Great comparison, I agree the Bachmann livery does look much nicer. Wonder if they will ever update them, mind it’ll probably cost £250 - £300 knowing Bachmann.
Colour of paintwork is very difficult to gauge, was it freshly painted, aged paintwork, as preserved, what are the lighting conditions and so on, all of these make objective analysis difficult, so variations can be accepted, but getting the shape wrong, that's a big no no. So Hornby for me.
That is true about the paint. I have seen GWR locomotives on the Severn Valley Railway painted in green and some are painted in a very dark green and some are painted in the washed out faded green colour, even when they are re liveried in the BR condition they seem to have different shades of green.
Colour is a difficult thing to do in scale. Sounds counter intuitive, but the actual colour of say the Hornby might be more how you would view the real loco from a scale distance in real life. Colours get washed out by distance, so an 100% accurate shade might actually look wrong from the distance you would view it if that makes sense? It makes a sort of forced perspective if you will.
Nice work on the two A4s I like the hornby version because of the lamp irons on the front to put headboards and lamps on the loco The Green needs to be improved but the running quality very nice at high speeds didn't Golden Plover had sound before but I guess when you rename it to Union of South Africa it will
The Hornby model is far better than the bachmann. Livery can be vastly improved with Johnsons klear ad weathering. Bachmann chassis is poor. Tender is pure fiction. An an amalgamation it corridor 1928 and 1936 versions. Valve gear hopelessly wrong and over scale no Lubricator or speedo represented. The gree of the bachmann version is closer to prototype but the lining particularly the boiler bands are like a bumble bee. 9/10 for Hornby. 2/10 for bachmann.
Always gone hornby ever since I got my first A4, which was Bachmann and I was disappointed in it (bearing in mind I was 8, so for it not to impress at that age says something). These days if I can't get the livery I want I buy the spec I want and just repaint it. Not that everyone can do that...
on the one hand, hornby's detail and proportions are very good. the overall stance of the loco is undeniable. i do actually love how fine the valve gear and connecting rods are on hornby's model. on the other, bachmann's A4's are proportioned well in comparison to itself, very sturdy, and the livery application is far superior. i think bachmann's A4's have a bit more charm to them whereas hornby's A4's are a bit flat- but neither model are better or worse as they are both great.
I prefer the hornby due to the shape, do see what you mean about the paint work, if I ever owned it I would just have it weathered to make up for it - great video thanks for sharing 🙂👍🏻
This particular bachmann A4 has a 5 pole can style motor as opposed to the dreadful usually 3 poles that bachmann seem to opt for. I can't say I'm a fan of their coreless one's either tbh.
I didn't notice / know about the front angle of the Bachmann Loco!!! Nor about the 'Hornby Green' - Thanks - I tend to go towards Hornby really!!! 🙂🚂🚂🚂
In my opinion they are both quite good, the hornby may win on better detail but at today’s prices they are quite expensive, the bachmann ones can be picked up for a decent price, I have 2 bachmann ones and they were both under the £100 mark, one of them is even a limited edition Dominion of Canada and as long as they are looked after they will give you very good performance, also a lot of people used to say that the bachmann ones were the wrong shape, I have looked at both hornby and bachmann A4s side by side and can categorically say that there is no difference in the shape of the bachmann A4s.
Hi Matt. Yes, the Bachmann does look better (even if the curve of the streamlining is "wrong"). Is it my imagination, but is the Hornby model larger? You said the models ran equally well, but a certain well-known YT reviewer has often remarked that the Hornby mechanisms are much better!
Interesting reversal of the nose problem. I remember that the old tender-drive Hornby had a fat nose, whilst the Bachmann was finer and looked much truer to the prototypes. I don't mind the slightly faded look of the Hornby loco, which would suit some weathering, but the shade is just too blue for me.
Great straight comparison of the two. My few years in the hobby (and only knowing the German companies' stocks) always leaves me wondering how 2 or 3 companies can have such varied looking versions of the same loco, all while bragging about how accurate they are. And I won't even mention the qualitative differences.
Enjoyed the video. I like the second eccentric motion on the Hornby A4’s. Saw A4’s in Fife in the fifties and sixties. Happy days. Hornby or Bachmann? Both if possible! Great video, as always!
