I literally picked up Lode Star two weeks ago second hand for 110£. Tremendous model, but the lack of bearings suck. Its also so fast that it derailed itself in a third radius curve at full power. Still, I wish Hornby brings this and the Grange back. Especially with Beton Grange now, the Grange has gained some public attention again. I've seen Lode Star at the museum in York last year. She's a true beauty. I think it's great that you revisit older models like this, Sam. To show that second hand models are a solid option nowadays.
@@neilharbott8394 most certainly, I'd buy it. I'm already looking for Llanvair Grange to rebadge to Beton Grange (my current model is Resolven Grange, DCC Sound fitted). Its probably my favourite GWR 4-6-0.
They did actually make some Grange's privately for the Betton Grange Society to gift to people who donated a large amount of money to the project. Unfortunately, due to legal reasons they weren't allow to give them out as they were "too valuable" to give as gifts, so you can occasionally catch one if you see the Betton Grange Society at a heritage railway or exhibition (saw one at WSR on saturday for instance). They seem to be going for about £175.
This may be the oldest GWR 4-6-0 available currently, but back in 1986, Hornby did make the father of all standard GWR 4-6-0s, the Saints, a 2-cylinder type from which the Stars were developed. I'm honestly surprised Hornby never updated the Saints as part of the Railroad Range, or indeed as a whole new model. Either way, I've got a couple of Hornby Stars, and both are absolutely excellent in every way, shape and form, for the time at which it was produced. Thanks Sam, always good to see this loco out and about on your layout.
They bastardised the already ancient joke Triang Hall to create something that really didn’t look all that much like the last batch of saints. Don’t get me wrong I have plenty of them and have modified them heavily to look slightly even remotely like they should
Would be nice if Hornby did produce a new model of the Saints, especially if they designed the mouldings in such a way as to allow the modelling of the 4-4-2 versions as well as the all the other numerous detail differences between the production runs.
The Star was always planned to be a 4-6-0, but was built as a 4-4-2 for direct comparison with the french compound design, of which I believe Churchward bought two. Having decided his simpler design was better, he proceeded with his plans and, having no further need for any 4-4-2s, converted them to 4-6-0s, which was easy as they were built for that wheel arrangement in the first place.
I personally love great western steamers - they just have such a charm! That price tag is a bit pricey I've got to say, but in my opinion It's a good model and id say it's worth it! Great video as always sam 😊
There are a handful, but I notice many of the images brought up by the search engine were of other GWR classes of 4-4-2 like the 2900 'Saint' Class or the French 4-4-2s. Trying a few different searches I could only find three unique photos of No.40 North Star it's 4-4-2 configuration, which is hardly surprising since it converted after only three years.
You really need to do the new hornby flying scotsman with the steam generator. It does not have a flywheel but you will be impressed with the new connection between the engine and tender
Ah, the Star class: a hugely significant loco for the GWR in particular and UK loco development in general. Mine - Lode Star - is an NRM special edition that I acquired a few years ago for £60-odd. I don't think it had ever been used. It looks superb in its "as preserved" condition/livery and runs very well. It does, however, have a warped running plate. An excellent review, Mr Sam. I think I'd have been slightly kinder to it, but then again, I am a GWR fan...
do appreciate these reviews of older models, much of what I get is second hand or refurbished in some way to aid the cost issue. nice to see these older ones that really are in the good enough category.
Hi Sam, I just got a bachmann Baldwin 4-4-0 in the Southern green yesterday, and I absolutely love it. It's such a fantastic runner and I got it at a great price, now it's one of my favorite models. Cheers Jasper & Willow
I almost bought a Star when Rails were knocking them out for £100 about a year ago. I hesitated because of the performance issues you had Sam with the King. I'd love to see this stunning loco retooled (Dapol or Accurascale please note). Nonetheless what a beautiful looking and unmistakable GWR express locomotive. Hornby - pricing, come on. I want you to stay in the market but all my preorders are from other manufacturers. Cheers.
Wow time flies! Seeing you since 2017. You are a great youtuber! One question, do you think buying pullman super detailed coaches for approximately 50-60€ is a good deal? Or is it better to buy a 0-6-0 locomotive for 80€? I'm thinking of buying on a budget so that's why I'm asking this. I recently bought a Hornby P2 locomotive and some railroad Pullmans and I would like to expand my layout. Thank you so much and great video, as always.
I've got several GWR 4-6-0s but I don't have a single Star. I'd really like one since I appreciate the smaller smokebox door, short cab roof and the original smaller Star tenders juxtaposed with the express sized wheels. Though I am surprised it doesn't have proper wheel bearings. I got two GWR Kings from about 2013-2016 and I believe those have bearings. Great work as always Sam
It still might be 21 pin. The most recent hornby A4 were labeled as 8 pin and actually had a 21 pin socket. In the reverse, the Hornby A3 harvester was supposed to have a 21pin according to the box but had an 8 pin inside
Lovely video - your GWR 4-6-0 line up was interesting: would have been good if there had been a 'Great Bear' model available! - the prototype was three feet longer than a 'King' ... but some of that was the 8-wheel tender!
