All-new Heljan 47 in 00 gauge

[jjb1970]

Alas, I am not into sound and just buy the vanilla versions of models. I use DCC in HO/OO for better low speed performance and to 'drive' the train but I am not interested in sound, smoke effects, rising/lowering pantographs, flickering fireboxes and trick DCC functions.

[woodenhead]

32 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

Alas, I am not into sound and just buy the vanilla versions of models. I use DCC in HO/OO for better low speed performance and to 'drive' the train but I am not interested in sound, smoke effects, rising/lowering pantographs, flickering fireboxes and trick DCC functions.

Well I am glad to inform you the Heljan 47 does not have rising/lowering pantographs or flickering fireboxes.😁

[jjb1970]

18 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Well I am glad to inform you the Heljan 47 does not have rising/lowering pantographs or flickering fireboxes.😁

Not buying then.

[wombatofludham]

I'm surprised no-one has highlighted this video of the Heljan 47s on YouChoob
 

 

[norfolkchinaclay]

Just had chance to watch the full video. Looks impressive, especially 596 in the latter NSE livery which I saw frequently at King’s Lynn before the line was fully electrified.

 

Hoping there will be some current era GBRf or West Coast liveries to come so I can justify at least one at this price level.

 

Have to admit though the idea of a late 80s stabling point with one of these Heljan 47/0 or /3s, a Cavalex 56 and perhaps a pair of 20s in BR blue does quite appeal! Coalville anyone? Praps I’d better get a few Accurascale HAAs just in case..

 

Edited December 16, 2023 by norfolkchinaclay
Text

[Michael Hodgson]

On 06/12/2023 at 14:57, woodenhead said:

Well I am glad to inform you the Heljan 47 does not have rising/lowering pantographs or flickering fireboxes.😁

 

So not an accurate model of 47500 then

 

[woodenhead]

44 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

 

So not an accurate model of 47500 then

 

The difference here is that the loco is a flickering firebox rather than has one and it would really need one of those camp fire light set ups that we've seen on a number of layouts of late.  The smoke would be easy though 😁

[adb968008]

So from that video we learned 47817 in Porterbrook to come, and another blue ETH as built example, for TMC.

 

[40002]

I was potentially interested until he gave the price LOL!

[40002]

I guess we have to see what the street prices are, It looks a very nice model but then its up against a very good Bachmann model, and clearly many will be waiting to see how the 2 compare.  If they offer a version I'm looking for that Bachmann doesn't offer then yes I may buy. 

 

I was disappointed with the Heljen Class 45, the Rail Blue was too dark to a point it just looked odd amongst my fleet of other Blue Diesels, and hence it had to go, I hope the Rail Blue versions of the 47 are better.

[MikeParkin65]

If I heard it correctly these have 4 driven axles rather than 6 which rather surprised me. Ben said it was to help cope with uneven track. Wont make a practical difference to most but both old and new Bachmann versions have 6 driven axles. My track laying standards are NCB circa 1970(!) but I've never had an issue with any multi driven axle diesel derailing. 

[jjb1970]

On Class 47 and 48, was there any particular reason BR stuck with twin bank engines rather vee-form engines? A vee engine will be lighter, simpler and with less to go wrong, given that vee engines were well established by the time BR built the 47's it's always seemed odd they used a twin bank design.

[No Decorum]

3 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

On Class 47 and 48, was there any particular reason BR stuck with twin bank engines rather vee-form engines? A vee engine will be lighter, simpler and with less to go wrong, given that vee engines were well established by the time BR built the 47's it's always seemed odd they used a twin bank design.

BR found that the vee-form engines were less reliable than the twin bank ones.

[Pmorgancym]

Looking at the pictures, I think Old Bachmann/New Bachman/ Heljan, if one was available on a  livery I wanted at a good price and I think  be happy with any of the options.  

