todeni Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Hi Folks, I have tried several times to log into Cooper Craft, to order a Gresley Artic set but with no luck, kept kicking me out, an e-mail and phone call has also brought no results. I wondered if anyone else has had the same problem as I would dearly like to obtain this model. read on the web site that a new machine was due to arrive so as to resume production but that you could pre order but I also found this impossible. Maybe there is a situation due to the current state in the country? Thoughts and observations welcome. Many Thanks, Stay Safe, Ian H. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted September 22, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 22, 2020 (edited) I would avoid attempting to do on-line or mail order business with that firm. For more information, see the threads about them on this site, like this one: Edited September 22, 2020 by petethemole 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted September 22, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2020 As Pete says, do not touch CooperCraft with a barge-pole, unless you find the chap exhibiting at a show - whenever those restart. Multiple bad experiences by many, many sad witnesses on here reveal a firm that simply is not run in an orderly fashion, and has sadly taken some respected brands down with it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold ikcdab Posted September 22, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2020 Very sad, but yes I feel that the business has overwhelmed the proprietor who I have met occasionally. Do not part with any money until you have the goods in your hands. Ian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted September 22, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2020 34 minutes ago, todeni said: I wondered if anyone else has had the same problem They have. You are lucky that you haven't handed money over, others have managed to order and received nothing. There is a case on here of another who pursued his outstanding debt through the courts to the point of bailiffs but the owner was well versed in how to avoid paying. The owner has refused help to turn off the website... I would keep an eye on Ebay for any Kirk kits that can be bashed into an artic set as well as Isinglass models who are 3D printing kits of LNER vehicles. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
todeni Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 Thanks for the tip Chris Ian H Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall5 Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Ian, would it be possible to edit your thread title to something like 'Kirk Coaches from Coopercraft' ? The reason that I ask is that Ian Kirk, still in business selling his 0 scale coaches, is a thoroughly trustworthy producer and I wouldn't like him to be confused with the current owner of Coopercraft. Thanks. Ray. 5 8 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
todeni Posted September 23, 2020 Author Share Posted September 23, 2020 sorry if I caused some confusion, my question related to kirk 4mm coach kits from cooper craft, apologies once again for any harm done. Hope this clears it up. Ian H. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tomlinson Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 (edited) On 22/09/2020 at 17:58, Marshall5 said: Ian, would it be possible to edit your thread title to something like 'Kirk Coaches from Coopercraft' ? The reason that I ask is that Ian Kirk, still in business selling his 0 scale coaches, is a thoroughly trustworthy producer and I wouldn't like him to be confused with the current owner of Coopercraft. Thanks. Ray. Worth adding to this that there is also an "ex-Kirk" range available from Phoenix Precision, being the Southern coaches formerly in the Kirk 4mm range, these are nothing to do with Coopercraft either. Actual Kirk coaches now from Ian Kirk are all 7mm as noted. If you are looking for a few to buy, at the moment W M Collectables has a fair range on offer secondhand, prices vary depending on item, from £25 upwards. John. Edited September 24, 2020 by John Tomlinson Phoenix Precision, not the other way round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Kirk Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. In a way flattered that people still want stuff that I produced perhaps 30 years ago now. Great pity that it has ended up as it has but the LNER range has had two perfectly satisfactory owners before ending up with the current owner. Colin Ashby in Leeds and Tony Brown in Ilford both ran the range as I would have wished to have it done. I had no say on any later sale. I sometimes wish I had held onto the range and up dated it but the main part of my business was commercial moulding and this type of work had already started to move to Asia. When I got the chance I sold up the factory (some of my machinery was bought by a gentleman from India some went to Parkside) Having first put my freight wagon kits into Parkside I sold the 4mm Coach tooling to Colin and Tony and I kept a couple of machines and the O gauge coach range I had just started to give me a little business (at that time I thought I was too young to retire) I now call it semi retirement. As someone said there is an O gauge range and they are all still available. I hope Ian H finds what he wants and does not have to pay too much for it. I have bought a few from a well known site and am amazed at the cost but I am thinking back to what I charged a long time ago. best wishes, Ian 4 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Huw Griffiths Posted October 2, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Ian Kirk said: Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. In a way flattered that people still want stuff that I produced perhaps 30 years ago now. Great pity that it has ended up as it has but the LNER range has had two perfectly satisfactory owners before ending up with the current owner. Colin Ashby in Leeds and Tony Brown in Ilford both ran the