Heljan announce re-tooled Class 86 in OO

[cravensdmufan]

1 hour ago, Dagworth said:

For anyone who has put a decoder in one, are the taillights separately controlled or are they on the F0?

 

Andi

F0 I'm afraid.

 

And yes, both red lights are illuminated (brightly despite reducing the CV!) I'm going to disconnect or block off mine.

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by cravensdmufan
Additional wording

[Dagworth]

51 minutes ago, cravensdmufan said:

 

And yes, both red lights are illuminated (brightly despite reducing the CV!) I'm going to disconnect or block off mine.

 

I guess if manufacturers got them right and only a single red light lit up then lots of people would take them back to the shops...

 

Andi

[Katie87006]

22 hours ago, The Ghost of IKB said:

Is there a suitable brass etch for the footsteps available from anywhere?

Have not managed to locate any. I designed some myself. Will 3D print a set when I can.

[The Ghost of IKB]

18 hours ago, Dagworth said:

Thank you

I'm guessing that both red lights come on at the rear instead of only one? 

 

Saves me worrying about getting hold of a 21 pin decoder as I'll need to rewire the lights anyway, may as well replace the PCB while I'm at it and hardwire one of the umpteen decoders I've got in stock already.

 

Andi

When you do the rewiring, any chances of a " how to do it " post here. ?  It'd be very helpful.

 

[ThaneofFife]

21 hours ago, The Ghost of IKB said:

When you do the rewiring, any chances of a " how to do it " post here. ?  It'd be very helpful.

 

may as well......."whilst he's at it"   LOL.

[Northern Electric]

Hey all just though I'd post a few comparisons of the new AL6 in Rail blue with the Bachmann AL5 in electric blue.

 

[Northern Electric]

The side by side comparison reveals a few interesting things livery wise. One being just how off white/grey the window surrounds on the AL5 are compared to the AL6, when really they should be white (the roof dome IS white so I'm not quite sure what went wrong there...? )   Anyway, most importantly the shade of blue for the AL6 is definitely darker and more green than the AL5 electric blue, but a little lighter than the BR blue models, so it looks to me like they got it right.   It could even be a touch darker in my opinion but I will give it a pass.

 

The roof section is slightly less convincing - the shades of grey seem a little confused an those unpainted black bits spoil it a little.   The bus bar should be red (as on the AL5) and the pantograph looks rather garish in unpainted silver.   Still, these are all things a dab of paint can correct, so not deal breakers.

 

All of the major criticisms of the body seem to have been addressed. The grilles are correct, the windscreen wipers are mounted correctly and the tail light surrounds are correct for the era.

As a few people have mentioned though, the main hand rail is slightly disapointing - both the old 86 and Hornby's new 87 did it better. Perhaps an area to modify/retrofit.

 

As with the old 86, motor is excellent and the underframe detailing superb.   Comparing the bogies between the two classes, the AL6 has better relief of the lower stretcher bar but the AL5 has better steps and brake components - the cylinders on the AL6 look too shallow IMO.

One slightly strange feature is that the triangular bogie side mounts are mounted to the bogies themselves, rather than the bodyside, as correctly modelled on the AL5. I'm not sure why Heljan did it that way? The gap between the two isn't to noticeable in truth, though it can look a little odd if the loco is parked on a curve.

 

I'm not entirely convinced by the new pantograph... the shape of the base doesn't look right and unfortunately, as with the AL5, the geometry is wrong so the pickup head flops forward rather than staying level to the contact wire.  Perhaps that can be corrected (?). The gap between the upper most part of the frame bothers me - why is it there?

Having said all that, it IS a step forward over the old 86.

Though right now I am thinking of doing a pan swap and renumbering - maybe E3161 or E3162, both of which carried different pantographs from new anyway.

 

Overall, a nice model, excellent motor and much improved body shell.  Could maybe have tried a little harder on the roof detailing.  I'd give it a 7.5/10.

