southernelectric

So which end would be the front? The end with the little flap/door on the side?

Thanks, I'll take a look. I wonder if the noisy Heljan Western has the same problem with the pickups It squeals when going round curves. But this is shoddy QC on Heljan's part if this stuff has to be tampered with before working as advertised.

The Hymek model is Heljan catalogue number 3512, loco number is D7061. I don't know if this is an 'old' Hymek or a newer batch one? So I don't know whether or not the wheels need replacing. I've been running in a Bachmann Class 47 loco this morning and it's quiet as a mouse in comparison to the Heljan Western and Hymek. Are the lights better on the Heljan Western when converted to DCC? I must admit the pictures I've seen of the Dapol Western that's just been released look awesome. I am tempted to get a BR blue one when it comes and put the Heljan on eBay. These models should work properly out of the box without having to take things apart or mess about with stuff. That for me has been the big disappointment with these Heljan models. The paintwork coming off the cab of the Hymek and the loose-fitting box under the loco (electric heater?) smacks of shoddy construction. Also, I've noticed bogies slightly clip that block under-body box located in the middle of the loco. That doesn't seem right. My nephew's Thomas Range Hornby Hymek is better constructed than the Heljan one! I'll try cleaning the wheels on it and looking at the pickup strips as SRman has suggested. But my point is that, when spending the best part of £100 on a model loco, it should all be in order and not require user intervention to work properly!

I wonder if it's noisy (to my ears at least) because the little test oval layout I have set up at present is on MDF board and no ballast/underlay beneath the track? You mention running-in turns - by that do you mean the curves? I have Hornby R2 curves on the layout, and it's definitely noisier when it goes round the curves than when it's on the straight secions. It's certainly noisier than the Bachmann and Hornby locos, but I'm going from memory. Next step will be to run a different non-Heljan loco and then run the Western straight afterwards to see what the differences are. When you say something might not be aligned properly what does that mean? Is the body on the wrong way round perhaps - as per an earlier post in this thread? (sorry for the dumb questions again!) When spending nearly £100 on a loco I expect everything to be in order without having to put stuff right!

Thanks all for the replies everyone, most helpful. After running in the Western for a while (will do some more tomorrow), I decided to then give my Heljan Hymek earlier today. I have to say, with regards to the Heljan Hymek, I am not impressed To begin with, for no apparent reason it just keeps stopping. It gets going again if I give it quite a push. It's also noisy as hell. The build quality seems somewhat shoddy, the plastic parts on the bottom of the body weren't clipped in place properly and the cab roof at one end looks like the paint is wearing off already. Not good. The Heljan Class 52 Western I bought at the same time as the Hymek doesn't exhibit any of these issues. It's certainly noisy compared to the Bachmann and Hornby locos I own (and as others have pointed out above), but not anywhere as noisy as the Hymek and it doesn't just stop for no reason either! So far the Hymek has been a big disappointment. My nephew's Hornby Thomas range Hymek model is better than this! I've emailed Kernow about the Hymek, hopefully I can get a replacement sorted. But the Western model, from what I've seen of it so far, is really good.

I bought one of these "latest batch" Heljan Class 52 locos, D1073 Western Bulwark in BR blue. My initial impression when I got it out of the box was that it looks very nice, but I don't think the construction is as good as some of the Bachmann and Hornby locos I own. Then again, it didn't cost me £146 like the NRM super-detailed Flying Scotsman did! I have just been running it in this evening on a little test oval I have set up in the garage. I have some questions I'm hoping can be answered here. 1. How do I know which is the front of the loco and which is the back? I've looked at the model repeatedly and unless I'm missing something obvious I simply cannot tell. Both ends look identical, aside from the headcode numbers. There's no obvious way (well not for me anyway) to tell which end is which. Please someone put me out of my misery! Sorry if that's a dumb question but I'm new to all this. 2. Are Heljan locos a little noisier than Bachmann and Hornby locos at first? I have been running the loco around a small oval for a couple of hours now, at moderate speed, and it does sound a little noisy to my ears. Perhaps some lube will do the trick? Admittedly the little test oval I have set up in the garage is spread over two wooden boards so it's not perfectly level, especially on the curves. But it seems noisier than I recall my other locos from Bachmann and Hornby being when I first ran them. 3. The lights. I've noticed that the lights are not particularly bright on this model, certainly when I compare them, for example, to my CL37LG Bachmann Class 37 model. I've just been watching the loco going around in the dark by switching off the light in the garage and they still don't seem that bright at all. The cab facing the direction of travel has the headcode numbers lit up. So far so good. But looking at the trailing cab, the two little red tail lights look very dim - hardly visible even in the dark - and there is a little spot of yellow light coming through the headcode area, off to the right hand side. It has the same behaviour in both directions the loco is run. Is this normal? Is it prototypical? 4. The detailing parts. The instruction leaflet makes clear which parts to fit to the loco if you only want to put the it on show. That all makes sense. But as I plan to run it when I have a layout, which of the other detailing parts supplied should I fit? The instructions mention that some of the detailing parts might interfere with the tension couplers. I'm worried that if I fit all the detail parts (aside from the 'on show' ones), and then the couplers, I'm going to have a problem. If someone on here who is familiar with these models could point me in the right direction, that would be greatly appreciated. 5. Can I fit Hornby R8219 NEM close couplings to this loco? Any answers to any of the above would be greatly appreciated!

Well I took the plunge and ordered one from Kernow anyway. They are still waiting for their shipment of these to arrive. If mine has the problems you mention then I will send back and wait for the Dapol one if need be.

Anyone here got the 5220 BR Blue D1073 "Western Bulwark" model with full yellow ends? If so what do you think of it? I recently ordered a Hymek from Kernow so would like to add one of these for my BR "Western Region Blue Era" fix.