Dapol Class 121 and 122 in OO gauge

[centraltrains]

https://www.hattons.co.uk/409793/dapol_4d_009_005_class_121_single_car_dmu_bubblecar_121027_bletchley_tmd_in_silverlink_purple_and/stockdetail.aspx

 

Were the wipers really purple??

[metropolitan cammell]

https://www.railcar.co.uk/images/1872

 

The wiper arms were purple at least.

Edited May 10, 2019 by metropolitan cammell

[meatloaf]

Ive just received the sheets with the destination blinds and headcode number son them. Are they adhesive or do I have to open the model up to fit them?

[meatloaf]

On ‎23‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 18:48, tractor_37260 said:

 

 

Question re the supplied destination blinds - are they self adhesive ?  to be fitted to the front faces of the boxes ? 

 

 

Did you find this out. Mine came today and they don't seem sticky. Do they fit inside the bodyshell or on the outside of the body?

[dibber25]

12 hours ago, meatloaf said:

Did you find this out. Mine came today and they don't seem sticky. Do they fit inside the bodyshell or on the outside of the body?

From memory, they are decals. I reckon that 121 destinations in the centre windscreen look better fitted inside but access is not particularly easy. Headcodes and 122 destinations would have to be fitted from outside as there's no access into the roof lighting, which in any case is plastic lighting ducts so there is no 'inside'. (CJL)

[rembrow]

On 14/05/2019 at 16:01, meatloaf said:

Ive just received the sheets with the destination blinds and headcode number son them. Are they adhesive or do I have to open the model up to fit them?

Hi, did you have to buy these from DCC Supplies?. I ask as I've just received the BR green syp version 55006 class 122 of the new batch and despite the instructions stating decals were included, they were missing. I've spoken to the retailer and then to Dapol, who both advised that the spec for this latest release batch was changed from the earlier run, and decals were not supplied, although the instructions weren't amended to reflect  this and the model is not pre fitted with destination names or reporting codes.

Edited June 20, 2019 by rembrow
Spelling corrections

[Max Legroom]

3 hours ago, rembrow said:

Hi, did you have to buy these from DCC Supplies?. I ask as I've just received the BR green syp version 55006 class 122 of the new batch and despite the instructions stating decals were included, they were missing. I've spoken to the retailer and then to Dapol, who both advised that the spec for this latest release batch was changed from the earlier run, and decals were not supplied, although the instructions weren't amended to reflect  this and the model is not pre fitted with destination names or reporting codes.

I was told the same by Dapol when I queried the missing decals.

[meatloaf]

5 hours ago, rembrow said:

Hi, did you have to buy these from DCC Supplies?. I ask as I've just received the BR green syp version 55006 class 122 of the new batch and despite the instructions stating decals were included, they were missing. I've spoken to the retailer and then to Dapol, who both advised that the spec for this latest release batch was changed from the earlier run, and decals were not supplied, although the instructions weren't amended to reflect  this and the model is not pre fitted with destination names or reporting codes.

 

Yes mate they cost me a tenner from dcc supplies. 

[caradoc]

8 hours ago, rembrow said:

Hi, did you have to buy these from DCC Supplies?. I ask as I've just received the BR green syp version 55006 class 122 of the new batch and despite the instructions stating decals were included, they were missing. I've spoken to the retailer and then to Dapol, who both advised that the spec for this latest release batch was changed from the earlier run, and decals were not supplied, although the instructions weren't amended to reflect  this and the model is not pre fitted with destination names or reporting codes.

 

That's a poor show by Dapol; The model is now effectively supplied incomplete. How much would it actually cost to include the decals, compared to the hassle and expense incurred by the purchaser having to obtain some themself ?

 

[rembrow]

43 minutes ago, caradoc said:

 

That's a poor show by Dapol; The model is now effectively supplied incomplete. How much would it actually cost to include the decals, compared to the hassle and expense incurred by the purchaser having to obtain some themself ?

 

Yes, I spoke to a very terse person at Dapol who insisted it wasn't a production fault but a change to the specification. I pointed out politely that the spec from the model instructions enclosed stated that decals were included, the response was that it was an error in the instructions.

It's a shame, as I came away with the impression that Dapol are refusing to acknowledge a production error, as logic indicates that if they weren't going to include a decal sheet with a number of destination options and reporting codes, they would have printed one option on to the model, not supplied a model with two lit up perspex windows at each end. The person I spoke to even suggested it was easy for the buyer to print the destinations on their PC printer. 

[caradoc]

If the instruction sheet states that decals are included when they are not, could Dapol fall foul of Trading Standards regulations ? In any case, having produced decal sheets previously, how difficult would it have been to continue providing them, or just send some to anyone who raises the issue ? Not that it affects me now anyway; I had intended to buy the BR blue M55003, but not with an upside down W masquerading as an M !