I await the arrival of the new 86/4 with much intrigue

Edited May 15, 2021 by NorthenElectric91

[cravensdmufan]

Three models in Rail Blue.  All manufacturers have the shade spot on to my eye.

 

I'm delighted with all three locos.

[Hal Nail]

Given it is much older, shows what a good job they did with the 85.

[97406]

1 hour ago, cravensdmufan said:

Three models in Rail Blue.  All manufacturers have the shade spot on to my eye.

 

I'm delighted with all three locos.

They've all sussed rail blue out well. My blue 85, 86 and 87 have all been patched painted with Railmatch acrylic or enamel blue, which is also indistinguishable. The yellows on the other hand need thin coats of pre 84 yellow and post 84 yellow acrylic until they match.

[markw]

15 hours ago, NorthenElectric91 said:

The side by side comparison reveals a few interesting things livery wise. One being just how off white/grey the window surrounds on the AL5 are compared to the AL6, when really they should be white (the roof dome IS white so I'm not quite sure what went wrong there...? )   Anyway, most importantly the shade of blue for the AL6 is definitely darker and more green than the AL5 electric blue, but a little lighter than the BR blue models, so it looks to me like they got it right.   It could even be a touch darker in my opinion but I will give it a pass.

 

The roof section is slightly less convincing - the shades of grey seem a little confused an those unpainted black bits spoil it a little.   The bus bar should be red (as on the AL5) and the pantograph looks rather garish in unpainted silver.   Still, these are all things a dab of paint can correct, so not deal breakers.

 

All of the major criticisms of the body seem to have been addressed. The grilles are correct, the windscreen wipers are mounted correctly and the tail light surrounds are correct for the era.

As a few people have mentioned though, the main hand rail is slightly disapointing - both the old 86 and Hornby's new 87 did it better. Perhaps an area to modify/retrofit.

 

As with the old 86, motor is excellent and the underframe detailing superb.   Comparing the bogies between the two classes, the AL6 has better relief of the lower stretcher bar but the AL5 has better steps and brake components - the cylinders on the AL6 look too shallow IMO.

One slightly strange feature is that the triangular bogie side mounts are mounted to the bogies themselves, rather than the bodyside, as correctly modelled on the AL5. I'm not sure why Heljan did it that way? The gap between the two isn't to noticeable in truth, though it can look a little odd if the loco is parked on a curve.

 

I'm not entirely convinced by the new pantograph... the shape of the base doesn't look right and unfortunately, as with the AL5, the geometry is wrong so the pickup head flops forward rather than staying level to the contact wire.  Perhaps that can be corrected (?). The gap between the upper most part of the frame bothers me - why is it there?

Having said all that, it IS a step forward over the old 86.

Though right now I am thinking of doing a pan swap and renumbering - maybe E3161 or E3162, both of which carried different pantographs from new anyway.

 

Overall, a nice model, excellent motor and much improved body shell.  Could maybe have tried a little harder on the roof detailing.  I'd give it a 7.5/10.

I await the arrival of the new 86/4 with much intrigue

I would disagree that the window surrounds should be white, in this photo they are closer to the rail grey than the white lining of the MK2 coach.

https://rcts.zenfolio.com/coaching-stock/br/other/ha0ed56a5#ha0ed56a5

[Northern Electric]

^^ Yes, sorry I was talking about the AL5 when I said the window surrounds should be white.   The AL6 should be silver-grey as the photos show, more like the colour on the AL5! Both models are the wrong way round.   At least the BR blue models are all consistent with each other!

[GRUNFOS]

Just finished MU fitted 86 002, used E3156 as a base rather than removing orange cantrail stripe on 85 036.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drivers fitted in both ends, etched arrows fitted and a blast of matt varnish to bring it all together.

Paul.

[97406]

44 minutes ago, GRUNFOS said:

Just finished MU fitted 86 002, used E3156 as a base rather than removing orange cantrail stripe on 85 036.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drivers fitted in both ends, etched arrows fitted and a blast of matt varnish to bring it all together.

