Revolution Mike

If anyone has problems with their 320/321 then please drop us a message on the dedicated support email address in the 320/321 manual and we will help you out. cheers Mike

My strong suspicion is that if all that happens is a replication of what has happened before in TT3 or in other scales then the scale is probably already doomed. The railways have changed a lot in the last 20-30 years let alone the last 50+ years since the end of steam. Whatever happens is never going to please everybody (and personally I don’t think that you need to). I wonder if a widespread approach trying to appeal to as many as possible is any better than a targeted, coherent range? It might be initially but I suspect it might leave people frustrated quickly when compared to ranges available in N and OO. From a freight perspective one loco opens freight operations for the last 24 years ie a 66. Few geographical restrictions and lots of liveries. To a lesser extent you can say similar about an 08, 37, 47 which win on longevity (since 50s for the 08 and early 60s for 37/47).

Some manufacturers have been producing multipacks or multiple running numbers (in N and other scales) for a fair time now 😉.

I’d argue that the 66 is perhaps the least risky loco to do - a lot less variations than say a 37 or 47 (though still an amazing number of subtle variations!). Potential to keep putting out lots of liveries. There’s as much of a hint about modern wagons as any other wagons at the moment! I certainly don’t see a reason not to do modern wagons, in fact I think there’s some very good reasons to do modern wagons particularly if a 66 happens - bit chicken and egg but everything has to start somewhere!

Lots of interesting thoughts to catch up on. Apologies if I'm repeating what people have already said. Price - it is interesting that we're already discussing hypothetical prices (except for the Heljan 31) and that for some it seems to be driving thinking. Personally with the scale/gauge advantage that UK TT120 will have I'd be going for high-end, highly detailed models at a corresponding price. Anything else is just replicating what already exists in N or OO and at which point I can't help feeling the game is over as developing a range to get anywhere near the breadth at a cheap price feels like a doomed endeavour. That isn't to say that all is lost! I really do think that there is potential here. Materials/shipping cost-savings - coming from 7mm to 4mm there are greater savings than going from OO to N and I'm afraid that any cost savings will be more than lost on lower volumes. Pre-ordering - despite one notable failure, versions of pre-ordering/crowdfunding have been successful over a number of years now (we've been doing it for nearly 8 years!) and has made it much easier for manufacturers to have confidence in a potentially niche market. It is interesting the diversity of opinions on how a fairly embryonic scale should develop! As a manufacturer (and of course I would say this!), why would a RTR manufacturer want to invest considerable time and effort in research for essentially manufacturer assembled and decorated 3D printed kits? I don't say that to insult producers of 3D kits (they're an incredibly valuable part of an ecosystem) but if part of a starting premise is to produce high quality, (as near as possible) no compromise models then common chassis and 3D printing are not the way forward yet. There's too much needed to get an acceptable finish, before you even consider how to motorise it. 3D printing is a tool (like injection moulding) not a finished product - even printing in colour doesn't give you metal wheels or a chassis. You've swapped a high tooling cost/low unit cost injection mould with a very high unit cost/no tooling cost 3D print but everything else of the assembly still needs to happen - it is so far from plug in your 3D printer and away you go! How are the parts going to be assembled for example or are they going to have moulded details? Your argument that continental sales won't help is inherently contradictory to your final sentence! There's any number of wagons that have worked cross-channel in the UK into large parts of continental Europe including Germany. For example, the IWA or IZA cargowaggons that we've produced in N and OO (we've been asked if we'd produce them both in continental N and HO) - the IWAs currently run to Germany. If one is looking to spread commercial risk on a niche product (which inherently any new UK TT120 model is) then any sales split across more than one country will be welcome. My personal view is that you could create some very nice models of the last 20-30+ years with a relatively small number of locos ( I would have thought 08, 37, 47 and 66 would be the very obvious choices) plus some complementary rolling stock. Done carefully you could have a selection of models that all fitted together relatively logically expanding in breadth over time, all produced to high standards. Cheers Mike

It is entirely dependent on the model ie no fixed batch size. The starting point is a minimum order quantity (which is a combination of factory MoQ per model and livery plus a financial decision on what is the minimum needed to cover tooling/unit costs vs what do we think is a fair price). Obviously some of that cost of tooling or assembly/decoration depends on the complexity of the models in question ie a simple box is likely to be cheaper than a more complicated tank. After tooling and unit costs the greatest impact on price is normally volume of (expected) sales ie higher volume = lower price. The batch size is a combination of orders direct from customers and retailers. Cheers Mike

I'm not sure that I agree with you on the difference in presence/finesse between 1:148 and 1:120 - I'll reserve judgement on that until we see the first UK models. However I agree with you completely on the latter point ie that it will need to be high standards (and almost certainly high prices). More than anything relatively low volume production runs will probably have to determine high prices, and having got a correct scale/gauge combo it would seem self-defeating not to go for the highest standards possible! Cheers Mike

