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Class 86


Bartb

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Saw some for about £50 at the Wakefield Exhibition just before Christmas.

 

Unfortuantely living where I do I don't get too many exhibitions! Happy to learn if anyone knows of anywhere that has them for sale less than £79 though :no: .

 

Ta

Martin

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Not now, cheapest on their website is £110.00! A bit of Googling can find them around the £79 mark. Think that's the lowest I've seen them so far.

 

Martin

 

Sadly not at the moment no, they seemed to pop up on the second hand section couple of times at that price worth checknig regularly

 

NL

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i think some people really do get carried away with the errors on this model. all models will have errors if you get the magnifying glass out.

 

its a 1:76 model so how close do you have to get to it to actually truly notice the deficiencies? nose touching the bodyside close? the errors have been raised along time ago, lets not rake over old coals and harp on about them forever and a day. Heljan arent going to offer a fix anytime soon so why waste any breath on it?

 

Chassis wise its light years better than the Hornby offering.

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Guest jim s-w
i think some people really do get carried away with the errors on this model. all models will have errors if you get the magnifying glass out.

 

its a 1:76 model so how close do you have to get to it to actually truly notice the deficiencies? nose touching the bodyside close? the errors have been raised along time ago, lets not rake over old coals and harp on about them forever and a day. Heljan arent going to offer a fix anytime soon so why waste any breath on it?

 

Chassis wise its light years better than the Hornby offering.

 

Why waste any breath or effort explaining the faults (for those who want to know, want to make informed descisions or want to fix the model to make it look like what it should) if people are obviously not going to read the comments and be so dismissive of them.

 

If you think you need your 'nose touching the bodyside' you clearly haven't read a single thing that's been written.

 

Cheers

 

Jim

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The 86 is one of Heljan's worst models. I have lots of Heljan models and I really like them but I would not touch the 86 with a barge pole. It is true that forums can be over critical on minute errors. However that is not the case here. The 86 is terrible. Granted the mechanism is way better than the old Hornby model but that is it. The Hornby body shape actually looks like an 86. It has its faults but its lightyears ahead of the Heljan body.

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I can see how the 86 fits into someone's fleet if all of the other models have factory lights, separate handrails and "finer" details, and satisfies the tick boxes by having three front windows and a pantograph, but for me it should have been the flagship of an existing fleet of 25+ AC electrics, but has honestly put me off modelling UK outline and set the genre back into a hole that only the forthcoming Bachmann 85 can drag itself out of.

 

Heljan had the absolute cherry when they announced the most numerous liveried class with the longest service and highest mileage for a true loco, and despite warnings that the cad drawings had faults, what do they come out with....?

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I've read that before but if you think they have invested a lot of money in tooling up for the model, warts and all, and when you consider they continue from time to time to release "tubby Duffs" despite their obvious faults and arguably better, cheaper competing models having subsequently come out, I'd be very surprised if they don't do at least one more run. It would be an interesting test to see how many more people might be tempted if the price came down to the level tubby Duff reruns were sold at, or if an un-numbered run were produced similar to the Tubbies. They can still release the 86 in Freightliner grey, Intercity "Executive", rail blue (a small handful gained high intensity lights and tdm wires although probably not inergen fire bottles), Virgin "Caledonian" blue and unbranded Intercity liveries with the current tooling (plus or minus the firebottles) so I'm inclined to think that in order to get some return on their tooling costs, a further run or two will probably happen and in some alternative liveries, but that any retool or backdating to non-refurbished styles is unlikely.

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It is a shame, but the Heljan 86 is a good model, Ill admit when I saw it in the flesh there were some things that bugged me, but even at around £80 that still seems a lot of money. Yes ok it has inaccuracies but for me its better than the Hornby model, shant say no more on the matter as already mentioned, all the problems etc have been said before. I hope Howes get some more in though at around the £50 mark

 

NL

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I have heard that Heljan do not intend to make anymore 86s due to it being a very poor seller...That'll be nothing to do with its errors then will it? :rofl:

Well I received an email from Heljan today entitled "Electrics go in a flash" and offering "Our remaining class 86 electrics at only £99.00!"

These being cat numbers 8600-8603, the Freightliner liveried version having already sold out at source.

 

Reading the above it looks as though the days of the HJ 86 are indeed numbered.

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Reading the above it looks as though the days of the HJ 86 are indeed numbered.

 

It mostly indicates a desire to clear unsold stock. I doubt in this case it will happen, but it's not unknown for remaindering of an unsuccessful line actually spikes demand to a level that it's worth revisiting (or at least a future production run).

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It mostly indicates a desire to clear unsold stock. I doubt in this case it will happen, but it's not unknown for remaindering of an unsuccessful line actually spikes demand to a level that it's worth revisiting (or at least a future production run).

 

Hopefully those dreaded "Collectors" will clear the shelves of remaining stock, and it'll fade into obscurity safely tucked away in their lofts, waiting for the day when one appears on "Flog It" and is valued at an inflated price that finally justifies it's purchase.

 

Of course what Heljan "should" have done would have been to announce a complete re-tool of the body and send new ones to existing customers. It's been done in the US, and Heljan themselves have done so with incorrectly liveried class 47 bodies.

 

I'm not suggesting there's even a glimmer of hope of them doing so now, in fact that'd be a little underhand...

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Well I received an email from Heljan today entitled "Electrics go in a flash" and offering "Our remaining class 86 electrics at only £99.00!"

These being cat numbers 8600-8603, the Freightliner liveried version having already sold out at source.

 

Reading the above it looks as though the days of the HJ 86 are indeed numbered.

 

Not much of a bargain when Hattons have them on offer at between £79 and £84.

http://www.ehattons.com/stocklist/27/1/44/0/Heljan_UK_OO_Gauge_1_76th_Scale_Electric_locos/prodlist.aspx

(Although noting that retro Electric Blue 86233 Alstom Heritage has now sold out.)

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Ive seen some retailers selling them at trade cost all ready, So any hope of getting them new for £50 is a long shot.

second hand may be.

Ive spoken to Heljan ( I was a retailer untill last year) and they have NO plans to re release the 86 in any other livery. They just want to get shot of any stock they have left.

Things might change in the future. But thats the info I had not to long ago.

Over to Dapol me thinks!!!!

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