Bachmann announce Mk2f's

[IRC]

Does anyone know when the RFB’s were first converted? My mind is telling me late 80’s, but I’m not so sure.

 

Thanks.

[jamespetts]

32 minutes ago, IRC said:

Does anyone know when the RFB’s were first converted? My mind is telling me late 80’s, but I’m not so sure.

 

Thanks.

1989, I believe.

[G-BOAF]

So the RFBs only carried swallow livery, hence previous release. What i dont understand is why a new release with swallow and CDL lights have not been produced in this batch.

 

Im hedging my bets on my long term mk2f strategy.  I have the preserved RFB in blue and grey with CDL and just purchased the swallow BSO. Cleverly, whether intended or not Bachmanns new bso is numbered as 9526 which has run with charter operators in intercity livery having been repainted back into swallow after disposal from VT (I think im right in believing it was in VT livery once). So with change of OHL flashes and addition of yellow stepboards it can span much of the period from 1990 to c2016. And technically be contemporary to RFB M1254 in 'heritage' Blue and Grey.

This said i would love a batch of charter mk2fs in Blue/Grey with CDL.

[Butler Henderson]

Collectors Club DRS ones arrived today

 

[Global]

6 hours ago, The 158 Man said:

 

Look at the state of that! A disgrace to the livery. I don't think I've ever seen an IC coach so dirty. 

 

And what a weird set. All first class and with 3 brakes too, I wonder if it was some form of special or trial? I'd hope it's not a first class only Pullman Charter or something, imagine arriving at the station to board and this filthy rake pulls in! 

 

You're absolutely right in your observations of course, I wonder if this coach was the one Bachmann produced? I.e the first (or indeed a very early) example off the production line. That would certainly explain the lack of door locking lights. 

 

It also makes sense that the RFBs would be one of the first* bits of rolling stock to receive the INTERCITY branding, because during their conversion I feel sure they'll have had a repaint as well. It would make zero sense to send them back out with InterCity on.

 

* Incidentally, the very first stock to receive this was the white roofed charter stock in 1987, replacing the InterCity lettering it had worn since 1985. I've included this info here because I'm a very boring person and the dogs are sick of listening to me. 

Although the very first train that appears in that video also has a RFB and then all but one of the TSOs behind it have INTERCITY! The one that doesn’t is blank so no old logos at all on that one! 
 

I’m hoping for some INTERCITY without CDL lights on all the others! 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Global

[Matt]

8 hours ago, Waverley West said:

 

 

See the cross-country service arriving from around 6.30 mins in this video:

 

 

It appears to show a very grubby InterCity Swallow RFB at the head of a rake of InterCity a/c Mk 2s (admittedly mostly/all Mk 2d's I think) all with either original I/C branding or no branding at all. This suggests the RFBs were some of the first coaches to receive the Swallow branding, hence also the lack of door locking lights?

Looks like one that was done by a "professional weatherer" on ebay.  At least someone washed the windows!

[SouthernMafia]

Think someone in the Hornby Mk2 thread mentioned about a comparison between the Virgin stock - I've got one Bachmann RFB and 6 Hornby Mk2Es, the RFB doesn't look too out of place, but the interior lights are much brighter than the Hornby models. The Hornby model also suffers from bendy bogies and the coach is hardly straight itself!

I will get a few more Bachmann ones in time and think about what to do with the Hornby 2Es, might just have two rakes and live with it!

 

 

[Solo]

50 minutes ago, SouthernMafia said:

Think someone in the Hornby Mk2 thread mentioned about a comparison between the Virgin stock - I've got one Bachmann RFB and 6 Hornby Mk2Es, the RFB doesn't look too out of place, but the interior lights are much brighter than the Hornby models.

If using DCC you can dim the Bachmann lights considerably by changing the value in - if I remember correctly - CV118.  think the range is 1-7 and they are set to the brightest setting from the factory.  So hopefully you should be able to match with your Hornby coaches.

[VXDH92]

8 hours ago, SouthernMafia said:

Think someone in the Hornby Mk2 thread mentioned about a comparison between the Virgin stock - I've got one Bachmann RFB and 6 Hornby Mk2Es, the RFB doesn't look too out of place, but the interior lights are much brighter than the Hornby models. The Hornby model also suffers from bendy bogies and the coach is hardly straight itself!

