THANE OF FIFE
Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2023 11:37 am
My Collectors Club edition of Hornby’s new P2 has arrived at West Orton. I’m not one for ‘unboxing videos’ but this model does exhibit some of the recent changes Hornby have made which may be of interest.
It seems Hornby have learnt from the W1 packaging debacle where many locos arrived damaged due to very poor packaging. Now the box is a sturdy two part offering lined with black foam. Additionally it has two outer foam cradles to hold it secure in a second box which in turn sits in a third box for shipping.
20230808_094234 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
The accessories pack contains the usual bits and bobs including a poorly painted crew (mine have just gone back through my paint shop) and etched plates - in reality these are oblong slabs of brass with painted shading which I shall replace in time. The loco also has Hornby’s new drawbar arrangement that includes electrical connections between loco and tender - the locking pip doesn’t look to be particularly robust.
20230808_094637 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
20230808_094808 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
Opening up the tender reveals a completely new design to suit the latest TXS decoders. The ballast weight has a bespoke cavity to fit the sugarcube speakers Hornby now use with a 21 pin socket at the rear that positions the decoder over the top of the speaker.
20230808_095829 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
But there is no space for a powerbank! I know that a loco with this many wheels should not need one, but I fit them as a matter of course - it can’t do any harm - and I would have thought that a bespoke cavity in that sloping piece of plastic in front of the decoder would have made sense. As it is, I have fitted mine under the imitation coal load by running the wires through existing holes in the front of the tender.
20230808_101023 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
I’ve loaded mine with the P2 sound profile on the HM7K system without any issues at all and started running it in before I add the detailing parts and crew.
20230808_110146 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
It seems Hornby have learnt from the W1 packaging debacle where many locos arrived damaged due to very poor packaging. Now the box is a sturdy two part offering lined with black foam. Additionally it has two outer foam cradles to hold it secure in a second box which in turn sits in a third box for shipping.
20230808_094234 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
The accessories pack contains the usual bits and bobs including a poorly painted crew (mine have just gone back through my paint shop) and etched plates - in reality these are oblong slabs of brass with painted shading which I shall replace in time. The loco also has Hornby’s new drawbar arrangement that includes electrical connections between loco and tender - the locking pip doesn’t look to be particularly robust.
20230808_094637 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
20230808_094808 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
Opening up the tender reveals a completely new design to suit the latest TXS decoders. The ballast weight has a bespoke cavity to fit the sugarcube speakers Hornby now use with a 21 pin socket at the rear that positions the decoder over the top of the speaker.
20230808_095829 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
But there is no space for a powerbank! I know that a loco with this many wheels should not need one, but I fit them as a matter of course - it can’t do any harm - and I would have thought that a bespoke cavity in that sloping piece of plastic in front of the decoder would have made sense. As it is, I have fitted mine under the imitation coal load by running the wires through existing holes in the front of the tender.
20230808_101023 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr
I’ve loaded mine with the P2 sound profile on the HM7K system without any issues at all and started running it in before I add the detailing parts and crew.
20230808_110146 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr