DJ Models: company wound-up and liquidation closed

[The Johnster]

In that case, I'm coming round to what seems to be the prevailing opinion, that if he isn't depressed, bewildered, confused, completely demoralised, he ought to be, and does not deserve any of my pity.  Sod 'im, then...

[The Johnster]

On 04/06/2020 at 22:53, truffy said:

It's currently in casting. I understand that Johnny Vegas has been approached to play @DJM Dave, with Bruce Willis touted for @AY Mod. A large part will be set in Shanghai, so as to assure Chinese funding; as all the best Hollywood blockbusters do.

And Brad Pitt as The Johnster, of course.

 

On 05/06/2020 at 06:55, Chris M said:

I'd like to have a word with Dave round the back of the bike sheds with a few of my mates.

 

Hope I don't get detention for saying this.:)

You will if you do what me and Janet Dee did there, though we didn't get caught...

[The Johnster]

On 05/06/2020 at 22:24, John M Upton said:

I had the J94, it was a good runner - in a straight line - but seemed determined to throw itself off the rails at the merest hint of a corner

 

I also have three N gauge Mermaids.  The first one, a black livery one ran really nicely but the subsequent two Dutch ones just would not stay coupled together or indeed half the time on the track.

Good to see that the old Dapol 4mm traditions were being kept up, then...

[The Stationmaster]

3 hours ago, PMP said:

It must be an awful feeling for the poor victim in the United States, Canada, Galápagos Islands, or behind the wheel of a hundred grands worth of sports cars on track days. Did I miss anywhere out?

You forgot the aircraft photography (seemingly all over the world).  Plus his frequent days out for aircraft photography on 'the Mach Loop' which strangely sometimes coincided with the time he was putting in to 'chasing up the factory in China'.  Maybe he got a better mobile 'phone signal in the valleys of Mid and North Wales?

 

I'm not really sure when the Johnster is coming from  - maybe he didn't read the thread before commenting?

Edited August 22, 2020 by The Stationmaster

[PMP]

1 minute ago, The Stationmaster said:

  Maybe he got a better mobile 'phone signal in the valleys of Mid and North Wales?

 

 

 

I'd be very surprised if he did, but not if he claimed it.

 

 

Most times I'm there signals are as reliable as his promises were.

[The Stationmaster]

10 minutes ago, PMP said:

 

I'd be very surprised if he did, but not if he claimed it.

 

 

Most times I'm there signals are as reliable as his promises were.

Ah, you were following him ... 

[The Johnster]

On 06/06/2020 at 21:57, johnofwessex said:

It seems to me that the 14xx is a model (Generically, not necessarily the DJM version) that should sell 

Yes, it's a no brainer, probably the loco that got K's kits up and running, ditto RTR Airfix, the perfect storm, a pretty little GW tank loco that fits easily on a small BLT and can be used with a single trailer and no run around.  But there are fundamental issues with the 0-4-2T wheel arrangement in model form, in that the loco balances, and tips backwards or forwards, about the trailing driven axle.  The upshot is poor haulage on a loco that cannot accommodate a bigger motor and poor pickup as leading or trailing wheels lift off the railhead.  The solution is full 3-point compensation, but that cannot be provided at a price the market will bear in a volume produced RTR model.  

 

K's were often propelled by powered bogies in the trailer, the Airfix version was a very brave attempt to try out new things, notably the flexible drive and the sprung plunger pickups, which proved over time to be weaknesses despite which the body tooling is still in business.  Later iterations of it have retooled chassis and it's motor-filled cab is not acceptable these days.  DJ's Hattons version seems to have been a hit and miss mechanism like the little girl and she had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead, and when she was good she was very very good, but when she was bad she was horrid.  I knew a girl at the back of the bike sheds like this once, and when she was bad she was bloody brilliant; I digress, albeit not unpleasantly...  Both K's and the subsequent RTR mechs have used solid chassis blocks with sideplay in the trailing wheels, which is crude by modern standards.  Dave Jones' Hatton's 14xx had some sort of complex multi-ratio gearing to run as a sort of ersatz 0-6-0.

