40002

So just ordered 057 with sound, I am tempted by 085 as well but I think I would have to sell my latest run Heljen 25 to justify it and I'm not sure the overall extra cost would be worth it. A pair by the same manufacturer does kind of appeal, although the fact they have different body styles hopefully Heljen 25 301 will look OK with 057.

17 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

I guess we have Accurascale to thank for these models from Bachmann.

 

If it wasn't for their uplift in quality then Bachmann would not have had the impetus to really look again at what they produce.

 

Same as when Dapol first started in N and Bachmann turned out the V2 expecting a lot of praise and got roasted because it was no different to the old Farish designs.  Luckily Bachmann have also picked up the challenge on N too with the Next 18 sound chassis they deliver with most models.

 

I know the competion here is SLW and Heljan for the 25, but SLW is still small volume in comparison and Heljan don't put as much inside the shell as Bachmann it feels.

 

Still a good time to be an OO modeller but not for me I am happy in N.

Im not entirely convinced of that argument to be honest i also think that in the detail verses practicality debate Bachmann are still a bit more balanced on this in my view. 

Well looks good as 057 is now going to be available without weathering i will be getting that.

11 hours ago, brushman47544 said:

The first eleven FKs 13476-13486 went new to the ER, but that’s all. No TSOs.

I'm surprised at even that I certainly never saw any MK2b on East Cost Services, maybe before the  Air Con versions arrived, as all I remember were Mk2a, Mk2d, and Mk2f.  I picked up a Bachmann Mk2a Blue/Grey TSO for a very reasonable price on the well know selling site yesterday in fact around half the price of the stupid prices they have been selling at and they seemed to be quite a few, are modelers selling their MK2a's for MK2b's?

I noticed these on the Rails website Yesterday, I can not say the pictures shown wowed me, and I'm not interested in liveries that were never applied to the Class 40. I might have been interested in 40 106 had it been last days of BR style green and without the nameplate, but overall I'm fairly happy with my Bachmann 40's.

So my MK2b TSO arrived yesterday my concern with detailed models is are they too fragile for a practical layout I think this is about on the limit for me, I don't think my Bachmann Mk2f is too far off detail wise compared to the Mk2b and probably about right for me. Colour wise the blue matches the Bachmann  stock but the grey is a lot paler which is correct I don't know? While for Hornby MK2e aircons the blue is too dark for both the Bachmann and Accurascale. The Grey doesn't match the Bachmanns either but its closer than Accurascale.

Well I just bought TSO, we will see as always with Accurascale products I have concern's of Detail verses Fragility, so whether I keep it or it ends up on a well know selling site, like the Deltics's remains to be seen. In fact I'm only considering it because the prices of Bachmann MK2 TSO's on the well known selling site are just stupid.

1 hour ago, McC said:

On both the Deltic and the Class 50 the chain is connected to a bracket mounted on what is effectively the body. This is one reason why attaching it to the chassis is not as easy as the Class 37, where the chain bracket is actually mounted direct to the underside of the chassis on the real thing! The Deltic and Class 50 also require the base of the chassis to be much higher than the bottom of the body in order to accommodate the wheels (flanges and all), especially for guys that might want to install scale diameter OO, EM or P4 wheels. This means having cutouts in the body for the brackets which will make body removal more tricky and would also likely incur a visual penalty as well. It's not as simple as just "fitting it on the chassis".

 

Long story short, they will be easily attached as per the real thing, in a manner that will allow for body removal when needed, and still retail an accurate appearance. 

Thanks for that clarification I will have to look at the second run Deltic when it arrives before deciding whether or not to purchase a 50.

4 hours ago, wombatofludham said:

Ahh, Hugh G Box, star of the 1930s cinema...

If it re-assures those concerned about panel fit and fragile details, I have two 37s which have survived my clumsy handling and I assume they have removable panels as I can't see any joins and as they already make noise, I haven't had to access the interior, but the roof panels all look good to me.  I didn't get a Deltic as they weren't that common around the Midlands so I can't comment from experience on any chains but I do recall reading they were re engineered in the later batch.

