Class 66 in OO Gauge - New Announcement

[adb968008]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

And what if Hattons aren't doing anymore under their name?

 

Apart from the OO gauge coaches and the cranes to come everything else is in the bargain list now, what if they are reconsidering how they manufacture stuff to regain Bachmann now they are also on Hornby's naughty step.

 

Just musing out loud here.

Cranes ?

I thought they’d been canceled ?

 

I’m surprised the coaches have been so heavily delayed, not much electronics in them.

But given delays, i’m not expecting any more of these 66’s in 2022, pleasantly surprised if they do, but i’m not betting on it.

 

£120 is a thing of the past i’m certain of that, and if they weren't selling fast enough at £150 then thats an issue that needs to be overcome, it’d still be one of the cheapest co-cos on the market even if they could keep it that that original price. I think any new ones are going to be unpleasantly higher than that.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by adb968008

[newbryford]

I doubt there'll be any news for at least a day or two.....

[woodenhead]

 

 

Still showing on the website along with the n gauge garatts.  All looks ominously absent of new items.

3 hours ago, adb968008 said:

Cranes ?

I thought they’d been canceled ?

 

Excuse the backward quote and  response, using phone and been on the wine 

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

Since the release of this the bar has gone up a bit,and as it looks they have stepped back from there own branding,by there own admission these are not from the Heljan factory,and it was just a rush to market.

If they own the moulds i would hope that they team up with Accurascale to sort out issues and make this what it should have been,So much hype and so much wrong once they arrived,they will still have made money but the send it back,were fixing nothing has done this no good,time will tell i guess.

Edited December 27, 2021 by ERIC ALLTORQUE

[newbryford]

On 25/12/2021 at 15:37, TomScrut said:

 

EFE? 

 

I do wonder though, but in fairness just because stuff is discounted it doesn't mean it is a disaster, especially given that it is direct to market.

 

As an example, I think them 66s at £120 were still making them money simply because they are dealer and manufacturer rather than having an extra layer of margin.

 

It would be a shame if they do pull out of "manufacturer" status, everything I have bought from them (which is just FEAs and 66s) are good.

 

I reckon they would have readily sold more at £150 if they hadn't had the well documented QC issues. (I held off after the first one I bought was a dud)

 

There's always going to be a few left on the shelf at the end - especially the less popular (and incorrect) liveries - just like the kid who was always last to get picked at school football.

 

I'll bet they were still making a margin on the NQP locos at £99 and those currently at £119 will have been factored in to the "whole life cost" of the first batch.

There's even one on for £94 at the moment.

 

 

[Roy Langridge]

9 hours ago, ERIC ALLTORQUE said:

Since the release of this the bar has gone up a bit,and as it looks they have stepped back from there own branding,by there own admission these are not from the Heljan factory,and it was just a rush to market.

If they own the molds i would hope that they team up with Accurascale to sort out issues and make this what it should have been,So much hype and so much wrong once they arrived,they will still have made money but the send it back,were fixing nothing has done this no good,time will tell i guess.

I have to disagree, there is not “so much wrong”, yes they made mistakes but nothing  cannot be easily fixed. I am sure that Hattons are more than capable of fixing this. 

 

Roy

[TomScrut]

10 hours ago, ERIC ALLTORQUE said:

Since the release of this the bar has gone up a bit

 

Has it though?

 

A correctly constructed one of these is still *arguably* the best modern OO diesel out there in terms of detail and features. The only things I can think of is SLWs 24 (which I don't regard as modern or competition for this loco) or maybe Bachmanns new 47 but at the moment it isn't competition either given they haven't done one from an era overlapping the 66s.

[adb968008]

12 minutes ago, TomScrut said:

 

Has it though?

 

A correctly constructed one of these is still *arguably* the best modern OO diesel out there in terms of detail and features. The only things I can think of is SLWs 24 (which I don't regard as modern or competition for this loco) or maybe Bachmanns new 47 but at the moment it isn't competition either given they haven't done one from an era overlapping the 66s.

I still think there are less oo gauge assembly lines in China than there are companies commissioning here.

 

A block at the factory there, several sneeze here.

 

I suspect a legacy of DJM , is that a few factories in China suddenly found several new customers here, not forgetting that DJM worked for another company prior.

I suspect there is a shared ancestry in much of what we have today… add the planned releases from all together it wouldn't take long to see why delays are what they are, if they are all coming from the same few factory doors, just in different coloured boxes.

 

Edited December 27, 2021 by adb968008

[rob D2]

21 minutes ago, TomScrut said:

 

Has it though?

 

A correctly constructed one of these is still *arguably* the best modern OO diesel out there in terms of detail and features. The only things I can think of is SLWs 24 (which I don't regard as modern or competition for this loco) or maybe Bachmanns new 47 but at the moment it isn't competition either given they haven't done one from an era overlapping the 66s.

I’d think the Hornby 60 is still up there, or is there detail on It that is lacking now ?

[rob D2]

32 minutes ago, Roy Langridge said:

I have to disagree, there is not “so much wrong”, yes they made mistakes but nothing  cannot be easily fixed. I am sure that Hattons are more than capable of fixing this. 

 

Roy

You’ve got to have the will to fix it though.

their complete radio silence on the faults and QC and then rush to dump it at £119 makes me think it was a case of “ get rid of it quick “

Edited December 27, 2021 by rob D2

[TomScrut]

2 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

I’d think the Hornby 60 is still up there, or is there detail on It that is lacking now ?

 

It would be IMO if Hornby weren't living in the 2000s with their attitude towards DCC functionality. Not a detail thing why I don't put it there. Bachmann 90 (electric I know) and Dapol 68 are up there too with the Hatton's 66 I think.

