Hush Hush

[david_watts1]

2 are already paid for (I collect £2 coins and give them to the shop when I have about £50 worth) and the silver one isn't out till at least June, so it's not too big a deal. Got the Prince of Wales and the Lord President in the middle of that lot too.

[Keith-820176]

The loco looks good and performs well but I have had to remove the front steps. They are 43.5 mm across the edges - a scale 10' 10" which is way out of any British railway structure gauge. They foul platform edges. Pity as they are well moulded and will have to be replaced by much thinner metal ones which I can certainly not make to the same standard.

Disappointed at the lack of design quality control which is now usually much better.

[Stainmore Summit]

Someone wanted one really badly

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284560844109

Having just received a free replacement body for my Bachmann Class 20 DRS because of a livery issues, what are the chances Hornby will do a replacement tender body of this is a common issue.

[andys steam dayz]

Hi

Just seen a R3840 Hush Hush sell for £842 on ebay with a damaged tender somebody must have really wanted one of these I guess everything has a price?

[andys steam dayz]

Sorry that was £824 my mistake

[atom3624]

Always said 'worth what somebody's prepared to pay'.

I refuse to comment any further - not known for subtlety!

Al.

[ColinB]

I notice our friends from a slot car firm are charging well over the odds, £299 instead of £220. Perhaps I take it all back, it was worth preordering it. It is a nice loco but I wouldn't pay that much.

[RDS]

@Keith

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[96RAF]

I often wonder how Jadlam ever sell anything as they are always priced top dollar and require money up front for pre-orders then hold out for more later.

[ColinB]

I didn't mention their name, but I did used to buy stuff off of them before the pandemic, at that time they were pretty competitive. Then the Hornby Dublo Duchess of Atholl came along where they were charging £600, at that point I decided not to deal with them again. Then after Hornby bought in their new terms and conditions I noticed they no longer did the 10% discount other retailers did and anything that was in short supply had its price hiked.

[EricJ]

Was really excited when the courier finally arrived the the W1. The excitement soon changed to horror when I opened the box. Met by bits of plastic shaking around. No problem, I've had to glue parts back on before but I was not prepared for the broken tender link mount and bent link. First time I have had to return a loco. Very poor packaging led to the damage. I just hope Hornby have replacements.

[sxbiker]

I often wonder how Jadlam ever sell anything as they are always priced top dollar ..............

 

 

I refuse to buy anything from Jadlam after they took my money for the Duchess of Atholl and then cancelled my order due to not getting their allocation (Which I think was a lie) and then going on to sell 11 of them on ebay at well over full retail price. I did make a complaint to Hornby though they didn't even bother to reply.

[david_watts1]

To be honest now, having seen a lot of reviews I am thinking have I made a 'boo boo' and cancel all of my orders. It's coming up to Xmas and this thing appears to be a TURKEY.

[CORKY.]

I notice Sam's Trains has failed to make his new Hush Hush working in a satisfactory way and is sending it back to Hornby for a refund, hope he packs it better than it was sent to him.

[ColinB]

Amazingly mine arrived in a satisfactory state. I keep looking at it to see if anything is wrong. I was extremely lucky though as the packing was minimal. I ran it on DC up and down a metre of track then put in a spare P2 TTS decoder and it happily did several circuits of my layout. The only downside is it is too detailed, I am frightened of knocking something off when it runs on my railway. I even managed to knock the front steps off putting back in its packaging and I was ever so careful. Fortunately it glued back on. I like the loco, it is a shame that a bad decision by Hornby management has probably removed all the good feeling that their program created.

[maw78]

I watched Sam's trains review of the hush hush too. I wouldn't be very happy if they sent a model out in a box like that. It wasnt even taped shut properly and zero packaging inside so the model was just bouncing round in the box. Then on the track it kept stopping every 5 - 10 minutes and sounded terrible. I'd send it back the way they sent it out and if they complain just tell them that's how it got posted out ..... might make them rethink.

[atom3624]

I reckon it probably opened in transit, as a convenient place to insert fingers to carry ... possibly.

I would anticipate Hornby not accepting in view of poor packaging if you did return like that!

Whoever was responsible for this poor showing needs to open his/her eyes to the costs involved and huge anticipations potentially tarnished by the avid collectors investing in them.

Al.

[sagaguy]

Yes, i watched Sam`s review during the night.I have a LNER green promotional model on preorder.I`m now in two minds whether to cacel it!.

Ray.

[ColinB]

After watching Sams Video I thought I would check mine. He is absolutely right about the front bogie and definitely there is a sizeable gap between the bogie wheels and the track. The really amazing thing with mine is it runs perfectly ok at the moment with my track, a 16 by 8 foot loop with lots of points and a double slip. The double slip normally derails most locos, so weird isn't it, not a very good design but it appears to work.