The issue that our (mine at least) payment didn't followed even nearly the increase of the prices of these models, and British train models went from "good value" for money to "poor value"; and if I add the import taxes that came with the BRexit, 00 stuff in not even worth to look at it, when getting even a used Hornby loco costs as much as a mid range H0 one in the EU, or even from the US. And finding a retailer in the EU that offers international shipping and sales 00 trains is as rare as a lottery winner.
Btw I just checked the cheapest "last minute" plane ticket to London (from where i live) is under 20 GBP; so yea ... about paying for shipping and VAT!
I have British Monarch and Lode Star. My first Monarch arrived damaged I believe due to the packaging allowing the loco to move about. The second still required a few repairs. Lode Star arrived in perfect condition. Your model appears to have a step missing from the rear of the tender. Sorry to hear about the cracked tender. I wish Hornby would do the Saint Class Lady of Legend. Cheers Paul.
Star class were the genesis for the 4-6-0. Churchward did get some grief about their price of manufacture compared to the LNWR who were building their Claughton Class. Three Claughton Class were the same price as two Stars. To which Churchward said "Well cuz one of mine will pull two of their bloody things backwards!". And a large number of the Star class were converted in the Castle class in a rebuild program. The GWR were far from wasteful ... Apart from the Great Bear LOL
They were the genesis for the GWR 4 cylinder 4-6-0s, however the 2 cylinder Saint Class 4-6-0s were the first GWR 4-6-0s, with No.100 (Dean/William Dean) being completed in 1902, about five years before No.4001 (Dog Star) in 1907. Though it should be mentioned that the production series of Saints didn't appear until 1905 and thirteen of them were built as 4-4-2s. In the end the Saints set the pattern for the 2 cylinder 4-6-0s and the Stars did the same for the 4 cylinder ones.
Yeah, I got Lode Star a couple of years ago for £129.99. It is a nice model, but doesn't have any premium features - so I certainly wouldn't pay £200+ for it! Still, if you can pick it up for under £150 (as I did), then I'd recommend it.
I don’t know how Sam does it, but every one of the models (including this one) that he reviews, somehow end up with small bits of fluff and carpet fibers on them; they’re quite noticeable under magnification. You can see one there on the running board close to the Fireman’s side of the cab at 11:45 in the video. 😮
I've always wanted a gwr star class Sam, but for some reason I couldn't find one for a good price. Hopefully one day I'll be able to get one for my layout. Cheers Jasper & Willow
The price is ludicrous - this was sneakily a design clever era loco however that idea imploded before this was released so they had to try to get it into the main range only. This really does explain the lack of certain details and features which were common even 10 years ago - the most obvious ‘tell’ to this origin as it were is the moulded cabside handrails
Might keep a look out for one of these as I wouldn’t mind a few more of the GWR 4-6-0 locomotives, I currently have a king and castle plus the hogwarts express castle and an old triang hall, I don’t buy many GWR locos but my last GWR loco though which was an old hornby castle is quite a special one as it was paired with a model of the lone 4 axle tender that the GWR built and was put with a range of different 4-6-0 locomotives
Hornby's reaction to the cracked tender is an absolute disgrace. I've had a minor problem or two with Accurascale models and they immediately sent replacement parts; by comparison, do Hornby even know the meaning of "spare parts"? And the price......Ha, ha, ha, ha, I'll keep my money.
Nice video. Shame about the Damage to the tender. Hornby never really kept a stock of spares for their locomotives, a few odds and ends to replace worn parts. I used to have to buy them from Peters spares a year after they released a model. But bodies and the like were and still are like hens teeth, occasionally they appear on trade stands. Now with the internet, some items can be found after a trawl.
The quality on this model is actually low-key appalling. I don't know if you've noticed this, but during some of the close-up shots, I noticed some minor damage/blemishes in a few spots. For example, at 9:20, you can see a spot on the underside of the running board just in front of the cab where it almost looks like part of the plastic was bent because the paint color is noticeably lighter, and that effect usually happens when you bend a piece of plastic too much; and at 14:30, if you look at the front of the tender, just under the vertical grabiron, you can actually see where the corner of the tender footplate looks as though it's been banged against something because it's bent noticeably downward. And I'm not sure if that's a glue mark at the top of the cab steps or not, but there's some sort of noticeable streak there. Also that giant crack in the tender is just unacceptable. Hopefully that happened in transit and not in the factory. But yeah, when a manufacturer skimps on quality, your close-up segments expose every bit of it.
So, a "middle of the road" product that's now being sold at a "premium" price, if it had proper bearings for the driver wheels and a "pre-fitted" speaker in the tender it might've justified the rise in price. Alas, that's not the case and drives customers to other companies (Dapol, Accurascale, Bachmann) or the secondhand market.
