Hornby castle arriving?

[The Stationmaster]

Neal's loco looks very much like a Friday afternoon job -incorrect smokebox door, door dart bent, one footstep lurking there at an angle. It leaves me wondering exactly what sort of game Hornby have been playing and whether the pressure to get this loco to market need to catch up on their ageing delivery schedule has resulted in them pressing their suppliers and dropping any pretence at getting some of the details right? Is this possibly a symptom of the earlier malaise which affected their supply chain resulting in them sourcing from two different factories for this loco? All in all a disappointing state of affairs for purchasers like Neal especially when it follows some recent models with a much higher standard of production and quality control.

[Barry Ten]

Has anyone else been lucky enough to receive their NEW Hornby Castle yet?

 

 

 

If you'd bothered to read this thread, the answer would be obvious... in fact, you'd only need to

look a few posts up from your own.

 

I also notice you've posted this exact same query on another forum:

 

http://www.modelrailwayforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=3974

[gwrrob]

Neal's loco looks very much like a Friday afternoon job -incorrect smokebox door, door dart bent, one footstep lurking there at an angle. It leaves me wondering exactly what sort of game Hornby have been playing and whether the pressure to get this loco to market need to catch up on their ageing delivery schedule has resulted in them pressing their suppliers and dropping any pretence at getting some of the details right? Is this possibly a symptom of the earlier malaise which affected their supply chain resulting in them sourcing from two different factories for this loco? All in all a disappointing state of affairs for purchasers like Neal especially when it follows some recent models with a much higher standard of production and quality control.

 

Absolutely and I feel for Neal knowing how long he's waited for this model.I wonder how many have been sent with this problem.

[Ozexpatriate]

Neal's loco looks very much like a Friday afternoon job -incorrect smokebox door, door dart bent, one footstep lurking there at an angle.

This is the same kind of problem as the backwards T9 tender frames.

 

Ok so mistakes happen. Someone grabbed a bucket of BR Castle smokebox doors and put them on a GWR Castle. It shouldn't happen and when it does it should be fixed. Hornby customer support were willing to fix the T9s. Perhaps they will do so with Tintagel Castle? Has anyone asked Hornby customer support what they plan to do yet?

 

I'm in limbo. I am waiting for my model to wend it's way over the pond. Will it be from a good batch or the bad batch? Time will tell. I can only imagine how Neal feels. I've been waiting for the 28 months since this product was announced with a a great deal of anticipation. Now I've added trepidation as well.

 

I think it's amusing that Rails is still advertising photographs (linked earlier in this thread) with with number plate moulding.

[Neal Ball]

Well at least the Castle isn't 'bolted' into the packaging like the 28xx........

 

err yes it is Chris! - Or at least my Hybrid BR / GWR Castle is bolted into the box. Mind you the fixing looks better than the 28xx which I still think needs further adjustment.

 

In my telephone call - see below - with the Hornby Marketing department, I took the opportunity of discussing the new packaging and relayed my experience of dropping the 28xx out of the box!

 

Regards,

Neal

[Neal Ball]

An update to my tales of woe from last night! - I do have good news, but first the events of the day!!!!

 

I put a follow up on the Hornby website Forum, in the hope that a moderator / employee from Hornby would see it, throw their hands up in horror and reply - but they didn't!

 

I decided on the way to work this morning that I would throw the problem in Hornby's direction. After all a) they need to know, B) they are in the best position to get it sorted out!

 

So at 9am I joined the telephone queue for the Hornby Helpline. The guy I spoke to did not really understand the issue, even asking is it a problem that there is a BR Smokebox number plate!! I asked him, why the loco had now sold out "its popular", so "you should have made more, this has been a very frustrating experiemce waiting for the order etc." - But he had no real grasp on what the issues had been. - He put me through to Hornby reception and told me to speak to the Development team. I had to leave them a message and got on with the day.

 

Emma from the Marketing department called me back at 4:45pm and was totally sympathetic, understood the issues, frustration etc. Plus I dont think she thought much of the guy on the Helpdesk! The way she spoke was as if this was a unique problem.

 

Anyway, I am returning the model to Hornby, using a special Freepost address and will have a new one shortly! - Sorted! - at last!

[autocoach]

I sincerely hope the BR nameplate problem is truly unique.

 

I am in California 6000 miles from Margate and when (if ever it seems due to the US TSA requirement that anything electronic sail the seas instead of go by air) my Tintagel Castle arrives, I hope it has the correct smokebox door or I will be in deep dispair. Is there a possible brass casting from a supplier that could be used as a replacement. My past efforts at scraping off unwanted BR nameplates from plastic smokebox doors to re-date a model have not usually ended up with an smokebox that is smooth as it should be.

[Ozexpatriate]

I sincerely hope the BR nameplate problem is truly unique.

Clearly with the prior illustrations in this thread it is neither unique nor pervasive.

 

I am in California 6000 miles from Margate and when (if ever it seems due to the US TSA requirement that anything electronic sail the seas instead of go by air) my Tintagel Castle arrives, I hope it has the correct smokebox door or I will be in deep dispair.

I share your concern about the smokebox door, but wasn't aware that there is a TSA requirement for electronics to go by surface mail. I thought that since the Dubai printer toner incident (or was it Bahrain) there were more X-ray inspections for air mail packages making things take longer.

[Neal Ball]

I sincerely hope the BR nameplate problem is truly unique.

 

I am in California 6000 miles from Margate.......

 

 

Clearly with the prior illustrations in this thread it is neither unique nor pervasive.

 

 

I share your concern about the smokebox door........

