EFE Rail launches

[Zunnan]

I'll be interested to see the improvements to the mech of the Austerity, the original DJM chassis is a textbook lesson in poor design. Its not only the motor and PCB that were an issue, the whole design was overcomplicated and poorly executed right down to the all geared axles with sloppy fitting flailing side rods. If the mech does turn out to be halfway decent, hopefully it'll be swappable with the DJM ones...I have a few that need new chassis. Given several burned fingers with the awful DJM Austerities, you can understand my rather substantial trepidation over these resurfacing.

[JohnR]

4 minutes ago, Legend said:

 

 I thought there had been a recent re release of the Heljan Hymek, so would have thought there might be limited uptake on this one . Totally puzzled but fascinated at this latest move.

 

I think there has, and it seems to be easily available at around the £100 - £110 mark from various retailers. The higher price for this version is what made me think it was a newly tooled model.

['CHARD]

NCB Green J94 'Amazon' looks extremely compelling.  That weathering is especially pleasant.  

[Steamport Southport]

5 minutes ago, Legend said:

 

An interesting move . I wonder if we will see completely new models from EFE Rail manufactured in factories other than Kader . I would have thought so , as presumably they want to extend the brand . The 1938 stock will be a success . Surely the iconic London Tube train , no matter what you model you may go out and buy it , a bit like Hornbys Rocket .   I get taking over the DJM stuff , totally puzzled at the Hymek though . So Heljan maybe used a factory but didn't own the model and this model is now available to other brands ?    I thought there had been a recent re release of the Heljan Hymek, so would have thought there might be limited uptake on this one . Totally puzzled but fascinated at this latest move.

 

Nope. Don't even think of them as trains.

 

 

Jason

[The Western Master]

It's great to see the class 17 finally break cover. It's only a shame that the projects lined up by DJM models that didn't reach tooling are unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon, with the exception of the King of course from KR Models of course. But nevertheless, well done Bachmann! A very commercially savvy move to my mind as it means models that were popular but have had limited production runs to date could reach more modellers in time.  

[AY Mod]

7 minutes ago, Legend said:

So Heljan maybe used a factory but didn't own the model and this model is now available to other brands ?    I thought there had been a recent re release of the Heljan Hymek, so would have thought there might be limited uptake on this one .

 

The Hymek, as I'm sure I'd already said, is owned by Heljan but this brings the model's availability to non-Heljan stockists.

[Ian Hargrave]

5 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

The Hymek, as I'm sure I'd already said, is owned by Heljan but this brings the model's availability to non-Heljan stockists.

 
So Andy is this EFE Hymek in anyway different in tooling etc,from current Heljan releases  ? 

[NHY 581]

Always nice to see another brand emerge.

I'm quite taken with the Austerity but like others would seek reassurance regarding the longevity of the chassis over that previously offered. 

 

I would really like to see a re-issue of Mountain Ash No.8 to bounce around Sheep Dip  but let's see how these initial chaps do.  

 

But to be applauded..

 

Rob. 

 

 

[AY Mod]

2 minutes ago, Ian Hargrave said:

So Andy is this EFE Hymek in anyway different in tooling etc,from current Heljan releases

 

Not that I'm aware of but I'd say number/livery/weathering permutations are different from previous offerings.

 

Not much wrong with the Hymek; I've always felt it's about their best model.

[andyman7]

Great to see these items. I can see some people are struggling to understand the differences between brands and distribution, so a simple explanation might be:

 

- if you are familiar with model railways and keep up to date with new releases, EFE Rail will offer new variants of models you have seen before from some other manufacturers such as Kernow and Heljan

- if you are a more casual modeller who may for example base your purchases on a specific local retailer you may see for the first time models you were not previously exposed to because the retailer has a Bachmann account but does not stock the other manufacturers' items

 

This is good for us all, because railway modelling can be a closed and insular world and any opportunity to open up new markets is to be welcomed.

 

Edited August 4, 2020 by andyman7

[No Decorum]

EFE Rail. Hm.

