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On 21/04/2019 at 20:38, wombatofludham said:

Great news, I can honestly say I haven't been this excited about a model loco in years.  Thanks to Heljan for taking the risk on this.  Now, if you could turn your 1968 Ian Allan Combined to the page with the LMR EMUs on it, there's a nice complimentary unit called an AM10...

As a child of the 1980s on occasional visits to the WCML I always loved riding up front on a 310, kneeling up on the bench seat to watch the road ahead. Lovely units and would also make a nice model, but maybe one for another time!

Morning, 

We were hoping to have the first tooling shots of the 17 in time for Glasgow show, but during our recent visit to China we were informed that the first samples will arrive in early May (so not that far away now). As soon as we have them, we’ll circulate some photos. 

Thanks 

Ben

success....Ben emailed me and we have looked at various problems with Heljan particularly the headcodes. He acknowledges the situation and that's a good start and he seems keen to improve things and sort these unnecessary errors. Sounds positive and I look forward to the class 17 and a score of 10/10.  

Morning,

Just to follow up on this message from Chris, as someone who has been reviewing Heljan models since the OO Class 47, the inconsistency in headcode character typefaces is something that has always irritated me too and I am on the case. It's all the more frustrating when some are perfectly acceptable and others, like the new Class 25s, are not so good.

I've already had a conversation with the Danish office about improving them for all future models and as I'm now checking the artwork before it goes to production, we *should* be able to sort this issue fairly quickly and easily. 

Have a good day.

Ben

In the history of small trains, surely one of the finest, definitive pieces of tooling too! 

Absolutely Chard. It's always been one of my favourites, long before I was ever involved with Heljan. Model Rail's Hymek review sample was the only loco that performed faultlessly (for nine days!) in the dust and flith of the concrete works during the NRM's Railfest in 2004. When everything else gave up, the Hymek just kept going on our little test layout! 

 Are the Hymeks the same body shell as before, or have the been updated at all? 

The OO Hymeks are a re-run, using the same tooling as before. 

Ben whats the difference between the 8654 and 8655 versions both shown as "BR blue with full yellow ends".  just different numbers or will one depict later locos with the orange cant rail warning stripe along the top of the body?

 

also will the weathered version 8656 be just a weathered version of 54 or 55 or a totally different 3rd variant of that blue with full yellow ends ?

 

I need to start renting out my spare bedroom I think...…….new 85, new 87, new 90 and now a new 86.   Amen though ! 

I'm still working on the specific loco IDs, but the plan is that 8654 with have an 'E31XX' number and 8655 will be TOPS 860XX. 8656 will be a weathered TOPS loco. None of them are late enough to have an orange cantrail stripe. 

Great news. Will the tooling still allow modern versions to be produced such as /2 and /6?

It's new tooling. After the criticism of the previous 86/2s and 86/6s we wouldn't want to release those again, so any other variants we decide to produce will be developments of this improved tooling. If we decide to produce the later Flexicoil locos they will require further new tooling based on this improved bodyshell, but hopefully with any reusable bits of the old CAD transferred over. No decision has yet been taken about later locos. 

Interesting - all this is AL6 based - what of the flexicoil varieties - are they future plans or has someone else got designs on that now?

Hello,

A good question, and one that lots of people are asking. We thought it was better to fill a gap that hadn't been covered by previous releases first, and then (if there's enough demand), to work our way forwards through the variants so that we can do Flexicoil-fitted Class 86/4s and 86/6s and then take another look at the 86/2s later, rather than repeating what had already been produced a few years ago. 

Pantograph is based on official drawings of the correct Stone-Faiveley type, but for practical reasons it has had to be 'beefed up' a little to withstand use on 4mm scale catenary. We're waiting to see the first samples 'in the flesh' and will then consider any changes that might be required. 

Hope this helps

Ben

Another conundrum similar to the Stirling single tender, will the Autocar model have original bogies or as preserved bogies? I am open to correction but I believe the present bogies are not originals.

Good evening everyone. Just a quick note to say thanks for all the feedback so far on this project. We’re delighted to be working with Rails to deliver something quite different and celebrate a genuine pioneer of ‘modern’ (!) traction.

For the avoidance of doubt, it will have original NER pattern bogies, not the types it has now.

Have a good evening!

Ben

Re the Large Prairie spare parts.  Howes replied this afternoon that, as yet, they have no spare parts and suggest I try again later.  In the box there are instructions that say there is a web page.  It also has yet to have anything on it.

 

So I currently own an 0-6-2T, or it could be a 2-6-0T.

 

And I have a 43XX Mogul on order.  Should I think again?

