Accurascale Fran

Hi Meerkat, It's a whole new sound file. Cheers! Fran

Doh, thanks John! Can I blame "first week back" syndrome? Cheers! Fran

Thanks folks, it is an interesting one, and I guess it's spurred on here by the "Accurascale Exclusives" box for 66001 which has landed with us as the production models arrive for assessment. sneak peek below! I have a fondness for 66s too @James Makin but as we basically had nothing but GM locos (or powered locos) over here since I've been around I guess it's not so surprising! More 66 updates in the coming week or so, so keep an eye out! Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, Just another wee heads up - there will be a guide to converting our Manor to EM in a forthcoming edition of Model Railway Journal (teaser in the next issue I believe!) I wont spoil the content by saying how easy, intermediate or difficult it was to do, but just giving a heads up as some modellers on here and elsewhere had previously asked if it was possible. When I hear which edition it will be in I shall report back. Cheers! Fran

Hi Rob, Your post touches something we were discussing over our tea break the other day actually, and something that would be cool to hear about from modellers; Is EWS livery now becoming a nostalgic favourite? Triple grey has become that way (especially among ourselves in recent years!) so as the march of time progresses we get closer to the launch of EWS. The original shadow freight franchises are 30 years old this year too. Will enthusiasts become nostalgic for 66s? I have to say I always liked a Freightliner green Fred personally, and before the EWS maroon dulled, it looked really smart on the 66s too. Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, Just to update that we are on course to deliver these at the end of Q1 and should have some further, colourful news in the next couple of weeks. Also, our charity drive 66415 is now at 70% sold out, so thank you to everyone who has put their name down so far! Cheers! Fran

Hi Ray, We have offered to inspect and repair. Cheers! Fran

Hi @Silver Sidelines, ’Fran’? It’s my name! There is no difference, possibly just not something connected correctly on the PCB on one locomotive. It happens but we are helping out. Cheers! Fran

Hi Neil, All our Manors were made in the same factory on the same production line by the same people using the same materials. Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, This news is just terrible and we are still in shock since the email from Rich landed in our inbox earlier this afternoon. In our short time of trading with Hattons, and in my personal experience of being a customer for over 20 years, the staff from Hattons have been a delight to deal with from beginning to end and professional to a tee. I have been in contact with a few I have been lucky to work closely with over the past couple of years; very capable, bright, hard-working and talented people to wish them the very best in their futures. They will for sure go onto new and bright things, but a lot of really good and talented people have lost their jobs today, and our heart goes out to them. A real loss to our hobby and industry. It's scarcely believable. We wish the staff and management all the very best and thank them for their help in our early years in this industry. Fran.

Hi @IOW O2, Nothing to do with a large YouTube following. If you could PM me your details I’ll sort you out when I’m back at the desk on Monday? While your retailer cannot replace the model due to weathering they could and should contact us first regarding a repair. Cheers! Fran

Hi Barry, I never said you did? I was referring to your opening sentence; ”I agree, Hattons have been placed in a very awkward position” I was merely pointing out that we had not placed them in an awkward position for clarity. Cheers! Fran

Hi Barry, For clarity sake, Hattons were not placed in any sort of “awkward position” by the manufacturer (us) in this instance as they never contacted us about this issue. The first we heard of it was mention in this video. Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, Just with regard the decoder failure in this video and worries about warranty around a loco that has been weathered; while the warranty is voided when it comes to replacing the “cosmetic” elements of the locomotive (which is understandable and in line with others) the “drivetrain” is of course still covered by us, such as motor, PCB and the decoder. We certainly would not leave someone “go without” like as what’s happened here. Weathering the loco has not resulted in the sound decoder failing after all. Naturally, we have reached out directly and a new sound decoder will be provided to Lance from us. The 37 “fail” rate is percentage wise our lowest to date we are delighted to report and it is also our biggest production run of a single loco to date by some distance. We are currently working with ESU to ensure such bugs will not affect future production runs such as the sound cutting out on some Class 37 models, and a better solution to remedy current locos overall. We will of course communicate this in due course. As ever, if anyone has any issue whatsoever, with any Accurascale product, we always encourage you to email us or message us direct via our website. This gets you in contact with our staff with tech know how and it also allows us to track and record issues to help us become better in the future. A post on a forum can always be missed and doesn't always lead to getting an issue getting resolved as effectively like direct contact with us or your retailer does. It’s literally what our customer and tech support is there for. I hope this helps. Cheers! Fran

