Kernow OO gauge LSWR Road Van

[Wickham Green]

They're still shown as expected in 2019 .................. 

[cabbie37]

I asked at the Kernow stand at the Stevenage show yesterday if there was a more up to date release date for these and was given a shake of the head and a rather terse 'No'. When I pressed a little, I just got the same response. I think I was more disappointed by the style of response than the lack of any date...

[No Decorum]

1 hour ago, cabbie37 said:

I asked at the Kernow stand at the Stevenage show yesterday if there was a more up to date release date for these and was given a shake of the head and a rather terse 'No'. When I pressed a little, I just got the same response. I think I was more disappointed by the style of response than the lack of any date...

Perhaps fed up with people asking!

[cabbie37]

I suppose as I have never asked before and asked politely, I guess I just expected a slightly more polite and constructive response...

[RichardLong]

6 hours ago, No Decorum said:

Perhaps fed up with people asking!

 

To be fair, if they posted an update with an honest assessment of where they're at and how much longer things might take (and whether the vehicles are ever likely to appear at all) people might stop asking for a while.

[Wickham Green]

.......... and an assertion that they're going to be the right colour, p'raps !!?!

[cctransuk]

15 hours ago, RichardLong said:

 

To be fair, if they posted an update with an honest assessment of where they're at and how much longer things might take (and whether the vehicles are ever likely to appear at all) people might stop asking for a while.

 

I don't understand this obsession with knowing "where they're at and how much longer things might take (and whether the vehicles are ever likely to appear at all)".

 

Models arrive when they are released, and not before; knowing will not make them arrive sooner.

 

.... and before someone tells me that there is a limit to how long they'll wait for a model - they can cancel their pre-order at any time.

 

Place your pre-order and then forget it; do something constructive in the meantime.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[woodenhead]

39 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

I don't understand this obsession with knowing "where they're at and how much longer things might take (and whether the vehicles are ever likely to appear at all)".

 

Models arrive when they are released, and not before; knowing will not make them arrive sooner.

 

.... and before someone tells me that there is a limit to how long they'll wait for a model - they can cancel their pre-order at any time.

 

Place your pre-order and then forget it; do something constructive in the meantime.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

But Kernow took some pre-payments on these models to lock in a price otherwise those who just pre-ordered would take the risk of a price rise.

 

If I'd paid for a wagon I'd like to know when to expect it, it does put a different slant when funds have been taken.  Although perhaps the numbers taking up this option have been low if the wagon still hasn't seen any visible development since.

 

http://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/pg-148-LSWR-Road-Van

[Wickham Green]

I think we're now getting to the stage where "whether the vehicles are ever likely to appear at all" is pertinent.

 

Those of us who have - or are planning - a layout will always have certain targets in mind and if one of those target is a goods train with a Road Van brake we have a 'right' to know when or if that vehicle might actually appear ......... not least so that we can make a decision whether to opt for a 'second best' LSWR brake van that - as it happens - we might have to end up repainting. ( Sorry I'd use 'Methfix' transfers if I had to go down that route.)

[JohnR]

And to think that some people were complaining that Rails' ex-SECR van was taking too long to come out?

 

Which makes me think, why dont Kernow go down the same route technology wise?

[Wickham Green]

1 hour ago, JohnR said:

And to think that some people were complaining that Rails' ex-SECR van was taking too long to come out?

 

Which makes me think, why dont Kernow go down the same route technology wise?

Probably because the technology hadn't been invented back in whenever ................. but, seriously, the Road Van should appeal to a far bigger market and 3D printing may well not cope with the demand !!?!

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, JohnR said:

And to think that some people were complaining that Rails' ex-SECR van was taking too long to come out?

 

Which makes me think, why dont Kernow go down the same route technology wise?

Because at the moment I would think because 'Rails' own it, it's their innovation, not sure if Dapol are involved in production or just the paint and lettering finishing.

 

Rails have devised a new way of doing things, rather like Sony and Blu-ray (another thread!!), whether Rails share that knowledge will be down to them.  I guess Kernow could go down the same route, but they will need to find someone with the necessary equipment and plus the investment.

[JohnR]

41 minutes ago, Wickham Green said:

Probably because the technology hadn't been invented back in whenever ................. but, seriously, the Road Van should appeal to a far bigger market and 3D printing may well not cope with the demand !!?!

 

I appreciate they couldnt have done in back in 2013! But I presume that they have done their research, and have some drawings - maybe they could accelerate this to market by using the new technique?

[cctransuk]

2 hours ago, Wickham Green said:

I think we're now getting to the stage where "whether the vehicles are ever likely to appear at all" is pertinent.

 

Those of us who have - or are planning - a layout will always have certain targets in mind and if one of those target is a goods train with a Road Van brake we have a 'right' to know when or if that vehicle might actually appear ......... not least so that we can make a decision whether to opt for a 'second best' LSWR brake van that - as it happens - we might have to end up repainting. ( Sorry I'd use 'Methfix' transfers if I had to go down that route.)

 

I refuse to believe that the decision whether to build a particular layout is dependent on the availability or otherwise of a particular road van.

 

.... and as for a 'right' to know; where on earth did you get that idea from? What Kernow choose to divulge is entirely their own business.

