Toftwood

Hi Brian, although I have not been on RMweb for quite a while, ( got dischuffed as it seemed every time I logged it had been changed and fiddled with) I have followed your Deneside build. Glad to see it in RM today. It looks really good.

my own build ‘Cullerbay and Marden Road’ is coming along slowly, but I post mainly on its own FB page and that of Great Eastern Models Recommends page. 
once again well done, really nice.

regards

Pete

24 minutes ago, landscapes said:

Hi Toftwood

 

sorry for the late reply.

 

I apply two coats of Klear applied with 1/2 inch flat sable brush.

 

when applying Klear to the tender side I alway lay the tender flat on its side as Klear is self levelling.

 

I prefers to use a brush as appose to an Air Brush which I think gives a to even finish.

 

the brush sometimes gives a streaky finish which looks like that oily rag look.

 

Some people apply three coats but I personally think two is plenty.

 

let the first coat dry thoroughly before you apply the second.

 

if you make a mistake or are not happy with your result it can be removed easily with diluted ammonia just brush it on and it melts the Klear to a running jelly consistency and rinse with clean water and start again.

 

Don't put to much Klear on your brush and don’t keep brushing over it once applied 

 

Hope that helps and makes sense, good luck.

 

Regards

 

David

Thanks for that David. Very kind of you.

Peter.

On 07/03/2021 at 14:06, Great Eastern Lady said:

Hello everyone 

Well after laying the track on board two what I thought would be a straightforward test turned out to be anything but.  As you know electrics are not exactly my strong point , and I had a short and I could not fathom where it was , so I redone all the drops and bus testing as I went and it seemed fine , so feeling all proud of myself I connected it all up and lo and behold the short was still there , so then I looked at the points and the first one I looked at I found the problem , the tiny air gap leading to the frog had closed and that was the cause , so next time I’ve a short I will be checking the points first 

So now after a successful test I can continue with the track weathering and the glueing down and then the scenery can begin 

Hi, you say you found the fault/short in your point. I have a short somewhere which has had me stumped for ages. Maybe if you could point(!) out where the fault was with a photo or diagram I could at least check my dozen Tortoise motors. I am usually fairly good with wiring but this has going crackers.

thanks 

Pete

David, a question if I may from a novice at renumbering and ultimately weathering my loco’s. 

I have just renamed/numbered my new Hornby A2/3 Sun Castle to 60511 Airborne, with Heaton shed plate. When you give a coat of ‘Clear’ do you use just one coat or as many as required to get the shine you want? Would you then weather after or before ‘Clear ‘ application?

3 hours ago, Ian Hargrave said:

I wonder though how many enthusiasts have a Facebook account. As a club member and the recipient of regular emails,I keenly await one announcing their position on this.Social media isn’t many people’s thing is it ? Praise for Hornby for putting matters right ? Really?  That is their responsibility and one that should be confronted openly via all channels available be it their website or even this forum. Sam rightly raises the issues,causes embarrassment and hey,he gets a replacement.Well,he’s an “influencer”,isn’t he? Draw your own conclusions from that. 

I think there is a slight misunderstanding here, I was in the process of returning the loco to the dealer as defective goods which is the correct thing to do as the contract is with them not Hornby. If it wasn’t for the off chance post on the Hornby FB page and the subsequent correspondence, the loco would have been returned to the dealer who offered either a replacement (leaving them to dispose of a shoddy item and me with the possibility of them not having any more stock) or a full refund.  The fact that Hornby became involved has meant that I get a correct item, the dealer is not out of pocket or left with a useless item to be returned (?) to Hornby at their cost and Hornby have become aware of a serious problem on one of their production lines. 
 

Pete

4 hours ago, robmcg said:

You know it's not inconceivable that Hornby will offer replacement for faulty A2s.

 

Retailers already do of course under trading consumer laws. Presuming there are enough replacements. Some may prefer refunds.

 

Not sure how widespread the issues are.

As the contract is with the supplying dealer, I was about to return my A2/2 to them but as I said in a previous post Hornby picked up on some Facebook chatter and so I am now waiting for return details from Hornby and for a replacement. 
So praise for Hornby for a quick solution. Regardless whether this just a rogue batch or not if you accept a faulty model how are Hornby (or other manufacturers) going to identify and rectify the problem?

This is an important launch for them especially with the A2/3 on the horizon they will want to know that is correct before release. 
 

