For years the models that flooded the UK market were poor quality. All the while the European and Americans were moving light years ahead in terms of some big makers producing exceptional models. Roco, Fleischmann, Stewart and Atlas for example. By the time the Hornby's caught up it was time to make them in China. Zinc Pest and so on. The reason why European and US HO was so popular in the UK was that one could buy incredible locomotives for sometimes less than what Hornby and Airfix were charging at the time. Mind you, one is better off today investing their money in upgranding old Triang locos than taking out a second mortage on a Made in China model with planned obsolesence built in. Biggest mistake in the history of UK model railways was not moving to HO in the 70s when the real option was coming in. This not taking place allowed Hornby to get away with another three decades of the same ol, same ol... Imagine the likes of Roco and Kato strongly in the UK market.
Lima literally tried to introduce British Ho mainstream to the world, they also did the same with Continental and British O gauge, however they didn't sell because of Hornby trying to dominate everything at the time. If they had their way 2 rail O would have been almost as cheap as HO and we'd still have POLA maxi and Rivarossi O etc.
Brilliant video, and those ' small detail ' parts ,their a pain , and i tend to leave them in the box , lovingly your layout based in the 60s , sadly i was 6 months old when steam ended on BR in 1968 ,and i used not like steam locos much ,but last 20 years or so most my locos are steam now ,and find the steam era very interesting, and i say go for a coal yard ,as seems most stations had these back then.
I have Fleischmann models from the 70s that run really well, no stuttering, loads of torque, silent and decent crawl. I realise there are modern models that are even better crawlers and obviously more detailed but we are comparing 50 year old kit to brand new. The fact that there are brand new models that are worse than "antiques" is pretty embarrassing.
The number of vacuum and other types of pipes that I have broken trying to fit them is unbelievable. So now I open the holes, which almost always means using some sort of glue to fix them in place, as I've made the holes too wide for a friction fit. My latest faux pas was to spend an hour fitting detail parts to the front of a Bachmann 37, only to realise afterwards that there was driver fitted in the other end. Try as I might, I couldn't prise him off his seat... Ah, the joys of modelling.
😅you’re so right about sound in your locos being a slippery slope! Three of my locos have sound and it’s becoming so much of a problem that it’s stopping me from buying a loco unless I can afford the extra for the sound with the model. Accurascale 66 for instance. I rarely can afford it!
Completely see where you are coming from with the frustration, details, poor running, expense etc. That's the reason I have packed in with the hobby as an active builder and maker. I just like to watch now, so happy to view videos, and visit shows, more time to watch the layouts rather than trawl the traders for elusive ' bargains ' I now happily pursue my other hobby of 1/50 scale earthmover diecasts, similar ( if not CHEAPER prices ) as , as they don't have motors, once manually posed, job done. P.S/ if any-one is interested, my layout is up for sale, medium sized steam MPD set in snow. find details in the usual bay.
I wouldn't blame you, I just lost a very close uncle and also a friend over last few weeks and life's to short ,and thought model railways were ment to be fun ??? ,but with all the prices and ' rivet counters ' I've decided to just keep my collection and lay out a small bit of track to run my locos and stock now and then ,oh and on the ' carpet ' shock & Horror! 😂 but why lay out for a expensive baseboard ect again, I've actually also started to build up a nice collection of railway books ,as some real bargains out there in charity shops and on e bay ect 😊 also I am a part owner of 2 Airliners which we are restoring, so most my money has to go to these now.
Hi Craig. Sadly I feel that we just have been getting the short straw. Some Manufacturers are selling us poor quality products. They are sometimes not properly designed and tested before being put into manufacture. Parts fall off, parts too fiddly to fit, glue marks, too much oil, too little oil, poor painting and lining, even details too small and unnecessary, but adding to the cost. This is exactly what Sam’s trains find, regularly. Some want perfection in both looks and performance. I actually want a loco to preform on a layout, not just look fantastic. I do feel for some manufacturers though with regard to quality control, the models are built in remote areas and like anything else, errors happen. Just like faulty new cars and new build houses etc. What I think is a pile of poop model, the next modeller may think is great and vice versa. Keep the videos coming!