On 07/06/2020 at 16:38, -missy- said:

There is THIS too

Now, that is very revelatory of an attitude which suggests that the world owes Poor Dave a living and that the fact that it has denied it to him is an injustice of major proportions along with an inferred conspiracy to foil his efforts, by the major RTR companies, or by the Chinese, or by HMRC, or whatever is flavour of the month.  There's no shame in failure unless you fail to mention that, actually, it's your fault and you are sorry.  If he's not entitled to Jobseekers and is telling the truth about being unemployed this must perforce mean that he has funds available to live on, or he'd be fully entitled to JS, Universal Credit deze daze; it's means tested, so clearly Mr Jones has adequate means.  My sympathy for the guy is draining rapidly out of the hole he has drilled in the bottom of my sympathy bucket.

[The Johnster]

On 09/06/2020 at 12:46, atom3624 said:

Are we there yet? ....

'No.  Read your book and stop asking; you can see we're not there yet, we haven't even got to Exeter, stop kicking the back of daddy's seat' (my mum, in Ford Prefect OBO 914, on way to 1960 holiday in Perranporth, about an 8 hour schlep from Cardiff in those days).  You weren't allowed to ask where we were until at least Indian Queen's...

[The Johnster]

On 09/06/2020 at 15:04, The Stationmaster said:

could afford a holiday in the Galapagos Islands which was one place he definitely visited on holiday

That's famous for reptiles, isn't it?

 

On 09/06/2020 at 15:28, AY Mod said:

On 09/06/2020 at 15:19, Oldddudders said:

Particularly those for whom adulation is a drug, so being in swanky places and being seen achieving great things are a must.

 

Combining these traits I received a pearler via email* back in 2017...

 

Quote

Can you do me a favour please? I dont have internet access* or I'd post myself. Am currently on holiday in the Caribbean visiting amongst others Cuba, Mexico, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica**.
We now have official word that 3 hurricanes are now about, 1 heading west from Mexico, Irma that will hit Cuba Friday when we arrive there, and another following Irma from the east. Flights are being cancelled, shipping re-routed etc etc and apart from destination changes we are unsure when some of all this will hit us. So could you please let rmwebbers know I'm not going to be able to reply to questions for at least another week when hopefully I'll be home?

 

I explained, bluntly, that I wasn't his PA.

 

*Never one to notice the material inconsistencies.

 

 

I've had not dissimilar emails from Nigerian Princes.  Yeah, Princes, that's the sort of guy that emails the Johnster, Princes...  How did he email you without internet access?  Oh, I suppose he must have borrowed a phone.

 

On 09/06/2020 at 17:08, woodenhead said:

Actually we should, for our own good as all we are doing on this thread is going round the same points we did 12 months ago and not really moving on, it's like a sore we cannot help but pick.

 

We don't know his motivations and I am happy to sit on the fence whether or not his actions were deliberate or accidental, whether he was scheming or incompetent in the absence of any proof either way.

 

The only thing we need to remain vigilant of is another attempt by him to set up a business as he doesn't appear to be fit and proper to run another one.

My sympathy for the guy is fading faster than a British Leyland paint job, but he is a human being, and our response must be appropriate, and moderate in it's anger and censure.  He's a tw*t, but he's not Hitler.

[PMP]

31 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

.  Dave Jones' Hatton's 14xx had some sort of complex multi-ratio gearing to run as a sort of ersatz 0-6-0.

.

And with that one sentence we now know you’ve not even read up

on them let alone looked at one. 

[The Johnster]

On 10/06/2020 at 13:19, JSpencer said:

 

Some people must have been feeling really lonely.

The year I got an xmas card from my MP and another one, delivered after xmas, from the Chinese takeaway up the road was a low point...

[The Johnster]

On 14/06/2020 at 15:50, JSpencer said:

There are only 2 conclusions really, either this was run with complete incompetence or something sinister was up. 

Or both, which makes 3.

[atom3624]

10 hours ago, The Johnster said:

'No.  Read your book and stop asking; you can see we're not there yet, we haven't even got to Exeter, stop kicking the back of daddy's seat' (my mum, in Ford Prefect OBO 914, on way to 1960 holiday in Perranporth, about an 8 hour schlep from Cardiff in those days).  You weren't allowed to ask where we were until at least Indian Queen's...

