Henry 84F

Hi, Thank you so much for your time. I'm afraid those bodies are older tooling - mostly evident by the moulded smokebox handles rather than the separately fitted detail on the latter tooling. Henry

Good afternoon all and Happy Easter, I'm looking for a potential remedy to the warped front running plate of a newer-release Hornby Castle (see attached photo). I've recently 'un-mothballed' my Hornby Castle - 'Taunton Castle' from the set 'A Date with the Duchy'. Something that didn't bother me as such in my previous poorly-lit attic layout was the upward bend of the front part of the running plate. Now, in the brightness of my house, its prominence grates with me. I've done some research - aware that warped running plates have some commonplace in some variations of some models - and was wondering if anyone can shed some light on if there is a remedy for this and if the running plate can be encouraged downward to be parallel to the rest of it. If there is a topic about this already, then apologies for overlooking it and please point me in the right direction. All the best, Henry

Really looking forward to this one, especially because the catalogue suggests it will be the new tooling Princess Royal (I can't think why it wouldn't be) - which is a fantastic product. I hope all staff/workers overseas are keeping themselves safe over the next few weeks and if the September date gets pushed back, then so be it. Images of 46201 in BR lined black are fairly elusive despite the 6201 website itself stating that it wore this guise for the length of time between 1948 and 1952, so it should be good to see it in scaled-down form. Henry

Very much enjoying comparing these two variations of Stanier's pacifics (yes, the AWS box still needs to come off 46257). The Princess Royal is definitely a smoother performer than the Coronation on the rolling road. I cannot emphasise how pleased I am with 46206! Henry

Looking good @Market65. It seems your LED lamp picks out that very faint manufacturing seam on the smokebox and the first panel of boiler cladding - something which I don't think is visible to the naked eye. I didn't think anything could top the last run of Princess Coronations, but here we are. Stands the forthcoming releases in good stead.

Picked up 46206 yesterday. An incredible product. The weight is exceptionally surprising (much heavier than the King) and when it was tested, it seemed to run really well. The million pound question - how is the blue? It might have a little more sheen than the slightly older aforementioned King, but I'd say that it's a very good match. Henry

Thanks for all your suggestions. Having removed the tender keeper plate, I eased the pickups against the leading and trailing wheelsets completely back as they barely rolled when they were connected. Reassembled, it runs much more freely and there is a marked improvement in haulage. Thanks everyone for your help. 60028 seen here at 'Condiment Cupboard Corner' as circumstances currently allow! Henry

Thanks for the tips, all. I will have a look this week at removing the tender keeper plate to assess the wheels and especially those pickups. I'll keep an open mind about returning it if needed too. Thanks, Henry

Good afternoon all, Apologies if a solution to the following is posted elsewhere. I've tried to find it but to no avail. If there is a topic already, could someone please point me in the right direction? I recently bought one of Hornby's latest batches of A4 - R3701 - and have found that its haulage ability spoils a somewhat excellent product. The tender wheelsets squeal as it rolls and the tender on its own does not roll freely. Subsequently, the A4 slips with only three latest Hornby Collett coaches when no other model does. I have just got back into modelling after a bit on an absence, but I remember a previous Hornby A4 (R2906 from the Rare Bird set) having a similarly poor-rolling tender. Its haulage was no where near as poor as this one though. Before I start taking off the tender baseplate to see if I can free the wheels up, does anyone have any suggestions as to a solution? I am reluctant to send it back as it is an excellent model and runs perfectly otherwise. Thanks, Henry

I have also noticed this. Hornby have been photographing their incoming products with a gloss finish for a while now. I'd like to know whether they varnish the existing product or whether they apply a slightly different 'show' livery for these pictures.

Momentary thread resurrection: I've been very lucky to have received Hornby's A4 in the rendition of this livery - a model I'm surprised to see on most shelves given the scarcity of Modelfair's 60027 in recent years. Alongside my 6009 project, a subtle difference in the renditions can be seen. The King is certainly more purple, however the gloss finish may add (or detract) from this. Certainly a matter of great subjectivity. All good fun.

Just to whet the appetite for those considering ordering 46257... Henry

I agree, however is this pack using the old tooling for the Princess Royal? From the image it looks that way, but then the new ones aren't even out yet. Henry

Of course they've announced 46257; I've nearly finished mine! At least I can't complain about my shade of green which is richer than Hornby's earlier shades but lighter than Bachmann's rendition. Maybe when Hornby's 46257 arrives in September, mine will get a repaint. Ironically back to 46256 but in blue! On a side note, these Princess Coronations are wondrerful, robust models. Mine is anyway. Let's hope the new releases will be just as good.

