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Farish refurb Class 31


TomE
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Bachmann Europe attended the London Festival of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace over the weekend and several new models were on display for the first time inside the Members Lounge (for the exclusive use of Bachmann Collectors Club Members).  Official photographs of the Graham Farish Refurbished Class 31 (Engineering Prototype) have now been released:

 

 

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Great pics but views like this are denied to non-members . I think Bachmann should reconsider this policy.  Part of the fun in visiting the big shows was to see the latest models. 

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24 minutes ago, Crepello said:

Great pics but views like this are denied to non-members . I think Bachmann should reconsider this policy.  Part of the fun in visiting the big shows was to see the latest models. 

Actually the pics we get from Phil and others are probably better than seeing the model in a glass cabinet, especially in N scale.

 

I realised a couple of years back that the benefit of internet shopping and online imagery is that the pictures are better than you will make out with your own eyes in less than ideal conditions especially where there is glass involved.

 

Of course it can work in reverse if the 1980's Madonna cross for an 80's reunion* you received is not actually as big as it looked in the photo :( but at least we understand the scale when it comes to model railway samples.

 

*twas the wife that wore it, I wasn't Madonna :jester:

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7 hours ago, Crepello said:

Great pics but views like this are denied to non-members . I think Bachmann should reconsider this policy.  

 

These pics are not denied to non BCC members. They have been released to the press and will no doubt be published in magazines as already done so on this (and other) forums for all to see.

 

G

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47 minutes ago, grahame said:

 

These pics are not denied to non BCC members. They have been released to the press and will no doubt be published in magazines as already done so on this (and other) forums for all to see.

 

G

 

Crepello said views and not pictures - visitors to the show are denied seeing them. Always seemed to me that they are more interested in getting you to stump up for membership rather than encourage you to want to purchase the models when completed. It would be like the N Gauge Soc shop at an exhibition and only allowing members to see the samples of the Hunslet etc.

 

While a photo is OK, seeing models in the flesh is more effective at deciding if its good enough to buy - the Dapol 142 looks more acceptable in the flesh than in close up photos.

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Crepello said views and not pictures - visitors to the show are denied seeing them. 

 

Photos are views and as Tom has already mentioned the view at the show wasn't good, was tricky to photograph and the model was behind glass, so only one side could be easily seen. The photos are much more revealing and allow you to zoom in easily and more closely inspect than a model in a display cabinet. To decide on whether to buy I'd rather see it finished with a livery/paint job. And I expect it to be more widely on public display at future shows as well as being able to inspect finished models in a shop before purchase.

 

G

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Thanks for posting the photos, Phil - it's good to see the mouldings in works grey as it does reveal the quality very clearly. I have the late unrefurbished version and to be honest I'm in two minds about it. Overall it looks right, but the detail is an odd mixture of the commendably fine and the inexplicably coarse. In the latter category the unprototypical trench around the nose door plating carries over onto the new model and will unfortunately remain quite noticeable when painted yellow, even in this small scale.

 

As far as I can judge from prototype photos, the edge of the plating should be hardly more pronounced than the lower bodyside seam and looking at the other details moulded on the cab ends I find it hard to believe that this one could not have been represented with more subtlety.  I'm afraid it suggests "everyone knows it's there so let's mark it with a big fat line regardless of how prominent it really was so they don't complain" to me. 

 

Apologies for the on-topic digression. Now back to your regular moaning about a tangential issue of no interest to me.

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To be perfectly honest in most respects the new version 31 is a subtle but welcome improvement over the older one in many areas, the correctly sized wheel arrangement being one such aspect. However, it does rather seem to have fallen down a bit with the etched fan grill, the very noticeable fold-down tabs where it fits in place making it quite crass in comparison with the former model. This is more easily seen/looks worse with the green versions than the blue. Pity they don’t just do an etch that is glued in position.

 

Izzy

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Etched fan grills in general look coarse in N, as the RTR guys won't fit an etch as fragile and fine as an aftermarket part from Shawplan. 

The moulded grill on the 40 shows how good a nice moulding can look

 

Jo

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Had the 31 been designed after the decision was made to fit speakers as standard, it too would probably have a crisply moulded fan grille - my preference, but some people do like a visible fan.  I agree that the factory etch looks rather coarse and the mounting tabs particularly so, but it is at least easily removable should a replacement become available.

 

Another issue with the unrefurbed release is that the black windscreen seals are printed wonky which makes especially the second man's side look quite wrong.  As these photos show, the moulding is actually correct and captures the homely visage of a 31 very well.

