Heljan spares sprues

[letterspider]

Just a warning to anyone buying Heljan parts from Gaugemaster (I am usually a satisfied customer with their service)

 

They have silently changed their pricing system.

 

If you order the part number from a sprue,  you will no longer get exactly what is on the spares sheet if it is a multiple item...for example you will only get one out of a pair of windscreens or one out of 4 engine room windows 

 

Ian Linley tells me this is not 'an elaborate money making scheme' (I agree there is unlikely to be much profit in selling odd parts) however my last order total went up over 300%, so there it is. 

 

Ian also said another reasons for the change was that customers were 'fed up of getting spare parts they had no need for' (surprising, as I never seem to have too many spare parts)

 

I have suggested that Gaugemaster needs to make it clear that the part number on their website is now disconnected from the part numbers on the spares sheet, which they tell you to refer to!

I have no idea if what they are doing contravenes distance selling laws, someone else may advise.

 

Perhaps Heljan is starving suppliers of spares / Brexit costs / Gaugemaster has to ration their remaining stock?

 

In the meantime I am sharing this information with fellow members who might otherwise find themselves in a disappointing situation when they don't receive the number of parts that they thought they were ordering.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 27 by letterspider

[blueeighties]

GM have sold the parts individually this way since they took Heljan spares on 3/4 years ago.

[gismorail]

Ref Heljan spares 

I have often bought spares from GM without any ongoing issues. However I was surprised to hear the other day that Heljan do not supply GM with any screws or metal parts and this has been the case since GM took over the spares supply. I’ve been trying to source the long screws that secure the body of the 0 gauge locos to the chassis which considering the weight involved are fairly vital components. I’m a big fan of Heljan 0 gauge locomotives but do find the lack of backing from this manufacture somewhat frustrating.

[Butler Henderson]

1 hour ago, gismorail said:

Ref Heljan spares 

I have often bought spares from GM without any ongoing issues. However I was surprised to hear the other day that Heljan do not supply GM with any screws or metal parts and this has been the case since GM took over the spares supply. I’ve been trying to source the long screws that secure the body of the 0 gauge locos to the chassis which considering the weight involved are fairly vital components. I’m a big fan of Heljan 0 gauge locomotives but do find the lack of backing from this manufacture somewhat frustrating.

Have you tried contacting Heljan https://www.Heljan.co.uk/contact

Would think the screws are some standard thread whch they could probably tell you what it is if unable to supply the actual

[stanb]

I was wondering about this: I've been trying to replace the  split gears on a series 1  Heljan Hymek and 47 I inherited from my late father. Its been a complete comedy of errors. The Gauge master listing states 5GBP per pair, so I figured for 20 quid would be worth doing, rather than paying 60 for the Ultrascale replacements for all 4 bogies (which looking at their website today may not be available anyway). It took a while as they were out of stock, but eventually I got an email saying they were in, and was charged 11.32 !  A few days later I was recharged 31.32, the 11.32 being for postage to Australia - I'd been charged twice for postage!!!. A few weeks later, i received a small package from Gaugemaster, with only 4 gears, not the 4 Pairs as advertised on the website!! To make matters worse these were all original gears, some of which were already split, with the remainder showing fault lines . Needless to say these were sent back - another $25 postage!

 

Eventually I received a refund for the 20 pounds I spent. so apart from the excess postage all was well.

 

then a few months later I received an email saying the gears were available, and  another package was on it way out. Knowing I had credit on the postage I expected to be charged another 20, which oddly enough never happened.  4 more new gears duly arrived... and were the wrong size!! I didn't bother sending these back as by this stage I am starting to get quite frustrated with Gaugemaster, their less than optimal service and a cost blowout for what should have been a simply repair.

 

To add insult to injury, a few weeks ago I was charged another 12 pounds out of the blue without explanation, I sent an email querying this charge, but was ignored.

 

I get that GM had no control over the replacement gears that Heljan sent, but overall with this experience I am unlikely to recommend or wish to have any business dealings with this company in the future

Edited February 8 by stanb
corrected error in supplier name

[Hal Nail]

I ordered some spare handrails for the new Heljan 7mm class 73 recently.

 

The originals are cast metal (and even described as cast) but I was sent two random bits of wire. When I reported this to Gaugemaster, with photo evidence, they stated I'd been sent the right parts and have then ignored any further correspondance. I tried calling but got no answer.

 

I'll try the Heljan contact above. Presumably if I manage to get any sort of confirmation I can take it up with my credit card.

 

edit. Heljan confirmed the parts supplied are wrong so that's something I guess!

Edited February 26 by Hal Nail

[JSpencer]

When it was with Howe's you brought the entire sprew!

 

Which was very handy and something I was very happy with.

[ELTEL]

On the subject of spares I ordered three items from Bachmann Spares.

 

1. 08 Replacement Body 

2. Accessories pack for class 57

 

The third item being the screws that hold the class 66 bodyshell to the chassis, I ordered what I thought was three packs of 4 small screws for a pound (25p) per screw which I thought was outrageous.

 

Package arrived this morning with a packet containing 3 screws (£1) per screw I have complained but got nowhere.