 

I can see why Bachmann picked the Hymek; as Andy says, it’s commonly regarded as one of Heljan’s best efforts and Heljan is probably less reliable overall than the market leaders.

 

As for the the J94 (or Austerity to smooth ruffled feathers) it’s still a curate’s egg. The DJ versions were very nicely finished but the injectors needed attention. Especially when they are brightly painted, the D-shaped pipes are very noticeable. The wheels DJ made so much of need attention too – the the spokes lack the flat faces which Bachmann did rather well on its LNWR models.

 

I can’t make my mind up about the London Underground Tube Stock. Is it just a different approach to designing a model or are they not up to the standard we hope for these days? The interior detail is very good but it’s a bit of a let down to have interior lights but no end lights, so far as I can see. The motors need to be tiny, so two motorised cars is sensible. However, the requirement for two Plux22 decoders will make it very expensive for a non-sound DCC model. At the very least, I hope the insignia are going to be improved. On the existing models, the transfer backing is very obvious.

 

For me, though, the star products are the China Clay hoppers. Superb models.

[NHY 581]

6 minutes ago, Ian Hargrave said:

 
So Andy is this EFE Hymek in anyway different in tooling etc,from current Heljan releases  ? 

 

 

I'm going out on a limb here and say no. 

 

Why would they?.

 

Rob.

[2750Papyrus]

1 hour ago, Phil Parker said:

 

We don't know what, if any, modifications have been made to fit the new motorised chassis. There's not much potential saving to be made if you have to buy the chassis and interior. I'd guess that while you might be happy modifying your model, lots wouldn't, and dealing with customers who have broken either the body or new chassis would be quite an overhead. It might make sense if they did direct sales, but producing a large batch of chassis to feed out through the trade probably make it uneconomic.

 

Given the choice, I suspect that many people will send their unpowered sets to eBay and happily stump up for a RTR model, even with moulded handrails.

 

I could well be one of those as my EFE Northern Line set has been sitting in its boxes for some year waiting for me to get a round tuit!  is there any information yet on the type of motor to be fitted?

[ColinK]

That NCB liveried J94 is interesting, just need to paint the smokebox yellow, replace the ‘NCB’ with a BR double arrow and renumber it 94001 so it will be perfect for my ‘Blue diesel’ layout.  

[Phil Parker]

Just now, 2750Papyrus said:

 

I could well be one of those as my EFE Northern Line set has been sitting in its boxes for some year waiting for me to get a round tuit!  is there any information yet on the type of motor to be fitted?

 

They have only just announced it. We're hoping to get our hands on a review model soon.

[TomScrut]

Further to my whinge on another thread a while ago about the bigger manufacturers (but mostly Bachmann as they have a lot of tooling for big modern wagons) generally shying away from big/complex modern wagons in recent years, and the *potential* reasons given to me by others being around (in Bachmanns case) the dynamic of needing enough margin/quantity for it to be worth the Kader factories doing it, versus demand and what the end price would be, I wonder if this is a way of getting in on some of that action and circumventing some of the potential obstacles of going with their own factories? JIAs are not small nor simple wagons yet these (after discount) are sub £40 other than the heavily weathered ones, I'd expect they'd be £50+ if they had Bachmann written on them. Multiple running numbers too which appeases another one of my whinges.

 

If so I think it is potentially a very good thing and I am pleased, I know what has been announced so far isn't Bachmann tooling so it may be a different thing with stuff they already have tools for.

 

What I am saying is my own hypothesis/opinion rather than fact, it just looked to me like they are maybe reacting to smaller potentially more nimble competition by running a side brand that may have less restrictions perhaps (if restrictions are the issue)?

 

It could be as has been mentioned its just a channel for selling stuff from dealers or lesser known brands through a wider network and I am reading too much into it

Edited August 4, 2020 by TomScrut

[JohnR]

12 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

Not that I'm aware of but I'd say number/livery/weathering permutations are different from previous offerings.

 

Not much wrong with the Hymek; I've always felt it's about their best model.

