I mentioned in an earlier thread that my new LGB HSB KoF II had arrived today from Dragon G-Scale, and promised a longer review with some pictures; so, here it is. After some of the comments and warnings made on earlier threads about the questionable quality of some new Marklin/LGB products, I opened the box with some trepidation - I'd asked Jeremy to open it and track-test it before dispatch to me, which he had kindly done, so I knew it would be working OK - but I wasn't sure what I'd be getting in terms of paintwork, details etc.
Well, I needn't have worried - in my opinion, this loco is well up to standard - in fact in some ways I'd even say it is superior to some older pre-Marklin LGB, more on that below.
Price and Packaging etc:
At a bit over 300 quid, this isn't cheap; it's also not a big loco (it is, after all, a little switching unit). However it is about average for LGB's recent pricing, so it really depends how you feel about that - you'll either think "****, I'm not paying that for a shunter!" or you'll just grit your teeth and hand over your card number. It IS MTS-chipped, of course, so you haven't got that expense if you run digitally. In the end, only you can decide whether it is worth it to you - value is subjective depending on how much you want something!
The Big Red Box looks just the same as ever - someone said they were now skimping on the cardboard thickness, but this seems fine to me. Usual foam sleeve, a VERY tight fit in the card outer, loco snugly held inside the foam with a polythene wrap around it, mine survived the predations of Interlink couriers without any problems. Interestingly, the box does NOT say "made in China", or anywhere else for that matter, though this is clearly embossed on the underside of the loco itself.
Appearance and Paintwork:
First think to strike me is that this is an ORANGE loco. Very, very orange. Like a Jaffa. From the photos and videos I'd seen online, I'd expected the colour to be a more yellowish-orange, but it's actually a very orangey orange. I like it. Overall the paint quality seems OK, not at all shiny or toy-like, a nice matt-ish finish with just the slightest satiny sheen in some lights. My only quibble with the paint would be that some of the add-on detail parts (the twin air tanks on the hood, the three front lights etc) do seem to be a VERY slightly different shade of colour (probably the same paint, but sprayed over a different underlying colour) - this appears to be more obvious under some types of lighting than others. I don't find it that much of a problem, in fact in some ways I almost think it makes the loco look a little bit more realistic and less like a toy sprayed up all in one go, but if you're really picky about such things you might worry about it. Once the loco is running round the garden I very much doubt that anyone is really going to notice unless it's pointed out to them!
Markings are all crisp and cleanly applied, well up to usual (old) LGB standards. The window frames are all nicely finished with black trims. Chassis, footplate, buffers and couplings are the usual unpainted black plastic; it may be a slightly less robust grade of plastic than we were used to with old LGB, I'm not sure - but provided you don't throw your locos around I don't see it being a problem.
The overall construction feels good and solid, it doesn't feel like bits are going to break or drop off when I pick it up. In many ways I'd say it looks much more like a scale model (and less like a toy) than many older LGB items I have. 8/10 for overall appearance, would have been 9/10 if they'd exactly matched the paint colours on the detail parts.
Detail parts:
The handrails are very nice - all the black handrails and handles (that is, everything except the long orange ones along the hood) are actually metal, a big improvement on the flexy plastic ones that LGB used to use (and the fragile-looking rigid plastic ones that Piko put on theirs). The aforementioned long orange handrails along the hood top, while plastic, are not bendy ones like those on my LGB Class 2092 OBB shunter. Apart from the slight colour problem mentioned above, all the other plastic add-on details (the air tanks and their associated piping, lights, steps, windscreen wipers etc) are all nicely done, crisply moulded and appear to be firmly fixed.
