Hornby's Horribly Faulty New Black 5 | Unboxing & Review 

when you see a brand new model train already using a different tender in the intro, you know this video is going to be fun 😆

This takes the 1948 locomotive exchange trials to a whole new level. 🤣

14 seconds in, the loco cuts out and needs a different tender. What a good start 😅😅😅

Sam I give you an A+ for your review and humor, it is rediculous that prices that high and quality that low for a manufacteror that long in business and unable to make a decent model. Well done review.

Not even a minute in, and I’m already glad I opted for an older Hornby Black 5. Although seeing yours with a green LNER tender is funny. Hornby, wanna stop Sam from roasting you to the third degree? STOP MAKING IT SO EASY!!!

That sudden stop and the fact that you had to use a scotsman tender in the intro already tells me im in for a very nice video. 😂

No die-cast and flywheel was a deal breaker for me, at this price. Absolutely devastated.

Yeah. A club member had the same model and it had the exact same issue with the running issue.

Looks like you got a Monday morning model there. I think you were right to return it if you weren’t happy with it. I think some consumers would have done the same. Can I suggest not responding to the neigh sayers who criticise your opinions during reviews. Some noses will always be put out of joint when their favourite model/manufacturer gets a negative review. Let them belly ache and don’t rise to the bait. Viewing figures speak for themselves. Keep doing what you’re doing and trust in your own integrity as we all do.

I don’t get the exorbitant prices expected for die cast. Sure, it’s not as cheap as plastic, but die cast toys were standard when I was a kid and they didn’t cost the price of two weeks groceries. Somewhere along the line someone fooled us into thinking it’s a premium material when it’s actually not. Better than plastic? Yes. As premium as silver? No.

Thanks for the review Sam. I had one of these on order which I will not be buying now. I remember Simon Kohler saying this would be the 'ultimate Black Five'. This is anything but!

hi sam the reason i watch your reviews is that no matter what i hear nothing but honesty and i thank you for that

For future reference the real thing has a curved running plate as it echoes the angle of the boiler allowing the workers to access and inspect underneath the boiler.

What a shocker! I have a couple of the last super detail Black 5s from the 2000s - great looking good performers and completely reliable. This is a backwards step.

It is not Sam's fault that this example is faulty. I have seen numerous other reviews of these that were just fine. Sam's did show a flicker of what a faultless example is capable of (that crawl for one thing)

I'm still shocked that Hornby would let such a faulty model into circulation certainly won't be picking up one of these - thanks Sam

Always enjoy your reviews Sam, I just wish the title didn't have spoilers! Love the honesty and I know what it feels like to get faulty models; I have had many from new.

Great review Sam! Love your videos!

I think you're right to "Hornby Bash" here Sam because this model deserves it. When you spend £200+ for a model you should expect it to be worth every penny. I have three of the earlier tooling Black 5's and I find them reliable for my liking. But that said this model isn't a worthy successor to them....

As always an open and honest review Sam and thank you, I appreciate having an insight to into what I’m buying before I decided to spend out.

Man I love it when Sam roasts these model railway companies into medium rare, it saves my wallet. Thank you for the review, probably going to look for an older black five lol.

Now I'm really considering if getting into Model Railway collecting is worth it. The companies are still struggling this much to make Locomotives. However, I'm glad you keep calling out the companies on their lackluster designs,performance and extortionate prices.

Fantastic Review Sam !!

Cool review! Cheers Sam!

Hi Sam, I wonder if this is a DCC blanking plate issue. If the lights and everything work EXCEPT for the motor, perhaps you have to look at what went wrong in the circuit board, and I think its the DCC blanking plate, which I assume is on the tender as you have identified it as a tender issue. The blanking plate, rather than putting all inputs in and out to the decoder, just outputs the current back into the motor and everything, so I think something is faulty there. I don't think you opened up the tender in your disassembly part of the video, so I hope you check that out, pop in a new blanking plate, and make a follow up video. Cheers

Thanks for being honest Sam keep the good work up 👍

Hi Sam. Just wanted to say that one thing I enjoy about your review videos is the “history of the prototype” part. I wish other reviewers would do this as well.

