Jump to content
 

Heljan's Class 26's


Superrams

Recommended Posts

:angry:

Hi Guys

 

Has anyone got any of the above loco's,and if so,what is your opinion of them ?

This is mine,and it is only my opinion.

 

Garbage !

 

I have taken advantage of Hattons generous sale of these loco's by purchasing 3,the first of which arrived yesterday

 

I 'unclipped' the loco body to remove it to fit a DCC decoder, ( unclipping,being a nervous reminder of ViTrains stuff )

Then,another nightmare ViTrains scenario !

The lighting fiddly plastic things fell out, one had broken, just like ViTrains Class 37's do.

Having mended that,(isn't it great when your taking glue out to a model that is straight out the box?),i struggled to get the body back on without them keep falling out of the shell.

Then,getting the body to sit back into it's lugs was ridiculously difficult

Having done that,i am now getting light bleed in both directions for some barmy reason. Tail light red is bleeding through when the front lights are on and vice versa. ( Both directions )

 

And,now here's a guddun !!

 

How the hell do you fit the snow ploughs?

There are hooks on the plough's, but nowhere to hook them !

 

Also,the windsceen wipers are a country mile off the windscreens !

 

Sorry Heljan & Vitrains fans,the Heljan Class 26's are tripe,and i will never purchase a Heljan or Vi Trains locomotive again

Thank God for E Bay,where these 3 are going pronto

 

I hasten to add,that i am not a novice,i have been modelling for 25 years,so i have learnt a bit in my time. What i haven't learned it seems,is that you get what you pay for.

I think Bachmann are safe. Top drawer models, with screws to remove bodies, a quality product,and superb running, oh, and no light bleed when you fit a decoder !

 

Your expert views on the above, guys would be most welcome.

Link to post
Share on other sites

:The lighting fiddly plastic things fell out,

 

No expert here. I agree totally about the light thingys, which fell off on mine too, but the lights were (prototypically) so dim that I could'nt see them anyway. Now, I like to see the lights because they tell me which way round the loco is facing on DCC, so I drilled out the space where the bulbs sit, and replaced them with LEDs, then fitted some fibre optics to the front and back. With a decent resistor (about 4K+ if I remember correctly,) the lights are now visible without being glaring.

 

However, with a Lenz standard decoder for DCC, I think it is a superb runner, excellent slow speed and great haulage power, and I intend to buy another when the boss allows it.

You are right though - a new loco should not really need any repairs straight from the box - lots of threads here I think regarding Hornby locos which need instant repair.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest 40-something

Hi

 

I've never had a problem with my HJ 26's (or 27). The light guides did fall out but a little bit of gloss varnish around the outside of the guide lense secured them back in place, after drying time of a few hours. The light bleed on the 26 can be easily cured by judicious use of black paint on the light guides/inside of the cab fronts.

 

The bodyshells have to be fitted the right way round - took me a while to work out that the indentations on the chassis block corresponded with the bodyside windows. A good firm push of the shell clips it back in place - your decoder wires may be getting trapped causing the shell not to sit fully home.

 

The snow ploughs are fitted behind the bufferbeams, right up at the top if I remember correctly, a spot of glue to holding them in place.

 

I do agree on the wipers though, I've just replaced mine with etched examples

 

I wouldnt write the HJ 26/27's off so quickly, my 3 have the best running chassis of all my loco's, a little bit of patience is all thats required. I've no experience of Vi-Trains products but from what I hear, some patience again is required, although I do know there were quality control issues on the first releases.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank You Guys for your replies.

It is a little more comforting to know that the lighting thingy's fall out on most,and not just on mine !

But,call me petty, (or whatever!),but,painting out the plastic lugs,or adding and drilling to improve shouldn't have to be done on an out of the box loco retailing at £80.

Thank You for that information,it's appreciated.

Again though, my opinion, but when i buy something,i expect it to be right,and i don't expect lighting plastic flimsy things to drop out and be broken,just because i need to add a decoder.

If i break something due to being heavy handed or clumsy,then fair do's,but these just fell out,and my first job was to reach for the glue pot.

 

Perhaps i'm being over critical,but i like everything to be right,am i wrong in expecting this?

I have a brand new loco here that has had to be repaired from the box,and i still have the light bleed problem.

 

Still going on E Bay i'm afraid :(

Link to post
Share on other sites

Still going on E Bay i'm afraid :(

 

...and repent at leisure. :rolleyes:

 

My six are an absolute delight, no problem to chip, carefully handled the light bars stayed in place, bodies off and on without a worry - they just need to be the right way round, and with light muted weathering there's no jarring issue with the detail parts either.

