Being Danish and a sucker for the epoche 3 locomotives and rail cars, it's impossible to miss out in Heljan. But here in DK we also would like Heljan to paint the interiours. I've seen a review at Sams Trains, where he do a review on the Garratt. As I recall it, he is very pleased on the job Heljan did on that model :-)
A nice balanced review. Heljan do make some nice looking models but issues can arise in the quality stakes, they should look at another contractor for making the models if their current one isn’t up to scratch. They could’ve put a bit of paint inside but at the end of the day are you going to see it at normal viewing distance whilst running.
All my models are Hornsby except one ( Dapol j94). I’ve seen mixed results from some Heljan items so I haven’t ordered from them yet but someday I might try one of their diesels
Hi mate, nice review..,and I have to say that is a fabulous looking thing 😎 I rather like the sound you got from it too. I must admit I am not really someone that’s all that bothered about sound, but that was terrific, especially the whole coordinated door slam and lights out combi thing which really appealed to the hardcore geek inside me 🤓 😂 Shame about the interior but in truth I think that unless you really go to town yourself, it doesn’t detract too much if the interior is t great, though as you say, if it’s lit up, you are surely going to notice more? 🤷🏻♂️ I’d give it a quick lick of paint and some cheap eBay people sitting in it. That should do the job 😜 Cheers mate, I may yet be tempted! 😋🍀🍻👍
Thanks for your review, it highlights a constant trend on Heljan's model : they always succeed to botch something. Here, it is the interior. At the same price as Dapol I vould have (reluctantly) accepted this due to the overall qualities of the model, but for GBP 161, it's no for me. And that's a pity, Jenny Kirk is also enthusiastic about this model. I would have been too without reserve due to the lightning features but, sorry, a botched interior only acceptable on a basic Hornby Railroad vehicle sold half the price, it sounds like a no-go for me. Just two question that would make the difference : did you have to fix yourself the hook coupler and the vacuum pipes of the model while put in an accessory bag, or did they come already installed ? Second : how difficut it is to open the model ? Do you have to do corny things to achieve that, like unscrewing the buffers ? That is two problems with the class 17 from the same manufacturer. If no problem with this, I might certainly reconsider my position.
Hi Olivier, sorry for the delay, but to answer your quetions: 1) I didn't fix anything to the model from the accessories pack, what you see is exactly how it comes out of the box. I'm generally pretty lazy when it comes to fitting the accessories. 2) It was a little while ago now, but I don't think it was too bad to get the body off. Definitely didn't have to remove the buffers or do anything odd. There are just screws underneath. Although you need to be careful when refitting the body and make sure you don't catch any of the interior partitioning, the couplings or the bits around the lighting.
Heljan, being Danish, probably say it more like Hell Yan. I will forward a link to this review to a fellow who has recently 3D printed one of these in our G1 gauge group. That sound unit would be easily accommodated. Can some plasticard, paint plus a sprinkling of passengers improve matters for this OO offering?
It’s not lacking in detail at all, the real things don’t have much detail on them at all, it is the same with the streamlined rail cars which I have stood next to and looked at close up.
Found your review very interesting, clear and concise, 100% better than Sams Trains. With regard to the position of the windscreen wipers, in the OPC publication ´The history of the Great Western AEC diesel rail cars' it shows W22W with the wipers mounted at the top of the screen, whilst W20W and W24W are mounted at the bottom. I suspect in an effort to keep the costs down Heljan have produced a generic model rather than being faithful to the prototype.
I think it is modelled as it appeared in the 40's, BR made changes to the wipers, and those wipers are still fitted today i guess. so in theory the Didcot example isnt exactly authentic
I got the pronounciation from this thread (www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/47196-how-should-we-say-dapol/) apparently Dapol is a combination of David and Polly.
Heljan is a great manufacturer in my opinion because they give modellers the opportunity to own some of the popular prototypes, they certainly have done a great job with this model because I would buy one of these as it would be something different to add to my collection. The dapol streamlined rail car i think is a very nice model so I don’t think Sam got ripped off, I have seen the streamlined rail car that is preserved at York national railway museum so when I saw the review by sam I knew what to expect on the model from seeing the real thing up close.
For the Dapol model, I bought one and I did not feel ripped off. NIce look, good finish, decent running qualities, just a little bit overpriced for my taste. GBP 100 as a salesprice would have been better in my opinion.
@@OlivierGabin it’s good to hear that you didn’t feel ripped off, I don’t think I would feel ripped off if I ever decide to buy one because I have seen the real streamlined rail car and the thing is very basic on the outside, in fact if I ever do buy one I would probably do little jobs on it like paint the interior and fit passengers because I like to improve models.