 

I hope this is very much a limited problem - maybe only to a few models - and that Hornby can resolve this and all the other supply chain / quality control issues they have at the moment.

[gwrrob]

Due to a few complaints about my photo quality I've retaken one showing the 'Vauxhall' front end and no smokebox number.

[Neal Ball]

Due to a few complaints about my photo quality I've retaken one showing the 'Vauxhall' front end and no smokebox number.

 

Very envious!

[stuart galbraith]

Bought mine the other day, and by and large Im quite happy with it. I made sure I checked after comments on here there was no smokebox number and that was OK, but after getting it home the right hand motion mount (the metal one the slide bar slides in) came off, albeit undamaged. Dont think they glued it in properly. Ive now fixed it with sparing amounts of superglue, and Ill try and give it a run tomorrow. The other thing is that the wire on the front of the reverser mount is slightly bent, but I think thats fixable. its also rather annoying to note that Hornby still havent fully solved the problem of the mould line on the boiler. If it was on the top it wouldnt show at all, but 2 thirds down the boiler it does show unless its filed down. My 7037 was well done, as was cairns, Beverston castle needs remedial work in this area, and Tintagel, whilst its a lot better than Beverston, still shows more than Swindon.

 

I must say though, that I dont wish to sound too negative. These are for the most part nitpicks because the paint job is superb. I love the livery, and when connected up to a Collett in GW livery looks fantastic.

[Ozexpatriate]

I picked up my Tintagel Castle at the post office on Saturday morning. I peeked at it to check that there was no number plate (there wasn't, sorry Neal) but I haven't unboxed it yet.

[autocoach]

At Laaast my castle has arrived....

Arrived intact on the doorstep today.....No trace of BR numberplate on the smokebox door. Going to take it to hobby store this weekend so it can run up a few scale miles on the long circuit before a TCS DP2X-UK decoder is installed. Looks nice. Chimney was loose in box but no other damage noticed. A bit of lube oil leaking out attacked the extruded polystyrene foam container. TSA and US Customs decided it was not a threat to national security or an addictive banned substance.

 

I will have to dig out my motley collection of GWR coaches and tail it with a brace of Pullmans. Locals won't know that that is improper.

[brushman47544]

Well I have to say I'm very happy with my Tintagel Castle. I can live with the minor errors mentioned, although it does look odd to say the least that there are rivets through the printed numberplates.

 

As far as the smokebox numberplate error is concerned, even the boxshifters will check the individual model before sending if you ask them to - especially if you tell them it will be sent back (with a request to reimburse postage) if its wrong.

[gwcatman]

Hi again,

This is the first time I have tried to attach a photo. Below or attached should be a photo of one of the faults that I listed on my earlier post. I have since spoken with the retailer and been informed that the loco is now 'out of stock', no more available from Hornby (so goodness knows when the next version in GWR colours will be released!?).

Hence instead of a refund I will be attempting to contact Hornby Customer Services direct, once their new website has been upgraded (13th April).

The attached photos show the apparent gap / poor fit of the safety valve around its' associated moulded location bore, and the marked smokebox paintwork (weathering would correct this, if I dare to do it) but for £100+ model I'm not sure rectification is the right route......................

Regards Trev

 

 

[Neal Ball]

.........I will be attempting to contact Hornby Customer Services direct, ......................

 

 

 

I would suggest you speak to the Marketing Department on the switchboard number. My contact is Emma Brett who is very helpful. The young lad on customer service did not know one end of a loco to another!

 

BTW - Hornby received my model yesterday afternoon!

[7013]

It needs to go back to Hornby GWcatman, I hope these are 'one offs' because your Castle looks as if it has just been pulled out of Barry rather than delivered new! Looks like it needs a new body as that safety valve problem looks terminal.

[mow]

Hornby's new revamped website is up and running.

[Neal Ball]

Its arrived! - With the correct Smokebox door! - Thought there might have been a letter "very sorry" etc. inside..... Never mind its here!

 

But will have to wait until Saturday until it can be tested. :-(

[Ozexpatriate]

I picked up my Tintagel Castle at the post office on Saturday morning. I peeked at it to check that there was no number plate (there wasn't, sorry Neal) but I haven't unboxed it yet.

I finally got around to unboxing it. There was some carnage with separately added details.

 

The chimney was busted off - this is easily fixed. The green box on the top of the left tender front was busted off. This is a bit trickier to set correctly but some CA adhesive should see to it.

 

Additionally there were two other black plastic bits that I can't identify floating around the inner packaging. I haven't noticed anything obviously missing yet - brighter lighting and magnification might be needed.

 

I didn't have the problem that some have reported with the safety valve.

 

Otherwise, it looks like a lovely model.

[autocoach]

At laaaaast my castle has arrived:

 

TCS DP2X UK went in with no problems........Test running at the local hobby shop causes a few stares...

 

 

[bobwyer]

Perusing the problems of 5011's hydrostatic lubricator, or lack of, may I suggest the following. Please see attached a digital image of the correct lubricator, paste into say PowerPoint, or whatever your favourite image manipulator is, size accordingly and print on gloss photo paper to correct scale size, cut, fiddle and paste and the mechanical oil pressure gauge is hidden by an image of some 5x4mm. Cue correct Meerkat clicking noise.

 

 

[7013]

Tried opening your link Bobwyer but my computer is not happy with it and will not let it open, is there a web link?

[bobwyer]

Tried opening your link Bobwyer but my computer is not happy with it and will not let it open, is there a web link?

 

For copyright purposes amend the post to"an approved copyright free image of a GWR hydrostatic lubricator" until I can take a picture myself, and post here.