A3 Book Law

[robmcg]

And now for something completely different....  a Rails of Sheffield weathered A3 'Book Law'..

 

 

 

[robmcg]

only now when I had tweaked the running plate, and not very effectively really, and glued the cutoff lever back on, and raised the motion brackets a tad, that right from the start the tyres on the front wheels had come off.

 

I have removed the axle, pressed the tyres back on, but they keep falling off again. edit; they seem to be staying on now, but I am too tired to photograph it again .

 

Sigh.

 

I'll leave it until tomorrow.   Not impressed. Is a spot of glue required?  

 

I observe also that the ashpan lever was not supplied by Rails.  

 

Edited March 3, 2016 by robmcg

[Hilux5972]

That's shocking Rob. As it's only the bogie wheels a spot of glue on the inside won't do any harm but you should t need to do this at all. It's a shame really. The A1/A3 was a fantastic model when first released. Since it switched factories it really has gone down hill.

[Hilux5972]

I hope the A4's you have just sent me don't have anything like this. The A4 still seems to be one of their best models though so I don't anticipate any issues.

[The Blue Streak]

Those tyres popping off the front bogie are not a new thing Rob. I've had them come off Loco's from the old factory as well. In fact I've had it happen on 2 A4's and an A1 from SK.

Push them back on and generally they will stay, if they are repeat offenders, push them back on check the Back to Backs and then "wick" a little super glue in at the back with a toothpick or similiar. Don't be tempted to put on the glue and then push them on. (Although that's probably stating the obvious)

. 

I was really very tempted to get Book Law but the reports of  varying ski jumps and other patchy QC were a bit of a worry, however at 99 quid I might just take a chance.

Although I have just blown the budget on A4's and Gresley Coaches, so it will have to wait a bit longer.

Edited March 3, 2016 by The Blue Streak

[robmcg]

Those tyres popping off the front bogie are not a new thing Rob I've had them come off Loco's from the old factory as well. In fact I've had it happen on 2 A4's and an A1 from SK.

Push them back on and generally they will stay, if they are repeat offenders, push them back on check the Back to Backs and then "wick" a little super glue in at the back with a toothpick or similiar. Don't be tempted to put on the glue and then push them on. (Although that's probably stating the obvious)

. 

I was really very tempted to get Book Law but the reports of  varying ski jumps and other patchy QC were a bit of a worry, however at 99 quid I might just take a chance.

Although I have just blown the budget on A4's and Gresley Coaches, so it will have to wait a bit longer.

 

Thanks Ted, I too have had one or two occasions where this has happened and a gentle pressure has put things back together nicely, it looks like Book Law is ok now too.  I was a bit tired and discovering the fault was a bit annoying.

 

The pics of the weathering don't really work too well, the colours are not quite so bad in normal light, in fact they are quite good, the white streaks by the dome are over-done though. I shall concoct something better in due course, with a few hours of pleasurable photo-editing.

 

Thanks for your reply.

[robmcg]

I hope the A4's you have just sent me don't have anything like this. The A4 still seems to be one of their best models though so I don't anticipate any issues.

 

I hope they're ok too.  Brand new and visually inspected in their plastic sleeve, never removed,  full refund or replacement if faulty.

 

Best,

Edited March 3, 2016 by robmcg

[robmcg]

Not being an expert on such things just seen a queen of scots train pack with gladiateur in at 50 quid with 15hrs to go on ebay looks good n no bids so far.. if any one fancies a punt. From reading through thid thread thought id drop it in if any one fancies it

 

Sellers writes in capitals, claims it is brand new, wrapping paper missing,   not a good look...

[Hilux5972]

I hope they're ok too. Brand new and visually inspected in their plastic sleeve, never removed, full refund or replacement if faulty.

 

Best,

I don't anticipate any problems with them. Not your fault if there is any anyway.

[micklner]

   Sorry I won't be buying anything weathered by Rails . Bizarre white streaks from the Dome and even more so from the Chimney down, not helped by the missing lining on the cylinders which looks more prominent than before due to the weathering. It would look better with some soot across the top of the Boiler to kill the white paint which would never be there on a real Loco .

