MikeParkin65

Bachmann also have relatively recent research for their 2 mm model as well of course. And the 8F …….

Agree entirely. The only thing that could be improved is perhaps the plug and socket they used. Appreciate these will be the cheapest solution but something like the plugs DCC Concepts sell would is more robust and easier to use in my experience. That said i dont pack my models away on a regular basis so several are now hard wired together anyway.

According to the blurb for the just announced Rails Ltd edition of 5428 as preserved the model has a flywheel. Anybody taken the loco body off yet and able to confirm? https://railsofsheffield.com/search?q=R30387 black 5&_kx=nTbDlYO2tIJF0g9_RHJfhaYIH4IEvjBwUEE9OGmQgKbqnSFePN1n7xZw98DdvMB7.RXkVMS&utm_campaign=Exclusive Railway Icons Hornby Black 5 Announcement&utm_id=01HWCTPR051J0D68J9Z228C817&utm_medium=campaign&utm_source=Klaviyo

You surely haven't let that beauty got for scrap have you? 🤯

Dare I say that whilst the bogie wheels have the correct Stanier bevel that same bevel is noticeably missing from the drivers? Strangely Hornby did the same with the recent 2MT

I'd go for Locoman - best sounds I have heard. My Black 5 from him is old though - back in the days when he was offerring Zimo. Currently has an offer on D&H decoders @£92 . I've got his projects on D&H for the 2MT and A2/2 - running quality is good though for absolute smoothness I think Zimo remains the benchmark. Yoochoose and Digitrains very good too although I will say Digitrains sound (depending on the project of course) can be a little treble biased in my experience ('heavy LMS' in a Duchess, BR Standard 7 in a Clan, BR 2MT in and Ivatt 2mt).

I've got to say when I was running DC all of the sweetest runners were Hornby (Black 5's, Princess, Duchess - you can see where my heart is!), all with motors in the body and none of them had flywheels. That was running with a basic trainset controller. Hornby mechanisms are one of their strong points in my experience. I am DCC now but with live frogs for the points, reasonable (but not Brunel standard) tracklaying and with the minimum of track cleaning I find everything runs reliably without the need for stay alive. If I were buying the new Black 5 apart from the lamps going the other 'straight in the bin' item would be the loco tender coupling. I assume the DCC socket is in the tender so would need to add a new connector wired connection for that but thats easy enough.

I dont like to labour a point but the front 'removeable' lamps are obviously not easy to remove - see Youtube - whilst the tender light is fixed and no spare iron is supplied to fill the gap after it is 'Xuroned'. On DC you'll need to address 'light bleed' with the lamps removed, on DCC hopefully you can just turn the LED's off. The tender-loco gap is fixed and unnecessarily wide - the cam should allow for close coupling but clearly that potential has not been taken advantage of. Worse, the electrical connection appears fragile, again see YouTube. The frustration is that when Hornby get it right it can be so good - 2Mt is lovely, so lovely I bought a second.

Perfectly capable of doing it myself but as I think you said earlier - reluctant to - and why should I on what is marketed as a scale model and costs north of £200? True it shouldnt be any different to ' choosing whether or not to add a snowplough or coupling shank' but clearly it is! This has been demonstrated on various YouTube reviews.

'Moan' is used to often these days as a pejorative. It isnt unreasonable for us, as modellers and prospective purchasers of this new version of the Black 5 to express our disappointment at how it has been spoilt by a couple of very minor changes that have no place on a well researched scale model (remember it says in the small print 'this is not a toy'!). I've voted with my wallet on this one and cancelled my pre order (which I deliberately made with a large box shifter so as not to leave a smaller dealer stuck with stock as I could see the way the model was evolving) . As @cctransuk said earlier the working lamps would be welcome if they were properly developed and didnt compromise the core product. As they are at the moment they would be much better deployed on a Railroad Model - Tornado perhaps?

