Sjcm

Yep, the problem is no-one knows exactly what the problem is. Is it a mechanical problem where the tender connectors on this batch are not making proper contact when they click in. Is is an electrical problem somewhere in the loco or tender (faulty/corroded contacts). On the one hand Sam's trains got his working with contact cleaner which hints at electrical problems. On the other hand that didn't work with first one. Maybe it's a combination of both and the main difference between the P2 and the black 5 is QC or cost cutting.

Apart from the colour, they remind me of the contacts you used to get on 90's game console cartridges which could oxidise and stop working over time. of course if they are the same, then the presumably hidden smaller traces that join up to the visible contact bars could be the real problem as you can't reach them to clean them.

well........that tender connection. he got it working with contact spray but you have to wonder how long that is going to last. I suppose the crank pin falling out is about par for the course😂

just seen it. Same problems and its fallen apart 😂

But you are not the norm. Plenty of people willing and capable to service and repair a rtr model. A complete rebuild with new pickups? less likely.

Yeah, it was more an observation on how everyone seems reluctant to delve deeper with the problems and why? I don't subscribe to Sam's trains or watch a lot of his stuff, but I do know he's not adverse to taking apart new models for major surgery like many youtubers. Yet this time he's not touched it, even to look at the mechanism. Like wise the other guy posted on here who again has tried to fix new models before. As someone who would return a new faulty loco out of principle, I wonder if the people who would usually have a dabble, have gone "nope, not touching a 230 pound loco under warranty"

So far I've seen 3 you tubers with the tender problem and 2 people in the comments that had to return their models. Even the favourable class47peters' video posted on here mentions it didn't work out the box until he pushed the tender in properly - is that just a one-off or the sign of a weakness that will only get worse? Trouble is there is a culture in our hobby of fixing stuff that you don't get elsewhere with new products for whatever the reason (don't want the hassle of returning/like the challenge/worried they won't get a replacement quickly?). Be interesting if someone posts a "how I fixed my black5" video on YouTube because given the price and complexity, Hornby may have reached the tipping point where people are prepared to start dismantling a new model rather than just sending it back.

He doesn't help himself with some of his fixations and his carpet layout, but some of his gripes about no proper bearings, flimsy parts, design faults, wheels out of scale, and glue all over the place in 200+ pound models seems perfectly realistic to me. End of the day no-one forced Hornby to go up-market and start charging 100+ pounds above inflation compared to the 2000's equivalent models. You can make an argument that the better detailing and mechanism is worth that price increase, but as fair as the quality and general robustness goes Hornby (and others) just don't get it. If I buy a premium product whether that's a top of the range phone or a tv, I expect it to work, be in mint condition when it arrives and the quality of it ensuring it has a long life. If I buy a cheapo smartphone I'll probably overlook the general cheapness and a scratch on the screen

While I understand the lamp argument on both sides, I would say on the realistic/prototypical stakes, a loco that doesn't move is much more of a bar to realism than the lamps. There obviously seems to be a problem with some of the release batch with the tender connection.How big that is is hard to tell, but seeing there is a fair number of YouTubers with this problem and those that have bought it and reviewed are not exactly everywhere, you have to wonder how widespread the problem is, and whether it's something that will increase with wear and tear in 3/6/12 months time. Suffice to say, it's the usual story with Hornby - Rolls Royce price, Lada quality control.

I have 3 of those duettes, one I use every day for testing. Hasn't blown up yet, touch wood, but I wouldn't pay 100 quid for one, or sell one. One of my favorite YouTube channels is a guy who gets working pre-70s televisions and radios.. When I say gets working, he doesn't repair or restore them because they are too far gone, but finds them dumped by the side of the road or down mines and does just enough to get them working so no replacement of leaky capacitors etc.. He's basically fearless of high voltage from being an ex repairman so half the fun is watching what will catch fire when he turns on a tv he's just jetwashed to get the mud out of 😲. He's actually very safety orientated and these are 1+ hour long serious tutorials,but every now and then he has a bit of fun - wired this microwave into one of those retro 2000's Crossley record player stereos and the resulting smoke and fire had the neighbours phoning him up thinking his house was on fire. "No, I'm having a barbecue"😂

Another YouTuber with the same problem as Sam's trains

yep. With.the added bonus that your hacksaw and glue job will probably last longer and be more robust than the 200 pound super detailed model - if its not already broken when you get it.

yeah, it's hard to see if the body has been "got at" to fit the chassis which may reduce the selling price

Obviously a lot of work put into it. You're left wondering why though... Still at a tenner you can't go wrong really.