 

Absolutely disgusted with such profiteering from Bachmann

 

Its the last new item I will be buying from Bachmann

 

Anybody know of alternative suppliers of small screws     

 

Terry 

[spamcan61]

25 minutes ago, ELTEL said:

On the subject of spares I ordered three items from Bachmann Spares.

 

1. 08 Replacement Body 

2. Accessories pack for class 57

 

The third item being the screws that hold the class 66 bodyshell to the chassis, I ordered what I thought was three packs of 4 small screws for a pound (25p) per screw which I thought was outrageous.

 

Package arrived this morning with a packet containing 3 screws (£1) per screw I have complained but got nowhere.

 

Absolutely disgusted with such profiteering from Bachmann

 

Its the last new item I will be buying from Bachmann

 

Anybody know of alternative suppliers of small screws     

 

Terry 

I bought 'selection boxes' via eBay which have say 500 screws in of various types. Usually sold as 'laptop screws' or some such. Work out at 1p each so quids I. even if I never use most of them.I Can't offer a guaranteed replacement for the Bachmann screws mind you.

[roundhouse]

1 hour ago, ELTEL said:

On the subject of spares I ordered three items from Bachmann Spares.

 

1. 08 Replacement Body 

2. Accessories pack for class 57

 

The third item being the screws that hold the class 66 bodyshell to the chassis, I ordered what I thought was three packs of 4 small screws for a pound (25p) per screw which I thought was outrageous.

 

Package arrived this morning with a packet containing 3 screws (£1) per screw I have complained but got nowhere.

 

Absolutely disgusted with such profiteering from Bachmann

 

Its the last new item I will be buying from Bachmann

 

Anybody know of alternative suppliers of small screws     

 

Terry 

I noticed that a screw is £1 each which is a lot when you are looking at six for a loco. Luckily the owner still has the screws at home.  On the other hand many other spares such as drive shafts are much better value at £2 each. I ordered various Farish spares from Bachmann late last week and they all arrived today in good condition. No psotage charges either on what I had ordered.

 

Heljan on the other hand don't do any spares for their 009 locos, so the only way to get them is to buy another loco  when they od discounted heavily.

[Butler Henderson]

13 hours ago, roundhouse said:

I noticed that a screw is £1 each which is a lot when you are looking at six for a loco. 

Comparable with or less than  Peter Spares charges,  two con rod screws  £2 N gauge, £6 O gauge

[letterspider]

On 02/12/2023 at 19:59, blueeighties said:

GM have sold the parts individually this way since they took Heljan spares on 3/4 years ago.

 

Not from my memory.

[andyman7]

The prices for these screws from specialist spares suppliers tend to reflect the cost and hassle of processing the sale, No-one's going to get rich on £1 per screw because not that many get sold. However, the best course of action is wherever possible to ascertain the screw thread size and just get it from a screw supplier.

[ELTEL]

On 26/02/2024 at 17:41, spamcan61 said:

I bought 'selection boxes' via eBay which have say 500 screws in of various types. Usually sold as 'laptop screws' or some such. Work out at 1p each so quids I. even if I never use most of them.I Can't offer a guaranteed replacement for the Bachmann screws mind you.

Could you please PM with the link you used.

Many Thanks 

[ELTEL]

However, the best course of action is wherever possible to ascertain the screw thread size and just get it from a screw supplier

 

Not really sure how you do that other than the length of a screw.

 

How do you measure a thread size ?
 

Terry 

[spamcan61]

5 minutes ago, ELTEL said:

Could you please PM with the link you used.

Many Thanks 

this is one of the packs i bought:-

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373360248876?var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[spamcan61]

3 minutes ago, ELTEL said:

However, the best course of action is wherever possible to ascertain the screw thread size and just get it from a screw supplier

 

Not really sure how you do that other than the length of a screw.

 

How do you measure a thread size ?
 

Terry 

difficult without some nuts of known thread type to check against

 

[Roddy Angus]

1 hour ago, ELTEL said:

How do you measure a thread size ?

Most straight threaded screws, or bolts, now come in metric sizes, M1, M1.5, M2 etc., with the number being the diameter of the treaded section.  To be honest, buying a pack like that suggested by Spamcan61 is the easiest solution as you can try and see which fit best. Some specialist bolts come in other sizes and threads per inch, but they are unlikely to be used in modern model railway items.

 

Roddy

[ELTEL]

28 minutes ago, Roddy Angus said:

Most straight threaded screws, or bolts, now come in metric sizes, M1, M1.5, M2 etc., with the number being the diameter of the treaded section.  To be honest, buying a pack like that suggested by Spamcan61 is the easiest solution as you can try and see which fit best. Some specialist bolts come in other sizes and threads per inch, but they are unlikely to be used in modern model railway items.

 

Roddy

Thanks Roddy & Spamcan61

I feel between you have answered my question and I will purchase the recommended assorted screws.

Terry 

[letterspider]

For all if you who want a screw

 

https://g.co/kgs/urvRJs8

 

Clerkenwell screws in Farringdon is the place to go. 

You take one screw in, they find another 1000 to match and the prices are sensible