adamvb

Theres pretty serious light bleed (see images) and the moulding line on the side of the cab roof is pretty pronounced and looks a bit like a crack. I've spoken to Hornby and they are offering to paint the inside of the cabs and sand down the cab mould (and paint the window frames black) if models are returned to them via their customer service team.

Thanks Ron - I've ironically got some of the smaller ones under my desk and thought they looked familiar, but I've never spotted the larger ones - they look perfect. Time for another trip to IKEA!

You don't happen to recall what these were called do you Neil? Cheers Adam

Hi Martin I'd be interested to hear. Mine has been on engineering trains most of the day and still has its thrum! Best Adam

Thanks for the replies both. Interesting to see the differing opinions. I don't think the third one I've got has any problems, but it is noticeably noisier/'thrum-ier'. I've had a look and the motor setup seems cosmetically the same so it must just be production variation, but weird I've had 3 that have all been noticeably noisier than their predecessors. It's had about 6 hours running in on and off so far and no change in engine noise, but its nice and smooth and is pulling fine. WIll see how it continues to bed in.

Hi Phil Thanks for letting me know - I've run in each on DCC for a couple of hours each way at 64/128 (they're DCC Sound fitted ones). And the motor grumble seems quite a bit louder on the ones I've had. At least on this current one it can haul even if it is noisier! Has anyone else got any of the above 66s and can do a like for like? Cheers Adam

Hey all I wanted to just ask to see if others who have got the recent new 66 releases from Bachmann (Biffa/BR/Freightliner Orange/Evening Star/DB Cargo) that have come out in the past couple of months are noisier than their older counterparts? I've had 3 so far, all sound fitted. The first one wouldn't take off with a load (just sat stalled until pushed), the second one would pull but had an audible click (which sounded like a compressor tick even though the sound wasn't on) and thankfully the third one pulls and doesn't tick, but inline with the others does still have what sounds like a gear noise on low to medium speeds which becomes a thrumming sound in the higher ranges. I'm not sure if they've changed the motor design, but compared to my old ones from 2005-2012 (Freightliner (8 Pin original variant) and EWS/GBRF (21 Pin revised version)) it is much louder. Has anyone else had this, or have I just fallen unlucky? All best Adam

Hi Paul Thanks for the suggestion - its really perplexed me. I've spent some time this afternoon adjusting the CVs and when the BEMF on CV58 is set to 0 the performance in the 20-60 speed step range is perfectly smooth, but obviously the take off is awful. I tried adjusting the BEMF back up slowly, but even at 10 in CV58 its back to the shunt/stutter. I've also tried using CV10 (EMF Feedback Cut out) and CV113 (Compensation Cut Off) set to various values (CV113 = 0 to make it cut off at the speed steps in CV10 (started at 40 as I assume when it says internal speed step 0-252 this means each speed step on 0-126 is doubled to get the relative speed step on the decoder), but this didn't improve matters with the slow speed and reintroduced the stutter in the 20-60 range. Any other suggestions and ideas welcome!

Out of interest - has anyone else with the sound fitted variant had issues with the running? I've got one and it has a bit of stutter to it when running (mainly in the 20-55 speed steps out of 128). Its silky smooth starting off and fine above 55 speed steps, but has a slight shunt/stutter inbetween. I've tried it on DC and its smooth as silk throughout the range, but not on DCC with the Zimo decoder. I had 3 from a local retailer and they were all the same, so I appreciate it might just been the way they are, but it would be interesting to know if anyone else has had the same.

That's interesting - I'll be honest I know nothing of the process so it's interesting to get an insight. I'm now up to 10 retailers and counting whose stock is all the same - lets hope Hornby re-run the TCC!

To be fair I tested with a steel rule, but I wasn't confident enough to one hand hold it whilst trying to take the photo incase I marked the paintwork! Its the same with the steel one, and my plastic ruler is true in line with the steel rule. In person its a really obvious warp - just looking at the coach you can see the whole body sharply droop at the roof vent point.