I will get a few more Bachmann ones in time and think about what to do with the Hornby 2Es, might just have two rakes and live with it!

 

 

 

Your pics are very generous to the Hornby model - I'm also running a mix, and the Hornby Virgin Red is wayyy too dark and looks more like crimson in low light. You're spot on that for some reason, the Virgin batch of Hornby Mk2Es are all bowed. I've not seen one that isn't. One get-around is to use the newer Hornby Virgin Mk2Fs. They are not bowed, but the roof moulding is a bit warped on most (not as noticeable as a bowed body IMO), and unfortunately they didn't do lights in the F variant.

 

Great pics, I'll try to put some up myself at some point.

[Class 158 productions]

Few zoomed in shots from an Intercity TSO. 

[James Makin]

13 hours ago, SouthernMafia said:

Think someone in the Hornby Mk2 thread mentioned about a comparison between the Virgin stock - I've got one Bachmann RFB and 6 Hornby Mk2Es, the RFB doesn't look too out of place, but the interior lights are much brighter than the Hornby models. The Hornby model also suffers from bendy bogies and the coach is hardly straight itself!

I will get a few more Bachmann ones in time and think about what to do with the Hornby 2Es, might just have two rakes and live with it!

 

 

 

Useful shot Rich! What's interesting from your pics (and it may just be my eyes!) but there's a variance in the angle of divide between the red & grey on each coach, the Bachmann one has a sharper angle and the Hornby a softer angle of transition, without pouring over pics this lunchtime, I wonder which one is right (or maybe it just down to someone at the paintshop masking some up differently in real life!)

 

I've bought a few Bachmann Virgin RFBs to top out my extra CrossCountry sets, I've not lined them up together yet though, the Hornby MK2Es are shoddy build quality and need the underframe solebars ground out but a good model can be made from them! The newer Hornby Virgin Mk2Fs have a poor quality red-printed paint line divider between the red & grey, so it does seem you get what you pay for with Bachmann vs Hornby in the Mk2 stakes! My cost-cutter nature has gone for the downmarket Hornby option every time here though 

 

Cheers,

James

[SouthernMafia]

9 hours ago, James Makin said:

 

Useful shot Rich! What's interesting from your pics (and it may just be my eyes!) but there's a variance in the angle of divide between the red & grey on each coach, the Bachmann one has a sharper angle and the Hornby a softer angle of transition, without pouring over pics this lunchtime, I wonder which one is right (or maybe it just down to someone at the paintshop masking some up differently in real life!)

 

I've bought a few Bachmann Virgin RFBs to top out my extra CrossCountry sets, I've not lined them up together yet though, the Hornby MK2Es are shoddy build quality and need the underframe solebars ground out but a good model can be made from them! The newer Hornby Virgin Mk2Fs have a poor quality red-printed paint line divider between the red & grey, so it does seem you get what you pay for with Bachmann vs Hornby in the Mk2 stakes! My cost-cutter nature has gone for the downmarket Hornby option every time here though 

 

Cheers,

James

 

Thanks James, I'm glad you mentioned that difference in angle that I didn't notice before and now can't unsee ! :p

[ThaneofFife]

Hornby will miss out on a trick if they dont offer their Mk2fs with the same type of Lighting system as on their Coronatio scot stock.  not dcc but rail powered but they are very effective and when they retail at around £55-60 they would shift loads of Mk2fs imho if they fitted them with good lighting throughout (not like the old versions that just had 3 LEDs in the middle.  Bear in mind Bachmann dont look like they are far off now asking for £100 a coach for dcc fitted.    nice to have full control of lights but for coaches I think they are either on or off.  a tail light if required is easily added with some modelling.....

[GordonC]

1 hour ago, ThaneofFife said:

Hornby will miss out on a trick if they dont offer their Mk2fs with the same type of Lighting system as on their Coronatio scot stock.  not dcc but rail powered but they are very effective and when they retail at around £55-60 they would shift loads of Mk2fs imho if they fitted them with good lighting throughout (not like the old versions that just had 3 LEDs in the middle.  Bear in mind Bachmann dont look like they are far off now asking for £100 a coach for dcc fitted.    nice to have full control of lights but for coaches I think they are either on or off.  a tail light if required is easily added with some modelling.....