Love these older models that still do a job, sort of a bread and butter model… surely it wouldn’t take much to add bearings and abit of a rework to help it pass abit better, I do think it’s an average loco at an average loco price, the manors are exceptional and exceptional prices I feel… did you take a look at the hornby Dublo A4s for less than £200 at rails this week? Would make a great review for you to compare the premium’ range to the standard hornby range
Warped running plate, at its age you are lucky, acetate warping is notorious look at some of Oscar Paisleys rolling stock. Oh! Silly me its not acetate, could a fooled me, oh! It did😂😂 no bearings: simple thats when Hornby products were made by the same factory that made Bachmanns products! In your summary it kinda matches what Bachmann do 😂😂 Nice video as per your very high standards.👍I remember when I was amassing my collection back in the 2000s 1 train would average £100 and that was 1 loco and 6 coaches or equivalent wagons. Now you have to re mortgage your house to buy one train!
You keep banging on about the Hornby price but they are sold out and quite possibly will not do another run of this so how is that price relevant? They obviously managed to shift the last few at that price (if that really was the price) and it’s not available for that price now
Shame about the mechanism. There’s a couple of somewhat related things I wanted to say though, the first being that those wheels would look so much better if the backside was profiled like the front. One look at Lode Star at NRM shows how important this is, but unfortunately, the only RTR loco that I’ve seen that has wheels that are profiled on the back is the Lionel Berkshire. Second, is that I can now confirm that real handrail knobs are 1.5” in diameter, which would be .5 mm, or about 1/2 the size of all RTR ones and most kit ones. The rails themselves are 1 1/4” though, which is 0.4166 mm in 00, which is just about the same as most RTR examples. Thanks as always Sam!
It seemed like things were going well until the performance and mechanism. I don’t care for flashy features too much but I care about performance for sure. I have a bad feeling it will come back without improvements 😭
£200 for an old model is another Hornby rip off, however I'm glad to see Hornby are considering keeping the Star class in its line up. For Hornby to just ignore you about that crack gives everyone an idea of their wonderful level of customer service, just for that I would give - 5 stars. Great review Sam God bless you both
No plans at the moment - I’ve already reviewed all of the locos that Hornby have released with that feature, and I can’t justify the cost of buying another expensive engine just to show off the smoke - I will buy a smoke fitted loco next time they announce something new tooled with it!
Damn I just got my star class for over £200, I can’t be too upset though cause i got it through bluebell railways gift shop so at least my money’s going to a worthy cause and I don’t have to pay extra for shipping
Sam, im just starting up my railway as my friend named sam is giving me some of his old atlas(dont know if its code 83 or 100 yet) and a bachman ez comand cintroller but i cant find any dcc locos for under 200 CAD any tips/tricks
Bad luck on the running plate I must say, I’ve got 2 (didn’t pay near full price for any of them don’t worry) and their running plates are perfectly straight
Generous rating? What an understatement; a fall plate at a 45 degree angle and a cracked tender, let alone the other issues mentioned and all for over £200 ignoring what you actually paid for it. I doubt if I'd given it anything more than 2 or 3 stars.
The Hornby GWR Star class is a nice model. Too bad that this model was part of Hornby's design clever models which is the reason why there are no proper bearings on the axles Sam.
This model falls into the same category as the 8F and the unrebuilt West Country class. Hornby just rerelease these models at ridiculous prices without any upgrades. I was really surprised about the lack of bearings but the easily removed loco bottom plate was a surprise. I bought the latest West Country Braughton and was horrified that is was not much different to my really old versions. Hornby think that they will sell so they keep trotting them out. As to the spare parts, unlike Bachmann they see no advantage in selling them, so if your £200 plus loco breaks they consider you should bin it. They then wonder why they are losing money.
Isnt one of the best detailed Train. Most of GWR all have a darker Livery! A little bit like there style. The details really have there place on this wonderful GWR Star Class. I should mabye take one of those 😅
The nastiest feature of this model - not I think mentioned in the review - is the moulded handrail on the cab side sheet. It was not the best 10 years ago. To sell it now for GBP 220...well Hornby has no shame!
Hi Sam, I just wanted to comment on something that has bothered me a little in your video's from time to time as someone who has a little engineering back ground. I notice you always seem to say that square bearings are worse than bearings that conform to the axle, When actually that isn't quite true. A Square slot bearing reduces the contact area and thus friction area more than a round slot bearing that has more surface area touching the axle. Since in a square slot bearing, the axle will only be touching at 3 distinct points, which would be small ammounts of surface area on the Two sides, and at the bottom, instead of the entire bearing race, while it may seem lower quality, they actually are slightly better than a round slot bearing, Still nowhere near as good as a proper turned brass bearing, But they are better than a rounded bearing race.
i know this has no thing to do with the video but i gotta ask here because of the people with some knowhow who visit videos like these. Has anyone ever considered making their own track from scratch? I have not been able to find a video on making your own track. Surely it is possible to just make your own track from some stuff. Right?