Dear All,

Just to add a little more information on this - Paul and I have already spoken about the missing screw and we will sort a replacement as soon as we can, even if that means borrowing one from a returned/faulty model when one turns up. However, the best course of action is always to go via Howes for Heljan spares. In this case, the 61XXs are so new that the spares haven't made it over from Denmark to Oxford yet. I'm told it usually takes a couple of weeks for the boxes of spares to be sent as the priority is to get the models out to all those who've ordered them. 

On the 'up' side, all the 61XXs I've looked at so far have been complete, so I hope this is an isolated incident. 

Hope this helps

Ben

I would hope Heljan takes on board feedback from the O gauge version and tweaks the OO design accordingly, a flawed model now would deserve box shifter 'bargin' status!

Good afternoon all,

Just a quick note to say that I believe the criticism of the O gauge Class 25 flat front end relates only to the early body version (version 1) released a couple of years ago. That has been addressed very effectively on the later body style O gauge version (Version 2, yet to be released), and the feedback for that has been extremely positive so far. In fact, the positive nature of the feedback on Version 2 encouraged us to believe that it would also work well in OO gauge. As I mentioned previously, the CAD images posted at the top of this thread are the actual ones for the OO gauge late body Class 25. There have been a few comments along the lines of 'I hope they get the shape right' - well, the shape is there for you to view and pass comment on!

Personally, I'm taking the lack of criticism so far as a positive sign!

All the Best, and thanks for your comments.

Ben

Hi Ben

 

Any intentions of doing the mid production body, the 25/2 with side grilles and nose doors. If not I will carry on marking out the plastic card for the side grilles and doors. The Miliput remains on stand by to fill in the cant rail grilles.

Hi Clive,

No plans to do any other Class 25 variants at the moment. Others are said to be looking at the earlier 25 body styles, and we wouldn't want to risk any accusations of duplication.

Ben

I'm sure you're more than aware of https://www.derbysulzers.com/Pic.html as a resource on these locomotives. Great potted history of most of the class with photos of most if not all individuals throughout their lives. As far as liveries and numbers, I would have thought the best options for the banger blue rats would be those which lasted to the end in '87, and/or those which survived to preservation.

Thanks, yes. It's a remarkable piece of work and a great resource. 

Dear All,

Hope you're well. Just a quick note to say many thanks for the feedback so far. I wasn't able to respond on Friday as I was on a 12in:1ft scale job all day - coincidentally, and appropriately, on the site of the old Derby Works. 

Anyway, having now had time to read through everything, I wanted to say that we really appreciate the feedback and if anyone has any comments about the shape and detail of the new loco (let's call it a late body Class 25, rather than my not-quite-correct, but shorter '25/3'), we'd be delighted to hear from you. I've seen quite a few comments along the lines of 'I hope they get the shape right' - well, now's your chance to have your say. The CADs attached by Andy Y to the top of this thread show how it will look and what level of detail we're planning to include.

At the moment, some details are still being finalised, so are subject to change...

1) ETHELs - we are planning for them to be unpowered, arranged in a similar way to dummy HST power cars so that DCC controlled lights and sound can still be installed easily. However, the cost of the motor and gears (and installation thereof) is only a small percentage of the cost so it's unlikely to make a huge difference to the end price. 

2) Original/revised exhausts, tablet catcher recesses and boiler water tanks: We do plan to offer both original (round) and revised (rectangular) exhaust ports, as appropriate. No plans at this stage to include the short-lived tablet catcher recess on that small batch of locos or the small batch of boiler fitted locos with the extra underslung tank. However, if there's huge demand for them, we will look at it for later batches.

3) Liveries and numbers: The initial selection is provisional and we're still looking for photos of both sides of some locos to confirm details and positions of the various bits of deco. If anyone has any photos of the locos in question (in the liveries chosen) that might help us to confirm details or, even more importantly, show up any anomalies, feel free to share them with us!

If any of the chosen locos prove not to be suitable, we will replace them with something that we can confidently say is more accurate. 

That's it for the moment, we are working to finalise the details of the chassis, DCC, lighting and sound arrangements and will share them with everyone as soon as they are confirmed. 

Kindest Regards

Ben

Hi just let you know if you are running on dcc the the light run in the wrong direction if you put sound decoder in it is ok if you but a Bachmann decoder it sill runs in the wrong direction you wil need to change the motor wire around on the circuit boards.

Hi Mark,

I've just spoken to Dapol about this as our review sample does the same on DCC (but not on straight DC), and I've just had the following answer back from Andy Forty.

"We have become aware of this and are working through a solution at the moment.

Changing CV 29 (add 1 if existing value is even, subtract 1 if odd) is the quick fix. Once we know the extent of the problem (we are working through stock doing a 100% test) we will be fixing the issue at source and will also offer this to customers who may not wish to change the CV’s."

So, they are aware and will be able to fix any others that crop up as the first batch goes out.

