rembrow

The Hornby website (just checked) has both the early and late BR liveried versions as arriving 2nd October and the Southern Railway version as 29th October if that helps

The chassis will need to be shortened, which is not so easy with Bachmann cast chassis. I used the Hornby ex Lima Class 40 chassis, which has the newer 5 pole twin drive motor on one bogie, so the chassis is easier to shorten, being plastic. This works under a Silver Fox model of 10203 that I made some years ago on a Lima Class 40 chassis. The Silver Fox Bulleids were good models, John Hazleton originally modelled 10201/2 and 10203. Unfortunately these are no longer available from Silver Fox, I wonder if that's a consequence of the original Kernow announcement. I also remember that Kernow stated at the original launch, that they were announcing the 10201/2 models earlier than they intended as another manufacturer was interested, I wonder if that was Heljan, who at the time were working through the British prototype mainline diesel types.

Depends, did someone see them float through the door.

The Dapol website has been updated and now shows the anticipated production of the 21/29 as Qtr 3 2016, so a year away at least. The GWR Railcar seems to have leapfrogged it with the first samples being evaluated.

The Hornby site is now showing all versions as now available, so they are in the UK. Also phoned my local shop who has my pre order and all 4 versions have been delivered to them this morning.

Mine was missing one of the electrical rectangular box pieces, attached to the chassis above each bogie side. I contacted Howes and they have plastic sprues to send out. They are not showing as spare parts yet, so I'm assuming they have a small quantity for locos like mine, with some missing parts. They are sending me a sprue f.o.c in the post. As mine is John Hampden I will need to paint the front face a matching grey, which is no problem.

Received an 'order processed' notification from Hattons for 'Sherlock Holmes' about half an hour ago. Elementary my dear Watson. Can't use the model on my layout for area and location, but had to have such an iconic underground power loco from a bygone age, and will run it no matter what.

You can't get the 117 page from the top 'Limited Edition' selection bar on Kernow's site, but drop down to the bottom right on the 'Home' page, where there is another selection box for the limited editions, fronted by the image of a sample D600 cab. Click on 'Click here for more' and on that page drop down past the Road Van Cad/Cams to a list of other models and select the 'DJ Models WR Suburban DMU' the penultimate option. That will open the original spec for the models, but there hasn't been an update on prices and liveries yet.

Thanks Ian, checked the news section on Gaugemasters site and surprised that 3 of the models are expected this month - John Hampden; Sherlock Holmes (preserved) and Wartime No 1. Heljan certainly seem to have sorted out their production blockage, three new 'oo' gauge models in 2 months - whew

I agree with Andy's method up until using tweezers. I used them when fitting the similar Dapol Western roof rings and lost about 1 in 6 due to tweezer 'ping'. I read from someone else (name escapes me), that they made a tool from slightly oversize plastic rod, which was tapered at the end with wet and dry to fit through and be an interference fit with the hole in the lifting eye. This made sure the eye was tight on the tool and the tool could be held without having to apply pressure.

Adrian, you beat me to it, spent all day cutting and fitting skirting boards, so this is the first chance to get onto RMweb. Chris advised that this was part of the first list of amendments, but was missed by China when preparing the second set of Cads. The good news is that Chris advised this is the biggest correction to be made, so far the others are minor and are mainly related to rivet detail. So with a fair wind the D600s roof fans will be correctly off centre

I e-mailed Chris Trerise yesterday, concerning the latest Cad images, in relation to the positioning of the scavenger fans and grilles, as they appear to be still positioned centrally on the roofline. It's difficult to be sure due to the tipped nature of the images shown, but if you compare the apparent distance from the edge of each fan grille to the edge of the roofline at the body side,they appear to be the same distance for the 2 fan grilles, whereas one should be a shorter distance, this also shows when checking their position against the longitudinal braces and steam boiler port where they appear to be in line with these roof central components. As was shown earlier in this thread, there is a photo of D602 and D603 overhead at Penzance, which clearly shows the grilles and fans as off centre, similar to the Hymeks and Class 22s, to the right at the facing cab end and off centre to the left on the distant cab end.