I don't have this very beautiful-looking Great Western engine, but I can see where you're coming from. I'd be a bit put-off myself. As Duck the Great Western Engine said: "There are two ways of doing things: the Great Western Way or the wrong way." Hornby are obviously doing things the wrong way, you can tell. That aside, why don't you purchase an N Gauge GWR tender engine, and see if it's any better than what you have in 00 Gauge? You might get a very pleasant surprise.
Yet again, disproving the “cost of new tooling” lie. Tooling a decade old, price now 300% what it was originally. According to the Bank of England Inflation calculator, Your 70£ loco in 2013 should be about £95.00 now. I guess tooling gets expensive sitting in the box for 10 years.
Either a model that can made an acceptable Railroad engine around the GBP 120 mark, or an idea for a retool (by Dapol ?) if the demand is here. It is clearly an outdated model by today's standards. The drivetrain is a mixed bag : good pickups but old Bachmann-style zero bearings axles... And blatantly overgeared. Well, if you find one new, don't pay over GBP 125 to get her. As is, can be a correct Railroad model with minimal modifications, like axle bearings and a slower motor. Not bad but we have far better for cheaper nowadays.
Not a bad looking locomotive, but the RRP is bonkers Hornby’s prices department needs to stop eating those “odd” mushrooms 🍄 and lay off their “herbal” cigarettes as well.
The only positive for Hornby is that they have sold out of this modey. Given their current financial situation that is very good news considering they have millions of pounds of obsolete stock which they don't want to reduce in price! Model is quite nice but the price is nasty!
I think that hornby have expanded by buying alot other manufacturers such lima .and many others i think.they tried to get too big so their focus on making more profits but their model design and build quailty have suffered .i wouldn t buy any thier new locos are they are getting too expensive .for the price you paid for this model sam i could buy several locos off ebay that need work and if i can get them going i get lovely loco but without too much cost
A bit of a double edged sword this one isn't it. On the one hand, it does look okay from a distance but for the money H is asking, and even at £160, quite some updates should be normally expected we thought; e.g. bearings, details on the gauges, flickering firebox, a flywheel, updated decoder socket, prefixing a speaker, a crew (figures)..., just to name a few. Then at least the £200+ asking price would be justified, on condition that quality is to be flawless; a deformed running plate really is unforgivable, not even to speak of that crack.... Really odd that H doesn't do regular updates (every 5 year or so) and add a rev. number. You've been a tad too kind perhaps Sam. Overall, not that bad looking from distance, but much more is simply to be expected. Cheerio.
I literally picked up Lode Star two weeks ago second hand for 110£. Tremendous model, but the lack of bearings suck. Its also so fast that it derailed itself in a third radius curve at full power. Still, I wish Hornby brings this and the Grange back. Especially with Beton Grange now, the Grange has gained some public attention again. I've seen Lode Star at the museum in York last year. She's a true beauty. I think it's great that you revisit older models like this, Sam. To show that second hand models are a solid option nowadays.
Blimey that's not a bad price! Yeah the mechanism is cheapo on this sadly - and very fast indeed!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Given the close family relationship between the Grange, Manor and 4300 Mogul, I wouldn't mind seeing Dapol give us a modern tooled Grange.
@@neilharbott8394 most certainly, I'd buy it. I'm already looking for Llanvair Grange to rebadge to Beton Grange (my current model is Resolven Grange, DCC Sound fitted). Its probably my favourite GWR 4-6-0.
They did actually make some Grange's privately for the Betton Grange Society to gift to people who donated a large amount of money to the project. Unfortunately, due to legal reasons they weren't allow to give them out as they were "too valuable" to give as gifts, so you can occasionally catch one if you see the Betton Grange Society at a heritage railway or exhibition (saw one at WSR on saturday for instance). They seem to be going for about £175.
At least it didn't get an "F" so that is something, but the price is also something! Great review and video, Jersey Bill
Yeah absolutely - the latest prices have been very high!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
A hornby product that hasn't gotten a fail wonderful
This may be the oldest GWR 4-6-0 available currently, but back in 1986, Hornby did make the father of all standard GWR 4-6-0s, the Saints, a 2-cylinder type from which the Stars were developed. I'm honestly surprised Hornby never updated the Saints as part of the Railroad Range, or indeed as a whole new model. Either way, I've got a couple of Hornby Stars, and both are absolutely excellent in every way, shape and form, for the time at which it was produced. Thanks Sam, always good to see this loco out and about on your layout.
They bastardised the already ancient joke Triang Hall to create something that really didn’t look all that much like the last batch of saints. Don’t get me wrong I have plenty of them and have modified them heavily to look slightly even remotely like they should
Would be nice if Hornby did produce a new model of the Saints, especially if they designed the mouldings in such a way as to allow the modelling of the 4-4-2 versions as well as the all the other numerous detail differences between the production runs.
@@davidford85 don’t hold your breath, knowing hornby they’ll re-release the 80’s ex Triang Hall saint complete with tender drive for about £300
Seeing them all lined up like that you get to see what a beast the firebox was in the king's.