[eagle50043]

After reading bits of this topic and looking at pics i see that they do not even have destinaton blinds !

this is poor ! was tempted by the Midline one, not now....

[Covkid]

On 20/06/2019 at 21:01, caradoc said:

 

That's a poor show by Dapol; The model is now effectively supplied incomplete. How much would it actually cost to include the decals, compared to the hassle and expense incurred by the purchaser having to obtain some themself ?

 

 

On 20/06/2019 at 21:54, rembrow said:

Yes, I spoke to a very terse person at Dapol who insisted it wasn't a production fault but a change to the specification. I pointed out politely that the spec from the model instructions enclosed stated that decals were included, the response was that it was an error in the instructions.

It's a shame, as I came away with the impression that Dapol are refusing to acknowledge a production error, as logic indicates that if they weren't going to include a decal sheet with a number of destination options and reporting codes, they would have printed one option on to the model, not supplied a model with two lit up perspex windows at each end. The person I spoke to even suggested it was easy for the buyer to print the destinations on their PC printer. 

 

On 21/06/2019 at 09:39, caradoc said:

If the instruction sheet states that decals are included when they are not, could Dapol fall foul of Trading Standards regulations ? In any case, having produced decal sheets previously, how difficult would it have been to continue providing them, or just send some to anyone who raises the issue ? Not that it affects me now anyway; I had intended to buy the BR blue M55003, but not with an upside down W masquerading as an M !

 

Have to say that is poor customer service from Dapol, and is at odds with my experiences of the company. I have found the friendly service in the shop, and on the phone to be helpful and nice.

 

Wonder if the "terse" person was having an off day, but it would cost practically nothing for Dapol to have popped one in the post - leading to you perhaps buying more from them in the future.  That is how good customer service works.   

[Welsh Signaller]

A BR Green, and BR Blue/Grey example where on display at Telford looking very nice indeed, expected prior to Xmas to.

[Simon Moore]

I've just got one of the Arriva bubble cars & it's got serious issue with the drive train. The bogie nearest the motor has wheels turning very slowly whilst the rear bogie is turning at the correct speed when the controller is turned up.

 

Has anyone else experienced this & what did they do to fix it?

[adb968008]

8 hours ago, Rhb Simon said:

I've just got one of the Arriva bubble cars & it's got serious issue with the drive train. The bogie nearest the motor has wheels turning very slowly whilst the rear bogie is turning at the correct speed when the controller is turned up.

 

Has anyone else experienced this & what did they do to fix it?

Page 38...

 

I dismantled these and investigated, best solution (being its only a 1 car dmu) is remove one of the drive shafts out of the motor, there’s a massive performance improvement.

 

[Sails]

On 26/01/2013 at 20:02, Dungrange said:

(see http://www.scot-rail.co.uk/page/Class+122 - half way down the page, "A former Class 121 Pressed Steel single-car 960011 (vehicle 977859) in Railtrack livery visited Scotland in 2001 and 2002, while in use as a video survey unit.")

 

 

 

I've been trying to find out exactly what the Railtrack  121's actually did and this is the first note I have found on the type of work done, but can anyone else expand and add a some more tot he type of work they carried out?

 

Mark

[RBC]

On 20/06/2019 at 21:01, caradoc said:

 

That's a poor show by Dapol; The model is now effectively supplied incomplete. How much would it actually cost to include the decals, compared to the hassle and expense incurred by the purchaser having to obtain some themself ?

 

 

Edited December 12, 2019 by RBC

[RBC]

On 04/01/2018 at 12:45, adb968008 said:

To follow up on yesterday’s posts, today I’ve done some performance testing.
For this I have used my silly gradient... as this seeks to show not just speed, but acceleration performance too.

To start with, here is a video of the chassis I modified above, and a GW 121 behind which is unmodified, This is a standing start on a gradient. The unmodified unit is drawing 0.4amp, the modified draws 0.2amp =0.6amp approx which on a 1amp Controller, with line losses is close to but not at its max. (Two unmodified units drawing 0.8amp are both negatively impacted in speed even more so and wouldn’t climb this hill as it was beyond the power available from the controller).
 

 

The next video shows both 121’s modified, you can see that they are now both very closely aligned, the GW unit ever so slightly out performs the blue grey unit, although they look it, they are not coupled together in this video.

 

 

 

 

 

They are both drawing approx 0.2amps, with a single gear shaft (0.4amp approx total) and are in line with (but still at the higher end) of UK industry norms for consumption, but allow speed and performance of the motors to reach there max, which is a much more realistic top speed.
Here is a standing start video, showing realistic control is still possible (this unit is maxing at 70% on the controller, not full speed) so probably 0.15amps. And could go faster, but is more than double it’s original speed before the shaft was removed.

