pom-pom

Sorry, can you please elaborate on "Refined"? But you're right, QC is certainly amiss.. which is a crime on such an otherwise excellent model. Runs very well incidentally.

REF01-90937 R3132-19-078 These were both on a white sticker on the bottom of the box. Does that help?

One further observation! The front footsteps as fixed (there was no detail pack in the box) would not allow the loco to negotiate any standard curves under 4th radius...

Incidentally, the photos I've uploaded show 2599 after I have spent some time gently bending the front running plate down to almost the correct position but it is evident that I have further to go. I should probably have returned the model but curiosity got the better of me and when I saw that the Rails of Sheffield photograph displayed the exact same problems with the running plate I assumed they were all like that.

Some close-up photos for your perusal. First impressions are that it's a very nice model but has been somewhat let down by quality control issues in the manufacturing process: (1.) Mine looked like it had been hurriedly placed in its packaging and came with the reversing lever loose in the box and the front vacuum hose snapped. I have since corrected these problems. (2.) The LNER tender lettering is clearly misplaced. (3.) It has bucket seats which don't match the large cab cut-outs. (4.) the boiler join seam is quite pronounced and curiously is not present in the first boiler segment adjacent to the smokebox. (5.) the ash pan rocker lever is indeed on the wrong side but after removing the body it looks like it will transfer across easily. Strangely enough it is detailed on the inner side to show the bosses through which the lever would rotate... in other words it has been designed to be on the right-hand side but the factory have placed it on the left. (6.) in order to fit the motor in there's a fairly prominent cut-away to the boiler forward of the rear splashers. (7.) I've left the worse until last. The running plate along the body is badly distorted under the firebox (Bachmann A2s?) and at the front over the cylinders. The Rails of Sheffield photos show exactly the same problem in this area as mine. It has just been assembled very poorly and gives the impression that the loco was involved in a frontal shunting accident. The running plate is quite flimsy and is glued to the rest of the body with small plastic lugs protruding through the bottom.. attempted removal would almost certainly result in breakage. At first glance the area under the smokebox may be a non-starter but the front end may be fixed. by judicious, careful bending. The problem seems to lie in the combined attachment of the steam pipes, smokebox/boiler and the running plate. There are also black sandwich plates (nomenclature!) between the steam pipes and the running plate which are distorted and poorly attached. This sounds a little scathing but I think that at £150 a throw we are entitled to higher expectations. The problems at first glance seem to be restricted entirely to the loco body itself plus the lettering on the tender. Otherwise everything else seems good.

Very useful, thanks. So the Hornby version with the bucket seats reworked to the earlier pattern and the existing large cab cut-outs gives us 2599 in the period 1930 - 1935 unless I'm mistaken and/or there are other features of the Hornby model which do not belong in that time period.

Thanks Mick, most informative re., use of T-cut and paint match. Shall have a go... despite what I said about my wallet remaining firmly closed as it did with Great Snipe it overpowered me in a moment of weakness - shall post some photos on here as requested unless I'm beaten to it. Nick

So the corrections list for us perfectionists so far stands at: (1.) Remove the ash pan rocker lever from the left-hand side with a view to relocating it to the right-hand side. In photos I've seen this is painted black and is less conspicuous than on the Hornby version. (2.) Remove the tender 'LNER' lettering and relocate slightly lower in line with the cab numbering of which the latter might also need to be relocated higher. (3.) Build up the cab cut-outs to the smaller versions to match the bucket seats. If 2599 was built in July, 1930 then was it done so with the larger cut-outs and no bucket seats? If this modification took place c.1935 then removal of the bucket seats would place it in the 1930 - 1935 era? (4.) Whilst the paint job is somewhat trashed in (2.) and (3.) one might as well deal with the boiler seam join too. Anybody know a paint that exactly matches that of Hornby? I like modifying RTR stock to make detail improvements but correcting poor errors on £150+ models doesn't quite have the same levels of satisfaction unfortunately! Still, could've been worse. Perhaps one issue may be that Hornby see themselves as primarily a toy manafacturer whereas we see their products as detailed accurate historical models.

Are those cab-cutouts correct for 2599? There's a lovely colour photo of 2599 on page 59 in "The Big Four in Colour" (ISBN 0-906899-62-1) taken in 1937. It has small cutouts and presumably bucket seats.

It's a real shame after all this time waiting and the evident research and development that's gone into this model to have the two glaring errors you mention creep in, re., ash pan rocker lever on the wrong side and the cab/tender lettering at the wrong heights. Perpetuation of the latter error after all the warning comments available to Hornby on here re., Great Snipe cab/tender lettering, etc. is certainly unfortunate and probably the most awkward to correct, needing a potential tender repaint and colour match to the apple-green used by Hornby on the loco. Think I'll keep my wallet firmly shut, as with Great Snipe.

Quite! That Tardis was utterly wasted on travel through time and space, really...

Ah, good news thanks. Having come back to the hobby recently I'm astounded at the level of detail in both Bachmann and Hornby models these days... but I'm not enamoured of the coal-effect! I'll wait and see if mine turns up before breaking out the lump hammer... for the coal obviously It seems faintly ridiculous ordering tiny quantities of coal over the internet...

Hopefully there are as I'm still waiting for mine down in deepest darkest Kent... said the impatient small boy within..! ;-) It would be nice if there were despatch e-mails sent out but hey-ho. I have a question after studying the photos kindly posted by gr.king - I have had Bachmann locos before where the tender coal was a removable casting, is this the case with the C1? I imagine not as the coal surrounds the water filler but I'm just curious that's all. I'm eyeing up the possibility of using real coal... Nick