 

Transfers for a 'second best' LSWR brake van wouldn't come from me - I produce BR-era transfers, and I don't and won't be covering either the first or second-best to which you refer.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[cctransuk]

2 hours ago, woodenhead said:

But Kernow took some pre-payments on these models to lock in a price otherwise those who just pre-ordered would take the risk of a price rise.

 

Think of it this way - having 'locked-in' the price at historic levels, the longer it takes to arrive, the greater the saving !!

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[Nile]

3 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Because at the moment I would think because 'Rails' own it, it's their innovation, not sure if Dapol are involved in production or just the paint and lettering finishing.

 

Rails have devised a new way of doing things, rather like Sony and Blu-ray (another thread!!), whether Rails share that knowledge will be down to them.  I guess Kernow could go down the same route, but they will need to find someone with the necessary equipment and plus the investment.

Are you suggesting that Rails has some sort of exclusivity agreement with the printer company that prevents them making railway models for another customer?

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, Nile said:

Are you suggesting that Rails has some sort of exclusivity agreement with the printer company that prevents them making railway models for another customer?

I'm not saying they do, but they might hold a patent on the process if it hasn't been done before, it would certainly make business sense to do so,

 

What would you do if you were doing something no-one else is, hasn't been done before and will give a competitive edge?

[Gwiwer]

With regards to the Road Van this, along with other Kernow announcements, has been the victim of circumstance and of the exit from the marketplace of their one-time partner in the project.  I don't doubt it will appear.  I had no doubt the D6xx would appear which also suffered similarly.  They eventually did so.  The wait may well have been too long for some but in the interim other prospective purchasers have taken their place and the models have sold rather well judging by the additional loco produced at short notice and the sell-out of at least two.  The Road Van will be here.  Just nowhere near as quickly as anyone would have hoped.  

[Graham_Muz]

I am confident of a number of things: firstly they will arrive when they arrive (trust me) and secondly they will be the correct colour. 

[RichardLong]

8 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

I don't understand this obsession with knowing "where they're at and how much longer things might take (and whether the vehicles are ever likely to appear at all)".

 

Models arrive when they are released, and not before; knowing will not make them arrive sooner.

 

.... and before someone tells me that there is a limit to how long they'll wait for a model - they can cancel their pre-order at any time.

 

Place your pre-order and then forget it; do something constructive in the meantime.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

 

I'm not disagreeing with any of this.  I placed my order, for four of them, when they were announced and I have been waiting patiently, while doing plenty of constructive things, for the past five years or more.  If they come one day that'll be great and if they never come it won't be the end of the world.

 

However, I was responding to someone else's suggestion that they might be tired of people asking for progress reports.  I have not chased-them up myself but I can't help thinking that if they gave an update that might well stop people from doing so (not to mention that it would also be good customer service).  I'm not going to cancel my order and I am prepared to wait patiently but it would be nice all the same to know if the model is likely to appear in the next year or so, or whether it remains on the back-burner for the foreseeable future.

 

 

[spamcan61]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

I'm not saying they do, but they might hold a patent on the process if it hasn't been done before, it would certainly make business sense to do so,

 

What would you do if you were doing something no-one else is, hasn't been done before and will give a competitive edge?

Surely any patent would be applied for by the actual manufacturer, not Rails, unless they claim all IPR for their commission, in which case that was very well negotiated by Rails.

 

Really clever stuff is often not patented, because that puts one's invention in the public domain, although that is a high risk strategy.

[JohnR]

My point, really, is that the 3D print tech that Rails have used, seems ideally suited to pre-group wagons. Short runs are possible, while still recouping investment. Production time is potentially much quicker too.

[Wickham Green]

18 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

I refuse to believe that the decision whether to build a particular layout is dependent on the availability or otherwise of a particular road van. ....................

Of course not - but if someone's invested lots of dosh in a suitable locomotive and rake of wagons in the aeons since they put their name down for a brakevan to complete their train, they can only feel peeved if they're not being told when ( if ) it's going to appear.

[cctransuk]

1 hour ago, Wickham Green said:

Of course not - but if someone's invested lots of dosh in a suitable locomotive and rake of wagons in the aeons since they put their name down for a brakevan to complete their train, they can only feel peeved if they're not being told when ( if ) it's going to appear.

 

If that were to be the case, perhaps; but I can't imagine that many modellers base their locomotive and several wagon purchases on the announcement of a particular brakevan. Even if they did, the varied allocation of brakevans on a daily basis means that the temporary (?) substitution of a 'place-holder' van would not be unprototypical.

 

It all seems a lot of unwarranted fuss over a brakevan - and if it IS essential, I built the larger LSWR road van, in balsa, on my office desk at lunchtime in the early 1970s. I'm sure that a drawing of the one that Kernow have announced will be available in the appropriate SR wagon book, so a bit of leisurely modelling could render all this heart-rending over the RTR model totally redundant.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[Wickham Green]

But why on earth should anyone faff about building one at lunchtime IF the - no doubt superior - one might land on their doormat the next day ? ............ particularly as they may well have other projects - to scratch or kit build - that they'd rather spend the time on : wagons - or whatever - that HAVEN'T been promised by the trade ( yet ).