YesTor

47 minutes ago, Edna Clouds said:

More and more, judging people's experiences, it seems to be the case that the best way to deal with the axle box problems and the sound fitting is to do it yourself! Fitting sound - and remember, it's Bif's anyway - is really easy although a bit more pricey buying it separately and the axle boxes just require care and attention to get them secure and non-wobbly. I did this with my 66's and now feel quite chuffed (is that an inverse pun, I wonder?) that I fixed them and that they run beautifully. Yes, I agree that the models shouldn't be faulty in the first place, but the fact is that some of them are, and appear to be being 'recycled' for other faulty models. Stay alert - fix your models - enjoy your 66.

Absolutely.

2 hours ago, classy52 said:

When the axle-box covers are removed there is generally dried glue on the tip of the axle, after all that's how they are assembled in the first place... 

Yes fair enough but IMO this loco looks used when you assess the bogie & wheels in their entirety based on the supplied photos and that excess glue looks like a second attempt.

 

I'd agree that circular recess around the centre axle does indeed appear particularly worn. 

Which is why this looks like a used product which I'm sure you agree.

That was my point, the wear around the centre axle does look odd.  I'm not so certain that the glue is necessarily an indication of a second attempt - depends how neatly it was assembled in the first place, some of them do look like that when the covers are removed. 

Anyway, previously owned or not is not really my concern, I was simply trying to help @SirTophamHatt hopefully get his loco running, as I could tell he was undoubtedly a little frustrated by now.  It's not my place to split hairs over whether the loco is previously used, or otherwise.   That should be a discussion between the buyer and Hattons IMHO.

Best
Al

On 29/05/2020 at 18:58, classy52 said:

Basically Hattons have sent you someone else's reject and is effectively used going by the caked on glue.

You cannot present this as fact.  When the axle-box covers are removed there is generally dried glue on the tip of the axle, after all that's how they are assembled in the first place... 

On 29/05/2020 at 20:58, Sir TophamHatt said:

I guess it's just the wear on the bogie that makes me think it's a return.

I'd agree that circular recess around the centre axle does indeed appear particularly worn. 

Al

43 minutes ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

I just thought it looked a little short?

It's caked-up with glue, that's for sure.  I think you'll find if you scrape away the dried glue that the axle length should be fine - they aren't overly long anyway -  just enough to clip the cover in place.  You might find that you need to tidy up the axle-box cover itself too before re-attaching as that will likely have excess glue on the attachment end...?

Here's one of mine minus axle-box covers, as hopefully you can see the axles only protrude by a small amount:

Probably worth checking to see if the derailing bogie is catching on anything underneath the chassis, or hanging/sitting differently in comparison to the other bogie, or in any other way appears unusual...? 
 

Best

Al 

1 hour ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

Come to refit the axle box and it seems the axle shaft is quite short.

From your second photo it looks to me as though you need to remove the hardened glue from the axle end before attempting to refit anything.  Scrape gently with the very sharp tip of a blade and that hardened glue will flake away.  I think you'll find that will reveal the axle to be the correct length?

Is it derailing on the same bogie or/and same axle each time or/and when running in both directions, or just one way?

Best
Al

10 hours ago, Colin_McLeod said:

It would have been much simpler to have got his courier to deliver direct to Ireland, but we are where we are.

8 hours ago, chris p bacon said:

The only way around this is to not list with GSP but offer overseas in the description (I do this now) and agree a price for post before the overseas bidder bids.

Agreed, which is why I have always avoided the GSP option (when I remember that is!) - I do think it's quite sly of eBay to set GSP 'on' by default, so when listing you need to consciously remember to 'opt out' - caught me out a couple of times on that one. 

Another thought is what happens upon receipt if a buyer claims that an item has been 'damaged in transit' - ie. How can it be established whether the damage occurred whilst in the care of GSP or/and their delivery agent, or whether it happened en route to GSP whilst in the care of the seller's nominated courier?  Which courier is liable...?  I could see that kind of scenario ending in a right old mess...  

