Having chopped a couple of NQD coaches into something more modern looking, I seem to recall that the slot above the door in the end of the coaches is used for locating the original (Saxon style) roof....
They have arrived safe and sound, only unpacked a couple so far but here's what I found.
Ordered on the 17th, Shipped on the 19th and arrived and cleared customs on the 29th so no problems there.
Coaches, shipping, VAT and handling to HMRC and Parcelforce so they work out at just under £50 each, again not bad at all.
Pleasant note informing me of a charge was nicer than demands and very helpful staff at the depot.
On opening the boxes I found one ventilator loose, as one of the clips had broken off due to tightness to carton, which was simply glued back in. The windows on one side of one coach were also bowed in so I had a look how to get inside.
stick pinkies through the door and ease the body out and the roof clips release easily.
The black seating wasn't fitted correctly so after a quick check all was aligned correctly and windows now sitting correctly.
Overall they look very good
lettering is good.
minor paint run on one corner but nothing I'm going to worry about.
Underframe with limited movement on one bogie sideframe to improve track holding. One axle had popped out too which I suspect is the minimal packing again. Popped it back in and seems secure.
The plastic railings are all straight though the doors don't fit brilliantly at the top so are best posed open or shut, also as noted before they haven't done the door handles though they would be easy to make if you want.
Slight bow where the coach end meets the roof moulding but it's not visible except in a close picture and I doubt anyone else would see it unless they were looking for it.
So overall?
Hammonds -10/10 service and contact was excellent, shipping no problem and for commissioning the Harz style roof.
Mouldings 8/10 the lack of minor details and bow where the roof meets the body, but crisp and feel quite robust.
Finish 7/10 minor paint runs and minor assembly problems.
Price 9/10 that's a lot of coach for the money compared to the competition.
Value Overall 9/10
On this experience I would happily recommend Hammonds and they deserve to do well taking the risk with making something different from this range.
Ordered on the 17th, Shipped on the 19th and arrived and cleared customs on the 29th so no problems there.
Coaches, shipping, VAT and handling to HMRC and Parcelforce so they work out at just under £50 each, again not bad at all.
Pleasant note informing me of a charge was nicer than demands and very helpful staff at the depot.
On opening the boxes I found one ventilator loose, as one of the clips had broken off due to tightness to carton, which was simply glued back in. The windows on one side of one coach were also bowed in so I had a look how to get inside.
stick pinkies through the door and ease the body out and the roof clips release easily.
The black seating wasn't fitted correctly so after a quick check all was aligned correctly and windows now sitting correctly.
Overall they look very good
lettering is good.
minor paint run on one corner but nothing I'm going to worry about.
Underframe with limited movement on one bogie sideframe to improve track holding. One axle had popped out too which I suspect is the minimal packing again. Popped it back in and seems secure.
The plastic railings are all straight though the doors don't fit brilliantly at the top so are best posed open or shut, also as noted before they haven't done the door handles though they would be easy to make if you want.
Slight bow where the coach end meets the roof moulding but it's not visible except in a close picture and I doubt anyone else would see it unless they were looking for it.
So overall?
Hammonds -10/10 service and contact was excellent, shipping no problem and for commissioning the Harz style roof.
Mouldings 8/10 the lack of minor details and bow where the roof meets the body, but crisp and feel quite robust.
Finish 7/10 minor paint runs and minor assembly problems.
Price 9/10 that's a lot of coach for the money compared to the competition.
Value Overall 9/10
On this experience I would happily recommend Hammonds and they deserve to do well taking the risk with making something different from this range.
would like your thoughts on how the car performs stock, while running
and
in a week or so, after the honeymoon, a follow up
and
in a week or so, after the honeymoon, a follow up
LGB coach in the foreground with the Hammond ones behind.
Up close the Hammond one is slightly taller but couples well with no droop.
The roof is smoother, than the Lgb ones textured finish, on the Hammond one and appeared to have some of the mould release agent left as a couple were quite slippery in the roof.
Colour wise they look fine together with only slight variation.
They ran smoothly across board joins and through R3 points with no problems.
Still impressed and despite minor quality issues they are excellent value and like Minimans early tests I can't see them suffering much in the long term unless left out in adverse weather or extreme sun a lot.
I think I have enough Harz coaches now but being totally honest if I didn't already have the LGB ones I would happily go for these and spend the £120 per coach savings on a meyer or a 2-6-2 by LGB.
Up close the Hammond one is slightly taller but couples well with no droop.
The roof is smoother, than the Lgb ones textured finish, on the Hammond one and appeared to have some of the mould release agent left as a couple were quite slippery in the roof.
Colour wise they look fine together with only slight variation.
They ran smoothly across board joins and through R3 points with no problems.
Still impressed and despite minor quality issues they are excellent value and like Minimans early tests I can't see them suffering much in the long term unless left out in adverse weather or extreme sun a lot.
I think I have enough Harz coaches now but being totally honest if I didn't already have the LGB ones I would happily go for these and spend the £120 per coach savings on a meyer or a 2-6-2 by LGB.