Strangest of things, I remember Indian Queens - typically 10 hours after setting off from Liverpool, about 18:30 / 19:00 in the evening, everyone drained ... heading to Newquay in the family HA Viva EDJ 278 C ... relatively small world again ...

 

Al.

[tomparryharry]

13 hours ago, The Johnster said:

 Dave Jones' Hatton's 14xx had some sort of complex multi-ratio gearing to run as a sort of ersatz 0-6-0.

 

No, not quite John. It has 2 gear towers which drive all 4 driving wheels. That is however, they don't. The gears are slightly mismatched, which can take the gears out of synch, so it's a bit hit-or-miss. Next, they'll line up fine, so you wonder what went wrong. On a purely personal level, I blame the injection process of the gear wheels. The gears will have a very slight taper on the centre line, and it has to be that way, to eject the mould. Now you have a tapered gear, which needs to have a tapered gear reversed, to take up the throw.  Failure to do so, and it's tears before bedtime... A good set of helix gears would sort this out, but, I haven't hobbed gears for a long time, and I'm not about investing in a miller & dividing head, just to right a fault that should never been there in the first place. 

 

The good Captain Kernow has very kindly donated a spare DJM chassis, but not yet. I will provide an autopsy, and it's in the list. 

 

I had great hopes for the DJM/hHattons 48xx, and the 18" Austerity. I wrote about this for years, on these pages. 'Tis a pity it's largely came to naught. The perplexing thing is that you won't see many of them on 'Bay. If you do, they command top dollar. 

 

Perhaps PMP has indeed found a way, and he's keeping it quiet....

 

Cheers,

Ian.

[Steamport Southport]

53 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

 

 His attempt to claim what he calls Jobseekers Allowance, which is now part of Universal Credit, ... was an insult to anyone who has ever had to resort to State Benefits for survival for reasons beyond their ability to manage; to then complain about it online as if it was somehow not fair and that he was the victim is truly appalling.

 

 

 

They still have Job Seekers Allowance up here. 

 

They haven't switched to Universal Credit yet. Some places have as part of an experiment, but that doesn't include some parts of Merseyside. One of the reasons there is so many complaints about it is it's literally a Postcode Lottery whether you are on it or not.

 

ISTR he lived in Huyton (or Kirkby). Not exactly the most salubrious places around....

 

 

 

Jason

Edited August 23, 2020 by AY Mod

[Crisis Rail]

6 hours ago, atom3624 said:

Strangest of things, I remember Indian Queens - typically 10 hours after setting off from Liverpool, about 18:30 / 19:00 in the evening, everyone drained ... heading to Newquay in the family HA Viva EDJ 278 C ... relatively small world again ...

 

Al.

 

Did the same run in 956 GYY and 868 TTE or that could've been Minehead.

I still remember feeling sick and told to sit on a newspaper.

[The Stationmaster]

2 hours ago, tomparryharry said:

No, not quite John. It has 2 gear towers which drive all 4 driving wheels. That is however, they don't. The gears are slightly mismatched, which can take the gears out of synch, so it's a bit hit-or-miss. Next, they'll line up fine, so you wonder what went wrong. On a purely personal level, I blame the injection process of the gear wheels. The gears will have a very slight taper on the centre line, and it has to be that way, to eject the mould. Now you have a tapered gear, which needs to have a tapered gear reversed, to take up the throw.  Failure to do so, and it's tears before bedtime... A good set of helix gears would sort this out, but, I haven't hobbed gears for a long time, and I'm not about investing in a miller & dividing head, just to right a fault that should never been there in the first place. 

 

Cheers,

Ian.

DJM used a fairly typical Chinese factory idea of how driving wheels should be driven on a steam outline model.  for them it's cheaper to produce and assemble than a worm drive as it involves mainly moulded components which can easily be assembled on a jig and allows certain normal (to our mind) tolerances to be avoided.  The problem with it is that it requires some development time and attention to get it right - from design right through to assembly and if you're working to a restricted budget the factory's immediate customer is unlikely to spare the time or money to make sure the factory get it right.  Don't forget that rRpidio have used this approach on a steam outline model and it took a lot of design effort to get the initial arrangement sorted.  

