The Hornby Hush Hush Disaster | Unboxing and Review
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- Опубліковано 20 лип 2024
- A full review of Hornby's beautiful but sadly inadequate new Class W1 Hush Hush 10000 locomotive!
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0:00 Intro
0:46 Getting the Hush Hush
6:29 Unboxing
10:58 Class History
12:34 Detailing
25:00 Mechanism
29:01 4hrs of Mechanical Failures
40:31 Performance
49:29 Ratings
54:10 Conclusion - Авто та транспорт
Plot twist: like with the real "hush hush", only one single model loco was built, and this one is getting returned and sold again to the next customer all the time.
As a Canadian modeller who isn't too picky about era and railroads, but who loves steam, I was certainly considering some Hornby steamers of British design, but after watching so many reviews, I don't think I trust them. They seem like a shady bunch. I appreciate your brutally honest reviews and the depths you go to. A lot of other reviewers don't go so deep, or check gauge, or warped plates, etc. I think a lot of us appreciate the depths you go to.
Hornby is existing on name recognition, because Accurascale and Hattons make much nicer models for similar prices, but the downside is that these two manufacturers don't have the range of Hornby.
I implore you to at least explore British railway modelling. It can have the most beautiful and interesting history and engines, as well as rolling stock! There are some good manufacturers and some bad ones (such as Hornby demonstrated in this video). You just have to read and watch reviews and be careful of scams. Other bad companies consist of EFE Rail, Heljan, and Bachmann (only due to overpricing though, their quality is always great in my opinion). The real good companies that make extremely advanced models for cheap are Accurascale, Rapido, Hattons Originals, and Dapol (their old models are really bad though, so be weary about that). I hope you take this comment well and take a small dive into British modelling. Happy modelling! ;D
Some of Hornby’s models are alright, and as long as you stay away from Heljan, every other brand (even Bachmann which I’m adding in due to their bad reputation in North America) has great quality models, and they are up to similar, if not better standards than most American models.
While hornby is kinda shady in someways, this isn’t a normal thing for hornby. I personally would consider giving some models a chance, however if you don’t like them, then there are brands like accurscale and a few others that are very nice. (Not heljan tho, if they made this this would be their best model)
It's amazing how so many people including BIG online sellers do inadequate postage packaging. And be careful because if you name and shame then their legal department come after you requesting a takedown. Sadly I've been there I know how evil people turn to cover up their lack of care when posting an item. This is a beautiful loco, but it's astonishing how many little faults are built into it. Are Hornby asleep at the wheel or should I say drivers cab. The issues here could be covid related as the factories in China have problems having the right staff at inspection level...if it exists.
I reviewed a heating company on trust pilot they spent more time trying to get my review removed than trying to apologise & put things right. Any company pulling such stunts should be avoided at all costs disgusting behaviour
I’m appalled that there are companies out there who don’t care about some of what they sell and try to take down bad criticism on their product rather than fix the problems and take the criticism as a notice.
Honestly, the packaging seems entirely adequate to me, as long as the goal is to get the locomotive there in one piece. If the goal is to keep the packaging pristine more is needed.
Also, you literally cannot package things well enough that it *never* goes wrong.
My wife and I were on the way to get the booster today when we saw a troubled lady and her child outside the clinic. The mother explained her daughter's cancer treatment had been delayed again. It was hard to look them in the eye, knowing that little girl was gravely ill and there we were, not ill but taking up NHS resources. We went straight home feeling ashmed of ourselves. We will be OK. I'll get some lemsips in, just incase.
@@JamesSmith-vz8yr Not getting your booster & people not getting vaccinated & not following face mask rules & social distancing is a big part of why cancer treatments are getting cancelled nothing to do with people going & getting their jabs.
When I saw this video was an hour long I instantly thought 'Oh no!!' and understandably so. I knew of the damaged models arriving to those who ordered one but they have NEVER known of a model to be this difficult to work with. I'm shocked, I'd personally say Hornby are treading on thin ice at this point as more displeasure continues to arise from them. As always Sam, great video. I personally enjoy a longer video so this unintentionally being an hour long was excellent for me.
Hornby didn't put enough love and care into this one. They were like: "Yeah, everyone wants a model of it. Let's get it done and over with."
While yes true, but that doesn’t give the excuse for poor packaging/parcels for delivery. Especially if Hornby is just using cardboard (albeit not taped properly) and let the box move about with no protection whilst in delivery, how does this please their customer who have been waiting for the Hornby Hush Hush
Now I know the real excuse for Hornby’s W1 is called “Hush Hush”
Feels like that's what they're doing nowadays
Yep! There's lots of evidence to support that theory Johnny... but the best part is that packaging. Slinging a £220 model into an over-sized box with no packaging? Please!
A big part of the various jobs I've worked at for forty years involved packing & sending parcels. A small box inside a bigger box is the perfect way to get the contents damaged. The smaller box is forever slamming up against the sides of the bigger box. Cushioning is needed to stop it moving around.
I feel like they could've used the wheelbase from an A4 since they are relatively similar and added more weight to the balance points and possibly made sure that the motion of the wheels were clear and not stalling.
THAT PACKAGING!!! ...Ok, it's official. Hornby has now sunk to the same level as Mattel. Great job, fellas.
Haha lol
Okay maybe not THAT low, but low notherless
Looking at Tyco for inspiration is not a good idea.
Absolutely shocking isn't it? I still can't believe they let that happen... are they just dumb, or do they really not care?
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Hard to say, Sam. Because of this, I can't help but wonder what'll happen with the upcoming A1/A3s, since I'm looking to get into Thomas modeling and I wanna use the new Lemberg for Gordon.
Appreciate the honesty Sam, really surprised that in this day and age with modern cnc and injection moulding you can put to market a loco as bad as this I expected better of Hornby and most of your viewers would as well, Keep it up Sam
For such an old, respected name in model trains, I am very surprised at all the negative reviews of their products. We have brands like Athearn, Atlas, Walthers, Rapido, Scale Trains over here, and it's very, very rare to have any product that isn't 100% perfect right out of the box in detail, quality, and operating characteristics. This seems to be the norm, except with Hornby. I wonder why.
@@z526gaming9 as someone who works with CNC machines, a properly calibrated CNC machine will make many many runs without issue, it's all about your procedure and the care you put in calibration. Injection moulding can be more hit and miss, but once you get your process down you shouldn't be having so many issues as Hornby are having. They're cutting quality for margins and it shows.
After a particularly difficult month in college, when I basically had no time but to study, I had forgotten how much joy and satisfaction your channel had brought me. When I saw your video yesterday, after opening UA-cam "seriously" for the first time in a month, the good memories flooded back, and I became that excites little kid that only loves trains and nothing is to be worried about.
For that, I thank you Sam
You have brought much joy and excitement back in my life.
Have a wonderful Christmas!
That's such a lovely comment - thank you so much! You're very welcome, and I'm so happy you enjoy the videos,
Have a very merry Christmas!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
These sort of issues would be something expected on a Heljan steam engine, not a Hornby. I would absolutely send it back. That obvious lack of care in the quality and the bizarre mechanical faults is astonishing. £219.99 (near $300 for me) for a warped, plastic running board, under gauging, a mysterious mechanical fault, a grinding motor, bent tender drawbar, and the chance for it to stick and wheel slip whenever is not acceptable in any sense of the term. Even though the detail on the locomotive is fantastic, for such a lack of care with the mechanism and the packaging is an absolute disgrace. If I were to get a near $300 model in OO it better work and be flawless.