Looks beautiful and the lighting features are great - but the faulty drawbar and warped running plate is ridiculous for the price - great video as always sam!

Well at least Hornby is always consistent in it's quality...I'll leave that at that 🤣

You did a great job with this review Sam I'm impressed 19:19

Well done with the video Sam great camera work as usual bye for now Philip

I absolutely love the way hornby did the lights Sam, I really wish more model had this feature. Cheers Jasper & Willow

Great review Sam. I have received mine now and I have to say I love it, the detail and decoration are brilliant and mine doesn’t seem to have any of the quality issues you sadly experienced. Hopefully you were just unlucky!

Awesome video Sam's trains

Thank you for your honesty, I think you are absolutely right, it doesn't matter who made what, if its crap then its still crap. Well done. Say it as it is has always been my motto.

I watched this review while watching my older black 5 run. Just to remind myself that I made the right choice.😂

Thank you Sam - for saving me from wasting yet more money on Hornby products!

Great honest review of a cool looking loco, such a shame you get the band end of the stick with another Hornby product, the last time I saw you with a great Hornby loco was the class 56 in Railfreight Grey livery, it was so good I bought one and it is superb, the last Hornby steam locomotive I purchased was a rebuilt W1 in blue livery which runs very well, I hope you get better luck with your purchase in the future, thanks for sharing.

Hello Sam! Could you possibly do a video on the most beginner friendly/budget friendly models for people who are just getting into model trains?

Well done Sam🎉

I have a number of the previous version which are perfectly satisfactory and have performed well for me for years.

This is specifically why I focus on brass locomotives. The detailing is insane, but very rarely do you get a "poor quality" or "defect" model, and if it's a new production, you can be sure the importer will work with you to rectify the issue. Sure they cost quite a bit more but damn are they nice to work with

I do quite like the new Hornby tender connection. During the exchange trials sometimes locos swapped tenders with other companies. Hornby even did this a in the early-mid 200s with a Spam Can and a Stanier Tender. Even setting aside that use, some classes of loco had multiple tenders, the A1s and A3s for example, so you could swap tenders of you wanted to represent a loco in a different configuration. It would be nice if all of the companies agreed on a standard. But hey, I’ll take what I can get. Edit: And now that I have gotten to that part of the review… this sums up modern Hornby. From a design standpoint you get an amazing product. I have a couple of those new loco tender connections, and they work great. But Hornby QC just fails. From the motors to the detail. I think Hornby knows if it wants to save itself it needs to start offering products with amazing features. Once the smoke version comes out you will have pretty much every feature you could want into a OO model on one place. I am happy to pay high prices for high spec, but that needs to be backed by high quality.

I like the fact that it mechanically resembles the Henry model that Rev W Awdry had

A very fair review! 👍

Hey Sam, a very interesting review you’ve put together here, it seems you really got a raw deal on the model. Nothing is more heartbreaking than getting something that costs as much as that in that kind of condition 😔 I do hope you’ll be able to get another and give it another go, a la Hush Hush. Having received mine, I’m happy to report mine has been faultless. I do hope you come right. Cheers, Hylt

When I first saw this I thought it looked gorgeous. When I saw it running on Sam's layout I found the silver axles attract the eye a little too much - maybe it'd have been better to go with just black ones. Presumably they just wanted to differentiate it from the older model.

Great review. I love the ones when the loco is a non-runner! You might compare it to the R9292 Henry the Green Engine which I suspect is the basis of it! Thanks for uploading.

For me Sam I really love the new black 5, Although I have a bit of a soft spot for the older black 5. I probably won't get one of the new ones, because mine has been through alot with me. Cheers Jasper & Willow

Took Hronby long enough to finally add working lapms on a regular steam loco! BTW i think the factory fitted once are actually glued on/in ... Maybe they should sell kits as well, and let us glue/fit parts our selves, specially if it means the models will be cheaper by a margin that way (like KATO does)! I think I'm happy with my old Black 5 for now (not like i could afford the new one, specially with that insane import tax).

Nice review on the hornby black 5

TBH, a LMS Stanier with a LNER Gresley tender is a good looking pair. Now I’m thinking of swapping my O1 tender with my W1 tender.

Thanks Sam for saving me money.