I cancelled my pre-order for the crimson and cream versions, when Hattons advised that they could not maintain their pre order prices on Bachmann products. I shall not reinstate the order, as my purchasing of Bachmann products is now much more discrete, as I've had to cut my cloth to fit my wallet. I would have had these plus an expected later run of maroon liveried, but will now wait for the maroon versions. There has been talk of the increased prices vis a vis the cost of having added detail with the increased production costs, and that is very true, however that is not the whole story with Bachmann/Kader who have in addition made a corporate decision to increase the net income from the British outline market, to bring it in line with the returns that Kader get from other toy and model manufacturing. This has seen their pricing structure leap ahead of their main UK competitor, Hornby on a like for like model basis. Take coaches, having gone through the no added detail phase, with the BR Mk 1 and 2E coaches, Hornby's last two coach announced models have returned to added detail, but with more moulded detail on the coach sides than was used previously. So the Stanier suburbans and the forthcoming Collett corridors, have separately fitted roof vents, added end detail and added detail handrails on the guards/luggage doors, with passenger doors having more moulded detail and underframes having more components incorporated into the underframe tool to reduce hand fitting. This has brought them to a comparable level of added detail to that used by Bachmann on their BR Mk 1, and Stanier Porthole coaches, however the price difference between the Collett corridor and the Thompson corridor (coaches currently in tooling and likely to appear in 2016) will be £14 per coach in the Hornby models favour. It's also worth remembering that Bachmann prices are not fixed on retailers orders, as the price charged to retailers is the price in force at the time of release, and there is potentially another price rise before these models are released. The Birdcage coaches have just been priced at £59.95 and I can see the Thompson's getting to that price next year.

I also had this e-mail, however I'm very sceptical and think Dapol are being very optimistic with the suggested delivery. They had the Class 73 tooling early samples shown late last year, yet they are still working on livery samples, and the model hasn't been approved for production ,so that model will be lucky to be ready before October or November. Dapol have yet to show tooling samples for the Railcar so is the 3-4 month window likely. I suspect the Railcar won't be with us till mid 2016, although I'd be happy to be proved wrong. I also want to see engineering samples to see if they have corrected the end window and door window errors in the original Cad/Cams. They also told me by e-mail that the 121 and 122 railcars were planned for release in late 2015, can't see that happening either. Happy to wait for the models, but I wish Dapol would be more realistic with their release timescale information, if it's come from them, which I assume it has

Yep, success for me and England. Postie delivered 18100 metro vick gas turbine at 1015, watched the cricket until the Aussies were bowled out and then stripped the carpet and grips from the hall and successfully removed the skirting boards before swmbo returned from work, and I got brownie points for the work I'd done. Then Watford drew at Everton on their first match in the Premiership. All in all a good day.

I'm in trouble. My kerosene castle 18100 is arriving Saturday or Monday and now the Warships as well. A perfect storm and a smack around the head from swmbo. Time to get out the vinegar and brown paper. I'd better work really hard on the hall/staircase decorating this weekend and no sloping off to watch cricket or football.

Good for my wallet that my order for 2 BR liveried mainland versions will be a couple of months apart. One will be a nice Christmas present as an expected December release. An interesting point made by Chris in the weekly newsletter today, that the production line for the O2, which has already started, will be working solidly on the O2 models for 3 months, which means those staff fitting the intricate pipework will be doing it for a very lengthy time indeed. Worth thinking about, their labours, skill and eyesight for our hobby and enjoyment. I'm sure and hope they get reasonable breaks.

As you say, Oxford have a steady business in diecast/plastic vehicles, as it mustn't be forgotten that their innovation has been to use plastic tooled parts for detail parts, including lorry superstructures as well as diecast metal. When Oxford decided to move into scale diecast road vehicles, having previously operated in producing non scale vehicles for business promotion, they started their ranges in a very innovative way, to differentiate themselves from the other market players, so in 'o' gauge the first scale models were a series of ice cream vans and in 'oo'gauge, a series of Chipperfields circus animal lorries and trailers. They branched out into multiple ranges, particularly in 'oo' gauge, with military vehicles, cars and vans, fire service vehicles, which nobody else was producing. However their pricing has been somewhat amazing, with cars and vans in 'oo' gauge being consistently below £5, however in the more crowded bus and coach market, they are undercutting the other players by significant amounts. Oxford coaches, such as the Southdown Royal Tiger coach were selling new for £15, whereas EFE single decker bus/coach types were £28 plus, Corgi about £28, Northcord about £36. So they have a history of being able to undercut, on price, existing market brands, when entering a new market, and producing innovative ranges that others wouldn't touch. Another example is from the latest release in the 'oo' gauge military vehicles, a Diamond T 3 axle prime mover lorry and 3 axle towed tank transporter trailer, retailing together for £20 - unbelievable value for the quality. Part, if not the main reason, for Oxfords ability to be very keen on price and flexible on the types of products, is that it has its own production facility in China, both for diecast and injection plastic moulding, which means that it is not dependent on a separate supplier, so has control of production, and costs, to a greater extent. Yes it will still be affected by increased production costs in China, but clearly its flexibility via its own workforce is a positive advantage. It's also worth noting that Oxford has a long term aim of returning diecast model production to the UK.

