hornby 2020 Hornby A2/2 and A2/3 (2020 Range)

[Silver Sidelines]

2 hours ago, cbrooks122000 said:

.. I just thought it was mine. ..

 

Quite comforting really - means we haven't received the one model where the lady in China sneezed!

 

Cheers Ray

[robmcg]

I haven't followed all the rules around here. I have bought four A2s now, an A2/2 and A2/3 from Kernow and a different  A2/2 and different A2/3 from TMC with value weathering.

 

No faults in any of them except a broken coupling on the tender of 60523.

 

Here is my latest arrival..  one tender axle astray, sorry

 

 

Four out of four is as good as I've ever had from Hornby, but by all accounts I must have been very lucky?  The photo is not edited. All run well straight from the box albeit only on a short test track.

[atom3624]

It's just so annoying they can get so much, so 'right', yet stuff up the paint and lining.

 

Such a relatively small content in the development of the model can have such a big effect.

 

Very nice model.

 

Al.

[thegreenhowards]

38 minutes ago, atom3624 said:

It's just so annoying they can get so much, so 'right', yet stuff up the paint and lining.

 

Such a relatively small content in the development of the model can have such a big effect.

 

Very nice model.

 

Al.

I have to say that I don’t think the painting is such a problem. They look fine after a couple of coats of ‘Klear’ and I find that necessary on most passenger engines - for goods engines I just go straight to the grot!

 

 

The boiler band lining is a bit red but it’s always too pronounced so I will try to disguise the redness under a coat of weathering (which is the next job on this).

 

 I am finding that bits keep falling off. I never received the top lamp iron - replaced with a staple. And since I started painting it, the reversing lever, cab fall plate and speedo drive have fallen off!

 

Andy

 

[Silver Sidelines]

5 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

 

 I am finding that bits keep falling off. .......... speedo drive have fallen off!

 

 

 

The speedo drive is an interesting issue.  The bracket on my Steady Aim was pointing outwards and I tested it to see if I could push it back and it promptly fell off.  Refixing it was quite challenging.  The two little slots beneath the footplate where it should have been glued were full of glue and the matching pegs on the bracket were clean suggesting that the bracket had never been properly fitted.  There is a 'third leg' to the speedo bracket, infact the dummy drive.  The pictue on the Honrby box shows this passing in front of the metal reversing lever.  I cannot be certain but I think the factory must have glued the bracket and dummy drive all behind the reversing lever - no wonder it doesn't fit and falls off.  I wonder what others of you think?

 

Cheers Ray

[thegreenhowards]

7 minutes ago, Silver Sidelines said:

 

The speedo drive is an interesting issue.  The bracket on my Steady Aim was pointing outwards and I tested it to see if I could push it back and it promptly fell off.  Refixing it was quite challenging.  The two little slots beneath the footplate where it should have been glued were full of glue and the matching pegs on the bracket were clean suggesting that the bracket had never been properly fitted.  There is a 'third leg' to the speedo bracket, infact the dummy drive.  The pictue on the Honrby box shows this passing in front of the metal reversing lever.  I cannot be certain but I think the factory must have glued the bracket and dummy drive all behind the reversing lever - no wonder it doesn't fit and falls off.  I wonder what others of you think?

 

Cheers Ray

Same with mine - I’ve just cleaned out the fixing holes and glued it back on with the third leg in front of the reversing lever which I hope is right. I seem to have lost the cab fall plate for the moment though - very frustrating.

[WisTramwayMan]

On 18/03/2021 at 00:21, D9001 said:

I’ve had an email from Hatton telling me they can no longer fulfil my order for Sun Castle as they won’t be getting any more. 

 

Fortunately and thanks to a couple of people on here, I got the very last one in stock at Kernow Models. Thanks for the suggestion, gents.

 

what worries me is that I have four other locos of various classes on order with H, so am I going to suffer the same problem?   Think I need to order duplicates from other sources.

Try Derails or Bure Valley Models. Both offer good service, are extremely friendly and helpful, and test models before despatch.

Like many people probably virtually all my preorders used to go to Hattons until they started letting me down, on only one occasion letting me know they were actually going to do so - so I moved my preorders elsewhere and now split them between four different suppliers including the two mentioned earlier.

[Black 5 Bear]

24 minutes ago, WisTramwayMan said:

Try Derails or Bure Valley Models. Both offer good service, are extremely friendly and helpful, and test models before despatch.

Like many people probably virtually all my preorders used to go to Hattons until they started letting me down, on only one occasion letting me know they were actually going to do so - so I moved my preorders elsewhere and now split them between four different suppliers including the two mentioned earlier.

Agree wholeheartedly with your recommendations, unfortunately sold out at both outlets.

Colletts of Exmouth is another good retailer as is the Hobbyshop in Faversham.

[Ollie K]

With the LNER versions 'arriving very soon', does anyone know anything about this picture of 500 'Edward Thompson' presumably on the day of (or very close to) its official naming?

