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Model Railway - What's your latest acquisition?


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Well I was mainly interested in finding it as a matter of completeness. Routine maintenance shouldn't be a problem, it's only when it comes to finding replacement parts that the correct SS becomes needed. I'll cross that bridge if/when I come to it.

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Latest acquisition

A rake of extremely fine TT:120 Esso TTA tank wagons. A very welcome side effect of the new TT:120 scale is that everything is new tooling. It really is showing off Hornby’s modelling prowess in 21st century very well. To replicate the high standards now expected in OO in TT:120 is quite an achievement. It’s clear some of the research and development work is benefiting from previous OO versions and it’s greatly appreciated.

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Not railways, but placed alongside the recently purchased, detailed CavAlex 56 - a HobbyMaster F-35B JSF Prince of Wales.

Comes with all flaps, covers, wheels, missiles ... and no installation instructions - possibly online - otherwise just guess where they go!!

All detailing is 'push-fit'. Sometimes I have to glue the parts - this one is still push fit only.

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Al.

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I went to the Bolton Swapmeet on Sunday and got a large quantity of mixed wheels plus a couple of other bits and bobs for a very reasonable price. Not all the wheels are useable and there is a mix of loco, OO and HO wagon/coach wheels so they all need sorting through.

I dropped my partner off while she went to pick a few things up and met her back at the car. She noticed that the car park was virtually empty, it’s usually full. The event was quite poorly attended and there were a lot fewer stalls selling railway goods than normal. I spoke to a few stall holders and one told me he hadn’t sold a single thing all day, and that there was another event on in the NW on the same day.

I really hope these events keep going, from a personal perspective they are good for my mental health and well-being even if I don’t buy anything.

On a happier note I bought some Jouef spares off that part of the Hornby site, they arrived two days later exactly as described and very well packaged. I really can’t fault the service I received from Hornby on this or any of the other times I have gone direct for spares. Much cheaper than eBay as well.

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I love the 8F (and Black 5 of course!).

Apart from the connection / draw bar between locomotive and tender, is there anything else fundamentally different between this and the previous super detail 8F already in circulation?

Al.

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I received my 8F yesterday and I am mildly disappointed! It is excellent in almost every way except the left hand boiler hand rail stops about 1.5cm short of the front end of the smoke box. It's never been on as there is no hole for the final lug/bracket. So, I'll be phoning Customer Care on Monday to arrange a replacement. I was going to leave it but I know it would niggle me every time I looked at it.

EDIT: Correction, I've just had another look and the hand rail is in tact. I was previously looking at a pipe which is just below the left hand rail and that does stop short of the end. silly me, don't know where my head was at the first time. So all good with the 8F

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LHS steam pipe - same as sister locomotive Black 5.

It does sound like this is a re-iteration of the previously very good super detail, and not a retooling, thus some 'fresh ideas' not previously seen on the locomotives - just the 'extras' required to make it go.

Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent locomotive, but ... OK, I'll hold here!!

Al.

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I guess I'm a sucker for nostalgia. The 8F and R1 were the only two locos I owned from my first foray into model railways in 1959 'til I sold all my stock, (there wasn't very much) to a train driver when I worked on the real railway in the mid-seventies. I acquired an R1 3D printed body recently which fits the Oxford Dean Goods chassis - superb. Now I have an 8F, which needless to say far out shines the original HD one I had. As I've never seen up close any of the more recent models to compare tooling etc. I can live in blissful ignorance as to whether this latest offering is better, worse or the indifferent.

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I picked up my 'new' 8F (R3564) a few years ago. It's the DCC Ready Super Detail etc. The shop was trying to clear some stock, so I paid just over £100 for it BNIB. No idea what the RRP was for that one, but the price point on these latest ones does seem high for the minimal improvements it has. Nothing wrong with the model, just the pricing seems, shall we say opportunistic, to me.

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I suppose we're studying reasons why quite deeply.

Perhaps it's the substantial increase in container transport costs being bandied around which are pushing up prices on what effectively is an established model with a couple of minor updates?

I admit, DRC's comments are precisely my own thoughts.

What percentage of model costs could be attributed to transport alone?

We are getting a little 'Off Topic' but there is a relevance.

Al.

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I should think shipping costs play a big part in the overall price point.

When was the previous iteration released? Anyone know?

I can't wait to see mine running round the track, though it will be a week or two yet. I went up there to get something a day or so ago ago and it is still quite nippy, so I'll wait a bit. In the meantime I can get it prepared - decoder installed, profile added etc. Speaking of which, until the correct profile is available I was thinking of installing the Black 5. Do others think that a reasonable alternative?

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Sir William tried to standardise as much as he could.

I'm certain there'll be plenty of variations, but dimensionally the 8F / 5MT were very similar - wheel dimensions and numbers exempted ...

If it's sound, I think all know my opinions ... chuff synchronising would be important to me. To many they seem to accept this 'anomaly'.

Al.

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