Happy Bank Holiday weekend, all, I'm looking at purchasing Hornby's R3642 'Duchess of Montrose' but have noticed on the stock photographs of many retailers that the cab appears to 'lean' backwards. At first I thought this might be down to the printing of lining and numbers on the cabsides, but upon closer inspection it appears to be the whole cab fitting that doesn't appear to be sat correctly. I've attached a photo from Rails of Sheffield (I'll remove if requested) with some crude annotations to get my point across. Has anyone found this with their model/version of a Duchess? Is this an easy fix, or is this simply a case of inspecting the assembly of the model prior to purchase? Apologies too - I could not find much mention of this in this existing thread, but please point me in the right direction if there is. Thank you, Henry

I agree with the above comments. The 3MT tank is crisply finished but robust, easy to chip for DCC (if that's what you want) and runs really well at all speeds. I definitely recommend!

Quite! Thanks; all seems fine and models running very well. All the best, Henry

Good evening all, Expecting this to be perceived as a silly question, but I thought it better safe than sorry. Will my old On Track Controls MPC3 be okay with current DC/analogue models from both Hornby and Bachmann? Since flying the nest, I find myself starting afresh with an old On Track Controls MPC3 dual-track controller (I will only be using one track output for now) and a rolling road. I have tested the controller with a Hornby pullman coach and the table lamps illuminate as expected, which suggests it still works. The controller is very old, however, and was used only for a short while when my Dad and I first set up a small layout about sixteen years ago. I believe it is fitted with a 3 amp fuse as supplied. Will the controller be okay to run DC operations on a rolling road, or should I wait and buy a newer controller? Thanks in advance and apologies if it seems that I'm asking obvious questions! Henry

A wonderful Duchess; thanks for sharing! Looks especially good with the early crest which I always thought gave tenders more balance than the lettering. Will definitely have to do my research on bow pens for the next inevitable project. Henry

As good as done (aside from cabside numberplates, a smokebox numberplate, new door darts, varnishing, weathering and detailing - so not really done at all then), but very happy with this one; definetly some learning curves. Now I just need somewhere to run it since I've no layout after moving to South Yorkshire. Seen here with a currently-immaculate BR blue king which I think shows the difference in the liveries quite well. Henry

Thanks for your help so far, all, Can't admit to being too taken with the pressfix lining; very fiddly, very little room for error and inconsistent gaps between the cream and red lines. The early emblem and lettering, however, seem a lot crisper than waterslide competitors so in the future I'll be picking and choosing. The paint works well. Seeming to be blue with shades of purple depending on the angle it's viewed and the way the light catches it (see attached photo). I've completed it with lettering one side to represent how the experimental livery mostly looked and with the early emblem on the other as per 6009 in its last six months before repaint into standard BR blue.

Hello again all, I'll soon be picking this project back up. I'll be ordering some lining today. I have previously used Fox Transfers and have had no issues with them (in fact some very pleasing customer service), however I have heard some very positive things about HMRS' Pressfix transfers. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks, Henry

'evening all, Many thanks for your replies and comments so far, especially concerning the lining. Inbetween stints of essay-writing today, the purple came off and a first coat of a revised impression of the livery went on. I feel this matches the images in Corbs' post some days ago, although my phone camera has picked out the purple a lot more than the naked eye does. The paint is blue, albeit with a metallic finish, so some light weathering will be in order to tame it upon completion. This is just a first coat and here it is against a Hornby BR Blue king for comparison.

Thanks for the suggestion, John. Does anyone have any experience with this paint? I have used Pheonix's post-1948 light blue before and it was much lighter than Hornby's rendition of BR subsequently-adopted express blue. Will this dark blue be a considerable difference from this? I hope to have the different, earlier experimental shade to the BR blue king I already have alongside this project. Thanks all, Henry

Good evening all, Thanks for your replies and for alerting me to the paint discrepancy. I had been basing my shade on the experimental livery applied by Hornby to their A4s, but can see now (especially thanks to Corbs) that this lacks the blue undertones it needs. Luckily, I am barely two coats in so I will find the time to strip back and restart. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I could sample a good rendition of the livery as an enamel paint, or do we think this is one that is best mixed myself? Thanks, Henry