Pete

30 minutes ago, Paddy said:

Hi Pete

 

Good news and I hope you get a good one.  This reminds me of the time the CEO of Audi UK promised me that if they could not repair my new A4 they would replace it - and they did.  I got the same promise from the CEO of VW UK and they replaced my wife’s Polo.  All this was done in a mutually respectful manner and with no hard feelings on either side.  Both cars had serious issues that the dealers could not put right after multiple attempts.

 

Kind regards 

 

Paddy

 

Thanks, I don’t feel it’s Hornby’s fault as once the model has been signed off for production half way round the world, it’s down to the company production line and shoddy workmanship/product control. Hornby in U.K. can’t then check every box , they have to trust those in China. Unfortunately in this case that trust seems to be about to be broken.

Pete

21 minutes ago, Black 5 Bear said:

Unfortunately, from what I've seen, the vast majority of A2/2s feature a defect of some sort.

I doubt very much whether the replacement locos will be QC checked prior to despatch, so you could end up with another dog.

We shall see...

Pete

38 minutes ago, Bernard Lamb said:

Fat lot of good that will be if it still has the tender insignia error and other design and build problems that seem to be common to the whole batch.

Bernard 

The Head of Brand no less has promised a 100% correct model.

Pete

On 16/02/2021 at 12:09, 60027Merlin said:

For those whose purchases are not up to standard they should write to Hornby in a business like,  objective manner where possible attaching photographs of the poor aspects in the model(s).

 

That way Hornby will have, what looks like, a good number of complaints to deal with from customers rather than just read comments in various Webs. They cannot ignore a great number of written comments from customers as many would also not be willing to purchase for future models as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have posted above about the state of my A2/2. Hornby have been in contact after some Facebook postings and they are going to replace with a new example.

regards Pete

On 12/02/2021 at 19:38, Toftwood said:

 

Thought I would give an update on the saga of my example. Suffice it to say Hornby became involved after some Facebook chatter. An email was requested which I sent . I received a reply from Head of Brand and as a result the matter is being passed to the customer services to arrange a ‘100% correct’ replacement. 
She did say in the email that they were aware of some with similar faults.

So a good result. I look forward to the A2/3 when it comes out, hopefully soon. 
 

Pete

9 hours ago, atom3624 said:

Rob, mine only had the back-to-front water scoop.

 

Everything was attached.

Cab fit is as good as it can get.

Running plate is fine.

No missing lamp brackets.

No loose smokebox door - I've tried forcing mine off but will end up removing the handrail first if I continue - it's a void and could accept more weight.

Runs smoothly, perfectly from a super-smooth crawl up to quite a decent top speed - coupling rods are a virtual blur - HM2000 - DC - 9 coaches.

Traction is pretty decent as well - uncharacteristically!

 

Negatives:

Tender - featherlight.

Green - too light -  but not THAT far off.

Lining - enough said.

Draincocks - too long.

 

That's it!

 

Al.

Lucky you, this is however the first ‘reject’ I have ever had with ‘new’ stock from the major manufacturers. I just hope there is a good one out there and the A2/3 Sun Castle arrives in good condition.

Pete

10 minutes ago, OliverBytham said:

Looking that way, unfortunately. 
 

As I lifted the loco clear of the packing tray, it left its water scoop behind. 
 

Meanwhile, one of the two lubricator assemblies on the LHS running plate is missing.

 

 

If it, like the smokebox door and water scoop, had been lurking in the bottom

of the box I’d have just stuck them back on, but now there’s a missing detail it irks me with the money spent. Hoping for more luck with the replacement. 

This is mine.

note the gap on the front footplate under the frame, the motion etc

the works plate is derisable.

Pete

1 minute ago, landscapes said:

Hi Pete

 

Sorry to hear you had so many problems it seems you pay your money in good faith and take a chance on what standard of quality you get.

 

over all apart from the bloody green I am very happy with the model.

 

there is a very slight backward slant on the cab be hardly noticeable and no gaps that I can see anywhere.

 

The water scoop is the wrong way round but not sure if it can be repositioned and once on the track I can see it anyway,

also the smokebox door top lamp bracket missing, but I can replace that with. Staple.

 

Hope you get a better model second time around.

 

Regards

 

David

1 hour ago, OliverBytham said:

Collected my Thane of Fife from the always-helpful Trains4U this afternoon. Opened the box very warily in case the smokebox lamp iron had come adrift, as others had found.

 

Turns out I needn't have worried: it was still affixed to the smokebox door... which had completely detached from the loco.

 

 

The running plate looks to have a slight undulation on both sides as it flexes around the sandbox backing plates. I'm not sure I'd have noticed it immediately if others on this thread hadn't pointed it out on their models. Colour looks better in real life than in photos, if not as dark and rich as the box image. 

