Triang or Hornby Hymek query

[ianmacc]

Hi all. I have an unliveried black plastic Hymek body which I have just noticed has a moulded integrally cab window surround whereas every other Hymek I have ever had has been fitted with removeable window inserts which I suspect was to make it easier in manufacturing to apply white windows on green examples. Is this an unusual or rare variant or a pre production sample or have I just led a sheltered life? :)

[BernardTPM]

The body tooling was altered when they went to to the Ringfield style power bogies.

[ianmacc]

4 hours ago, BernardTPM said:

The body tooling was altered when they went to to the Ringfield style power bogies.

Thank You Bernard. I have, it appears, led a sheltered life regarding Hyneks!

[Halvarras]

4 hours ago, BernardTPM said:

The body tooling was altered when they went to to the Ringfield style power bogies.

 

Actually I think it was earlier than that, there seems to have been a number produced with integral window surrounds on the original motor bogie, too many I reckon to all be the result of chassis swaps. I wish I could remember back that far now! Certainly an internet search throws up images with this combination (and @RailwayLacky of this parish appears to have recently found one for his '21" diameter micro' layout thread........sorry, I haven't a clue how to embed links to other RMweb threads!)

I've been trying to get a clearer picture myself lately for my own reasons but without much luck - time to put out a call to @Ruffnut Thorston I reckon!!

 

The original design with separate window frames made sense on the first green release but didn't look so clever on the blue version. Unfortunately having modified the tooling Hornby got a bit lazy and used the still-present full yellow end raised guide lines to apply the white cab surrounds, resulting in a deliberate white overspray which looked terrible. But then the pale greens looked far worse than the original too........the 1970s were not Hornby's finest decade.

 

@ianmacc since you have stripped it you can now get rid of all the unwanted raised painting lines and mould marks, including the rim around the roof fan (not present on the very first 1967 tooling) and replace the moulded warning horns (or not if doing D7000-2 in original condition) - it's a surprisingly good moulding for its age, I've done two (with Lima running gear) and they turned out really well!

[BernardTPM]

I'm pretty sure it was when they went back to green livery in 1977 as I've never seen any one-piece bodies in blueFYE save for the revised mid-1990s version which have wire handrails and actual detail on the front panel where the 1967 model relied on stickers for the marker lights. Also the catalogue pictures up to 1976 clearly have yellow moulded plastic window surrounds, not quite matching the yellow paint. Now, if you can find a blueFYP with the undetailed one-piece body that would be interesting.

[Halvarras]

Sorry yes, I was referring to the green syp model production, the blue fyp (moulded in two shades of blue, first 'electric' then 'BR') predated the one-piece body - as you say there were no more blue fyp Hymeks from Hornby until the release of the extra-detail D7067 in weathered condition in 2004. In between there was D7093 in blue syp with the 'orrible white cab window overspray released around the mid-1990s (the real '93 never carried that livery).

[Mainlinefreighter58]

Later Hymek mouldings also had a more correct offset fan grille whereas the early ones had it centrally 

[BernardTPM]

That must have been those late, better detailed ones as the 1970s/'80s one-piece body still had the fan grille central.

Edited February 8, 2023 by BernardTPM

[Halvarras]

10 hours ago, Mainlinefreighter58 said:

Later Hymek mouldings also had a more correct offset fan grille whereas the early ones had it centrally 

 

I've just checked the later D7046 (R2410) I acquired last year and it's still central. Although a lot of improvements were made to these later releases I'm not surprised that redoing the roof fan grille was a step too far for Hornby on such old tooling.

[RailwayLacky]

Here’s pictures of mine, hope it helps! I have no clue on the origin of this model as got from eBay, it could be a bit like triggers broom! 🤣

 

[andyman7]

6 minutes ago, RailwayLacky said:

Here’s pictures of mine, hope it helps! I have no clue on the origin of this model as got from eBay, it could be a bit like triggers broom! 🤣

 

That looks like a 1977 production one with the revised bodyshell but the last year the worm drive motor bogie was used. 

The 2000s-era China made ones were quite extraordinary in that they got separate horns, separate wire handrails and a fabulous paint finish but retained the rather crude non-flush glazing. 

[Halvarras]

1 hour ago, andyman7 said:

That looks like a 1977 production one with the revised bodyshell but the last year the worm drive motor bogie was used. 

The 2000s-era China made ones were quite extraordinary in that they got separate horns, separate wire handrails and a fabulous paint finish but retained the rather crude non-flush glazing. 

 

And correct red & white marker lights, sprung buffers and neatly flush-glazed side engine room windows. This is why I got one last year, I want to finish the job (the hard way, not SEF Flushglaze this time) to see what it should have looked like!

It also runs like the proverbial Swiss watch!

[RailwayLacky]

1 hour ago, andyman7 said:

That looks like a 1977 production one with the revised bodyshell but the last year the worm drive motor bogie was used. 

The 2000s-era China made ones were quite extraordinary in that they got separate horns, separate wire handrails and a fabulous paint finish but retained the rather crude non-flush glazing. 

ooh im gonna need one of those!

[BernardTPM]

The CIE version is another 1977 oddball.

Edited February 10, 2023 by BernardTPM