Yep - seen far worse than this from Heljan... but this is the most I've ever paid for a new Hornby loco... and it's also the most a Hornby loco has ever sucked... not used to this from Hornby! Beautiful model from a distance, but a total let-down under closer inspection :(
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Were models better 15 years ago
@@SamsTrains yo, make a video about armoured train, pls
Several other reviews out there saying much the same thing bar one. The one that was different apparently had better packaging from a third-party retailer. I suppose Sam sent his back but I wonder what he would have found if he had taken the thing to bits. Internal damage to the motor or mechanism maybe?
@@oscarosullivan4513 "Yes" take a look at the old Airfix/GMR models from the late 80's/early 90's. The models were very good for the price, sadly the running mechanism left a bit to be desired.
I was in my local model railway shop when these were delivered, every single one was broken in various serious ways!
haha yeah - I've heard similar stories... there seems to be an unusually high number of reports of breakages with these... the poor packaging might not be the only factor!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Maybe outsourcing the assembly of these models in China is not a good idea after all. The Chinese can do high quality stuff as anyone else, but in that case it's going to cost as much money as anywhere else. If you do this kind of work on the cheap, your results are going to reflect that. A product not working right out of the box is the unmistakeable sign of bad quality assembly and low standards. This would never happen at a German factory, or if it happened it would be very rare.
@@aaantunes Maybe it be a better idea for them to just produce the raw parts and then ship them to a select few places that would assemble and ship the final product. Things are build in China to be cheap and profitable. Having the final product shipped across the globe only to end up broken and then shipped back is not profitable and very wasteful. I wonder how many of these trains are being shipped around the world just to end up in a trash bin. Very sad.
@@ColinTimmins not just that. It's bad business. Lose customers, not just the sales. If 30% of the product is damaged or defective out of the box, those end up as returns.
Since Sam knows what he's doing and spent a lot of time and effort to fix the locomotive... It'll likely end up in the trash at the company HQ or wherever they send defective products. It's no longer new. Its a loss.
That'll effect future purchases.
Watching these Sam's videos, if I were to get back into model railroad, I'd likely stick with Bachmann.
Even thou I don't have trains anymore, I still love looking at what others have, etc
When I was a boy, I never managed to get my hands on a Flying Scotsman, but all the locos I had from Hornby were finished with a layer of lacquer which replicated the gloss paint finish on the real thing. It is sad to see that the quality of design and build has declined so much along with loyal enthusiasts now being treated with such contempt by manufacturers who seem to think it acceptable to supply a loco that is not fit for purpose in a box that looks like it has been drop kicked by Jonny Wilkinson. I don’t know how Hornby expect to survive behaving like this, but they need to change their culture and values very quickly beginning with listening to thorough reviews like this to improve quality control.
I use your reviews to see if a model is worth buying! Thank you so much for going the extra mile to help us all choose the right models! You are a crucial asset to the model railway industry! Respect!!!!!
That's lovely to hear Dwayne, it's my pleasure... thank you so much for the kind comment!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
This is why I watch you Sam to get the true unvarnished facts. I watched a few other videos on this loco and they gave a great review on this loco but they don’t show the engine running. Like I always say I trust Sam’s train reviews before I purchase a new product. Thank GOD for you Sam and your trusted reviews at least you are not getting paid to push a product.
Agreed. Sam runs his engines, and he calls a lemon a lemon. And he is not afraid of talking about value for money, instead of finding lame excuses for manufacturers to present near-unusable engines at undecent prices (Beattie well tank from EFE anyone ?).
I agree with this too. My Merchant Navy purchase a few months ago was directly influenced and bolstered by how much Sam enjoyed running it, as well as how it was put together - and mine is an absolute beauty. I’d been thinking of getting one of these, and now I don’t think I will given there’s such a divide
Ditto. I am quite reluctant to buy anything unless I see Sam run it first. I would, however, wish he would run these pieces through the turnouts and see how they hold up.
Thank you so much, that's very kind of you! I'm a big believer in no-nonsense reviewing. Suck up to the manufacturers and who do you please? A handful of people. Make content for the customers and who do you please? Everyone else!
Absolutely zero point in making excuses and hiding issues - you know the "reviewers" who do it - and their continued unpopularity is their punishment ;)
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@DigitalDavis16 Exactly thr same with the Merchant Navy!
As someone who works with a package delivery company, that packaging makes me cry on the inside. It is pain.
haha yep - I've had quite a few comments saying that! It's laughable isn't it? And it shows total and utter contempt for customers... they'll take £220 from us, and can't spare 10p of it for a sheet of bubble wrap? It's like they're going the extra mile to show how little they care.... I don't understand!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains, or put it in a smaller box with a few layers of paper wadding too help keep it safe from impact.
I do 3D design n 3D printing as some of ye know....I also use lots of bubble wrap! I'm one guy piddling around in a shed....why can't a multi million £ company do it??
Utterly inexcusable.
Can't believe they left it rattling around like that. Really not funny. 😑
@@sparkshot apropos 3D printing, I received resin banging about loosely in a box. My neighbours accepted the package for me while I was away. I'm very surprised and happy it hasn't leaked, especially at my neighbours' premises. This is hazardous material, my hazard my problem, but it absolutely can't be treated this way!
Hi Sam , Hornby must have taken note of this review as my rebuilt W1 received today was properly packaged with foam and bubble wrap !! So thank you and keep up the good work
I would have sent it back straight away Sam.You are right that packaging was shocking,in fact i purchased a container wagon from ebay the other week,it cost £5 with a £3.50 postage charge. It came boxed,in a postal box, wrapped up in so much bubble wrap it took me 10 mins to cut it out lol :) Hattons is another one who loves the bubble wrap,which is excellent in my book.Happy Christmas Sam and all the best for the New Year.
Thanks for this Sam.
It seems that Hornby are in danger of alienating their customer base. The attitude to the retailers, the way they are trying to dictate what is going to happen in the hobby. And now.... really mixed reviews about their models. They should be great. They look fab. But to have this kind of problem for the money paid? Nah.
Time for the management at Hornby to get a grip.
Hornby in its current state reminds me of Mattel and how out-of-touch they are with Thomas the blue E2.
It’s funny cuz I watched the hornby: a model World Series and obviously there’s Simon who is in charge of the HQ at margate and while I watched I just thought what a stuck up arrogant pillock, hornby don’t care about their trains, just their money
Very disappointing for such an expensive model. Watching the tv series about Hornby it gives exactly the reason for this failure, inadequate designers, arrogant management (just one) and even on tv it showed a model send back by a customer with what turned out to be two burned out decoders. Nuff said me think. Overpriced bad stuff.
Absolutely. What tickles me is the way they think they have the right to judge other retailers' suitability to stock their products, while they themselves are *completely incapable* of manufacturing a quality product, dispatching it in a timely manner, and packaging it adequately.
Hornby have certainly done a lot of talking about making quality models to high standards on TV... but that's all they've done: talked about it.
hense why I model Australian stuff more so south australian railways stuff (most of my models are kits so when it comes to sar diesel locos and sar I have to cannibalise a donor loco for the mechanism
I've always loved the "Hush - Hush" W1 class, quite a shame model is rather lackluster in the performance department. Still, the detail is excellent.
