[Rail-Rider]

<GULP!>

That's an MOL if ever I saw one, but it describes my reaction to a 'T'.

 

[Dennis David]

That's a little off-putting.

 

[Doug]

To carry on with my saga on getting this loco repaired, I emailed Hornby support again asking why they had suggested for me to send the loco in if in the end they didn't do anything to it at all.

I finally received a reply asking me to send it back again for a second time!

I suppose there is support and there is support...

I'm tempted to do that, on the other hand, it has now cost me quite a bit with all the transport. I may just leave the smoke deflectors off and weather the loco a bit and run it like mad on the layout pulling a train of pullman coaches.

 

[Gary]

Bit of a weird one that.

Sound advice to all consumers who have suffered a serious breakage as a result of what appears to be something outside your control is not to do anything yourself and to allow the retailer (or the manufacturer if they are willing to deal directly) to sort it.

Once you start messing it gets complicated.

Why don't you send just the body back to keep shipping costs down?

Print off the picture and enclose that with the package.

Happy modelling
Gary

 

[Rail-Rider]

From all I have heard and read, this sounds most UnHornby-like.
I would give them a second chance - on the understanding that they covered the shipping both ways. This would be reasonable for both parties.

 

[JPB]

I had a problem with my Flying Scotsman as soon as it came out of the box - the boiler to cab join had not been glued so a similar problem occurred. Moments later with a spot of liquid poly it was fixed, but Chris Leigh's editorial in Model Rail a few years ago rings true - what if this was someone's Christmas present, perhaps their first loco, and it is already broken?

I'm surprised to hear of Hornby service department's non-action Doug, they've always been very useful for me.

Bring on the DCC fitted locos!

 

[neil_s_wood]

Just to add to the above list of issues, some of which I have had too, I eventually got round to getting a rake of coaches for this and it really struggles to go up a minor slope. I have five coaches behind it and it seems to be struggling to get traction on gentle inclines. Does anyone else have this problem?

How did you resolve it?

Is the problem that the Hornby motors are still really weak or is it lack of weight not allowing decent traction?

Normally I'd put a bit of extra weight in it but there was so little room in the loco body in the first place. I had to put the decoder in the tender. I'm a bit concerned that this model is only really fit for display.

 

[Ozzie21]

Neil, I added weight to Windsor Lad and St Gatien as I I found that on the flat they, or any other new Hornby loco drive model wouldn't pull a 14 coach train without slipping. I think I eventually got down to 11 coaches for a Duchess but the older tender drive Brittania had no problem. No the Hornby motors are fine as they are the same that Walthers/LifeLike/P1K use. It's just lack of weight. Most of the Pacfic type Hornby locos I have, A4's, A3's, Duchess, Princess, MN/WC/BoB are roughly of a similar weight that is approximately half the weight of a class 25 diesel from Bachmann and none of the diesels I have have any problems pulling a 14 coach train around. Just as a comparison I still have a few US outline brass locos and a couple of Bachmann heavy mountains with the cast metal boiler. To make the test kind of fair I added weight to the Hornby Gresley coaches I was using based on the NMRA standard, intial car weight +1/2oz for inch of length which brings their weight up to around 7 and a 1/2oz which the Bachmann heavy mountain handled without any problems as did my sole Bachmann 2-6-6-2 which has a plastic boiler but added weight. Needless to say my brass Allegheny which weighs in at 3lbs handled this train with ease although it did slip in the early days with 86 two bay hoppers behind it. Something else I noticed from adding weight to the Hornby Gresleys were that they were a lot more stable on the track and didn't derail whereas it was common for them to come off at least once in standard form. But in weighted form even with Bachmann A1 on the front it only handled 7 coaches while a standard weight Hornby A4 struggles with 5 coaches. My DJH Duke Of Gloucester is a better performer than the Pacifics from Bachmann or Hornby but it is still a little on the light side when compared to 4 axle RTR diesel and although it does handle an 8 coach train with ease it to struggles with a 14 coach train in standard weight. When time permits I'll be adding weight to this model as well. The weight I use comes in the form of either number 4 or number 5 shotgun pellets which come in a 10kg bottle for A$32 from my local gunshop in Toowoomba and held in place with fast set epoxy.

Regards
Ozzie21

QUOTE (neil_s_wood @ 16 Oct 2006, 08:34) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Just to add to the above list of issues, some of which I have had too, I eventually got round to getting a rake of coaches for this and it really struggles to go up a minor slope. I have five coaches behind it and it seems to be struggling to get traction on gentle inclines. Does anyone else have this problem?

How did you resolve it?

Is the problem that the Hornby motors are still really weak or is it lack of weight not allowing decent traction?

Normally I'd put a bit of extra weight in it but there was so little room in the loco body in the first place. I had to put the decoder in the tender. I'm a bit concerned that this model is only really fit for display.

 

[neil_s_wood]

I guess I'd better get some as I have a few Hornby locos with the traction problem.

 

[hoonsou]

QUOTE (neil_s_wood @ 20 Oct 2006, 09:36) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I guess I'd better get some as I have a few Hornby locos with the traction problem.

Down to the local bikie club then and chuck a brick through the window. Cheap way to collect shotgun pellets

 

[Ozzie21]

I wouldn't recommend it as thre pellets they pull from your butt in hospital will be distorted

Ozzie21

QUOTE (hoonsou @ 20 Oct 2006, 19:48) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Down to the local bikie club then and chuck a brick through the window. Cheap way to collect shotgun pellets

 

[neil_s_wood]

I might use fishing shot instead, I don't think my arse could deal with the shotgun pellets.

 

[dwb]

>I don't think my arse could deal with the shotgun pellets.
And I thought you had such a thick skin

David

 

[hoarp001]

Doug, where and how do you take those phoos with the pure white background?

 

[Doug]

QUOTE (hoarp001 @ 26 Dec 2006, 01:58) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Doug, where and how do you take those phoos with the pure white background?

I have a little roll of paper that comes down over my work bench that I use for taking photos.

Various lishts keep it bright and any yellowing from tungston bulbs is corrected in Photoshop.

 

[hoarp001]

Hmm, you should get a soft lighting tent - its a little tent type thi ng that pops up over your object and it turns all the atmospheric lighting into really plesent soft light. I use them to take photos of all my roducts...

 

[dwb]

>roducts...
At first reading I thought this was a misprint for "rodents"; after a moment's

reflection I decided that "products" was more the likely intent. Still it amused me.

David

 

[hoarp001]

I take pictures like this in it:

Picture

Sorry about the products, its my keboard. Im on my editing machine and instead of having a normal keyboard with letters, it has lots of symbols all over the keys (so instead of having E on the E key it has the symbol for extend edit)

sooorrryyy