Marty Mc

Hi Warning Photo intensive ( photos explains far better) Thanks glad you liked them. OK figures are Pressier, most I hand painted but you can also buy pre painted ones. Most shops stock them, last time I purchased them I got a bulk order around 400 Euro from Minitur Wunderland. Great place to visit by the way. You can add as much or as little detail as you want. I have a couple of full sets of the Brighton Belle waiting at home for me and I am building 1 set for a guy in France. He wants everything working sound lights plus DCC Concepts new Pullman lamps added in every coach. They look far better than Hornbys plus the have a table setting ready for you to paint if you wish. I will get some photos of that up when I have time. Just another detail you can add if you wish. Tail lights. DCC Concepts manufacturer working 4mm LMS and LNER lights which are pre wired and have 3 or 4 different resistor values. Again available from most shops. Susie mentioned the Zimo 8 function decoder highly highly recommended. I love them you can do so many things with them. Here is one in a BOB tender using 8 functions. If your stuck for space you can use DCC Concepts pre wired nano lights. They are tiny and less than 0.8mm long. Here they are in a Dapol coach. Make sure you get the right light for your era, you can see the difference between modern and post 70's Silver conductive paint good for about 100-120mA. That sorts out the problem of double insulation on the wheels. Coach lighting It can make a real difference with a lick of paint. These are the Jubilee coaches and I think the mould is 30+ years old. Some lights and paint change all that. Decoders so many on the market today. If you want full control thats the only way to go. If your game you can also use 1 function for auto coupling. I know DCC Concepts will soon release a new function only decoder and a new Digital flicker free 3. Hope that helps and answers most of your questions and dont let your imagination limit you. . Beeman Biltee wants digital control so it does require a decoder. I respect what you suggest and they are great cheap options. However I am time poor so I will buy products which you consider expensive to save me 1 hour here and there. I would love to build my own function decoders but it just is not an option for me. Have fun. Martin

Hi I use DCC Concepts Flicker free 2 for all my lighting along with TCS/ DCC Concepts Function only decoders. DCC Concepts will be releasing a new product soon again for coach lighting which is right up your alley. Just about everyone of my coaches has a 4 function decoder for lighting. DCC Concepts FF2 also has pick ups and all the bits you need plus different LEDs to suit your era. To give you an idea here are some photos and videos of full DCC Control. This one has 4 functions controlling main cabin lghts, bar or down lights, red tail light and kitchen lighs As you can see in this shot the Pullman table lamps are off. Maunsell coaches with dcc control. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYZ0zELwcho Farish Stanier with DCC control. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Qh01LkJaU Decoders are so cheap these days why not???? Hope that helps. Martin

Hi From the photos and video they look the part. For British modellers I consider this a huge leap forward, anything is better than the what we are currently using. I will certainly convert as all my stock is nem pockets and use electro magnets in highly viable areas for auto uncoupling. As to price I have no issue with it and would gladly pay that for improved looks and quality shunting around the layout. Well done Dapol another great product and something we have needed for ages. Martin

Hi Thanks for the link cheers. I was just under the impression you were getting 11 wagons which started at that price and I thought it was a good price for 11 wagons. I was wrong. Cheers M

Hmmm I really like it. Neil why does this fall under "ebay madness"? Go to his web site some of his work is excellent. Could you point me in the direction of where you can buy 2 for less money please. Cheers Martin

Hi Very good point. It would be outstanding to purchase a model that was perfect in every way for most. For me I actually enjoy pulling them apart and adding bits here and there. Not to mention how many times does it pop up on the forums "too much detail on the RTR models" We are all different and each to their own. The manufacturer is in the middle trying to supply us with a model that most are happy with. You have my support on this I would happily pay an extra 40 now thats 2 of us. The manufacturer knows full well that an extra 40 GBP could reduce his customer base by at a guess maybe 40-60%. Again across the forums you read so many times people complaining about prices. 1/2 the fun is adding all these bits and it even better seeing your 18 month old son surrounded by what's left of a 800 GBP loco you just finished building. My fault totally I left the door open to my workshop! Cheers Martin

Hi I use the Nano lights from DCC Concepts, I was just trying to get across the point how hard it actually is for a manufacturer to do. Most locos purchased are still DC and you really only get the benefit of extra lighting when you move to DCC. I guess on the high side maybe 15% at most in n gauge are DCC, more like 10%. So a smart manufacturer will cater for the 90% and not add extra cost to his products to keep 10% happy. Also the manufacturing process for a light bar alone to take 2 LEDs,on a custom build you can use fibre but I cannot see a way of doing it on a mass production level. Light bleed becomes an issue you need to add more electronics etc and the cost goes up and up. Thanks EWSjo for posting those pictures, now I understand how they work. Here is a Dapol HST with 16 lighting functions and sound. The instrument panel (driver gauges) has 3 working lights and the guards area is also lit. Not the best video as I was in a rush when I made it 3-4 months ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs2sOVac-p0 Enjoy Martin

Hi Agree with you stu That is a good idea Rheneas and I am interested in which UK manufacturer uses bi polar LED's and on which locos. Which bi polar LED do you suggest to use in an n gauge model small enough to mount on a PCB along with the other LEDs. Dapol may be interested. Dapol FGW First Great Western I assume from the above the small markers were red and white, were the main head light is the same light level or was one slightly dimmer for day/night running. Did the power cars ever have paxman motors in this livery? Cheers Martin

