Class A4 4-6-2 in O Gauge from Hatton's

[NSP]

It appears that sadly Hattons have proceeded to produce 60007 with the incorrect gold lettering on the nameplates rather than silver.  Does anyone know of anywhere that produces the correct silver ones in 7mm scale so that I could fit them myself if I proceed to purchase the model from Hattons?  Many thanks.

[JeffP]

Quite a few do 7mm plates, but my "go to" supplier has always been Severn Mill http://www.severnmillnameplates.co.uk/

 

His sets for the A4 include the CORRECT worksplates (with the correct works number), a shed plate of your choice if for BR days, the correct tender plates etc etc. The A4 sets also give you the choice of with, or without plaques and in nickel silver or brass.

 

His site says he has been ill and no sets will be sent out for a few weeks, but well worth waiting for.

 

I've attached a couple of pics of a set for BR Britannia 70036 Boadicea so you can see the quality.

Edited May 5, 2020 by JeffP
Added info

[NSP]

2 hours ago, JeffP said:

Quite a few do 7mm plates, but my "go to" supplier has always been Severn Mill http://www.severnmillnameplates.co.uk/

 

His sets for the A4 include the CORRECT worksplates (with the correct works number), a shed plate of your choice if for BR days, the correct tender plates etc etc. The A4 sets also give you the choice of with, or without plaques and in nickel silver or brass.

 

His site says he has been ill and no sets will be sent out for a few weeks, but well worth waiting for.

 

I've attached a couple of pics of a set for BR Britannia 70036 Boadicea so you can see the quality.

 

Many thanks for that but do they need to be painted or is there an option to have them pre-painted as this isn't clear from their website?  If not, is there anywhere else that sells them pre-painted? - I have searched Google but not been able to find any.

[Paul Cram]

Narrow Planet do custom plates painted.

[JeffP]

Painting is really dead easy. 

Place on paper and spray the desired colour, two light coats is better than one heavy one.

Allow to dry, about an hour if you use car spray.

Turn the plates over on a clean sheet of paper and rub them while applying light pressure.

Keep checking and blow away any debris.

The still soft paint will be removed and leave the metal underneath shiny.

If you leave it too long, the same effect can be had by using the lightest grade of wet-or-dry paper.

Trust me, it works

Edited May 5, 2020 by JeffP

[cazadoom]

Hi All 

 

Union or South Africa arrived this morning 

 

 

 

 

  
 

Very nice model! shall give it a run this afternoon! Now awaiting the Transfers to bring it up to the way she is today! 
 

Cheers 

 

Callum

[DLPG]

Mine also arrived today. Excellent. One glazing unit has come out in transit but should be an easy fix

[delticfan]

Mine arrived today, un numbered but couldn’t resist sitting 60034 Lord Faringdon plates with it courtesy of fox. I love the model worth the money and just looks right. Minor issues, a missing cover handle and the front walk plate needs glueing down...big deal this is a fab model well done Hattons...dcc sound next but which one?

[CUTLER2579]

I assume that you know that the tender is not correct for 60034 Lord Farringdon as it should be cut away for the water columns on the Southern region during the Locomotive exchange trials of 1948.This applies equally to 60029 & 60033.

[jay*bobble]

Dos any one know if Hattons put a pack of spare hand rails in the box for you to fit as the cab ones still absent

[delticfan]

1 hour ago, CUTLER2579 said:

I assume that you know that the tender is not correct for 60034 Lord Farringdon as it should be cut away for the water columns on the Southern region during the Locomotive exchange trials of 1948.This applies equally to 60029 & 60033.

For the trials 60034 had tender 5332 which it kept until 1954, exchanging it for 5325 which 60033 carried for the same trials and exchanging this tender for streamlined non corridor 5640 ex 60103, two weeks after Scotsman’s last run in BR service 28/01/63. Probably never even got painted either as 60034 exchanged tenders during a very quick non classified repair at the Plant. I wanted to model 60034 after this period in its last months at Top Shed with tender 5640, black nameplates and workplates, these went missing sometime later that year, stolen or sold I have no idea. Another detail is that the smokebox plate at this time had the six in this style 6 where earlier photos show the gill sans six. Sorry for the history lesson but it’s the detail that I love so my 60034 is from a very specific time and I liked the tie in with Flying Scotsman. I seriously recommend this model and would love to go for a corridor tender but due to lockdown the Mrs is following my every move!

[delticfan]

1 hour ago, jay*bobble said:

Dos any one know if Hattons put a pack of spare hand rails in the box for you to fit as the cab ones still absent

No afraid,to say a bit of a miss by Hattons and none in the box I’ve just had a quick look. I’ll drill the holes before I fit the numbers and add the handrails afterwords. I’m still not complaining, quicker than building a kit and cheaper!