Did the 50s have the same chains as the Deltics?

Well they are not dissimilar, the issue with the Deltic for me was that you have effectively disconnect the the chains from the body in order to remove the body and re-attach with glue. That to me is bad design and OK you can argue that the need to remove the body is reduced with opening roof but there are still times you might want to remove the body. I gather the reworked Deltic will have a push fit which while better I'm not totally convinced will be ideal. For me the only satisfactory solution is to connect to the chassis so you can remove the body without touching the chains. So for me before I considered a 50 I would need to know more about the chains and body removal.

So the model looks great but then so did the Deltic. So the issues for me with the Deltic were the were the bogie chains and the flimseyness of the nose steps. So my questions would be are the bogie chains connected to the body or chassis?  How robust are the front steps? I notice on my Bachmann Class 20 the steps seem to be a much more plyable plastic than the Deltic which wouldnt easily break

On 03/02/2024 at 09:59, Great Waterton said:

Whilst we're on the subject of Bachmann Class 40s, is it the 2014 models onwards that have lights fitted please? Not particularly bothered about cab lighting but forward lighting would be good. 

I have one of the last 21pin versions and the latest plux22 version. Annoyingly on the 21pin version under DCC you cannot individually turn off the tail lights, so i will probably just switch off perm the tail lights with the switch underneath. On the plux22 version you can individually turn off the tail lights.

Color wise my two Blue class 40 match but then they are both fairly new and match reasonably with my other Bachmann Loco's which are also new. My Heljen 25 is a bit darker but not too bad unlike the Heljen 45 which was so dark it had to go. I prefer not to weather my Loco's so too much color variation is difficult to hide and given the period I'm modeling they are mostly Blue.

So got my V2 model today exterior wise not much different fortunately the same color as V1 some cabling picked out in orange on V2 the door handles still not quite right but a little better than V1. V2 is on the left in the photo. Although they have put less pipework on the beam I think you may still have to remove what they have put on for a standard coupling to work properly. The underside air tanks still potentially restrict bogie movement and may have to remove them. Having put in my DCC sound Decoder I can confirm the  lighting can now be individually switched which is the main improvement for me.

I have a V1 model and overall its very good the main issue is the cab lighting which you have to have on all the time when having the lighting on, so the train train moves around the layout with the cab lighting on which is not ideal. I have just ordered a V2 model and I gather this is now fixed and you can turn off the cab light and tail lights individually. the SLW 25 may well be the ultimate Class 25 but with hopefully the lighting fixes on the v2 model I think I will be happy with the Heljen model I'm not a rivet counter as long as the model looks reasonably good I'm happy.

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

On the model, the obvious answer ro all the stuff about duplication would be:

 

-if you want a tip top 31 and want the Bachmann model then buy the Bachmann model;

-if you want a tip top 31 and want the Accurascale model then buy the Accurascale model;

-if you want a tip top 31 and you are not wedded to either manufacturer then take a look at the models being made by both, price and other factors which may matter to you and then decide which one to buy; and

-if you're not interested in the 31 and are not intending to buy one then why does it matter and why would it vex you?

 

I don't see why the decision making process of model suppliers in deciding which subjects to model is our business. If anything it gives us as consumers more choice and keeps producers on their toes if they know their release has to stand on its feet against a rival release.

Agreed, it seems to me that for BR era models at least any manufacturer can make any model they want but obviously they need to look at the current and future market place and assess what's viable for them. I don't see many complaints about Heljen going up against Bachmann with their latest 47 but because the 31 is against Accurascale it seems to have sparked a particular dislike.  I imagine Bachmann do see Accurascale as a significant threat to their business given how quickly they are growing and the number of models they are releasing, hopefully there room for both to exist otherwise that will be to the detriment to the hobby. 

20 minutes ago, Roy Langridge said:

 

For sound the Accurascale version wins hands down on price in my opinion, the speaker set-up looks far superior and I didn't see mention of Hall sensors for flange squeal in the Bachmann spec. And all for about the same as the high-street price of a sound fitted Bachmann 31. And that is before Accurascale give you points worth 3% back which makes if cheaper.

