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DJModels announce new models in N, OO and O


Andy Y

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No, it doesn't matter if a new model takes 2 or three years to be available. However, it's a little disappointing not to have seen more progress on some of the models. According to Dave's website the N Gauge J94, class 17 and 23 were approved for tooling to commence in May 2014 yet we've yet to see much evidence of progress.

 

Dave, can you give up an update on all your projects? Which are still at CAD stage and which now have tooling available?

 

Happy modelling.

 

Steven B.

As Dave has stated previously, the J94 tooling was finished and then he wasn't happy with it so he scrapped it and started again.

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"BigAndy" said:

Does it really, i mean REALLY matter if a project takes one, two or even three years to hit the shelves?

 

 

No it doesn't. But ask yourself: Why are these people are making these announcements so early? What's actually to gain? From what I've seen, the get in quick anti-duplicate argument has now been demolished several times over. The benefit of reflected glory on the announcer now goes sour quickly and the worm is turning if you read the Bachmann tube stock thread. Just look at the flack here... But let's be realistic and say if you announce stuff, at least give regular updates or explanation until it arrives. I think that's all what most people want.

 

 

"stewartingram" said:

Invisible ink again? Dave has posted many times, lots of hidden progress but little in the way of tangible things to report. Tooling is a money pit, and Dave is a one-man-business who has mortgaged his home to set it up. Therefore cashflow is needed to progress.anything. Whatever happenned to patience?

 

 

It IS invisible ink, Stewart! Not everyone is on this forum or can be bothered to search through the various threads. I've said before, this cash flow 'one funds the next' funding system needs to be on the manufacturer's website so it's made clear front and centre!

 

Others are asking about priorities and order of production. I made a list some time back:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/75838-djmodels-announce-new-models-in-n-oo-and-o/?p=1680218

 

How about DJModels putting these in order of proposed manufacture at the very least, without any dates, so that we can at least tick them off as we get to our own particular 'most wanted'. That would be a proper timeline.

 

BTW, by last count, only 27 days until the J94 arrives....

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As Dave has stated previously, the J94 tooling was finished and then he wasn't happy with it so he scrapped it and started again.

To be fair,

 

No one can afford to scrap tooling, and I would caution anyone that believes this goes on no matter what is claimed. After all it's £100k + in investment thrown away, and as such, if carried out makes the model that comes from 'new' tooling UN viable financially in the long run.

 

For me, I paid for the tooling to get modified, ( easily put, it was re soldered in parts or areas to allow for corrective spark eroding to change details I wasn't happy with). It costs but it's not a new tooling cost.

 

Hope this helps?

Cheers

Dave

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Hi Dave, i found your last post both interesting and informative. I think it is good to know that a manufacturer (you) is taking the time, effort and finding the cash to make changes to the tooling to make the product more accurate. I do hope it will result in more people buying it, therefore covering the extra costs.

ColinK

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Probably because the LNER had thousands of (compared to today) cheap highly skilled workers working for them, and a vast resource industry to support them all........

 

You can do anything with money and resources.

The Steamliners were funded using tax relief from the Govt to stimulate the economy, my Grandfather was a boilersmith at "The Plant" . Silver Link was fondly remembered by Mother,  after many years of hardship  GF went from short time working to flat out 7 days a week on the erection of the A4s

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I didn't think that the J94 had a tender to lay down.

;-)

 

G

 

Only the one that was rebuilt into a tender engine because one of the Southern preserved railways thought a saddletank wasn't a proper engine....

 

Les

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 one of the Southern preserved railways thought a saddletank wasn't a proper engine.... 

 

Les

 

I guess they'd be right in thinking it was a horse - after all you saddle them and they also need breaking in.

:-) 

 

G.

 

'

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Harping back to the progress reporting issue Dave - what may make your life a whole lot easier and satisfy most, is the format used by Hattons in their multi-page mag adverts, which is just an Excel spreadsheet (other spreadsheets are available), separated into marques and gauges, with categories indicating the current stage of development of each model. Although there would be an initial effort to produce this, subsequent updates would be a piece of ....quite easy and straightforward (and actually a very good business tool for you as your business grows).

 

It doesn't actually tell anyone any more than you already do, but it gives the appearance of doing so, and doing it regularly (even though hardly anything on it changes from month to month)!

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I travel on the Cambridge line a couple of times a week. I'd say that 50% of the down journeys still use the ladder crossing to weave over the ECML, not the flyover. I have no idea why this is - I would have thought it would be a much better idea to use the flyover all the time - but it does make me wonder just how important this scheme was. So maybe all those knock-backs were the right decisions?

 

Paul

 

There's been a very noticeable reduction in EC trains, in both directions, being checked on approach to Hitchin since the flyover was opened. Particularly on the 'fast' xx:00 York non-stops, which more often than not were checked for a Cambridge departing Hitchin just ahead.

