Hornby Black 5 – four things we love and one thing we would change

1. Cab interior

A full cab interior is included, and there’s even a firebox glow visible through the Firehole – we’ve rarely, if ever, seen a model so beautifully finished.

2. Livery application

The livery application is exemplary and fully up to the highest ‘professional’ standards of painting, and certainly far superior to the finish which most ordinary mortals can achieve. All numerals and brandings (including the correct Scottish ‘5MT’ above the cabside numbers) are perfectly applied.

3. Running ability

It is beautifully-smooth, quiet and with silky starting and stopping. A powerful five-pole skew-wound motor in the body provides that quality of running. All the wheels are true-round, to RP 25 profile and with consistent back-to-backs, enabling the loco to run very well through hand-built and Peco points/crossings.

4. Valve gear

The valve gear is exceptionally good for a small-scale model and (at last!) the return cranks lean correctly forwards, on both sides.

But what about those lamps?

Our principal ‘criticism’ of this model concerns the fixed lamps (two at the front for a Class H unfitted freight and one on the tender for a Class B stopping passenger train). They are far too big, far too bright in operation and are difficult to alter without damaging adjacent surfaces. Not only that, many ex-LMS locos carried black-bodied lamps, not gleaming white as here. Our advice is to fit the replacement lamp brackets supplied so that they’d carry non-illuminated correctly-sized lamps.

You can find out more about the new Hornby Black 5 in the August issue of BRM, on sale in shops until August 9th – or order the latest issue from us and have it delivered straight to your door for free!

Your weekly World of Railways newsletter

Are you subscribed to our weekly email newsletter? Don't miss the latest news, reviews, modelling advice and competitions.