Paul.

What parts did you use? I moulded mine off the end of the Hornby 87 and used fuse wire for the cable.

[cravensdmufan]

51 minutes ago, GRUNFOS said:

Just finished MU fitted 86 002, used E3156 as a base rather than removing orange cantrail stripe on 85 036.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drivers fitted in both ends, etched arrows fitted and a blast of matt varnish to bring it all together.

Paul.

The loco looks fantastic Paul.

 

Like 97406, I'd like to know what cable boxes you used please?  I feel the ones one the Hornby 87 look a little undernourished - yours look just right!

 

Cheers.

 

Vivian 

[GRUNFOS]

The MU cables are spares from the Hornby class 50, Locksley kindly sent me a set he had  3d printed for his 87 but the cables are a bit short for a 86 but I've used his receptacle. 

[97406]

3 minutes ago, cravensdmufan said:

The loco looks fantastic Paul.

 

Like 97406, I'd like to know what cable boxes you used please?  I feel the ones one the Hornby 87 look a little undernourished - yours look just right!

 

Cheers.

 

Vivian 

Yes, I think they’re a little on the small side, but it’s what I had to hand. I scoured t’internet for class 50 ones, but to no avail. There is a 3D print file somewhere on here that I could have tried, but I was unsure of the dimensions being a bit of a newbie to that sort of thing.

 

[GRUNFOS]

Have you tried Peters spares, that's where I got mine from but it was a while ago, wanted ETH cables but ordered the wrong item!

[97406]

34 minutes ago, GRUNFOS said:

Have you tried Peters spares, that's where I got mine from but it was a while ago, wanted ETH cables but ordered the wrong item!

Still showing as sold out. I could try and contact Hornby. I got some discs for my class 31 that way.

 

[97406]

Or in the spirit of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, I could always treat myself to a 50, as I haven't got one yet and a large logo one would work in my era. I am trying to go for at least one model of each class eventually.

 

I could make a set of moulds off that and use car body filler to make the items. It takes a couple of goes before you get a decent set. Food for thought as a set could also end up on the 87. Nevertheless the 87-based MW looks OK.

[GRUNFOS]

You could go to as delivered early D400s and remove cables fit a blanking plate and use the jumpers on your 86! could not find a pic that would allow me to post it.

[97406]

I may just wait for the Heljan 86/4 and make moulds as I have 2 on order. My small, but perfectly formed appendages look good enough for now. The pan needs some work first as the geometry isn’t quite right having just installed catenary.

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by 97406

[Pete the Elaner]

On 16/05/2021 at 18:17, 97406 said:

Yes, I think they’re a little on the small side, but it’s what I had to hand. I scoured t’internet for class 50 ones, but to no avail. There is a 3D print file somewhere on here that I could have tried, but I was unsure of the dimensions being a bit of a newbie to that sort of thing.

 

 

Probably my 3d print .stl. Forums are not the best place to store things because it takes ages to find them in a thread...assuming you have the correct thread to start with.

Here they are with a photo of some fitted to a class 87. Please excuse the livery. I had a few old Lima 87s & did 1 in a bizarre livery just for a bit of airbrush practise. 

 

 

class 86 87 MU jumpers scale.stl

[Strathyre]

are those available to buy?

 

Paul

[97406]

On 18/05/2021 at 14:12, Pete the Elaner said:

 

Probably my 3d print .stl. Forums are not the best place to store things because it takes ages to find them in a thread...assuming you have the correct thread to start with.

Here they are with a photo of some fitted to a class 87. Please excuse the livery. I had a few old Lima 87s & did 1 in a bizarre livery just for a bit of airbrush practise. 

 

 

class 86 87 MU jumpers scale.stl 44.13 kB · 11 downloads

They look similar to the castings I took off the Hornby 87, size-wise. I wonder if the ones on the 50 are a touch too big having scrutinised some photos, though I still think the Hornby 87 ones are a little too small.