Roy

Well I'm probably not going to get the sound version anyway, 31 435 is a better fit for my layout than Accurascale eth versions, and after my experience with the Accurascale Deltic which was an underdeveloped model in view, ok I know they attempting to fix the issues in the next run, I think its fair to say I have more confidence in Bachmann products than Accurascale.

Just seen the street prices from one of the major retailers the prices will be very competative with Accurascale for the DCC version and Sound version obviously the deluxe version will be more expensive, and you only get the fan on the deluxe model unlike Accurascsle but i will still be buying Bachmann.

Well i can see why some would find it a bit of a let down, i will be buying a 31 and blue/grey MK1 TSO, but even i was slighly disappointed overall.

Well just watched the Batman update as it says on the subtitles yes 31 435 is perfect for my proposed layout so I will be purchasing one of those. 

9 minutes ago, Hilux5972 said:

Why? Just why? Accurascales is already in production. What a waste of tooling. Why not do the 40? KR has an atrocious  record of listening to customers and putting out sub par models, (anyone say fell?), a totally new 40 would have been an absolute killer for Bachmann. 

Well OK i'm not a rivet counter but I have the latest version of the Bachmann 40 and while its not perfect i'm reasonably happy with it. The biggest improvement for me was the ability to individually turn off the Tail lights, plus the the 40 doesn't have the multitude of liveries and variations the 31 has. But as commented Bachmann may have an updated version in the pipeline, and possibly of course other manufacturers.

9 minutes ago, stovepipe said:

Who would have thought that the humble Brush Type 2 would end up being one of, or even the most tooled UK diesel loco in OO? Triang, Airfix, Lima, Hornby, Accurascale, and now Bachmann.

 

263 made and 64 years of service has a lot to do with it I'm sure.

 

I think possibly 42/43, 47 and 52 are onto four or five different toolings currently, depending on your defintion of OO.

I was never a massive of the Class 31 in real life, but for the time and period i'm modelling I should really have at least one on my layout. Also I guess an update detailed model makes it more likely I will purchase. Also of course the 30/31 has a wide range of variations and color schemes, that it probably stand duplication by a number of manufacturers like the 37 and 47.  

Seriously interested in one of these after my experience with the accurascale Deltic i tend to avoid accurascale stuff

Some Mk2f TSO's in Blue/Grey as per usual a certain website is selling a couple today for stupid money. 

A Class 101 in Plain Blue with 1st class, I believe the last Plain Blue 101 they did was a Newcastle set with no 1st class as the Newcastle units got rid of 1st class quite a number of years before the rest of what became regional railways.

A retooled and substancially improved Deltic, with either no Bogie Chains or ones that are substancially better and more reliable than the Accurascale ones and where you don't have to remove them to take the body off. OK I expect this is very unlikely it will happen, I think Accurascale have largely cornered the available Deltic market, I'm not sure the Deltic market is as big as the 37 market which can likely support highly detailed models from 2 manufacturers.

So supposing you decide to sell your Accurascale model on such as ebay after say a couple of months from purchase what warranty if any will the new owner get?

I thought about buying one of these but looks like a better motor and a DCC Socket is the limit of improvement. The 110 is perfect for the period and area I am modelling, but I would need to buy a second hand centre car and reinstate 1st class. But when I compare to my Bachmann DMU's with internal and external lighting I find it difficult to justify really, especially when I had this model 30 years ago and there really very little improvement.

I guess we have to see what the street prices are, It looks a very nice model but then its up against a very good Bachmann model, and clearly many will be waiting to see how the 2 compare.  If they offer a version I'm looking for that Bachmann doesn't offer then yes I may buy. 

I was disappointed with the Heljen Class 45, the Rail Blue was too dark to a point it just looked odd amongst my fleet of other Blue Diesels, and hence it had to go, I hope the Rail Blue versions of the 47 are better.