ICI Hoppers from Hatton's in Partnership with Oxford Rail

[Hattons Dave]

Hi all,

To confirm, these are still being developed and work is progressing. The current state of play is that we received the design cells for the colour layouts yesterday, and these will be worked on over the next couple of weeks.

 

We're still awaiting a First sample from the tooling from Oxford - we were told that these would be with us in September or October however as of yet these aren't with us.

 

The Warwells are a separately managed project hence the availability of timescales etc (which differ from those with Oxford) however we will have something to show regarding the ICI Hoppers in the next few weeks - definitely colour layout, and hopefully a first EP.

Cheers,

Dave

 

(The following are, as previously, amalgamations of parts and do not represent actual samples being made. We'll be chopping and changing these to reflect specific details correct for each individual wagon as part of the colour layout development process)

 

 

[Hattons Dave]

Hi all,

We've now completed the colour layouts for these and all twenty are available for review below. As opposed to previous uploads, each image has the correct detailing differences accommodated in the drawing.

 

I'll post the full colour layouts for review this afternoon - I've put these up first to give a general impression of the vehicles.

 

The weathered samples will feature additional weathering to that on the images, the 'rust' colours are just a base colour to apply additional detailed weathering to.

 

Any comments, as ever, let me know!

 

All hoppers are available to pre-order Here.

Cheers,

Dave

 

[Hattons Dave]

Hi all,

As promised, here's the full colour layout diagrams of the above for your perusal.

 

Cheers,

Dave

 

[slg]

Looking good so far and looking forward to seeing a sample model!

[pharrc20]

Looking good Dave... but please, please check the running number, ICI letters and bogie combinations carefully as there are still errors. Whilst some modeller's may not know them other modeller's will be more familiar with these iconic wagons and it would be such a shame to see the model spoilt by simple errors.

Paul

[Hattons Dave]

Looking good Dave... but please, please check the running number, ICI letters and bogie combinations carefully as there are still errors. Whilst some modeller's may not know them other modeller's will be more familiar with these iconic wagons and it would be such a shame to see the model spoilt by simple errors.

Paul

 

Hi Paul,

 

Thanks for the message. If you have any information regarding any errors you may have spotted, please do let me know either here or via email at info@hattons.co.uk (I'll make sure it gets forwarded to me). We've extensively researched these vehicles to ensure they're as accurate as a OO gauge model will allow, however feedback is always welcomed.

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

[pharrc20]

Hi Dave, I have made the following notes for you:

ICI003A 3274 1950/60s grey/Large letters/ plate frame bogies/oil bearings = WRONG suggest change to Small letters with diamond frame bogies/oil bearings if keeping number 3274 otherwise you will have to change number to say 3294

ICI003CW 3215 rust/Large/plate/oil = WRONG suggest change to Small letters with diamond frame bogies/oil bearings if keeping number 3215 otherwise you will have to change number to say 3315

ICI003EW 3222 rust/Large/diamond/oil = WRONG suggest change to Small letters if keeping number 3222

ICI006BW 19039 rust/none patches/plate roller bearings - 19039 is known to have had a different spacing of the Small I C I letters on panels 2,4,6 on both sides having been changed at some point unknown from the usual 3,4,5 panel arrangement. 19066 was the same. Suggest change number to 19029.

ICI006D BLI 19110 rust/none patches/roller = WRONG - the patches shown are for Small sized letters should be Large size if 19110.

Initially some wagons received a neat grey patch where the letter had been but usually the letters were just taken off and the exact rusty letter shape left behind.

Models 3A to 6D have black buffers but should be same as body colour i.e. grey when ex-works soon weathering to rust then even more rusty browns shade very variable the longer in traffic especially after last overhauls in early 1990s. The colour inside the body body can be a whole mix of colours ranging from rust to limestone stained and weathered colours as the stone has been dropped into the wagon from the chute above, then settled in transit, then dropped out of the bottom doors at the Northwich end.

HTH Paul

Edited November 22, 2016 by pharrc20

[No Decorum]

Dave,

 

You mentioned that the weathered samples will feature additional weathering to that on the images and that the rust colours are just a base colour. I am wondering why two weathered examples (ICI001BW and ICI002BW) are not illustrated in the rust base colour.

 

The insides of the weathered wagons are shown as pristine. Would they not have rusted more quickly than the outsides because the stone being dumped into them would have damaged the paint?

