cheekyal Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Hi everybody, I notice that Hornby Railroad A4's are currently going pretty cheap in lots of places, and I was wondering if anybody had any thoughts about how easy it would be to detail one of these to a 'decent' standard (i.e. up to the 'main range level of detail)? My current experience of detailing and upgrading RTR stock is limited, but with Kernow selling Golden Shuttle at £50 brand new, I thought it might be a good project to start on. The trouble is, I have no idea exactly where to start!! Are there kits available for this sort of thing? Where would one find the 'window glass' etc? I have spent about an hour googling and poking around various sites and forums but con't seem to nail the answer I am looking for so I thought I'd ask you chaps... There seems to be a brassmasters detailing kit, but the site says it's not suitable for all Hornby A4's, and doesn't seem to mention any post-2011... I am sorry if this has been covered previously, but I haven't had much luck with the search function... If it has, could someone point me to the right thread? Thanks in advance, Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micklner Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Find a GBL A4 for the glazing, Brassmasters is suitable for the current A4. the problem is with the railroad version you need to fit all of these as per the detailed version :- Fit cab handrails Oil lubricator Better valve gear Cab doors You cant have opening cab roof vents detailed backhead cab seats Tender is the old tender drive version too wide poorly detailed . You could replace with the GBL Tender which is based on the super detail version as fitted to mallard. That would need Hornby under frame, handrails all round rear steps and a repaint as body has a couple of mould marks on sides. Railroad is £50 you can get a decent secondhand Mallard of ebay for not much more . I know which one I would buy, your choice !! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheekyal Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 Find a GBL A4 for the glazing, Brassmasters is suitable for the current A4. the problem is with the railroad version you need to fit all of these as per the detailed version :- Fit cab handrails Oil lubricator Better valve gear Cab doors You cant have opening cab roof vents detailed backhead cab seats Tender is the old tender drive version too wide poorly detailed . You could replace with the GBL Tender which is based on the super detail version as fitted to mallard. That would need Hornby under frame, handrails all round rear steps and a repaint as body has a couple of mould marks on sides. Railroad is £50 you can get a decent secondhand Mallard of ebay for not much more . I know which one I would buy, your choice !! Thanks Mick, I always look at EBay as quite a daunting place to go, because I find it difficult to know what I am buying... How do I know if a model is a 1970's / 1980's tender drive A4 or a more recent loco drive one which would be much better? It's hard work to the un-knowledgeble such as myself... Anyway, I'll think about delving into auction sites and see what happens... I have read somewhere that Hornby A4's are better than Bachmann ones. Anybody know of a list of Hornby catalogue numbers which I would be 'safe' buying'? You know, the R1234 numbers? Cheers, Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 It's pretty simple, the Hornby branded China produced loco drive A4s are what you want, to get the best version that has ever been available in mass-market RTR A4s. (Still far from perfect mind, there's room for a model maker or commissioner to bring out a new 'all-singing and dancing' version.) As already mentioned by Mick above, this version has a much superior tender, and is in versions representing all three types; coach ended corridor, corridor, non-corridor. The tender alone makes these worth the extra money. To find the R numbers, go to the Hornby site and navigate their random filing system to find the service sheets for the A4s. (It's 'sheets' because there have been variations.) Ignore the ones with tender drive or the tender drive motor frame still installed in the tender, it's the newer loco drive only design you want. These sheets have the R numbers on them. I can tell you that R2340 and R2535 are the right stuff, 'cause I happen to own an example of each of these. I thought it worth mentioning the 'go to the service sheets' technique BTW, because with Hornby's long time in production it is often the best way of sorting out what any particular 'R number' version actually is. For all the clunkiness of the filing 'in several heaps', it does provide a resource for determining what is what, they have to date in my experience actually succeeded in classifying the product groups correctly... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted April 3, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 3, 2015 Thanks Mick, I always look at EBay as quite a daunting place to go, because I find it difficult to know what I am buying... How do I know if a model is a 1970's / 1980's tender drive A4 or a more recent loco drive one which would be much better? It's hard work to the un-knowledgeble such as myself... Cheers, Chris Try here, just enter A4 or whatever in the search box http://www.hornbyguide.com/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micklner Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Thanks Mick, I always look at EBay as quite a daunting place to go, because I find it difficult to know what I am buying... How do I know if a model is a 1970's / 1980's tender drive A4 or a more recent loco drive one which would be much better? It's hard work to the un-knowledgeble such as myself... Anyway, I'll think about delving into auction sites and see what happens... I have read somewhere that Hornby A4's are better than Bachmann ones. Anybody know of a list of Hornby catalogue numbers which I would be 'safe' buying'? You know, the R1234 numbers? Cheers, Chris Easiest way to start . The first of the current LNER A4's were R2339 Mallard in Blue and Sir Charles Newton in Black R2338 both released in 2004. Anything with a earlier R number is Tender driven or the very old XO4 motor chassis. You will then have to work out which are railroad and super detail versions. Railroad ones from memory are Falcon, Peregrine ,Golden Shuttle, another version of Mallard , there maybe/ will be a few others. This a good read http://www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6732 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheekyal Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 Easiest way to start . The first of the current LNER A4's were R2339 Mallard in Blue and Sir Charles Newton in Black R2338 both released in 2004. Anything with a earlier R number is Tender driven or the very old XO4 motor chassis. You will then have to work out which are railroad and super detail versions. Railroad ones from memory are Falcon, Peregrine ,Golden Shuttle, another version of Mallard , there maybe/ will be a few others. This a good read http://www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6732 Hi Mick, Brilliant. Now that, sir, is very useful. Thanks very much for the info. I'll have a look at the link too... Cheers, Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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