The Star was always planned to be a 4-6-0, but was built as a 4-4-2 for direct comparison with the french compound design, of which I believe Churchward bought two. Having decided his simpler design was better, he proceeded with his plans and, having no further need for any 4-4-2s, converted them to 4-6-0s, which was easy as they were built for that wheel arrangement in the first place.
I love my Japan n gauge layout but I have been watching Sam for so long ! I want to do a Brit layout to now!
Sam, just a small note. The difference in size between Star and Castle in length is 12" all in the cab.
I personally love great western steamers - they just have such a charm! That price tag is a bit pricey I've got to say, but in my opinion It's a good model and id say it's worth it! Great video as always sam 😊
They really do don't they? Particularly these old ones! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I looked it up, and there are several images of the Star Class in it's original 4-4-2 wheel configuration
There are a handful, but I notice many of the images brought up by the search engine were of other GWR classes of 4-4-2 like the 2900 'Saint' Class or the French 4-4-2s. Trying a few different searches I could only find three unique photos of No.40 North Star it's 4-4-2 configuration, which is hardly surprising since it converted after only three years.
Only ONE star was ever a 4-4-2. No 40 North Star
I have had one for a few years. Great loco, looks good and runs well.
You really need to do the new hornby flying scotsman with the steam generator. It does not have a flywheel but you will be impressed with the new connection between the engine and tender
Ah, the Star class: a hugely significant loco for the GWR in particular and UK loco development in general.
Mine - Lode Star - is an NRM special edition that I acquired a few years ago for £60-odd. I don't think it had ever been used. It looks superb in its "as preserved" condition/livery and runs very well. It does, however, have a warped running plate.
An excellent review, Mr Sam. I think I'd have been slightly kinder to it, but then again, I am a GWR fan...
do appreciate these reviews of older models, much of what I get is second hand or refurbished in some way to aid the cost issue. nice to see these older ones that really are in the good enough category.
Hi Sam, I just got a bachmann Baldwin 4-4-0 in the Southern green yesterday, and I absolutely love it. It's such a fantastic runner and I got it at a great price, now it's one of my favorite models.
Cheers Jasper & Willow
Ahh sounds fantastic - glad to hear that's a good one for you!! I might have to try one :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I almost bought a Star when Rails were knocking them out for £100 about a year ago. I hesitated because of the performance issues you had Sam with the King. I'd love to see this stunning loco retooled (Dapol or Accurascale please note). Nonetheless what a beautiful looking and unmistakable GWR express locomotive. Hornby - pricing, come on. I want you to stay in the market but all my preorders are from other manufacturers. Cheers.
Awesome video Sam's trains 😊
Wow time flies! Seeing you since 2017. You are a great youtuber! One question, do you think buying pullman super detailed coaches for approximately 50-60€ is a good deal? Or is it better to buy a 0-6-0 locomotive for 80€? I'm thinking of buying on a budget so that's why I'm asking this. I recently bought a Hornby P2 locomotive and some railroad Pullmans and I would like to expand my layout. Thank you so much and great video, as always.
I've got several GWR 4-6-0s but I don't have a single Star. I'd really like one since I appreciate the smaller smokebox door, short cab roof and the original smaller Star tenders juxtaposed with the express sized wheels.
Though I am surprised it doesn't have proper wheel bearings. I got two GWR Kings from about 2013-2016 and I believe those have bearings.
Great work as always Sam
It still might be 21 pin. The most recent hornby A4 were labeled as 8 pin and actually had a 21 pin socket. In the reverse, the Hornby A3 harvester was supposed to have a 21pin according to the box but had an 8 pin inside
Good review Sam. I'd say that this model does appear to share a lot of its components with the castle class which obviously makes sense.
Lovely video - your GWR 4-6-0 line up was interesting: would have been good if there had been a 'Great Bear' model available! - the prototype was three feet longer than a 'King' ... but some of that was the 8-wheel tender!
They ought to have sent you a replacement tender body. I also noted that one of the small tender steps is broken off on the back of the tender!
The issue that our (mine at least) payment didn't followed even nearly the increase of the prices of these models, and British train models went from "good value" for money to "poor value"; and if I add the import taxes that came with the BRexit, 00 stuff in not even worth to look at it, when getting even a used Hornby loco costs as much as a mid range H0 one in the EU, or even from the US.
And finding a retailer in the EU that offers international shipping and sales 00 trains is as rare as a lottery winner.
Btw I just checked the cheapest "last minute" plane ticket to London (from where i live) is under 20 GBP; so yea ... about paying for shipping and VAT!
I have British Monarch and Lode Star. My first Monarch arrived damaged I believe due to the packaging allowing the loco to move about. The second still required a few repairs. Lode Star arrived in perfect condition. Your model appears to have a step missing from the rear of the tender. Sorry to hear about the cracked tender. I wish Hornby would do the Saint Class Lady of Legend. Cheers Paul.
