Hornby W1 Hush Hush

[MikeParkin65]

15 minutes ago, resin001 said:

My locomotive arrived an hour ago - front step missing from the left hand side - not in the box , not in the detail pack or on the floor !

Will try and get a replacement step rather then sending back at this stage 

 

E mail sent to Hornby - initial automated response " it may take 7 days to respond to this mail " :   " Spares can take 28 days to ship " 

Lets see ---

 

 

Commiserations  - I know that sick feeling when an expensive and long awaited object of desire arrives and there is a problem. Love the juxtaposition with the naval vessel though  - very apt 

[The Stationmaster]

2 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

All I know is that having spoken to two retailers they are confused why their allocation has been cut when they are still available to order on Hornby’s own site because they are “ring fenced stock” according to Hornby. 
That would suggest that that they have unsold stock sitting there while telling shops sorry we are sold out. Surely it could be accounted for by just putting their stock to zero and then the following day sending out the stock to those shops whose allocations they cut or possibly dismantle for spare bodies  

But that inevitably leads to another question.  do Hornby place their orders with the factory before or after they have taken trade orders in January?  As production runs often have to be agreed a long while in advance and once booked there is little or no opportunity to increase the size of the order because the factory already has orders for something else following each (or every?) item it produces.    

 

Similarly you might ask at what stage Hornby ring fences the number of models it wants for direct sales and if they do that after retailer orders have been placed you could take issue but if they do it before retailer orders are received it comes back to the need to ration.  There have been allegations in the past of Hornby holding back pre-ordered retailer supplies of models in order to sell them directly - there might or might not be any truth in such allegations and we'll never know whether those allegations are well founded or baseless.  Irrespective of that I tend to the view that Hornby might well oversell models - that isn't new nor is it an allegation because I have suffered from it in the past as a consequence of Hornby rationing retailer allocations when they didn't have enough models to meet the orders they had taken.   And the Tier system at east provides a degree of discipline to that system whereas in the past there was no discipline but the key point is - iit would appear - consistent - in that Hornby have sold more models than they are buying from the factory 

 

Again if Hornby have done their sums correctly the first run will cover their costs and produce a profit and possibly leave some unsatisfied demand, or maybe not leave any unsatisfied demand.  Deciding how many to order is always going to be the key to price and profitability and I wouldn't be surprised if Hornby currently put profitability before anything else.

 

 

Equally getting at a true picture of genuine demand can be difficult.  if - for example somebody places an order with two different retailers on the basis that one of those orders will be successful that will inflate demand from that buyer by 100%.  Get 50 people doing that at demand forecasting gets increasingly difficult.

[teaky]

Well I appear to be one of the lucky ones.  No damage apparent thus far.  It has now been squirrelled away by my wife and I have a few weeks to work on my surprised face for Christmas day.

 

Great service and communication as ever from Derails.  Well protected in multiple layers of packaging - Hornby box, Hornby-labelled cardboard box, bubble wrap, outer cardboard box.  Rather than just hopping across the county border Royal Mail took it for a sightseeing tour of Milton Keynes and Birmingham before knocking at the door this morning.

 

I do feel sorry for the many people who have received damaged models.  Unproven so far, but it does seem like the models were broken at source, judging by the comments and photos.  Hornby's response to this matter should be a good guide to their current attitude to customer service.

 

[teaky]

18 hours ago, Bena said:

Mine has a small hairline crack  by the two safety valves on the left side and I live overseas, so I kinda don't really want to pay the return shipping costs just to get a credit for the Hornby store. I was thinking about removing the body and trying to glue the crack from the inside and touch it up with some paint. Anyone have any good paint color suggestions to touch up the crack ? 

 

 

Weathering perhaps?  The top of the boiler would be a good location for soot for example.

 

If you want to keep the pristine finish then for such a small area, you might be better custom mixing your own paint and just experimenting to find a mix that looks right to your eye.

