Bachmann announce Mk2f's

[Waverley West]

Thank

 

I think theres a review on YouTube, could it be by DaveClass47, who posts on here?  Good review and it looks like the body clips off although there is still some wiring joining the body and chassis .  Looks relatively easy .   Not for me at that price though. I'll stick with my Airfix/Dapol/Hornby Mk2ds

 

Thanks Legend, yes I believe there is. Will see if I can track it down.

 

I received a couple of FOs yesterday. Very nice. Bachmann are going to bankrupt me at this rate.

['CHARD]

 

I received a couple of FOs yesterday. Very nice. 

 

[ThaneofFife]

i think its possible that the wiring loom inside runs to a tiny connector block on the roof PCB and you should be able to unplug the two to separate the body from the chassis.

 

no wonder there is no trace of light bleed-  had they adopted the same construct as the Mk1 coaches with a roof piece and separate side pieces my guess is light would be showing through in all manner of places along the various joints.   good that the bodysides dont "glow" either.

 

Yes DaveClass47 did a good review.  we cant see the WC side of the coach in that video or close up inside but overall it looks smashing.  

[Tony Walker]

Thanks for this Tony.  I too found this to be the case, after my initial fumbling with accessory decoders (which I can now see they would never have been - they are, as you say, a function decoder).  I still have had no luck in finding the dimming CV (or CVs); have you had any success?

 

Peter, I haven't messed with any of the CV's just in case something goes wrong. It would have been good if Bachmann had provided a list of them and what they do, so we could dim the lights or change the function keys around. Might email them and see what they say. Will let you know if I get a response. Tony.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Tony Walker

[tractor_37260]

Peter, I have messed with any of the CV's just in case something goes wrong. It would have been good if Bachmann had provided a list of them and what they do, so we could dim the lights or change the function keys around. Might email them and see what they say. Will let you know if I get a response. Tony.[/quote

 

Considering the RRP of the DCC fitted versions some basic information on the decoder settings should be included !

[No Decorum]

I think theres a review on YouTube, could it be by DaveClass47, who posts on here?  Good review and it looks like the body clips off although there is still some wiring joining the body and chassis .  Looks relatively easy .   Not for me at that price though. I'll stick with my Airfix/Dapol/Hornby Mk2ds

 

It’s a very useful review. 

 

The only thing I disagree with the review about is calling the red tail lights a gimmick. With diesel and electric lights becoming ever more sophisticated, the lack of train tail lights is becoming an ever more noticeable omission.

 

In all, a very impressive coach at an alarming price. A touch of multiplication is a humbling experience. I have a hunch that enough people will quail at the price to cause a price drop. I think I’ll wait for that and if it doesn’t happen, well, I already have some old Mk. IIs and I’ll be able to afford butter on my toast. 

[pheaton]

Lovely coaches - though fitting the details is the usual fiddly ordeal.

 

Has anyone yet succeeded in reprogramming them on DCC? I have an ECoS, and simply get an error message when I place the coach on the programming track and try either to read from or write to the decoder (I having ticked the "Accessory Decoder" option first). I am wanting to:-

(i) change the decoder address from the default 3 to something else; and

(ii) explore the CVs (and, in particular any brightness CV - since, to my eyes, the interior lighting is too bright).

 

Any help gratefully received.

 

Peter

 

When programming have you ticked the programming track "currentless" option?

[Flood]

I seem to be able to afford the new Mk2Fs and still have Anchor butter on my toast (not spreadable either, real butter).

 

Then again I've never been married, seems to have paid dividends in the long term.

[uk_pm]

I still have not discovered which CV (or CVs) dim the lights - so any help on that would be much appreciated.

 

However, I have opened the coach up - very easy, the body simply unclips - and added a little interior detail (people, and headrests).  A modest difference, but a satisfying (and easily achievable) one.  A really great model IMHO.  I can't wait for the SO/TSO.  In the meantime, I will add lights to a BG and Mk 1 RFM.

 

[No Decorum]

I seem to be able to afford the new Mk2Fs and still have Anchor butter on my toast (not spreadable either, real butter).

 

Then again I've never been married, seems to have paid dividends in the long term.

 

The secret to a happy marriage?  Going  without butter is more due to the amount of other stuff I persist in buying. The reactions of little ones makes up for a lot. A three-year-old going ballistic with delight at a model exhibition was wonderful. Humph. Even if it was more at the aeroplanes flying in the hall than the trains.

[No Decorum]

I still have not discovered which CV (or CVs) dim the lights - so any help on that would be much appreciated.

 

However, I have opened the coach up - very easy, the body simply unclips - and added a little interior detail (people, and headrests).  A modest difference, but a satisfying (and easily achievable) one.  A really great model IMHO.  I can't wait for the SO/TSO.  In the meantime, I will add lights to a BG and Mk 1 RFM.

 

Dry toast.

[ThaneofFife]

It’s a very useful review. 

 

The only thing I disagree with the review about is calling the red tail lights a gimmick. With diesel and electric lights becoming ever more sophisticated, the lack of train tail lights is becoming an ever more noticeable omission.

