Andy Y Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 The first of Dapol's A4s have broken cover with review samples airfreighted ahead of initial stocks which should be distributed to retailers in the next week or so depending on transit/customs and could be with retailers in time for the London Festival of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace on 24th & 25th March. With an RRP of £119.95 these items fit in with comparable pricing for similarly sized locos. Initial impressions on opening the boxes of late crest, double-chimneyed 60021 'Wild Swan' and early crest, single-chimneyed 60017 'Silver Fox' are very favourable with the distinctive front end capturing the curves of the original with the boiler casing having a gentle inward taper from the shoulders downward. The big improvement above 2010's Britannia release is the blackened wheel centres and excellent matt-silvered rods and valve gear. In 2mm scale there will always be compromises with valve gear and whilst being suitably robust it looks a little bulky under such close scrutiny as these hi-resolution supersized pictures but is substantially ahead of long-in-the-tooth previous offerings. The front bogie wheels suit the front end well with the NEM pocket mounted unobtrusively. At close quarters the etched nameplates and Silver Fox crest appear a little indistinct but is perfectly satisfactory at normal viewing distances. The printing of lining, numbering and crests is to a high standard. The Cartazzi arrangement and pony truck has to be a compromise for practical usage but this works well with a pivoted frame with sideways play and a floating axle with flanged wheels. It's not fiddly to put onto the track though and should therefore not cause any problems with modellers using it upon tighter radius curves and pointwork. The body detail is crisp and clear, the wire handrails are fine under normal viewing but are possibly overscale in these cruel close-ups; any finer and I certainly think there would be fragility issues. The paint finish is a good solid rendition of Brunswick Green and strong definition between green and black. The loco has pick-ups on all driving wheels and pinpoint bearing pick-ups on all eight tender wheels. The power collection wires run from loco to tender where the super-creep motor is housed with the drive back from the motor to the driving wheels via a cardan shaft. The rear drivers have traction tyres although these aren't visually obvious at an operational distance. These pictures against a stark white background make the shaft look quite prominent whereas it's not particularly visually obtrusive when placed on a layout. Operation of the loco is very smooth and certainly on a par with 2010's Britannia release which set a high standard in this respect. There is a little noise from the drive mechanism but this is diminishing during running in. The spacing between loco and tender is overscale and with a fixed bar dictating the distance. I would expect a modeller wanting to use this model on relaxed radius curves could easily overcome this. The loco includes a spares pack with cardan shaft, long/short plug-in coupling replacements and screw-link cosmetic couplings. I'm no expert at all on the affinity to the prototype other than in basic respects but I understand Tony Wright is preparing a review for BRM which will analyse this in far greater detail in due course. Overall this is another leap forward for Dapol and certainly looks the part. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
meld Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 WOW! Take a Bow Dapol Dave, Just real glad I've just Ebay'd thh 2 Grafar and 1 Minitrix one before this arrived and killed the 'Pre-owned' market stone dead. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidw Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 N gauge isn't for me - but that's not bad! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevelewis Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 It looks very nice, I am tempted, BUT will possibly wait to get some heads up when they become available, I have just had to return another Dapol loco ( 3 weeks old) as faulty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy C Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I'm no great lover of 2mm buts that is a rather well executed model, stands close scrutiny well even under Andy's camera lens. Good one Dapol. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted March 15, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 15, 2012 That does look very nice, not something I am likely to purchase but I'm sure that they will be successful models. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karhedron Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 It looks extremely impressive. I am particularly pleased to see that Dapol have listened to feedback and painted the wheels. The name plates look a little indistinct but this could well be just the "cruel close up". In all other respects, this looks like an outstanding model. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 How small must the rivets on the smokebox front be?! This is a model which, if you didn't know it was N gauge before, you'd say was a better model than the Bachmann A4 and close in the shape and proportions stakes to the excellent Hornby model. I think Dapol have done an extremely good job of getting the subtle curves of the smokebox casing looking the part - that's where the Farish A4 doesn't quite hold up as well. The lubricator and speedo are well represented too, but on an N gauge model - how have they managed it so convincingly?! It stuns me what can be achieved in the smaller scales. Well done Dapol. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy L S Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Wow.. just one word.. stunning. The lubricator and speedo drives must be firsts for British N, who'd have thought it even five years ago? I must order one. This bodes well for the A3 which I already do have on order. Well done Dapol. Roy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60163 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 What a fantastic model! Detail really does betray it's size. It's a bit hard to believe that little beastie is merely six inches long.. I'm not a top link passenger power man, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating how well-made this loco appears to be. It'll be a treat to see them around on RMweb's layouts soon enough! I wonder when (not if!) some brave soul will fit one to 2mm finescale.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvinley Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 This does look great - looking forward to seeing one in action. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 That A4 looks cracking, I always shudder when I read the motor is housed in the tender, but to see its still loco driven is great. I'll be getting one as soon as I can afford, Greslington is crying out for an A4. Any sign of my favourite, Mallard, coming soon? Also, any news on the progress of the A3's? A BR green 60103 with deflectors is what I'm after!