 

[PaulRhB]

17 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

But that inevitably leads to another question.  do Hornby place their orders with the factory before or after they have taken trade orders in January?  As production runs often have to be agreed a long while in advance and once booked there is little or no opportunity to increase the size of the order because the factory already has orders for something else following each (or every?) item it produces.    

 

Similarly you might ask at what stage Hornby ring fences the number of models it wants for direct sales and if they do that after retailer orders have been placed you could take issue but if they do it before retailer orders are received it comes back to the need to ration.  There have been allegations in the past of Hornby holding back pre-ordered retailer supplies of models in order to sell them directly - there might or might not be any truth in such allegations and we'll never know whether those allegations are well founded or baseless.  Irrespective of that I tend to the view that Hornby might well oversell models - that isn't new nor is it an allegation because I have suffered from it in the past as a consequence of Hornby rationing retailer allocations when they didn't have enough models to meet the orders they had taken.   And the Tier system at east provides a degree of discipline to that system whereas in the past there was no discipline but the key point is - iit would appear - consistent - in that Hornby have sold more models than they are buying from the factory 

 

Again if Hornby have done their sums correctly the first run will cover their costs and produce a profit and possibly leave some unsatisfied demand, or maybe not leave any unsatisfied demand.  Deciding how many to order is always going to be the key to price and profitability and I wouldn't be surprised if Hornby currently put profitability before anything else.

 

 

Equally getting at a true picture of genuine demand can be difficult.  if - for example somebody places an order with two different retailers on the basis that one of those orders will be successful that will inflate demand from that buyer by 100%.  Get 50 people doing that at demand forecasting gets increasingly difficult.

All good points Mike but they are leaving customers (retailers) wondering what’s going on and they naturally tell us as it’s not their fault.
Whenever Hornby puts the order in they should know if the factory can deliver that number and why are they reducing the allocation months later? Is the factory constantly changing the actual production numbers?

And while there’s been a second chance on Rocket, subsequent batches are never certain and may not be in the livery you wanted  

It’s business I appreciate but it’s the poor communication and repetition of these allocation changes at late notice that’s really are grating. Frankly I was surprised to get the W1 the way it’s going and it does take the fun out of it. At least with the Bachmann items I know they will turn up eventually  

[Bishdurham]

I've noticed with Rapido in Canada that when something is announced they have a cut off point.  If the item has not received enough orders it doesn't go ahead, and they can advance the deadline somewhat if desired.   This way they have some idea of what demand will be and adjust production accordingly.  If  retailer X wishes to order 200 units they will get them and the customer knows if they place their order with them, it will be honoured.  It should not be beyond the whit of the accountants to work out that if they wish to make a certain return they make the retailers pay for it and any direct sales provide the cream.

 

Seems a much better idea than "tiers" which are difficult to understand and make the product harder to obtain.

[benbrown]

Well a bit off good news after almost a week in the post with hermes to get to Nottingham mine has arrived all ok from what i can see. Possed with the rails dyno car, real coal added and detail pack items crew to add over the weekend. My only question is regards the smoke box door cover as it seems a bit proud hopefully the photo shows this darnt try pressing it to see if it slots in better 

Regards Ben 

Edited December 10, 2021 by benbrown
Grammer

[Lewi73050]

@benbrownJust browsing online and found some images with the smokebox door cover removed (as the real W1 had on some runs, especially towards the end of its water tube life)

Is the smokebox door removable then?

[benbrown]

15 minutes ago, Lewi73050 said:

@benbrownJust browsing online and found some images with the smokebox door cover removed (as the real W1 had on some runs, especially towards the end of its water tube life)

Is the smokebox door removable then?

Ive just had a gentle pull but didnt seem to budge darnt go any harder at the moment and risk breaking it or the hand rail below but instresting if it might.

Thanks Ben

[D9001]

On 30/11/2021 at 23:09, Down_Under said:

 

 

 

 

 

I had advice from Hornby ten days ago that it was on its way, nothing since and nothing from DPD who apparently are delivering it. Has anyone received theirs by DPD yet and if so how long did it take from you being notified by Hornby to actually receiving it?