 

Finally, when it comes to labelling the boxes, it would be a convenience if the labels had the running numbers as well as the reference numbers on them, as Hornby and Dapol labels do. It helps to get the wagons back into the right boxes.

 

For the rest, I defer to the experts but the wagons look good to me. So does the price.

[9FEd]

Just want to thank Dave for the regular updates - delighted to see these move ever closer to production. I have 9 on pre-order and could certainly be tempted to add more - will they be available to buy from Hattons off the shelf after they have been released? Really looking forward to seeing the finished articles! 

[Hattons Dave]

Hi all,

Thanks for the further information and queries. Don't worry about the regular updates - the posts above show why its useful to post progress on RMweb, so it'll definitely be continuing!

• The weathering base for ICI001BW and ICI002BW is grey, as the weathering on these samples will be a lot lighter (and less rusty) than their later counterparts. These vehicles had been repainted by the late 1950s and we appreciate that some may not wish to have the more 'extreme' weathering more commonly seen on the wagons following this date.
• The insides of the weathered wagons show a base limestone colour which will be augmented by the weathering as per the outsides. A layer of lime quickly built up inside the vehicles so it was rare to see the metal/rust underneath except in periods when the wagons were out of use.
• Box labelling will state the product code, full product title (including running number), livery details and barcode as is standard with our Exclusive Commissions.

Paul, thanks for the amendments.  We have adjusted the layouts as per what the wagons should be as opposed to adjusting the running numbers.  The buffer colours seems to be a mixed bag on archive images but as most are in black and white and the wagons are covered in a layer of grime it is difficult to determine exactly what colour they should be. We've taken your advice and changed them to the body colour.

 

I've enclosed the revised artwork to view below.

 

Cheers,

Dave

 

[No Decorum]

Dave,

 

Ticking a “thanks” box just isn’t enough for your long and complete reply. Many thanks. I’m not a great fan of weathering but I might just add ICI001BW and ICI002BW to my list!

[Garry D100]

Hi all,

 

Would someone be able to give me some advice.

 

Id like to get a small rake of weathered wagons with the odd new one thrown in.

Im modelling BR Blue period so the obvious choice are the wagons for the era 1973-1992.

But to help me expand the rake would i be able to mix in a couple from the 1950-1973 era ?

 

Thank you.

[Hattons Dave]

Hi all,

 

Would someone be able to give me some advice.

 

Id like to get a small rake of weathered wagons with the odd new one thrown in.

Im modelling BR Blue period so the obvious choice are the wagons for the era 1973-1992.

But to help me expand the rake would i be able to mix in a couple from the 1950-1973 era ?

 

Thank you.

 

Hi Garry,

 

It's entirely up to you. By the BR Blue era the majority of wagons were rusty and grimy. One of the main differences on the 50s-73 models is the lack of TOPs panels so it depends exactly when in the BR blue era you're modelling. One thing to remember is, due to amount of grime we're adding its going to be tough to read the numbers unless you're very close up if you wanted to run duplicates however dependant on which of the earlier examples you got, you would get away with adding TOPs panels too.

 

Although, of course, Rule 1 applies!

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

[Garry D100]

Hi Garry,

It's entirely up to you. By the BR Blue era the majority of wagons were rusty and grimy. One of the main differences on the 50s-73 models is the lack of TOPs panels so it depends exactly when in the BR blue era you're modelling. One thing to remember is, due to amount of grime we're adding its going to be tough to read the numbers unless you're very close up if you wanted to run duplicates however dependant on which of the earlier examples you got, you would get away with adding TOPs panels too.

 

Although, of course, Rule 1 applies!

 

Cheers,

Dave

 

Thank you very much Dave for your reply.

My main area is early/mid 70s to early/mid 80s.

 

When will we be able to see a sample of the weathering do you think?

 

Cheers.

Garry

[pharrc20]

Nice work Dave glad you have been able to amend the models following my comments. Model 6BW as 19039 will probably raise a few more eyebrows but I do have photo evidence of the wagon with the wider spaced rust patches from times when I saw the wagon in store at Tunstead. I really should get all my film negs scanned in for all of my colour photos of the hoppers! Just a shame it didn't make it into preservation along with the other 5 and sadly all 6 got quietly chopped up on site about 3 years ago or so now :-(

 

Cheers Paul

[Hattons Dave]

Thank you very much Dave for your reply.