It's a good while since I looked at the extensive terms and conditions of GSP, and I'm not quite sure now what happens if a buyer wants to return an item, but from memory it all seemed to point toward the seller losing out big-time in terms of return shipping fees, deduction of eBay's fees etc etc, even if the return wasn't due to seller error...  Although maybe it's moved on since then...

Al 

3 hours ago, chris p bacon said:

The buyer has a seperate contract with EBay (and pays separately) for the overseas postage. 

Fair enough, so eBay assume responsibility for any package once delivered to the GSP depot.  It sounds as though @Colin_McLeod would need to pursue via eBay directly.  Interesting though if a buyer should raise a PayPal dispute at any point, as that dispute will be raised against the seller and not eBay directly...

...although an educated guess says that it is highly likely that all tracking info would be automatically uploaded via the eBay listing and thus to the PayPal transaction, so it might possibly be that the seller has very little to do to intervene at that point.  Interesting.

39 minutes ago, YesTor said:

Again, if the item is shipped via what is effectively eBay's own system then eBay themselves should very much be able to pursue any tracking data and resolve any issues.  If they cannot then there is something horribly wrong with the system...

Quoting myself here, but just thinking to myself a couple of weeks ago when I telephoned PayPal customer service only to be informed that my call would be answered in 7 hours, 40 minutes!    Similarly, I think eBay's telephone customer service telephone was simply 'not available'.  I've no idea how long it might take either of them to respond to email enquiries... 

5 hours ago, Colin_McLeod said:

The seller can't help.

Ultimately, the seller can help.  Simply because the item has been shipped via eBay's GSP does not mean that the seller can wash hands of all responsibility.  Overall, it may simply be a case of remaining patient under the current circumstances, as I do think that we all need to cut a little slack at the moment with regard to shipping times and in many cases simply sit-tight, as many services really do seem to be struggling. 

That said, if I were in your position right now I would politely throw the ball back in the seller's court (so to speak), contact him/her and forward the message above that states, "Please contact your seller etc...".  I'm not overly familiar with GSP, but it would be remarkably strange if there wasn't some form of system in place to provide information to buyers and sellers in the event of a problem. 

As said already, I wouldn't be overly-demanding at this point due to current circumstances, but as an eventual last resort if your seller outright refuses any responsibility then your final option would be to raise a PayPal dispute, at which point the onus is on your seller to resolve the issue.  Again, if the item is shipped via what is effectively eBay's own system then eBay themselves should very much be able to pursue any tracking data and resolve any issues.  If they cannot then there is something horribly wrong with the system...

That's the line of fire I would pursue anyhow...

Best
Al

Looking at the general info here... http://parcelsapp.com/en/shops/ebay and it would appear that GSP pass on packages to an appropriate courier/postal service for the final leg of their journey.   Your tracking above states Pitney Bowes as being the delivery agent, have you tried entering your tracking code here...  http://parcelsapp.com/en/carriers/pitney-bowes 

Maybe that could provide a more detailed breakdown?

If it offers any consolation, I'm shipping packages daily as part of my business, and taking Royal Mail as an example whereby many packages are taking anything up to 3-4 weeks to arrive with my customers, and many of those are sent via Royal Mail 24 or 48!  Okay, I know that's perhaps of little significance to your dilemma, but it does highlight that there are quite significant delays in some areas and with many delivery services.  Another factor with Airmail, or international shipments in general is that there can be quite significant hold ups at airports  , as there may be no staff, no available plane etc etc, meaning that lots of mail and packages are backlogged at airports awaiting handling. 

On a positive note, and again from personal experience, few packages seem to actually be going astray, the main downside being that deliveries that would normally take 2-3 days to arrive with customers seem to be taking 3-4 weeks in many cases.

Al

Hi Ben

May I kindly ask when the 'earlybird' pricing ends for the OO gauge Ecofrets and also Caroline?

thanks
Al

@Ben A

On 24/05/2020 at 08:39, TomScrut said:

Given I have no gear at the moment so will be buying paint, a couple of brushes, thinners etc. for these small details should I get enamel or acrylic? I didn't know if there was a different argument for small details like this straight onto the plastic vs say doing a complete body, priming etc., most of the arguments are generalised.