Good on you Graham for highlighting this topic. Not easy at all for the teams these days but at the same time they need to get right if they are going to be critical of a product do the research and make sure the information is factual as you said a manufacturers rep is on the line. So many people post without thinking I'm guilty of that from time to time. Sometimes I wonder why be so critical is it for your 5 minutes of fame on the forum, to show everyone you have a keen eye for detail while sitting in your arm chair? I find RMWeb one of the worst offenders for manufacturer bashing compared to other forums but again it can be argued "I have the right to say what I want as long as I think its right" One the other hand manufacturers need to be told when they get it wrong and address the real genuine issues. Manufacturers have come such a long way in the last 20 years, most of the models I see and use are brilliant, I just don't seem to get the problems others report. Manufacturers sometimes need to compromise just to get it to run or it may just be too costly to tool up to get the 1 detail spot on. I think people like to also blame the manufacturer when they poorly handle the model or break something. Easy its a Q.A. issue.....not me. In general I think the manufacturers are doing a great job, trying to give us what we want and producing excellent quality models. Martin

Hi Pleased that the good Friar posted the picture. I think Dapol have done an outstanding job looking at the grilles, that is very well done even the interior chassis captures the look(if you look at the bottom of the grilles)......brilliant windows, look fine to me and you can see clearly see in both photos that their are no windows on the doors, so Im not sure what the issue is. Yes. they have captured this very well in my opinion and I shall order the rails set and a blue. Well done Dapol. Martin

Hi I think Dave has being more than up front with his explanation and it is clear that most is out of Dapols hands and controlled by a 3rd party. The cooler group yes I accept that an extra 10k to satisfy a couple 100 people, I certainly wouldn't. So it looks like most are not errors after all, and all this complying about this and that being wrong well what can I say ....2 sides to each story. Why? I have purchased 6 so far and I have no problems with livery, running etc so I am happy to pay the price at the shop. I think its a fair price. Good on Dave for sharing this. Cheers Martin

Hi I have had no real problems with the Dapol motors. They HST has the same motor as all other modern stock. The only difference I noticed was their seemed to be an improvement the soldered joints to the motor terminals and the foam insulation. Just on the lube they come with plenty maybe a bit too much. I used a cotton bud to remove excess lube. It has plenty of buffer detail which is in a plastic bag to be added. Mescig Studios advertises on here at the top of the page for custom paint jobs etc. It that a standard livery you are getting done? Cheers Martin

Hi all Some photos of the new Dapol production HST. Coupling with the standard rapido coupler, very very good. Here are my first impressions of the HST. Livery and attention to detail of the actual body are excellent. It must be noted that when it comes to the livery I have never actually seen one so I will leave that to the experts. Livery and exterior. I'm my opinion Dapol have captured the essence of the HST. The lines are sharp, crisp and they is a consistent quality through the body. The actual tool used is of very high quality as I could find no flash and no stress marks in the plastic so good cool down time was observed. I really like the hand rails and the fact their is no over spray. ON close inspection the attention to detail is fantastic eg the exhausts are not blanked off they are proper holes, the logos lettering are very sharp and easy to read. My only one concern with the body is the yellow over blue, in saying that you will not notice it any more than 100mm from the loco. All in all I will give the body of the HST 9/10 she just looks the part! Bogies excellent attention to detail, no flash at all. Gearing has a smooth feel and a very low rolling resistance. Go easy on the lube but otherwise they are very realistic. Chassis/ Motor housing + interior soldering is excellent, no cold solder joints at all, shiny clean joints what I like to see. 3 pin Molex plug on lighting PCB again board has clean joints. I gave it a good tug and no break on any joint. Wiring is colour coded to suit DCC thats another plus for anyone who wants to hard wire it. It comes with the standard 6 pin NEM plug with plenty of space for a decoder. Wiring harness is neat and user friendly. Some may argue that Dapol should have gone the next step and added 1 red wire on the pick up, I disagree I cannot see the point. All in all the main part that I work with has being very well engineered, I always considered the Dapol 67 a superb piece of engineering that would be hard to beat well Dapol have set a new bench mark with their HST. A lot of thought has gone into this and I like the little touches, foam dampening around motor. It will help to reduce noise and vibration. As far as the standard modeller is concerned adding a decoder will be very easy. The body comes off readily with minimal pressure and their is plenty of room for decoder of choice. Lighting is great with head lights and red markers on each unit. Pick ups are stiff so you will get good constant positive contact from both bogies. The dummy will require a separate 2 function decoder to get the full effect in DCC. I ran it in for 1 hour on DCC on the rolling road and then put her through some paces on a small loop I have for testing with some points. No problems at all considering it has bounced all over the place as hand luggage. The motor pulls about 150mA after about 1 hr running in. Highly recommended I will give this a 9/10 as Dapol have really made an effort here to get it right. I have put a fair few through their paces and no running problems, actually little to note at all. If your unsure go and have a look at one in a hobbyshop you will not be disappointed. Summed up simply with "Outstanding" Cheers Martin

No worries I am pleased you enjoyed it. Legomanbiffo did the HST soundfile and I stuck it all together. I dont think you will need to sell your car but I loved the comment. I added DCC Concepts "nano lights" and used 4 functions per car for lighting. I am not a prototypical modeller so most of whats being mentioned by you guys seems to have being fixed. I can say the production models are A1 and Im sure it will put a smile on many a face. Cheers Martin