Thanks for the updates about the Dapol info on their facebook account. As it appears that they have only recently received liveries for the 73s to review pre production and some need amendment, which will require further livery samples to be sent from China, I have to ask, why did they schedule the release of the Dapol 73 versions, in their adverts, for July and August dates. Even with magazine lead times they must have known that livery samples hadn't been received or approved, so why not pull that part of the advert. We must be talking of a further 3-4 months before stock arrives in the UK. It's not a deal breaker for me, as only having ordered a BR green version, but it gives an impression of a poor state of organisation.

I'm certain that they are nearly here, as Dapol have advertised them for the first time, via their magazine adverts, which they only do when an item is imminent. They are a bit later than their first advert, which advised a July distribution, but this also happened with the first release of the Class 22 and 52 models, which were a couple of months after the first adverts. Yes there has been a delay, but that has been the same for all Dapol new products for the last 2 years. It is a small company and they went through considerable reorganisation and delay following the departure of their chief designer and product development manager. They say there are a number of 'oo' gauge new items that they are planning to release this year (Class 73, Class 121 &122, GW Railcar, Class 21 and 29) but I doubt that is realistic, but I will still wait for their 121 and 122 railcars in 'oo' gauge as I expect the detail and mechanism to be a significant improvement on the Hornby/Lima version, and the Class 21 is not going to be modelled by any other maker now that Dapol have drawings for it.

Two years ago I ordered a Heljan Class 05, 2500 from Hattons, which they then priced at £77. The price has since increased significantly, with the rrp from Heljan being £129 and Hattons price being £100, which is still a significant discount on the current rrp. After the significant price rises from Bachmann over the last 2 years and the effect this had on Hattons pre order guarantee, I was expecting notification that my order price would have to be increased, however I've had notification from Hattons that they have processed the order at the original price of £77, which is £52 approx. below rrp. That was not expected and is very much appreciated.

Phil, I'm hoping for a September delivery, only to ease pressure on my wallet, and avoiding the clip around the head from the missus, as I've just had an e-mail from John Hazleton at Silver Fox, that my order for Metro Vic western gas turbine 18100 is ready, running on a Bachmann Cl 47 chassis. If that and the Warships turn up chez mois in August, I'm in for some serious grief - I've already convinced her that my order for a Swindon Class 123 dmu is by converting some of my Mk 1 carriages -oh woe is me.

I ordered the bigger diesel engine version, number 10203, as soon as it was announced in April 2011. As I recall the other 2 twins, 10201 and 10202 were already announced about a year earlier. This model is some time away from being built unfortunately, as the owner of Kernow, Chris Trerise, advised in an update on the models they were producing a few months ago, that the Bulleid diesels were still in the research stage, with the need to establish if any prototype drawings exist at the NRM. With the limited amount of research info and the locos being cut up, this ios going to be a long project, similar to the Class 41 Warships. I suspect that Kernow may have to go down the same route as they did with the Class 41 development, which was to work with a master modelmaker working in Gauge 1, to produce a model in that gauge that could then be converted to '00' gauge cad/cam.

I was a newspaper delivery boy in 1965 to 1969 and the Sun did come out some time in 1965 or may have been earlier. It wasn't a tabloid to start with, as I recall it was between a tabloid and a broadsheet and replaced the Daily Herald. It became a tabloid when purchased by Murdoch. So would have been around

Now that Dave has advised he is to produce (a) wagon(s), my wagon wish would be a BR anhydrite hopper as used on the S&C in single use consists. These, with the ICI limestone hoppers are synonymous with 1950s and 60s long freight hopper movements over the Midland, in rugged and beautiful parts of the Peak District and Cumbria. The anhydrite hoppers give the opportunity for various levels of weathering, similar to the proposed Oxford/Hattons ICI hoppers, and multi packs