An announcement of an announcement

[Edge]

5 minutes ago, sc2016 said:

Hopefully it may be the Class 88 that they announce but probably it will be a steam locomotive.

Yes, I too expect a class 98 from them today

 

little bit of TOPS humour there for you fine folks

[AY Mod]

1 hour ago, GlenPudzeoch said:

I was surprised not to have read here about the L&SWR B4 models scheduled on the Tower Models website here,

 

Just because you didn't read it here doesn't mean it didn't exist - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/virtual-exhibitions/wor-virtual-exhibition-part-iii

[Butler Henderson]

A very long shot but might they not announce a new tooling but incredibly they are going to tweak the OO 73s so they actually pick up power okay and will actually have accurate liveries that do not require the use of sunglasses and correctly applied lettering. 

[Steamport Southport]

More Moguls!

 

Half expected it to be honest.

[Kaput]

Not really much of an announcement considering they flat out mentioned a 2nd Mogul run with improvements when giving the recent update on the Manor

[GreenGiraffe22]

That could be the most anticlimactic announcement yet!

[Steamport Southport]

3 minutes ago, Kaput said:

Not really much of an announcement considering they flat out mentioned a 2nd Mogul run with improvements when giving the recent update on the Manor

 

Not a second run.

 

Brand new versions of a different type. It's the type that Mainline made which was the most numerous variant.

[AY Mod]

5 minutes ago, GreenGiraffe22 said:

That could be the most anticlimactic announcement yet!

 

Just because it may not be exciting for you it may be very good for a different sub-set of modellers.

 

Is this just a different flavour of 'nothing in it for me'?

[Paul.Uni]

https://www.Dapol.co.uk/New-OO-Gauge-43xx-2-6-0-Mogul

 

4S-043-008     GWR 43xx 2-6-0 Mogul 5322 Khaki

4S-043-009     GWR 43xx 2-6-0 Mogul 4321 Lined & Lettered Great Crest Western

4S-043-010     GWR 43xx 2-6-0 Mogul 5350 Great Western

4S-043-011     GWR 43xx 2-6-0 Mogul 4377 GWR Shirt Button

4S-043-012     GWR 43xx 2-6-0 Mogul 5320 GWR

4S-043-013     GWR 43xx 2-6-0 Mogul 5370 BR Lined Black Early Crest

4S-043-014     GWR 43xx 2-6-0 Mogul 5377 BR Black Early Crest

4S-043-015     GWR 43xx 2-6-0 Mogul 4358 BR Lined Green Early Crest

4S-043-016     GWR 43xx 2-6-0 Mogul 5330 BR Lined Green Late Crest

 

The recomended retail price of these models is As Follows:

DCC Ready – £167.95 DCC Fitted – £197.95 DCC Sound Fitted: £277.95

 

I can see myself getting 5322

[Verulam Central]

I fancy getting one theses glad its coming  in 2022 as i have plenty of item on preorder already this year. 

 

[Pteremy]

An excellent development. And I hope that, in the same spirit, they will do the final Collett 93xx/73xx version in due course.

[The Johnster]

There seems little reason for them not to. 

[Hilux5972]

Nice to see 5322 in khaki coming. 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

1 minute ago, Hilux5972 said:

Nice to see 5322 in khaki coming. 

 

Camouflage not that good then...

[Grovenor]

The email I got from Rails does not list any sound fitted versions, just DCC ready and fitted..

[9402 Fredrick]

7 hours ago, Grovenor said:

The email I got from Rails does not list any sound fitted versions, just DCC ready and fitted..

Cause the sound fitted ones are gonna be on Dapol's webshop only, following doing that with the Manors.

[Chris M]

Did they kind of announce they are unlikely to invest in any new tooling N because sales simply aren't good enough?  In the whole announcement N got mentioned just once and the sales manager clearly stated that they can only tool up for items that are likely to have good sales prospects. The lack of any new announcements in N suggests to me that N doesn't sell well enough for them to invest. This is not a criticism because Dapol are a business and they have to invest where they think they will get the best return on that investment but it is a great shame. As a convert from 00 to N I think N deserves to be more popular for those of us who like running main line trains in a convincing setting.

[Kaput]

Sadly its the never ending cycle, manufacturer won't make model in N due to small market making it unviable. Lack of models available in N makes people not bother with it so the market never gets bigger...

 

Not exactly helped by the time its taken to get some models to market from announcement lately. Prime examples being Dapol's Pacer that took about 7 years and didn't even actually fit the original tech specs or the Dapol Bulleid Light Pacifics that are (last I read) back on the no idea if they are actually in active development or not category.

 

Ironically Graham Farish/Bachmann seems to be (slowly) pushing the N gauge market forward by updating their tooling for better DCC compatiblity etc, just limited by the lack of production slots.

[TomE]

Dave Jones was always the driving force behind N Gauge at Dapol. Since his departure and the tie up with Lionheart their priorities have shifted, naturally as a result of different interests in the new team but I suspect mostly to stay afloat. 
 

Dapol are not a spent force in N Gauge though. They still have a reasonably solid core range which they can use to churn out the reliveries, but that range is starting to show its age and they are not innovating anymore. The DCC-less M7 revamp is a significant retrograde step.

 

Farish & Revolution are both leaving Dapol for dust when it comes to innovation & features and with Sonic, Kato & Rapido joining the party Dapol need to up their game and start taking N seriously again. 
 

Tom.

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, TomE said:

Dapol are not a spent force in N Gauge though. They still have a reasonably solid core range which they can use to churn out the reliveries, but that range is starting to show its age and they are not innovating anymore.

It's the same model they used on the 00 wagons - they keep churning them out and people keep buying - so a nice steady income even if there is difficulty in bringing new models to market.

 

For a time it felt like O was Dapol's future but they did keep dipping back into the other gauges with new models and they do still have a broad range in all scales.  Just wish they would hurry up and do the West Country - not that I am in the market any longer for one.

[truffy]

14 hours ago, TomE said:

Dapol need to up their game and start taking N seriously again. 

If what you say is true, that the driving force is no longer there, then with other competitors entering the market, some actually focused on 2mm, I’d say there’s little reason for Dapol to take N seriously. Just run the tools ‘til they’re done. Done. 

[Chris M]

15 hours ago, TomE said:

 Dapol need to up their game and start taking N seriously again. 
 

Tom.

Dapol need to run heir business like a business, which is what they appear to be doing. Regardless of anyone's favourite scale at Dapol they must use any cash they have to invest in the projects that are likely to bring them the best return on investment. If they don't then they will cease to be a viable business; its a simple as that. At the moment the 00 market has relatively high volumes and relatively low prices. The 0 market has relatively low volume but much higher prices. The tooling for an 0 model is likely to be higher than 00 but the piece cost probably isn't that much more. The N gauge market has relatively low volume together with relatively low prices and this will make it much harder to get a good return on any new investment. I would expect that tool costs for N aren't much different to 00 while piece price is just a little lower.

 

While this state remains we cannot expect Dapol to invest much, if anything, in new N gauge tooling. Luckily we have the likes of Revolution who are a completely different type of business with a totally different business plan. I still think that one day the 0 gauge market will rapidly slow. This is mainly because 0 gauge stock takes up a lot of room to store and punters will eventually run out of space. It is noticeable that there are quite often big price reductions on 0 gauge items that must have stopped moving off the shelves. On the other hand there is still quite a stream of 00 modellers moving over to 0 which keeps the market buoyant. It will be interesting to see what happens over time.

 

I must confess I am very tempted to buy a Kato 800 when they arrive. It doesn't fit my era at all but I want to encourage Kato to get more involved with the British N market.