 

The difference would seem to be that DJ neither properly understood what the factory was doing nor did he bother to make sure it was done right before he passed the results on to his customers.  Interestingly according to reports  from people testing them the EFE 'J94' does not suffer the problems of the DJM gearing so maybe better assembly standards are now being paid for instead of getting things knocked out at a low price?

[The Stationmaster]

10 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

They still have Job Seekers Allowance up here. 

 

They haven't switched to Universal Credit yet. Some places have as part of an experiment, but that doesn't include some parts of Merseyside. One of the reasons there is so many complaints about it is it's literally a Postcode Lottery whether you are on it or not.

 

ISTR he lived in Huyton (or Kirkby). Not exactly the most salubrious places around....

 

 

 

Jason

Dunno about any benefit claims but as far as his address is concerned it comes with an excellent view of a local 'detention facility'.

[tomparryharry]

You could well be correct, Mike. However, my 4871 model does indeed work, and appears well. As I've posted earlier, the good Captain has donated his chassis in the interest of science. It's still boxed up with the intent of an autopsy. I can't comment either in a positive manner or negative: Not enough information. 

 

What I do know, is that my  18" Austerities (3) and the 14xx work well. Something must have happened somewhere for so many models to fail a Quality Control. It might be a loss of technical overview, or plain 'I'm in charge ' bullishness that comes from being an up -and- coming 'player' . Who can tell? 

 

I don't own either a 1361, or an Adams Radial. I've never had one here, and I'm certainly don't forsee buying one, regardless of producer. I would respectfully suggest however, that people should add posts on the basis of having bought on of those models. Baying from the sidelines is, or can be, a bit counterproductive.

 

Cheers,

Ian.  

[Steamport Southport]

3 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Dunno about any benefit claims but as far as his address is concerned it comes with an excellent view of a local 'detention facility'.

 

Everton? 

 

I think I know where you mean. Same thing definitely applies then. Even less salubrious place...

 

I try to avoid that part of the city.

 

 

 

Jason

[rab]

6 hours ago, atom3624 said:

Strangest of things, I remember Indian Queens - typically 10 hours after setting off from Liverpool, about 18:30 / 19:00 in the evening, everyone drained ... heading to Newquay in the family HA Viva EDJ 278 C ... relatively small world again ...

 

Al.

Indian Queens, used to be famous locally

for it's fish and chip shop, called

the Port and Starboard.

 

I was going to apologise for going off topic,

but I suppose there is a link in that folk were

persuaded to chip in to what turned out to be

a fishy deal, and the subject of the thread has

managed to rub salt into their wounds.

(Still trying to find a link to the vinegar)

[The Stationmaster]

6 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

You could well be correct, Mike. However, my 4871 model does indeed work, and appears well. As I've posted earlier, the good Captain has donated his chassis in the interest of science. It's still boxed up with the intent of an autopsy. I can't comment either in a positive manner or negative: Not enough information. 

 

What I do know, is that my  18" Austerities (3) and the 14xx work well. Something must have happened somewhere for so many models to fail a Quality Control. It might be a loss of technical overview, or plain 'I'm in charge ' bullishness that comes from being an up -and- coming 'player' . Who can tell? 

 

I don't own either a 1361, or an Adams Radial. I've never had one here, and I'm certainly don't forsee buying one, regardless of producer. I would respectfully suggest however, that people should add posts on the basis of having bought on of those models. Baying from the sidelines is, or can be, a bit counterproductive.

 

Cheers,

Ian.  

Quite agree Ian.  I have three 1361s - one of them runs like a top grade Swiss watch, smooth as you like with virtually no noise,  a marvellous little engine.   Another is a bit noisy while the third is very noisy more so in one direction than the other but judicious lubrication might make a difference.  My Beattie Well Tank is also a very nice runner.

[Dazzler Fan]

This was inevitable.

All the pointers were there for anyone

who has seen this scenario before: Pity!

[TheSignalEngineer]

22 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

 My Beattie Well Tank is also a very nice runner.

My Beattie Well Tank runs very nicely until you give it something to pull. One coach or three wagons and it just sits there in a permanent wheelslip.

[John M Upton]

I had an O2, nice looking, ran pretty well light engine but two Bachmann Mk1's on the back and it struggled.  All show and no go....