If you look on completed listings he was selling them separately originally. Obviously can't be bothered anymore.

As President of The Enemies of Thomas, I've authorised a 20 pounds bid on the condition the seller destroys it with a hammer/sends it via yodel to get it out of circulation.

yes, but did he actually pay 2-5 pounds for a wagon individually or is that what he valued it them as part of say a big 300 pounds joblot? he may have even paid less per wagon but needs a "bottom line" figure to work out where to set his profit. He's sold those 3 unboxed Hornby wagons for 12 pounds each and claims they cost 10 pounds total so that's 26 pounds profit, but then he gave the buyer free postage so that's 21/22 profit. then you have his ebay fee's and business overheads. At 12 pounds a wagon they were unlikely to have flown out the door so could have been up for weeks. Worth the effort? perhaps, but a lot of work if you add in his time.

Personally I think it's pretty easy to sell at a profit on ebay, but that's different from making a living out of it by buying and selling. If you're buying stock and not that knowledgeable like this guy possibly (solarium coach?) then you have to go for joblots of boxed stuff in good condition which would add big time to buying stock and you'd need a hefty investment in stock to start off with (5k?) to keep things ticking over. The time aspect with research, listing, wrapping and posting stuff looms large so I doubt he buys stuff like non running loco's that he has to repair or gamble on them running so again any stock he buys is gonna attract top money on ebay with other dealers in competition. His mark-up seems to be at least 50% which isn't excessive on ebay but you'd imagine he has an awful lot of unsold stock in BIN listings running for months on end. Still if you can get 20 pounds for old Hornby controllers good luck to him.👍

I like how the paint is like "a car found in a barn". Minus marks for not mentioning patina

Based on personal experience, my guess is he couldn't be @r**d.

Well the last 4 photos look suspiciously like he's glued it to his hand.😉

Actually thats the 1976 line-up of The Wurzels. Should be in the music memorabilia section.

They're not looking at the 35 pound loco, they're looking at the sales over 1700 pounds or selling more than 30 items. They wouldn't be at the stage to look at whether all the individuals items were legitimate selling of personal items or not from eBay flagging it up .Ebay cant tell HMRC where you got the item you're selling - that would be down to you😉 I don't think this was ever about catching the big fish who would have moved on or gone legit as soon as this was announced. Not sure it's about catching out hobbyists selling off unwanted stock either. Imo, its more about getting people declaring any ebay sales over the limits to HMRC as a matter of course, rather than the fear of a letter from them querying your sales. - So yeah, if I was selling over a 1000 pounds per year on ebay, I'd tell them, profit or not.

yep, but what's a personal item? if you bought say a loco off ebay next month and Christmas you flog it on ebay because you don't like it, changed era's, etc.. then that isn't automatically classed as a personal item. Profit wise you could have bought a non-runner and fixed it, and got more than you paid. There is no time limit so if you sell over 1000 pounds in total the onus is on you to prove that it wasn't intentionally bought to sell if HMRC decided to look into it. Its all very vague

While I tend to agree (hope) that is the case, it's still incredibly vague with the onus on you. The 1700 sales figure for reporting your figures is fair enough though many non professional sellers will be above that. The 30 items limit is ridiculous as that could easily be below 1700 or indeed 1000 pounds. Loads of railway hobbyists must go miles above 30 items in sales per year. With people like Martin lewis telling anyone to report over 1000 pounds worth of sales to HMRC even if your just selling the contents of your loft then people will be put off. And the elephant in the room is if they are after the big fish avoiding tax, then what sort of idiot big fish will continue doing it?