I have a Scronk which is a screaming 08. Either the motor or the gears are making a horrid screeching sound when you run it at full speed. I have tried lubricating the gears but the sound materialises again which I can only assume is the motor now.
I did the same thing with a Hornby TTS decoder last year. Speaker not mounted in my A3 and it fell off the chassis and touched the track. Boom! So frustrating
I used tweezers to put the coupling hook in my Class 56, Did the same for the hoses etc, but scratched some of the paint off the pipes and must have clipped a front step off one of the corners. You can get a pair of magnifying specs with lights for modelling. I am not going to put the coupling hooks etc on the HAAs. Still, the weathering is relaxing and glad I do not model in n-gauge.
@@IronHorseRailways I got that, too. Thanks, as ever, for sharing your content. I enjoy videos. Do not always agree, but still enjoy. Sorry for not stating in my initial comment, but thought I state my thanks (better late than never).
Sometimes with detail parts like cables its worth drilling a slightly larger hole. They should then fit better. Just a tiny bit of superglue applied with a pin is all that is needed. and then place the part with tweezers . Often I need to redrill holes when building plastic kits. The same principal .
that sure is spot on. The rule is, when adding details, use fine pliers, magnifying glass or get a pair of reading glasses, do it in a room where you don't have carpeting. Do the work sitting by a table with the engine and the details all on a tray so the little things won't roll away. Install a very good source of light. There even are combined ones with a magnifying glass and light. And calm down a bit. There you go ! the other way is to only buy things with everything in place or just leave the crap out. I hate installing decoders and doing soldering in n scale engines, so i only buy engines with the decoders already factory installed . Maybe the old analog engines with no details to add are best to my health. Thanks ! love your videos !
@@IronHorseRailways yes springs are evil . I used to run kadee equipped trains in ho scale, and put the springs in the kadee couplers by hand. I had lots of springs , but there were always som flying away. Luckily i don't do that anymore in n scale.
Been there done that Craig 😅 Sorry to hear about the decoder for Gladstone was going to ask if you were fitting a sound decoder....Will it be a Oh Mr Porter special? And by the way you are Not wasting your time.
@@richardswiderski4985 had to Dremel away the inside of the tanks, but now I'm just going to shove everything into a bunker wagon / tender trailer wagon mate, easier and far more space!
I'm the same Craig, I do everything at a thousand miles an hour and also get fully obsessed with stuff, I've defo got a screw loose, i'm all or nothing with no balance. Id like to see some build stuff and i always fancied doing a coal yard in the early days so would be extra interested. Stay alives are a complete game changer and I fully agree about sound too. I've never bothered fitting detail parts as I know id be better off stroking the model with a lump hammer as it'll pretty much be the same result! Having sausages for fingers don't help too, hence i snapped off the 37 bogie chain, i previously pressed a steam engine body down so hard after fitting a chip i made it a banana shape and had to ebay it for spares 🤣
I apply detail or small parts with them inside a pillow case or similar, stops them flying off into the land of the lost. As for slow running,I feed every single piece of track with droppers to the bus wires.
I have to agree .Todays models are not as robust as those from even 10 yrs ago .My older models run with no problem what so ever .Todays can be a pile of S**T .Derailing and fragile .Plus the horrendous cost .
Hi Craig I hope you are well. As someone who has brain damage and cerebral palsy. My hand eye coordination is pants so adding details 3 times as hard as the average person in the Hobby. Keep safe ARP
Like we’ve said time and time again, do you want to buy a museum quality model to display or a model you can use. As has been said by someone else you can hardly see the difference when the models moving. A good quality paint job can be just as effective as having all the small detail parts. As for DCC and sound, now I have some locos with it it’s now a requirement on all my locos. If you go with the coal merchants, I would love to see how you’re going to do it.
I blew a new decoder - once - - on a new decoder tester! I sent the tester back, along with the fried decoder, and said to fix or replace both. Still waiting!
