[baz]

I have a Hornby class 50 and want to chip it but can't seem to get the body off.
One end lifts off but the other end (where the louvers are) seems to be glued. I don't want to force it and damage the body.
Has anybody else had this problem?. I think it is one of the early ones issued , 50 037 Illustrious (R2428).

I have 5 or 6 of these loco's and will have a look if these have the same problem.

I also remember reading somewhere that there could be a problem fitting decoders to these locos as the pcb boards are faulty in some of the early ones.

Many thanks in advance BAZ

 

[poliss]

Here's the link for decoder fitting. http://www.bromsgrovemodels.co.uk/hornbycl50dccinstr.htm

 

[SRman]

The body is simply clipped at each end near the cabs. Don't forget to unplug the ETH cables though (I did once!). At the grille end you need to pull the body sides outwards to clear the grilles as you lift it clear of the chassis. There should not be any glue as there is nothing at that point to need gluing.

 

[ashleyh]

The body moulding of the Hornby 50s does have a weak point at the cab corners though.

So be careful when bending it around the louvre grills, I have had one split on the corner of the cab,
and have also heard of others having this problem.

Hornby reverted to using screw fixed bodies on the later classes 31 and 56, presumably to avoid this issue.
If you are careful though it should be OK.

Regards
Ashley

 

[Avionyx]

QUOTE (ashleyh @ 19 Aug 2008, 11:06) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>The body moulding of the Hornby 50s does have a weak point at the cab corners though.

So be careful when bending it around the louvre grills, I have had one split on the corner of the cab,
and have also heard of others having this problem.

I can certainly vouch for that!

 

[Graham Plowman]

QUOTE (SRman @ 18 Aug 2008, 18:15) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>The body is simply clipped at each end near the cabs. Don't forget to unplug the ETH cables though (I did once!). At the grille end you need to pull the body sides outwards to clear the grilles as you lift it clear of the chassis. There should not be any glue as there is nothing at that point to need gluing.

I would second these comments, however, I have one of the early 'Ark Royal' locos which was also glued at the louvred end. The louvres themselves are actually retained by a separate plastic surround on the inside of the body which is indeed, glued. On my loco, the glue had escaped slightly to glue the body to the chassis. Prising with a very thin screwdriver and a lot of care released it fairly easily without any breakages.

Also be aware that the early versions of this model had an incorrectly wired motherboard, so you may want to consider contacting Hornby for replacements. Generally, these are the versions which had traction tyres. There again, I obtained replacement bogies without tyres from Hornby. It is actually easier to replace just the wheels with the bogies 'in situ' on this loco than it is to replace the complete bogies!

Graham Plowman