drt7uk Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Hi everyone, Got a new Class 17 loco from Heljan from Rails of Sheffield today. Superb model as per usual but the fitted detailing on the buffers is quite annoying - gets in the way of the NEM couplings. Has anyone else had a go at removing the detailing from this or any other Heljan loco? If so, I'd be grateful for advice on how to do it without causing any damage. Looks like I should be able to push the pins through from the back of the buffer beam, but that depends if the glue is brittle enough to allow it. Loathed to cut them off if I can avoid it. I know that alternatively I could switch to using chain coupling for my wagons / coaches but not prepared to make that change yet. Many thanks, David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 A couple of Heljan locomotives - DP2 for example - actually have a manufacturers' note stating that to fit the NEM coupling you need to cut back the detailing. This detracts a lot from the impression I think, but do they state the same for this locomotive? Is it possible to carefully tease out one or 2 items, and even angle away from the coupling? Al. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc60015 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Having also purchased a Clayton from rails this morning I ran it in as advised all ok, fitted tension locks and had derailing issues when hauling wagons this was overcome by ensuring the 3 link coupling sat inside the loco's tension lock coupling. Still running on DC will fit a chip when certain all is ok. cheers. Malc 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted August 21, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 21, 2019 (edited) Personally, I wish Heljan would give us the "twiddly bits" in a plastic bag, as they used to. That way we can fit them (modified if necessary) after we've fitted our couplings of choice and ensured the beastie performs as required. Either that, or give us a spare set in a plastic bag so we can replace the ones that inevitably get damaged when carrying out the above. John Edited August 21, 2019 by Dunsignalling 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSpencer Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 My preference - for diesels - is that they fit the detailing on number one end and leave off number two end anything that is likely to fowl the NEM coupling. For me that is the best practical compromise. Steam locos, the rule is the same as above for large engines, but mid range locos likely to be seen to often pull trains tender/bunder first, then fit NEM couplings by default. That said steam locos have less pipes floating around compared to a diesel anyway. 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drt7uk Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) Thanks guys for this helpful advice. I completely agree that Heljan should go back to keeping this detailing separately fitted to give us the choice what to do. Had a go tonight and largely successful. Used a scalpel blade to push things from the other side, and to carefully tease out others by wedging the blade between the piece of pipping and the buffer beam. Kept all the detailing in a small bag in case I want to use in the future. A couple of small marks from where glue residue was left but managed to remove and discreetly paint over in red. Also added a bit of washed out black paint to the mesh grill on the top at either end of the loco to make it a bit more realistic. What did annoy me was the utterly hopeless instructions which do not show you clearly enough how to remove the body shell. Specifically it suggests the body just lifts off once you've taken the buffers off at one end, when in fact you need to use a flat screwdriver in 4 places to unclip it from the base. Unfortunately I realised this too late and ended up using too much force on one corner, denting one of the front edges (see photo). I've managed to smooth down and repaint, but absolutely infuriating! Hope you avoid my mistake. Final moan from me is the head codes. Only one head code at one end - I want to be able to run this in both directions without using a turntable. It is, after all, the original point of the bloody design of the Class 17! No stickers provided to give you that option or to let you put a different head code on. Removing the glass very difficult - did this with a scalpel blade, successfully, but one slip and you'll scratch your loco. I've used photoshop to create a new set of headcodes based on Chinnor railway's D8568 - attached if anyone wants to print off and use (it's A5 size for easy printing, just need to cut to size @ 14mm x 5mm). Don't get me wrong in many ways this is another great loco from Heljan and looks fantastic. But pretty unimpressed that I've had to faff around like this. Quick google search suggests these problems have come up before, and given this was a reproduction, they surely could've rectified these issues fairly easily. Ho hum! Edited August 22, 2019 by drt7uk added more detail 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
truffy Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 (edited) Looks like a mould seam on the orange blobby thing too! (sorry, I don't really do diesels, so I don't know the technical term) Edited August 23, 2019 by truffy 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drt7uk Posted August 25, 2019 Author Share Posted August 25, 2019 Installed the new headcodes, used numbers from the Chinnor loco and had them slightly uneven/at different heights like they look in real life 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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