 

RHS nameplate isn't quite fixed properly, but I'll have a closer look later when I stick the smokebox door back on. 

 

 

Detail bag does indeed contain the AWS backing plate, along with 2x steps, 2 x drain cocks and brake rigging. 

 

 

I'll sit down later and really give the loco a close look over. My layout's been dismantled for an upcoming house move so I can't test run it as yet, though I'll try to dig the rolling road out over the weekend. 

 

Cheers all.

Send it back, as I am doing with mine.

Pete

25 minutes ago, landscapes said:

Hi

 

For todays photo I suggest sun glasses.

 

My new Hornby A2/2 60501 Cock O The North arrived today.

 

Runs beautifully, lots of good detail and a very nice looking model from a design point of view.

 

I have put some comments and this photo on the Trade section under the Horny sub heading so I will say no more apart from the awfal green livery.

 

Thank god most photo I have of A2/2's they are in a very dirty condition, so lots of weathering required me thinks.

 

In the back ground I have placed a Bachman A2 and a Hornby A4 fro a colour comparison.

 

This is straight out of the box plus I added a coat of Johnsons Klear to see if it changed the shade of green in any way but it didn't

 

Drain cock pipes and front steps have also been added

 

Any comments more than welcome.

 

Regards

 

David

I have 60505 Thane of Fife, working from front to back, there is a gap under the left hand front frame above the footplate, obviously the colour, boiler bands are missing the orange bands, the left rear driver seems to have a slight quartering problem in that the rear con rod is not level, possibly excess play on the axle, the cab has a small gap between it and the boiler, a tender handrail is flush with the body and the water scoop underneath is backwards. 
Suffice it to say it’s being returned to the dealer. 
Otherwise it’s impressive, just under a foot long and runs smoothly on a rolling road. Very disappointed obviously no pre delivery inspection. Hope the A2/3 is better.

Pete

On 10/02/2021 at 18:01, Brian D said:

 

 

You know, I can't actually remember seeing any of these back in the day.  I certainly didn't see any on the Durham coast line but I have a couple underlined in my Ian Allen so I must have seen them probably on the very few occasions I visited Newcastle Central.

 

 

Thanks John.  More to come I hope.

 

Regards,

Brian.

I have a couple of colour prints of D8590 on a van train waiting for signals east bound. I have the Heljan model DCC fitted(very tight squeeze) and it does run very well.

Pete

What should have been posted earlier 

So, taking Ian’s succinct advice, I managed to fit the remaining  point this morning. It went well apart from spearing the end of my thumb with a small screwdriver 

I tidied up some of the cork edges, removing it where it was no longer required. Finally I finished making up the harnesses for the remaining four Tortoise motors.

stay safe 

Pete

Hi Paul, nice to see you are still following the thread. 
I believe all the fishplates are in the correct poisons regarding insulated and non insulated. My problem is how to get the point and two stubby bits of track into the gap without doing any damage. The track at each of the three ends are secured. 
 

Pete

After all this time I have just had a gander at your thread. Just a quick skim through. Nice idea in such an area. Will follow with interest if I can figure out this web. Wish they would stop fiddling around with it.

I thought I might put in half an hour in the shed this evening, too cold really to be out there much longer. I have been test fitting the final point and short sections of track before adding point motor and wiring up.

Maybe one of you may be able to let in to the secret method of being able to fit track when you have to fit it in a gap of already fixed track? As in the photos below . I understand about sliding the fishplates along but with the insulated ones, you can’t do that??

The point in the centre has two short stubbs of track at the frog end. How does one get them secured without bending the track/fishplates? 

I am not long away from completing track laying in Marden Road station. I still have four Tortoise motors to fit.

I see that it was June last year that I last posted on here. I fired up my MacBook to find it all changed again. I scrolled to my last page and found the photos were not showing. Got back to February 2020 before I found some photos in the thread?.? 
I am writing this on my iPad which appears to be showing all? Can any one enlighten me ? 
I know I don’t post often and haven’t followed my usual favourites for a while and have been using my Facebook page more often but I thought I would post some updates on Rmweb but can’t even do that on my laptop.?

Some further progress on Marden Road has seen the cork stuck down for the main track formation through the station.

I have started to build the large factory kit from Kibri which has been in store for years waiting for the right moment for it to be completed.

The two gaps in the cork left and centre are where the platforms will go.

Pete

Excellent as ever Brian.

Pete