Thanks Joseph - I'm in love with them too... but this missed the mark :(
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I would not return it because you put so many hours into it and was expecting better for years.
I would request a coupon for a discount on another product to pay you back for your time.
Let them see know what happened.
But you would not feel good returning it and a new one might be worse.
I would ask for a discount on a future purchase.
I really enjoy the thoroughness of your reviews. You gave this one every opportunity to prove itself. Also hope your illness has cleared up.
My grandfather was a fitter at Darlington North Road Loco Works, and was in the erection gang of this loco when it was originally built, and remembered the secrecy they had to keep during the building of it
SEND IT BACK! The more they get back, the more likely they are to make sure their future models work correctly.
I agree - mine's going back!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
UK-models are all worthless as Zloty, Lira, Pesetas. Quite oversized as Meatpigs, Belgianblue. What in Hell is that for kind of idiotscale? S- scale trains on 16,5m.m. H0 tracks? Even Märklins Uk-models looks damn terrible, 3073 örrrkk.. E800 LMS is much too large.
Hey Sam. You got me into model railways and I've set up my own now. Thank you for inspiring me.
That's amazing to hear - hope you're having fun with it!! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains I got a black 5 with sound and spring buffers for £69.99. Was it a good deal. It was a Hornby one iswell
Sam, thanks for your transparency on the issues this model has. Hopefully some one from Hornby corporate watches this and makes the necessary relevant changes to shipping and handling as well as the mechanical flaws present.
As a collector of Märklin, Roco, Fleischmann etc it never fails to amaze me how poor Hornby are. And their prices are now silly!
Even my Z gauge layout runs better than that :(
totally agree. I guess its a reflection of chinese or indian manufacture and poor QC as opposed to german manufacture. Give me fleischman any day
Definitely send it back, if only to show Hornby it's not good enough, not everyone has the repair knowledge and skillset as you, I wouldn't have had a clue. £200+ is obscene for something that could breakdown at any moment!
That's what I'm doing Mark... at least that's what I'll do when Hornby respond to my returns request... which they haven't as of yet. Absolutely crazy, you're right!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
For that price, there should be working lamps at the front, firebox glow, cab light, and metal footplate/parts. Those plastic lamps look awful and cheap.
You're right - I'm not a fan of paying extra for features like that... I'd rather have simpler models at a reasonable price. Here I feel I've paid for them, but not received them... which is even worse!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
And id add footplate crew to that list too as standard
@@SamsTrains On the detailed interior, it looked okay. I've seen better on smaller Japanese products. A possible easy fix to improve those details is to use a bit of wash from Tamiya to make some of the details pop, help cover the non-painted areas, great black/shadows. A tiny brush and a cotton swab to wipe up access, take about 5 minutes. The molded levers and such did look great.
KS 2000. The original would not have had a cab light so why would the model have one? The only illumination it would’ve had was a small paraffin lamp that hung beside one of the gauge glasses so the water level could be seen. It would not be enough to light up the cab.
Such a similar experience. My pre-order (from a well known retailer) was cancelled very late in the day, leaving me to scrabble around to find one elsewhere, which I eventually did. The model arrived in one piece but didn't work: the loco - tender coupling was bent which meant the tender rear was up in the air. It was also fitted the wrong way round. After correcting that, it did work. Same issue with the front bogie though, on level track it's pressed right up against the chassis with no vertical movement possible. I'd call it a design issue. Hornby appears to design their models, pass the design to one of the manufacturers in China, check the livery details (usually good) and give first-off samples a quick run around their factory test track. Their quality is currently abysmal. Every single loco should be factory tested and provided with a certificate to prove it. Having spent a lot of money on their products in recent years I've reached a decision: no more Hornby locos (I've not had any problems with coaches or wagons) until the quality improves. From your video, the drivers have brass bearings but they seem to be loose and able to move around in the chassis. A thought: as Hornby and others can make very good and effective diesel and electric models, why not try tender drives again? A high quality tender drive with die cast tender frame and body would be better than models like this!
I never understand why going directly to Hornby costs more, it’s literally cutting out a middle man, it should be £40 cheaper than a local model shop not £40 more, so they made at least £40 profit plus the normal profits they would earn from selling them to retailers, but you can’t boycott them as they will only sell a select number to retailers but will keep the rest for them self, sorry for the rant great honest review Sam keep up the great content
16:03 Not only is the front upper running plate warped, but the lower buffer beam is not parallel with it. Other than these issues it does look stunning, and I am so glad that so many Gresley engines are available nowadays.
Back in the 80’s us Gresley fans could only get A3, A4, B17, D49 and N2.
I pre-ordered two W1’s from Hattons which got cancelled so I re-ordered them from Kernow. They still haven’t arrived. I’m not desperate but they would be nice for Christmas.
I know the price is high but it’s still much cheaper than going kit built, and the kit built W1’s I’ve seen are approx 80% of the size they should be, which is pretty useless.
That's a good spot - that whole area of the body is completely malformed. We are lucky to have so many great Gresley designs available in model form... but this wasn't one of them very unfortunately. Fingers crossed your W1s are okay... do keep me posted!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
There were also Bachmann V1, V2, V3 and K3s in the 1980's. Regarding cancelled and long-awaited orders from model shops, what Hornby are doing is getting punters to buy direct from their website, so cutting out the middle man and doubling their profit to an obscene level, as they give their punters nothing in return. They do this with production numbers that can often sell out or nearly sell out on their website, so limiting the numbers, if any, that go to model shops, so the only way to guarantee a model is to pre-order on the Hornby site. They also limit the discount shops can offer to 15%, so effectively price-fixing (which became illegal decades ago) by maintaining a shop retail price of 15% below their actual site price. Hornby also insist that any price increases are applied by shops immediately, even to their existing stock. I know this through an argument with a large retailer shop's manager over their contemporary advert guaranteeing a set price until a future date, then insisting on charging me more when I ordered an existing stock item. Hornby also recently advertised a "x% off your next order code when you spend £xxx or more on site". I bought and waited and waited for my code, with a view to ordering a certain other pre-release. It arrived several weeks later but, guess what, the model's price had mysteriously increased by more than x%! The greedy buggers have thus got you by the short and curlies in three different ways. I mentioned all this on their site in a comment/review but it vanished down a black hole!
I forgot to mention that my "original" Hush Hush, though I can't run it presently, a cursory look-over showed that it had a wonky nameplate on one side and disappointing plastic silver-painted hand rails on the engine and tender. Hornby didn't bother to reply to my email pointing out the uneven nameplate, hence their questionable quality assurance and the disappointing plastic hand rails. It seems that they just don't like criticism and staff appear to have been instructed to ignore it, as well as failing to publish critical postings on their site. This is all despite all their claims in their TV series. I think that you, Sam's Trains, should distance yourself from Hornby instead of letting them use you to promote their shoddy products, even if you're paid for your contributions to their TV series - morale integrity and all that. My trouble these days as, without anywhere to run my purchases, I've become more of a collector, hence unable to find and expose mechanical faults.
4:12 that packaging. wow. I work for my families online business, if something I packaged looked like that, with no cushioning whatsoever, I would likely be fired, especially on a 200 + product.
