Rail Express – September 2019

❒

£

GAUGE

00 4mm:1ft ERA

Dec

2018 to

present

FEATURES WE LIKE

■Powerful four-axle drive.

■Correct detailsforlateFGW HSTs.

■Etchedfangrilles and coolingfan.

■DCCinterface socket.

■Correct ‘Voith’fangrilles.

■Working LED running lights.

RRP £289.99.

Producedby HornbyHobbies

http://www.hornby.com

Aglossyversion of GWR green livery

has been applied, with commemorative

decoration applied to No. 43093Old Oak

Common HSTDepot 1976-2018.

The livery embellishments applied

after the September 2017 Old Oak

Common open dayand closureofOld Oak

Common HSTdepot in December 2018

areneatl yapplied.

AsideviewofNo. 43093 with its side decoration andvarious embellishments neatly

printed. Etched nameplates aresupplied with the model.

Hornbyhas de tailed
the powercar models
with appropriate parts
forthe cooling group and
up-to-date running lights
to closelymatch No.
43016 and No. 43093 in
their present condition.

REVIEW

Supplement No. 185 September 2019 RAIL EXPRESS Modeller M33

Great WesternHST

powercars

‘Castle’ Class 43 HST

powercars finished in

GWR green livery are

releasedbyHornby.

ALL but 24 HSTpowercarsand their
associated Mk.3trailers have been
releasedbyFirst Grea tWesternforstore
or reallocation following the introduction
of Class 800and Class 802 multiple
units on long distanceintercity services
originatingfrom LondonPaddington
betweenlate2017 toMay2019.
West Countryservice soriginating
from Plymouth andPenzancewere
the last tobe replaced with Class802
units inMay 2019, bringingan end to
HSTdominationof GreatWesternlong
distance trains. However, theyare notso
easily dislodgedand will continueint he
West Country as mini-HSTs to th edelight
of theirfollo wers. Twenty-fourpower
carsand 48Mk.3 trailers remain to make
up 11 setsof tw o-plus-fourmini-HSTs
foroperationbetween Penzance, Exeter,
TauntonandCardiffCentral.
The Mk.3 trailers arerefurbished
with sliding powerdoors andretention
tank toilets. Livery is the current GWR
green theme with silver doors which
will befeatur ed on new‘OO’ gauge
models to bereleasedby Hornbylater
this year.

‘Legends oftheGreat Western’
Among thelates tmodels of the detailed
HornbyClass43isapack of twoGreat
Western green powercars as No.43016,
finishedwith standardGWR logoand
No. 43093OldOak Common HSTDepot

1976-2018withvinyl sshowing the

outlines of the tractionassociatedwith

theGreat Western andOld Oak Common

depot.

Powercar No.43093received its

‘Legendsoft he Grea tWestern’livery in

time forthe September 2017OldOak

Common open day. An additiontothe

liver yistheOldOak Common–History

Makerslegend inadditiontoLast HSToff

Old Oak Common Depot8th December

2018 lettering. Itcommemoratesthe

depotwhich servicedHSTssincetheir

introductiontothe GW mainlinein1 976

unti lits closureinDecember 2018.Both

models arepresented inashiny pri stine

finish, withgood colour shades and

neatlyprintedlivery details.

Arecap

Despitecommentonthe shapeoft he

cab front and the edgeoft he ‘nose’

by manymodellers,the HornbyClass

43 remain sthe best model produced

to date.Itisoffered in twin packsof

one motorisedandone traili ng model

because theweightand poweroft he

motorised powercar is sufficient to

handleupto10Mk.3 trailers withease.

It is possible to operate t he modelsin

prop ellin gmodewith the unmotorised

powercar leadingwith out derailments

on well-laid track. The ‘Castle’HSTsets

willpose no problemsforthe motorised

powercar suppli ed in th epack with only

four Mk.3 trailers in each GWRmini-HST

formation.

Deta ilingofthe one-piece injection

moulded bodyshell includes someof the

differen tcoolingfan gr ille arrangements

fitted to HSTs overthe years. Thereview

modelsareequipped withVoith cooling

group detailsoftwinmesh grilles and

large cool ingfan. The inner endsshould

not feature the three ‘ Roevac’ vents

whichwere re movedand platedover

on powercars i nlate condition. The

sometimes criticised mould line just

inboardoft he nose is also visible on

both modelsandthe fit of theexhaust

deflectors could be improved.

The model is not fittedwith close

coupling cam sbut doesfeature NEM

couplingpockets attached toalong

brac ketleading from thebogieframe.

It i scrankedto clear theinner airtanks

meaning thatiti stoo lo wfor standard

NEM couplings–the tensionlock used

onthe modelbeing cran kedtoset it at

the correctheight.

Detailing

Giventhat th emodels have been

available forsometime, th elevelof

detai lremainsgood in the light of the

high standards nowbeing appliedto

newdiesel and electric models,raising

the bar in accuracyand detailing

further.Flush glazing, detailed cab

interior and the use of etchedfan

grilles helps to place the Hornbymodel

in the detailed category.Some fittings

arestandardised such as underframe

compressor and bogie frameseven

though theyvary on thereal po wer

cars. The innergangway and its door

is well modelled alongside the front

running lights and air horn grilles.Cab

doors can be pushed opened but are

fitted with springs causing them to

snap shut once pressureisr emoved.

Decoration

Ashine has been applied to the livery

adorning both powercars inkeeping

with theirex-worksappearance and

celebrity status as being the first to

operate in theformationofaCastle

mini-HSTset. Some modellers will like

the finish whilst others maychoose to

applyacoat of satinvarnishtokilloff

the shine toamoreworkmanlike finish.

When workingwith mini-HSTs testing,

No. 43093 did not carry theOld Oak

Common–HistoryMakerslegend –

whichwasappli ed in December 2018.

It can beremovedfromthe modelfor

the September 2017-December 2018

peri od.

Livery elements aresharplyprinted

on both models and appear correct

whenexamined against photographs

except the orangesafety stripe which

has asligh tbow in it above the cab

windows when it should be straight.

Underframe detailsremainfinished in

plai nblack with no embellishments.

Overall, the models arenicelyfinished

with detailing as close to the prototype

as possible with theavailable toolings

and fittings. AnMTUengine TTSsound

decoder (R8120) is currentlyavailable

which is suitableforthe GWR power

cars ,sold asatwin pack allowing both

the trailing andmotorisedpowercars to

be equipped.

Models of celebrity

GWR HSTpowercars

No. 43016 and No. 43093OldOak

Common HSTDepot 1976-2018have been

releasedby Hornby. Theywillbeagood matchfor

the forthcoming ‘Castle’ Mk.3 trailer models.