I have a Hornby 2010/2012 sound version which is as good as it ever was after a good decade of hard running. I really fail to see how it is possible to make something worse with progress! And Hornby are not the only manufacturer this applies to. Great vid Sam.

It was Hornby's best black 5 ever. No engine ever had this high of meme potential.

I had the same problem with my P2, Earl Marischal. I took it upon myself to resolder a broken wire to the new style tender coupling. Not an easy task due to the very small size of it. I also had problems with Prince of Wales with steam generator. It was also a very poor runner. This turned out to be a problem with the decoder multi-plug. I sent it back to The Model Centre over two weeks ago and I still have no idea when I’m going to get it back. Poor show from Hornby on my last two locos. I’ve also pre-ordered the new Black Five with steam generator. I just hope that it works better than the previous two. Keep up the good work. Hope to see something better in the future.

Oh dear! I have bought one of these😮. I was so excited that a new LMS Black 5 was being released that I put one on pre-order straight away. I do hope that you were just unlucky enough to get a dud. If mine has similar issues I will let you know (unfortunately my layout is in bits awaiting re-development. Probably be a year before something happens…) I had saved up for this with limited funds I hope I have not wasted my money! Just a point I did notice that the instructions to release the tender chassis did say “to remove your P2 TENDER BODY..” Somebody at Hornby must have got confused.

To be fair to Hornby my sound fitted Accurascale Manor has just gone back as whist you can read decoder cv’s it’s as dead as a door nail when it comes to running. As models get more complicated are we seeing more issues?

I have had a preorder on the Steam Generator version ever since they were announced. I hope they fix the issues before that one goes out. The level of detail is amazing, and honestly the lack of die cast and even the warped running plate arent really deal breakers for me, as long as it runs fine. The steam generator should add back a bunch of the missing weight at least.

Your not the only one to have picked up a faulty model by Hornby my Merchent Navy (original) arrived fine at first so a ran it around a bit then it just stopped. I relised that there was smoke coming out from the motor. So, it's been sat in a box for a year now

I'm probably going to get roasting for this...but...(Totally great review Sam, I would get refund also..). I bought this model, which was delivered yesterday...luckily for me it has,nearly, none of the faults,... Tender connection, all perfect no hitches, glitches or stalling, works perfectly. Running plate, all straight and true. Valve gear , all tight , no loose screws Glue marks....ah ha..not to the naked eye or magnified reading glasses...I did find two, in a similar place to yours Sam, HOWEVER, it took a high powered LED workbench torch and a magnifying glass to spot them , really a none issue and would never have seen them without seeing your review in the first instance. I've just got the loco run in, and it appears to be an excellent performer,,really enjoying it, beautiful model, I wanted it to add to the 1970's tooled and early 2000's tooled examples already in my collection...I thought the early 2000's model was a fine example and good detail...this new one blows it into the weeds ... I recommend it....But dont be wary in throwing it back to the retailer if its faulty..mine luckily is near perfect, so a keeper. Good Luck everyone.

You are right to critisize. I am not so worried about the running plate (I work on preserved steam locos, and none of them have flat running plates), b ut all the other issues would be enough to mke me return it - not good enough for a £200+ loco, or even a £160 one.

When you weight the model, do you include the undriven tender? So that tender weight adds credibility, but does not add traction?

sam question for you is haulage now kinda pointless on these newer hornbys since its not about how much the loco can pull but how much the friction connector from loco and tender can handle since its not a solid bar

Thank You Sam for your honesty. Great Job on this review. …on a different note, does any other colorblind people have trouble seeing the review stars against the carpet? Or is it just me?

I admit i was so close to ordering one. Thanks Sam! Will you be sending it back?

Huge shame that hornby STILL cant get basic things right - it really is shocking. That said, thr detailing is rather nice, but ill stick to an older one if im after one!

Wonderful review even in failure. Potentially nice model let down by blind QC. During your review on that coupling connector, I did however wonder how did locos and tenders couple in real life? Are there any such real-life couplings accurately reproduced in model form?