I sent you a package, and the last update on it was that it is at the collection point for pick up
Thank you so much Robert, that's really kind of you!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Star class were the genesis for the 4-6-0. Churchward did get some grief about their price of manufacture compared to the LNWR who were building their Claughton Class. Three Claughton Class were the same price as two Stars. To which Churchward said "Well cuz one of mine will pull two of their bloody things backwards!". And a large number of the Star class were converted in the Castle class in a rebuild program. The GWR were far from wasteful ... Apart from the Great Bear LOL
They were the genesis for the GWR 4 cylinder 4-6-0s, however the 2 cylinder Saint Class 4-6-0s were the first GWR 4-6-0s, with No.100 (Dean/William Dean) being completed in 1902, about five years before No.4001 (Dog Star) in 1907. Though it should be mentioned that the production series of Saints didn't appear until 1905 and thirteen of them were built as 4-4-2s.
In the end the Saints set the pattern for the 2 cylinder 4-6-0s and the Stars did the same for the 4 cylinder ones.
I hope they make the Atlantic version. We need more Atlantic models.
Yeah, I got Lode Star a couple of years ago for £129.99. It is a nice model, but doesn't have any premium features - so I certainly wouldn't pay £200+ for it!
Still, if you can pick it up for under £150 (as I did), then I'd recommend it.
I don’t know how Sam does it, but every one of the models (including this one) that he reviews, somehow end up with small bits of fluff and carpet fibers on them; they’re quite noticeable under magnification. You can see one there on the running board close to the Fireman’s side of the cab at 11:45 in the video. 😮
Gee... Wonder how carpet fibers ever got stuck to the oily running gear 🤔🤷🏻♂️
I've always wanted a gwr star class Sam, but for some reason I couldn't find one for a good price. Hopefully one day I'll be able to get one for my layout.
Cheers Jasper & Willow
Yeah the prices were a bit silly for this of late - hopefully they'll release a more reasonable version!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I’ve got one if you’re interested
Expensive model now day and bear in mind there’s ANOTHER price rise coming up shortly from Hornby, between 20 to 36 percent depending on rumours!!!
The price is ludicrous - this was sneakily a design clever era loco however that idea imploded before this was released so they had to try to get it into the main range only. This really does explain the lack of certain details and features which were common even 10 years ago - the most obvious ‘tell’ to this origin as it were is the moulded cabside handrails
Wow what a nice livery❤
Might keep a look out for one of these as I wouldn’t mind a few more of the GWR 4-6-0 locomotives, I currently have a king and castle plus the hogwarts express castle and an old triang hall, I don’t buy many GWR locos but my last GWR loco though which was an old hornby castle is quite a special one as it was paired with a model of the lone 4 axle tender that the GWR built and was put with a range of different 4-6-0 locomotives
Yeah it's a decent looking model - not one I'd pay a fortune for though!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hornby's reaction to the cracked tender is an absolute disgrace. I've had a minor problem or two with Accurascale models and they immediately sent replacement parts; by comparison, do Hornby even know the meaning of "spare parts"? And the price......Ha, ha, ha, ha, I'll keep my money.
Nice video. Shame about the Damage to the tender. Hornby never really kept a stock of spares for their locomotives, a few odds and ends to replace worn parts. I used to have to buy them from Peters spares a year after they released a model. But bodies and the like were and still are like hens teeth, occasionally they appear on trade stands. Now with the internet, some items can be found after a trawl.
Hi Sam, great review as always.
Now, is the coupler on the rear of the tender cracked? Looks cracked in your video. (17:33)
The quality on this model is actually low-key appalling. I don't know if you've noticed this, but during some of the close-up shots, I noticed some minor damage/blemishes in a few spots. For example, at 9:20, you can see a spot on the underside of the running board just in front of the cab where it almost looks like part of the plastic was bent because the paint color is noticeably lighter, and that effect usually happens when you bend a piece of plastic too much; and at 14:30, if you look at the front of the tender, just under the vertical grabiron, you can actually see where the corner of the tender footplate looks as though it's been banged against something because it's bent noticeably downward. And I'm not sure if that's a glue mark at the top of the cab steps or not, but there's some sort of noticeable streak there. Also that giant crack in the tender is just unacceptable. Hopefully that happened in transit and not in the factory. But yeah, when a manufacturer skimps on quality, your close-up segments expose every bit of it.
So, a "middle of the road" product that's now being sold at a "premium" price, if it had proper bearings for the driver wheels and a "pre-fitted" speaker in the tender it might've justified the rise in price. Alas, that's not the case and drives customers to other companies (Dapol, Accurascale, Bachmann) or the secondhand market.
Love these older models that still do a job, sort of a bread and butter model… surely it wouldn’t take much to add bearings and abit of a rework to help it pass abit better, I do think it’s an average loco at an average loco price, the manors are exceptional and exceptional prices I feel… did you take a look at the hornby Dublo A4s for less than £200 at rails this week? Would make a great review for you to compare the premium’ range to the standard hornby range
hmm... i think something's wrong....
the only star i'm seeing here is you, Sam!
love from Malta!
hahaha thank you very much!!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Gotta Love GWRs
Warped running plate, at its age you are lucky, acetate warping is notorious look at some of Oscar Paisleys rolling stock. Oh! Silly me its not acetate, could a fooled me, oh! It did😂😂 no bearings: simple thats when Hornby products were made by the same factory that made Bachmanns products! In your summary it kinda matches what Bachmann do 😂😂 Nice video as per your very high standards.👍I remember when I was amassing my collection back in the 2000s 1 train would average £100 and that was 1 loco and 6 coaches or equivalent wagons. Now you have to re mortgage your house to buy one train!