Dapol lol. Is it pronounced 'Heljan' or 'Helyan'? I don't know...? The packaging is some kind of joke I reckon - hard to get out - I'd recommend people get another box to get it in and out. Great loco though and I've been on the real one at Didcot, although wipers and roof were different then. Interior is pretty grey when I saw it as you can see on this video if you want to: ruclips.net/video/DnAoJ2fzNLQ/видео.html and you can see cab detail and hear it too for comparison. Just had to get this model. My analogue was nice and slow too. Nice review, thanks for sharing. Laurie.
Have a look at people like IC82 and Class47Peter who both own heljan products they haven’t ever reported any issues with theirs so it is quite frankly stupid to assume that they are all bad products, I haven’t had any bad experiences with heljan and I only own 2 of their locomotives so far, if heljan was bad we would see more videos warning people but we don’t therefor all people are happy and haven’t experienced any issues whatsoever.
I think opinions differ depending on who buys them, consumers or modellers. The consumer expects top quality for the price and rightly so, the modeller generally overlooks quality issues and just fixes them. I have an O2 Tango and overall I like it but its not without issues, the wheels would lock up if the keeper plate screws were tight. I found this was due to flashing left around the axle slot a bit of filling made things better. You could say proper bearings would have negated this issue and again for the price rightly so. It is very fragile but that’s because it has some detail.
The whole “dapol” thing was so funny and made the video so much better for it lol
Great review, sound was amazing and the lights showed up well unlike other models with lights that I’ve seen
Thanks 👍 The lighting is good on this model.
Really impressive sound and running performance too, man. :)
Thanks 👍 The LokSound decoder is very good, but pricey.
Saw this at didcot railway centre the other week, thanks for sharing your review
Thanks Mark. I'd like to see it in real life. Was it running?
Being Danish and a sucker for the epoche 3 locomotives and rail cars, it's impossible to miss out in Heljan. But here in DK we also would like Heljan to paint the interiours.
I've seen a review at Sams Trains, where he do a review on the Garratt. As I recall it, he is very pleased on the job Heljan did on that model :-)
A nice balanced review. Heljan do make some nice looking models but issues can arise in the quality stakes, they should look at another contractor for making the models if their current one isn’t up to scratch. They could’ve put a bit of paint inside but at the end of the day are you going to see it at normal viewing distance whilst running.
Nice review, thanks!
Thanks 👍
All my models are Hornsby except one ( Dapol j94). I’ve seen mixed results from some Heljan items so I haven’t ordered from them yet but someday I might try one of their diesels
I'd heard mixed reviews, but based on this I'd give Heljan another go.
I've thought about these. I only have their Derby RTC railcar. I have several other Heljan models and unlike Sam, I really like them.
Hi mate, nice review..,and I have to say that is a fabulous looking thing 😎 I rather like the sound you got from it too. I must admit I am not really someone that’s all that bothered about sound, but that was terrific, especially the whole coordinated door slam and lights out combi thing which really appealed to the hardcore geek inside me 🤓 😂
Shame about the interior but in truth I think that unless you really go to town yourself, it doesn’t detract too much if the interior is t great, though as you say, if it’s lit up, you are surely going to notice more? 🤷🏻♂️
I’d give it a quick lick of paint and some cheap eBay people sitting in it. That should do the job 😜
Cheers mate, I may yet be tempted! 😋🍀🍻👍
Thanks for your review, it highlights a constant trend on Heljan's model : they always succeed to botch something. Here, it is the interior. At the same price as Dapol I vould have (reluctantly) accepted this due to the overall qualities of the model, but for GBP 161, it's no for me. And that's a pity, Jenny Kirk is also enthusiastic about this model. I would have been too without reserve due to the lightning features but, sorry, a botched interior only acceptable on a basic Hornby Railroad vehicle sold half the price, it sounds like a no-go for me.
Just two question that would make the difference : did you have to fix yourself the hook coupler and the vacuum pipes of the model while put in an accessory bag, or did they come already installed ? Second : how difficut it is to open the model ? Do you have to do corny things to achieve that, like unscrewing the buffers ? That is two problems with the class 17 from the same manufacturer. If no problem with this, I might certainly reconsider my position.
Hi Olivier, sorry for the delay, but to answer your quetions:
1) I didn't fix anything to the model from the accessories pack, what you see is exactly how it comes out of the box. I'm generally pretty lazy when it comes to fitting the accessories.