Hi Derek, No, as per above, only on DCC sound fitted models. Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, Thank you so much for your support on this one so far. Already over 40% of the locos have been pre-ordered. Amazing! We think this one is going to prove to be quite popular and collectable. Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, The Festive Season is all about giving, and we thought we would reserve our final launch of this year for a very special exclusive model which, with your help, will raise much needed funds for a most important and valuable service. We have already seen tremendous support for our Prostate Cancer UK Class 66 locomotive (which is now sold out!) so we have decided to try to raise another £10,000 for another special cause with your help. We wish to raise these funds and awareness using another one of our forthcoming Class 66 locomotives for a very worthy cause, this time focusing on mental health with Samaritans. The locomotive in question is Class 66 no 66 415 in Freightliner orange livery with black striping. Named ‘You Are Never Alone’ at Ipswich Station in November 2019, the real 66 415 was dedicated through a collaborative effort between Freightliner, Greater Anglia and Samaritans to pay tribute and to raise awareness of the invaluable work the Samaritans do to help prevent suicide across the UK and Republic of Ireland. The nameplate was unveiled by train drivers Steve Read and Dave Bray and Branch Director of Samaritans, Ipswich & East Suffolk, Judy Wright. The locomotive is plying its trade across the UK today proudly carrying its nameplate in the distinctive Genesee and Wyoming inspired Orange Freightliner livery. We've unveiled this very special model was announced at the latest “Accurascale Take-Over” of Pete Waterman’s “Making Tracks” event at Cheshire Outdoors, Blakemere Village, where the model railway feast runs from December 16th until January 7th 2024. A pre-production sample of the locomotive will be put to the test hauling the heaviest trains on the layout. According to the Office for National Statistics, around 5000 suicides are registered in England each year, with many more lives impacted. Males are around three times more likely to die by suicide than women, and men in their late 40s and early 50s are among those most at risk. Males of this age group make up a significant slice of Accurascale’s customer base, so the company approached Samaritans to raise awareness of their services in this novel and unique way. With suicide rates as high now as they were 20 years ago, we feel that it is vitally important to raise awareness of the services of Samaritans for anyone who is struggling to cope and who needs someone to listen without judgement or pressure. Creating this exclusive locomotive means that not only can funds be generated to support vital services, but also will be a reminder of such services that will live long on modellers layouts or in their collections. Speaking about the fundraising initiative, Richard Amos, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Samaritans, stated - "I'd like to say a massive thank you to Accurascale, for raising awareness and donating £10,000 from sales of their latest miniature locomotive model to Samaritans. This time of year can be an especially challenging time for many, and the special name of the locomotive 'You Are Not Alone', is a poignant reminder that Samaritans are there 24/7 every day of the year, to listen to anyone who is going through a difficult period in their lives or is struggling to cope. Their generous donation means that we can continue to be there for those who need us." Fran Burke, Accurascale Director of Marketing, Sales and Public Relations added – “We’re delighted that our forthcoming model of the Class 66 can once again impress modellers, but also do good by helping others. Samaritans is a cause very much close to our hearts and we thank them and Freightliner UK for allowing us to work together to produce our museum quality model of the Class 66 and work with you, the British outline railway modelling public, to help raise £10,000 which can help others who are suffering.” The model of 66415 is currently in production and will arrive with the rest of the first production run of the Class 66 locomotives and will arrive in the first quarter of 2024. It will come complete with presentation packaging and offered in both DC/DCC Ready and DCC Sound Fitted formats priced at £169.99 and £259.99 respectively. The locomotive will be available to order exclusively via the Accurascale website only and with production already underway stock is strictly limited, so early “no money down” pre-ordering is recommended to avoid disappointment. (Accurascale would like to thank Freightliner UK, Bessie Matthews and Samaritans For Their Help In Producing This Model) *Please note that an early pre-production model is shown in the photographs and has been our "test mule". Fit and finish of the production models shall be far superior. For More Information On The Services Provided By Samaritans Please Click Here Pre-order Your Class 66 415 By Clicking Here Cheers! Fran

Hi @Awes0mesauce, Very sorry to hear that about your loco. Off hand I am not sure what you would need, but if you send us an email the guys can check for you and we can see if something can be done. Cheers! Fran

Hi @Cliff - Exeter TMD, We are currently awaiting a new batch of motors to be sent to us (the factory sent us a batch of the wrong motors. A new batch will be with us by the end of this week and we will get it out to you as soon as they land. Apologies for this delay. If you send me your order number by PM I will keep on top of it and ensure you get sorted. Many thanks, Fran

Hi everyone, It is an excellent recording we received from a private source. We really must get round to doing a video of it. It sounds mega. Cheers! Fran

*Fires up oxyacetylene torch and begins scrapping new tooling Joke, of course!

Hi Jim, That sounds excellent. If he likes we can always add it or turn it into a blog post on our website too. Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, To add to @McC's post above we can also repair a model out of warranty, it would just be charged for labour/time and possibly materials. No one size fits all, so if you require more info please email us. The first port of call of any issue should be our support email, warranty or no warranty, as it is where you will get best advice and help from people who know the models inside out. Cheers! Fran

Hi @Meerkat, The chain on the 37 is made to be push fit to go back into the chassis, so just look at the other end for guidance and replicate it on the side where it has come out. Regarding your running issue, just drop us an email via support@accurascale.com and we will sort you out. Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, Our last outing for 2023 will be another Accurascale Take-Over of Making Tracks! We will be there (including my good self!) for the day so if you are about on the day, come by and say hi and chat all things Accurascale. It would be a pleasure to see you! And yes, we will have a small but rather important and poignant announcement, and something you can help us with! We will reveal it on the day, and of course have all the news for you here on RMWeb and across our social media channels and website too. We look forward to seeing you there! Cheers! Fran