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I must have had a brain fade ordering a smoke generator version. Having watched the efforts on the Rush-Rail model I suddenly came to my senses and changed my order to just DCC sound. Even the fan assited smoke gen. would not really look right on a 59....Phew!

I suspect the next time (if) Hattons go for an exclusive loco they will either go in cahoots with a manufacturer or be much more meticulous with their QC.....Fingers well and truly burnt with this loco which is a great shame. One of the most eagerly awaited models which has been a great let down.

You can always ask Hattons to pop the locos in their ‘Trunk’ facility until you have the funds to pay for them.

There was a song by the great 1960s band Cream called ‘Born under a bad sign’, written by the Chicago blues man Albert King. It goes....’If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all’. I am sure that is how Hattons are feeling at present?

I think we can agree that whilst a good model, it is never going to be a great model because the QC was not good. (Something Hattons have put right now hopefully). Unfortunately speculation, supposition and fantasy played a big part in the building up of this model. I have one nice Hattons 66 which runs well, The axle boxes do fall out despite cussin' and a gluin' and I will probably end up gluing the things permanently. I have no intention of bying another unless Evening Star emerges. I am hoping the Dapol 59 will not befall the same issues as the Hattons one, and my Capt. Tom will almost certainly conclude my foray into modern traction, except I now have a class 89 on order (not completely modern) and am toying with the Class 92 , damn it Im hooked on these modern locos, good job I have pre ordered 18000 to maintain some semblance of normality.

The bedroom window

Silence is Golden Tremeloes

Freight Train-Nancy Whiskey Remember seeing her at a club pissed as a fart singing this song and smacking her head with a tine tray, wild times eh!

Me and My Shadow- Flanagan and Allen

No reason other than I model China Clay and they existed for a pretty specialised service. But I agree there is no reason to suppose Kernow would make them other than they do serve the China Clay modeller very well. The only reason I say they are staying tight lipped is because of a comment they made when I enquired if they were a possibility and they did not dismiss my enquiry out of hand. I am hoping they would become a reality to add to the fleet of wagons that operated China Clay traffic.

Like these I covered from some tank wagons a few years ago

I have seen a couple of clips from long ago RMweb of someone who did some superb conversions using Hornby PGA frames, they were excellent and clearly a labour of love, however I too would like RTR versions, Kernow are staying tight lipped at present, but watch this space.

Less than 10 days since RoS/Accurascale announcement, so early days yet, One hope there will be enough EOI for both N and OO to justify the model being made.

How many China Clay modellers would like one of these to join the PGA and PRA fleet?

I only ever met her sister Intha

Very difficult to compare colours as in the photos of the models and the real thing. The models look like they are shot in a studio, the studio lighting is bright and with my photographers hat on I would say they are over exposed somewhat. The prototype shots are under cloudy skies which give a very flat lighting. To get a truer comparison you would have to photograph both models and prototypes under the same lighting conditions. Colour is a very subjective thing, colour perception is controlled by the rods and cones in the back of our eyes, how many of these we have determines how we perceive colour, for the most part we see colours the same as others. Colour blind people have different perception problems, and some people see tones better than others, and our brain sometimes interprets colours differently than others....Are you still with me? As we generally see colours the same it is only when there is a glaringly obvious mistake that most people will see it. The fact that Hattons worked with Freightliner and the paint manufacturer to get the colours right rather poo poo's the idea that they have got it wrong, and it may be an individual perception problem.

Until all expressions of interest are counted it cannot be said that it’s a tiny number. I would agree that the simplest way of hooking up another (Diesel) loco would be the DCC route, Railway modellers are a funny lot; a (Potential) new model is announced and already people are asking for dummy locos, motors that can be put in neutral etc. I would suggest we should just be happy that this loco may be made.

In the absence of decent GNER Mk4s I have a rake of Hornby Gresley Teaks. I feel a rule 1 heritage train coming on.

Never having had an interest in GNER before I now find myself thinking...should I be looking for coaches to go behind this loco. Are there any RTR coaches suitable for the Gold logo model?

I have one electric loco, the will fated DJM Electric. I really have little interest in electric locos I have no OHL on my layout and I run mainly China Clay trains. All that said I love iconic British locos and this is a real icon that will find a place in my collection and I my even fit OHL on my layout and, I think it is a wonderful loco. The prototype really needs some TLC and to be brought back to life.

Thank you Peter for your comprehensive overview. The question arises, will these clip on housings eventually wear away under the weight the loco? It does seem to be a fairly fragile arrangement. But I now feel more confident about fixing any wobble.

Ironically I have a 'named' 66 but it has no glue marks at all. I was highlighting the reported problems, not necessarily my problems.

From a consumer point of view it would be nice to know that any future runs will have the problems (Axle boxes, wobble, glue marks etc.) addressed so that we could order with confidence. I am sure I am not alone in feeling that it is not worth gambling substantial amount of money on a product that continues to give problems. I am not sure how Hattons would address this; it may be by pointing out to the manufacturing plant the short comings and redesign them, or indeed using another plant, the latter of which could be very expensive. Or indeed, call it a day on what has been a pretty inauspicious model that promised much and indeed delivered much, but some of it was not wanted by Hattons or the consumer. Hattons may have had their fingers burned but It is about 95% there and I for one hope they will produce further versions.

Finally got around to re-fixing the axleboxes (AB) on to my 66 and run it on my test track. Now my loco has been up and running for a little while I have mixed feelings about it. There is a lot to admire about the loco, but in some respects it is tainted by perhaps ‘a bridge too far’ in terms of functionality. My negativity is driven by two aspects. Firstly I had 6 ABs missing, I replaced them and glued them in place. I ran the loco for a while, no wobble but the ABs continued to fall out, they will be trimmed and glued in place, because it is too much of a faff to keep fixing them. Secondly the lights, now I believe this is an anomaly with my Z21 control in that when I switch from day to night running it will not switch back, in fact all the lights are extinguished and removing the loco from the track and replacing it, or doing a CV8 factory reset was the only way to return them to daytime running. why I believe this is a Z21 issue is because everything worked perfectly with my Lenz controller. As I will probably run on daytime lights for 99% of the time I can just about live with this. One of the buffers dropped off but I have had that sort of thing happen on many new models. There is lots of good though, the detail is excellent and the 66 really looks the part. Then there is the sound, when you start the engine up it almost explodes into life and really sounds the powerful and imposing loco it is. The sound really sells this loco. I can only compare this to my other recent purchase and my favourite loco; my Kernow D600 Warship, and have to say in my opinion only, the 66 cannot hold a candle to the Warship. OK it is not as sophisticated as the 66 but it sounds wonderful, everything works perfectly Nothing falls off and it is rightly model of the year. I have two Warships, would I buy another Hattons 66? Not a chance, unless they sort out the negatives. Like I said....a bridge too far for me

If you look back through the pages you will find that the issues you describe have been a running theme for some time. Some have found that with running in the wobble disappears, others have returned their locos as unsatisfactory and got a replacement/refund The axle boxes are either completely missing as in my case, or fall out fairly quickly. If you have the boxes there have been various suggestions on how to fix them back in or cut the tops off and simply glue them in place (i.e. non rotating axle boxes). Hattons will send you replacements for any missing boxes. In fairness to Hattons they have been pretty supportive on the whole and clearly did not envisage the problems occurring. The problem with forums it is difficult to ascertain what percentage of problematic locos there have been because we get a concentration of the problems here. Hopefully if Hattons commission further models the problems will be solved so missing out on the first batch and waiting may be the best option. Of course the Bachmann model is an option, it is generally not as well detailed, but it is reliable and a good loco.