Br60066

D6xx is also not without problem. Have a look on its tread and you will see lots of posts with people having trouble with the motors on DCC operation. Appears to be something to do with an overload capacitor (Im no expert). Guidance to fix this is to cut the component out and solder in a bridge. This, like class 66 axle box modifications, is something the average modeller would not feel happy modifying on a brand new expensive model. Its a shame because the detail is spot on while still feeling like a robust model that you don't have to worry about damaging if you pick it up. Looks like its very difficult for model shops to get everything right when trying to challenge the big manufacturers.

Ive got 66746 and it looks great to me. Ive been lucky enough to see 66746 in the flesh stationary at multiple stations hauling the Royal Scotsman. The only thing Ive noticed is that the real loco is painted in a high gloss where as the model is satin/matt. Im happy they have done this as I personally dont think a gloss finish scales well although worth noting if you want 100% realism. Im also cheating because I have it hauling stanier maroon coaches since they look close enough for me to capture the look, are easy to find and I dont have to buy specific coaches for one train.

Funny you should mention chassis shaping/ moulding issues. I’ve just noticed that my 66746 has mis shaped jacking points on one side. These are part of the metal casting so have they had a dodgy run of chassis at some point? Both jacking points on one side are like this (picture 1) but the other side is fine (picture 2). These are the widest part of the casting though so could explain why only the jacking points are damaged. Just thought it was interesting when you brought up chassis issues. It’s not bad enough for me to send the model back or anything especially since it runs as nicely and looks the part other than this admittedly very minor issue. We will just call it character Picture 1 (Damaged jacking point) Picture 2 (Good jacking point)

.... I see what you did there :p

Pure speculation here but I wonder if this batch has been flown in? If we look back to batch 1 a small consignment was shipped just before Christmas which must have been tiny since it sold out in days. If you take the cemex example from batch 2 it's already sold out and indicates more are coming late 2020. Maybe something similar has happened and what we are seeing now is a small consignment released early (maybe to test the waters) that was air shipped just like batch 1. That would explain the sudden nature since hattons might have been surprised how fast factories started up again and had a few models that would otherwise have to sit in China until late 2020. Again just speculation

This could have been something to do with the current, every changing world climate making it hard to predict when the models would come. I understand the frustration but given what's going on we should probably be thankful we are getting these models at all

I found that access was massively improved if you carefully unclip and remove the bogie frames from the bogie assembly before attempting to touch the screws (anyone that’s serviced a Bachmann model will know what I’m talking about). Far less likely to lose screws that way

Funny you should mention seized Hornby drivetrains. I just had a class 60 with the exact same problem this week where the lube had gone rock hard and sticky in the bearings. Bit of IPA and fresh lube and it goes like new

How desperate are you for one? Olivias trains look like they have one in stock. Bit pricey but no worse than inflated ebay prices. https://www.oliviastrains.com/trains/mt/Bachmann-diesel/Bachmann-class-70/Bachmann-31-591-class-70-70805-with-air-intake-modifications-in-colas-livery/

A few rarer/ sought after models in that mix as well. Colas class 70 in 00 gauge comes to mind. They managed to find 8 of them and considering how quickly they sold in the first batch and how hard they are to find second hand for sensible money its rather tempting.

Always good to have a second opinion for this exact reason. I assumed they had been glued on so you could be right it might just be a coincidence for me

I know this is far from an ideal solution, but I have noticed (both from comments on this forum and my own experience) that glue marks only affect models with fitted name plates. If you are worried about glue marks you would be safer to buy one of the models with no name plates. This makes me think Hatton’s could solve the glue marks problem by not pre attaching the name plates but instead supplying nameplates in the box for the buyer to fit and printing a nameplate on the model like other manufacturers approach. This also means people could fit aftermarket name plates if they preferred easily. This of course raises the question “Are modellers happy to fit nameplates?” but that is a question for the model rail industry as a whole.

