[Ravenser]

Hardly worth it, unless you get them for £10-15

Running was generally mediocre - some were ok some were less than ok.

The 20 has traction tyres and only picks up from 2 wheels each side - a reciepe for stalling . I rewheeled mine to fit extra pickups and found it would then only manage a single Bachmann VGA (admittedly not the freest running wagon). Extra weight had to be aradited onto the gear tower. The body shells have Lima's usual free and easy approach to detail and its location. The main radiator group on the 20 is far too far back (about 8mm too much from memory) leading to the panel just ahead of the cab being too short . Consequently the BR totem, which originally went here, won't fit....

I can see no reason for buying a Lima 20, when the excellent Bachmann model can be had for just £40. And those run beautifully as well as being very accurate

The Western is slightly different. Certainly the Heljan Western will knock spots off it , especially mechanically , despite the moans about Heljan's treatment of the cab roof profile. But there are whispers that the mould for the Heljan 52 may be shot and that no more may be made...

If you need a Western badly, the Lima one may be worth a punt - you might be lucky and one that runs pretty well

 

[Ravenser]

QUOTE In terms of faithfullness to detail, the Hornby class 37 and 47 locos and the class 43 HST (Inter-City 125) Power Cars are just about the worst models you could ever buy. Ironically the most popular and recognisable BR Traction and the poorest examples Hornby make! Their one and only saving grace is the 'indestructable' build quality...the Hornby ones. They are very crude and really only kids toys and stupidly overpriced for what they are

A little over the top , and slightly misleading. The 37 is admittedly bad , though there are some who say the proportions of the body are actually very good, albeit the detail is very basic. The 47 is basically sound, though a bit basic (it was released in 1974) and lumbered with the old pancake motor ; the Hornby HST is again accurate as to main dimensions , but not particularly finely tooled, cursed with the pancake, and carries the early guards van. The Lima HST power car is better , and is scheduled to replace it in the Hornby range - though the power bogie may be an issue.

There are worse thing out there. The Lima Deltic was considerably worse than all of these - a full centimeter too short, with HO bogies , pancake, and generally poorly finished. The J83 is very approximate and quite crude. The J52 has the wrong wheelbase. Despite Triangman's praises the B12 is seriously compromised and has substantial inaccuracies of detail and dimensions - the model was originally introduced in 1962 and as the oldest regular item in Hornby's range urgently needs retooling. The Cl 29 manages to superimpose a headcode box over nose doors ; the main radiator grills are a totally different style, the wrong size and not quite in the right place ,and it is a late 70s model with pancake. From personal experience I'd say the Lima 20 is worse than the Hornby 29 (I got a decent result out of upgrading the 29) and both the Hornby 47 and HST are better than the 29.... By the time you've sorted out the 06, you've thrown away the chassis and cut up and discarded 75% of the body.

Then there are Dapol's contribution to the Wooden Spoon Race - the original Pendolino , where they never did more than 4 coaches , and those they did had a curved arc roof profile when the real things have deep roof recesses filled with equipment . The motor struggled to shift more than about 5 coaches (far wose than Hornby's ) and sounded as if it was about to disintigrate . The Dapol 150 was apparently the direst DMU ever produced , and Hornby have never dared to reintroduce it [their N gauge stuff is far better - the new 66 is a very nice moulding albeit mechanically not quite up to latest OO standards]

And there's that abomination the Farish Hall in N - one of the few models that really is a misshapen lump . Not to mention the Minitrix Ivatt 2-6-0 and 9F..

No there's been much worse than the Hornby HST and 47