Hope this helps

Ben

Afternoon Everyone,

I'm just putting together a brief review of the Hornby D16/3 for BRM's December issue (I know it's still September, but that's how the schedules fall!). I'd like to share a few of the relevant comments posted on here about the models and how you rate them. If anyone would prefer not to be included, please let me know asap.

All the best

Ben

Morning,

Just a quick note to let everyone know that BRM's review sample of the London Underground S Stock base pack has arrived. Look out in our September issue (on sale August 13th) for a full review and lots of photos. That issue will also contain reviews of Heljan's Park Royal Railbus, Class 05 shunter and Graham Farish GWR Hawksworth coaches.

The package contains a bit more information that might be useful to anyone who wants one or has already ordered one.

35-990: S Stock 4-Car train pack containing cars DM 21088+M1 22088+MS 24087+DM 21087 (outer cars are motorised)

Models will be available to the public as follows:

* LT Museum Acton depot open day, Sunday Sept 27 ONLY

* From LT Museum Shop in Covent Garden anytime from Friday October 2nd (while stocks last)

* Online from www.ltmuseumshop.co.uk (orders being taken now for late September despatch)

* Mail order by telephone on 020 7565 7265

Ben

I wonder how many of these are destined for collector's shelves, never to be run, rather than on actual layouts ?

 

Maybe a separate version, without a motor, might sell well ?

A significant proportion of every model produced goes into storage boxes, lofts and in display cases, never to be run. Even many of those bought with good intentions never turn a wheel in my experience.

The motor is such a tiny part of the cost (literally a few pence in the case of mass produced basic motors) that it's not worth the additional work and cost of producing a separate, unpowered version. There's also the question of what collectors want. Is it the proper version, or would they settle for the second class solution of one without a motor?

I have a high regard for Ben as a top class journalist in his genre.As one of the "Meldrew generation" whose spotting days began at the Newport end of Platform 3 at Cardiff General and who spotted every single Hall and Modified Hall in his time,I have to tell you that Ben has this one spectacularly wrong. If he reads this,I apologise for hurting his feelings. As Mike ( Stationmaster ) has posted,you could always recognise one from a good distance away,the front end being the dead giveaway. Regrettably,Bachmann have lost the plot on this release.This is not an accurate representation of the prototype.I would urge you to buy a copy of the new edition of Model Rail and read Richard Foster's brilliantly incisive review which is enhanced by an image which perfectly demonstrates the points he makes and with which I and a number of other members of this forum entirely agree. I was eagerly awaiting this release and anticipated purchasing a black and a green version. The plastic stays intact. It gives me no joy to post this as I hold Bachmann products in high esteem.So sorry!

Thanks Ian,

Apologies if this reply is a bit late, but I've only just been made aware of the discussion. I pride myself on writing reviews that are as accurate and comprehensive as I can make them (with reason), so I'm very disappointed to see that this review was not up to the standards I aim for. I thought I'd covered all the modifications made to this model and that it was much better than the previous attempt. As you probably know, Rob Kinsey normally writes reviews of GWR models for BRM, but in this case the timescales were too short to get it photographed and over to him before this issue went to press. I'm the first to admit I don't have the same level of knowledge about GWR locomotives that I do for other companies and eras, but having been at MR when Richard Foster wrote the review of the Modified Hall that led to their recall, I was aware of the problems with the first batch and paid attention to those areas. Looking at it again, I would disagree with the use of the word 'spectacularly', as I think that's excessively dramatic in the circumstances. Although it's clearly not Bachmann's finest hour, there have been errors of greater magnitude in the past - Bachmann's original Class 37/4, for example.

But, I should have mentioned the lack of the stretcher across the front of the bogie (which is indeed a major distinguishing feature of the Modified Hall). And as CJL (dibber25) says above, the issue of the curve between the frame extensions could be (and has been) overlooked by those without the intimate knowledge of the class that some here have. That's not an excuse, I should have spotted it and I can only hold my hands up and apologise. I've identified much smaller and more obscure errors on many other models in the hundreds of reviews I've written over the last 15 years, but occasionally in any activity you don't quite meet the standards you aim for. Richard's review is certainly more comprehensive in this case, as I would expect from such a staunch Swindon man!

Thanks for making me aware of it. As someone wise once said, the only mistake is not learning from it. I've done that and it will lead to better reviews in future.

All the best

Ben

Locomotion Models and Rapido Models have just announced that they are working together to produce exclusive OO gauge models of the legendary GNR Stirling 'Single' No. 1. The model will be produced in four version with either Stirling or Sturrock tenders, with or without DCC sound. Laser-scanning of the prototype is taking place at Locomotion in Shildon today! Here's what has been reported so far on http://www.locomotionmodels.com/

Look out here and in the June edition of BRM for more information.