 

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by D9001

[Railsnail]

Well, my 'British Enterprise' arrived earlier today, ordered direct from Hornby and delivered by Hermes . I must admit I have been following this thread with some trepidation which was only made worse when the Hermes chappy handed me a box with the Hornby box rattling around inside the outer box! No bubble wrap to stop the model moving around.

 

Anyhow, after carefully opening it and taking loads of pictures as I went, just in case. I found, to my delight, that all is well with the model.

So, one very happy chappy...

 

I am most impressed with the detail and she runs beautifully. So, to add a bit of balance and despite the lack of bubble wrap from the fulfilment centre, I must say I am delighted with mine. 

 

 

 

 

[Hilux5972]

16 minutes ago, Railsnail said:

Well, my 'British Enterprise' arrived earlier today, ordered direct from Hornby and delivered by Hermes . I must admit I have been following this thread with some trepidation which was only made worse when the Hermes chappy handed me a box with the Hornby box rattling around inside the outer box! No bubble wrap to stop the model moving around.

 

Anyhow, after carefully opening it and taking loads of pictures as I went, just in case. I found, to my delight, that all is well with the model.

So, one very happy chappy...

 

I am most impressed with the detail and she runs beautifully. So, to add a bit of balance and despite the lack of bubble wrap from the fulfilment centre, I must say I am delighted with mine. 

 

 

 

 

Well where’s the pictures then. Tease

[828CC]

Seems these pop up and down on the net pretty rapidly.  Last night Amazon showed both grey versions, today gone!

Phoned another retailer this morning who appeared after a google search, three just in and yes, he follows this thread so assured me his were fine, so hopefully I'm sorted...

Did message two vendors on ebay, quoting the current state of affairs, and could they confirm their stock was okay....  Only one replied!

 

[Railsnail]

4 minutes ago, Hilux5972 said:

Well where’s the pictures then. Tease

I'll break out the Box Brownie later 

[PaulRhB]

1 hour ago, Lewi73050 said:

@benbrownJust browsing online and found some images with the smokebox door cover removed (as the real W1 had on some runs, especially towards the end of its water tube life)

Is the smokebox door removable then?

The single chimney ones aren’t, is it the Enterprise one with a double chimney that has it removed?

[polybear]

6 hours ago, resin001 said:

My locomotive arrived an hour ago - front step missing from the left hand side - not in the box , not in the detail pack or on the floor !

 

 

Every time I see a new fault or broken part reported on this thread I nip upstairs to check mine....

[Edge]

Min has just been dispatched from Hornby, let’s see how Hermes do

[melmerby]

 Well

I have now thoroughly checked mine over and can report no damage. So I'm lucky.

I have also done some basic running in on the rollers and it seems OK, not the smoothest loco when new but does start on a commendably low 2.4v DC, which should improve as it gets some use.

Now fitted a decoder (Lenz Standard +V2) and running on DCC as 10000*

 

Something I have noticed in the instructions is that the diagram shows a close coupling unit on the loco, like on coaches but is not present on the model.

I wonder what happened to that?

The drawbar is also the wrong way around on mine with the two holes toward the loco, meaning only the long spacing, trying to reverse it was not successful as the screw in the tender just turns and doesn't unscrew(?)

 

Mirroring a comment I saw elsewhere on RMWeb, it's type approval is now UK CA, not CE as before.

 

*Edit

Although the Lenz decoder will accept address 10000 and the JMRI system will accept 10000, Train Controller will only go up to 9999, so have had to change it to 1000!

 

It is very smooth and quiet when running (no load as yet) and a low current draw.

Edited December 10, 2021 by melmerby

[Hilux5972]

6 hours ago, melmerby said:

 Well

I have now thoroughly checked mine over and can report no damage. So I'm lucky.

I have also done some basic running in on the rollers and it seems OK, not the smoothest loco when new but does start on a commendably low 2.4v DC, which should improve as it gets some use.