 

Hornby has used it extensively in its catalogue and publicity for the A2/3 models but I've not come across it elsewhere. Would be very interested to hear a date / location / photographer, and why the dyno drive (for electric lighting?) off the bogie wheels were ditched?

 

Penny for the thoughts of the three gentlemen looking on from track level..!

 

 

Cheers,

 

Ollie

[31A]

1 minute ago, OliverBytham said:

With the LNER versions 'arriving very soon', does anyone know anything about this picture of 500 'Edward Thompson' presumably on the day of (or very close to) its official naming?

 

Hornby has used it extensively in its catalogue and publicity for the A2/3 models but I've not come across it elsewhere. Would be very interested to hear a date / location / photographer, and why the dyno drive (for electric lighting?) off the bogie wheels were ditched?

 

Penny for the thoughts of the three gentlemen looking on from track level..!

 

 

Cheers,

 

Ollie

 

Picture is at Nottingham Victoria, as you say on or near the date of its naming.  I have read that the dynamos mounted on the bogie wheels were prone to unscrewing themselves and falling off!  Presumably why the LNER turned to steam driven generators on later engines.

 

[Butler Henderson]

The photo appears in The Power of the A1s, A2s and A3s (JS Whiteley & GW Morrison, OPC 1982), and probably elsewhere. It is credited to JP Wilson and dated as 29th May 1946, the loco being en route to Marylebone for its naming two days later, hence the covering on the nameplate.

[Butler Henderson]

"Elsewhere" including Locomotives Illustrated 46.

[Silver Sidelines]

5 hours ago, OliverBytham said:

 

Thanks Ollie , also a good image for the speedo bracket confirming that it should straddle the reversing lever.

 

Ray

Edited March 27, 2021 by Silver Sidelines

[Ollie K]

3 hours ago, Butler Henderson said:

The photo appears in The Power of the A1s, A2s and A3s (JS Whiteley & GW Morrison, OPC 1982), and probably elsewhere. It is credited to JP Wilson and dated as 29th May 1946, the loco being en route to Marylebone for its naming two days later, hence the covering on the nameplate.

Thanking you. Another book for the shopping list.

 

IMHO this is about as handsome as a Thompson Pacific has ever looked in a photograph. Such a well-composed shot.

[robmcg]

2 hours ago, OliverBytham said:

Thanking you. Another book for the shopping list.

 

IMHO this is about as handsome as a Thompson Pacific has ever looked in a photograph. Such a well-composed shot.

 

I agree, and you can have a less-shiny BR version from similar angle even today.

 

 

picture slightly edited will remove if required.

 

I'm looking forward to the LNER green... and the lining, on the forthcoming models. 

[robmcg]

13 hours ago, OliverBytham said:

With the LNER versions 'arriving very soon', does anyone know anything about this picture of 500 'Edward Thompson' presumably on the day of (or very close to) its official naming?

 

Hornby has used it extensively in its catalogue and publicity for the A2/3 models but I've not come across it elsewhere. Would be very interested to hear a date / location / photographer, and why the dyno drive (for electric lighting?) off the bogie wheels were ditched?

 

Penny for the thoughts of the three gentlemen looking on from track level..!

 

 

Cheers,

 

Ollie

 

Makes you wonder why Hornby don't produce a half-decent version of these engines...

 

 

I have of course done this in colour too, but you can only take suspension of disbelief so far.

 

 

 

Grateful thanks and acknowledgements to JP Wilson for the original photo of LNER 500.

 

Will remove if required. There's a lot to repair in this rough picture, it was done rather quickly, and the perspective of original was not easy to reproduce.

Edited March 28, 2021 by robmcg
added comment

[Silver Sidelines]

8 hours ago, robmcg said:

 

 

 

 

An interesting image of your model Rob.  Have you played with it?  I ask because the brake gear on the tender is bowed and I would say that not all the tender wheels are in contact with the track.

 

I had a similar issue with my model of Steady Aim.  First the tender derailed over some points - obviously the water scoop was too low so off it came.  Then I realised that the engine was struggling to haul coaches relative to Sun Castle.

 

There are some pictures below showing the problem and the solution.  I have already referred to the issue further back in this thread.  The problem is that the soldered connections to the phosphor bronze pickups have been soldered to the plastic with the result that the bottom plate cannot lie flat (and wheels flop around and the pick ups get bent and......)

 

A little bit of pressure will break the solder to plastic bond and placing the bottom keeper plate in hot water returned my model to its original shape.

 

Cheers Ray

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by Silver Sidelines

[John Tomlinson]

An elegant solution Ray, with a good outcome, but - oh dear! - something else that's not right.

 

Someone in Hornby really needs to take these issues on board and address them with the factory.