I recently purchased six of the HSB coaches. Same 'faults' as reported by Paul, plus one end guardrail was missing. Most of the wheels had separated in transit plus endrails had dislodged at the roofline interface. These were simply reinserted with no ongoing issue noticable. As others have stated, excellent value for money. As an aside, I have contemplated dismantling each coach and clear coating the factory paint. I am not entirely confident that the paint is 'permanent' as small chips of paint visible in packaging after removing. As Paul stated packaging is very tight. The price point issue here is a little more than Paul has quoted. My coaches were a tad under $70 including postage (no duty or import fees). The other brand is around $400 including postage from a local supplier. I will no doubt supplement the Newqs with a Hungarian Cafe car plus a few other HSB cars from the European manufacturer. If not for the Newqs I would never have purchased anything in the HSB range.
Next will be a few green/cream Saxons for my Frankis 'S'.
Next will be a few green/cream Saxons for my Frankis 'S'.
Just a quick point here. Whilst they are not particularily "right", in actual fact as they were closing the Saxon lines down alot of the 750mm carriages ended up on the Harz. Here they were modernised and rebuilt and are to this day still running there. I have some of the Harz stock from Hammonds and yes there are some faults but in my own opinion they are still alot cheaper than LBG and so get my personal vote. They are alot better that the "TB" ones. Price verses valve they are very good. Funnily enough to get the to New Zealand (price + postage etc.) they work out at $100 which is almost the same as in UK Pounds converted. Well done Mr Hammond- keep it up.
Well, the experiment failed. I disassembled a car to clear coat with my normal craft spray matte clear. The bare plastic took the spray but the cream paint is the typical 'oily' type found on Bachmann cars and difficult to overspray. All was not lost. The car was wet sanded and primed awaiting a green topcoat and decals. It will then resemble the shorter 6-window 3070X series coaches from the other manufacturer. While apart the seat mouldings will be painted. It will not have been a total loss.
Now have to purchase more cars.
Now have to purchase more cars.
And at this price it's worth experimenting, thanks Tim for sharing that. Are the roofs at all slippery like some of mine? Pretty sure it's silicon mould release.
Paul,
some roof mouldings are shiny as if mould release on them. I have painted my coach 'Brunswick Green' which is my usual paint colour for coaches (both European and American) and pleased with the result. The seats are now a dark brown (colour was already onhand). The green coach colour reasonably matches both the Newq and LGB green coaches. I will no doubt have an issue with the end doors as a couple of coats of paint is not going to help as you have already stated they are tight ex-factory.
some roof mouldings are shiny as if mould release on them. I have painted my coach 'Brunswick Green' which is my usual paint colour for coaches (both European and American) and pleased with the result. The seats are now a dark brown (colour was already onhand). The green coach colour reasonably matches both the Newq and LGB green coaches. I will no doubt have an issue with the end doors as a couple of coats of paint is not going to help as you have already stated they are tight ex-factory.
I though that I would have my 2 pennyworth on these. I wish that I had waited for the latest batch as they match my LGB Harz Stock much better. However I may still manage to pick up a couple somewhere in the UK at some time. The ones that I got from USA some 2 years ago in the original Newquid batch have now been in service on my line after some work as follows:-
- Bachman Metal Wheels have been fitted.
- All New Couplings and Springs. I use LGB as my standard for reliability, some of the Newquid (white) Springs were already broken when I got my coaches.
- Relabeled them to get rid of the TB and to fit in with my Harz Type numbering scheme.
Here is a picture of what one of my coaches now looks like, as you can see minimal alterations. At least one of these in this condition remained at Nordhausen till 1975 as KB4ip 900-222. It came from the Spreewaldbahn. Another looks to have been converted to a Van as KD4i 904101. There are drawings and pictures of both in the Schweers + Wall book of the harzer Schmalspurbahnen on P204/205.
- Bachman Metal Wheels have been fitted.
- All New Couplings and Springs. I use LGB as my standard for reliability, some of the Newquid (white) Springs were already broken when I got my coaches.
- Relabeled them to get rid of the TB and to fit in with my Harz Type numbering scheme.
Here is a picture of what one of my coaches now looks like, as you can see minimal alterations. At least one of these in this condition remained at Nordhausen till 1975 as KB4ip 900-222. It came from the Spreewaldbahn. Another looks to have been converted to a Van as KD4i 904101. There are drawings and pictures of both in the Schweers + Wall book of the harzer Schmalspurbahnen on P204/205.
I can now post photographs. First is the Hammond 'HSB' coach that I clearcoated to protect the cream finish, but the factory paint was not assisting me and so the experiment failed. I sanded back the factory finish and painted and applied some generic decals that I had previously had made for me. The car is purely generic and not intended to represent a prototype.
Second car was a yellow LGB #3060B Barmer coach that I repainted to represent a 'DR' car.
Second car was a yellow LGB #3060B Barmer coach that I repainted to represent a 'DR' car.
Paul,
it is a local manufacturer, 'White Knight', colour code, 'Brunswick Green'. This is what is locally referred to as a Heritage colour. I use this colour for all my coach repaints, whether European or American. The Hammond car was the red moulded colour with a grey automotive primer applied. It turned out slightly darker than the originally yellow LGB car, which also has the grey primer. I never apply paint directly to plastic.
it is a local manufacturer, 'White Knight', colour code, 'Brunswick Green'. This is what is locally referred to as a Heritage colour. I use this colour for all my coach repaints, whether European or American. The Hammond car was the red moulded colour with a grey automotive primer applied. It turned out slightly darker than the originally yellow LGB car, which also has the grey primer. I never apply paint directly to plastic.
Ta Tim, I wouldn't apply paint without primer either, nice crate full of car paints and primers in the cupboard. The local Halfords probably thinks I'm a graffiti artist I buy so many different colours!