Now fitted a decoder (Lenz Standard +V2) and running on DCC as 10000*

 

Something I have noticed in the instructions is that the diagram shows a close coupling unit on the loco, like on coaches but is not present on the model.

I wonder what happened to that?

The drawbar is also the wrong way around on mine with the two holes toward the loco, meaning only the long spacing, trying to reverse it was not successful as the screw in the tender just turns and doesn't unscrew(?)

 

Mirroring a comment I saw elsewhere on RMWeb, it's type approval is now UK CA, not CE as before.

 

*Edit

Although the Lenz decoder will accept address 10000 and the JMRI system will accept 10000, Train Controller will only go up to 9999, so have had to change it to 1000!

 

It is very smooth and quiet when running (no load as yet) and a low current draw.

You say it’s not very smooth and then you say it’s very smooth. Is that before and after running in?

[zr2498]

R3840 arrived yesterday, directly from Hornby on line via their web site. It was left outside the front door by Hermes. Fortunately not stolen, however on opening the packaging we have another with a broken smoke deflector on the RHS. Simply not repairable in such a prominent position.

 

 

The Hornby box was loaded to a larger rather flimsy outer box with no bubble wrap or packaging of any sort.

It would seem that the outsourcing of the packaging as been a case of get them out fast as you can but without due care and attention.

So now I have to return the loco and according to Hornby returns there is no refund on the return postage costs (but I have asked for verfication on this point).

The question: To get a refund or replacement as there is no guarantee that this will not happen again. Of course they cannot be easily sourced from elsewhere other than risky eBay. And if Hornby are OUT OF STOCK where are they going to come from?

 

 

[melmerby]

5 hours ago, Hilux5972 said:

You say it’s not very smooth and then you say it’s very smooth. Is that before and after running in?

Firstly I said "not the smoothest when new"

Later I said I had now fitted a decoder

Further on I said "it was very snooth & quiet"

 

I tend not to run in on DC for long periods as I don't think rollers are ideal for that, so once it has had some basic roller testing at various voltages forward and back, I fit a decoder and let it trundle around the layout at various speeds, forwards and backwards.

(Apart from the rollers, I only have a length of straight track that I can use for either DC or DCC testing)

 

Straight out of the box the was some slight jerkiness when on the rollers at the lowest operable voltage. I have had some locos with no jerkiness at all. It wasn't bad as such.

On the track with a Lenz Standard + V2 fitted it was very smooth at low speeds.

[mvwilson]

20 hours ago, polybear said:

 

To my mind it should be that all dealers get their promised allocation in order to satisfy pre-orders; if there are any left over then Hornby can sell those direct.

Of course Hornby make more profit by cutting out the middle man....

 

 

Not any more - showing a zero stock

 

 

After reading this thread I feel really fortunate that my 10000 seems undamaged - I've still to put power on though.  And thanks to TMC for packing it well.

I only ordered mine two days ago. I contacted The Model Centre and asked them to check mine before posting due to all the posts on here. They checked it and said it was all in one piece. Once it arrives hopefully it survives the postal service.

 

[zr2498]

For info - this morning

[Daddyman]

2 hours ago, mvwilson said:

I only ordered mine two days ago. I contacted The Model Centre and asked them to check mine before posting due to all the posts on here. They checked it and said it was all in one piece. Once it arrives hopefully it survives the postal service.

 

A good idea. But if, as seems to be the case, the packaging [EDIT: Hornby's, not Hermes'] is not fit for purpose, allowing the model to bounce around and destroy itself, I wonder if shops would agree to put some extra padding in the relevant places - rolled up tissue paper or similar. 

Edited December 11, 2021 by Daddyman

[Georgeconna]

52 minutes ago, zr2498 said:

For info - this morning

 

Bagged one this am, Had one in order to Support the LMS in Ireland but they have already let me down with the Doublo MN which I had on order the day they were announced and still no sign or coms about if it will ever come except for a  "we will wait to see what comes in" reply.."

 

So decided to seize the day a grab one.