To be honest, I don't think it really matters - whatever you are most comfortable working with, it's effectively 'touching in' so no big deal either way?  For what it's worth, I generally prefer enamels, mostly because I find enamel easier to work with and generally more adjustable later on should the need arise.
 

On 24/05/2020 at 13:30, TomScrut said:

I presume they look good on! Unfamiliar with transfers do they look almost as good as printed?

The Fox transfers I've used have all been superb, indistinguishable really from factory-printed.  Bobby dazzler!

Al

16 hours ago, dogbox321 said:

Yes, but like you say we are talking iconic regarding "Flying Scotsman", "Mallard" etc., and agreed A3's, A4's etc., always appear to do well.  But the market has changed significantly in recent years.  We have gone from production of thousands to a few hundred of a locomotive. 

 

If its already been done, then there are at least 500 out there, and most Limited Ed's do not sell out upon arrival.  The questions are - how many people still require one and will actually dip their hands in their pockets (they didn't have one first time, for some reason)?  How many will replace their old version (which will have some financial loss) and how many will the likes of Hattons get traded in?  Then like I say, with the London Transport versions - would TFL/ their own museum want to permit another entity to produce one.

Yeah, I get all of that and I'm not disagreeing with you at all, in fact I totally agree.  All covered really by:

1. Is there sufficient demand for the proposed model? 

Obviously it's going to vary case-to-case, eg. whilst everything has limits, logic tells me that there is likely to be more longer-term/ongoing demand for prototypes such as 66779 'Evening Star' than say 66747 in Newell & Wright livery (more of a one-hit wonder perhaps?), and so on and so-forth...

16 hours ago, dogbox321 said:

The questions are - how many people still require one and will actually dip their hands in their pockets (they didn't have one first time, for some reason)?

I kind of stopped buying Bachamann 'sheds' when the limited editions began hitting £180 or so, for what to me already seemed like a model well past its sell-by date, and this was well before Hattons announced their 66.  And for that latter reason I held back on 'Evening Star' - as much as I'd like a model of 66779 - but of course I fully appreciate that not everyone will have done similar...

Best
Al 

2 hours ago, TomScrut said:

That's the annoying thing. The information is easily accessible. A pic of 33063 back in 1996 wasn't that easy to come by but if it had been my job to design the graphics I'd have persisted until I had a pic of both sides of the loco!

Let's be honest, Heljan make glaring errors even when there are umpteen photos of a livery.  O gauge Loadhaul Class 60 anyone...   

17 hours ago, dogbox321 said:

I think the ethos needs to be to move forward on new items, not just duplicate what has gone before, and Hattons should be congratulated on avoiding duplication where possible. 

Naturally, a forward-thinking ethos is always to be congratulated.  It could be argued that as part of that ethos it is also reasonable to request/hope for/expect new versions of previously issued liveries, if indeed the newer model itself is perceived as being superior to, or at least substantially different from its predecessor.  Moreover, it seems unlikely that producing 'Evening Star', Stobart, Bardon etc liveries again is somehow going to be at the sacrifice of producing other more recent one-off variants, especially in light of the seeming current trend of mass simultaneous releases (37 x Class 66 variations) is to be considered. 

Another perspective - If the Hornby Collectors Guide is in any way accurate it would appear that Hornby first released 'Flying Scotsman' back in 1981, and seemingly thirty-one consecutive times since?  It would be a little unfortunate if the 1981 release were the only ever release of such an iconic machine.  Whether any of our favourite 'sheds' will ever fall into similar iconic status is a total unknown (unlikely perhaps... ), but ultimately whether a livery is the first time or hundredth time produced, any future release is always going to be dependent on a number of conditions being met:

1. Is there sufficient demand for the proposed model?
2. Do we have permission to reproduce said livery? 
3. If not then can we obtain permission and is it cost effective to do so?

If the answer is "yes" to all of the above questions then there is profit to be made, whether there are previous versions already on the market, or not.  Nothing revelatory in any of the above really - whether it's 'Flying Scotsman', 66779 'Evening Star', or some obscure paint scheme on the back of an ice-cream van, the conditions are always going to be the same. 