 

That unprototypical groove still grates though.

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  • 1 month later...
On 25/03/2019 at 23:43, Bomag said:

 

Crepello said views and not pictures - visitors to the show are denied seeing them. Always seemed to me that they are more interested in getting you to stump up for membership rather than encourage you to want to purchase the models when completed. It would be like the N Gauge Soc shop at an exhibition and only allowing members to see the samples of the Hunslet etc.

 

While a photo is OK, seeing models in the flesh is more effective at deciding if its good enough to buy - the Dapol 142 looks more acceptable in the flesh than in close up photos.

 

I agree. If I was selling a product I'd want to maximise its exposure and make it accessible to all show visitors and not simply hope that my prospects would see it (view it) through magazine photos, social media or other forums. 

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Given it's a sample it'll have been handled by many people with somewhat less finesse than a production model is likely to be I imagine, especially given its been out to several shows now. 

 

Tom. 

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On 09/05/2019 at 01:04, TomE said:

Given it's a sample it'll have been handled by many people with somewhat less finesse than a production model is likely to be I imagine, especially given its been out to several shows now. 

 

Tom. 

One  would  have  thought  that  when  it  was  placed  in  the  obviously locked  display  unit,  the  person doing  so  would  have  checked  that  all was  well!

I speak  from  my  own  experience  as   a Product/Account Manager ( retired!) who spent  time  getting  things  correct  at  exhibitions ( not  Model  Railways I  hasten  to  add )

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RRP confirmed today at £144.95 - seems Farish prices are still creeping up sadly, even with the usual 15% discount at the box shifters it's over £120 which has put me off for the time being as there are other models coming out that are better value so will get my £££

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  • 2 months later...
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On 16/05/2019 at 23:36, pantrogla said:

RRP confirmed today at £144.95 - seems Farish prices are still creeping up sadly, even with the usual 15% discount at the box shifters it's over £120 which has put me off for the time being as there are other models coming out that are better value so will get my £££

As the pound may devalue further in the coming months, the price maybe increase further!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think these rises are putting people off N gauge generally - that and the slow supply of promised new products. Farish aren't the only ones. Dapol are just as guilty - look at the long lead in time of the 142 and 50.

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57 minutes ago, fezza said:

I think these rises are putting people off N gauge generally - that and the slow supply of promised new products. Farish aren't the only ones. Dapol are just as guilty - look at the long lead in time of the 142 and 50.

 

Yep, unfortunately both are negative connotations, although, of course, a lot depends on the price elasticity of demand. And which is also compounded by the elasticity of supply with the current extended development and delivery delays. Both are likely to work against N gauge but the extent is difficult to quantify and the effect might be only slight.

 

Don't forget that at the start of this new millennium there was almost no new products in N available while Bachmann relocated the Farish brand to China and took a long while to restart production. And at that time Dapol hadn't entered the N gauge market. Fortunately N survived that period and has flourished since. Hopefully, it will also see out the current difficulties.

 

 

 

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42 minutes ago, D9020 Nimbus said:

At the moment there isn't a single forthcoming Farish model I will want to purchase, though I am interested in the Dapol "50" and perhaps the WC/BB if/when it appears.

 

I have to admit that there is very little new N gauge of interest to me as well. IIRC the Farish TEA bogie tankers were the first newly released products I've purchased since the RT cargo wagons in September last year. I am interested in the Dapol class 50 and the Farish class 319 but the wait has been interminable and there's no confirmed delivery date for either.

 

Rising prices aren't a problem especially when there's nothing of interest to currently spend money on. As a result, if a RTR  2 or 4 EPB was in the offing, I've plenty of cash to place an order for a quantity in double figures (probably several thousands of pounds).

 

In the meantime I'm happy to do some real modelling; build some rolling stock kits, scratch-build structures, paint 3D printed vehicles and plan the new layout. N gauge is unlikely to suffer as a scale but some stock manufacturers might have a hard time and collectors of RTR might be a bit cheesed off.

 

 

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I'm very lucky as I've been working  in ngauge since 1992 and have several old 31s I have improved. However if I were starting out there just isn't enough available to model my favourite period  (a secondary main line 1990s). 

 

I enjoy building and running  rather than collecting but there is a limit to what you can kitbash or scratch build in N - especially if you are new. Anyone here scratchbuilt a 170 that is better than the (rather poor) Farish version of a decade ago? 

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