So amazing review sam
Thanks Justin!
Awesome video today Sam really nice modle I hope hornby do better
16:53 I know that feeling Sam lol ;)
Alright ratings Sam and amazing review 31:13
Thanks a lot Dennis!
@@SamsTrains You're welcome Sam
I wish Hornby could do a Saint Class in OO, as there aren't any out there.
There is a real gap for a Saint isn't there? Lots of people are saying that!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I’d love to see Accurascale or Dapol or maybe Rapido do a Saint. I would be somewhat less excited about Hornby doing one.
You keep banging on about the Hornby price but they are sold out and quite possibly will not do another run of this so how is that price relevant? They obviously managed to shift the last few at that price (if that really was the price) and it’s not available for that price now
Please could you review the TT:120 scale HST?
When I saw the video title, I thought the oldest model tooling of a gwr 4-6-0
Shame about the mechanism. There’s a couple of somewhat related things I wanted to say though, the first being that those wheels would look so much better if the backside was profiled like the front. One look at Lode Star at NRM shows how important this is, but unfortunately, the only RTR loco that I’ve seen that has wheels that are profiled on the back is the Lionel Berkshire. Second, is that I can now confirm that real handrail knobs are 1.5” in diameter, which would be .5 mm, or about 1/2 the size of all RTR ones and most kit ones. The rails themselves are 1 1/4” though, which is 0.4166 mm in 00, which is just about the same as most RTR examples. Thanks as always Sam!
It seemed like things were going well until the performance and mechanism. I don’t care for flashy features too much but I care about performance for sure. I have a bad feeling it will come back without improvements 😭
SamsTrains have you ever made any kits like the LBSCR B2 or custom locos like Sparkshot's Furness K2 or L&YR Class 29?
£200 for an old model is another Hornby rip off, however I'm glad to see Hornby are considering keeping the Star class in its line up.
For Hornby to just ignore you about that crack gives everyone an idea of their wonderful level of customer service, just for that I would give - 5 stars.
Great review Sam God bless you both
Sam it's probably raring to get away from those Midland coaches :) a couple of chocolate and cream ones and I'm sure it would improve
The coaches Sam was running behind the Star were actually an ex-GWR D-set with an extra coach...
Pretty sure they were GWR Collett bow ended suburban coaches in early BR crimson.
good see vid on channel keep up the vid
Goodness me, a Hornby loco without bearings? For anything other than their cheap older locos, that feels like sacrilege!
Hi Sam, Any plans to review the Hornby steam generator…….
No plans at the moment - I’ve already reviewed all of the locos that Hornby have released with that feature, and I can’t justify the cost of buying another expensive engine just to show off the smoke - I will buy a smoke fitted loco next time they announce something new tooled with it!
Damn I just got my star class for over £200, I can’t be too upset though cause i got it through bluebell railways gift shop so at least my money’s going to a worthy cause and I don’t have to pay extra for shipping
Can you please do a review of the Thomas and friends bachmann Beau ( bow )
How many locomotives do you even have, that’s a crazy amount of shelves
Sam, im just starting up my railway as my friend named sam is giving me some of his old atlas(dont know if its code 83 or 100 yet) and a bachman ez comand cintroller but i cant find any dcc locos for under 200 CAD any tips/tricks
Bad luck on the running plate I must say, I’ve got 2 (didn’t pay near full price for any of them don’t worry) and their running plates are perfectly straight
Tbf the real lode star the running plate dose droop a little at the front
Yeah but nothing like that 😂
Generous rating? What an understatement; a fall plate at a 45 degree angle and a cracked tender, let alone the other issues mentioned and all for over £200 ignoring what you actually paid for it. I doubt if I'd given it anything more than 2 or 3 stars.
The Hornby GWR Star class is a nice model. Too bad that this model was part of Hornby's design clever models which is the reason why there are no proper bearings on the axles Sam.
This model falls into the same category as the 8F and the unrebuilt West Country class. Hornby just rerelease these models at ridiculous prices without any upgrades. I was really surprised about the lack of bearings but the easily removed loco bottom plate was a surprise. I bought the latest West Country Braughton and was horrified that is was not much different to my really old versions. Hornby think that they will sell so they keep trotting them out. As to the spare parts, unlike Bachmann they see no advantage in selling them, so if your £200 plus loco breaks they consider you should bin it. They then wonder why they are losing money.
I don’t understand Hornby. Why don’t they knock these out, as an old model, at a cheap price and sell a shed load of them?
