smg201

Well I have bought it at £120 plus postage as though I orginally pre-ordered at £110. I want to fully support Realtracks and am happy with the price increase to support a small business and a very nice looking model. Bachmann's Class 150/1 in plain FGW blue set me back £127 plus postage and it is one colour, shows how good RT 143 is

Looking excellent, upon that information I have pre-ordered my 143618 with you Charlie and Arran! Now do let me know when I can buy another 143 off you in Wessex Trains "Visit Bristol" livery

Hopefully the tooling shall allow the 73/9s too. Looking at the new Rail and Railways Illustrated the GBRf 73/9s now have high density headlights on the front and modified pipes.

Talking to Neil McNicolas last Friday at a talk, I enquired about the Class 68 model. He immediately emailed away to get an answer. He later confirmed Dapol are to produce the Class 68 under exclusive rights and were due to visit on-site this week to take photos and measurements (I dont know did this actually happen). A slight tangent he also mentioned due to EU regulation of engine emissions, only 41 Class 68s can ever be produced. He also confirmed that the Class 68 shall not be in Northern Belle livery, but he expects more Class 47s to be placed in that livery to live out their days. I think the Class 68 model is a long way off! (But we might also find it in a certain silver and grey livery )

I bet you have done this, but Plasser UK themselves are epically friendly! I arranged a trip around their Ealing plant for the Uni Club, brilliant tour and machinery. I know they have detailed diagrams of their units, and could be willing to share. I did have a full architectural design plan of the 08-16 but have misplaced it over the years. I might have a photo still! The MD is Herbert Pilgerstorfer, his PA is Maike Scherer they are very friendly and no doubt they would love models themselves. I can privately email you with their contacts and the design photo if youd like? I cannot contain how excited i am about the 08-16 kit and hearing your making a USP5000C, super!

Fantastic product Jonathan! I would be interested in two kits, I cannot PM, would you have a contact email so we can discuss? Will you be offering a pre-built kit ready to paint? If not, just how much kit building is there to do. My skills go as far as glueing together S-Kits RHTTs. I have been wanting a OO Tamper for years, even toured the Plasser UK factory last year. Brilliant machines, plans for the 09-3X Dynamic Tamper and USP 5000 RT? Fantastic!

Hi. I have noticed more liveries have been announced (Olivia Trains doing GBRf's and Gatwicks), i wonder can we have an updated list of all liveries being produced and with whom to buy with? (im especially looking out for NR 73138)

Well the website has been updated, looking very flash! Sadly the 143 is now £110 Still i cannot wait for these...any news or photos of new samples would be great to see.

Hi How are the FGW/Wessex 143s coming on? Looking forward to owning one, or two soon Thanks

Yes the 144 looked great, really good firm professional model to hold. The attention to detail being scrutinised over the 143/144 really does impress. Especially when it is detailing you miss seeing, but impressed it matters to the Realtrack team. Cannot wait to have my FGW (and Wessex) 143!

Arrhh I understand the tilt action now! Those look epic! Any hints on the type of motors that could be fitted>I see there is ample room within the frame. Im certainly up for a new challange.

They look great. When can we expect there arrival? I am a little confused regarding "tilting". I can see the doors open, will they also tilt up to unload as per the prototypes or is the tilting mechanism refering to the openable doors?

Kernow are reporting in there weekly newsletter that the Hornby VEP is now not expected until September?!

If we are staying to a Modern Image scene and with Class 08 Shunters done. I think it would be brilliant to have a Niteq depot shunter! Certainly unique and quirky!

What a tease this is, my wallet is almost exploding in excitiment! Please can we have some hints? Pleaseeee! Is the loco seen regularly on the network today? Is it a totally new loco, or a revision (massive improvement) on a competitors? etc.... Love some hints on the DMU too, Ive seen it mentioned a few times now, I bet your dying to tell us all!!