Both A4s are as good-looking as each other. Their shape may not be exactly like the real thing, but give Hornby a break. OK, I sort of went on a comparison date with this: Bachmann 43xx vs Dapol 43xx. Yes, Dapol's 43xx is a much better performing model than Bachmann's version, yet I have a mix of Hornby, Bachmann and Dapol models in my collection. I never judge them by the colour shades. The shade of green on your Hornby A4 isn't wrong at all, it's just their interpretation of Brunswick Green. The green colour on your Bachmann model is a better shade version, I suppose, but hey it's nice. I can never choose between Hornby and Bachmann, it wouldn't be fair. It's not whether Hornby gets the colour of their models right, but the quality of their models, that counts. Neither Hornby or Bachmann have ever let me down. Who am I to judge the models by their colours?😂🙃
Matthew it would be nice if the 2 A4s would had pass each other and I strongly believe that Hornby need to get there livery much better plus Bachmann need to make a A4 like an A4 as for running quality I give 100% for speed. JJ
Regarding paint greens do vary on the real locomotives some of the GWR locomotives can either be finished in a dark green like on the Bachmann A4 model and some can be in that lighter faded green like on the Hornby A4. Although one thing I hate on Hornby models is the gold glitter paint they use for the numbers and name plates.
The Bachmann It more robust and the green is much better than Hornby's the Hornby a4 is a better shape and a bit more detailed. I don't mind either of the locos . and I agree the Hornby br Green is awful
The shape of the bachmann A4 is perfect they have got it correct, I have studied both models side by side and from a range of different directions and I cannot find anything on the bachmann A4s shape being incorrect.
A good comparison video Matt 👍🏻. I know what you mean about Hornby & their green paints, it just looks like a some form of diluted pastel green paint. I would say the updated Castle models & Britannia's are better but still have room for improvement. The one unique model Hornby have done in a limited run a couple of years ago was the gloss version of King George V, 6000. Now maybe because of the paint gloss, but that model does standout for the better.
Excellent review and even though I'm not into Steam I was intrigued. Hornby also get liveries wrong elsewhere, i.e GBRf Blue, and these days I just don't buy them when there are issues like this especially when they cost an arm & a leg.
I have a Hornby Mallard and I think the issue is the paint is too Matt. I would like another of the surviving A4s but the prices are just too much. Great video
I got the first question wrong. The Hornby one is the one I would go for, but there are more problems with it for me. 1. Totally agree with you about the paint finish. It is awful. 2. I would prefer it to in LNER Apple Green and have its LNER number. 3. If it has to be in BR then in BR early crest and remove those overhead warning stickers. Martin. (Thailand) Make model of trains as they started life, (And real ones) not as they finished it.
The shade of green is the killer for me. The same was true with the GWR llanfair grange and other hornby GWR green locos as well. So agreed... the appearance is a deal breaksr and I check the hornby green before buying and or keeping their locos. Garage Window Railway.
Nice to see some Eastern region models. Totally agree about Hornby's rubbish green - what galls me though is they can get it right on Southern and Western locos so why is it they repeatedly reach for the wrong pot when it comes to Eastern locos? Their rendition of apple green is way off target too
Well tbh, they are, to them. Colour is in the eye of the beholder and a very complex set of variables dictate how the individual interprets the colour these go from personal physiological factors all the way to simply where you're standing relative to the light source... all this before we get to the fact there is only 1 loco I believe that is definetly known to be preserved in the exact same paint job it ran with in service in terms of BR steam liveries. Everything else has been repainted using some guys sorta best guess at what is right. That loco is city of Birmingham, went straight into a museum, has since moved from one museum to a new one but stands alone in never having been messed with. There were two other possibilites, the two A4s in the states May well have avoided a brush since BR did them up and sent them over but we just did away with that example.
The Hornby model is far superior. Bachmann's body is basically the old 1960's trix/lilliput model.
Great comparison, I agree the Bachmann livery does look much nicer. Wonder if they will ever update them, mind it’ll probably cost £250 - £300 knowing Bachmann.
Sorry Matt it’s Hornby for me.
Colour of paintwork is very difficult to gauge, was it freshly painted, aged paintwork, as preserved, what are the lighting conditions and so on, all of these make objective analysis difficult, so variations can be accepted, but getting the shape wrong, that's a big no no. So Hornby for me.
That is true about the paint. I have seen GWR locomotives on the Severn Valley Railway painted in green and some are painted in a very dark green and some are painted in the washed out faded green colour, even when they are re liveried in the BR condition they seem to have different shades of green.
Colour is a difficult thing to do in scale. Sounds counter intuitive, but the actual colour of say the Hornby might be more how you would view the real loco from a scale distance in real life. Colours get washed out by distance, so an 100% accurate shade might actually look wrong from the distance you would view it if that makes sense? It makes a sort of forced perspective if you will.
