Class 42 - BR Green - D826 - OO Scale - DCC Sound Fitted

An excellent model.
Runs superbly.
Very good sound.
Shame there's no etched nameplates provided.

Lovely loco with fine detail, good running and especially good sound

Appearance wise it looks good. The sound, however was too loud so I had to adjust the CV to a reasonable level. It also derailed a lot, maybe because of the extremely fine scale wheels and insufficient flexing of the bogies.

great model

The excitement surrounding this model's release has been tempered somewhat by concerns about the all-important front end of the locomotive, followed by changes to Heljan's way of doing business as it moved to becoming a wholly online retailer following the Accurascale takeover.
I will say from the outset that, having seen pre-production samples at shows and then the manufacturer's own images, I have been vocal in saying that it does not look quite right head-on. It is, however, the only newly tooled Class 42 on the market and, persuaded by the positive first reviews from those who had pre-ordered and the reduced price point, I decided to take a punt on the GSYP sound-fitted D826.
Delivery
Although I am sure I selected Royal Mail, delivery was made by DPD. This did not go particularly well, as the driver went around the back of the house and delivered the parcel to my neighbour after claiming to have knocked on our gate. I always prefer Royal Mail for a reason and DPD have done nothing to change my mind.
Once retrieved, I found the model in a reasonably substantial outer box, loosely packed with brown paper. Like Accurascale, Heljan's packaging is fairly average in my experience and not to the standards maintained by many online retailers.
Unpacking
The main Heljan packaging is good and there follows the familiar ceremony of lifting the carton lid, where one is first greeted by the instruction manual and sound project sheet. Lifting the top layer of grey foam reveals the model packed within its plastic "ice cube" and wrapped in a protective sleeve.
The ice cube is noticeably tight around the model and, upon opening mine, I found the centre lamp iron loose within the packaging. Thankfully it had popped out intact rather than snapped. Also dislodged were the buffer beam step at the same end and another small detail part which I did not notice was missing until a few days later.
It is annoying but not enough for me to return the model. I have reattached the lamp iron, refitted the step and will devise a repair for the missing detail part.
It is also worth noting that the fine wire sandpipes are glued directly to the die-cast chassis frame. One of mine is slightly misaligned and not securely held by the adhesive.
First Impressions
Once out of the box and on the desk, my overall impression is of a well-finished and finely detailed model of the type we have come to expect in the 2020s. It has a reassuring weight, feels solidly constructed and, crucially, looks like a Warship.
The most recent competitor is Bachmann's 2015 Class 43 Warship. While I think Bachmann captured the "face" slightly better, the differences are not as pronounced as I feared. Overall, the new Heljan tooling highlights the age of the Bachmann model, good though it remains. The earlier Bachmann Class 42 is not in the same league and should not really be considered a direct competitor.
Performance
I followed my usual practice of running the model in at a medium speed for one hour in each direction. This revealed a silky-smooth mechanism, with only a brief period of transmission whine that appeared after around 45 minutes and disappeared shortly afterwards.
I also tested the model across all of my pointwork without issue. My layout uses Peco Code 75 track throughout, with the sharpest curvature being the inside route of a Peco curved point at approximately a 30-inch radius. As neither my baseboards nor track laying are anywhere near perfect, I can confidently say the model handles uneven track without complaint.
Once properly run in, I put the locomotive to work on a seven-coach rake of mixed Hornby and Bachmann Mk1 stock. It handled these with ease. For testing purposes I extended the train to eleven vehicles. Performance remained unaffected, with the locomotive maintaining all selected speed steps without slowing or showing uneven running.
Sound Project
The ESU sound project is perhaps the star of the show. The sound is deep and rich and, having been recorded from preserved D821, is very familiar to my ears given that the Severn Valley Railway is just up the road from me.
The project is highly responsive to the controller and delivers a convincing impression of the locomotive at work. Acceleration ranges smoothly from a crawl to a realistic top speed, with engine revs increasing appropriately throughout the speed range. Deceleration, along with the brake function on F2, is perhaps a little aggressive for my liking and I will probably adjust those settings in due course.
Any Issues?
Apart from the minor damage that I believe was caused by the packaging, I have no significant issues with this model. It looks and performs exactly as I have come to expect from modern standards.
I remain of the view that the distinctive nose shape of the prototype has not been captured perfectly, but it is not far off. This is also one of those models that looks considerably more convincing in the flesh than...

wonderful model

Excellent model

Lovely model. Runs very smoothly and the sound features are great. No problems with livery.