NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 When the Hornby Thomas & Friends range was relaunched, back in 2015 and seeing that all the new releases were re-releases, I told myslef not to buy any of it, but then in November 2015, Hornby announced the pre-order of R9303 Thomas the Tank Engine 70th Anniersary Limited Edition locomotive, I of course had to get that collector's item, so off I went and pre-orderd myself one! Then, I when then when all Thomas, Percy and the new Rolling Stock got released in December 2015 (Edward, James, Gordon and Henry got released in February and March 2016, as you may know), I started to notice that changes to almost everything had been released. The first item that cought my eye that I had to buy x3 of, was R9300 Triple Wagon Pack A, that comes with the Series 1-style Troublesome Truck. The original R107 Open Wagon release of this, which was a 5 Plank Wagon, but Hornby changed it, to a 7 Plank Open Wagon in R9300. So of course I had to buy this triple pack! Then, at somepoint last year (2016), Hornby released batches of R9287 Thomas the Tank Engine, that came with an added bonus of a headlamp, which forced me to buy this, as I have always wanted Hornby to fit there Thomas & Friends Locomotive's with headlamp's. Then, after thinking about it, my old brightly painted R110 Annie and R112 Clarabel, would not suit the new lighter CGI-style new Hornby Thomas loco, so of course again, I had to buy R9293 Annie and Clarabel, double pack, which I now have these two products. As you can now see, I own x4 of the 2015 releases, and x3 of R9300! As I am sure you can probably see, that I am a Thomas & Friends collector, who wants to keep to the originally released Hornby Thomas & Friends products, which course, I am going too! Now, I am sorry for the above paragraph, I have written a lot there and I might have just slightly got carried away, with myself! Now for the main reason of this topic, as you are all deperate to read! The main reason for this topic, as you can see by the title of it, 'R9291 Gordon the Blue Engine', is that for the past few weeks, I have been druling (Like a dog! 😆), over the current release of Gordon! After months of telling myself not to buy the new Edward, James and Gordon locomotives, as they DCC Ready tneder driven loco's, means that the tender's are peromantely attachd to the loco (Excluding Henry). This factor has put me off, from buying the current release of Edward, James and Gordon, becuase to hold them, with permant attached tender, will not be easy, however, after really studying the photos, that Hatton's have posted, on their webiste of Gordon, he looks really nice! What a site he would be, on my layout! I love his new light blue paintwork and his white face now. I never liked the old R383 Gordon's as on every version, he had the same dark face, which I never liked. It didn't look like Gordon, from the Thomas & Friends TV series. Hornby have also fixed the 'number 4', on his tender. It better proportioned, and it looks like his 'number 4' does look, in the TV series. All these things makes the new Gordon, a perfect purchase for me! So, in the near future, I am going to get the new Gordon. I am also going to get the new Percy, Edward, James and Henry, but that will be another time, as I want to get the new Gordon first. Why not buy the most expensive locomotive first, 'ay?! 😆 All I want from you guys and girls - the reader's, is to confirm I am doing the right thing, slowly collecting the new Hornby Thomas & Friends, when I already have the past releases, of them! PS, please post pictures, in this topic, of the R9291 Grodon, if you have him! I would love to see more pictures, on a your layout as well! Thank you. PPS, sorry about the long post! 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_duck Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I bought Henry, James and Gordon in the Hornby sale after Christmas.I do much prefer the new Gordon with the lighter blue paintwork and the lighter face over the previous version I have. Which had the grey face and dark blue paintwork. It also seems to run much quieter than the old one. I've fitted a saphire decoder so there is plenty of space in the tender for a decoder.As for Henry I prefer my older version as I am not keen on the new shade of green and the detailing being black rather than silver. If you are fitting a decoder there is not much space in the body so I ended up fitting a very small decoder (i'm away from home and can't remember the exact model but it was a micro decoder). As for James I have the British Stamp Collection version and now the new one. I haven't really compared them but I believe they are pretty similar. Again, I've fitted a saphire decoder in the tender so there is plenty of room.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 Thank you for getting back to me Mark. I am not going to fit decoders to the new locos. Most of the Thomas range are not DCC Ready, hence why I have never made a move to go Digital and for that reason, I never will. I like the idea of Digital. It's a good system. However with more than half of the Hornby Thomas & Friebds range not Digitally compatible, I will not be going Digital. I am not sure the exact year my Gordon was made. He has not got the year printed on his chassis. I believe it could be from around 2001 / 2002. I do like the colour of the new Gordon though. I own the 2006 Henry which I do like he is a good runner. I some what believe that the colour on this Henry is better to the green on the 2016 Henry, but his altered face Henry being loco driven, the better shaped 'number 3' on his tender, means I need him, in my collection. Is the new Henry a better runner and his he more quieter. I have the 2011 British Stamp Collection James as well. From looking at the pictutes, the only difference between this James and the 2016 James, are the faces and the tender being permantly attached. Have you got the 2016 Edward? How does he compare to the 2006 Edward? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_duck Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 I've only run Henry in and he did perform well. Although to be fair my old one runs nicely, much better than my old Gordon and Edward. When I'm home I'll get him on the track and do a comparison between them. I've been meaning to do a comparison with all three. I'll see if I can get some good photographs for comparison.I haven't bought Edward yet but will do at some point, he is a good price at the north west store at the moment.I went DCC as the Thomas engines were originally for the kids and I wanted to try digital control for my locos. But I've always been a bit of a collector / hoarder of things so as time has gone on I've bought several Thomas locos and buildings. Most are DCC apart from Bill, Ben and Percy.My intention when I finally build a large permanent layout is to have the main lower section running DCC and then a separate higher level that will be DC for those engines that are not digital. That is the long term plan.Although with the current eBay prices for the Flying Scotsman, Spencer and Murdoch I'm keeping them away from the wife .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 25, 2017 Author Share Posted March 25, 2017 Yes, please post pictures on this forum, of the new James, Gordon and Henry, m_duck. I would love to see more pictures of them. That will wet my appetite even more, to get them! So will your be keeping your new and old James, Gordon and Henry? I'm a collector and horder of the Hornby Thomas & Friends, range too! Have you got Flying Scotsman, Spencer and Murdoch, m_duck? I have all three! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_duck Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I've taken photographs of R383 Gordon the Big Blue Engine and the new R9291 Gordon the Blue Engine. The newer model is a much lighter shade of blue. Although I'm not sure how much this will be visible in the photographs./media/tinymce_upload/b70318ba0ae7a467f4c438148fa08465.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_duck Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 /media/tinymce_upload/d43ea893f13800cf3cdc0a20175ad077.JPGR9291 on the left R383 on the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_duck Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 /media/tinymce_upload/b45179dd0a5c0acf6308367f07e2bf70.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_duck Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I've posted some photographs of Gordon but they may take a while due to being checked by admin before being uploaded.I'll take some of Henry and James but will start a new thread for each which might keep things tidier when people search the forum for entries.In answer to your question I have Spencer, Murdoch and Flying Scotsman. I am a little torn as to how much my sons play with them as accidents happen and they like crashes. One part of me thinks they are worth money and I could sell them on eBay but on the other hand they are toys and were built for children to play and enjoy themselves. My five year old is autistic and loves them and they bring him so much joy that I really do try not to take them away. But wince whenever they crash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow.Monk Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 When I first saw images of the rereleases, I didn't think much of them. It was seeing them in the flesh that would change my mind as to how fantastic they are. I do dislike the newer style boxes though to be honest.If I collected all 22 engines originally, I would buy engines 1-6 of the new ones, selling the previous version, and if let's say, Hornby release toby next year, I would buy the new Toby selling the older one.Does anyone know if the 2015/16 versions of old slow coach and scruffey have any differences to their previous versions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 I've posted some photographs of Gordon but they may take a while due to being checked by admin before being uploaded.I'll take some of Henry and James but will start a new thread for each which might keep things tidier when people search the forum for entries.In answer to your question I have Spencer, Murdoch and Flying Scotsman. I am a little torn as to how much my sons play with them as accidents happen and they like crashes. One part of me thinks they are worth money and I could sell them on eBay but on the other hand they are toys and were built for children to play and enjoy themselves. My five year old is autistic and loves them and they bring him so much joy that I really do try not to take them away. But wince whenever they crash. Thank you for pisting pictures of the new R9291 Gordon. I can't wait for them to get approved! 