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Have to admit W1 looks an impressive beast in that configuration. Whilst I haven't considered the Garter Blue offering, were Hornby to offer wartime/post war black I think I could succumb :-)

With regard to the second sentence, bottom line is there ARE models out there that do not have issues. Should we really have to partake in a lottery when we spend our hard earned cash?

Good question. Thompson left it as 10000 in his renumbering scheme, and as you point out, 700 would see it in with the 2-6-2 and Pacific classes... So why DID BR choose 60700??

Rather than fine abrasive paper, I'd be tempted to try T-Cut or similar on a cotton bud perhaps? Test on an area maybe underneath the loco or tender first, but potentially less aggressive, though maybe more effort...

My problem with Hermes was they tried to get a fragile parcel through the front door in spite of it being too large... I was left with a mangled and broken mess on the front step after they eventually gave up trying to wind it through the letterbox :-(

That 'inspection charge' seems to vary between £100-£500 at the moment.... And that's without the cost of the loco!

A poor pun, perhaps, but wasn't: 'Pegasus' in the running regarding names, at one time?

No time for pics, but on my W1 box: HUA02-PO10008725 Under that: R3840-38-362 From my A2/3 box: GFT01-10008025 Under that: R3832-2-362

Trouble is, an awful lot of people did: 'the right thing' and pre-ordered. As we now know, for many that back-fired. If you were lucky enough not to have it cancelled, you were now in the lottery of whether you received a whole model or one in pieces... I totally get the: 'supply and demand' of the subsequent ebay auctions, my choice how much I value ownership of one of these. My original post was prompted by a: 'reserve not met' announcement on one retailer's auction, already in excess of RRP, so it is him who's setting that value, and after withdrawing stock from another online platform..

Just one blatant retailer plug, if I may? As with insurance companies and 'breakdown' cover providers, we never know a firm's mettle until things go wrong... Like many I received a broken W1 during the feeding frenzy, so elected to return it for refund whilst hunting for a replacement. So a big: 'Thank you' to Katie at KJB Models for handling my refund request so promptly, and to quote Arnie (when the P2's appear): 'I'll be back!'

I can understand to a certain degree, it was the: 'reserve not met' notification I found a bit callous, perhaps? And their stock on Amazon disappeared overnight, which I assumed due to selling out... But, as duly noted, nobody HAS to buy them....

What do people think about retailers cashing in on the scarcity of these now?

Thanks to due diligence and excellent packaging by Aiden and staff at Roxley Models I too have now joined the ranks of happy owners.... Hopefully the original retailer will refund in good time so the credit card bill arrives with just one to pay for :-) Not sure if I'm being cynical, but a few turning up on ebay emphasising 'unopened' boxes, some even posting totally nondescript out of focus photos: 'Which form a part of the description' In any other circumstances that wouldn't worry me, or am I doing human nature a disservice?

Hornby R3840 LNER Class W1 ‘Hush Hush’ 4-6-4 No.10000 OO Gauge 5055286672231 | eBay On ebay this morning, though photos show 'British Enterprise' Yours for £350...

I will respond and say mine wasn't. It did come with a: 'price reduced' sticker which I found a bit strange as according to the retailer they had only just arrived, and subsequently sold out within three hours! Returned for refund......

I believe the buck stops with those who took your money, unless somebody knows different?

Damn !!! Shouldn't have sent mine back...

Absolutely! In an ideal world it shouldn't be necessary. But in this instance somebody has screwed up big time. So if a visual check by the retailer at my request saves me the hassle of returning the model, then I'm more than okay with that...

Hi fellow Essex LNER enthusiast! Whilst I agree wholeheartedly with your first paragraph. not too sure about the second.... Yes, with so many returns they will lose money, which is bound to lead to internal repercussions. And some sort of press statement ASAP wouldn't hurt either. But, as for losing future customers? Maybe if viable alternatives exist. But to carry on the washing machine analogy started above, I can't see Zanussi coming up with a W1 any time soon, or Hotpoint for that matter! Seriously though, we enthusiasts will always clamour for these 'out there' models of prototypes we'd never dreamed of seeing in the past. Yes, I'm p*ssed off at the moment, but my two P2 orders still stand.....

You're right.... It should work. But if there's growing evidence that it might not, I would hope any retailer regardless of size would seek to reassure potential customers that their product is saleable and fit for purpose. There are, mind you, plenty of alternate washing machines out there.

Can't deny I look at this and the other photos of pristine models with a certain degree of envy! But.... I'm grateful you post them because they also give me the hope that the next one to appear on my doorstep will be in a similar condition... Who needs a quiet life ? :-)

I'm afraid that can only be summed up as poor service. Again, perhaps they weren't expecting this (who would?), but they do have a duty of care towards their customer.....

Agree absolutely... But acknowledge that your scenario exists because the retailer received models in a satisfactory condition to be able to offer them. But if dealer stock is damaged, where to from there? It does seems some are just taking Hornby's sealed boxes and shunting them straight out the door, hopefully unaware of what's inside. And I expect until now everyone had the confidence in Horny to be okay with this. This one maybe caught everyone out. Hence I did ask my second supplier to open and check it's condition.

It's simply a case of supply and demand. The demand for what was expected to be a desirable and unusual model is still there, but anyone with half an interest in these things will know by now that supply was going to be marginal at best, even without the: 'damaged on arrival' lottery. And 'in stock' is no guarantee of condition either, sadly. I have emailed some enquiring as to the condition of their stock and had no response. And if Hornby's best response so far is an automated mail saying spare parts could take 28 days, then I do feel for those frustrated customers. I've already returned one and await another, though resigned to the fact that may too arrive less than perfect..

TBH I was probably thinking more along the lines of: Did you receive a satisfactory response from the seller, which leads you to believe the problem can and will be resolved to your satisfaction within a reasonable time scale? I would imagine an automated email response would be quite frustrating...