How does he know the box wasn't damaged or broken into in transit?
@@HO-bndk we don't. However cusioning a product adequately considerably reduces the likelihood of something breaking in transit.
The most impressive thing about the video (besides how bad the train was) is how sam managed to keep his usual self, to an extent
Here in the US during the steam age it would be pretty common to see a Locomotive with a 4-6-4, they are called officially here in the states Hudsons, named after the Hudson river. The first Hudson was the J1e by the New York Central rr and was built in the early 1920s, atleast in our case Hudsons were pretty reliable engines, they were great for fast passenger service, they even went over 100 despite pulling heavyweights behind them. The US is practically known for its weird wheel configurations, especially the 2-4-2 Columbia type and 2-6-4 Adriatic type we also have 4-8-2 Mohawks and 2-10-2 Texans
It sure would be common - you guys seemed to have a lot of 4-6-4s, but this was literally the only 4-6-4 in the UK at the time (as far as I know!)
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
just a comment, the W1 is not really a 4-6-4, its a 4-6-2-2 there are two trucks at the rear, its more like an A4 A3 truck with an extra truck added in.
@@petertrznadel8107 Technically a Cardazzi axle and a truck; like the rear wheels on LNER Pacifics, the Cardazzi is mounted in the rigid main frame but has sideways movement.
The Cartazzi axle has curved pedestals so the axle can swing radially like a Delta truck despite being in a plate frame. The second carrying axle is built as a trailing Bissel.
The original 4-6-4s were French, and the Whyte code name given to them was 'Baltic' type. C.H.Bilty of the CMStP&P designed the first purpose-built American 4-6-4 (F6) and referred to it as a Baltic; due to financial concerns the first example wasn't built before NYC's. Since "Hudson" is otherwise so familiar, as a kind of compromise some of us in the steam community refer to a 4-6-4 with a Delta-style trailing truck as a 'Hudson' and one with a pin-guided trailer as a 'Baltic'... except when referring to the Milwaukee Road!
And the US first loco was a vertical boiled thing with 1.5 horse power - 2 horses would have been more economical.... 🤣🤣
This certainly makes a mockery of all Hornby claim in the recent documentary series (loved your appearances too)
haha it sure does - the more a company pats themselves on the back on TV, the greater the contrast between that and reality. As another commenter rightly said, it's like shooting themselves in the foot with a rocket launcher!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Didn't realise that you had been on it, Sam? Probably because I stopped watching it after the second episode. Typical Channel 5 production values and any excuse for totally irrelevant drone aerial shots. Keep the faith!
@@markcousins9337 cheap screen time filler. Drones, not Sam! Lol
I loved the way they would blur-out certain items too. For example the ‘Coca-Cola’ set was blurred-out in one episode, only to appear unblurred in the next!
@@steveluckhurst2350 Channel 5 in a nutshell # Bangers and Cash # "Celebrity" Auction House. The list goes on and is not exhaustive.
Such a shame as this promised to be a great engine. On the scores - I would have scored it 4.5 for the detail as the plastic details that should have been metal (such as the valve handles). You should get a wagon with a duck with a broken wing in it and any engine that fails to live up to the expectation can get the honour of pulling the "lame duck" around the track at the end of your reviews!
Yeah that's fair actually - I think I may have been overly generous on detail... but hopefully the video on the whole leaves no doubt as to what the loco is really like!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
As usual, a very thorough and useful review. Given the issues you’ve had with procurement, packaging and loco performance, sending it back is for me a no brainer. Hornby need to see faulty expensive products being returned, otherwise quality will continue to suffer.
Send it back Sam it is not acceptable for that price, to send it out in that condition suggests that there is no quality control at the factory. Good review.
Hornby have produced a model that replicates the real life loco's unreliability when it come out of the box for the first time
That's a little TOO much fidelity for my liking :P
When you were running it off the track upsidedown in the little cradle, you could see the offending wheel bouncing up and down. Highly likely either the chassis is warped, or the notches the bearings sit in on the chassis and cover plate were machined too large, or have wallowed-out. Regardless, I agree with majority of people commenting that you should demand a refund. For the price they charged you, even if it was in perfect running condition you did not receive good value for money. As you mentioned, I agree, there should have been lights, more metalwork, and DCC sound for that price point. I hope you get your money back without too much hassel should you decide to send it back.
Yeah - I think it's probably something to do with the chassis too. Can't verify this properly without removing all of the wheels though, and I'm not willing to do that, as if I do damage, Hornby may refuse my return. The bearing slots were as they should be though - I took the calipers to them while re-gauging that axle!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrainsJust return it as faulty and either get a replacement or a refund. Worth also reminding everyone , that in addition to your rights if a loco is faulty in any way, if you buy online you can also change your mind after receiving the loco and return it for a full refund. It doesn't have to be faulty and you don't have to give a reason for the return. (You do normally have to pay for the postage back though which is not the case if it's faulty).
Surprised no one has suggested bad quartering of the leading axle. Only needs to be a little out and the motion will wind itself up. Depending on the direction as wheel revolves it will either try and stretch or compress the connecting rod as crank pins progressively get out of sync. Looking at what you see forward is stretching the rod and ultimately causing the motion to lock up. In reverse it is bending the rod. When you loosen the retaining plate it allows the axle move and release the load in the rod. However as soon as you try again it will eventually lock up. Quartering is critical and model makers normally get it right, looks like you have a rogue one.
In general, bouncing up and down of an axle is due to the timing being 'off'.
Each axle needs exactly the same angle between left and right - if one is even 1 degree off, then they bounce. A quick bodge is to file the bearing holder to allow the axle to move back and forth so it doesn't bind.
@@jamessimpson9142 Ah - yes, I see already mentioned here: I agree, the most likely cause.
It's sad... Typical of modern management putting a stick in their own spokes. Metaphorically and physically in Hornbys case!
Unfortunately a lot of retailers who are trying to go green and cut down on foam and other non biodegradable packaging don't think to replace them with green alternatives such as shredded cardboard etc
How on earth does Hornby think they’ll get away with selling a model for £200 with such a shoddy mechanism! Great review all the same, sorry to see you had to go through all that hassle just to make sure the damn thing works
Well they haven't gotten away with this one - I've decided it's going back, and they'll be covering the postage costs too. I just really hope that others do the same!!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
They get away with it because they suffer from the age old problem of British business ‘it’s got our name on it , people will buy it regardless’ . Having a famous name is all Hornby have & they trade purely on the heritage / brand loyalty. I havent bought a new Hornby loco in over 20 years. As a modern image modeller they make very little that you can’t get a alternative of or can live without. When the models where made in Margate , it had a honesty & charm, when they chased the money with the move to China you knew what was coming. They’ve always been noted for garden shed engineering since the days of the ringfield motor but with those you could fix them / bin them - replace with a Lima motor etc.
£219 is a fair bit of money but it’s cheap compared to the likes of Marklin & Roco, but when see a Marklin / Roco product you know why they cost what they do. Their models are properly designed & engineered. Anybody who thinks Hornbys models are the best needs their head examining. Just because it looks nice doesn’t make it a great model. The motors are ten a penny mass produced stuff, the cheap grade metal wheels , it’s all cheap as chips gear & that applies to Bachmann as well.