 

In the case of some of the other knocked-back improvement schemes, it's not without good reason that Woolmer Green's often referred to as Woolmer Yellows . (north end of the Welwyn double-track)

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  • 1 month later...

To be fair,

 

No one can afford to scrap tooling, and I would caution anyone that believes this goes on no matter what is claimed. After all it's £100k + in investment thrown away, and as such, if carried out makes the model that comes from 'new' tooling UN viable financially in the long run.

 

For me, I paid for the tooling to get modified, ( easily put, it was re soldered in parts or areas to allow for corrective spark eroding to change details I wasn't happy with). It costs but it's not a new tooling cost.

 

Hope this helps?

Cheers

Dave

Hi Dave, :)

 

That info is helpful and enlightens those poor lost souls in the dark and awaiting initiation/enlightenment  :)

 

Seriously useful comments and Post, and therefore it is all the more important for manufacturers to measure twice, or three, times and cut (or cast/mould) once :derisive:

 

Keep up the good works.

 

Kindest,

 

CME :)

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I wonder if I might put my own point of view?

 

I might well be interested in any new 7mm model locos that are appropriate to the London end of the ECML - subject to their accuracy and running qualities.

 

I am NOT interested in early announcements, progress reports, updates, promises, discussions of the trials and tribulations of suppliers, factories, pre-ordering etc etc etc. All this is beside the point for me and may result in as much of a tangible model as the once rumoured Hornby Dublo V2 (back in the sixties)!

 

When I can see a model in a shop or on a trader's stand and watch it moving under power THEN I am interested. I have three of Ixion's excellent models (the Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST, the Fowler 0-4-0 diesel and the On30 coffee pot/railcar thingy - although that last is for a different layout). They have shown the way - announce, produce, deliver, sell.

 

Chaz

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I wonder if I might put my own point of view?

 

I might well be interested in any new 7mm model locos that are appropriate to the London end of the ECML - subject to their accuracy and running qualities.

 

I am NOT interested in early announcements, progress reports, updates, promises, discussions of the trials and tribulations of suppliers, factories, pre-ordering etc etc etc. All this is beside the point for me and may result in as much of a tangible model as the once rumoured Hornby Dublo V2 (back in the sixties)!

 

When I can see a model in a shop or on a trader's stand and watch it moving under power THEN I am interested. I have three of Ixion's excellent models (the Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST, the Fowler 0-4-0 diesel and the On30 coffee pot/railcar thingy - although that last is for a different layout). They have shown the way - announce, produce, deliver, sell.

 

Chaz

 

If not interested in these announcements etc, might I ask why you are bothering to read them?   Others like to know what is going on, in my case because I'm interested in buying some of them, but I will admit to it being partly nosiness......

 

All the very best

Les

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I wonder if I might put my own point of view?

 

I might well be interested in any new 7mm model locos that are appropriate to the London end of the ECML - subject to their accuracy and running qualities.

 

I am NOT interested in early announcements, progress reports, updates, promises, discussions of the trials and tribulations of suppliers, factories, pre-ordering etc etc etc. All this is beside the point for me and may result in as much of a tangible model as the once rumoured Hornby Dublo V2 (back in the sixties)!

 

When I can see a model in a shop or on a trader's stand and watch it moving under power THEN I am interested. I have three of Ixion's excellent models (the Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST, the Fowler 0-4-0 diesel and the On30 coffee pot/railcar thingy - although that last is for a different layout). They have shown the way - announce, produce, deliver, sell.

 

Chaz

So, if a model is only available by pre-ordering it, you will not be obtaining one, even if it is something you have been wanting for the past fifty years.

 

Fine. It's your hobby, and you should enjoy it in your own way.

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If not interested in these announcements etc, might I ask why you are bothering to read them?   Others like to know what is going on, in my case because I'm interested in buying some of them, but I will admit to it being partly nosiness......

 

All the very best

Les

 

Once I see what they are I don't "bother to read them" Les. I looked at this thread this morning simply to see if any of the models are out yet.  But I don't say that the thread can't continue as it has since it started for, as you say "others like to know what is going on". Nothing wrong with that. But I feel much the same as I do about the interminable wish-lists that infest parts of RMweb - rather pointless and a bit tedious. I am only expressing my own viewpoint - you are free to disagree.

 

Chaz

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So, if a model is only available by pre-ordering it, you will not be obtaining one, even if it is something you have been wanting for the past fifty years.

 

Fine. It's your hobby, and you should enjoy it in your own way.

 

Quite so. If I had been wanting it for that long (since I was sixteen!) I would have made it myself by now.

 

I wouldn't buy anything sight unseen. I see lots of post on RMweb which criticise RTR models for inaccuracy, poor running etc - it seems right to me to wait and see what the quality is like before parting with money. How will you feel if, having pre-ordered a model - which I presume means paying up-front, it arrives and you are disappointed?   No - if numbers made are limited and I were to miss out by waiting - c'est la vie.