All the final batch of invoices (or queries) have been generated and/or emailed to people - if you're expecting an invoice please check your spam folder if you haven't received it or drop us a message through email. Orders for retailers are starting to be packed and they should start to receive their orders later this week or early next week. Cheers Mike

I think this is a great move by Heljan (even if I’d have preferred a 37!) and I think that there will be others watching developments carefully! Certainly there are various bits of stock that has run across the channel that might appeal to UK and continental modellers if done in TT-120. cheers Mike

I’ve been trying to keep the News item on 320/321 deliveries up to date (though I need to check whether I’ve updated it with the last batch that went out). We’ve got about 10-15% of orders to go - mostly relating to order changes, second choice liveries and international orders for more than 2 sets. We’re getting there but progress has slowed as I’ve had to go abroad for best part of 2 weeks for work. Hopefully I’ll get some time to go through the remaining orders. Cheers Mike

Don’t forget - midday today is the deadline for bids! Thanks for all the interest and bids so far. We will be in touch with the winner this afternoon. cheers Mike

I know at least one member of this forum won a place but can’t go! Another member of this forum is about to get a message offering them a place. cheers Mike

After delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our "Sweet Caroline" rail tour is going ahead on 11 May 2022. Some of you may remember that we held a prize draw for early customers of the inspection saloon model and we look forward to welcoming them onboard "Caroline". We are delighted to be able to offer one additional seat on the never to be repeated rail tour to raise funds for charity. Those of you familiar with the story behind the naming of inspection saloon 975025 as “Caroline” will know that the saloon was named after a member of NR staff who sadly lost their life to cancer – in recognition of that we will be donating all funds raised from the auction to Cancer Research UK. The rail tour will be followed by a visit to the home of Caroline at LORAM's facilities in the former RTC in Derby. You can see full details of the sealed bid auction and the tour on our website at: http://www.revolutiontrains.com/unique-chance-to-travel-on-caroline-in-aid-of-charity/ The deadline for entries is midday (12pm BST) on Wednesday 4 May 2022. Cheers Mike

Hi Justin The last news item on our website explains the latest on the second batch deliveries and invoicing: https://www.revolutiontrains.com/news/ cheers Mike

Hi David No news to report other than what we've reported already ie which versions we think will be retail exclusives. We don't normally confirm retail exclusives before the early bird deadline , though this time we've had a longer early bird period than normal and tried to give people an idea of what sets might be coming as retail exclusives. Cheers Mike

Please send us an email ASAP with which set you want and your order number. Thanks Mike

In the grand scheme of things the buck stops with us but as I mentioned to Stu earlier probably best to contact the AMRSS as the retailer first as they should be able to advise if they can swap it out. If not we will replace or repair it (we’ve got a couple of spare sets). Definitely sounds like a dodgy motor. Anyone who has problem with one purchased from us should drop us a message as per the manual, though as I say we will make sure everyone is sorted. cheers Mike (still on way back from Glasgow!)

The factory had hoped to get them on a boat before CNY but they weren’t quite ready. As soon as they’re on the move we will let people know. cheers Mike

As I’ve replied on the NGF we’re investigating what has happened to some of the wheelsets with the factory and will fix any issues. cheers Mike

As per the recent newsletter (and on the Projects page of our website) it depends on which livery you ordered as they’re coming in 2 batches and will take us a lot of time to process all the orders (due to offering too many choices/second choices etc). cheers Mike PS I should have said the first orders of batch 1 (LM, Scotrail Saltire, Undecorated) went out on Thursday and Friday with plenty more to go.

Why is it ludicrous? The reality is that there are already thousands of Farish 90s and 91s out there - would I buy multiple new 90s? Of course but a portion of the market will already have been satisfied particularly given the inevitable cost of a new 90. Plus it isn't a stretch of the imagination to believe that a new 90 is coming from Farish! The justification for doing an 89 is nothing like a 90 (or 91) but it has never been produced RTR and is a pretty iconic design plus we can make non-commercially justified decisions if we want to! If you think that pure commercial decisions are the only factor then a lot of our models would never have been produced!

Seems to have been reasonably common with Cartic-4s at one point - a friend was showing me his videos from the 90s on Friday and there was often a brake (QM). The order book will open when we're happy with the CAD corrections. Cheers Mike

The sample has actually arrived - we just need to get some time to take pictures of it and get it up on our website. Should be on our site/social media etc in a few days. Cheers Mike

The production run is running a month or so late and missed shopping before CNY so will be here March/April (depending on how quickly they ship after CNY). There should be plenty available from our retailers for anyone who missed out on our pre-ordering. cheers Mike

My best guess is that the flow started post-privatisation as all the photos are EWS 37s/60s/67s but when I was doing the sample consists the mid-90s seemed to be a bit of a black spot for flows/info/photos. cheers Mike