  The photos show how poor Book law is in general compared to previous issues. As well as the ski ramp it suffers from overwidth Red lining on the footplate and White lining on the washout plugs, Bufferbeam in particular is dire black/white lining done leaving Red exposed all around the edges. Most I have seen don't look well glued down either.

[toboldlygo]

All this talk of ski ramps - where's Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards or a Harrier Jumpjet when you need them?

Edited March 3, 2016 by toboldlygo

[Ian Hargrave]

   Sorry I won't be buying anything weathered by Rails . Bizarre white streaks from the Dome and even more so from the Chimney down, not helped by the missing lining on the cylinders which looks more prominent than before due to the weathering. It would look better with some soot across the top of the Boiler to kill the white paint which would never be there on a real Loco .

  The photos show how poor Book law is in general compared to previous issues. As well as the ski ramp it suffers from overwidth Red lining on the footplate and White lining on the washout plugs, Bufferbeam in particular is dire black/white lining done leaving Red exposed all around the edges. Most I have seen don't look well glued down either.

 

I know where that pigeon lives

[robmcg]

   Sorry I won't be buying anything weathered by Rails . Bizarre white streaks from the Dome and even more so from the Chimney down, not helped by the missing lining on the cylinders which looks more prominent than before due to the weathering. It would look better with some soot across the top of the Boiler to kill the white paint which would never be there on a real Loco .

  The photos show how poor Book law is in general compared to previous issues. As well as the ski ramp it suffers from overwidth Red lining on the footplate and White lining on the washout plugs, Bufferbeam in particular is dire black/white lining done leaving Red exposed all around the edges. Most I have seen don't look well glued down either.

 

I think you have it there micklner.    That said, my photography didn't do the model any favours, I think with some soot and re-colouring here and there I can make an acceptable pic, but it would probably be better to start from a pristine model.

 

I get the feeling the person doing the weathering has limited or zero experience of the way working steam engines were,  or has looked at BR Standards and assumed pre-war engines were the same.

[Bon Accord]

I think you have it there micklner.    That said, my photography didn't do the model any favours, I think with some soot and re-colouring here and there I can make an acceptable pic, but it would probably be better to start from a pristine model.

 

I get the feeling the person doing the weathering has limited or zero experience of the way working steam engines were,  or has looked at BR Standards and assumed pre-war engines were the same.

 

It could be worse Rob. The bloke who designs (assuming it is designed in some manner) the weathering for a lot of RTR steam locos seems to think the bottom third of the loco was liberally coated only in brake dust or some such muck, with the rest reasonably pristine.  They also expect people to pay for that!

[robmcg]

Here is some of the damage undone by some sympathetic editing..  this is a bit hurried, I might add some grease and shiny effects to the motion.

 

 

note the above photo has been heavily modified by my editing.

 

here below is the original, cropped, from the camera.

 

 

 

Edit; further development, I have asked for a refund

 

I haven't the skills to replace the tyres onto the front wheels so they stay on, I generally sell my models after a time and this one has much lower value with loose front wheels.

 

Rails of Sheffield have offered a refund or credit (my choice) upon receipt of the model. They say it must have been damaged after it left them because these models are checked and test-run. Their words; 

"This would have been checked and test run prior to despatch so I can only assume this is due to rough handling on the way to you, very sorry."

 

I suppose they are right, as well as the loose tyres, the cutoff lever was loose in the packet, even tough the packet was reasonably good, and apparently undamaged when it arrived here a creditable 4-5 days after despatch from Sheffield, but those front wheels probably need a press or soft blow to seat, and that would require more than I can do.

 

as it arrived

 

 

Edited March 4, 2016 by robmcg

[robmcg]

just a note to say that Rails of Sheffield have now see the photos and have been extremely obliging and have offered an unconditional refund and apology, even though it was probably the courier and air freight handling which was as much to blame as the manufacturing issue with the front wheels..

 

Needless to say I will still buy from them, just as I often have in the past.