 

Anyway, if your view is you want shot of three (the word hasty comes to mind), then why not sell them on here to one of the many devotees of the wee Brummie Sulzers with the shrunken middle window and no headcode box :P

 

Note to self, never buy three of something as an impulse purchase that are non-essential to my fleet parameters :D

Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest 40-something

Thank You Guys for your replies.

It is a little more comforting to know that the lighting thingy's fall out on most,and not just on mine !

But,call me petty, (or whatever!),but,painting out the plastic lugs,or adding and drilling to improve shouldn't have to be done on an out of the box loco retailing at £80.

Thank You for that information,it's appreciated.

Again though, my opinion, but when i buy something,i expect it to be right,and i don't expect lighting plastic flimsy things to drop out and be broken,just because i need to add a decoder.

If i break something due to being heavy handed or clumsy,then fair do's,but these just fell out,and my first job was to reach for the glue pot.

 

Perhaps i'm being over critical,but i like everything to be right,am i wrong in expecting this?

I have a brand new loco here that has had to be repaired from the box,and i still have the light bleed problem.

 

Still going on E Bay i'm afraid :(

 

I can understand your frustrations, if there were broken parts straight from the box then just send it back to Hattons. Done this before with no problems at all. I've only had three items that I've taken out of the box to find broken parts (incidently, 2 Bachmann and 1 Hornby), sent these back for replacement with no issues.

 

However I've had a quite a few items with loose parts rattling around in the box. And both my Bachmann Class 20 and Class 08 had windows that had fallen inside the cab, whist in transit from factory - shop - me, and these are a nightmare to get to and fix but its not put me off buying any more Bachmann products. Annoying yes, but its one of those things that happens.

 

Aware as I am with the Vi-trains issues, Im not put off buying any of those, just need to wait for the right bodyshell moulding on their 37 or 47.

 

I do think you are being rather hasty selling them off, but I'll be keeping an eye out for them :-)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Couldn't agree more with the comments on this thread supporting the Heljan 26s (and 27s). My four (plus two more yet to be weathered) are some of my favourite locos and best runners. Getting the bodies back on properly after fitting a sound decoder is not the easiest job in the world, a bit more space would be much appreciated, but otherwise, they are lovely little locos IMO.

 

Queue forthcoming bun-fight on e-bay. :D

 

Cheers,

Dave

Waverley West

Link to post
Share on other sites

More good replies. Thanks

I haven't made myself clear enough I think

I bought 2 from Hattons,and the other from Rails. The one from Rails is now on E Bay. The Hattons ones I am sending back.I have contacted them today.

I am grateful for Hattons for taking them back.

 

I understand your views of impatience etc, but I can't stand things that should be right,and they aren't.

How can you go cap in hand back to the shop of purchase when the body has been removed and the lighting plastic lighting Thingy is broken ?

They really are going to believe me aren't they ?

 

This hobby is all about opinions,and I am really glad that most of you are enjoying your Scotty Sulzers, but I am not a happy bunny when I am nervous about fixing a DCC chip in case the lighting units fall to bits

Vitrains are exactly the same

Crappy plastic lighting units that fall to bits when the body is either lifted on or off.

 

I've also had another look at where the snowploughs fit

It's no good. I'll have to go to Specsavers

 

Bachmann Class 37 snowploughs ? Doddle ! Fit onto a lug at each side.

 

Come on Sulzer fans, I've got my tin hat on. Go for it !!

Link to post
Share on other sites

I agree with you on some points about repairing new locos. If i can fix things easily then i will have a go.

Bachmann too also have issues: I have had two locos (one was 37410) were the drive shaft holder has not been fastened to the motor shaft resulting in one or both bogies not getting traction. I see this issue crops up from time to time on RM web.

 

Tight screws can cause more issues than an unclipped body too!

 

At the end of the day they are your toys to throw out of the pram but your options for a decent class 26 are somewhat limited.

 

Paul

Link to post
Share on other sites

At the end of the day they are your toys to throw out of the pram but your options for a decent class 26 are somewhat limited.

 

And on that balanced note, this topic will be locked.

 

Come on Sulzer fans, I've got my tin hat on. Go for it !!

 

As the OP, you've already decided to move your locos on and we're of the view that continuing the for-and-against bunfight you seem to want is of little value to the forum.

 

Cheers.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...