For a company who own 4 HO European brands they are clueless. But then those brands have to compete , in a market where high standards / discerning client base have been the norm for over 50 years. With OO it’s always been basic gear. Now the dreaded word detail is so over used , the details on the models are good but the real attention to detail such as mechanics , design & engineering are down at x,y & z.
Been doing this hobby for over 40odd years & I have to say new tool models are the last resort. Mutton dressed as lamb springs to mind. All look very nice but let down by being poorly thought out.
It's made in China, But Hornby will take the fallout
@@MikeWilliams-yp9kl Yes and no. As a poster said above, being made in China has reduced some quality. China can and does make quality products, but they can also make pure junk. Hornsby is still at fault because whoever they contracted to manufacture the engines for them, it was their choice. As is quality standards.
Apple, Lenovo, HP notebooks come out of the same Chinese factory. Yet there are still quality differences between them. Apple pays a bit more for quality builds and requirements, as does Lenovo. While a company like HP, Acer are low-end and will use cheaper materials and components.
So it's Hornsby's responsibility.
@@lucitonstjames3925 Profit margins over Quality. The model markets are shrinking, so more profit per sale.
Quality suffers, lose customers = reduce costs for next product, repeat.
Just imagining the stories of this model being broken on arrival, just shows quality control with the packaging and in the original box itself. But the model looks ace however just by looks alone and that grey is friggin gorgeous
It certainly could be a matter of quality control - and plenty of people seem to believe that the damage (where relevant) occurred at the factory! I'm not sure where I stand on that... if they were packaged securely, then maybe I could believe it... but the fact is, allowing the model to rattle around like that without packaging to dampen any knocks significantly increases the chances of damage in transit. Quality control is needed though, for sure... some of the issues won't be due to transit!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Excellent review Sam, objective as always. I’ve seen numerous reviews all giving it glowing reports yet they never test the actual performance and quality of the mechanisms.
This is why I consider your channel a cut above
Great Channel and great reviews. I must have been very lucky. Same terrible packing that you had, but mine thankfully arrive in good condition. The running plate was straight and thus when put on the track it ran absolutely fine. I did contact Hornby prior to them sending the rebuilt W1 to ask that they ensure that it was well packed and to be fair they did listen and it was packed in a number of layers of bubble wrap. If you can get your hands on one the new Bachmann V2s (with sound) are a stunningly good re-tooling of these superb workhorses.
If everyone sent theirs back Hornsby might get the hint.
Send it back Sam
I wouldn’t have given it 5* for detail as it lacks in metal details ie whistle etc. This is £220!!!
performance 1*
Quality 1*
Value 1*
Cheers Sam. Great review as usual. 👍🏻
I agree Tim, it's definitely going back! Yes maybe I was a little generous on detail... but credit where credit's due... the model looks fine!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Thanks for this review Sam. Spot on, your reviews really do help and inform all of us as to whether or not we would like to buy these locos or pass on them. I hope you let Hornby know about the awful packaging!
I w'ont be buying one of these locos. It looks great but is too large and ungainly for my little 7' by 4' layout, and so I'll spend my funds on smaller, cheaper engines that are reliable runners.
It's a pleasure Piers - glad to be able to cover this one! I have let them know... no response at the time of writing!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Be good to get some comment from Hornby about this.
On the Yesterday TV show they show the company as being dedicated to accuracy and quality yet this model seems to display little of that and, that packaging shows little regard for the customer or the product. It really is inexcusable.
I got the impression that the programme was just one huge advert for them. Sad to see a largely empty factory, they glossed over the fact that all of their products are now made in China.
First time I’ve watched one of your reviews having seen you on the Hornby program. Excellent presentation, honest and extremely informative review. It’s a TEN from me for you Sam! Although I’m not into ‘kettles’ I model 70s/80s BR Diesel, I enjoyed the layout shots and the running scenes. This in itself has inspired me to alter my own layout as a project over my three week Christmas break. I hope you get better soon and that the dreaded ‘C’ word doesn’t spoil your Christmas. 👍
Sam ... Congratulations you are now an honorary member of "THE CURSE OF THE HORNBY HUSH HUSH" Club . It seems there are now many members of this unique and private club as of today . My one arrived direct from Hornby in the same packing as yours . It has a broken tender , tender wheels that will not turn on the track and a loco with a motor that never even managed a single lap on run in both directions . It just kept on stalling and did not want to play . I am returning mine for replacement because i waited so long on pre order for this model . If the replacement has any issues i will ask for a refund . I will never buy a new model again and will simply then concentrate on 3 Rail Hornby Dublo and Triang Railways for reliability and my fun train hobby time .
I have stricken out the future Hornby 2MT from my shopping list, and I hesitate to do the same with the forthcoming 9F, the only remaining hornby I want to buy. They have quality issues, I have not a lot of money, and zero complanency towards their uncompetence. And better models from Germany or Italy.
haha thanks David - it's an honour! Still, shocking how many reports of damaged locos there have been this time around... I can't remember ever reading quite this many! I'm so sorry that yours was so faulty too - glad to hear you're doing the right thing. I'm sending mine back for a refund straight away - the fun has gone from the Hush Hush for me now sadly :(
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains yes as Sean Connery as James Bond 007 remarked after electrocuting a bad guy in a bath of water in the pre title sequence of Goldfinger ... " Shocking positively shocking ! "
Sam. I love your reviews. I waited years for this so I ordered one. I then made someone happy and cancelled my order because of Hornbys behaviour this year. I cancelled over £3000 of orders.
I know 4 people that have a Hush Hush. They are all damaged and going back. A complete disgrace that Hornby have forced people to pay the full price and then they make no effort to get them to them in one piece.
Wow Marin - thanks for sharing, and thanks for your service to this hobby by actually cancelling orders... if we all acted like you, the manufacturers would learn their lesson *real fast*
Yes - even in good condition, £220 for a Hush Hush is a complete ripoff... they're making 3 lots of profit selling on their website at RRP... they make their own initial profit, the profit the retailers would make, *and* the extra £40 on top... and they can't package them properly? Utterly furious.
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Glad to see someone else supporting my views on the matter of Hornby poor quality, sleaze and deceit. I often wondered how they went from being virtually bankrupt to financing all these new models over a short period of a year or two and, as I've said elsewhere on this site, now I know, i.e. what Hornby are doing is getting punters to buy direct from their website, so cutting out the middle man and doubling their profit to an obscene level, as they give their punters nothing in return. They do this with production numbers that can often sell out or nearly sell out on their website, so limiting the numbers, if any, that go to model shops, so the only way to guarantee a model is to pre-order on the Hornby site. They also limit the discount shops can offer to 15%, so effectively price-fixing (which became illegal decades ago) by maintaining a shop retail price of 15% below their actual site price. Hornby also insist that any price increases are applied by shops immediately, even to their existing stock. I know this through an argument with a large retailer shop's manager over their contemporary advert guaranteeing a set price until a future date, then insisting on charging me more when I ordered an existing stock item. Hornby also recently advertised a "x% off your next order code when you spend £xxx or more on site". I bought and waited and waited for my code, with a view to ordering a certain other pre-release. It arrived several weeks later but, guess what, the model's price had mysteriously increased by more than x%! The greedy buggers have thus got you by the short and curlies in three different ways. I mentioned all this on their site in a comment/review but it vanished down a black hole!