After being offered a great deal to buy a KFA or two after not being so pleased with the massive delay in there manafacture. I find myself overall dissapointed with the final product. Yes the KFA wagon itself is very good, highly detailed and certainly mixes in well with Dapol FEAs/KTAs and RealTracks FLAs. But! I wonder would anyone agree with my critisms. The blue shade is too light, the real things (when clean!) are a much darker (FGW Blue) as seen from recent overhauls in Eastleigh. Now OK. I shall let the wagons off, as they are good. Its the containers that i really can just not like. Not only do they look like a rugged toy, why are the ribs so sharp?, but the colouring is totally off too. I am a big fan of Maersk related containers. Bachmann and C=Rail colours are spot on. The containers really let these wagons down. Only if you could replace the containers, but then as mentioned above, the spigots are fixed...bad effort that. I hope for future releases Hornby actually go and have a look at a container with a colour matching device (in my lab we have a colour analysing too, basically a infrared laser...accurate to about 99.01% if Hornby wish to borrow it?)....or just go buy millions of Maersk grey paints of C=Rail It might just be me who is dissapointed by the containers and colour shadings....if it isnt just me, i certainly shall be emailing Hornby after a consenus.

My physic powers there! Thats one 143 sold!

Did anyone take some photos of the Hornby VEPs on display at DEMU 2011? I would love to see (either on the thread or PM). I have been advised by email from the retailer i have a NSE VEP pre-ordered with it shall be in stock in July Thanks in advance.

Id like to update my vote in light of this comprehensive list to 143617 SS Great Britian. Why? Well as the Great Western is Brunels masterpiece, so is the SS Great Britian, they can be perfectly demonstrated in 143617 as they are both "very" Bristolian. (My new choice is nothing to do with my favourite number being 17 though! ) I agree it might be more sensiable to go for one of the normal units as i doubt any of us shall agree upon a more unique one we would all like. Perhaps the units could come un-numbered, with a selection of numbers and decal transfers? But yes, i think SS Great Britian on a Wessex 143 on the Great Western really works. See what comes our way in 2013... (heres a link just incase: http://www.sharpos-world.co.uk/BB3cpg/albums/userpics/10002/normal_Imgp7864.jpg)

Great news that spare BSIs will likely be sold seperately. Hmm what Wessex one? I always remember the Clifton Suspension Bridge ones (Pretty sure the Cathedral featured too). Sums up Bristol for me. Without fotopic some Googling has resulted in units 603 + 611 sporting it. Well thats my vote. (Here is a link to 143611 http://www.flickr.com/photos/guise_dugal/16097894/sizes/o/in/photostream/)

Excellent news that the Wessex is a defo and from £95 an utter bargin. If its expensive to reproduce the livery, im sure you could get away with charging more! I am sure theres 300 people like me who used to hate Wessex Trains greatly, yet now truly do miss seeing there colours and pictures not turning up (half an hour late lol). Great to have the Class 143 join other Wessex models out there. (No fear ill buy a FGW one too) Ive noticed you now do a good range of spares for your FLAs on the website. Will spares be offered seperately from the Pacers? As i would certainly be interested in buying several dummy BSI couplings for my 158s and 159s... Great looking pictures of the 144, also looking forward to after Christmas already!! Ill buy whatever it is, as i think it is critically important to support businesses such as Realtrack!

All sounds brilliant, great customer service keeping us updated. Thank you. Though i shall wait out till the end of 2012 to buy myself a 143, perhaps even two if Wessex livery shall go ahead. I just wanted to raise what i found on the internet....I spy with my little eye something begining with P (on the DC Kits website)...go look www.dckits-devideos.co.uk/realtrack_projects it will not disappoint!

I thought i would pass on the news i have got directly from Hornby since i made a complaint regarding the delay to the KFAs and VEPs. Edited from my email (gladly produce it all if required): Hornby says "The KFA Container Wagons 1 & 2 are now due for release in May." So a month earlier than June. Still far from the promised March/April date through the Kerrow Newsletter during the Christmas period. They also apologised for there significant delays.

I thought i would pass on the news i have got directly from Hornby since i made a complaint regarding the delay to the VEPs. Edited from my email (gladly produce it all if required): Hornby says "the VEP now due for release in July." They also apologised for there significant delays.

This is very disapointing news! I had emailed Hornby when the March newletter was released to ask why they broke their promise of a March release. They havent replied, not even to say when it is now out. I now see why, thank you for letting us know the news. I fear my budget i have assigned for two KFAs shall now be spent on somemore Realtrack Models FLAs! You snooze, you lose with me! (I have told Hornby they have lost a customer due to bad handling over marketing and production delays)