.

[Jordan or Plymouth Mad]

.

 

[Phill Dyson]

Yes it was far better than the Hornby version, I've still got mine somewhere.........complete with an early attempt at weathering , a RTR O gauge version would be nice.....but I'm not holding my breath :roll:

 

[28ten]

At the time it was good, I had a 'king' to go with mine and that was pretty crude as well. strangely enough they featured n the only layout of mine that has ever been something near complete - Kingswear - which featured a dizzy mix of peco set track and a working turntable :lol:
The lesson being that when I was blissfully unaware of any models shortcomings I actually made much better progress :twisted:

 

[lancer1027]

Yes it was far better than the Hornby version, I've still got mine somewhere.........complete with an early attempt at weathering , a RTR O gauge version would be nice.....but I'm not holding my breath :roll:

Maybe if we all got on Heljan case they may wilt under the pressure :roll: :lol: (well they do OO why not O)

 

[Phill Dyson]

[quote=""lancer1027"":31xz1r6q]
Maybe if we all got on Heljan case they may wilt under the pressure :roll: :lol: (well they do OO why not O)

They'd have to do better than their OO one, though... that had some howlers too! All the same, chances are it'd cost less than the JLTRT kit... [/quote:31xz1r6q]
I think apart from the oversize peak the Heljan 4mm Wezzy is pretty good . I can see how the wrong shaped peak would outsmart the 00 fraternity :mrgreen: , but I'm sure us O gaugers could sort that little problem out if we did get a identical 7mm version :roll: :lol:
It's all a bit academic though as Heljan seem intent on producing progressively more boring prototypes IMO , after a excellent start with the Hymek & Brush 4 , so there doesn't seem like there's much chance of a Western
I do hope Heljan shelve there plans for a Deltic though, because with PRMP,Skytrex & now JLTRT all producing them, I think we need a Heljan Deltic like a hole in the head :x

Cheers Phill(I'll get off my soap box now :lol: )

 

[28ten]

Deltics? I could never see what all the fuss was! :evil:
If Heljan made a Western to the same standard as the Hymek I still think it would sell. I have said it a thousand times, but the most important thing is to get the basic dimensions correct, then leave it up to those of us who actually build stuff to add detail as we see fit. I really hope Heljan get the MK1 corrected and bring it down to about ?150.......
I will now climb off my soap box :lol:

 

[Phill Dyson]

I also think a decent Heljan Western would sell... I don't know how we'd ever find out, but I do wonder what the impact of the Heljan Hymek was on sales of the JLTRT Hymek, as they were released around the same time, and also prices of the Heljan one have fallen.

Not many I would have thought, especially when you consider the Heljan is better & less than half the price, I do hope Heljan continue to produce them, as the last batch seem to have just about sold out now , sadly though perhaps it was a slow seller & has put them off producing a Western ( the 47 & 37 seem to have sold a lot quicker)
BTW a Peak would be a much better choice than a Deltic IMO , how many eastern region modellers are there with space for 10 coach expresses :?: .......they will be well catered for with 5 different production Deltics to choose from :roll:

 

[28ten]

Westerns have a much bigger following than Hymeks and I still think they would be a good seller. I see Tower are listing the Mk1s at ?235 http://www.tower-models.com/towermodels/ogauge/heljan/mk1/index.htm which I think is too much, bearing in mind I could buy a JLTRT Mk1 for less. I know the Heljan is RTR but building the JLTRT 'from the box' is not exactly rocket science,and could be done in week, to me the choice is a no brainer.
The problem with coaches is that whereas a loco might cost ?300-?800, space issues not withstanding, you need to chuck ten coaches behind it......

Anyway a gratuitous hymek picture I really must do the big one up, I have some mods planned for the steps and some bogie stretchers

 

[Phill Dyson]

I did hope that Heljan's venture into 7mm might have been followed by some other manufacturers , I will have a good look at the Mk1's when the production ones come out( I saw the prototypes at Telford) but as you say there are a lot of good kit alternatives about at a fraction of the cost :? & the SMR/Concept RTR MK1's look very promissing too
I do love those Dapol Hymeks , 2mm/N scale could do with a nice Western though.

 

[28ten]

I did hope that Heljan's venture into 7mm might have been followed by some other manufacturers , I will have a good look at the Mk1's when the production ones come out( I saw the prototypes at Telford) but as you say there are a lot of good kit alternatives about at a fraction of the cost :? & the SMR/Concept RTR MK1's look very promissing too
I do love those Dapol Hymeks , 2mm/N scale could do with a nice Western though.

The Easy build coaches i have seen looked pretty good value.
The Bachmann Warship is a nice companion for the Hymek. although I havent got one.

 

[lancer1027]

The Easybuild coaches are very nice i have a TSO and an RMB. They go together well and you can detail to your own requirements (basic detail is in the kit). If you want to step it up a level ie do interior put fine detail it then becomes an exellent kit. I havent finished (well only just started actually) the TSO and the RMB i'm getting a mate to collect from Kettering. ( i cant get :cry: )