I have had one star reviews on their website disappear. What really annoyed me is when they dropped all their concessions. Take the shop on Anglesey as an example or the department store Daniels. They had been with Hornby supporting the brand for decades. Hornby then drop them overnight and then 2 years later come out with the tier system that effectively says that both these shops should be supplied by them now. You cannot treat people and business's like that
Hi Sam, Thanks for the review and your very analytical approach. As others have mentioned, one of the major issues we have as a hobby is that the modelling press have given up on providing thorough and totally honest reviews. While we are aware of the reasons for this, things will not change until they do, as they are the front door and mouth piece of the hobby. I think a concerted effort on RM, Hornby Magazine, BMR Modelling is needed; let's get writing and emailing them with the evidence of all the manufacturers short-falls
Keep up the good work. Best wishes.
I haven't been into model trains since I passed on my Lionel set at the age of twelve. I got sidetracked by model planes (mostly control line and hand-launched gliders), and then music, which stuck. But trains are also a noble hobby. My father was a railroad telegrapher and a lifelong train buff. Some of that rubbed off on me.
And what a wonderful model review from you- exemplary reporting. Subscribed.
cheers from cool Vienna, Scott
send it back Sam, people really should not put up with that level of rework on a brand new model of over £200, they need to learn this is not acceptable
Yep - it's going back! Just need Hornby to respond now... so far nothing... this marks the 5th working day of silence!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains good for you, I am day 8 of silence lol
I'm glad I saw this Sam. I had one ordered but for an inadvertent slip up, my end, had to re-confirm that I still wanted one. I definitely don't after seeing this. There's nothing like being let down on opening a new model and running it the first time. If it doesn't go well, all of that excitement and pleasure is lost. How in heavens name any manufacturer can churn out variable quality and hugely priced product whilst still expecting the customer base to remain loyal beats me. Sooner or later, it doesn't and customers will go elsewhere. Frankly I think your experience is horrendous and Hornby should hang it's head in shame. Very disappointing too for the brand itself.
Thanks for sharing - yes you dodged a bullet there... gutted with this one... but I feel much better having decided to return it for a refund... at least then I won't have lost all that money in exchange for garbage.
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I had the W1 on pre-order with Hattons, then all the orders were cancelled. I was tempted to order from Hornby, but then I saw the price and your review! I am so glad you did the review because you saved me a lot of money and heart ache. I always find your reviews fair and impartial. Merry Christmas.
Hi Sam. Thanks for the review. My Hornby "W" has been sitting, wrapped up, under the Christmas Tree for two weeks having arrived via Hermes in similar pre-order/re-order fashion to yours. However similarities end there. It ran sweetly out of the box on Christmas morning with no apparent damage to components and pulled a train of refurbished Triang/Hornby "teaks" plus a cut'n'shut Dynamometer car made from two Triang clerestories. The train ran quietly round my complicated Peco Code 100 trackwork long enough to show up any defects. There were none.
Later in the day I saw your review and began to panic and gave it two hour's running in, forward and reverse respectively. This is more than most models have in a lifetime! While checking the drawbar and flangeless wheels I managed to bend the n/s front steps through clumsy handling, but this is par for the course for any manufacturer these days. A toothpick and CA adhesive soon put things right and I can live with this as I for one all want DETAIL and wouldn't be satisfied with a Hornby Dublo die-cast "Duchess of Montrose" 1950s clunker any more.
So, to summarise. Not cheap, but considering the new tooling, quirky pedigree and limited interest, hardly surprising. Looks great and unsurprising that some parts can be prised off if handled without a cradle. Runs perfectly, fore and aft, fast and slow right down to a Kadee bumpless coupling pickup.
Would I mortgage another birthday/Christmas present for a Hornby pre-order? Probably not and certainly not before reading your review - by which time it will be too late to find one in the shops - catch 22. Cheers Brian
And Hermes didn't lose the package or play football with it ????
Why do you run them on the floor carpet where they will pick up the maximum amount of dust and fuzz?
About the "Do as I say and not as I do", it's alright. You review trains for us and you can plunge into the depths of the coal tender so we don't have to. Thanks. =]
And now I have watched it.
And I am astonished that you gave THAT model 6 and a bit out of 10.
Its not a model locomotive, it’s an ornament (with some bent bits), that happens to have a motor inside, for £220!
Hornby’s tactics are truly shocking these days, that packaging is a joke. The model is not fit for purpose, and because they won’t have any spares, you can’t get another.
Anyway, hope you feel better and enjoy your Christmas.
haha yeah - the score was maybe a little generous - but I'd rather be too generous than too harsh! Yes I've been shocked by their behaviour this year, and the treatment of the Hush Hush is a perfect example of it. Thank you so much and have a very Merry Christmas!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I’m from the United States and I work for FedEx Ground. Basically when I talk to people about work and whatnot. There’s a 50/50 chance that someone would say something negative about FedEx’s package quality when it arrives at the door and I can’t say I blame them.
Basically my job is to unload trucks and unfortunately the people who load them before they get to me don’t care about the other packages being potentially crushed. A lot of times I have to take said boxes to quality assurance and have them put the contents of a package into a whole new box.
That’s a rabbit hole for a different time but point being that it’s HIGHLY advisable to wrap package contents like they’re priceless because trust me if the hush hush came to my terminal in one of the trailers that is poorly loaded. The hush hush would be destroyed.
I’m very sorry about that situation Sam because when people trust a company to ship things, I treat everything I touch as my own because there are things that come through that are worth several thousand dollars and it’s not things you would even think are worth that much.
I worked for UPS for a month and they for ed us to THROW mail nets full of parcells to keep up with speed demands.
Utter bollocks.
££££$$$$
Love your videos. I stopped buying hornby locos a few years ago due to their increasing poor quality.
It’s a shame to see they haven’t improved. I would never buy their products again, they are awful and certainly not worth the money they are asking.
Shame on you Hornby. £220 for a locomotive and the wheels don’t even touch the track making the loco inoperative.
I’d send it back with a information note about all the bad points about getting the loco, including the awful packaging etc.
That's the plan! I emailed Hornby on Sunday briefly explaining the main issues, and asking for a refund. Hoping to get a response soon; nothing at the time of writing.
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hi Sam, Hello from Philly, I have really been enjoying your videos. I model O scale / Lionel but I am learning a lot about model railroading from you. Excellent presentations, I know it takes you a long time to take this much care in the video. I have an "On30" Bachmann Spectrum that I love (and got an insane discount on). Keep up the great work.
I pre-ordered every version of the W1, (excluding the annoying streamlined versions that she was in before she sadly retired and scrapped), so far, I have the two grey versions, now I am waiting for the double blast pipe variant to arrive and my LNER green livery one to come as well. The W1 is my all time favorite British steam locomotive ever.
That's a crying shame. Trailing bogie is an absolute disgrace: I thought they moved away from that sort of bodge when they stopped using three rails.
I really admire your patience though. Most people would have sent it back after 5 minutes.
Cancelling pre-ordered? Ridiculous!
What with that and the limited edition Spam Can It's amazing they have any customers at all.