Best
Al

1 hour ago, TomScrut said:

If they are repainting a loco anyway then other than paying for the design (if not done in house) and any vinyls/extra time for complicated details are the only on cost. I'd expect this would be covered by the fees for a model?

I remember reading somewhere that a locomotive repaint cost somewhere in the region of £10k.

Al

11 minutes ago, Damo666 said:

 

Agreed, some excellent liveries that I'd like too. However I'd be concerned with 66720 as depicted, as the intended style reproduced on a model might look like a cack-handed attempt at a repaint job with poor freehand painting skills.

I dunno, the Bachmann version of 66720 was superb livery-wise.  I'd hope that others could achieve a similar standard...?
 

2 hours ago, Dicky L said:

I have little confidence in the Orange being correct. It looks exactly like the pale orange used on 66413. I would like some reassurance from Hattons that there model is the correct colour. The issue would be easily resolved by placing it next to the Hornby model for comparison. 

Are we certain that Hornby have the correct shade?  It may well appear darker, but that doesn't necessarily equate to being correct...?

Al

15 hours ago, Shoey said:

This post may well be deleted (please do so if necessary) but would like to see these produced by Hattons one day.  

Definitely all of those, particularly 'Evening Star'.  And also 66623 with original Bardon Aggregates branding.  A few others as well that would be definite purchases:

The Stobart 'twins':

Ideal companions for Cavalex's JGA Bardon hoppers, I'd certainly bag both of these:

And to be honest just some good old 'plain jane' EWS (with correct logos), Freightliner (bug-eyed with correct lights), GBRf etc are always gonna be good...

Endless possibilities... I could go on all day, but I'd best stop already... 

Al

11 hours ago, Markn said:

33030 arrived today and its a stunner. The livery is crisp and the level of detail looks greater than I remember my other two being, but will check later. Will also run it later once it's cooled down, but for now, here's a few pics in the afternoon sun

 

 

 

Hmmm, so is this the etched grille mk2?  Still looks rather 'clunky' and overly-recessed to me...?

10 hours ago, classy52 said:

...this new updated/re-tooled range just seems a bit slap dash on getting things right as well as horribly wrong...hit'n'miss 

On 19/05/2020 at 19:57, Markn said:

I havnt got mine yet to compare, but is it actually a retooling, or just a reintroduction of the later liveries on the latest tooling... Just that my Burma Star model with high intensity light from the last batch looks remarkably similar.

I think the marketing as a 'retool' is a bit cheeky personally - call me cynical but it feels like little more than an occasional 'retouch' here-and-there, perhaps just enough to put off any competition from tackling an all-new 33 perhaps?  Either way, as above, it does all feel a bit slap-dash, especially if Heljan have reintroduced the flat-roof 33/0?  Somewhat bizarre.  And sadly not encouraging a purchase from me, as much as I'm up for a few 33s.

Al

On 08/05/2020 at 15:17, BR Blue said:

Be careful as there are two sets of tooling in the latest 33/0 releases. The headlight fitted ones appear to be an amendment of the most recent tooling that had the roof profile corrected (Other issues introduced) but 30008 and 33025 (in blue) are the much older flat roofed version that I had hoped was consigned to history.

There are also variations in the bogies and tanks but for me the flat roof profile is a deal breaker.

Am I missing something, or is there a reason as to why Heljan would revert to the old tooling? 

cheers

Al

9 hours ago, Anadin Dogwalker said:

...taking the tablets is often the easy bit - as long as they're the right tablets for you.

KBO

Neill Horton

On 17/05/2020 at 22:06, Dagworth said:

I think the depression is possibly getting worse, I seem to have been getting slowly lower for several months.  

 

12 hours ago, Dagworth said:

Thanks for the PMs, very much appreciated. I have phoned the GP this morning and now waiting for a call back.

 

I just want to be ME again, not the uncaring callous shell that I seem to have become.