Thanks for checking and letting me know - we've both got the same one. It's increasingly looking as if I've been really unlucky. I might pop down to Rails during the week and ask them to get a couple out to check. When I run a ruler on mine under the two yellow mounting points on the bottom of the body the outer ends of the footsteps are touching the ruler and the inner ends are a good couple of mm higher. What's more baffling is that I've had them from The Model Centre, Rails, Derails, Gaugemaster, Roxley Models and AGR and they've all been the same!

It is - it drops down at that end. Weirdly out of so many examples I've not had a straight one - but according to a few members of a Facebook group theres are all fine - would be good to know what other people on here have experienced with them. Sods law just like the Virgin MK3a's from a couple of years back it would have to be the buffet and not a TS! Ads

Hi everyone - I just wanted to post about Hornbys XC Sliding Door MK3's - I've seen various comments on RMWeb etc about issues with the paint finish/decals, and wheelset issues but so far I've not seen anyone mention the TCC carriage in the XC sets (R4941 and R4941A) - I've had 5 of these from various retailers and each time they have suffered from a warped body around the point of the plated over windows (and more obvious along that side too). I've been in touch with Hornby who are of the opinion its not a widespread issue, but it seems odd I've had 5 of them now. Has anyone else got this - if you have and you haven't noticed then sorry for brining it to your attention - once I saw it I can't ignore it - especially in a rake with 6 other straight ones! It seems to be the same on the Hattons and Rails of Sheffield pages examples too (red lines added for reference). Has anyone else got this on theirs? Cheers Adam

Just to add to feedback about the SD MK3's - has anyone with an XC set noticed a warp along the bodyside on the plated off window side of their TCC - none of the other carriages seem to suffer this, but I've had 5 TCC's that have.

Hi Roddy When they are at the front of the rake being pushed they are fine, and when they are at the rear (with a rake of 4) they are fine. They feel really smooth when hand pushed and when observed without the body and interior on them they can be seen smoothly traversing the central point of the chasis V. Its as if they are not strong enough to keep straight when being pushed with the weight of a full rake infront of them. It's really odd (and frustrating!)

Hi Tom Hopefully there wasn't any battle scars! I've tried using a Close (about 2mm longer) in each pair of couplings, but they are still not working beyond a length of 3 or 4 coaches. On the straight they seem fine as below: But get to a corner (4th radius) and: (this is between coach B and A (at the rear of the train, with coaches C-G ahead of it) The couplings swing out, and the gangways clash still. I've also tried using a close version coupling throughout rather than the MK3SD ones. When I test each of the couplings invidivually they swing fine and don't snag at all - so I'm baffled!

Hi John I'm having exactly the same issue - I've shaved a little bit off the tip of the coupling cam as suggested in the video that Hunt Couplings posted below your post, but still no success. It seems to work on up to 3 or 4 coaches, but as soon as you add on the rest of the XC 7 Car rake (with or without dummy power car) it starts to have issues - theres lots of clicking when pulling, but as soon as you start running with the power car pushing the coaches (despite appearing to have moving cams and the hunt coupling being relatively straight) the coach gangways clang against each other on the inner end of the curve and derail each other. I'm not sure what else to try and I am waiting a response from Hunt Couplings, but these don't seem to work as well initially as the original couplings that were fitted in terms of reliability, or as well as the MK3 Clip Hunt Couplings I've fitted to my older MK3 rakes which are fantastic. Does anyone have the combination of a longer length sliding door MK3 rake and the Hunt Couplings working well? All suggestions gratefully received!

I've had similar experiences with the XC carriages (both the couplings) but mainly the wheels - a number of the wheels seem to be incorrectly mounted on the axles (not square to the track/right angles to the axle), and around half of them are "out of round" either due to poor moulding or mounting on the axle. It causes a rather obvious and constant wobble as they run along. Alongside various paint finish issues and warping of the TCC/Buffet car its been a real pain.