 

In all, a very impressive coach at an alarming price. A touch of multiplication is a humbling experience. I have a hunch that enough people will quail at the price to cause a price drop. I think I’ll wait for that and if it doesn’t happen, well, I already have some old Mk. IIs and I’ll be able to afford butter on my toast. 

 

or it could in the worse case lead to dcc on board coaches quietly getting dropped from the range.

[ThaneofFife]

I still have not discovered which CV (or CVs) dim the lights - so any help on that would be much appreciated.

 

However, I have opened the coach up - very easy, the body simply unclips - and added a little interior detail (people, and headrests).  A modest difference, but a satisfying (and easily achievable) one.  A really great model IMHO.  I can't wait for the SO/TSO.  In the meantime, I will add lights to a BG and Mk 1 RFM.IMG_0003.jpg

 

I thought they would have come with white headrests from the factory afterall they did say fully detailed interiors.  does make a heck of a visual impact and thankfully easy to do yourself as these coaches are so easy to get into.

 

was you going to add some orange curtains too?

[tractor_37260]

I still have not discovered which CV (or CVs) dim the lights - so any help on that would be much appreciated.

 

 

 

 

It's possible there may not be an option to dim the lighting, depends on the features of the decoder installed, as I already commented above, decoder information/CV's etc should have been included with these coaches, I'd suggest you contact Bachmann and ask.  BTW nice head rests - orange curtains next ? 

[Mike at C&M]

TSOs and RFBs now at Bachmann and ready for sending out to retailers.

[Clydebridge]

I thought they would have come with white headrests from the factory afterall they did say fully detailed interiors.  does make a heck of a visual impact and thankfully easy to do yourself as these coaches are so easy to get into.

 

was you going to add some orange curtains too?

 

Those white headrest things were called antimacassar's when I was a lad.

[uk_pm]

Those white headrest things were called antimacassar's when I was a lad.

 

Hmmmm.  I almost used that (splendid) word myself.  But, in the end, I decided that antimacassar is apt to describe a piece of cloth (or paper), providing protection to the seat fabric where the head might be (as seen in the Mark 1 First Class coaches).  Whereas my recollection of the seats in the Mk 2 coaches is that they had a proper cushion (which slid up and down on a pair of elastic runners).

 

And to answer the point about curtains, I think they were beige in the Mk 2f FO, and I have added them (but obviously rather too subtly for them to stand out in the picture).

 

And now I'll get my coat (which is, of course, an anorak)! 

Edited October 4, 2018 by uk_pm

[ThaneofFife]

i wonder if BR did any preliminary designs to convert any Ds Es or Fs into sleeping cars (not the lounge cars) or whether the decision was set in stone to go from the Mk1 to the Mk3a?

 

 

Anybody good at "what if" renderings - I reckon a Mk2f sleeper would have looked quite cool.

[MJI]

They didn't want to spend too much hence the lack of Mark 2 catering or full brakes

[John M Upton]

I vaguely recall someone in these hallowed halls actually built a Mk2 BG!

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Having looked at the great (IMO) video by ThaneofFife is the need to have all the coaches the same way round in order to use the door access lights feature on the Intercity red stripe DCC variant going to cause any problems authenticity wise?.

 

Also could somebody do a sharp photograph of the DCC decoder circuitry so that we can try and work out who made it in order to see if it has any extra features like brightness control?.

 

 

Many thanks

 

Nick

[Bob Reid]

How about stripping one of your own Nik if "we" need this info? pulling apart a £67 coach shouldn't be taken lightly...

[NIK]

How about stripping one of your own Nik if "we" need this info? pulling apart a £67 coach shouldn't be taken lightly...

 

Hi,

 

I don't have any of these coaches but I thought I'd try and be helpful by offering to try and identify the designer of the decoder in the hope of finding extra features.

With existing loco decoders I've found extra CVs and extra function outputs in the past.

 

I guess brightness is one thing that some people might like to control as might be setting up in the decoder the direction the coach is facing so that the door access lights still turn illuminate on the correct side if the coach is the opposite way round.

 

Sorry about the use of the word we - I stayed up modelling too late last night and I used we as a shorthand for people on RMWeb.

 

 

Regards

 

Nick

[ThaneofFife]

if dimming is not viable then a spot of brown wood stain or off white paint over the LEDs in the seating area will get a good result.  i would consider leaving the toilets and vestibules.  do one coach until you achieve the right lighting level.

 

in dark conditions note that the lights should still light up the track/outside ground area.

 

Bachmann should move quickly to equip the vans and full rest/buffets to go with these but I suspect the Mk1 would need a full retool..

[delticfan]

They didn't want to spend too much hence the lack of Mark 2 catering or full brakes

Agreed, image in the 1970s wasn’t a priority for the railways at least until the hst arrived. I often thought it looked odd with modern air con carriages in a rake mixed in with some scabby old full brake and catering vehicles. Add br blue into the mix and we lived in a drab world, but oh what I would give to spend a day watching them go by again!