 

Andi

I can echo @Anadin Dogwalker here one-hundred percent.  There are so many factors involved - is the medication the right medication for you?  Is the dosage the right dosage for you?  What else may, or may not, be having an effect on the medication and/or your mood/mindset?  We are all different and have different needs at different times, and even when you find the 'right' medication it may not be the same scenario in a few months time when things may have changed in your life.  Some years ago I went through a period of being prescribed 4 or 5 different types of meds - some made me feel absolutely awful, some worse than the condition itself, and overall it took quite a long time - not to mention elements of trial and error - to find something that 'worked' for me.  I've learned that treating depression, anxiety or related conditions is in most cases an art, as opposed to a science.

@DagworthThe key thing from your comments above are that at least you are able to recognize those changes within yourself and take action - and that's a huge positive.  Seek help wherever you can, or indeed feel comfortable doing so, even if it's a simple chat. 

I'm not suggesting that this is definitely the solution in your specific case, however all of this may come down to finding the right combination of meds with the right dosage, over the right period of time, and from my own experience I know that this can be an extremely challenging, and at times seemingly laborious, yet delicate balancing act.  If you have supportive family members that's going to be a huge help, but above all stick with it and keep battling on, and on particularly 'bad' days, try to constantly remind yourself that it's 'just one bad day' (easier said than done, I know!), and that things rarely stay the same, and that there will be better days when you'll be able to smile again and feel that you can get on with the things that you need to do to function, and of course the things that you enjoy too.  And it's on those better days that you'll gain strength and actually begin to feel the benefits (however small they may be) of your inner struggle.

Above all, take care and never be afraid to speak out or ask for help...
 

Al

On 17/05/2020 at 11:12, Triumph1050 said:

I have gone and used double i-phone speakers (to me sounds much better) instead of the EM2 that people are saying gives such wonderful sound and yet I thought it sounds awful .....

That's interesting, as I'm likely to be retro-fitting sound to some of mine and it would be fairly useful to hear a comparison...  although I appreciate it is often difficult to make a judgement via video...

cheers
Al

On 17/05/2020 at 10:15, Lee Clarke said:

Well done Peter, you've identified the cause of this problem and come up with the solution....better than everybody having to return their locos to Hatton's ....... Hatton's should at least give you a couple of free locos of your choice......and they should give me a couple of free locos too for suggesting it  

On 17/05/2020 at 10:39, atom3624 said:

I mentioned several months ago the need to enlarge the sideframe holes, but after that I had real problems remounting the AB caps - getting them trued properly.

In one I suggested they should be perhaps stamped in metal to permit a thinner shaft part. 

A useful video interpretation, and to echo @atom3624 in that this is pretty much as discussed back in March, in that greater tolerances in general around the axles are required:

...particularly to reiterate super-extending the axle itself (so that effectively the axle and axle-box cover become one solid engineered piece with little scope for error), whilst also incorporating sufficient tolerances in order to render the entire arrangement 'engineered' to at least the same degree as the rest of the gearbox/axle arrangement:    

Whilst super-extending the axles themselves in order to increase the level of precision - as opposed to relying on what are effectively at present cosmetic axle-ends - is perhaps part of the solution, I do think that this would likely create the possibility of too rigid an arrangement of the bogie itself - which again could create a new environment for uneven running.  Thoughts are that the tolerances on the centre axle - whilst being made greater than the existing design, should also perhaps be slightly tighter than on the outermost axles, these having greater room for movability so as to allow for a smoother ride.  Perhaps a little additional 'spring'/movement might be required in these outermost axles too?:

Just an idea really...
Maybe others have different ideas...?
Maybe Hatton's have different ideas? Or no ideas?  Who can say...

cheers

Al

10 hours ago, Poor Old Bruce said:

NOT Gulf Red

7 hours ago, Wheatley said:

Absolutely not Gulf Red or coaching stock Crimson (carmine).  

Ahhh, fair enough.  Simply out of curiosity, where in fact is BR Gulf Red applicable?

Not sure if they'd have the exact piece of equipment pictured, however https://www.scalemodelscenery.co.uk/  had a whole wealth of interesting 3D-printed modern items last time I browsed their exhibition stalls - pretty sure there'd be something depot-orientated in their range...   well worth a browse even if you don't find the exact thing you want...

Best 

Al