GNER Mk3's Hornby or Lima?
Alan Rathbone
In my collection I have a Hornby GNER HST set, with two scale length Mk3's
and I'm wanting to add more to the rake (probably to 7 car formation)
Heres the crunch: Hattons are selling the Hornby ones for £14 each, and
they are selling the Lima version for £10 each (6x for £54)
How different is the paint colour and the side profiles between the Hornby &
Lima versions? I do think that the Lima HST & coaches are more accurate,
but I'm sure that the paint is rather dull when compared to the Hornby
version?
Harburn's seem to be the only shop selling a Lima GNER HST set, for a rather
extreme £85!
Cheers
Alan
Rich Mackin
news:xpzja.1250$0x....@news-binary.blueyonder.co.uk...
> Hi folks,
>
> In my collection I have a Hornby GNER HST set, with two scale length Mk3's
> and I'm wanting to add more to the rake (probably to 7 car formation)
>
> Heres the crunch: Hattons are selling the Hornby ones for £14 each, and
> they are selling the Lima version for £10 each (6x for £54)
(being written as a GNER HST speeds by outside)
My GNER HST (2 x 43s, 8 x Mk3s) is an awkward mix of old-style Hornby Mk3s.
scale length Mk3s, and Lima Mk3s, with Hornby power cars, so maybe I can be
of help here...
First up, the Hornby Mk3s at Hattons appear to be of the old short-length
style, which seem to be much more common than the re-tooled Mk3s (I have 3
old-style, 1 new-style).
> How different is the paint colour and the side profiles between the Hornby
&
> Lima versions? I do think that the Lima HST & coaches are more accurate,
> but I'm sure that the paint is rather dull when compared to the Hornby
> version?
Comparison between Hornby full-scale and Lima Mk3s:
1. The Hornby coach has flush glazing, whereas the Lima one doesn't, and you
really notice the difference, especially on the toilet windows.
2. The printing of the GNER crest on the Hornby coach is much more clear
than on the Lima one.
3. The red stripe on the Lima coach looks closer to the correct shade than
the Hornby one, I would say.
4. The general detail on the Hornby coach is superior to the Lima one,
especially on the bogies.
5. My Hornby full-scale Mk3 has plastic wheels, and it doesn't free-wheel
too well, whereas the Lima ones free-wheel excellently. My Virgin Hornby
Mk3s are much better, though, with proper metal wheels.
6. All of my Lima GNER Mk3s (4) have buffers, which can't be easily removed
unlike Hornby ones. :-/
7. Lima did individually-numbered and lettered coaches, but Hornby didn't.
It depends how fussy you are about this though.
In all, it's a close call, with the GNER scale-length Mk3 winning, overall.
Older-style Mk3s are best-avoided, where possible. Also worth noting, Lima
did their much-sought-after TGS coach in GNER livery, but these are quite
hard to get hold of (I was lucky to get one). It's worth bearing in mind.
Hornby restaurant coaches are VERY difficult to find, Lima ones slightly
less so... Very hard to choose between the two unfortunately. Personally, I
get away with using a mix of Hornby and Lima coaches, and hopefully no-one
will look too closely at your HST to spot the difference, especially when
it's in motion ;-)
HTH,
Rich
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Alan Rathbone
the shorties.
Hmm I may just have to consider the Lima's or wait and pickup some Hornby
scale lengths 2nd hand...
Cheers
Alan
Keith Norgrove
>6. All of my Lima GNER Mk3s (4) have buffers, which can't be easily removed
>unlike Hornby ones. :-/
Ever heard of side cutters?
The Xuron rail cutter will do this job in seconds.
Keith
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Keith
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