2) It was a little while ago now, but I don't think it was too bad to get the body off. Definitely didn't have to remove the buffers or do anything odd. There are just screws underneath. Although you need to be careful when refitting the body and make sure you don't catch any of the interior partitioning, the couplings or the bits around the lighting.
Wicket The Railbus
Heljan, being Danish, probably say it more like Hell Yan.
I will forward a link to this review to a fellow who has recently 3D printed one of these in our G1 gauge group. That sound unit would be easily accommodated.
Can some plasticard, paint plus a sprinkling of passengers improve matters for this OO offering?
I think you're probably right with Hell Yan and all your suggestions would dramatically improve things, I might have a go when I have time.
Nice video like it very much
Thanks 👍
Great video But I cant say that about the model , sorry but I think it was an expensive model for the lack of detail 😎
Thank Mike. I just wish they'd detailed the interior. I expect the price will drop over time.
Glazing looks pretty ropey, too.
It’s not lacking in detail at all, the real things don’t have much detail on them at all, it is the same with the streamlined rail cars which I have stood next to and looked at close up.
Found your review very interesting, clear and concise, 100% better than Sams Trains. With regard to the position of the windscreen wipers, in the OPC publication ´The history of the Great Western AEC diesel rail cars' it shows W22W with the wipers mounted at the top of the screen, whilst W20W and W24W are mounted at the bottom. I suspect in an effort to keep the costs down Heljan have produced a generic model rather than being faithful to the prototype.
I think it is modelled as it appeared in the 40's, BR made changes to the wipers, and those wipers are still fitted today i guess. so in theory the Didcot example isnt exactly authentic
0:24 Nice dub. :) I've always pronounced "Dapol" as "Dah - pol", rather than "Day - pol" - is that not correct, then?
I got the pronounciation from this thread (www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/47196-how-should-we-say-dapol/) apparently Dapol is a combination of David and Polly.
@@LittleWicketRailway Interesting. Thanks for that information. The life-time habit of pronouncing it incorrectly will be a hard one to break.
That cream roof is begging for filthy weathering!
Haha, true, but I've never tried weathering and I probably won't start on this...
Heljan is a great manufacturer in my opinion because they give modellers the opportunity to own some of the popular prototypes, they certainly have done a great job with this model because I would buy one of these as it would be something different to add to my collection.
The dapol streamlined rail car i think is a very nice model so I don’t think Sam got ripped off, I have seen the streamlined rail car that is preserved at York national railway museum so when I saw the review by sam I knew what to expect on the model from seeing the real thing up close.
For the Dapol model, I bought one and I did not feel ripped off. NIce look, good finish, decent running qualities, just a little bit overpriced for my taste. GBP 100 as a salesprice would have been better in my opinion.
@@OlivierGabin it’s good to hear that you didn’t feel ripped off, I don’t think I would feel ripped off if I ever decide to buy one because I have seen the real streamlined rail car and the thing is very basic on the outside, in fact if I ever do buy one I would probably do little jobs on it like paint the interior and fit passengers because I like to improve models.
Dapol lol. Is it pronounced 'Heljan' or 'Helyan'? I don't know...? The packaging is some kind of joke I reckon - hard to get out - I'd recommend people get another box to get it in and out. Great loco though and I've been on the real one at Didcot, although wipers and roof were different then. Interior is pretty grey when I saw it as you can see on this video if you want to: ruclips.net/video/DnAoJ2fzNLQ/видео.html and you can see cab detail and hear it too for comparison. Just had to get this model. My analogue was nice and slow too. Nice review, thanks for sharing. Laurie.
Heljan don't do very good jobs with either steam or diesel
I've heard mixed reviews of their stuff, but like this one.
@@LittleWicketRailway don't get the 4700 Night owl it's terrible
Have a look at people like IC82 and Class47Peter who both own heljan products they haven’t ever reported any issues with theirs so it is quite frankly stupid to assume that they are all bad products, I haven’t had any bad experiences with heljan and I only own 2 of their locomotives so far, if heljan was bad we would see more videos warning people but we don’t therefor all people are happy and haven’t experienced any issues whatsoever.
I think opinions differ depending on who buys them, consumers or modellers. The consumer expects top quality for the price and rightly so, the modeller generally overlooks quality issues and just fixes them. I have an O2 Tango and overall I like it but its not without issues, the wheels would lock up if the keeper plate screws were tight. I found this was due to flashing left around the axle slot a bit of filling made things better. You could say proper bearings would have negated this issue and again for the price rightly so. It is very fragile but that’s because it has some detail.