Gaugemaster Collection - OO Scale Class 33 Locomotives

[Gaugemaster Controls]

A couple of us ‘of a certain age’ here fondly remember the local scene of the late 1980s. Two of the more distinctive locomotives that passed us here at Ford from time to time on the Brighton to Cardiff Central trains were 33008 ‘Eastleigh’ in its BR Green livery and 33025 ‘Sultan’ with its light grey roof.

When we were given the chance to replicate these two items, we jumped at the chance, especially when our friends at Heljan agreed to apply the most subtle of weathering to really capture the locomotives in the condition they were most frequently seen when passing our offices.

 

 

GM4240101 33008 Eastleigh Full Yellow Ends Lightly Weathered
Only £119.95

 

 

 

GM4240102 33025 Sultan BR Blue Grey Roof Lightly Weathered
Only £119.95

 

Class Profile:
Hugely capable and versatile mixed traffic machine built for the Southern Region, but seen further afield from the mid‐1980s. Class 33/0 is the standard variant employed on freight and passenger work both singly and in pairs.

Built by: Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co., Smethwick
Number built: 86
Number series: D6500‐85 (33001‐065)
Service Career: 1962 onwards
Region: Southern
Purpose: Mixed traffic
Status in 2018: Active/15 preserved

Model Features:
DCC Ready (8 Pin Socket)
Working Lights
Sprung Buffers
Sound Readyd

[SouthernMafia]

Can you confirm if this is the latest tooling of the Heljan 33/0? I cannot understand how the RRP is £120 when the previous 2 batches and forthcoming batches of 33/0s have been RRP at £139/£149, and they're not limited editions.

Edited December 26, 2019 by SouthernMafia

[adb968008]

I recall 33008 seemed to have 365 different versions of its livery, including the cantrail, but did it have a curved at one side and square at the other ?

[steve1023]

Nope, I believe both ends are wrong. IIRC Lima did get it right.

[griffgriff]

I best get aLima one then

 

..... a little bit annoying but easily corrected.

 

Griff

[BR Blue]

On 28/12/2019 at 09:37, adb968008 said:

I recall 33008 seemed to have 365 different versions of its livery, including the cantrail, but did it have a curved at one side and square at the other ?

Yes it did. In mid 1986 before the cab windows went to white. I think the cantrail was changed later in 1986 but the livery above is correct. I do not know if the cantrail was the same on both sides. I have seen photos which show the different treatment of the stripe at each end as depicted on the model in photo above.

 

Just to elaborate further. The cantrail stripe was like this earlier in 1986 prior to the application of the white body side white stripe. It remained like this for a short time. At the some point around the time the cab windows started to go white it change. Definitely 365 versions of the livery. I suspect the livery of the model was only around for a very short period of time, possibly only weeks.

Edited March 27, 2020 by BR Blue
More info added

[steve1023]

23 minutes ago, BR Blue said:

Yes it did. In mid 1986 before the cab windows went to white. I think the cantrail was changed later in 1986 but the livery above is correct. I do not know if the cantrail was the same on both sides. I have seen photos which show the different treatment of the stripe at each end as depicted on the model in photo above.

 

Just to elaborate further. The cantrail stripe was like this earlier in 1986 prior to the application of the white body side white stripe. It remained like this for a short time. At the some point around the time the cab windows started to go white it change. Definitely 365 versions of the livery. I suspect the livery of the model was only around for a very short period of time, possibly only weeks.

Hi BR Blue. They have got the cantrail stripe on this wrong - there plenty of pictures of it online to show. It did have the cantrail stripe from the 1st version of green it carried but not like on the model - the errors are the way Heljan have turned the stripe up over the cab doors - both ends on the model are different and both are incorrect.

Steve

 

Edit: As I said in my earlier post, Lima did get it right on both it's versions of 33008.

Edited March 27, 2020 by steve1023

[BR Blue]

I see what you are saying. I had thought I saw a picture just after the application of the body side stripe.  Having gone through a few books I cannot find it now needless to say. So apologies, I must be mistaken. I have found pictures online prior to the stripe being added but any with the stripe on flickr, are as you say, different to the model. I am planning on bringing the model forward in time a bit as to how it was when I saw it. That means changing the cab window colour so I will be amending the stripe too.

[steve1023]

May I ask, which version are you thinking of doing? 

 

The annoying thing for me is the shot in post 1 of 33025 with orange stripe is perfect for my desired renumber to 33027, however the production version has turned up without the stripe at all so lost sale there.

Edited March 27, 2020 by steve1023

[43110andyb]

Just received my order through the post and very happy at a first glance.  What I am struggling with is any photos (as mentioned above) in its ‘as sold’ livery. I’m guessing there will be some out there somewhere! 

[Gtucker72]

9 hours ago, 43110andyb said:

Just received my order through the post and very happy at a first glance.  What I am struggling with is any photos (as mentioned above) in its ‘as sold’ livery. I’m guessing there will be some out there somewhere! 

http://www.class33crompton.co.uk/Crompton33008more.htm

 

some on that link, it carried stripe and no white windows for a very limited time it appears.

Edited March 29, 2020 by Gtucker72

[steve1023]

Version 1 was plain green body, full yellow ends, grey roof and orange cantrail stripe. Released from Eastleigh works June 86. Lasted about 1 month.

Version 2 was as above but added the white body stripe (this is the version Heljan have done) - also lasted roughly a month.

Version 3 added white cab window surrounds to the above - maybe lasted 2 months.

Version 4 was the big change - small yellow panels, white body stripe all the way round too look like the original green livery. This lasted to around 1990 ish when it was replaced by departmental grey, then dutch and then.....