[Roy L S]

I have no skin in this particular game so it is largely academic what I think, but for me the missing handrail is an absolute "howler" and stands out so clearly. Anyone with even a rudimentary grasp of a steam loco cab should have spotted that omission simply because to get into the cab any driver would have to grasp a handrail each side to pull himself up - how could he do so one-handed without a real struggle?? 

 

Even worse to me on the BR green ones above (because it will be harder to correct) is the lining sweep between the black "nose" and green of the rest of the loco. From images I have just checked (easily found) the "gold" lines should remain a constant width apart (roughly as they are on the model to the rear of the chimney) all the way down to the running plate, not gradually get wider. Correcting this on a finished model would not be trivial.

 

Acknowledged it is still a whole lot of loco for £750, but what saddens me is how little effort it would have taken to spot and correct these errors before manufacture, it's not as if there aren't any prototypes to check or the loco hasn't been made RTR before.

 

The above said it was still a brave move by Hattons I hope those who have ordered theirs enjoy them notwithstanding.

 

Roy

 

 

[hmrspaul]

2 hours ago, Roy L S said:

 

 

Even worse to me on the BR green ones above (because it will be harder to correct) is the lining sweep between the black "nose" and green of the rest of the loco. From images I have just checked (easily found) the "gold" lines should remain a constant width apart (roughly as they are on the model to the rear of the chimney) all the way down to the running plate, not gradually get wider. Correcting this on a finished model would not be trivial.

Roy

 

 

 

It's stylish though, rather a modern touch

 

Paul

[Hal Nail]

12 hours ago, Roy L S said:

what saddens me is how little effort it would have taken to spot and correct these errors

 

These issues were spotted so presumably it was deemed not cost effective to correct them.

[delticfan]

Sad is a bit emotional, they are a doddle to fix but you will need a drill bit and handrail bits, Eileen’s Emporium for those. Next interesting bit for me is adding my numbers, I’m using Fox numbers which don’t look bad only a little carrier film noticeable. I trial glossed a Heljan wagon panel last night with Mr Hobby Gloss varnish using their self levelling thinners so its super smooth for the decals, will trial those today then the tricky bit varnish to match the rest of the loco, it’s almost Matt but just not quite, satin maybe to shiny hence the wagon trial.

[kiltedsignaller]

2 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

These issues were spotted so presumably it was deemed not cost effective to correct them.

I think so too, Hal. I'm happy to live with them, judging by these photographs. My Union of South Africa is due for delivery on Monday.

[Roy L S]

3 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

These issues were spotted so presumably it was deemed not cost effective to correct them.

 

Sorry, I could have phrased my comment better, I know they were spotted but to not correct such glaring errors before release is very poor. I can't imagine Hornby getting away with it on a 00 release, they would be royally slaughtered. 

 

That said, if people are happy, who am I to say any more on the subject anyway? I was just surprised it was allowed to slip through to release like it.

 

Roy

[delticfan]

3 hours ago, Roy L S said:

 

Sorry, I could have phrased my comment better, I know they were spotted but to not correct such glaring errors before release is very poor. I can't imagine Hornby getting away with it on a 00 release, they would be royally slaughtered. 

 

That said, if people are happy, who am I to say any more on the subject anyway? I was just surprised it was allowed to slip through to release like it.

 

Roy

I think Heljan drop these little surprises in for a bit of sport, every model they do with a few exceptions in O gauge has a little howler some bad some really bad, however they are getting better. Still I’ve got a W1 kit on the bench which will take a bit time to finish and hey presto £750 gets you a ready made A4 so it was an easy decision, there’s loads of odd kits out there to make so if I can get a ready made model my stash of kits can stay within my expected life span (Coronavirus might be an unwelcome variable in that plan though!).

[Norton Wood]

On 09/05/2020 at 08:25, delticfan said:

Sad is a bit emotional, they are a doddle to fix but you will need a drill bit and handrail bits, Eileen’s Emporium for those. Next interesting bit for me is adding my numbers, I’m using Fox numbers which don’t look bad only a little carrier film noticeable. I trial glossed a Heljan wagon panel last night with Mr Hobby Gloss varnish using their self levelling thinners so its super smooth for the decals, will trial those today then the tricky bit varnish to match the rest of the loco, it’s almost Matt but just not quite, satin maybe to shiny hence the wagon trial.

