bigherb Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 As mine has stopped wobbling I never investigated further. But as the wheels run true I think it is some tightness in the gears or drive shafts causing a torque reaction from the motor to twist the body sideways on the bogie pivots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Trainshed Terry Posted April 15, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 15, 2011 Go on then, I dare you :- ficticious or is it to be speed whiskers? :rolleyes: For those who have a copy of the following book "British Rail Main Line Diesel Locomotives" by "Colin J.Marsden and Graham B.Fenn, I refer you all to page 7 where there is a black and white artist impression of D0260 (D8500) in two tone green. Me thinks there was a bit of artistic incense going on here. :D Terry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Returning to the hobby. Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I am considering purchasing this model but am unable to inspect one in hand, can anybody confirm if the bogies and underframes are painted or just plain raw white plastic? Thanks, Stef Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spackz Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Stef, I had the same concerns recieved mine last week and its a cracking model, the bogies match the body work in that they are painted/printed, they haven't got that unnatural shining plastic look. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Returning to the hobby. Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Hi Paul, this was my main concern, the magazine photos I saw made them look like unpainted plastic (Model Rail N° 152), now I know they are indeed painted I will be making the splash. Thanks for your help, Stef Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 And one of the prototype photos I've collected off the net (can't publish it for copyright reasons, and I don't know where I found it so I can't post the link either), actually gives the same 1st impression of plastic bogies and painted body! Prototype for everything, must be the reference material Heljan used. Just enjoy the model, it really is superb. Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Returning to the hobby. Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Oh dear, was about to buy one from Hattons when I got back from work (they had 5 in stock earlier today) and are now totally sold out! Will have a look on the web tomorrow to see who has them. Quite keen to get this diesel in my collection, looks to be quite superb from the pictures & films I have seen on the web. Stef Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Oh dear, was about to buy one from Hattons when I got back from work (they had 5 in stock earlier today) and are now totally sold out! Will have a look on the web tomorrow to see who has them. Quite keen to get this diesel in my collection, looks to be quite superb from the pictures & films I have seen on the web. Stef I think John Dutfield at Chelmsford still has some. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 According to their website Holt Model Railways have them at £99.95 which is a good price. 01792 232264. No connection just a satisfied customer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyboy Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Kernow Model Rail Centre have still got them in stock as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BromsMods Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 We only had 4 of these in stock originally - all went back to Heljan. I've just received "replacements" and have been doing some testing of them. I wonder if some kind soul(s) could carry out the tests below on their LION for me - can be DC or DCC fitted - and report back any findings they make. (1) Run the loco solo in one direction non-stop either on a rolling road or on a circuit for 30 minutes, running at 80% of max speed. (2) Run the loco with a load of 4 or more coaches on a circuit for 30 minutes non-stop. I can't currently carry out this test as I don't have a useable circuit!! When you have finished the running tests, touch the loco. I'll report back on my own findings on (1) once I have some responses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwitrains Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Hi John Did the tests you mentioned (DCC) and the only thing I found was a wobble and it has not gone off so mine is still wobbling not severely but wobbling!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BromsMods Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Did you touch the loco after the tests? I've edited the test parameters above just to make sure you do this. I'll report back on my findings when I have a few more responses, but I need to find out if there is (so far) an unreported issue with the loco or whether my own tests have revealed a one-off problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulleidboy Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Did you touch the loco after the tests? I've edited the test parameters above just to make sure you do this. I'll report back on my findings when I have a few more responses, but I need to find out if there is (so far) an unreported issue with the loco or whether my own tests have revealed a one-off problem. Hello John Have just completed the test (running at speed step 20 of 28) - touching the loco after each 30 minute stint showed no sign of it being warm. regards Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gra Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Mine runs fine too. Hundreds, if not thousands will have been sold. If there was an issue we would have heard before now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwitrains Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Touched it no problem Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted March 18, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 18, 2013 How about in standard blue? Seriously though, if I were to paint something ficticiously it would be some coaches into Lion's livery rather than repaint Lion itself. I quite like the idea of some aircon mark 2s in Lion white with some gold lining, and perhaps a sort of 'Lion nameplate' style of crest somewhere in the