Cool
I have a train I’d like you to restore, it’s my grandfather’s old tri-ang jinty
Isnt one of the best detailed Train. Most of GWR all have a darker Livery! A little bit like there style. The details really have there place on this wonderful GWR Star Class. I should mabye take one of those 😅
That’s a really old locomotive, Sam
The nastiest feature of this model - not I think mentioned in the review - is the moulded handrail on the cab side sheet. It was not the best 10 years ago. To sell it now for GBP 220...well Hornby has no shame!
👍
Hi Sam
Hi Sam, I just wanted to comment on something that has bothered me a little in your video's from time to time as someone who has a little engineering back ground.
I notice you always seem to say that square bearings are worse than bearings that conform to the axle, When actually that isn't quite true. A Square slot bearing reduces the contact area and thus friction area more than a round slot bearing that has more surface area touching the axle.
Since in a square slot bearing, the axle will only be touching at 3 distinct points, which would be small ammounts of surface area on the Two sides, and at the bottom, instead of the entire bearing race, while it may seem lower quality, they actually are slightly better than a round slot bearing, Still nowhere near as good as a proper turned brass bearing, But they are better than a rounded bearing race.
i know this has no thing to do with the video but i gotta ask here because of the people with some knowhow who visit videos like these.
Has anyone ever considered making their own track from scratch?
I have not been able to find a video on making your own track.
Surely it is possible to just make your own track from some stuff.
Right?
Day one of asking Sam for the model train olympics
Still have the wrong number of spokes on the driving wheels?
Nice looking and good runner but expensive. Great Railway Express Train in a Tin....where on Earth can you buy this one as everyone sells Number 9's?
How many beers you had today mate 😂
I don't have this very beautiful-looking Great Western engine, but I can see where you're coming from. I'd be a bit put-off myself. As Duck the Great Western Engine said:
"There are two ways of doing things: the Great Western Way or the wrong way." Hornby are obviously doing things the wrong way, you can tell. That aside, why don't you purchase an N Gauge GWR tender engine, and see if it's any better than what you have in 00 Gauge? You might get a very pleasant surprise.
Thanks for sharing Kelly - and Duck was very much correct!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Not related but I just bought a Lima either a SR N or U class
Ooh interesting - yeah I have one of those - unusual locos indeed!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Here we go again ….😵😵💫🤪
haha!
Mamod trains is closing 😢
The frame doesn't fit around the cylinders on the loco that's y it isn't straight.
Yet again, disproving the “cost of new tooling” lie. Tooling a decade old, price now 300% what it was originally.
According to the Bank of England Inflation calculator, Your 70£ loco in 2013 should be about £95.00 now.
I guess tooling gets expensive sitting in the box for 10 years.
Sam, what do you usually use to wipe oil stains off a model?
Either a model that can made an acceptable Railroad engine around the GBP 120 mark, or an idea for a retool (by Dapol ?) if the demand is here. It is clearly an outdated model by today's standards.
The drivetrain is a mixed bag : good pickups but old Bachmann-style zero bearings axles... And blatantly overgeared.
Well, if you find one new, don't pay over GBP 125 to get her. As is, can be a correct Railroad model with minimal modifications, like axle bearings and a slower motor. Not bad but we have far better for cheaper nowadays.
Are you wearing lip gloss?
Not a bad looking locomotive, but the RRP is bonkers Hornby’s prices department needs to stop eating those “odd” mushrooms 🍄 and lay off their “herbal” cigarettes as well.
The box label looks faded. Was it stored in a place with sunlight?
The only positive for Hornby is that they have sold out of this modey. Given their current financial situation that is very good news considering they have millions of pounds of obsolete stock which they don't want to reduce in price! Model is quite nice but the price is nasty!
I think that hornby have expanded by buying alot other manufacturers such lima .and many others i think.they tried to get too big so their focus on making more profits but their model design and build quailty have suffered .i wouldn t buy any thier new locos are they are getting too expensive .for the price you paid for this model sam i could buy several locos off ebay that need work and if i can get them going i get lovely loco but without too much cost
A bit of a double edged sword this one isn't it. On the one hand, it does look okay from a distance but for the money H is asking, and even at £160, quite some updates should be normally expected we thought; e.g. bearings, details on the gauges, flickering firebox, a flywheel, updated decoder socket, prefixing a speaker, a crew (figures)..., just to name a few. Then at least the £200+ asking price would be justified, on condition that quality is to be flawless; a deformed running plate really is unforgivable, not even to speak of that crack....
Really odd that H doesn't do regular updates (every 5 year or so) and add a rev. number. You've been a tad too kind perhaps Sam. Overall, not that bad looking from distance, but much more is simply to be expected. Cheerio.
Sam, have you asked Chloe about the wedding plans she has had since she was 6? Did you know about them already when you went to the Talyllyn?
hahaha yes I did!
Not a great loco this... I'll stick to my Accura manors!
haha that's probably for the best!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hornby, the Running Plates are warped and bent. Just like the prototype, cut it up and scrap it!
Another overpriced Hornby model, even though it looks reasonably OK (Mind you, to me, ALL Great Western 460s look alike!)