Carl BR said:

A very impressive looking model and an improvement on the original Heljan version but the one thing that still looks wrong to me is the amount of space between the recessed roof and the base of the pantograph. In the down position the pan protrudes way above the cab roof. This could be a potential problem on my layout "Alderford" as the OLE wire's drop down quite low to pass under a bridge at the scenic break. Not a problem for any of my loco's & EMU's fitted with Sommerfeldt Pan's and Bachmann's class 90, but for this model it looks like some modification of the height of the pan will need to happen when my 86/4 arrive's later this year.   

Whilst I agree that it is too high, the pantograph on the real thing didn’t fold down below the cab roof if I recall right.

 

Roy

[Carl BR]

39 minutes ago, Roy Langridge said:

Whilst I agree that it is too high, the pantograph on the real thing didn’t fold down below the cab roof if I recall right.

 

Roy

Yes I do agree with you that the pantograph in the down position is still higher than the cab roof it's not much higher. Definitely not as high as portrayed on the model.  

[InterCitySpud]

From the video alone it seems they've caught the face perfectly, I've seen a zillion class 86's approach and pass and this looks pretty bang on to me.

 

I'll certainly have one of these 86034 weathered and set the headcode to 0000 but it's a little early for me so I'll mainly be buying up blue 86/2s when they get around to them, it will be interesting to see how this version is received during the wait.

 

Very well, I'm sure!

 

[gazwire]

Looks terrific. I'm waiting for the 86/4 models for my era and can't wait till they're released.

[VXDH92]

Overall look is really good, but that pan is still not right at all. Doesn't look right when raised and looks even worse lowered. Thankfully I'm only after the more modern versions, so hopefully when they get there, some of those will have the Brecknell Willis pan (will have to wait and see how they get on with that).

[61661]

On 04/04/2021 at 21:51, Billystanier said:

A positive review..... but the video is sponsored by Heljan.

I get the point you're making but we have no influence on the content or comments made, despite our logo being on it. As a former editor of two model railway mags and a reviewer of 100s of models over the years I would (and have been forced to, on occasions) strongly resist any manufacturer influence on reviews. Now that I'm on the other side of the fence, I don't see any need to change that view and I/we respect the right of all editorial teams to review Heljan models without any input or pressure. 

[Legend]

Looks very impressive in the magazine too . As a result resistance finally crumbled and I've ordered one from Rails . Looking forward to it .

[61661]

On 05/04/2021 at 08:18, Carl BR said:

Yes I do agree with you that the pantograph in the down position is still higher than the cab roof it's not much higher. Definitely not as high as portrayed on the model.  

Unfortunately the height is part of the compromise required to make it functional and robust. We've pushed it down as far as we can, but any lower and the sprung parts foul against the roof. We asked around before retooling the pan and the consensus was that modellers would prefer it to be functional and sprung to allow operation on OLE, rather than a super-fine and delicate 'poseable' pan. However, if you want to see how much finer, smaller and lower this new pan actually is, take a look at the original Heljan Class 86s.

 

Hope this helps

 

Ben

[SGP]

I want one with a tilting headcode ... 

[VXDH92]

The new Hornby APT has been shown with a sprung SF pantograph (see attached) and it looks finer and more accurate than the Heljan 86. Appreciate they are a slightly different variant (different pan head and different mounting).

 

That said, I don't want to bash Heljan too much. The revised 86 does look great overall, and again, it's great to see another good model of an AC locomotive

[letterspider]

that may well be plastic...

[gazwire]

I was going to wait for the 86/4, but sod it, I'm going to buy the featured one on the video - looks superb.

 

So lucky to have so many great AC models coming out; for years I've dreamt of this and now it's become a reality. We'll done Heljan, Hornby and Bachmann - greatly appreciated.

Edited April 6, 2021 by gazwire

[Gary H]

Its a cracking looking model.

Constructive criticism incoming.

What does stand out to me is the half moulded brake cylinders on the bogies, American manufacturers have these as separately fitted, full relief details, it makes so much difference, especially if they went to all that trouble of making a decent undeframe.  Bachmann did the same on their 85 and it looks naff.

[Carl BR]

8 hours ago, 61661 said:

Unfortunately the height is part of the compromise required to make it functional and robust. We've pushed it down as far as we can, but any lower and the sprung parts foul against the roof. We asked around before retooling the pan and the consensus was that modellers would prefer it to be functional and sprung to allow operation on OLE, rather than a super-fine and delicate 'poseable' pan. However, if you want to see how much finer, smaller and lower this new pan actually is, take a look at the original Heljan Class 86s.

 

Hope this helps

 

Ben

Cheers for your input on this subject Ben. I do agree with you regards the pantograph on this new model being a much better representation than on the older version of the 86. 

I will just have to wait and see how well the pan works up against my wires when the 86/4's land later in the year.

But overall this model looks to be a much better representation over the original version.

 

Carl