My main area is early/mid 70s to early/mid 80s.

 

When will we be able to see a sample of the weathering do you think?

 

Cheers.

Garry

 

Hi Garry,

 

In that case, the codes starting ICI004 and ICI005 will be the best hoppers for you which gives you a total of seven to choose from - have a look Here for those.

 

Regarding the weathering samples, we've got a few stages to go through before we get to that stage so can't set an exact date currently. To give you an idea of the next steps, we've got to receive the first EP followed by first painted samples, then look to creating the weathered samples (not an exhaustive list of whats left to do!). As ever though, we'll keep you posted on how we're getting on.

Cheers,

 

Dave

[slg]

Sample on show at Warley, looking good.

[Hattons Dave]

Hi all,

Yes that's right, we had the samples yesterday at Warley which we showed to a few interested parties (Andy Y grabbed a few pictures which I believe he may have put on the forum elsewhere). I'm currently in the office adding all of yesterday's Warley news and new items to our system but I'll make sure the ICI hoppers head for our photo studio as soon as possible and get some images up here.

 

If anyone is more eager than that, we managed to get a quick snap yesterday which is on our Facebook page but hang fire for the photos tomorrow where I'll be able to write and show a lot more.

 

Cheers,

Dave

[Tankdave]

How long are these hoppers?  I'm trying to decide how many I need to fit my layout design

[Andy Y]

(Andy Y grabbed a few pictures which I believe he may have put on the forum elsewhere).

 

Working through a mountain of images from the weekend but here's a shot showing the three EP samples together.

 

 

Some minor and easily-fixed issues such as the depth of the lettering and handwheel positions have already been noted.

[Tankdave]

How long are these hoppers?  I'm trying to decide how many I need to fit my layout design

 

I'm guessing they'll be @8" long? need to decide if I order 8 or 10

Edited November 27, 2016 by Tankdave

[MarshLane]

Hi all,

 

Yes that's right, we had the samples yesterday at Warley which we showed to a few interested parties (Andy Y grabbed a few pictures which I believe he may have put on the forum elsewhere). I'm currently in the office adding all of yesterday's Warley news and new items to our system but I'll make sure the ICI hoppers head for our photo studio as soon as possible and get some images up here.

 

If anyone is more eager than that, we managed to get a quick snap yesterday which is on our Facebook page but hang fire for the photos tomorrow where I'll be able to write and show a lot more.

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

 

 

Hi Dave,

This may be a silly question, but given all the work and research that has gone into these - are there any plans to scale them up and offer in O gauge at all?

 

Rich

[Marcus 37]

Looking very nice indeed. An absolute must for my Peak Forest based layout. Pre Order for 9 of the beauty's made last night.

Out of interest have the production run numbers been decided yet or, will that be decided nearer the time on the basis of the pre orders so far, plus extra on top. I can just see these are going to be extremely popular.

Cheers

Marcus

[pharrc20]

I'm guessing they'll be @8" long? need to decide if I order 8 or 10

The real wagons were 39 ft. long IIRC - 40 ft. max so call it 160mm scale length so just over 6 ins. Some extra will need to be factored in for the coupling bars as well adding a bit more over the buffer faces on the models of course.

 

Cheers Paul

[Andy Y]

ICI Hopper 1st EP Samples Arrive

First look at the new hoppers
 

At the recent Warley show we received the first samples of the ICI hopper from Oxford Rail. They are the First Engineering Prototypes to be produced from the tooling and show all aspects of the models from ‘as built’ to their final condition before scrapping. They are finished in a silver paint to highlight the details and as can be seen from the images, there are a lot of rivets to see!
 
Overall we are very happy with the look and feel of the wagons, especially some of the smaller details such as the etched brass pipe clips and vacuum cylinder holders and the trussing on the frames. There are a few minor changes to be made including the raised ICI lettering, which is
to be reduced in thickness, and the handbrake wheel on the ’pipe’ side of the wagon is to be re-located slightly to its correct position.
 
We have completed the colour layouts already and these are available to view on our website. We will now await corrected samples for the wagons and will advise when these are available to view. This should be early in the new year. Release dates for these wagons is still a little too early to tell but we are looking around quarter 3 2017.
 
All versions are available to preorder at www.hattons.co.uk/ici