 

 

I look forward to your results  I've ordered a Un-numbered LNER Apple Green A3 which I am using Fox Decals for so it would be nice to see how it looks once you've finished the work. 

 

Thanks 

Tom

[Cuddle Headrigg]

Following on from earlier posts re A4 handrails. Now I have received mine and did not know about the missing handrails, I am reeling from and annoyed about the absence of cabside vertical handrails. I emailed twice with no response but managed to speak to Dave Mylett on telephone at the second attempt. He didn’t seem to be concerned by the problem. There are NO spares available to match those on the tender, he was NOT prepared to cover the cost of my procuring handrail knobs in fact his only offer was to issue a refund for the locomotive. He said he was not duly concerned as “it did not affect the running of the loco”. As a retired quality assurance engineer this attitude to customer relations is deplorable.  I have since ordered hand rail knobs from a competitor and if suitable, I will use them. if not, then I shall have to review my options as I have already received name and number plates for my chosen completed model. It’s a poor show as I have been a customer for many years and might have been for a long time yet.  However, customer care does not appear to be at the forefront of Hatton’s policy. Other model suppliers are available.

[delticfan]

On 15/05/2020 at 19:19, Norton Wood said:

 

 

I look forward to your results  I've ordered a Un-numbered LNER Apple Green A3 which I am using Fox Decals for so it would be nice to see how it looks once you've finished the work. 

 

Thanks 

Tom

My wagon test went well I used the Matt varnish after leaving the decals to dry for a day. I built up the Matt slowly so the gloss finish changes to Matt not instantly so I managed to match it to the surrounding paint finish. Getting a smooth finish is down to choice of thinners and mix ratios if you want all the tedious details I can let you know what I’ve done.

[jamie.dunn]

26 minutes ago, Cuddle Headrigg said:

Following on from earlier posts re A4 handrails. Now I have received mine and did not know about the missing handrails, I am reeling from and annoyed about the absence of cabside vertical handrails. I emailed twice with no response but managed to speak to Dave Mylett on telephone at the second attempt. He didn’t seem to be concerned by the problem. There are NO spares available to match those on the tender, he was NOT prepared to cover the cost of my procuring handrail knobs in fact his only offer was to issue a refund for the locomotive. He said he was not duly concerned as “it did not affect the running of the loco”. As a retired quality assurance engineer this attitude to customer relations is deplorable.  I have since ordered hand rail knobs from a competitor and if suitable, I will use them. if not, then I shall have to review my options as I have already received name and number plates for my chosen completed model. It’s a poor show as I have been a customer for many years and might have been for a long time yet.  However, customer care does not appear to be at the forefront of Hatton’s policy. Other model suppliers are available.

 

I'm also slightly annoyed at the fact I Ordered a streamlined corridor tender, unnumbered version with a single chimney under the impression that a Double chimney would come supplied with the model as mentioned on a previous page within this thread...

 

This was not included and after ringing Hatton's I got told that because the removal of the chimney damages the body (fair point) however why wasn't this mentioned at all until the model arrived on my doorstep. They also don't keep spare chimneys in stock.

 

I'm also slightly disappointed that the Lubricator linkage isn't included on the Fireman's side of the loco. 

I'm going to mention reverser linkage as well as this is present on the A3s but not the A4.

 

I've also purchased hand rail knobs from another competitor as well as a Double chimney from a second  competitor which are now being added by a close friend while its getting named and Numbered and we may have something in mind for the reverser linkage.

 

I'm slightly annoyed and i'm now about £15 down. 

 

However don't get me wrong I'm happy I picked one up and as mentioned you have no chance of getting  another O gauge A4 for anywhere near the same price tag, Once my model has been completed I'll post some shots on this thread

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by jamie.dunn
Adjusted Grammer

[Phil Parker]

17 minutes ago, Cuddle Headrigg said:

Other model suppliers are available.

 

Really? For an O gauge A4? Do tell.

[Cuddle Headrigg]

Oh dear mr Parker, I was referring to the customer relations. You’ll have to allow for me being “old school” when the customer was always regarded as right. My message to manufacturers is, “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

I have built an A3 for less than £600 though. I’d show you a picture if I could work out how to attach it.  I’ve also scratchbuilt several other finescale tender locos  for little more than cost of wheels, motor & gearbox.

I only bought the A4 because it’s another top link loco and the boiler would be a bitch to create. I thought it would be a stable mate. I now wish I hadn’t bothered and built a Peppercorn A1 instead. I’m new to this forum stuff as I spend 50-60 hours a week building. There’s some good stuff on forum’s if you ignore the opinionated and focus on facts and experience.

Edited May 17, 2020 by Cuddle Headrigg
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