Bachmann Class 25 retool announced 2018

[adb968008]

On 15/03/2024 at 13:03, MikeParkin65 said:

Deliberately omitted SLW as I don’t consider them to be mass market. My 25 is coming from SLW based on the fact that from images published so far I believe it is the most realistic 4mm plastic model I have ever seen!

Sorry to pick up on this but what qualifies as mass market ?

 

For instance, I can only buy KR Models from 2 places, and one of them is a Canadian website.

Realtrack is also a very limited availability, Revolution and Cavalex arent much wider available.

 

i’m just interested what perceptions are… 

 

The slw 25 is so nicely wrapped, i feel bad for unwrapping it.. and thats just the brown wrap… the tissue inside is meticulous also !
so much care into each model shipped…its very clear.

 

 

Edited March 16 by adb968008

[andyman7]

14 hours ago, adb968008 said:

Sorry to pick up on this but what qualifies as mass market ?

 

For instance, I can only buy KR Models from 2 places, and one of them is a Canadian website.

Realtrack is also a very limited availability, Revolution and Cavalex arent much wider available.

 

i’m just interested what perceptions are… 

 

The slw 25 is so nicely wrapped, i feel bad for unwrapping it.. and thats just the brown wrap… the tissue inside is meticulous also !
so much care into each model shipped…its very clear.

 

 

I would define mass market as any manufacturer with an established retail distribution network and a catalogue of items that are available on demand for a sustained period of time. It's certainly not a definition set in stone but all the examples noted above have limited distribution although Revolution and Cavalex are somewhere nearer the border.

Accurascale have expanded enormously since their inception and some of their items are 'stock' ones but many of their current/announced items still require pre-ordering and purchase immediately on release rather than being available for a little while at least. I'd expect this to be less of an issue as 2nd and 3rd runs of items such as Deltics, Class 37s, Mk2s etc are released.

Edited March 17 by andyman7
Spelling

[MikeParkin65]

3 hours ago, adb968008 said:

Sorry to pick up on this but what qualifies as mass market ?

 

For instance, I can only buy KR Models from 2 places, and one of them is a Canadian website.

Realtrack is also a very limited availability, Revolution and Cavalex arent much wider available.

 

i’m just interested what perceptions are… 

 

The slw 25 is so nicely wrapped, i feel bad for unwrapping it.. and thats just the brown wrap… the tissue inside is meticulous also !
so much care into each model shipped…its very clear.

 

 

 

32 minutes ago, andyman7 said:

I would define mass market as any manufacturer with an established retail distribution network and a catalogue if items that are available on demand for a sustained period of time. It's certainly not a definition set in stone but all the examples noted above have limited distribution although Revolution and Cavalex are somewhere nearer the definition.

Accurascale have expanded enormously since their inception and some of their items are 'stock' ones but many of their current/announced items still require pre-ordering and purchase immediately on release rather than being available for a little while at least. I'd expect this to be less of an issue as 2nd and 3rd rus of items such as Deltics, Class 37s, Mk2s etc are released.

@andyman7 Has pretty much done it for me. Nothing wrong with ‘mass market’ as Bachmann, Hornby, Heljan and Dapol are or wanting to specialise as SLW do. I think availability is my basic definition, a mass market model can be had through numerous outlets allowing for the odd spontaneous purchase.  SLW are more ‘by application’. 

[97406]

I’m keeping an eye out for these landing in a couple of months as I think I’ll go for a couple of sound fitted blue early body examples, one to stay as-is and one to be renumbered, probably with the headboard clips and central lamp bracket removed on the former nose end doors. These will go nicely in a fleet that I am building up including Heljan and SLW examples. It’s nice to have a selection of decent 25s to pick from.

[Fredo]

Hi, looking forward to the new upgraded Class 25’s. I know Bachmann made D5218 in BR Blue with a small yellow warning for Model Zone way in the past, do you think it may reappear with the new tooling? Fred

[MikeParkin65]

3 minutes ago, Fredo said:

Hi, looking forward to the new upgraded Class 25’s. I know Bachmann made D5218 in BR Blue with a small yellow warning for Model Zone way in the past, do you think it may reappear with the new tooling? Fred

Maybe as a club model or a commission? 

[Halvarras]

4 hours ago, Fredo said:

Hi, looking forward to the new upgraded Class 25’s. I know Bachmann made D5218 in BR Blue with a small yellow warning for Model Zone way in the past, do you think it may reappear with the new tooling? Fred

 

And D5021 also Bsyp with BR lion-and-wheel emblem using their new tooling - twin pack material 😉?! Maybe not, thinking of the £......

 

Regarding Model Zone's D5218, this model was a disappointment because it used the tooling for the BR Blue '25' with welded-up end gangway doors, as well as boiler compartment grille blanks (I did a straight repaint of a Hornby model years ago and it was more accurate!) Kernow's weathered two-tone green Class 24 D5072 suffered similarly with an incorrect later 'de-valanced' underframe and those blanks again. I've often wondered whether these glaring errors were done deliberately for some reason...........anyway, hopefully any future releases of these subjects would be taken more seriously.

[Southernman46]

I just got it cos it looked nice ................ 😉

£62 quid in Basingstoke MZ - those were the days .................

Might try scribing the door lines and adding some plasticard hinges - modelling !

as for the underframe - looks pretty unvalenced in this 1970 view at St Pancras

 

 

Edited Thursday at 10:43 by Southernman46
stuff removed 😉

[Albie the plumber]

16 hours ago, Southernman46 said:

I just got it cos it looked nice ................ 😉

£62 quid in Basingstoke MZ - those were the days .................

Might try scribing the door lines and adding some plasticard hinges - modelling !

as for the underframe - looks pretty unvalenced in this 1970 view at St Pancras

 

You would think that someone like Exteme etchings would do an etch for that .