 

Coincidentally I was looking over my "Lord Nelson" this week, adding the detail pack and giving it a check over. After setting the loco/ tender distance to near prototype I added some springing to the front bogie to help keep it on the track. Otherwise Hornby made a great job of that model, nothing much wrong at all that I could find, and a quite decent green to boot. So they can do it!

 

John.

[Silver Sidelines]

39 minutes ago, John Tomlinson said:

.. I added some springing to the front bogie to help keep it on the track. .

 

Thank you John, an interesting comment.  Meanwhile here at Longsheds I have been removing Hornby's springs.  The front bogie on Sun Castle jumped the track at a set of points where no other engine has come adrift.  Later I was bothered by its lack of haulage power when tackling my gradients.  I was concerned that there was virtually no fore and aft movement in the chassis - meaning that if there was any uneveness or change in slope of the track the chassis and weight of the engine would be transferred to the front bogie (lifting the front driving wheels from the track).  Bachmann had the very same issue with the Dukedog and the City highlighting the conflicting interests of scale diameter wheels and oversize flanges not forgetting toy train set curves.

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/14484-Bachmann-gwr-4-4-0s-and-gradients/

 

I would  investigate Sun Castle and sure enough Hornby have inserted a specially shaped spring between the bogie and the chassis.  Despite its tapered shape I think it might become wedged and hinder movement.  I have removed the spring and can imagine that the model runs better and certainly hauls more coaches up my gradients.

 

Cheers Ray

 

 

[Silver Sidelines]

1 hour ago, John Tomlinson said:

...........and a quite decent green to boot. So they can do it!

 

I couldn't resist posting this comparison picture (Hornby Steady Aim and Bachmann Blue Peter).  It was indoors under articficial light using flash but you should get the idea.  Quite different shades of green (and orange or red).

 

Cheers Ray

 

[Silver Sidelines]

For completeness two views looking from the inside outwards.

 

First Steady Aim and secondly Cock o' the North.

 

I know someone said that there should be a gap in the casing  but really ?

 

 

Steady Aim

 

 

Cock o' the North

 

[John Tomlinson]

Ray,

 

The springing picture is interesting, and I assume that the pivot emerging from the chassis moves from side to side in a slot. It strikes me that a spring of constant diameter of the size at the wider end would be a better bet, and provision of a thin, greased washer between it and the chassis (where the slot is) would be more likely to enable free movement rather than jam in the slot. If the spring is too strong, chopping it in half, as on Bachmann's A1 could help to give some downward force to the bogie whilst not being strong enough to start to lift the front drivers. However if it works on your layout without any springing at all, and doesn't derail, and gives good haulage on hills, then the problem is sorted!

 

I was surprised on my Lord Nelson how even a weak spring, I think from an old Hornby coupling, made a difference in road holding, also this week a Bachmann Stanier Mogul (also being detailed) benefitted greatly from just a small increase in the pressure on the front pony spring. It really doesn't take much to move from failure to success, or vice versa!

 

The colour comparison is also very informative, I know which I find the more convincing and it isn't Hornby.

 

Best wishes,

 

John.

[robmcg]

11 hours ago, Silver Sidelines said:

An interesting image of your model Rob.  Have you played with it?  I ask because the brake gear on the tender is bowed and I would say that not all the tender wheels are in contact with the trac

 

 

Thanks, but the perspective  on the tender was compressed by 20% lengthways to match the rather wide-angle perspective of 500 in the original photo, more-or-less, and the slight bend in the brake rod was accentuated. I manually replaced the parts of the image around the axle boxes on the tender to restore some of their shape, but was too fast and lazy thus the wheels themselves look 'out'. I have subsequently fixed it a little. All wheels were on the track in my original photo.

 

I have only run the engine on straight code 75 so cannot comment on derailments, I find it hard enough just to get all the wheels on these A2s on the track.

 

Here is one solution... 

 

I shall enjoy colouring these gentlemen... 

 

 

 

Nottingham Victoria, shall we say 1952 and rationing has finished.        Oops, no, soon to finish... 1954 would be more likely

 

Actually in colour although the men look fine it is clearly a model and to my eyes they look contrived so I'm leaving them out in the colour versions, unless asked.

Edited March 28, 2021 by robmcg
additions

[John Tomlinson]

Hi Rob,

 

I always thought that rationing ended in 1954, being borne two years later was in that sense a bit of luck. A few years earlier however would have enabled me to have a much better experience of British steam.

 

Swings and roundabouts!

 

John.

[robmcg]

14 minutes ago, John Tomlinson said:

Hi Rob,

 

I always thought that rationing ended in 1954, being borne two years later was in that sense a bit of luck. A few years earlier however would have enabled me to have a much better experience of British steam.

 

Swings and roundabouts!

 

John.

 

Ah, you are no doubt correct, I shall amend my caption accordingly, thankyou.

 

For what it's worth here is the A2/3 model 'out of the box', without the compression I did in the Nottingham Victoria picture...

 

 

cheers