Well spotted I didnt even realise

A debranded one could be quite nice since they ran like that for a little while. Would mean minimal cost to Dapol as well

Another quick tell is if you look at the cab doors and see a black rectangle at the bottom of the door its an old tool model. The chassis clips used to stick through the body so you got those rectangles. Ive thrown together a quick diagram. The thing im talking about is highlighted by a yellow box. Please excuse the old tool being mirrored it was running in the opposite direction You can also go to https://www.modelraildatabase.com and type in the R number there. If the model is DCC fitted or DCC ready and has a 5 pole skew wound motor its a new tool model. The old ones had ringfield motors. Hope that helps.

Power is transferred via the bearings as Roy Langridge mentioned. The bearings then touch some copper strips inside the plastic bogie frame to take the power to the model. I’ve put in a few pictures since that’s the easiest way to understand how it works. The problem with this mechanism is the bearing-pickups need lubrication since it’s a moving part. The lubrication however reduces electrical contact making the connection intermittent, thus poor running. This gives you 2 options. Run the model dry and risk damage to the drivetrain (not a good idea) or find a lubrication medium that’s conductive. I’ve played around with ground up graphite (normal pencil lead) since its surprisingly good at reducing friction and is conductive. Try putting some on your finger and it’s amazing how slippery it actually is. You need quite a bit of it though and it needs to be very fine. I’ve seen people use graphite powder to lubricate downhill model race cars so you can also buy it as a commercial product. Only problem is it needs to be applied frequently as it tends to dissipate from the axle quickly so I’m not sure if I can recommend it for continual use on a model railway. Hope that clears it up a little for you

Very good point. Looking at the forum quite a few people have bought multiple models so this feature would be appreciated. Those were just some suggestions. You make a good point though. It would take consideration to make sure catagories dont alienate anyones experience with the class 66. Maybe if people could add their own catagories it would solve that.

Would it be possible to make a poll or something like that? Kind of like this: Completely fine out of box Minor issues easily fixed Major problems requiring major work or model replacement

Add a little drop of oil to the mechanism. Less is definately more though

You just reminded me of when I knackered a Hornby A4 by removing the body because I forgot to remove the speedo cable and ended up making a mess of all the connecting rods. Delicate/ easy to damage models are definitely not a new phenomenon. Speaking of manufacturing issues, the less said about Hornby class 31 Mazak rot the better. All things considered I think the Hatton’s class 66 is a great model with a few well documented flaws that can at least be fixed. Hopefully this is just early batchitis and will be fixed from the factory in the following batches.

My one was like that but on the front axle. If your brave enough to take the bottom plate off and reseat the axles all the way down in their slots it appears to solve it . Be warned though it's not easy and will require you removing all the axle boxes to free the axles from the frames then reattach the axle boxes square when reassembled.

I decided to take all the AB sleeves off to see if my class 66 still wobbled. The model had run for about 3 ish hours so is still tight. The wobble was just the same with no AB sleeves as it was with them. I went further and removed the bogie frames, reseated the axles then reattached the sleeves. The wobble completely disappeared. This might show a slight assembly error that when fixed makes the model so much smoother. NOTE: I have no idea what this will have done to my warranty, but it was a risk I was willing to take. Proceed at your own risk.

While we have been giving this model a bit of a hard time (I’m nowhere near brave enough to wade in either side of the fence) I’d like to show something positive. While attaching a new axle box I noticed that each wheel has 2 contacts. I think that’s a brilliant idea and should be the standard for contacts going forward since it makes electrical contact so much better and provides great redundancy. You can see from the image that it’s not even using any extra copper or requiring any additional wiring. It just simply splits an extra wide copper strip into 2 contact fingers. Just thought this was a lovely piece of engineering that should be shared.

I agree it's probably the worst part of the Bachmann class 66. The hattons coupling/ air damn looks really convincing though. They have gone for a small cutout of the airdamn for the coupler to swing through giving the best of both worlds. So far it plays ball with all the wagons I've tried. I've also contacted hattons about missing axle boxes and they have send out replacements no quibble.

Just opened 66789 to find a dirty great glue mark on the roof, damage to the roof grill and a missing axle box. Has anyone found a way to remove the glue marks or is this looking like a return job?