centre of the body side below the windows... Now that Bachmann are going to be doing Mark 2Fs, one of my two rakes of Lima Mark 2Fs might actually get this Lion White repaint treatment. The other might get S&DJR Prussian Blue with gold lining, to be hauled by an old Lima 47 done in the same livery Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I have the model of Lion and whilst a beautiful loco the drive shafts have dropped out twice. Once when I received the loco from the UK and the second time was after I had it repaired from the first drop out here in Australia. After the second repair the loco ran all of 20m and then the shaft dropped out reducing it's haulage power from excellent to zero. It can't even move itself as only one bogie is working and both bogies are powered so with a drive shaft inactive it's like one bogie has the brakes hard on. I emailed Howes who said that nothing can be done and that it's a common problem with some Heljan models of Lion. I'm now considering phoning Heljan in Denmark (and I won't be fobbed off with 'see the agent rubbish) to see if they stand by the products they sell when things go wrong. I hope someone there speaks English. I have other Heljan locos namely a Hymek, Western, Falcon and Kestrel and no running problems at all........just Lion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke_stevens Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I have the model of Lion and whilst a beautiful loco the drive shafts have dropped out twice. Once when I received the loco from the UK and the second time was after I had it repaired from the first drop out here in Australia. After the second repair the loco ran all of 20m and then the shaft dropped out reducing it's haulage power from excellent to zero. It can't even move itself as only one bogie is working and both bogies are powered so with a drive shaft inactive it's like one bogie has the brakes hard on. I emailed Howes who said that nothing can be done and that it's a common problem with some Heljan models of Lion. I'm now considering phoning Heljan in Denmark (and I won't be fobbed off with 'see the agent rubbish) to see if they stand by the products they sell when things go wrong. I hope someone there speaks English. I have other Heljan locos namely a Hymek, Western, Falcon and Kestrel and no running problems at all........just Lion. What do you mean by "the drive shafts have dropped out twice"? On normal reasonably flat track there shouldn't be sufficient slop for the drive shaft to drop out. I've been able to get a shaft to drop loose but that needs the trucks to be off their fittings. It the trucks are correctly seated it sounds as if either: a.) the shaft is "short" i.e. the wrong length shaft, or b.) the cup on the motor or before the work has slipped / not been fitted correctly so there is too much space between the cups, allowing the shaft to become loose. The distance only needs to be tightened up by less than half the ball joint diameter. I'd be looking to measure the distances between the worm - cup - drive shaft - cup - motor bearing for the end that works and compare this to the one that drops out. It shouldn't be too difficult to correct. Good luck! Luke Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted August 16, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 16, 2013 A well known box shifter has these for £79 + p/p which I assume is old stock. Has anyone bought any of this recent offering, and do they show the same problems? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRman Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 To the best of my knowledge there has only been one production run of Lion from Heljan, so old stock is the only stock. All should be the same. Having said that, my Lion seems to run fine apart from one very slightly wobbly wheelset. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch1970mc Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 Received my Lion yesterday was really looking forward to getting it then........ windscreen wipers missing, ran okay on dc fitted decoders and bang decoders went up in smoke! Loco now in post back to model shop , waiting for replacement. This is my first Hejan model is this the norm as I wanted to get DP2 next. Will let you all know how I get on, second time better luck I hope! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRman Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 Not typical of Heljan in my experience (owners of the first run class 17s may disgree here!!). Out of interest, though, what decoder did you fit?I definitely recommend avoiding Hornby decoders for use in Heljan locomotives: they have a 0.5 amp continuous rating and a 1 amp overload limit and Heljan locomotives under load could exceed these by a fair margin (I'm not saying that this was the case here but it is probably a good place to air the caution). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrushVeteran Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 Yes I would agree with SRman on this. Heljan use good robust 5-pole motors in the main and the standard as fitted by Hornby decoder is not man enough to cope with the current draw. The Bachmann 36.553 decoder is quite suitable for those looking at a budget decoder. The Hornby decoder is OK in some of the smaller Heljan locos such as the 14,15,& 17 however as these only use a 3 pole motor. As always run the loco's on DC only for a period of time to 'run them in' and elimainate any 'tight spots' which could contribute to overheating a decoder when running on DCC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted August 18, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 18, 2013 Received my Lion yesterday was really looking forward to getting it then........ windscreen wipers missing, ran okay on dc fitted decoders and bang decoders went up in smoke! Loco now in post back to model shop , waiting for replacement. This is my first Hejan model is this the norm as I wanted to get DP2 next. Will let you all know how I get on, second time better luck I hope! I only do DC not DCC and have Heljan Hymek and Class 33 which are excellent performers. 33 was bought new and Hymek S/H but no problems with either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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