 

Cheers 

Edited March 5, 2016 by robmcg

[Ian Hargrave]

just a note to say that Rails of Sheffield have now see the photos and have been extremely obliging and have offered an unconditional refund and apology, even though it was probably the courier and air freight handling which was as much to blame as the manufacturing issue with the front wheels..

 

Needless to say I will still buy from them, just as I often have in the past.

 

Cheers

 

I am really sorry that you have had to experience this,Rob..Rails have at least done the decent thing....which from what you have shown us,they were morally obliged to do.You can take some comfort in the knowledge that in being as open and frank as you certainly have,you have done us all a service.Knowledge,as they say,is power.So thanks for that at the very least.

[bluesparkdave]

I'd really like "Book Law" in BR late crest livery as I believe it was one of the locos used on the "Thames Clyde" express during 1960. I am planning a layout based on the G&SWR main line which had an amazing variety of motive power towards the end of steam. I have "Coronach" which worked the Waverley route but it could have been "borrowed" for a trip to St Enoch.......!?

[Barry Ten]

I picked up a Minoru as a birthday treat over the weekend, unfortunately from a shop about 2 and half hours drive away. When I got it home I found that the reversing lever and ashpan lever (thanks, didn't know what that was!) were both detached, with one lying in the box and the other wedged between the handrails and the boiler. I decided to refit them myself but then I noticed that the valve gear on one side was quite badly distorted, with the motion support bracket being bent well out of position. I straightened it all out carefully and was relieved to see that the engine runs smoothly despite all this mishandling, but I've also noticed that the running plate seems to be sitting at an angle to the horizontal, with the front end too high. Not sure what could be causing that, as the cylinders are tight against the running plate, but we'll have to see. Perhaps the cylinders aren't seated properly and once they're a bit lower, everything else will straighten out.

 

Not a good start to my first A3, and a sharp reminder of the bad old days of Hornby where you didn't dare hope that a model would work and look well out of the box.

 

Edit - I see that the sloping running plate is a known issue... pretty piss-poor really.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Barry Ten

[STRAT'71]

I recently purchased the Minoru. Although I have three others, Brown Jack, Coronach and Flying Scotsman 62 weathered, I didn't notice the 'ski slope' issue on the Minoru until I read this thread. 

It is not obvious to the eye, but easily shows up if you line up the front buffers with a carriage. As this issue does not affect my other A3s, does it mean all future A3s will be affected?

You know, sometimes ignorance is bliss.

 

ps. the weathered loco above looks awful.

I'm having my Coronach weathered by Grimy Times, which will be much more realistic

Edited March 18, 2016 by STRAT'71

[robmcg]

YesI think you mayu be better with Grimy Times but my quick photos above are pretty horrid! In real life natural light it is/was better.

 

As to straight running plates, some A3s will respond to a bit of bending force when the body is off to partially fix the upward tilt, carefully applied with thumb under bottom of smokebox and finger on top of buffer beam  mind the lamp irons,  but too much force might damage surrounding plastic assembies.  

 

Not sure if Hornby have a fix, some of their newer models seem ok some not.

 

Best of luck.   The A3s are not alone, some Hornby Black 5s have similar issues, some Castles, and some Bachmann models too, notably the Std 4MT 2-6-4T.

[robmcg]

Driver W. Sparshatt with A3 'Book Law'....  

 

 

 

[STRAT'71]

I have just bought one of these, used off ebay. The seller seems to have quite a few for sale, so its history puzzles me a bit.

The running plate looks pretty straight to me, being far better than the picture on the box.

However the cranked metal piece  fitted under the cab was loose, and the other metal piece under the running plate was missing,

Looking through the above, and looking at my old LNER Flying Scotsmen, I am confused as to where they go. Can someone advise me, as I have a feeling the older locos differed from the later ones.

[Hilux5972]

Hope this helps

[Daddyman]

Hope this helps

Afraid not! The loco is left-hand drive, so only the reversing rod should be on the LHS. The other smaller rod below the cab (drop grate operating lever?) should be on the RHS. Hornby, having got this right for years, suddenly threw a wobbly on Book Law - in more ways than one...