I was all set to get Hush-Hush but had this funny feeling after my bad experience with the Brighton Belle. Thought I'd wait for the reviews even if it made buying one rough. Glad I did - this is such a shame.
haha - trust your funny feelings! It is a real shame, but at least we know the truth now!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
This made me think wonder, could we get a video on worst train horror stories you got (basically the trains in the worst shape you got because of packaging)
Great video! Appreciated seeing you trouble shooting the problem. I learned a great deal.
Mine has arrived (eventually after 2 weeks getting through Hermes🙄) with broken smoke deflectors and broken screw mounting for the tender drawbar rendering it a very expensive ornament. Contacted Hornby but heard nothing back yet 😒
That sounds terrible! I hope they contact you back!
So sorry to hear that Robert - I've seen countless reports of exactly the same thing online. No response from Hornby for me either. It's now been 3 working days.
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains It's very disappointing as I and many others have been waiting for this loco with great anticipation for a long time and it's turned out to be a waste of money. I have asked for a replacement but unsure now I might just get a refund. I feel bad for Hornby as this situation will hurt them financially but then again they could have avoided it with a bit of bubble wrap so I don't know...
I'm stunned by the delay. Even buying in the UK from France, the longest I have is one plain week of seven days. So, how could you have longer delays inside the UK than me, who is outside ? It makes no sense, unless you have a poorest service for parcels than the one we have in France here with La Poste (absolute worst of Europe, Albania included).
@@OlivierGabin Oh believe me the stories we could tell you about our postal services you give you nightmares for a month!
I had absolute faith given it is is a brand new model and new loco but thank god I didn’t buy it as I was very tempted. Thank you for your reliable review and save me my money where I can use for other locos or buy more presents. Thanks for the video mate 🙂
haha - I was pretty confident in buying direct from Hornby... but it was a far worse experience than buying from a retailer... their lack of timely response so far isn't making it any better either!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
i keep loving your content more and more. You explain things in a way that even a train noob like me, can understand it. your video's are always interesting and very entertaining, keep it up!
Thank you so much for the kind words - always lovely to hear I'm doing something right.. thank you! :D
Cheers,
Sam :)
The LNER Hush Hush is now becoming my favorite locomotive :)
And that’s how you destroy a merchant’s business. So much for promoting small businesses. Great work, Hornby.
Yep - putting the entire hobby/industry in jeopardy to serve their own needs. Now they're even risking their own reputations now for the almighty £... when will they learn?
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Thanks Sam - an honest review that was needed. So glad I no longer pre-order anything - especially Hornby! Unacceptable packaging, unacceptable warped running plate and as for the trailing wheels not touching the rails - unacceptable and unbelievable that this has been made like that. I won't bother commenting on the rest as decision made already. Are Hornby spending too much time and money on collecting the 'real' thing in their unused factory space??? Hornby - please just give us a good working model at a fair price - is that too much to ask?
It's a pleasure Paul - I can't blame you for that... this whole product has been a fiasco, and the ordering of it was a disaster. That's all we ask - good model, good price... apparently that is too much!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Paul Levine. Hornby are not collecting anything “real” as you say, they do not even own their former building. Jeremy Hoskins owns the building and rents part of it back to Hornby. It is Jeremy Hoskins who owns the “real” thing certainly not Hornby.
@@juleshathaway3894 Thank you for correcting me on the ownership - not at all made clear from the program? The remainder of my comments remain though....
@@paullepine4765 No it hasn’t, at no point in any of the Hornby programmes has it been explained what is going on with the 12 inch to the foot locos seen. It does give the impression that they belong to Hornby.
Cheers.
@@juleshathaway3894 Also anybody new to the hobby would think this was where the models were made. No mention of the items actually being made in China.
Quite an excellent review. Especially the preamble re buying from dealers vs. Hornby themselves. I have experienced this myself with a different model Many thanks for this. The rest of the review is very excellent as well.
Yeah Sam I had the same problem with a 9F, and found that the piston valve con rod was hitting the centre king pin on the front drive wheel, when I bent it out excessively away from the drive wheel (I my case the off side) I haven't had a problem yet, by=the-way it happened on right hand curves ok on left hand curves...Great video, glad you're sending it back
Hey Sam I’m in the US and I don’t see as much problems with American manufacturers as you see with Hornby. I’d send it back. You paid quite a lot for your hush hush and I would get your money back. My models I have are dcc sound. Almost all my models ran perfectly out of the box. Best of luck with this. I hope you get another engine that makes up for this disaster. Cheers!
Yeah - I haven't bought much from America, but only one or two items have had horrible problems... seems to be happening all the time over here in the UK this year :(
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
The fact that you had to do so much work on your end to get it to run properly, considering it's a brand new loco, and the amount of money you paid, is a travesty.
I would send it back and ask for a full refund, as you were thinking of doing. This is just unacceptable.
Your site is the “go-to” where proper reviews are concerned. The new product reviews in certain railway magazines are almost useless, they only appraise the cosmetics and rarely get beyond a perfunctory run. Thanks for lifting the lid on what really matters, the quality of the mechanism under the body shell. I have learned a great deal from your various reviews and repair sessions, so many thanks and keep ‘em coming.
That's very kind of you Alan, thanks so much for the lovely support. Yes I've heard similar criticisms of the magazine "reviews"... I don't see how any company can give an impartial review of a manufacturer's product when said company *relies* on that manufacturer for advertising money and review samples. It just doesn't work. That's why I now buy all my review samples, and I don't accept them for free. Very funny indeed that I'm "unlucky" enough to find "bad examples" when other reviewers don't.... but according to them... I'm just "unlucky" of course ;)
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
we owned Märklin, German H0 from the 1980s. things were perfect, let alone looking under the loko. all well tone, this looks so cheap, palstic. it was all in Details and fully working, so precise. the wheels here are so edgy, not round.
I would have sent it back straightaway, whether Hornby will accept it after your attempted repairs is down for them. There were several issues you passed over. The 2 vents were not tidy trimmed, the visible gear under the boiler is messy due to the warped running plate plastic, the gold and silver paintwork is far to thick. The rear running gear should be turnable - I remember my 1975 Flying Scotsman had that.
Not the case: the leading trailing axle is in a Cartazzi truck (identical to the LNER Pacifics and V2s), with the rear one in a Bisel truck (as used by Stanier on his Pacifics). The second trailing axle should revolve, the leading one not!
Such a shame, I got the impression this would be of a similar caliber to the merchant navy an expensive mostly plastic model but more than adequate in terms of quality. Such a shame Hornby has so much potential. Excellent review Sam I feel you have been very just with this review.
I got exactly the same impression! And the awful part is, they're just a die-cast running plate and some quality control away from achieving that... but no, that's too much to ask apparently. Thank you - glad you thought this was fair! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
12:00
Fun fact: the LBSCR L class 4-6-4T locomotives were alongside the W1 for five years, until they were rebuilt into the southern railway N15X class
this is a great looking model, i love the wheel arrangement, and the colour makes it look special, which it is since it was one of a kind
Sam, are the cab windows/panels fitted back to front ? It seems like they are the wrong way round. Fantastic review as always. Shame Hornby seem intent on holding us all to ransom with their pricing and availability. Happy Chritsmas !
Maybe Hornby just wanted to recreate the reliability issues of the real loco...
