Silver Sidelines Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 (edited) Barry, I have to agree I think that's just the way it is with Hornby's crankpins, which are very fat at the business ...... I have a box full of assorted Hornby 'rods' swapped out of Britannias, DoG, new Castles, Cities - all with similar sized holes. Yes they are weak - I forget now what happened but I remember a straight three hole rod of DoG just bending into a 'V' shape around the central crank when something hadn't been fastened together properly. Some of Hornby's motors must be quite powerful. I have yet to wear out a set of rods but I have come across quite a few where the spacing of the holes has not been correct. Regards Ray Edited November 21, 2015 by Silver Sidelines Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDJR7F88 Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) A quick review of the all new King Class! A review of another very much anticipated from Hornby and again one I really have been looking forward too! The all new Great Western 6000 Class (King Class), ‘King George V’ in smart BR Early Green Livery, as preserved at the National Railway Museum.The King Class was design by Charles Collett, to meet future traffic requirements of the Great Western Railway. The first members of the class entered service in 1927, and by 1931 a total of 31 Locomotives had entered service. All member of the class bore names, of Kings of England and the United Kingdom. Designed for express passenger workings, the Kings were the largest and most powerful 4-6-0’s locomotives on the Western Region. All members of the Class withdrawn in 1962, with three member of the class surviving preserved, including ‘King George V’. Hornby have done an superb job in capturing the prototype in model form. Featuring a high level of detail, superb cab interior, sprung buffers, tender pick-ups, plus smooth and powerful running straight from the box, this model is a must for any Great Western modeller! Hope you enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jQBJBOPrUY Edited November 22, 2015 by SDJR7F88 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold toboldlygo Posted November 22, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 22, 2015 Been having a fiddle with the tender this morning to see what was causing the tender to have a slight upward slope towards the cab. Two things came to mind as to what was causing it - (a) tender top not sitting correctly on the tender chassis and (b) the drawbar not having enough vertical play in it. With the tender separated and sitting on flat surface I checked for any variation in height from one end of the tender using the top edge of the chassis a point of reference. It was pretty damn straight and level. However I could see that the tender top was not sitting down level, seems to be a common issue with the Collett tenders. Fortunately it's fairly easy to rectify, with the top removed I carefully opened up the holes slightly the vertical handrails locate in on the chassis and also cleaned off any high spots on the bottom face of the tender top (there are usually two under the front end of the tender) with this done the tender went together level. I also to the opportunity to remove and adjust the water scoop which was sitting to low. The draw bar just needed the screw on the loco loosening off ever so slightly, just to give a bit more play. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Barry Ten Posted November 22, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 22, 2015 Barry, I have to agree I have a box full of assorted Hornby 'rods' swapped out of Britannias, DoG, new Castles, Cities - all with similar sized holes. Yes they are weak - I forget now what happened but I remember a straight three hole rod of DoG just bending into a 'V' shape around the central crank when something hadn't been fastened together properly. Some of Hornby's motors must be quite powerful. I have yet to wear out a set of rods but I have come across quite a few where the spacing of the holes has not been correct. Regards Ray Given how much wear you'd think would be in play, I'm surprised valve gear doesn't fail more often than it does. Other than a couple of cases where something fell off within a few days of purchase, I don't think I've ever had valve gear wear out on any RTR model, going right back to early 70s Triang-Hornby. And I'm not all that careful about keeping it lubricated either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 4069 Posted November 22, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 22, 2015 Since no RTR manufacturer has ever made a GW loco with working valve gear that could fall off, that's hardly surprising. Connecting and coupling rods, though... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmcg Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Been having a fiddle with the tender this morning to see what was causing the tender to have a slight upward slope towards the cab. Two things came to mind as to what was causing it - (a) tender top not sitting correctly on the tender chassis and ( B) the drawbar not having enough vertical play in it. With the tender separated and sitting on flat surface I checked for any variation in height from one end of the tender using the top edge of the chassis a point of reference. It was pretty damn straight and level. However I could see that the tender top was not sitting down level, seems to be a common issue with the Collett tenders. Fortunately it's fairly easy to rectify, with the top removed I carefully opened up the holes slightly the vertical handrails locate in on the chassis and also cleaned off any high spots on the bottom face of the tender top (there are usually two under the front end of the tender) with this done the tender went together level. I also to the opportunity to remove and adjust the water scoop which was sitting to low. The draw bar just needed the screw on the loco loosening off ever so slightly, just to give a bit more play. 6021_adjustedTender.jpg Thanks for the photo toboldlygo, I particularly like the look of the rods, not too shiny, and look forward to seeing my Kings here in NZ before long. Cheers, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Decorum Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 My blue King has arrived. The colour is deeper than the impression I had from some brightly lit photographs and is closer to the preserved blue King. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFA3z_d_iio As someone who hates Hornby's green, I'm very pleased with this one. For comparison, the NRM King. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Sidelines Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) It was only when I made a picture that I spotted this little fault. Spot the difference - left before, right afterwards I know nothing about manufacturing. However I must express some surprise that the little steps on the footplate above the buffers are separate individual mouldings. Mine were not glued in and were sat at a jaunty angle. Even more amazing are the pair of tiny spigots used to hold them in place. You had better go and check yours now if they are still there! Regards Ray Edited November 24, 2015 by Silver Sidelines Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hilux5972 Posted November 24, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 24, 2015 There is no image there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
exet1095 Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 There is no image there.Not just one, but two images! Try using a different device or browser Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 31A Posted November 24, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 24, 2015 Not just one, but two images! Try using a different device or browser Two images from No Decorum, but none from Silver Sidelines - just a message from Flickr that says 'This photo is no longer available'! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Sidelines Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 (edited) Apologies all Sorted There is no image there. Not just one, but two images! Try using a different device or browser Two images from No Decorum, but none from Silver Sidelines - just a message from Flickr that says 'This photo is no longer available'!Late last night I cropped the Flickr image to remove a white line down the side. I had forgotten that this would in effect create a new image and that the embedded link in my comment would be voided. Regards Ray Edited November 24, 2015 by Silver Sidelines Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivegreen Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 There is no problem with the images here. (Using Mac + Safari 6). they look good! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 31A Posted November 24, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 24, 2015 Thanks, Ray - all fine now! It is surprising sometimes how many bits are separate items on these modern RTR models, as I've found from having to re-glue several lamp irons into the backs of tenders (usually my own fault for wanting to put headlamps on them), first having found them in the four foot! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 It was only when I made a picture that I spotted this little fault. Spot the difference - left before, right afterwards I know nothing about manufacturing. However I must express some surprise that the little steps on the footplate above the buffers are separate individual mouldings. Mine were not glued in and were sat at a jaunty angle. Even more amazing are the pair of tiny spigots used to hold them in place... But even more amazingly, it appears that gluing in the steps has caused all the bolt head detail on the centre panel of the bufferbeam to retract. Is this the first in a new line of variable geometry models? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ian Hargrave Posted November 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2015 Pleased to say the blue version is far better than its green sisters in colour tone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmcg Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 (edited) A couple more photos by which people might judge the colours of the Kings in Brunswick Green and BR blue.... Canon camera, 80% natural light 20% tungsten, un-messed-with, you can see how the angles of light affect the degree of shine or lack of it. I think both colours are very good and fine. But then I have never disliked Hornby BR green, being of the view that it is too dependent on lighting, memory, and so on. As I may have mentioned before I very much like the tone and look of the wheels and rods. Edited November 26, 2015 by robmcg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 (edited) Hornby does indeed produce some very fine models and I am leaning ever more towards them nowadays. The orange lining is fine except on