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Pmorgancym

[Pmorgancym]

Not seen it mentioned anywhere but whats the relationship between the latest 57 and the new 47.  Both Bachmann and Heljan seem to have all new singing and dancing 47s but release 'previous generation' 57s

[SRman]

I watched the Key Publishing video on YouTube last night showing the new Heljan 47s in NSE and green fyp liveries. The revised NSE looked really nice, but I couldn't help feeling that there was something not right on the green one - the cab fronts just looked slightly out of proportion. Is it just me, or have they slipped up a little there?

[rob D2]

11 hours ago, SRman said:

I watched the Key Publishing video on YouTube last night showing the new Heljan 47s in NSE and green fyp liveries. The revised NSE looked really nice, but I couldn't help feeling that there was something not right on the green one - the cab fronts just looked slightly out of proportion. Is it just me, or have they slipped up a little there?

Do you mean the paint is applied in the wrong way , or do you mean something wrong with overall shape ? Cos that would affect both 

[SRman]

1 hour ago, rob D2 said:

Do you mean the paint is applied in the wrong way , or do you mean something wrong with overall shape ? Cos that would affect both 

 

I can't put my finger on it for sure, but the overall shape looks wrong, just for the cab front. Whether the NSE one is the same or not is not clear, due to the paint scheme, but it looked alright to me. It could also have been the camera angles.

 

[Mophead45143]

On 24/12/2023 at 12:30, SRman said:

 

I can't put my finger on it for sure, but the overall shape looks wrong, just for the cab front. Whether the NSE one is the same or not is not clear, due to the paint scheme, but it looked alright to me. It could also have been the camera angles.

 

 

It is the shape, but it's much more noticeable with full yellow ends and alpha-numeric headcodes, such as on the blue and green models. Like you, I thought the NSE one looked better, but it's just an illusion of the livery.

[Hal Nail]

10 hours ago, Mophead45143 said:

it's just an illusion of the livery.

 

This applies to a lot of models, particularly around the windscreens. In 7mm let alone 4mm, the edges of moulded glazing show up more inside the actual frame than the real thing and can appear to change the shape even if they are right. A dark or coloured background lessens the effect.

 

The original Heljan 7mm 47 cab looked much better in 2 tone green or later liveries with black round the windscreens rather than full yellow.

 

Similarly the 7mm Heljan Western headcodes are set too low but it doesn't show up as much with a small yellow panel as the change in colour breaks up the face.

 

Full yellow ends tend to show up everything.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Hal Nail

[brushman47544]

On 20/12/2023 at 17:04, adb968008 said:

, and another blue ETH as built example, for TMC.

 

I will be interested to see how Heljan deals with the ETH receptacle in the original position above the buffer beam. Early versions of 47450 in LL were without it and 47579 in NSE has it in the correct, later, position. On the Bachmann model there’s a hole and a separate part for the buyer to fit.

[MikeParkin65]

If I were Heljan I'd be a little concerned at the apparent lack of anticipation for these models - for those interested there are new pictures of production models on Rails website  

[Black 5 Bear]

6 minutes ago, MikeParkin65 said:

If I were Heljan I'd be a little concerned at the apparent lack of anticipation for these models - for those interested there are new pictures of production models on Rails website  

And especially now Mike as the newly tooled Bachmann 47's are being discounted. 

I might wait for the inevitable price reductions later in the year, before I add a FYE, green liveried 47 to supplement my collection.

[The Fatadder]

53 minutes ago, MikeParkin65 said:

If I were Heljan I'd be a little concerned at the apparent lack of anticipation for these models - for those interested there are new pictures of production models on Rails website  

I guess that’s what happens when you come out with a higher priced lower quality product against a recently released competitor product.  
 

if they’d gone in at an Accurascale price point, (or delivered closer to Bachmann hitting the shops) it may have been a different story.

 

 

[Roy Langridge]

1 hour ago, MikeParkin65 said:

If I were Heljan I'd be a little concerned at the apparent lack of anticipation for these models - for those interested there are new pictures of production models on Rails website  

 

Well, I took a look when I got the email from Rails, was generally underwhelmed at what I saw and could not be bothered to post here. To my mind there are still issues with the tooling that I will not / cannot overlook and given there are alternatives I don't see that I should compromise.

Roy

 

 

Edited January 29 by Roy Langridge