Nothing beats a Hornby A4 and the green doesn't look garbage to me.
Nice work on the two A4s I like the hornby version because of the lamp irons on the front to put headboards and lamps on the loco The Green needs to be improved but the running quality very nice at high speeds didn't Golden Plover had sound before but I guess when you rename it to Union of South Africa it will
Dude! BR Brunswick green looks ugly on the A4 pacifics. The A4s look much LNER liveries.
The Hornby model is far better than the bachmann. Livery can be vastly improved with Johnsons klear ad weathering. Bachmann chassis is poor. Tender is pure fiction. An an amalgamation it corridor 1928 and 1936 versions. Valve gear hopelessly wrong and over scale no
Lubricator or speedo represented. The gree of the bachmann version is closer to prototype but the lining particularly the boiler bands are like a bumble bee. 9/10 for Hornby. 2/10 for bachmann.
Always gone hornby ever since I got my first A4, which was Bachmann and I was disappointed in it (bearing in mind I was 8, so for it not to impress at that age says something). These days if I can't get the livery I want I buy the spec I want and just repaint it. Not that everyone can do that...
on the one hand, hornby's detail and proportions are very good. the overall stance of the loco is undeniable. i do actually love how fine the valve gear and connecting rods are on hornby's model.
on the other, bachmann's A4's are proportioned well in comparison to itself, very sturdy, and the livery application is far superior. i think bachmann's A4's have a bit more charm to them whereas hornby's A4's are a bit flat- but neither model are better or worse as they are both great.
100% the Hornby Model it so beautiful and i love that green but i still preferer a flying scotsman so plz do a vid on that ty
the problem with bachman that my mate had with his v2 is that bachman model trains have lots more bits and its so much more detailed and precise.
I prefer the hornby due to the shape, do see what you mean about the paint work, if I ever owned it I would just have it weathered to make up for it - great video thanks for sharing 🙂👍🏻
Hornby but I wouldn't buy either of them unless they were cheap 2nd hand
Bachmann A4 is better then hornby A4. The other thing with the hornby is the value gare to thin
I think Bachmann are always better produced however the motors in Hornby are far better...
This particular bachmann A4 has a 5 pole can style motor as opposed to the dreadful usually 3 poles that bachmann seem to opt for. I can't say I'm a fan of their coreless one's either tbh.
I like the Hornby model better. The faded green paint can be a great platform for additional weathering.
agreed
I didn't notice / know about the front angle of the Bachmann Loco!!! Nor about the 'Hornby Green' - Thanks - I tend to go towards Hornby really!!! 🙂🚂🚂🚂
In my opinion they are both quite good, the hornby may win on better detail but at today’s prices they are quite expensive, the bachmann ones can be picked up for a decent price, I have 2 bachmann ones and they were both under the £100 mark, one of them is even a limited edition Dominion of Canada and as long as they are looked after they will give you very good performance, also a lot of people used to say that the bachmann ones were the wrong shape, I have looked at both hornby and bachmann A4s side by side and can categorically say that there is no difference in the shape of the bachmann A4s.
Simply hornby for me
But my Bachmann A4 was was a better runner even if it was a split chassis one
Keep safe arp
Hi Matt. Yes, the Bachmann does look better (even if the curve of the streamlining is "wrong"). Is it my imagination, but is the Hornby model larger? You said the models ran equally well, but a certain well-known YT reviewer has often remarked that the Hornby mechanisms are much better!
Interesting reversal of the nose problem. I remember that the old tender-drive Hornby had a fat nose, whilst the Bachmann was finer and looked much truer to the prototypes. I don't mind the slightly faded look of the Hornby loco, which would suit some weathering, but the shade is just too blue for me.
Bang on about the livery application, I haven't bought a new Hornby locomotive in 12 years because of the shade of green
Great straight comparison of the two. My few years in the hobby (and only knowing the German companies' stocks) always leaves me wondering how 2 or 3 companies can have such varied looking versions of the same loco, all while bragging about how accurate they are. And I won't even mention the qualitative differences.
Enjoyed the video. I like the second eccentric motion on the Hornby A4’s.
Saw A4’s in Fife in the fifties and sixties.
Happy days. Hornby or Bachmann? Both if possible! Great video, as always!