Anyone doing a Blue ,pre TOPS class

25  like me , will always have the smooth front end to deal with not to mention removing those blooming dominoes.

['CHARD]

17 hours ago, Southernman46 said:

I just got it cos it looked nice ................ 😉

£62 quid in Basingstoke MZ - those were the days .................

Might try scribing the door lines and adding some plasticard hinges - modelling !

as for the underframe - looks pretty unvalenced in this 1970 view at St Pancras

 

 

That's because it's D5218, which being numbered above D5176 never did have a valance. D5072 was a class 24/1 and was built at least with a full valance.

[Covkid]

20 hours ago, Southernman46 said:

I just got it cos it looked nice ................ 😉

£62 quid in Basingstoke MZ - those were the days .................

Might try scribing the door lines and adding some plasticard hinges - modelling !

as for the underframe - looks pretty unvalenced in this 1970 view at St Pancras

 

 

As has been said D5218 never had the underframe valances but also had a much more see through underframe.  Bachmann's class 25 was a welcome breath of fresh air back then but still has issues- which Shawplan etches won't resolve.  We know the cab shape is wrong and the underframe is wrong, but Bachmann used the class 24 design cast alloy air filters in the bodysides. These were subtly different to the class 25 filters which flush framed and slightly recessed grilles. I suspect that etched hinge straps on the bodyside of the Bachmann 25 would exacerbate the discrepancy 

[Halvarras]

3 hours ago, Covkid said:

As has been said D5218 never had the underframe valances but also had a much more see through underframe.  Bachmann's class 25 was a welcome breath of fresh air back then but still has issues- which Shawplan etches won't resolve.  We know the cab shape is wrong and the underframe is wrong, but Bachmann used the class 24 design cast alloy air filters in the bodysides. These were subtly different to the class 25 filters which flush framed and slightly recessed grilles. I suspect that etched hinge straps on the bodyside of the Bachmann 25 would exacerbate the discrepancy 

 

Agreed - although the Bachmann 25 was a revelation in some ways upon release, not least its running quality, the underframe treatment was not vastly different to the way Hornby had tackled it, which was a disappointment. Also those Class 24-style grilles are just another reason why some modellers, including those in the esteemed 'emgauge70s' group, have preferred to use Hornby bodies on Bachmann chassis. Quite an endorsement for a bodyshell tooled up a quarter of a century earlier!

I nearly did so myself when I only planned to model 5180, but a decision to add D7657 meant the two locos would have looked too different, so I relented. My 5180 is based on Bachmann's 25034 so I've had to carry out the gangway door mods, as well as remove the train heating boiler water tank (with roof mods) and create the later exhaust port (the real 5180 had this done as early as 1967) which freed up the original round port to transfer to D7657, followed by a swap of boiler grilles/blanks. I'm aware of their shortcomings but both locos now having these details corrected is why I won't be replacing them. And each only cost me £50 brand new too.....

[Covkid]

4 hours ago, Halvarras said:

 

Agreed - although the Bachmann 25 was a revelation in some ways upon release, not least its running quality, the underframe treatment was not vastly different to the way Hornby had tackled it, which was a disappointment. Also those Class 24-style grilles are just another reason why some modellers, including those in the esteemed 'emgauge70s' group, have preferred to use Hornby bodies on Bachmann chassis. Quite an endorsement for a bodyshell tooled up a quarter of a century earlier!

I nearly did so myself when I only planned to model 5180, but a decision to add D7657 meant the two locos would have looked too different, so I relented. My 5180 is based on Bachmann's 25034 so I've had to carry out the gangway door mods, as well as remove the train heating boiler water tank (with roof mods) and create the later exhaust port (the real 5180 had this done as early as 1967) which freed up the original round port to transfer to D7657, followed by a swap of boiler grilles/blanks. I'm aware of their shortcomings but both locos now having these details corrected is why I won't be replacing them. And each only cost me £50 brand new too.....

Yes.  The running qualities of the Bachmann type chassis are amazing. My introduction was via a friend's class 25 split from a trainset which had the original DCC PCB type decoder.  It didn't perform very well at all and we were persuaded to fit a new PCB and a separate decoder. The results were absolutely amazing and certainly opened my eyes to what a decent decoder can do to an already very good transmission. 

 

I have about 8 or 9 stashed away to go under Hornby class 25 bodies, but they may be surplus to requirements now !!  

Edited Thursday at 23:13 by Covkid

[andyman7]

On 24/04/2024 at 14:52, Halvarras said:

 

And D5021 also Bsyp with BR lion-and-wheel emblem using their new tooling - twin pack material 😉?! Maybe not, thinking of the £......

 

Regarding Model Zone's D5218, this model was a disappointment because it used the tooling for the BR Blue '25' with welded-up end gangway doors, as well as boiler compartment grille blanks (I did a straight repaint of a Hornby model years ago and it was more accurate!) Kernow's weathered two-tone green Class 24 D5072 suffered similarly with an incorrect later 'de-valanced' underframe and those blanks again. I've often wondered whether these glaring errors were done deliberately for some reason...........anyway, hopefully any future releases of these subjects would be taken more seriously.

 

They are much better these days but early on, Bachmann were pretty hopeless at matching the tools they had to the examples they chose to number. We've conversed before about their almost total inability to pick the right locos for their Class 42 Warship tools.

 

On 24/04/2024 at 17:59, Southernman46 said:

I just got it cos it looked nice ................ 😉

£62 quid in Basingstoke MZ - those were the days .................

Might try scribing the door lines and adding some plasticard hinges - modelling !

as for the underframe - looks pretty unvalenced in this 1970 view at St Pancras

 

 

I'm invariably short of plated over boiler grilles and have plenty of unplated grilles I don't need!