I had a similar problem with one of the newer Hornby A4s (Golden Fleece) that has the same tender connection. The tender connection has very delicate tabs into which the loco circuit board connector makes contact with when it’s inserted. The flimsy nature of the tabs means that they can easily bend or get caught by the circuit board and actually broke them on my model. I had to spend about an hour trying to solder the tabs together to reattach and reinforce them. I honestly prefer the more durable wired plug and screwed connectors they had on previous models. I would not recommend detaching the loco from the tender unless you really have to on these newer models.

Oh dear. I was looking forward to the BR version with sound and steam generator (which has sold out on pre-order at some suppliers) but I'm not so sure now. Makes you wonder if there is any quality control at Hornby.

This Black 5 looks nice brilliant. Review 👍😊🤩😎

yeah, might wait for the second batch

When you began your review I was drooling - but that very quickly turned to a dry mouth. One to avoid! Thanks, as ever, for your efforts!

Hi. I totally agree with what you’ve said. I’ve no reason to not believe you. I’ve a huge collection and some of the tat that comes through from all the manufacturers is very upsetting. Hard earned money spent to return, swap, have repaired or just put up with is not acceptable. I’ve seen that you have been torn to bits on some “respectable” sites saying you have an issue with Hornby, you buy damaged items, you damage items etc and the usual “it’s on carpet and he took it to bits before running” I actually think that a lot of purchases are not even ran. They stay in the box for a future layout. Or in a cabinet to be looked at. Personally I do not want a shop to open up the box. Heavy handily Sticking it on a yard of track and test run it either way before I buy. Part of the excitement is also opening it up for the very first time. You keep doing what you are doing. I’m 100% behind you, although like anything, sometimes I think you are a bit soft and sometimes a bit hard on some models. I’d would have loved to see a great review of the black 5. However you should only review what you got. Which in this case is a pile of poop. Cheers. Dave.

Will you be reveweing one of the starlight express that got re released

I'm sad this has turned out this way, I was considering buying one. At the moment I will wait I think. May take a chance if they announce an LMS scheme with the smoke generator (it will at least add weight). I wonder if the plastic boiler is a design compromise to accommodate the smoke generator.

I have the same trouble with my N2 tank loco which is DCC sound fitted it just keeps stuttering and you have to keep nudging it

Oh I don't know, I think it looks quite cool with the LNER tender lol. Or maybe Hornby intent it as a static display unit with lamp and firebox flicker lol but seriously I was looking forward to potentially buying one of there as I don't have a Black 5... I will not be doing so now - so thank you for the review Sam

Thanks for this review Sam. I was really keen to see what these new tooled black 5s were going to be like. As you have said you may have been unlucky. But based on this review I think I will stick with my 2 older tooled black 5s which look ok for me and run very well. So Hornby, thanks but no thanks. Cheers Sam

Turns out your choice of alternative tender was precient - check section 2 of that instruction leaflet, where it suddenly starts talking about fitting a decoder or sugar cube speaker to your P2! Also, was it just me, or did it actually look like those front lamps were glued in position?

Great review Sam. I'll stick with my fleet of Hornby R.859 Silver Seal Black 5's. 50 years plus and still faultless.

Thank you for doing this review! it is incredibly disheartening to see the quality of this product as you certainly gave the engine every opportunity to perform admirably. With the likes of Accurascale, Rapido and others making far superior steam in virtually every regard, this just confirms what I already suspected with Hornby's quality being hit or miss in a multitude of ways. I'm glad I waited for your review prior to purchasing. Simply not going to happen now that i've seen this video.

I’m glad I’ve given up on British Railway Modelling. I will stick to my Marklin.

Not even 20 seconds in and it stalled… this is gonna be a ride and a half.

What is the van Between the LSWR grey van and the blue wagon? I’m gutted about this, been waiting with anticipation for the steam generator version of this, to be be my first trial of the steam generator… sort of in two minds how to proceed now. Will you contact hornby for a comment? I would love to know what they say about it

Awesome video today Sam such a shame about all the quality problems

Hi Sam, have you checked the Walschaerts valve gear, at 27:07 it looks as though the eccentric crank and the eccentric rod are flopping about. As a scratch builder I would fully expect such loose valve gear to have a big negative effect on the running of a model. That's likely in addition to the issue you have found with the tender. I agree for the price Hornby really need to be doing a much better job on quality control. cheers Phil

My Black 5 is from the last batch of the preves tooling. And it has a 21 pin decoder socket in the tender form the factory as well as a speaker somewhere in the loco (it did have TTS installed, but it failed after about 3 hours of straight running). And just from the tittle of teh video, I am happy that I have my older one

33 54 says it all. Our RAPEDO TRAM came straight out of its box and did a faultless performance all night on the dirty Club track,

Hi Sam, Have you considered reviewing the Ellis Clark 0 Gauge Black 5?

