Hornby 8Fs

"Hecate" wrote

Nope, Hornby have clearly over-produced on some variations and they've been 'jobbing some out' at lower prices.

John.

Le'me guess, the early liveries are selling for much less than the late-crest?

(kim)

"kim" wrote

I'm not sure from memory Kim, but I think some of the weathered ones are being jobbed.

John.

Having seen what they call 'weathered' (aka spraying some muddy brown paint around the lower half of the model...) I'm not surprised they are not selling, in fact I'm surprised that they have sold any!

They're still better than any of my attempts at weathering. What I wish is that manufactureres would use a colour other than black for the underside of locomotives. Around here they are a unifom greyish-brown colour.

(kim)

underside of

I have to disagree, they should be finished in the colour they would be in ex works, then they can be either weathered (realistically) at the factory or by the owner, at least then the three options are correct - no good someone owning (for example) a west country based class 25 weathered with 'iron ore dust' when it should be covered with china clay, or vies-versa, at least the gleaming ex works look is correct for at least one trip!

"kim"

Try weathering without using paint.

Earth toned make up and eye shadow is excellent for weathering.

Usually, I apply a thin wash of diluted alcohol and India Ink black over the whole locomotive, this gets into all the nooks and crannies and dulls the original paint finish. I then use earth tones, blacks, greys and whites to weather the locomotive using photos as a guide. Once the loco is weathered to my satisfaction, I give it a quick, light spray of Dullcote, straight from the can.

If you've not happy with the results, before you apply the Dullcote, wash the weather from the model with warm soapy water and start over again. Remove the body from the chassis for the wash. :-)

Once the Dullcote is really dry, I usually wait overnight, I then give another wash of alcohol and India Ink black to blend everything together. This final coat can be applied as many times as you like until you're happy.

Final touch ups, like painting brake shoes rusty brown etc., can be done last. Of course, I also do use paint, of various types, art pencils and anything else I think will do the job but that can come later as you gain confidence.

Check out the photos in my sig. for my results. Although North America, it's still weathering.

-- Cheers

Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

That may be true but wouldnt we expect more than one retailer to be selling at the lower prices if that was the case. Beware of some retailers bargains, they may be non runner returns that they are hoping will just not be run (whats the estimate 80% dont get onto track !)

Simon

"simon" wrote

8Fs (and Q1s) were definitely being 'jobbed out' by Hornby two or three months back and I bought a handful. I'd have bought more but unfortunately I'd already got enough unsold examples on my shop shelves.

If other retailers were in a similar situation that 'might' explain why only Hattons appear to be offering them at discounted prices. I shall be doing the same at Wakefield Model Railway Show next weekend, but other retailers 'may' be holding on to such purchases to sell when Hattons have sold out.

John.

You have grounds for saying that this happens?

Far more likely, I would suggest, that Hornby offer the 'bargain' stock to their biggest customers, or that it is only their biggest customers can afford to take some without having to worry about losing sale on 'full-price' models. I don't honestly think that any established retailer would risk trying to sell on 'returns' (or at least damaged ones), as the risk of damage to their reputation is too great. Some of the types that inhabit swap-meets and similar events, however, are the exception to the rule. Brian

That returns have been sent out as new locos - yes I do. However I have no idea as to the reasoning behind it. I'm not bitter ..... Simon

"kim" wrote

They're still better than any of my attempts at weathering.

(kim)

Agreed. I would rather add to the factory weathering to make it more realistic than take an "ex-works" looking loco and start to make it look mucky ! Simple things like a bit of rust around the bottom of the smoke box door or lime scale down the boiler side or near the whistle.

That said, I now have an air brush, but am hesitant to start weathering my sound chipped class 24 and 37 ! as I require a bit more practice. I think some of the redundant bodies may come in to play here as a tester piece.

Andy

"Jerry" wrote

Agreed, I've never seen a mucky loco with an 'ex-works' boiler top. Hornby don't seem to comprehend that weathering tends to start at the top and drift downwards on a steam loco, unlike a motor car where the bulk of the filth is sprayed upwards by the wheels.

John.

But on modern DMUs - at least the ones around here - the bodies are spotlessly clean while the underside is uniformly filthy. From normal viewing distance, just using a colour other than black would suffice.

(kim)

"kim" wrote

Absolutely, but I was specifically referring to steam locos in general and Hornby 8Fs in particular. I have one of the weathered 8Fs here and the tops of both boiler & tender, and the front of the smokebox are all absolutely spotless.

John.

normal

suffice.

That is probably because they are scheduled to pass through the washing plant every other day or so, in another part of the country things might well be different, the point is that weathering always starts from the top and works down on railway stock (unlike road vehicles were the muck is sprayed upwards by the tyres and then gets blown around the vehicle.

That would be because modern DMUs go through cleaning plants which wash the ends and sides.

Regards, Greg.P.

What if its just been through heavy rain ? Frequent occurence if shedded near Manchester.

Simon