 

I would very much like a 7mm Baby Deltic (which was one of the models on the DJModels list) - a diesel I used to watch a lot when I was a kid in short trousers - but I'm not going to invest either money or an active interest until I can see one for real. It has got to look convincing and run well - then I will buy one. If it falls short I won't be moaning about it on RMweb but neither will I have wasted money on something I am disappointed with. D8025, D5052 and D5612 will suffice.

 

This is my view, which you are at liberty to disagree with. Nothing wrong with that, as you say "It's your hobby, and you should enjoy it in your own way." I do.

 

ATB

 

Chaz

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How will you feel if, having pre-ordered a model - which I presume means paying up-front, it arrives and you are disappointed?   No - if numbers made are limited and I were to miss out by waiting - c'est la vie.

 

Pre-ordering rarely means paying up front. Normally you only pay when the model is shipped. There are exceptions where the funds are used to actually develop the model but this funding model is still fairly rare in this country.

 

Pre-order simply means that your name is on the list and you are more likely to get your model than those who have not pre-ordered.

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How will you feel if, having pre-ordered a model - which I presume means paying up-front, it arrives and you are disappointed?   No - if numbers made are limited and I were to miss out by waiting - c'est la vie.

 

 

Hi 

 

I would be annoyed but then in some cases you need to take a chance and pre order or the model doesn't get produced. A good example of this is the Revolution Trains Pendolino. Without the people like myself pre ordering then this wouldn't be happening.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

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I would not be a model railway manufacturer for worlds. Supply information to the market place? Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

One of the first things that I quickly learned as a returnee to the hobby was that life has moved on from those childhood days when items seemed to linger in the catalogues and on the shelves year in, year out, so it could be "not this Christmas, Darling, but maybe on your birthday ...". Nowadays, if there is something that you want, pre-order it, or you'll miss out.  With limited editions and limited production runs, if you miss it, it most likely won't come round again.  No good lamenting this; it's just how it is. On the other hand, the quality and breadth of choice is unprecedented.  Punishing on the wallet, mind you, because you must try to buy everything as soon as it comes out.

 

So, as a result of this "order now, see later" policy, I have obtained mixed results:

 

  • Hornby 7200.  A good model, but with some disappointing corners cut.  During the 18 months waiting for this to hit the shops, I found a really well-built white-metal version for less, which is better than the Hornby.
  • Hornby Star, which so nearly was a "star" model.  Apart from the lack-lustre green that often afflicts Hornby's Great Western output and the fact that Margate lost count of the spokes at one point, it is marred by the awful moulded cabside handrail.
  • Hornby 700 Class.  A lovely model, only falling short of the ideal due to the horizontal handrail knob issue (that also afflicts the J15), but which I failed to notice!
  • Bachmann Locomotion GNR Atlantic, perfect  apart from the livery mistake with the splasher tops.
  • Bachmann umber E4 - which I cannot fault 

My point?  Well, these are all good-to-excellent models, and I am glad that models of these prototypes were made.  Their issues can, I find, be corrected or simply overlooked, and I would not have wanted to miss out on a single one of them.  And I would have risked missing out had I not pre-ordered.  So, je ne regrette rien.

 

Seeing before you buy is a fast disappearing luxury. But, here's the thing, of all the manufacturers I would trust to get it as right as right can reasonably be, it's DJM, and I say that without ever having possessed or seen in the flesh, a model associated with this designer.  The expectation is that standards will be higher than the market norm - this is a stated aim - and that DJM's models are less likely to disappoint than those from the Big Boys. I believe all this because of the excellent work DJM puts in making images available and factoring in feedback and criticism. So, by all means keep the announcements, updates and progress reports coming.

 

In short, I suspect it is the faithful who will receive the rewards.

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....of all the manufacturers I would trust to get it as right as right can reasonably be, it's DJM, and I say that without ever having possessed or seen in the flesh, a model associated with this designer.  The expectation is that standards will be higher than the market norm - this is a stated aim - and that DJM's models are less likely to disappoint than those from the Big Boys. I believe all this because of the excellent work DJM puts in making images available and factoring in feedback and criticism. So, by all means keep the announcements, updates and progress reports coming.

 

In short, I suspect it is the faithful who will receive the rewards.

 

I hope you are right. I would like to see another manufacturer of 7mm models enter the RTR field - The Ixion, Lionheart and Heljan RTR models have inspired several modellers to adopt O gauge who would previously not have done so. Another good manufacturer would only improve matters further. I suppose I am lucky modelling in 7mm - there is not the mad scramble to buy before stocks are exhausted that apparently bedevils 4mm.

 

I do genuinely wish DJM success. Re-read my post and you will find nothing to suggest otherwise. But I will wait until I see something tangible before I invest time or money.

 

Chaz

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