Yep - good spot. Will edit now so this post will make no sense at all lol

Too late - Heljan D5243 will be joined by SLW D5234 whenever that arrives. And I have to say that the Heljan model is very good indeed, beautifully finished, silky smooth runner and despite its lightness has no apparent haulage problems. I did notice that with the Rails and Kernow discounts it is the GSYP's that sold out first.

Maybe as a club model or a commission?

I paid £149.98 for a J15 and Royal Scot 'The Ranger' from a well known Cotswold based shop. I do think the J15 had been mis priced at £49.99 tho as I added a link to 'Bargain Buys' on here and the next person to try and buy one was charged £75.

Pose-able firebox doors; AS Manor - has it ? Only found the Bachmann V2 had them as thought the flicker wasn’t working until I read the manual 😂

Again, already done both on factory fitted projects and aftermarket

Smoke and steam don’t scale down - all I see is ‘Michael Bentines Potty Time’. Also wonder what the long term effects of water based emissions will have on electrical components around the layout and card structures.

Factory fitted projects in the Accurascale Manor, Rapido 15xx and Bachmann V2 all do just that. Bachmann V2 even has pose able fire box doors!

Although having spent a large part of the weekend at the Severn Valley Railway (its local to me and it was the Spring steam gala) I was struck at just how many 'glowing fireboxes' on the prototype I saw! Maybe I was looking for them to prove the point to myself:)

Where is this clamor for working headlamps? Have Hornby sold more Black Fives on the strength of it and in the unlikely event that they have how many will either cancel preorders or just not buy now until the price drops? Firebox glow on the other hand has (rightly or wrongly) become expected so to keep pace with the market Hornby should offer it but linked to dcc functions rather than as they have at present just on or off like a headlamp.

Spot on. Make proper technical improvements to keep pace with the market (so copy Accurascale and Dapol for tender coupling cams), firebox glow again copy Accurascale/Dapol and Rapido. Keep gimmickry to a minimum or if you must fit 'working' headlamps test it on Railroad where there is more need to enhance the product and the market more willing to dabble with 'functions'. As you said literally all that Hornby had to do with the Black 5 was the same as the Coronation and the lovely BR 2MT. Non working lamps with a hole in the base to pop on a lamp iron (first offerred by Bachmann with the A1 circa 2000!) would have been a nice touch, have cost pence and kept everyone happy.

I'm reluctantly going to cancel my pre order for the Hornby model as I feel it is too compromised by gimmickry for the price asked. The Black 5 is one of those iconic classes that the market can sustain more than one manufacturer of and with Hornby taking the mass market rtr segment the window is open for someone else going for the high end market. In the meantime I've enough Hornby Black 5 and Brassmaster parts 'in stock' to build up as many variants as I need. In time 'parts' from the new model will also filter in to the second hand market and if they do I might well find a use for them - my most recent new model Princess Coronation came to me this way - £25 for the body, £75 for the chassis and tender.

Works perfectly on the Accurascale Manor, don’t understand why Hornby and Bachmann can’t do the same. Or, better imho retain the 4 pin plug (which I have never had an issue with) and then use Bachmanns infinitely adjustable sliding tender pin arrangement.

For my sins I get to meet regularly with reasonably senior Civil Servants and I can confirm ‘reaching out’ is very regular in their sentences. These are people in their 30s and 40s - I’m late 50s. As @Roy Langridge says, language evolves. Chill lol.

I watched this last night. Can't say I am as optimistic as to the ease of removal or concealment of the 'repair'. Peter had to revisit his first attempt as light blead (presumably because the LED's are permanently lit on DC?) through the PVA he'd used. Second repair with black tack worked but as we know, black tack doesnt really allow for 'invisible' repairs. The rear tender lamp is he said a permanent fitting with no alternative lamp bracket provided. The actual 'traditional' part of the model looks very well done indeed but the lamps and the loco tender coupling will be the minimum I'd need to do.