Version 5 which was similar to version 4 but with subtle differences, namely 1990's mods such as roof pod, headlights, incorrect TOPS style number font and initially it had a very thin red stripe at the bottom of the white body stripe although ISTR this being later removed. This was sometime in 1992 and it remained in this livery until it had the bodywork overhaul at Cranmore a couple of years ago.

 

Dates are approx. as I remember.....

Steve

[Lyddrail]

A couple of points, version 4 received yellow CE flashes under cab windows late 1988, and version 5 had D6508 (non standard letters) numbers under all cabside windows with 008 on the cab fronts.

Cheers.

[Lyddrail]

Received my Eastleigh today. Now I understand why none of the sellers have taken their own photos to advertise them. They are the old body and chassis with the latest bogies. I am not happy. Likely to be returned.

Why are Heljan still using this body moulding, I guess that explains why it is so cheap!

Cheers.

[griffgriff]

When you say old body.... do you mean old body from a couple of years back with the dodgy roof grill... or the really old body from their first attempt with the dodgy everything?
 

cheers

 

Griff

[griffgriff]

When you say old body.... do you mean old body from a couple of years back with the dodgy roof grill... or the really old body from their first attempt with the dodgy everything?
 

cheers

 

Griff

[Lyddrail]

Griff,

Sorry, I mean the original body with wrong profile roof and cab front windows spacings wrong. The newer body was corrected from the original but added new mistakes, a few being roof engine hatch has both rivets and catches, horn covers in place instead of removed showing the horns (for later period), a revised roof area at the exhaust that can do the first type from new but replaces this with an insert to look plain but shows the joins, etched body side grilles and etched cab front steps. The chassis has much more pipework details and the bogie sides have been corrected with more detail.

Cheers.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Lyddrail

[SouthernMafia]

On 26/12/2019 at 12:33, SouthernMafia said:

Can you confirm if this is the latest tooling of the Heljan 33/0? I cannot understand how the RRP is £120 when the previous 2 batches and forthcoming batches of 33/0s have been RRP at £139/£149, and they're not limited editions.

 

I did have my suspicions...the price point is the give away.

Just glad they haven't done Eastleigh in the version I wanted if it's the old tooling!

Like you, baffled why it's still being used.

[Grampus]

Disappointing.  A really nice finish, but the roof shape puts me off completely, so I have returned mine.

 

Clearly we all have much bigger things to worry about currently, but let's hope for better things from the forthcoming Heljan-branded release (ref 3442)  which  appears to be priced similarly to the rest of the revised shaped 33/0s and a general release rather than a ltd edition.  However, wise never to assume - we shall see in due course, no doubt. Stay safe everybody.

 

Best wishes, Paul

[Gtucker72]

Mine arrived today.  I guessed at that price they were old bodies, but hoped otherwise.   They are good enough for me for £100 with free postage, would struggle to get that on ebay even for the old ones.  I have lots of 33/2's, a handful of 33/1's and only two dodgy 33'0s before these two so they will add to the collection.

 

Guess they are using up old stock at the Heljan factory.  Very odd though, probably a logical story that has been poorly communicated, but given world events I am not surprised.

 

All in all, I am happy and will keep them.  Finish looks excellent so goes a long way to hiding the obvious balls up.

 

[amwells]

Wish I’d seen this before ordering. Let’s see if I can cancel my order before it arrives and has to go back!

[adb968008]

On 30/03/2020 at 20:24, steve1023 said:

Version 1 was plain green body, full yellow ends, grey roof and orange cantrail stripe. Released from Eastleigh works June 86. Lasted about 1 month.

Version 2 was as above but added the white body stripe (this is the version Heljan have done) - also lasted roughly a month.

Version 3 added white cab window surrounds to the above - maybe lasted 2 months.

Version 4 was the big change - small yellow panels, white body stripe all the way round too look like the original green livery. This lasted to around 1990 ish when it was replaced by departmental grey, then dutch and then.....

Version 5 which was similar to version 4 but with subtle differences, namely 1990's mods such as roof pod, headlights, incorrect TOPS style number font and initially it had a very thin red stripe at the bottom of the white body stripe although ISTR this being later removed. This was sometime in 1992 and it remained in this livery until it had the bodywork overhaul at Cranmore a couple of years ago.

 

Dates are approx. as I remember.....

Steve

 

As a kid spending summers around Westbury in the late 1980’s, this is the version I remember most commonly around that time...

 

(link, not mine).

I have my Lima 33008 reflecting this style since that time.

I do remember seeing this on services to/ex Bristol many times, it was a regular, often daily around this time.

 

Though I do remember mods to this livery thinking they had spoiled it, as to my mind this was 33008 at its best.

[StuTheUseless]

My blue 33025 arrived yesterday, and that too is the old body.

 

I should have guessed, for the price. Feel a bit foolish now. I'm going to shove it in the back of the cupboard where I can't see it!

[brushman47544]

On 25/01/2020 at 21:37, steve1023 said:

Nope, I believe both ends are wrong. IIRC Lima did get it right.

 

On 29/03/2020 at 13:12, 43110andyb said:

Just received my order through the post and very happy at a first glance.  What I am struggling with is any photos (as mentioned above) in its ‘as sold’ livery. I’m guessing there will be some out there somewhere! 

The livery in this photo looks to me very like the as sold version 

 

On 27/03/2020 at 20:49, steve1023 said:

The annoying thing for me is the shot in post 1 of 33025 with orange stripe is perfect for my desired renumber to 33027, however the production version has turned up without the stripe at all so lost sale there.

I’ve bought 33025 because it hasn’t go the orange cantrail stripe!

[steve1023]

1 hour ago, brushman47544 said:

 

The livery in this photo looks to me very like the as sold version 

 

I’ve bought 33025 because it hasn’t go the orange cantrail stripe!

The livery is the same as the model. The way the orange cantrail stripes turn up from the body over the cab door is wrong.