But even if it ran well there are too many cheap solution, and "cut corners" (plastic handrails, prefitted but no functioning lights ...) to verify the price and the hype Hornby puts on this model. Maybe those Dapol black label A4s were not that bad after all, looking back!
In which case they went too far - pretty sure the real thing got further than 1/8th of a scale mile without breaking down ;)
You're right - too cheaply made to justify the price even if performance was perfect... poor value with the best will in the world!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
So I’ve got mine too an same one first disaster as jammed, and thank you for showing your video to repair it, to dealing with up.
The first time I saw a Hush Hush, was one of the Class W1 Plastic kits running at a model railway show in the early 2000s. I fell in love the quirky design and hoped for many a RTR model to be made. So, when Hornby announced the production of this loco, I was ecstatic that I ordered the R3840 and the R3841 British Enterprise. Like yourself it took to the 13th of December for them to be delivered. Both my models arrived like yours Sam in a box, no buffer packaging for transit, and a strip of tape at both ends to secure the contents. I saw Grahams Lakeside Channel about the horror stories as he waited on his loco too. Anyway, I open the first box to hand which had the British Enterprise in it and opened the boxes to take the loco out for a look at it. To me it looked great, and the detailing etc was impressive. Tho I didn't go into running it.
I did the same with the original ten thousand R3840 and the packaging was the same and when I took the loco out it too looked great. Then I noticed that the right-hand side front steps were missing. I looked in the boxes to see if it were lying loose, but I could not fit it anywhere. The conclusion was that it was missing from it during the assembly process.
Like I said above I haven't run them yet, because I wanted to see about any more issues online from other people. To watch or read their issues that were posted to take note of them. The next day I contacted Hornby via email about the missing steps and that I hadn't run them incase to send them back. It took four days before I got a reply, and I was told that the warehouse would send out a replacement steps, that is, if they had any spares in stock. That it could also take up to fourteen days before I would receive it, that is if they do have spares in stock? If I don't receive the part after the 14 days to contact him again. By the sounds of it, Hornby staff don't even know if replacement parts are available from the warehouse that shipped the locos. I am feeling doubtful it will come during the time given from Hornby or if it will have to be shipped from China. After watching your review, before I started to type this comment. You have scared me, and I am feeling more uneasy at the possibility there may be more problems ahead with the running of one or both locos, other than a set of step being missing. It looks like Hornby will have a major headache over this release and what should have been a stunning engine has turned out to be a dodo with its motive power issues.
It is a wonderful shaped and detailed model, but is it going to be just that, a great looking locomotive for a display cabinet that doesn't run. In that case I should have bought a plastic kit that I saw 20 years ago, built it up and painted it myself as a non-runner. At least I'd have saved about £150 in the process of one loco and the full £220 on the British Enterprise. The worse thing for me is that I have also pre-ordered the other versions too. I did this because I didn't know which version I wanted to have for my collection, as I could sell the others on later after I had decided which one was going to be my keeper. If my two do run great then fine, but if there is trouble with them, then they will have to go back to Hornby to get a refund and I'd buy the kit, which is rare to get hold of these days unless someone out there knows better. As for now I'll wait and see what happens with getting the replacement steps and to try to run them both while looking out for all the problems you and others have highlighted about this production of the Hush Hush but keep that part to yourself for now.
Such a shame you have had this experience. You should send it back as these are sold as "ready to run" and many modelers, especially ones new to the hobby, would not have a clue where to start in terms of fixing it.
Yes you're right Scot - it's definitely going back!!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Ordered each A2 (/2 & /3) and each variety of the hush hush. Every single one was warped, running gear was tangled.
Absolutely shocking
I bought this model and after closer examination took it back for a refund for the very same reasons mentioned in this review. The finishing touches of metal parts etc would have made this a splendid model . I cannot understand why these issues were not addressed prior to release. It would also have been a nice touch with illuminated headlamps ( and on all their models )
Thanks for still going through with the review. I was considering this model for a short time, but I also got many other locos that I want too. And being from America, I’d rather buy an engine that I not only have rolling stock for, but an engine that I know will be of good quality and shipped safely.
Hello Sam
I’ve just watched your review on the Hornby W1
I too had some issues back in early 2020 with my preorder for this model, and I confirm my issues were exactly the same as yours.
I had initially preordered my W1 from Rails of Sheffield, then a few weeks later I was informed that Rails could not fulfill my order.
I later discovered (along with everyone else) that there had been a ‘falling out’ between the retailer and the manufacturer.
I subsequently made another preorder with Gaugemaster, and luckily for me, Gaugemaster have been able to successfully fulfill my order, and I have now own one of these W1’s
I must confess I was absolutely HORRIFIED by the condition of the packaging Hornby provided for your W1
ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL!!
I also found the images you show in your review of some other peoples damaged W1’s to be heartbreaking.
These models are in short supply, and anyone returning them due to damage or faults are highly likely not going to be able to receive a replacement, I blame Hornby 100% for this disgraceful situation.
Once again, shame on Hornby!
Thanks so much for sharing Tony - very disappointing to know that I'm not alone in these issues. Just gutted by the whole thing... and I feel I've been treated like a complete fool... completely ripped off, and they just sling a fragile £220 product into an empty box like that?
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Sam, can you let us know how you get on with Hornby, be interested to here there take on it. Thought your review was very fair.
Zero response from Hornby as of yet. Contacted them Sunday, it's now Friday and I've heard nothing... I don't care how busy they are, it sucks :/
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
The reason why the back bogey is elevated is because the loco needs to turn well on curves.
I've always found with 100% surety when there's a known problem with anything the retailer automatically says, "You're the first person that's ever had a problem with that." I always reply, "Yeah don't get smart alright it's all over the internet, that response is code for we know there's a problem but we're trying to blame you because we're not going to do anything - go away!"
Doesn't matter if it's a toaster, GPS, lawn mower you always get that.
There were other standard-gauge 4-6-4 locomotives in Britain at the time - the LBSCR L class and the L&YR Dreadnought tank engine were both baltics (although both tank engines).
Indeed, there were several 4-6-4T classes - but this was the only 4-6-4 tender engine.
Got mine and spent days troubleshooting similar issues. Resistance in wheel movement. Stalls. Engine spinning and not fully engaging gear train and broken drawbar screwhole on tender. Can’t figure it out. Sending back in to Hornby repair shop.
Hi Sam, a great video. Sadly I've had similar issues with Hornby stock. I pre-ordered a Clan Class 4-6-2 No 72009 that arrived three weeks ago as my Christmas present, and it is with some trepidation that I've yet to open it and check it out. Maybe I'll do my first unboxing video!. Anyway a friend and I had a similar motor problem with an American loco, new but over 20 years old, never been opened and certainly not run-in. The issue was with the universal joints that were slightly misaligned, the more we tried to run them in, the more they bound up. Replacement of the joints was the best option. I certainly agree with your comments on packaging, that was just plain lazy. Good luck with the loco. We're looking forward to many more interesting videos from Sam's Trains in 2022. Cheers, Angus.
I know this video is one year old but hope you send it back. I understand the feeling of discovering a brand new loco. I just got an Athern Genesis SD90MAC UP (the unit with the 6000HP engine that blue-up - Many UP unit were converted back to SD70ACe - that a major down grading). This machine is absolutely phenomenal with an amazing level of details. I am so happy!!! Works very well with Stunami2 DCC.