-end-

IIRC the Heljan unnumbered 47s did very well - I recall one retailer selling out his allocation before they hit his store. I think there's a case for tactfully picked un-numbered models. The one that I'm amazed hasn't happened in 2mm or 4mm is a triple grey, un-numbered 60. It's a livery that's been carried by ever member of the class, with whole host of brandings for almost two decades. Unlike 47s and 37s, where there are various detail pit-falls across the class, I don't think there's anything on the 60s beyond the ariels above the horns. It's a sod to repaint too.

 

Anyway, just my 2p.

 

Pix

From my time in the retail side of the hobby, and experience of subsequent models (including the Heljan unnumbered 47s), unnumbered and undecorated models are, to put it politely, slow sellers compared to their fully decorated counterparts. British modellers, and this is probably truer now than it ever was, prefer their models to be fully decorated, numbered and finished. Bachmann, Hornby, Dapol and Heljan have all tried it at various times over the last 20 years; it's significant that none repeated the experiment. The grey 60 is a good suggestion though - it offers no end of possibilities.

Bought a Railroad Mk 2e FO and a 'red box' TSO from Rails on Saturday to review for January's BRM (Hornby is a bit 'hit and miss' with review samples these days, and we couldn't rely on them arriving in time for the next issue). Conclusions are similar to some already shared above, particularly by Brian Kirby (hello Brian!)

QC of the Railroad models varies quite widely in terms of decoration, so check before you buy. I found a couple of good ones, but others were fairly poorly finished. Standard range TSOs appeared to be better in this respect and I got a good one first time.

Briefly, I was pleased with the overall body shape, underframe equipment and bogies. The glazing is far superior to anything we've had before from Airfix/Dapol/Hornby or Lima, being nice and flat, non-prismatic and suitably smoked. Windowframes are subtly done too. I'll have to look at some more photos before I make up my mind about the blue/grey bands. There's something not quite right, but it may only be a fraction of a mm out. More noticeable though is the shade of grey used, which appears to have a yellow tinge on both our models (more so on the FO). I like the matt finish though, and the inclusion of the white key line around the grey band. Not picking the top bar of the droplights out in silver is one clear way of saving money as it eliminates a colour, and a tricky printing process that would almost certainly result in a higher rejection rate for the bodyshells.

Visually, the most disappointing aspect for me is the invented 'solebar', which looks as though it will take some major surgery to correct.

To confirm, the standard range models differ in that they have metal wheels (slightly oversize at 12.5mm), more complete external decoration (vehicle end data, red bogie springs, OHLE warning flashes) and 'No Smoking' signs on the inside the glazing. All have NEM couplers.

Quick conclusion though is that, for the price, they're not bad at all. Perfection costs a little more these days...

Just a small comment about one of the earlier posts. Hornby's Railroad range isn't really aimed at kids - it's aimed at modellers on tighter budgets who perhaps aren't as concerned about the minutiae of droplight sizes, vent positions and tumblehomes as the experts here. There are a lot more of them out there than we perhaps realise, which is why the Railroad range has done so well over the last few years.

Look out for more in the January issue.

Ben

Further to the earlier comments about haulage power of the Garratt, our review sample hauled a train of 100 short-wheelbase wagons easily. It also took 60 wagons from a standing start on a 1-in-30 incline, on a curve. The train was virtually nose to tail on the layout and keeping the lighter (less well behaved) wagons on the track was virtually impossible, but it proved a point. I couldn't even make the thing slip.

Just for comparison I tried a pair of Bachmann 4MT 2-6-0s on the same train and they couldn't even take up the slack of the 100 wagons. A pair of 9Fs (one DJH and one Bachmann) would take it easily enough but the real surprise was a Bachmann Class 37, which handled the train just as easily as the Garratt.

There will be some video footage of the Garratt at work on the next BRM digital edition if you want to see more.

Just to confirm, it does draw quite a lot of power from the track, so I'd recommend a decoder with a 2.0Amp maximum output.

Hi all,

The April issue of BRM goes on-sale as a Digital Edition tomorrow. It will be for-sale in shops from next Thursday, March 13. Here's what you can expect...

4 Amazing Layouts

The loft-based OO gauge Water Orton is our ‘Editor’s Choice’ layout this month. We also have:

•             Wychnor Junction - O gauge club layout

•             Glen Roy - blue diesels in the Highlands OO gauge layout

•             Dentdale - Settle and Carlisle-based N gauge layout

Practical BRM

Improve your modelling with our selection of easy-to-follow Practical BRM articles:

• Build a pizza layout - Part 1
• Tension lock couplings explained
• Detail and weather a Hornby Sentinel
• Build and weather O gauge wagons

New products

Find out what’s new in the world of railway modelling, plus in-depth reviews of:

• Graham Farish Jinty
• Heljan Class 33
• Heljan ‘Baby Deltic’
• Heljan Class 128
• Tried & Tested: Part 2 of our Ixion Fowler diesel repaint

Plus…

Q&A

Readers’ Layouts

Letters

Diary Dates