the boiler bands, but no real loco in traffic ever carried such a green. The matt finish makes the green appear lighter and chalky and so Hornby should use a darker green as a starting point. Dealing with it is relatively easy for me with spray equipment and clear cellulose, and I have noticed on this forum that other members have found various ways of altering the appearance of the green. I avoid fully repainting and lining out my own stock of locos as much as possible but I do respray boilers and apply my own boiler band lining. Then the whole loco is given a coat of clear cellulose, which kills the chalky surface and gives the green 'depth', followed by light weathering. The end result is the Hornby and Bachmann locos have a homogeneous appearance despite having started with differing greens. The blue 'King' shows the problem of using pure white lining on a small scale locomotive...The lining is overpowering even if scaled down. For this reason some professional painters use light grey instead of white. White lining on real locomotives does not remain white very long due to the cleaning oils used and of course road grime that tends to become ingrained. Edited November 26, 2015 by coachmann 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold toboldlygo Posted November 26, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 26, 2015 The blue 'King' shows the problem of using pure white lining on a small scale locomotive...The lining is overpowering even if scaled down. For this reason some professional painters use light grey instead of white. White lining on real locomotives does not remain white very long due to the cleaning oils used and of course road grime that tends to become ingrained. A couple of the colour photo's I've seen of the Blue Kings in service, they look almost unlined. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 That appears to be generally true of the standard BR blue livery on all the locos it was applied to. It was dropped for 'poor wearing qualities' and from photographic evidence it quickly deteriorated from ex-works elegance with the blue showing every little bit of dirt and then going chalky with repeated cleanings, and the white lining quickly 'disappearing' for the reasons already mentioned by Coachmann. It did look very 'sharp' when freshly applied, for my money the Gresley A3 and Bulleid MN (really attractive scheme) wore it best. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmcg Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 (edited) A few more photos from my assembled trio of Kings... Make what you will of the colours, I think they are all superb models. I tidied the backgrounds a tad, that last photo hand-held at 1/15th sec not the best. Colours with about 20% from a reading lamp 40w and 80% window-light. Canon camera. Cheers (apologies for repetitiveness but I am enjoying these models ) Now. Which to photograph first with Colletts or WR Mk1s and scenery? Or maybe another portrait a la shed scene? Edited November 26, 2015 by robmcg 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clearwater Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 I see they've put another gwr liveried king in next year's catalogue with the shirt button logo. Still seems to be missing the double red disks though.. Delivery at end March may clash directly with DJM/Hattons David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clearwater Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 I'm also rather amused that the predictive advertising on the Hornby King page pulls up an advert for the Hattons model! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hilux5972 Posted November 27, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 27, 2015 I'm happy to see the BR Blue King wasn't just a one off for launch. Unfortunately it is the same number as one of the DJM/Hattons Kings I have in order so won't be adding it. The other 2 BR ones will be joining them though. I will be removing the TTS from both the Blue one from this year and the Green from next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Sidelines Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 (edited) In an earlier post dealing with a loose crank pin I said that the tender felt light and mine had rather a wobble. I have now had time to investigate further. The tender off Derwent Grange weighs in around 72gm. The tender off King Edward weighs around 57gm. Quite a bit lighter on account of a fancy shaped metal weight with a hole in it for a speaker. To cure the wobble I have been swapping some tender wheels around. The tender wheels on my King appear to be a new finer profile - just a pity that they don't run true. I have pictured the King tender wheels below compared to the Grange (X9357). There is a significant difference in the profiles. I had to go back and check the King engine in case I had missed something - but the tyres on the driving wheels and front bogie are standard Hornby - the same as the wheels from the Grange tender. I can imagine that the new slim profile tender wheels coupled with a reduced tender weight may cause a few running problems for those people with layouts at the 'train set' end of the spectrum. RayHornby New King Tender Wheels (left) Derwent Grange Tender (right)Hornby New King Tender Wheels (left) Derwent Grange tender wheels (right) Edited November 27, 2015 by Silver Sidelines Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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