The one rather odd exception is the prominent filter assembly at the front of the hood on the left side of the loco. As some folks have mentioned already, and can be seen in some of the photos, it appears to sit at an angle with its top leaning in towards the hood. Looking very carefully at mine (and taking it off - it unclips very easily) I have discovered what the problem is! The filter assembly is in two parts, the top bit (with the mounting clips) and the domed lower "bowl" of the filter, which is a push fit to the upper part. Now, the lower bowl actually has a small dimpled depression in one side, which is supposed to line up with a round nub on the mounting clip - the nub fits into the dimple (oo-er, missus!) and ensures that the bowl has been fitted the right way round. Except that on mine it hadn't - the bowl was pushed on the wrong way round so that instead of seating in the dimple, the nub actually pushed the mounting clip out of line - hence the filter sitting at the odd angle! This is quite easily fixed I think - turning the bowl round to the right location should help, though for a more definite solution I'm actually tempted to cut the lower part of the clip off mine altogether, and simply superglue the filter in place at the right angle. OK, yes, this is sloppy assembly work by the factory and shouldn't happen - especially on a £300+ model - but it certainly wouldn't stop me buying one.......
Running and operation:
Not much to report here, because all I've done so far is to put it on my test track and check that everything works. The lights come on, and it trundles forwards and backwards smoothly enough for a loco that has not yet been run-in. The only nitpick I could find is that the skates are a little bit stiff at the moment, not springing back into position quite as easily as you'd expect - nothing that a bit of running won't loosen up, I reckon. Later I'll have to leave it on the test rollers for half an hour or so and get everything nicely bedded in. Mine doesn't have sound as yet, but a Massoth S module with the relevant HSB KoF sounds will be procured and fitted in due course.
So, overall? Am I pleased I got one? Definitely yes. It looks very nice, suitably chunky and ugly/pretty just as it should, details are finer and less toy-like than some other LGB I have. The finish is very good in the main, with the caveats above about the paint colours, but that's being quite nit-picky. The acid test of anything bought unseen by mail-order is to ask yourself if you would still have bought it if you'd seen and examined it in the shop first - and in this case I can say that I certainly would have.
Is it good value? Well, that's very subjective and depends on whether you consider LGB to be good value in general. Against other LGB items, I'd say that yes, it is. As an example of post-Marklin-takeover LGB, it's an interesting example; while a few things have undoubtedly slipped a bit (I think there is little doubt that Chinese assembly work is not really up the Nurnburg standards) there are other things that I would say are actually BETTER than old pre-Marklin LGB. In the end, yer pays yer money and takes yer choice. If you can afford one, I don't think you'll regret it.
Jon.
PICS TO FOLLOW LATER!
Well, I needn't have worried - in my opinion, this loco is well up to standard - in fact in some ways I'd even say it is superior to some older pre-Marklin LGB, more on that below.
Price and Packaging etc:
At a bit over 300 quid, this isn't cheap; it's also not a big loco (it is, after all, a little switching unit). However it is about average for LGB's recent pricing, so it really depends how you feel about that - you'll either think "****, I'm not paying that for a shunter!" or you'll just grit your teeth and hand over your card number. It IS MTS-chipped, of course, so you haven't got that expense if you run digitally. In the end, only you can decide whether it is worth it to you - value is subjective depending on how much you want something!
The Big Red Box looks just the same as ever - someone said they were now skimping on the cardboard thickness, but this seems fine to me. Usual foam sleeve, a VERY tight fit in the card outer, loco snugly held inside the foam with a polythene wrap around it, mine survived the predations of Interlink couriers without any problems. Interestingly, the box does NOT say "made in China", or anywhere else for that matter, though this is clearly embossed on the underside of the loco itself.
Appearance and Paintwork:
First think to strike me is that this is an ORANGE loco. Very, very orange. Like a Jaffa. From the photos and videos I'd seen online, I'd expected the colour to be a more yellowish-orange, but it's actually a very orangey orange. I like it. Overall the paint quality seems OK, not at all shiny or toy-like, a nice matt-ish finish with just the slightest satiny sheen in some lights. My only quibble with the paint would be that some of the add-on detail parts (the twin air tanks on the hood, the three front lights etc) do seem to be a VERY slightly different shade of colour (probably the same paint, but sprayed over a different underlying colour) - this appears to be more obvious under some types of lighting than others. I don't find it that much of a problem, in fact in some ways I almost think it makes the loco look a little bit more realistic and less like a toy sprayed up all in one go, but if you're really picky about such things you might worry about it. Once the loco is running round the garden I very much doubt that anyone is really going to notice unless it's pointed out to them!