 

Having seen the Accurascale Mk2bs with the magnetic wand for on/off, I do wonder whether having full rakes of coaches with individual DCC decoders is going OTT, like you say, just interior on/off for lights is good enough for larger numbers of coaches

[dj_crisp]

I quite like the idea of DCC control interior lighting Vs switches or wands. Better IMO to be able to control with a controller or linked to a PC than something physical. 

[Ian J.]

I like the idea of DCC controlled brakes on non-powered vehicles. It would allow trains to be stopped on an incline and have the loco detach without the train rolling away. Just need to remember to release the brakes before moving off...

[BR Blue]

You can have all the coaches in a rake at the same DCC address and control them all at the same time. 

 

 

 

[Tony Walker]

There is one disappointment with this batch of coaches and that's the fact the brake pipe hoses for each end of the coach haven't been painted this time. We pay a further 13 pounds per coach this time round and have to paint the hoses this time. The initial batch had them painted. A bit poor I think for something so expensive.

[G-BOAF]

5 hours ago, Tony Walker said:

There is one disappointment with this batch of coaches and that's the fact the brake pipe hoses for each end of the coach haven't been painted this time. We pay a further 13 pounds per coach this time round and have to paint the hoses this time. The initial batch had them painted. A bit poor I think for something so expensive.

 

I did wonder if that was universally the case in the pre-prodiction pics on the Bachmann website

 Not had a chance to inspect mine yet.

 What might be possible, given that two sets of pipes is supplied per coach, is to use the spare painted pipes from the first batch on latest coaches.

Edited October 14, 2021 by G-BOAF

[SouthernMafia]

On 13/10/2021 at 18:07, BR Blue said:

You can have all the coaches in a rake at the same DCC address and control them all at the same time. 

 

 

 

 

What I find annoying is that you have to turn them on, they are off by default..is there a way to change this? So as soon as you put them on the track they come on?

It's annoying because when you're using NCE equipment with MERG DCC circuit breakers, when there's a short it cuts out, resets and most stuff reverts to its default state, ie off.

[Rich Papper]

Just a quick tip if anyone is planning on taking apart / converting / repainting any of these. The glazing seems to have enough glue for you to be able to swing on. I'm part way through a conversion and tried to keep the printing on the glazing by removing, then stripping. Did manage to get it all out without cracking any of the windows themselves (a combination of scalpel blade shapes and a paint stirrer to give a wider pressure point as possible), but a lot of other bits left inside. I then dunked it in my chosen paint remover - 90% IPA 10% Water - for two days. Got all paint off no problem, and appreciably softened the remaining glue holding the remnants of the glazing inside. I think next time I'd be tempted to dunk the whole body, jimmy the glazing out afterwards and pick up some no-smoking transfers.

In progress:

After:

 

Hope this helps.
Rich

[MrB]

9 hours ago, Rich Papper said:

Just a quick tip if anyone is planning on taking apart / converting / repainting any of these. The glazing seems to have enough glue for you to be able to swing on. I'm part way through a conversion and tried to keep the printing on the glazing by removing, then stripping. Did manage to get it all out without cracking any of the windows themselves (a combination of scalpel blade shapes and a paint stirrer to give a wider pressure point as possible), but a lot of other bits left inside. I then dunked it in my chosen paint remover - 90% IPA 10% Water - for two days. Got all paint off no problem, and appreciably softened the remaining glue holding the remnants of the glazing inside. I think next time I'd be tempted to dunk the whole body, jimmy the glazing out afterwards and pick up some no-smoking transfers.

In progress:

After:

 

Hope this helps.
Rich

 

For removing the windows, try putting the shell in the freezer for 20 mins then push them out, should come out easier.

 

Regards

 

Mr B

[andyman7]

Just a quick question re the DCC fitted coaches - presumably these can work quite happily on DC just without any of the lighting functions? Asking as my stock gets used on both DCC and DC setups.

[adb968008]

On 18/10/2021 at 22:25, andyman7 said:

Just a quick question re the DCC fitted coaches - presumably these can work quite happily on DC just without any of the lighting functions? Asking as my stock gets used on both DCC and DC setups.

Yes, but there is no capacitor (stay alive), so they do flicker on bad joints and dim/brighten as you turn up/down the power.

[SouthernMafia]

Can anyone tell me what CV needs changing to dim the interior coach lights on these fine models please? And what the max value is.

I've been getting all the fiddly end details on today which for this price I do wonder why most of them aren't fitted already (the ones which don't foul the couplings) Plus the tail lamps need a red line.