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmthtrains - David Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 That is seriously impressive - I wouldn't have touched any of the previous steamers due to their frankly hideous metal wheels, and this just shows why it is important to have them painted black - such an amazing difference. If the mechanism proves reliable, I will certainly be after a preserved version when Dapol get round to them - Bittern would be nice! Very good job Dapol! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TomE Posted March 15, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 15, 2012 Seriously though, thumbs up to Dapol for listening to the community and changing to blackened wheel centres. It is a 100% improvement. My resolve to wait until Bittern appears is now severely eroded! Tom. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Adam1701D Posted March 15, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 15, 2012 One word - awesome! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mallardsp126 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Hi all wow doesnt seem enough these are awsome must be the best thing Dapol have done to date worth the asking price just to sit and look at hope that they run as well as they look will be getting one or two in the near future well done to all at Dapol a big thankyou from a fan . Just hope that the Dapol bashers leave the guys alone I know that the rivet counters will find some faults may take a while as to me they just look the part so once again well done Geoff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Harbour Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Looks fantastic.... I'm not an LNER / ER person myself, but I have to admit that is seriously tempting. The only trouble is I would have nothing for it to pull... must resist... must resist... Well done Dapol, looks like another winner to me! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
krause Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Not an LNER Modeller and a too big loco for my branch line terminus, but: This looks awesome, might even get tempted - there must be a reason a loco like this goes up a branch line.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karhedron Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Any sign of my favourite, Mallard, coming soon? It is one of Dapol's first batch so I imagine it will not be too far behind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf27 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Simply stunning, hard to believe it N gauge! Reading through the above comments, what strikes me is a proportion of them are from people who dont model N gauge or dont know the prototype very well but have almost been converted by this model. If this is the new standard its enough to convince me to take up modelling this scale. Never thought I would say that. Well done Dapol. cheers Shane Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevelewis Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Simply stunning, hard to believe it N gauge! Reading through the above comments, what strikes me is a proportion of them are from people who dont model N gauge or dont know the prototype very well but have almost been converted by this model. If this is the new standard its enough to convince me to take up modelling this scale. Never thought I would say that. Well done Dapol. cheers Shane I beleive that this loco and some others which are due soon ( for example the Farish 2-8-0 WD ) will do much to attract 'NEW' N Gauge users, I have built N gauge layouts for many years (first one was around 1968, when there was very little RTR UK outline avaiable to buy,) Over the years UK N Gauge has always had the shadow of performance limitations and models not being all that accurate to contend with. However these days the new releases have done much to change this. My dilemma will be how on Earth can I use an A4 or two on the N gauge layout currently under construction in my garage which has A Southern region mainly EMU theme! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 That A4 looks cracking, I always shudder when I read the motor is housed in the tender, but to see its still loco driven is great. I'll be getting one as soon as I can afford, Greslington is crying out for an A4. Any sign of my favourite, Mallard, coming soon? Also, any news on the progress of the A3's? A BR green 60103 with deflectors is what I'm after!!! Scotsman is one of the most difficult locos to get right as it was never really a standard A3- being one of the very few with an A4 non-corridoor tender until preserved. Mallard is the Modellbahn Union special, though you could renumber a 60021 as it has the right tender for Mallard from August 1958 to May 1962 if you want a late crest green one. I believe the Modelmaster nameplate sets include the plaques. Looking forward to getting hold of a 60021 shortly, and just glad I got rid of almost all of my Farish ones last year. With A3s not far behind how will my poor wallet cope? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I must admit I thought Dapol had moved into the OO market when I first saw them. They are stunning little charmers - Just what is required for my wartime ECML layout in development, that is when they produce a pre- BR version of this model. Well done Dapol, another milestone for 'N' gauge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike J Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 These excellent photos are tempting me to get one, but I must hang on until the LNER valanced versions arrive, and concentrate on the forthcoming A3s first. Congratulations to Dapol, this is superb and my wallet will be much lighter when the pre-war stuff is released. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Al Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 The difference that more to scale wheels makes over previous models is huge and really helps the overall look - probably one of the most noticeable things to my eyes. As a modeller there's many things I'll be looking to improve - I'm not a fan of the nameplates (wrong font, letters look to stand very proud of the backing, look incorrect) - at least there are plenty of very good etched replacements about. Also the large lip around the base of the chimneys (I would hope the chimney isn't stuck on too hard so it could be removed, thinned down and re-attached), or the heavy lamp irons and large cutout in the underside vallancing for the NEM front coupler (is it really needed??). The slide bars sit very low as with the Britannia and 9F - not sure that this will be easy to improve though. The mad trencher has been out on the nose doors too! I'd probably replace the front buffers and coupling hook too with finer brass items. Interesting too that behind the A4 cylinders there appears to be a set of A3s! Common chassis components there! I like too the representation of the more complex aspects of the lubricators/valve gear on the rear wheel and the speedo drive. Both look a touch bit heavy but could be thinned down I'm sure. Overall a nice looking model, but plenty to do to turn it into a stunner... ....I wasn't planning on replacing any of my superdetailed Farish fleet, but I could now be very tempted to add to it...! Cheers, Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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