RecordEdit

Hmmm, wonders if that banana is still actually yellow ....

They are doing the catalogue/magazine bundle again via Tescos & WH Smith, or the publisher's website if you are out of the UK like myself.

Congratulations to Hornby in their Centenary year. It had to be expected they would push the boat out given they have hit the 100. The Class 91 announcement raised my eyebrow as it has for many here. I would like to believe Cavalex would have gone into their project with their eyes wide open with respect to the chances of Hornby doing something like this, particularly after seeing Hattons and Rails experiences with the 66's and Terriers. Not interested in the Class 91 personally but hopefully room for both of them. Looking forward to seeing Dave from Dean Park's take on the issue, given how loudly he banged the drum for Hornby to do something with their 91.

That's how it looked to me also. Up close the paint isn't so much chipped as just not applied. The edges are rounded and smooth, as when you brush enamel on and the paint flattens out to a smooth level finish before it dries. It has that appearance rather than having dried and subsequently a piece of the paintwork breaking off.

No, not a fisheye lens, just dodgy camera and operator skills! I wanted to get in as close as possible to show the poor effort on the paint job but it tended to lose focus in the photo anyway. From Bachmann I have 37's, 47's, 57's, 20's, a 66 and an 08, and the finish of all has been consistantly first class. This is the only time I have struck trouble with one of their products, and with two examples now. I've seen this model on sale with more than one retailer and am wondering if this is why, that quality control wasn't the best on this loco.

Thanks for the input, Gentlemen. Let me see if I can add a couple of photos to show you what I'm meaning. The first '85 I returned had more substantial "chipping" (for want of a better term) around the headcodes but, having seen that first example, I was obviously more sensitive to how the yellow paintwork looked on getting this one out of the box.

Greetings All Has anyone here recently purchased the Bachmann Class 85 with small yellow panels, catalogue number 31-679, only to find there is a poor application of the yellow paint on said panels? I've taken delivery of a second loco today exhibiting this problem, having sent the first one back to the online store, and I'm wondering if this has been an issue for others buying this particular model or if I have been quite unlucky. It would be useful to know as I decide whether to cut my losses with this one and just ask for my money back. Thanks.

It hasn't been quite that slow for me, however it certainly has been a strange circumstance with my last couple of orders taking so long to be packed and dispatched across to me in New Zealand. Normally I will place an order with Hattons during my daytime, have it processed and dispatched while I sleep, and receive an email when I get up the next morning to advise it is already on its way. Outstanding service in my view and impossible to fault. However my second-last order with them, placed at 4:40pm New Zealand Time on the 18th August, was not dispatched until 11:46pm on the 23rd. I suspect it will be a close-run thing between amount of time it took to dispatch and the amount of time it will take to travel from Widnes to here. Orders from Hattons generally take no more than seven calendar days from the time I hit the "place order" button to the time I am holding the carton in my hands. Again, outstanding service by any measure considering where I live. My current order, placed on the 24th, is still in the pick-list as of today. I'm not confident I will see much action on it before next Tuesday with the Bank Holiday Monday over there. If I could make any criticism it would be that they probably should have signaled the dispatch upgrade work via their website a lot earlier than they did. I check their website regularly and always pay attention to the news and announcements as my first order of business. Still, it's only a minor quibble given their generally first-class service. As a matter of interest, anyone have thoughts on the new packaging system? My initial impression from an order received earlier than the two mentioned above (yes, I need to curb the spending!) was "hmmm, I'm not sure." The order contained a Bachmann diesel, along with a couple of Farish rolling stock items. They were simply placed in the carton loose with a layer of that chunky bubble-wrap top and bottom. My initial thought was that I think I prefer their earlier method of wrapping a big piece of bubble wrap around the items with sticky tape to hold everything together, and the air-bags surrounding that. It just seemed to me in this order, at least, there was too much room for the Bachmann loco to "roam around" inside the carton, banging side to side especially. I appreciate the Bachmann packaging itself is quite sturdy ... still, my initial thought was that this new method wasn't perhaps the best. Might get away with it more on short journeys, but my cartons are coming clear across the other side of the planet .... RE.

Well, went to clear my Post Box this morning and, me, if there wasn't a copy of "The Collector" magazine sitting in there, Issue 104 Spring 2015. More than a little surprised on several fronts ... those that read my earlier posts here will know my membership (with the admin extension they gave me) expired in March. And, isn't 20th July a little late in the day to be calling this a Spring issue? Of course, with only five months left in 2015, the pullout calendar is ... well .... With the decrease in number of issues, I was presuming the size of each would increase to something more akin to the Bachmann offering. All a little underwhelming really. But nice of them to remember me all the same.

Just a follow-up on my earlier post to this thread, I received an email this morning welcoming me to the "New Hornby Club". Included was a club discount code valid until the end of March. As I suggested previously, I think people with memberships spanning the 2014/15 calendar years will just be shifted across to the new club to see out the term of their 12 months. I'm hopeful of seeing at least the first issue of the new mag before my membership expires to see what it's about. Although I'm unlikely to renew, well, you never know ... R.E.

I signed up in Jan 2014, an international member from NZ. I didn't receive anything for three months so enquired that with the Club, only to be told there had been a stuff-up with my membership and nothing had actually been sent out to me to that point. They offered to send the items from Jan 2014 onward, plus extend my membership into March 2015 which seemed a fair compensation to me. I have traditionally elected to receive the Club model each time I've joined. I know they receive a bit of tap here as just so much rubbish, but I enjoy them for what they are and tend to display them in a cabinet as a statement to others of my interest in this particular hobby. With that option seemingly gone now, and in light of the way they seem to be structuring the Club now (membership fee + ROW postage fee = fair whack of dosh), I won't be joining again. In fact, I've jumped ship to Bachmann for the first time with a double-scale membership and received my models from them on Christmas Eve. As to what happens to 2014 memberships that started mid-year, etc, I think the most likely thing is that they will substitute the new Club mags in for the unsupplied Collectors ones. I myself expect to receive at least one copy of the new offering before my membership finally expires in March. Sorry to be saying goodbye to the Hornby club for now but they moved the goal-posts and the new offering is inferior from my perspective here in NZ. R.E.

Afternoon Richard, Just want to add my few words to the chorus of support you have enjoyed here with Everard Junction. I have been watching your YouTube efforts from down here in New Zealand for a year or more now and it is invariably enjoyable minutes spent reviewing the progress you have made on the layout, along with the many "how-to's" and what have you. Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing the canal scene in its final form soon enough. RC