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst increased speed isn’t to everyone’s taste and some are probably ok with performance being less than other locos on their layout, it is worth considering that the 2 shafts, and their torque is using considerably more power, than 1, whilst the unit is going slower, to achieve a higher speed the motor is working much harder, which could impact the life of the motor.


Here’s a few pictures how to modify the unit (bear in mind it’s your own choice todo so, and is probably outside warranty, even if, in my opinion it’s a better result).

1. Body removal is straight forwards, it just up clips, either side at either end, i’d Start with the open end, as the guards van end has exhaust pipes that sit just under the chassis your removing, and this way you can slide it slightly away from the cab.



Fortunately the screws you need to remove are all different sizes throughout this exercise, so just keep the count correct..1 bogie retainer, 1 pcb retainer, 2 gearbox retainers, 4 seat retainers.

2. 4 screws hold the seats on, these are straight forwards to remove and the seats lift straight off.

3. Remove the bogie retaining screw, and the pcb retainer

4. Slide the bogie side to side (don’t lower it out at is stage) and undo the two gearbox retaining screws..

5. The bogie now has movement in all directions, hold it with the frame and flip it sideways, I used the smallest screw in My jewellers screwdriver set to unclipped the gearbox cover and flip it upwards towards the chassis. (Flip the whole chassi/bogie over and repeat for the other side, again don’t let the bogie drop out, it’s still connected by the pickups).

Worm exposed

6. Using a small screwdriver, slide up the plastic cover that protects the pickups.

7. Finally, lift the pcb cover, approx 4mm above the chassis, and now for the greasy bit, using your fingers, or tweezers to pull out the worm/shaft, if it doesn’t immediately move, turn the worm or lift the pcb a little higher, it’s loose fit.


8. Reassemble again, in reverse order, slide the plastic cover back over the gearbox (it sits inside the pickups, so sometime you need to tweak the pickup ends out a little, then snap fit the gearbox lid, turn it right way up, add the pcb screw (the smallest screw you have),then the two gear box retainers, then the fat stubby screw to hold the bogie, add the seats and their 4 screws, finally add the body, starting with the guards van end, and sliding the exhausts under the frame, beware of the tail lamp irons, and finally snap it back together.

 

 

I also had a stuttering/grinding Class 122 which I've now sorted out thanks to following the above instructions.

Although a bit wary at first, by taking my time I finally got there without breaking or damaging something which is good going for me.

Like others have said the running is like night and day.

A great thread/article.

 

[BJMorley]

Sorry to bump this thread up again, but Im considering purchasing the Midline 121 55033 from Hattons. From the information provided on the listing, it states:

 

Quote

Please note that this model does not require destination blind/headcode decals. The instructions included that reference the decal sheet are generic to all versions of the Class 121.

 

Can someone confirm to me if it is the case that the decals are not provided, and if so, where I could get some from?  The photo on page 43, and photos here and here show a destination blind box either with a blind or rolled to white as in it's later period of operation, so if they do that would be grand.

Thanks,

Brandon.

[08221]

5 hours ago, BJMorley said:

Sorry to bump this thread up again, but Im considering purchasing the Midline 121 55033 from Hattons. From the information provided on the listing, it states:

 

 

Can someone confirm to me if it is the case that the decals are not provided, and if so, where I could get some from?  The photo on page 43, and photos here and here show a destination blind box either with a blind or rolled to white as in it's later period of operation, so if they do that would be grand.

Thanks,

Brandon.

Hi Brandon.

 

l bought a midline 121 and it did not include any destination blind decals.

 

Made my own up using MS Word and my laserjet printer.

 

Its a lovely model, runs well and the livery is very well done.

 

Happy modelling.

[BJMorley]

Thanks! That's a really good idea.

 

Brandon.

 

[Barry Ten]

On 18/07/2018 at 13:41, metropolitan cammell said:

It only needs 5 functions front/rear marker lights, front/rear cab light and carriage lighting.

 

The problem with the Bachmann decoder is the logic levels are wrong on the function output for the carriage lighting.

 

Wish I'd seen this post before wasting several hours  today taking the body on and off, cleaning the contacts, trying all the micro-switches on the chassis etc.

 

May I ask (if anyone knows) if this is a fault with the Bachmann 21 pin decoder or a quirk of the Dapol wiring?

[geoffers]

I installed a Zimo MX638D 21-pin in my Class 121 and after advice on this forum changed logic level from 4 to 3 on CV8. Voila all light functions worked.

[Barry Ten]

Thanks, Geoffers. Mine is a Bachmann 21 pin so I will see if a similar CV8 adjustment is feasible.