 

Yes, and thats why I'm puzzled by Heljan's decision to gift the model to EFE/Bachmann like this. I know they have said they will have wider distribution, but the Heljan models were widely available from all the major retailers?

[No Decorum]

22 minutes ago, Zunnan said:

I'll be interested to see the improvements to the mech of the Austerity, the original DJM chassis is a textbook lesson in poor design. Its not only the motor and PCB that were an issue, the whole design was overcomplicated and poorly executed right down to the all geared axles with sloppy fitting flailing side rods. If the mech does turn out to be halfway decent, hopefully it'll be swappable with the DJM ones...I have a few that need new chassis. Given several burned fingers with the awful DJM Austerities, you can understand my rather substantial trepidation over these resurfacing.

I share your discontent with the Austerities but I wouldn’t say the coupling rods flailed on them. Certainly, they were sloppy. Their action was improved by being made in one piece and perhaps the short wheelbase meant that the lack of articulation didn’t matter even on tight curves. Flailing rods are very much a property of the four-coupled designs. I would like to see 14XXs and O2s produced again but not until the gearing has been revised and the coupling rods precision assembled.

[Phil Parker]

2 minutes ago, JohnR said:

 

Yes, and thats why I'm puzzled by Heljan's decision to gift the model to EFE/Bachmann like this. I know they have said they will have wider distribution, but the Heljan models were widely available from all the major retailers?

 

If you only buy online then probably yes. Physical model shops - less of a chance, which is why this might make a lot of sense. The people behind it seem to think it does. Making models is one thing, distribution is far harder.

[AY Mod]

1 minute ago, JohnR said:

but the Heljan models were widely available from all the major retailers?

 

Not as many stockists overall as Bachmann.  

[ba14eagle]

So, is there any chance that O gauge items from the Heljan range could appear? - Or, perhaps I should rephrase that - how about some EFE Rail "Dogfish"? pretty please.  

[amwells]

Fantastic to see these models available again. 
 

I would love to understand the brand logic of EFE Rail. EFE is a well known die cast bus / lorry brand (that happened to also produce a couple of die cast cars, the tube stock and some tube accessories). It competes with Corgi (mainly OOC) and Oxford Diecast.

 

This range is a variety of items that seem a natural extension of the Branchline or Farish ranges. I would understand that the manufacturers of these items may not want their models to appear under the main Bachmann brand, but then why change the direction of the EFE brand, why not use it as an opportunity to bring in a new exciting brand competitor?

 

its a bit like Hornby’s approach with Basset Lowke... But very different to either Oxford that uses a main brand with differentiated ranges (Oxford Diecast, Oxford Rail ERC) or Corgi that uses differentiated brands (OOC, Vanguards, Lledo etc). 

 

Anyway, great to see these items in the range! And please, in building a new brand, don’t dilute it like the Gaugemaster Collection by using inferior moulds like the 33/0!

[JSpencer]

14 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

Not as many stockists overall as Bachmann.  

 

They could always volunteer to be distributor of Heljan directly. Still EFE Rail allows them to use other factories than Kadar.

[wombatofludham]

Intriguing - looks a bit like the "codeshare/franchise" model some airlines use where you think you are flying London Airways but your plane will be operated by Danish Pastry Airlines painted up as a London Airways jet, or even Septic Tank Airlines operating in it's own colours.

It's a neat way of expanding a range by bypassing the production bottleneck, especially if it allows the design team and production managers to crack down on any outstanding models from the "main" range and hopefully bringing totally new items to the point of release.

I must admit the tube train is nice, I could buy one as a rule 1 purchase and run it on a 120 mile extension lead to Wednesford...

[JSpencer]

18 minutes ago, No Decorum said:

I share your discontent with the Austerities but I wouldn’t say the coupling rods flailed on them. Certainly, they were sloppy. Their action was improved by being made in one piece and perhaps the short wheelbase meant that the lack of articulation didn’t matter even on tight curves. Flailing rods are very much a property of the four-coupled designs. I would like to see 14XXs and O2s produced again but not until the gearing has been revised and the coupling rods precision assembled.

 

Weight distribution was also bad, hardly any on the front axle.