range as I would have wished to have it done. I had no say on any later sale. ... I kept a couple of machines and the O gauge coach range I had just started to give me a little business (at that time I thought I was too young to retire) I now call it semi retirement. As someone said there is an O gauge range and they are all still available. I hope Ian H finds what he wants and does not have to pay too much for it. I have bought a few from a well known site and am amazed at the cost but I am thinking back to what I charged a long time ago. best wishes, Ian Ian, I'm glad you did hold onto the O gauge stuff - if only because I've bought a few kits at shows, for hardcore "kitbashing" in some homebrew projects - and I might well get more in due course. (I'd prefer not to bore anyone with the details right now - but the prototypes of what I'm intending to build didn't look much like main line bogie coaches.) As for the "then and now" prices, I can quite believe that there's a big difference - however, it can sometimes be worth checking the "secondhand zones" in model shops. Several years back, in one well known (and thoroughly reputable) emporium, I came across a bagged "8865 LNER TRIPLET Restaurant Car Set" - a kit for a 3 coach articulated set, for the princely sum of £10. It goes without saying that I'm not expecting to see a similar deal available anywhere again - but, occasionally, bargains do appear. Needless to say, this kit quickly found its way to Cwmbran - where very little has since happened to it. Yes - I've opened the bag and had a quick look inside - before closing it up. I don't know if everything is there (quite likely is) - but I got the impression that I was getting rather a lot of kit for my money. At the time, I felt this could be an interesting learning / practice exercise - it probably still could. However, I've since purchased other items that look more likely to form the basis of projects that would sustain my interest long-term - so this one looks like going back into storage. This brings me to why I'm posting these comments: This isn't a sales pitch. I'm not worried whether or not I hold onto this kit for a while. My gut feeling is that it'll probably find its way onto a society stand at some show or other, about 5 or 10 years down the line - but I might be proved wrong on this. I'm not even sure which type of articulated set the OP is looking for - this kit is for a 3 car set - but I've also seen loads of references to "quad arts", which I suspect might be of more interest. I'm also not setting out to taunt anyone with "look at what you could have won" style garbage. There are, occasionally, bargains to be had - but finding them seems to involve a lot of looking and a lot of luck. I could also add that, even when people are in the market for new RTR, looking and luck can sometimes seem to be the order of the day - especially with a number of RTR manufacturers seeming to have gone over to a business model of shop pre-orders, with a number of (even mass market) items selling out in most places before some of us punters even get to find out that certain models exist. I hinted at this a few hours back - in a post about one shop that I always enjoy visiting. They recently happened to have several examples of a certain model in their stockroom (while some of their competitors were saying "you'll never find that" about the same model). The shop got a sale - and a delighted customer. I got a project that aligns closely with my core interests - one which is almost certain to find its way onto a forum site in due course. I won't bore you with the details - but I'm sure that lots of people here must have bought some models / kits at various times, only for them to end up lining the back of a cupboard. What I will say, though, is that I suspect that somebody probably has the desired kit - and they won't necessarily get round to building it. I just hope the OP comes across this person and is able to strike a deal that works well for both parties. Regards, Huw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Colin_McLeod Posted October 4, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 4, 2020 On 02/10/2020 at 21:47, Ian Kirk said: Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. In a way flattered that people still want stuff that I produced perhaps 30 years ago now. Great pity that it has ended up as it has but the LNER range has had two perfectly satisfactory owners before ending up with the current owner. Colin Ashby in Leeds and Tony Brown in Ilford both ran the range as I would have wished to have it done. I had no say on any later sale. I sometimes wish I had held onto the range and up dated it but the main part of my business was commercial moulding and this type of work had already started to move to Asia. When I got the chance I sold up the factory (some of my machinery was bought by a gentleman from India some went to Parkside) Having first put my freight wagon kits into Parkside I sold the 4mm Coach tooling to Colin and Tony and I kept a couple of machines and the O gauge coach range I had just started to give me a little business (at that time I thought I was too young to retire) I now call it semi retirement. As someone said there is an O gauge range and they are all still available. I hope Ian H finds what he wants and does not have to pay too much for it. I have bought a few from a well known site and am amazed at the cost but I am thinking back to what I charged a long time ago. best wishes, Ian Hi Ian Slightly OT but on the subject of your disposing of kit, I recall driving to Scotland with the other members* of "Model Irish Railways" to collect a white metal molding machine and some MIR moulds. That machine did some sterling work in my garage until I moved to Cork, when it then went to Edgar's place. Most of the MIR kits have now been replaced in the market with RTR from "Murphy Models" and "Irish Railway Models". * Ian McNally, Edgar O'Donnell, Brian Dorian and Gerry Healey. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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