My Accurascale Cl 66 comes in 2 hrs { " Evening Star " }... I wonder what i`ll find ?........ Coal Siding Please.... also can you scratch build a little railway Crane ? ... I always liked the idea of one on an old Bogie with a shed and jib and scoop for coal and ash.... I've seen photos.... I'm going to try it myself on day.
@@IronHorseRailways In the shed was a Diesel engine .. the jib was lattice it was very rusty and dirty... it would be made from scrap model parts so very cheap... it was used in real life in Hereford to load Ash into Wagons.... no motor just static or pulled by a shunter... or a hand lol
O Gauge tinplate, built like brick ........ Your grandkidz will be playing with it nothing to break or fall off virtually same price as your plastic crap now and does the same thing. Sorted!
at 12.37 you say that the gravel is too thick and you want to remove it. You could try to sand it down a bit. If you have used Woodland scenics you could do that, as long as it is not real stone material . Sorry, but i had to comment this as i have tried it myself.
I’ve decided not to buy new anymore. When I do buy one brand new I’m scared to run it. I think in the future what I’ll do is buy used locos from an old school (and quite magical) local model shop I’m lucky enough to have near to me.
I know how you feel . But you try fitting these small parts when your blind in 1 eye. Yep fun it isn't. And after getting into this hobby there is no way God made the world in 7 days. But his layout must be massive 😂
I use fine pliers to fit details. Or I leave them in the bag until I need to fit them. It's a shame a new form of coupling which works as efficiently as a tension lock but is unobtrusive enough to not knock the detail off hasn't come onto the mass market. The only thing which springs to mind is the Spratt and Winkle but that involves soldering which a kid getting his first train set might not manage. And uncoupling them involves magnets.
I am so glad that I do not need every detail piece to be on my locos and don't care at all about DCC sound. As long as they run good and look good from normal viewing distance that is all I need. I can't believe that a sound decoder costs more than the price of each of my individual locos. I know some people want them as realistic as possible but is it really worth all the aggravation and issues that seem to happen to most new locos these days?🤔
@@IronHorseRailways The problem is - it is physically impossible to get the big bass sounds from a tiny squeaker! So, like our model going in circles around a four foot loop, it's only a representation of reality.
No mate, you have no idea! Classic car restoration is the most frustrating hobby. You spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars trying to get this old rustbucket into what you originally imagined. And it fights you all the way. This is the second most frustrating hobby. I so hate when you stuff up and something expensive goes pop though. New locos with problems are so annoying too. I'm in Australia, so sending an overseas purchase back isn't really an option. I have to fix my new loco myself. Cheers!
Been straya bound won't help anything! Avoiding dingos and koala bear attacks, dodging Kangaroo feces AND trying to claim on over seas warranty must be a nightmare 😜😜😃
I totally agree. Presently one light not lifting on a TR7 and I’m unable to fix the motion on an N gauge loco. (Not my model and not my scale). A great video Craig, I think you’ve summed up all of our frustration, however when you do fix it, like the N7, how good a feeling is that 😄
@@tonybell9930 I feel your pain mate. Always liked Triumph TR7s, but I have a jag. 50% of the time I drive it, something will play up that costs a small fortune and is ex UK to Oz and I wonder "why do I bother, this car does my head in". The other 50% of the time its " How good is this, I love this car". 🤣 At least its 50/50. My old Norton Commando was 20% awesome and 80% frustration. Model railways are only semi frustrating. Lol.
Fit parts with tweezers and super glue very very steady and very very sparingly with glue, Glue on a pin head, Seeing diesels slowly buffering up on my TMD is something else, But I do know where your coming from, Take care keep chilling. Ps No going back from soouuunnnnnddddddd! You need a small steam stabling point, Coal yards so so boring sorry.
Try racing a car. Always something goes wrong & big money for repair. Model Railway is cheap compared. Although do agree hate A/ detail parts usually get tossed in corner. And blowing a decoder. last one I blew was because a carriage derailed caused a short & pop $200 gone
Everybody says fitting crew is easy really? Bachmann 47 how interesting fitted now but oh oh not that easy you could easily break the cab, Easy doe's it.
