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rapidotrains

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Everything posted by rapidotrains

  1. I'd like to see a Canadian Bombardier double decker test run in the UK. It will simultaneously wipe out the platforms AND the bridges! -Jason
  2. Hi Jason, Will this be another exclusive commission/joint venture or will retailers have the opportunity to sell it too? Steve Model Railway Imports Canada The plan as of now is for it to be available to retailers. -Jason
  3. Actually it's a 2:1 Routemaster. It's only 29 feet tall. Pre-production photo below. -Jason
  4. Actually we're bringing out two different models of the Class 71 - one in margarine and one in soap - so there will now be FOUR competing models for the same 11.5 guys who want one. Our next project after that is an LSWR Adams Radial 4-4-2T, carved by a team of Canadian beavers from disused LSWR sleepers dug up from beneath a road in Midhurst (West Sussex) so it's MORE AUTHENTIC than the two or three other models announced to date. After that we're looking at making 10000 and 10001 out of Kleenex. -Jason
  5. Hi all, The 3D brigade was out in full force this week, performing a scan of our latest not-yet-announced British outline OO gauge model. Clues: 1. The scan was performed at a location north of Southampton. Maybe very north of Southampton. Definitely south of Wick. 2. The prototype rides on wheels, not skis. 3. The prototype was or is very widely used and not restricted to one region. 4. The prototype has been done before in plastic, but not in a very, very long time. 5. It will be a powered model. 6. It doesn't tilt. Oh no it doesn't! We plan to have first test samples at the Warley show, provided that they are kind enough to give us a booth. -Jason
  6. Unfortunately each Pendolino will not come with a working Transporter.... -Jason
  7. For my seventh birthday, my parents took that postcard and had it blown up to 30" wide and framed. I still have it... -Jason
  8. *ahem* designed by both of us. You did the bulk of it. I just cleaned it up. OK everyone - go order six more trains. -Jason
  9. Actually MRC/Gaugemaster produces a Tech 6 DC controller which will operate the sounds on DC. It also gets much better motor performance out of sound decoders than regular DC controllers. It is worth the investment if you are running DC and sound. -Jason
  10. For those of you who have not been following the other thread, the whole UK adventure of Rapido Bill and Rapido Jason is now online in one spot: http://www.rapidotrains.com/blog/2014/11/26/1159/ Thanks for reading! -Jason
  11. Thanks and you're welcome! I was about to comment that nowhere in the UK is too far from Warley until I noticed you are in Korea. OK - you win! It was great to meet so many of you at the show. Bill will be at York and I'm sorry I will miss it! But I will be back at Warley next year. Between now and then we'll be busy doing all sorts of 3D scans, most of which you guys will find about only afterwards. Sorry! (I'm Canadian - I apologize a lot. Sorry about that.) But talks are already under way about the possibility of another 3D Scan Railway Party somewhere in the UK for 2015. I will keep you well teased about that.... Best regards, Jason
  12. It was great meeting so many of you! These are indeed very rough first castings. Our biggest concern is that UK modellers are used to seeing unpainted test samples that they might think this is "final" when they see it in the magazines or online. The stripes were painted using masking tape and are not remotely straight! So please remember these are first test shots. All that being said, Bill and I are delighted with how these turned out and now we're going to concentrate on finishing the tooling in time for the York show. -Jason
  13. The samples arrived in Birmingham this morning. Remember - these are first engineering samples. They still look amazing, though! We will indeed have them on display. -Jason
  14. You can view the Rapido newsletter that includes the Pendolino here: http://rapidotrains.com/rapidonewsuk01.html -Jason
  15. Ben's summed it up nicely. The Kickstarter campaign needs sales of 800 trains. Say the sales reach only 700 trains - then I know we can try it as a regular release. But if the sales are only 200 trains, then we wouldn't touch the project with a 25kV cantilever mast.... And remember - a regular release Pendolino would be much more expensive. There's your argument for the Kickstarter campaign right there. So my advice: if you want this train, buy it through Kickstarter. -Jason
  16. It is indeed - that's because Ben and Mike are not in this to make a profit and they don't have the usual model railway manufacturing overhead costs. If the Kickstarter campaign doesn't get enough pledges, Rapido will likely bring this out as a general release, but it would be at least 25% more expensive than what Ben and Mike are offering it for. Fewer people will be able to afford the full 9-car or 11-car train. That's because if it goes out as a general product, our distributors and the model shops will all have to make money on it (and quite rightly, too!). Ben and Mike have basically gone straight to the manufacturer to avoid those extra margins and ensure the model is made as affordably as possible for N gauge enthusiasts. Best regards, Jason
  17. Hi guys, The minimum for sound is one. So don't worry - if you order sound and the project goes ahead, you will get sound. And I've been very impressed by Legomanbiffo's Voyager sounds so if he and I can come to an arrangement to use his Pendolino sounds, I'm sure it would be awesome. -Jason
  18. First test shot photos over on this thread: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/91652-apt-e-mould-progress/&do=findComment&comment=1652332 -Jason
  19. It's about the same number of moulds as a complex Canadian locomotive. Because it lacks all of the underbody piping, the mould quantity is manageable. On some of our passenger cars with all of the underbody equipment, the mould count can reach as high as 19. -Jason
  20. Hi all, Sorry for the lack of updates of late. Things have been a bit mad here and at one of our factories in China (not the APT-E one, thankfully). I will post some mould progress photos this week, starting with the ones below, taken a week ago. Boy is it going to be tight.... Hopefully we'll have a sample at Warley otherwise we'll dress Bill in an APT-E costume and have him doing pirouettes on top of the Locomotion display table. -Jason Here's the Power Car roof and belly: And here are a few of the growing collection of APT-E mould bases.
  21. Hi all, I am pleased to report that, as of yesterday, tooling on the Rapido APT-E has officially BEGUN. Woo-hoo! -Jason
  22. The REALTRACK Class 144s (and 143s) were made at our first factory. It's not a "Rapido" model as the factory made it to REALTRACK's specs. So the brilliant reception the 144s got is entirely due to the hard work of Charlie and his team and Rapido can't take any of the credit. In contrast, the APT-E is a Rapido model. We'll gladly take the credit for its successes (and failures - though not so gladly). We're still using that factory for a lot of our production as they do great work, but many of our newer models are produced at the MLW factory. The lead times at the first factory are measured in years whereas the lead times at the MLW factory are measured in months. The APT-E is being made at the MLW factory, and if we do any more projects with Charlie (and we hope to!) they will be produced at the MLW factory as well. -Jason
  23. Hi all, This is so crazy I had to share it with you. On the real APT-E, one of Kit's colleagues always brought a massive sandwich. They used it to prop the door open on TC2. So of course we decided to include the door, propped open by the sandwich. How many model train manufacturers get these kinds of emails from their engineers in China? "Will all door be opened after assembling? If yes, suggest don't to make separate parts for the sandwich , because too small to install, there are mounting holes under the door, we only can choose one status for the door, ------Open or Close? "This is another kind of door, do we need to make it be opened and add sandwich?" See attached. Our new tagline is: The Rapido APT-E May or May Not Include Sandwich -Jason
  24. Well, not exactly. It was only delayed three or four years due to lack of demand.... That's still a LONG TIME. You can read the whole story here: http://www.rapidotrains.com/rapidonews59.html -Jason
  25. First CNC sample to test the tilt and close-coupling system: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/88792-apt-e-factory-drawings/page-2&do=findComment&comment=1555696 Best regards, Jason
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