Tiny151

That was certainly not the intention. It was posted in good faith focusing the humour on the equipment rather than any individual in what I understand to be a minor incident where everyone is safe. I understand your point though and hadn't considered that it might be viewed that way, apologies.

Nothing in the booklet for this problem Guess it's time to contact support?

For anyone who needs their fix of vicarious unboxing, the full package! Absolutely delighted with this one. As always with Accurascale, the care and dedication to the overall product is so evident with every inclusion here, in what has to be the best box design to date. I may post some more detailed thoughts and pictures later - depends if I can turn my eyes away from those gorgeous red grilles!

Had the pleasure of seeing the livery samples in the flesh over the weekend and I think these are the best decoration of steam locomotive wheels I've ever seen in OO. Maybe not a headline area, but the precision and consistency of so many rim and spoke linings over some presumably quite complex wheel shapes is phenomenal. Would love to see some close-up shots, as it was a bit tricky to get a good one through the cabinet!

Thanks Fran, Where does this leave those of us operating on DC? Will the decoder still provide a fix if fitted?

Very exciting - 18 months will fly by...! Are you at liberty to say what the run size is? If the number still available in the shop is accurate, then it sounds like quite the limited edition indeed.

Great to see the Single samples out over the weekend. One for @RapidoCorbs here. As it sounds like they're a little way off yet, I wondered if there's a chance for a tweak to the cab front lining on this second run? Comparing to the real loco, there's a thick band where the boiler transitions to the cab and lining to the spectacle plate which intersects this. The lining at the base of the cab also seems to cut off early, though that's presumably due to some manufacturing constraint? It's not massively noticeable but does finish everything off nicely, so thought it worth a mention in case useful. I also note that the mini splasher for the trailing wheel set is green on top rather than black!

Would also like to hear some news on this. In my eyes, the only fault in some otherwise excellent and exceptionally good value carriages, but a very noticeable one. I've put off opening mine up to investigate as it felt more sensible to wait for the promised guide, but we're going on more than a year now. I'm sure it's being remedied for batch 2 and perhaps the issue has needed redesign to the point that AS don't feel comfortable suggesting a complicated customer fix, but it would be handy to know where the problem sits for those of us happy to try some DIY at our own risk. I tried contacting support directly and was only told to check clean wheels/track etc.

Thanks Tom, really interesting. Following a bit of a dive into the Fireless Locomotive Group on Facebook I've been able to turn up a quite detailed account from a Nick Kelly. Nick tells how the loco was in service at Four Ashes until June 1992 when it was withdrawn following a collision with a bogie tank. The incident is explained as being caused by the driver mistaking the light of a trespassing dog walker for that of the shunter! Supposedly repair was considered, but with the system due to shut down by the end of that year as a result of BR imposed costs, rail traffic was ceased there and then. Nick claims this made the former Gamma the penultimate working industrial steam locomotive in the UK, outlasted only by Andrew Barclay 2268 Glaxo at Ulverston. On the topic of Glaxo, Nick claims definitively that this loco lasted until 19th September 1992, when at the end of the shift he watched it drive itself onto a low loader and off into preservation! A 2019 dated snap of Glaxo at Carnforth is the latest I've found, along with a claim of it being eyed up for a cosmetic restoration and display back near it's old stomping ground, though all quiet on that front it seems. With these historic credentials, perhaps Glaxo could be an interesting identity for a future batch!

Lovely announcement and a prototype I've been waiting for someone to pick off ever since the industrial-mania kicked off with the Pecketts. I went in looking for a beautifully lined showroom livery and yet surprisingly find myself most swayed by the Croda example. Despite a fair few silvers and greys, this is the first white steam loco I can recall seeing in model form! There are a few resources online covering the Croda loco in the 70s and 80s, but nothing I can find of the 90s, except multiple statements that it lasted into them. I'm reading that the track which it called home was lifted in 94, I wonder how close to that date it managed to last in service. Would be keen to see any detail on those final few years and the move into preservation.

Delighted with this news - pre-order straight in. It's been harder and harder to hold off on an Accurascale 37, but told myself 403 had to be coming sooner or later, and here we are - or we will be in 2025! For me it's worth the wait if it means an exclusive box (full works like 402 please!), supporting the real loco and a seam free nose... what more could you want?

Now there's a tease! The Hattons social media posts do seem to deliberately mention that it's Batch 2 of the Genesis coaches with Rails, I can't see a comment on anything beyond that. I'd ruled this acquisition out given the seeming incompatibility of 'generic' and 'accurate', but reading between the lines, I'm intrigued at what crafty plans could be brewing to Accura-fy!

Excellent to see these picked up and moving to a safe home! A slight shame about the price increase on the locos, but not that hard to stomach given the £99 tag is the exact same as these launched with back in 2018. For those of us on Hattons books but already with an active Accurascale account, will the transfer process be any different? A minor point, but do you know yet if these will arrive in Hattons or Accurascale branded packaging? I'm already imagining the 'Exclusives' job that could be done with a box in that Bluebell livery!

There was a tease a while back now of something dumb buffered to match the Chaldrons. That would more than likely fit the bill for 'interesting' and 'little', plus timeline wise could certainly be at the EP stage, which I understand is the Accurascale threshold for announcement going forward.

Great to hear these are approaching. Particularly excited to glipmse the boxes for the Exclusives. I wonder if there's a chance we'll see some bonus treats in the detail bag as with the Manors? To me D9000 never quite looks complete without that headboard!