Do you buy these using your own name? If I worked at Hornby, I'd get the retailers to look out for you and send you only top-notch and tested examples. 😅 Or maybe they do see your name and have a vendetta against you. "Oh, it's bloody, Sam! Send him one from the reject pile"😂

Morning Sam, an honest review, in fact a polite review. Saw and read the title New Black 5, then saw the LNER tender knew something special was coming. Over £200 was expecting something very very special. Your review showed how much detail it did in fact offer but there were a number of blemishes. It looked awesome and would have if it ran for more than 12 seconds!!! Full refund for this Monday morning first batch built model. Come Hornby offer your buyers a high quality model and get a great review; give this for over £200 what do you expect. Be interesting to hear how many others have made the £220 plus purchase and are fully happy with it. Sam thankyou for your honest review, hope you spend the refunded money wisely😂 All very best Marc from Leighton Buzzard

Another piece of Hornby steam tat. Prehaps try the Heljan/Rails Class 28 Co-Bo?

@SamsTrains - Thanks very much for your review of the new Hornby Black 5. I'd been considering trading in my "old tooling" 5s for Hornby's new one. Think I might hold fire on some for now. Re: Quality issues, from the video at 9:33 in your review it looks like a smokebox end foot step is a bit wonky 😔on your example, to add to the other probs.. Don't think you mentioned this in the detail section.

Looks nice, but a real shame about the quality. Although I'd go for a Caprotti one if I were to splash out on one. But why aren't the smokebox numberplate and shed plate (or the builders plates, although they are a little small) etched? How does the haulage power compare to the old Hornby super detailed one, or the Railroad one? My Dublo Flying Scotsman, 1923 condition as 1472, has the matt smokebox, although it's not as noticeable as my Accurascale Dinmore Manor. Are you now going to review the Ellis Clark Trains one, now that's just come out too?

Need a custom Black 5 with P2 tender, that looks good.

Very good review Sam. It's the issues with the model that are bad I've pre ordered the smoke generator version. I've read some of the others comments and watched another review that was a more positive experience. It's pretty clear that there is a serious lack of consistency in quality control that is letting Hornby down. Issues occurring like this must be breaking the hearts of the designers in Margate. The factory in China has to get its act together or the quality control function has to be bought in house, otherwise I fear for Hornby's future. I've bought a few new Hornby locomotives and so far have been very happy with them ( Princess Coronation and Thane of Fife plus some Railroad Plus diesels) . I am going to keep my pre order live because of my previous good experience together with the pre order Flying Scotsman smoke generator version and hope both will be acceptable.

Had two brand new hornby black 5s (old model) which faulty out of box with connecting rods out of alignment and immediately jamming

I know many have pointed this out, but being relatively new to familiarizing myself with locos, who made them, and whatnot, seeing an LNER tender on a Black 5 threw me for a loop

As others have commented, it looks like the DCC decoder is in the tender and when a DCC ready loco is running on DC analogue, the current runs from the pickups to the motor via the blanking plate. This is why, unlike locos that don't have the decoder in the tender, it won't run without the tender connected. I guess there must be connections on top and underneath that drawbar, 2 for pickup, 2 for motor, and some more for lighting, firebox flicker etc. I wonder if there is a loose connection on a motor wire on the tender half of the drawbar, with the wire just touching sometimes and loosing contact as it moves round the corners? It is possibly amenable to a quick fix if the wires are accessible, but they may not be and I fully agree with you not wanting to fiddle with it as you intend to return it. It is a shame that Hornby are still being let down by their quality control on this sort of thing - such a simple thing for them to get right during manufacture & testing and they got it wrong. I wonder if they do any testing at all?