Markings are all crisp and cleanly applied, well up to usual (old) LGB standards. The window frames are all nicely finished with black trims. Chassis, footplate, buffers and couplings are the usual unpainted black plastic; it may be a slightly less robust grade of plastic than we were used to with old LGB, I'm not sure - but provided you don't throw your locos around I don't see it being a problem.
The overall construction feels good and solid, it doesn't feel like bits are going to break or drop off when I pick it up. In many ways I'd say it looks much more like a scale model (and less like a toy) than many older LGB items I have. 8/10 for overall appearance, would have been 9/10 if they'd exactly matched the paint colours on the detail parts.
Detail parts:
The handrails are very nice - all the black handrails and handles (that is, everything except the long orange ones along the hood) are actually metal, a big improvement on the flexy plastic ones that LGB used to use (and the fragile-looking rigid plastic ones that Piko put on theirs). The aforementioned long orange handrails along the hood top, while plastic, are not bendy ones like those on my LGB Class 2092 OBB shunter. Apart from the slight colour problem mentioned above, all the other plastic add-on details (the air tanks and their associated piping, lights, steps, windscreen wipers etc) are all nicely done, crisply moulded and appear to be firmly fixed.
The one rather odd exception is the prominent filter assembly at the front of the hood on the left side of the loco. As some folks have mentioned already, and can be seen in some of the photos, it appears to sit at an angle with its top leaning in towards the hood. Looking very carefully at mine (and taking it off - it unclips very easily) I have discovered what the problem is! The filter assembly is in two parts, the top bit (with the mounting clips) and the domed lower "bowl" of the filter, which is a push fit to the upper part. Now, the lower bowl actually has a small dimpled depression in one side, which is supposed to line up with a round nub on the mounting clip - the nub fits into the dimple (oo-er, missus!) and ensures that the bowl has been fitted the right way round. Except that on mine it hadn't - the bowl was pushed on the wrong way round so that instead of seating in the dimple, the nub actually pushed the mounting clip out of line - hence the filter sitting at the odd angle! This is quite easily fixed I think - turning the bowl round to the right location should help, though for a more definite solution I'm actually tempted to cut the lower part of the clip off mine altogether, and simply superglue the filter in place at the right angle. OK, yes, this is sloppy assembly work by the factory and shouldn't happen - especially on a £300+ model - but it certainly wouldn't stop me buying one.......
Running and operation:
Not much to report here, because all I've done so far is to put it on my test track and check that everything works. The lights come on, and it trundles forwards and backwards smoothly enough for a loco that has not yet been run-in. The only nitpick I could find is that the skates are a little bit stiff at the moment, not springing back into position quite as easily as you'd expect - nothing that a bit of running won't loosen up, I reckon. Later I'll have to leave it on the test rollers for half an hour or so and get everything nicely bedded in. Mine doesn't have sound as yet, but a Massoth S module with the relevant HSB KoF sounds will be procured and fitted in due course.
So, overall? Am I pleased I got one? Definitely yes. It looks very nice, suitably chunky and ugly/pretty just as it should, details are finer and less toy-like than some other LGB I have. The finish is very good in the main, with the caveats above about the paint colours, but that's being quite nit-picky. The acid test of anything bought unseen by mail-order is to ask yourself if you would still have bought it if you'd seen and examined it in the shop first - and in this case I can say that I certainly would have.
Is it good value? Well, that's very subjective and depends on whether you consider LGB to be good value in general. Against other LGB items, I'd say that yes, it is. As an example of post-Marklin-takeover LGB, it's an interesting example; while a few things have undoubtedly slipped a bit (I think there is little doubt that Chinese assembly work is not really up the Nurnburg standards) there are other things that I would say are actually BETTER than old pre-Marklin LGB. In the end, yer pays yer money and takes yer choice. If you can afford one, I don't think you'll regret it.
Jon.
PICS TO FOLLOW LATER!
divorce no. 3 could be on the cards
