[Gary]

Hi Andy

By coincidence I spoke with Hornby today on another private matter and I mentioned your observation.

Its down to the Hornby model design team. Given that a loco has certain details and the boiler has a certain shape, at the planning stage the model design team decide the best way of replicating the loco in miniture allowing for the production issues with molds. This was considered the best solution for the production of this particular model.

There is a story that starts with a then youthful Dave Stone (Hornby Chief Designer for the Merchant Navy) on the Hornby website which gives you an insight into the thinking that goes into the design of a model :-

http://www.hornby.com/pages/nws_det_press....t_currentPage=1

Dave Stone of Hornby was very proud of the Merchant Navy and he is sadly missed by all at Hornby, having passed away last year after a short illness.

Happy modelling
Gary

 

[Gary]

Is "ugly" the right word to use? As a Bulleid fan I am offended!

Hopefully it relates to your view of the mold line and not the overall appearance of the model from normal viewing distances. I'll let you off if this is the case.

Every model has to have a mold line or lines somewhere. This is unavoidable due to the manufacturing process. I personally thought, when I first saw the model, it was great not to have a mold line across the most prominant part of the loco, the top of the boiler. But this is all subjective.

Hornby have listened to customer feedback and made minor modifications to the body over the years since introduction.

Happy modelling
Gary