Both A4s are as good-looking as each other. Their shape may not be exactly like the real thing, but give Hornby a break. OK, I sort of went on a comparison date with this: Bachmann 43xx vs Dapol 43xx. Yes, Dapol's 43xx is a much better performing model than Bachmann's version, yet I have a mix of Hornby, Bachmann and Dapol models in my collection. I never judge them by the colour shades. The shade of green on your Hornby A4 isn't wrong at all, it's just their interpretation of Brunswick Green. The green colour on your Bachmann model is a better shade version, I suppose, but hey it's nice. I can never choose between Hornby and Bachmann, it wouldn't be fair. It's not whether Hornby gets the colour of their models right, but the quality of their models, that counts. Neither Hornby or Bachmann have ever let me down. Who am I to judge the models by their colours?😂🙃
Matthew it would be nice if the 2 A4s would had pass each other and I strongly believe that Hornby need to get there livery much better plus Bachmann need to make a A4 like an A4 as for running quality I give 100% for speed. JJ
Nice comparison video Matt. I would say that both are really nice.
Regarding paint greens do vary on the real locomotives some of the GWR locomotives can either be finished in a dark green like on the Bachmann A4 model and some can be in that lighter faded green like on the Hornby A4. Although one thing I hate on Hornby models is the gold glitter paint they use for the numbers and name plates.
The Bachmann green and red lining and nameplate stand out better to me, both excellent runners tho
I like the Hornby model to honest they are both nice, as you said hornby should be getting the colour right, may be its a Chinese thing
The Bachmann It more robust and the green is much better than Hornby's
the Hornby a4 is a better shape and a bit more detailed.
I don't mind either of the locos . and I agree the Hornby br Green is awful
The shape of the bachmann A4 is perfect they have got it correct, I have studied both models side by side and from a range of different directions and I cannot find anything on the bachmann A4s shape being incorrect.
A good comparison video Matt 👍🏻.
I know what you mean about Hornby & their green paints, it just looks like a some form of diluted pastel green paint. I would say the updated Castle models & Britannia's are better but still have room for improvement. The one unique model Hornby have done in a limited run a couple of years ago was the gloss version of King George V, 6000. Now maybe because of the paint gloss, but that model does standout for the better.
The latest GWR prairie from Hornby was better but still not right
good vid matt keep up the good vid thanks lee
Excellent review and even though I'm not into Steam I was intrigued.
Hornby also get liveries wrong elsewhere, i.e GBRf Blue, and these days I just don't buy them when there are issues like this especially when they cost an arm & a leg.
It's Bachmann every time for me
Great new update Matt, keep up the good work
I have a Hornby Mallard and I think the issue is the paint is too Matt. I would like another of the surviving A4s but the prices are just too much. Great video
I got the first question wrong. The Hornby one is the one I would go for, but there are more problems with it for me. 1. Totally agree with you about the paint finish. It is awful. 2. I would prefer it to in LNER Apple Green and have its LNER number. 3. If it has to be in BR then in BR early crest and remove those overhead warning stickers. Martin. (Thailand) Make model of trains as they started life, (And real ones) not as they finished it.
The shade of green is the killer for me. The same was true with the GWR llanfair grange and other hornby GWR green locos as well.
So agreed... the appearance is a deal breaksr and I check the hornby green before buying and or keeping their locos.
Garage Window Railway.
Nice to see some Eastern region models. Totally agree about Hornby's rubbish green - what galls me though is they can get it right on Southern and Western locos so why is it they repeatedly reach for the wrong pot when it comes to Eastern locos? Their rendition of apple green is way off target too
I prefer neither.
A4 s are not a nice locomotive at all.
Kind regards.
Not an opinion I hear being expressed very often (though you are, of course, entitled to it :) !!!!)
Bachmann are my favourite loco's, like you said the paint lively on Hornby are well crap and looks more toy like.
Hornby do struggle with paint colours. When you question them about they are adamant that their colours are correct.
Well tbh, they are, to them. Colour is in the eye of the beholder and a very complex set of variables dictate how the individual interprets the colour these go from personal physiological factors all the way to simply where you're standing relative to the light source... all this before we get to the fact there is only 1 loco I believe that is definetly known to be preserved in the exact same paint job it ran with in service in terms of BR steam liveries. Everything else has been repainted using some guys sorta best guess at what is right.
That loco is city of Birmingham, went straight into a museum, has since moved from one museum to a new one but stands alone in never having been messed with.
There were two other possibilites, the two A4s in the states May well have avoided a brush since BR did them up and sent them over but we just did away with that example.