😆 Yes, please start new threads to post pictures of Henry and James in. Good job you have Spencer, Murdoch and Flying Scotsman. They aren't easy to but anymore! Ouch! don't like hearing that your children like crashing them, particularly Spencer, Murdoch and Flying Scotsman. The most delicate three! I couldn't crash these models. To delicate and valuable for that sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 When I first saw images of the rereleases, I didn't think much of them. It was seeing them in the flesh that would change my mind as to how fantastic they are. I do dislike the newer style boxes though to be honest.If I collected all 22 engines originally, I would buy engines 1-6 of the new ones, selling the previous version, and if let's say, Hornby release toby next year, I would buy the new Toby selling the older one.Does anyone know if the 2015/16 versions of old slow coach and scruffey have any differences to their previous versions? I completely thought the same thing, Shadow.Monk, when I first saw the pictures of them! I told myself not to buy them, but now I am finding myself looking at them eveyday, wanting to buy them and I will be! 😆 I have the original 22 locomotive set, however, I have the new Thomas and I will be buying the new Edward, Henry, Gordon, James and Percy. I will not be selling my original loco's, as they are based off the model TV series. The new one's are based off the CGI TV series, so I am keeping both! In answer to your question, there is no difference between 2001 S.C.Ruffey and the 2015 one and the only difference between the 2005 Old Slow Coach and the 2015 on, is that the orginal came with plastic wheels and the 2015 one came with metal wheels. No other difference, apart from the boxes! 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Great pictures m_duck. The new Gordon looks so much better to the old one (Colour wise). My old Gordon (R383), is not the same colour as that. Yours is painted, but mine is coloured plastic and has sliver handrails. I am defintely getting the R9291 Gordon. It looks so cool. Spot the characters in the background! I can see: ThomasEdwardJamesPercyTobySpencerAnnie and ClarabelOld Slow Coach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slornie Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 @m_duck: Interesting! So the new issue is a lighter shade of blue and has an improved tender number but Hornby apparently decided the oval buffers weren't worth replicating anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Good point. I didnt realise Honby had taken away the oval buffers on the new Gordon! Hornby, why have you done this?! Gordon has always had oval buffers. Why have they done this. That is my only critism wuth the new Gorodn, however, the rest od it perfect. 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slornie Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Yes, the new Gordon is a much lighter shade of blue. The oval buffers are the same, howver, it owuld been nice if the new Gordon had sprung oval buffers. Buffers don't look to be oval on m_duck's picture of R9291 from the top of this page? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 No, they aren't whcih is a shame. I havent released that before, until you mentioned it, with the new Gordon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow.Monk Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 I would have thought the buffers on the new Gordon can be pulled out and replaced with oval ones, I think i'll do that with my newer Gordon. The issue with the latest Gordon, and same goes for Edward and James, is that the lamp irons are glued on inside down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 That could be done, but they could be glued in. Besides, is possible to buy oval buffers that aren't sprung? Why do so many people complain about the new Edward's, the new James' and the new Gordon's lampirons being upside down? The previous release of these models had exactly the same issue, so it's not a new issue with the new loco's. How do you even know they are upside down? I am alright with them that way around. Thomas locomotives are not real anyway. No real life locomotives have faces, on the front, do they? So what's the problem with the lampirons? 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow.Monk Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 People probably complain as they prefer them to be the other way. If I remember correctly, the previous versions didn't have them glued in.Check out the HO Bachmann models, they have the lamp irons the right way around, you won't be able to fit a lamp iron over a block.I guess it's down to what you prefer as we all like things differently :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow.Monk Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 For oval buffers, check here :)http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hornby-S8910-Oval-Headed-Buffers-Pk4-/322013352135?hash=item4af97dd0c7:g:U8MAAOSwUuFWx2sO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 Alright then, you can buy them, but how do you know if the round buffers on the new Gordon are removerable? If they are glued, then a swap can't be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow.Monk Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Not sure as I don't yet have the model, maybe m_duck can shed some light? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 I don't have it yet, I will soon though! Now there's an idea! Let's ask m_duck, to see if the buffers are glued in! 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow.Monk Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 And possibly photographs of the full layout :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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