[Roy Langridge]

12 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

You’ve got to have the will to fix it though.

their complete radio silence on the faults and QC and then rush to dump it at £119 makes me think it was a case of “ get rid of it quick “

That has been discussed to death, you don’t say something better is coming until you have sold off your existing stock, or it will never shift. 
 

Roy

[norfolkchinaclay]

9 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

I’d think the Hornby 60 is still up there, or is there detail on It that is lacking now ?

Latest versions are now lacking some of the detail pack parts that were previously included, and the mouldings of the internal equipment behind the grills haven’t been painted, bogie steps not painted etc. It seems that it’s slowly being downgraded to “Railroad” level without Hornby explaining or justifying why, ie is it to save the RRP going up even higher than it has to in order to keep up with the production costs or are Hornby just cutting corners because they can until a competitor delivers a better quality offering…

[woodenhead]

2 minutes ago, Roy Langridge said:

That has been discussed to death, you don’t say something better is coming until you have sold off your existing stock, or it will never shift. 
 

Roy

But apart from the 4 and 6 wheel coaches, what else is coming?

[Roy Langridge]

Just now, woodenhead said:

But apart from the 4 and 6 wheel coaches, what else is coming?

What has that got to do with Class 66s?

 

Roy

[TomScrut]

16 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

You’ve got to have the will to fix it though.

their complete radio silence on the faults and QC and then rush to dump it at £119 makes me think it was a case of “ get rid of it quick “

 

Yes, but that's because it probably wouldn't be viable to pay people in the UK to sort them out and sell at a reasonable price. £119 was probably the best compromise, a bargain for those willing to work on it themselves/roll the dice but better for Hattons than fixing them.

 

Whether there is another run, and the QC is improved on those is another thing altogether and what happened with this run can't really be used as any gauge for that other than a lesson to be learned.

[woodenhead]

6 minutes ago, Roy Langridge said:

What has that got to do with Class 66s?

 

Roy

If they are backing away from producing their own stuff there may not be a further run of 66s.

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

1 hour ago, TomScrut said:

 

Has it though?

 

A correctly constructed one of these

Who has one that the factory did,few came without issues,dont get me wrong,i have over twenty and once i get the last bits of loft construction out the way each will be made what it should be,out of the box its not what we expected,a ready to run model,you dont expect to have to buy items to correct lights,axle kits to fix the rotating ends to make it work as it should.its not IRM A class spec but should have been....and i get the four to six axle issue......

McC commented on Chinese production saying six factorys do all the work to do 00 models there,so i guess this was done by one.

If more are to come i would want them right for the money they will be at.

[adb968008]

21 minutes ago, ERIC ALLTORQUE said:

Who has one that the factory did,few came without issues,dont get me wrong,i have over twenty and once i get the last bits of loft construction out the way each will be made what it should be,out of the box its not what we expected,a ready to run model,you dont expect to have to buy items to correct lights,axle kits to fix the rotating ends to make it work as it should.its not IRM A class spec but should have been....and i get the four to six axle issue......

McC commented on Chinese production saying six factorys do all the work to do 00 models there,so i guess this was done by one.

If more are to come i would want them right for the money they will be at.

Unless its the recent euro-imports with the tooling differences, there not many more I need.

Infact i’m thinking to shed a few sheds shortly as I went a bit mad last year, and theres a bunch of stuff on the horizon that i ‘m seeking to go mad on instead.

[rob D2]

1 hour ago, Roy Langridge said:

That has been discussed to death, you don’t say something better is coming until you have sold off your existing stock, or it will never shift. 
 

Roy

Fair enough, but I’m questioning whether there will ever be that announcement 

[TomScrut]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

If they are backing away from producing their own stuff there may not be a further run of 66s.

 

That's not the point though. Let's consider for a moment they want and intend to do more 66s. I don't see a logical reason for them to announce any new 66s until they have the burden of their current stock out of the way. They won't get rid of it at all if everyone thinks something better is coming.

 

1 hour ago, ERIC ALLTORQUE said:

Who has one that the factory did

 

That's completely missing the point and context of your post I was replying to. My point is if they get them right in terms of QC, the loco is pretty much state of the art still. The last couple of years has not made it obsolete.

Edited December 27, 2021 by TomScrut

[dave56]

3 hours ago, TomScrut said:

 

Has it though?

 

A correctly constructed one of these is still *arguably* the best modern OO diesel out there in terms of detail and features. The only things I can think of is SLWs 24 (which I don't regard as modern or competition for this loco) or maybe Bachmanns new 47 but at the moment it isn't competition either given they haven't done one from an era overlapping the 66s.

The Dapol 68 is the best for me, once they sorted the issues on the first batch. I have three absolutely superb models straight out of the box.

Edited December 27, 2021 by dave56

[Ncarter2]

I think I must have been very lucky with my Hattons 66’s. All told I have had 33, though I have sold six over the last few months. Of those 12 had wobble issues due to axle boxes, the others being good from the box. I hope we see more, especially with tighter QC, it’s a model that is needed. The alternative is a good, but outdated model from Bachmann. 

[TomScrut]

2 hours ago, dave56 said:

The Dapol 68 is the best for me, once they sorted the issues on the first batch. I have three absolutely superb models straight out of the box.

 

The 68 is excellent but I think for the attention paid to the lighting etc. the 66 is still marginally better. I have more 68s than I have Hattons 66s though which says what I think of the 68!

[Ncarter2]

7 minutes ago, TomScrut said:

 

The 68 is excellent but I think for the attention paid to the lighting etc. the 66 is still marginally better. I have more 68s than I have Hattons 66s though which says what I think of the 68!

I have only recently picked up a few of the 68’s, it is a fantastic model, I will be adding a couple more to the fleet! 
Smooth out the box and and very nice looking locomotive. That said, I’m now down to just 1 class 70, so many running issues.