[508006]

I too watched that review last night and even though I cannot afford the loco myself I noticed a few things sam picked up on.

1st was the drawbar was bent which resulted in the loco's rear driving wheels being lifted up off the rails just enough that she wouldn't drive on all 6 wheels.

2nd was the valve gear, sam noticed that there was a lot of sideways movement on the rod that connects the pistons to the centre driving wheel on the left side of the loco ( in the video it look like the right side because the loco was upside down ) and the same rod on the right hand side had very little if any sideways movement.

3rd was the baseplate, with the screws fully tightened up as they would be when the assembly is complete, the driving wheels would not turn even at a decent speed setting, loosening the screws gave more ability for the wheels to turn.

4th as mentioned in another post is the front bogie is affecting the loco at the front end, I think if I had 1 of these models I would remove the spring completely and glue some lead to the bogie to give it extra weight which would then mean that all the locos driving wheels would be doing what they were meant to do.

5th was the leading driving axle, during Sam's test run, he noticed that the leading driving wheels were causing the loco to lock up and had to be freed so that the loco would work, that sugggests to me that the brake mouldings could be fouling the driving wheels. Compare this to say a Gresley A3/A4 loco and you've got a reasonable gap between the brake moulding and the wheels so that neither foul the other

Lastly the 6th point was that the loco kept cutting out despite all the pickups making full contact with the wheels, is this an electrical fault or is the motor causing the issue.

I think from my point of view it looks like there are a few issues for Hornby to address on this loco, lets hope that future releases don't end up having these same issues.

[DarkRedCape]

I watched Sam’s video too, and although he just wanted to review a new product, I think his video reviewed it perfectly. Of course not every one of these is going to be a lemming, but I’m seeing quite a few dissatisfied customers. I just hope Hornby isn’t going to play silly and refuse to accept them back.

I saw a comment saying that once the product leaves the Hornby warehouse and is in the hands of the delivery company, there is no more Hornby can do. Personally I think this is nonsense. What’s the point of going to all the effort to design, produce and market a product which you charge a fortune for, then give it to Wreck it Ralph to deliver it. Hornby should be making sure that when people order direct from them, every care is made to ensure the product arrives undamaged.

But watching the video did raise a question for me. What are the chances of getting a lemming out of the box like Sam’s HH? I’ve gotten faulty products before in other hobbies, but as I’ve yet to run even a single one of my trains, I’m curious if there are any duds in my boxes.

[ColinB]

If Hornby had packed the item then they could have some defence, but seeing as Hornby "outsourced" the packing and shipping they are fully responsible. Firstly if the loco was packed properly then there would be not so many issues, secondly the Shipping agent chose the Shipping company, and it is well known if you want your product broken then chose Hermes or Yodel. Add to that poor packing and you have a formula for failure. Ok most model railway people will moan but still keep buying from Hornby, but it is not a very good way to grow your business.

I keep reading about oh it is Sam, but generally if he is being sensible he is very good. He highlights the good bits and identifies the issues, if he says a loco is good it generally is. I have bought many locos from his recommendation and so far he has been right. I think we will forget his displays for the Hornby program but as we are beginning to realise the rest of it was fiction, if he can make some money why not.

[ellocoloco]

I don't have the loco on order, nor intend to order one - though it looks lovely.

I have just watched a different online review where the reviewer showered praise on the model for both its appearance and performance. I have also watched Sam's review and understand the points he makes.

I'm now watching Jonathon Pie which is much more interesting. Youtube is great, but make your own mind up........

[Going Spare]

From experience, I have no reason to think that Hornby will not stand by their customers.

Although they have outsourced their warehousing and goods despatch arrangements, I am sure they will deal sympathetically with all the problems customers are experiencing, particularly regarding any shortfalls in packaging whether it occurred at initial boxing in China or in transit to their customers be they retailers or private individuals in the case of direct sales, and seek redress from their contractors if appropriate.

Having said that, where damage has occurred, making that good will probably not be a quick fix if the quantities involved exceed the spares margin allowed and a manufacturing run of, say, complete bodies has to be put in hand.

So, whilst it is a most unfortunate situation at the moment, patience will be needed while Hornby sort out just what needs to be done.

[ColinB]

I can only relate my experience. I have one and the detail is great, as for performance there are better locos that Hornby have made of late, the Princess Royal and Merchant Navy locos being much more superior. As to YouTube yes there are lots, trouble is there are so many that send you to sleep. Not that it is that important but the Princess Royal has a flickering firebox and even with the price rise, is cheaper.