Accurascale

[Andy Y]

I put down for a cl.103, somehow i think i might be a voice crying out in the wilderness. :-(

We'll there must be at least two of us then.

[TheSignalEngineer]

I put down for a cl.103, somehow i think i might be a voice crying out in the wilderness. :-(

We'll there must be at least two of us then.

 

Make that three.

[Roy Langridge]

Now 4. Ideal to accompany a Dapol class 22.

 

Roy

[MrB]

Survey would be better if more than one era could be selected?

 

Regards

 

Roy

[Accurascale Fran]

One specific question about which emu/dmu you prefer? Can I make a wild stab at what you're considering producing?

PS. I don't care about them either.

Go for it!

[Colin_McLeod]

May I suggest to those for whom the survey does not facilitate stating their wishes that they simply PM Accurascale. After all the purpose of the survey is to give them information, so give them the information even if it is given by some other means.

[Steamport Southport]

Survey would be better if more than one era could be selected?

 

Regards

 

Roy

 

I think I picked "other" and put a message in the box saying something along the lines of "model more than one era".

 

 

 

Jason

[Accurascale Fran]

Survey would be better if more than one era could be selected?

 

Regards

 

Roy

That’s been noted for future reference Roy, as has people who work in multiple scales.

 

May I extend a sincere thank you on behalf of our team to you all who have participated so far? We’ve been blown away by the amount of responses to date! We’re happy to to report that items on our roadmap match some suggestions made by you guys, but there are a few which will merit more investigation among ourselves to see if they are viable or not.

 

While I’m here, I will offer some clarity on some areas.

 

Our plans currently are in 4mm, BUT (big but!) we are not ruling out providing items in other scales such as N or O, should sufficient demand and business case apply. We are going to do some work on this to see how it stacks up. The market research and analysis will take a period of time, but we will report back when we have concrete info. In the meantime, feel free to make your case via the survey.

 

Another area of feedback we have received is communication. We absolutely agree, good communication between modellers and manufacturers is essential and is something we believe in. We will be offering communication here on RMWeb, via email, the DEMU forum (please note that this does not mean all our models will be D&E, they won’t! Two of us just happen to be members) our Facebook page, our own Irishrailwaymodeller.com forum and good old fashioned post. We will also be attending UK shows with a stand (shows and when TBC, but we will give you plenty of notice!) from about mid 2018 and would love to meet you. We’re a pretty approachable bunch who love a chat and a laugh! We’re happy to answer any questions we can, except what models we’re releasing.

 

Our first Accurascale model isn’t an EMU. Parky told us it was too dangerous.

 

Our models will be made in China. We would love to make them locally too, but unfortunately the business case for this just isn’t there at the moment. It is something we constantly review though. However, one thing we will say is that so far we have found the Chinese absolutely first class to deal with and can not fault their work, quality or attitude. We enjoy an excellent relationship with them and it puzzles us somewhat when we see the issues other companies have reported. Maybe we’ve been lucky, but we do manage the relationship very closely, so that could be paying dividends for us.

 

Finally, when the survey closes we will collate all information, go through it and offer further feedback. We are going to leave it open for a while to let magazine readers who may not do social media offer their ideas and opinions too.

 

Cheers!

 

Fran

Edited December 10, 2017 by 071

[Anglian]

Survey completed. I look forward to reading more about your plans. Above all else were it possible to buy steam locomotives that had been designed from the outset to be easier to convert to EM I'd be very happy.

[Horsetan]

... so far we have found the Chinese absolutely first class to deal with and can not fault their work, quality or attitude. We enjoy an excellent relationship with them and it puzzles us somewhat when we see the issues other companies have reported. ....

Wonder what the spares - especially body spares - backup will be like?

[LBRJ]

Wonder what the spares - especially body spares - backup will be like?

With a good supplier/customer relationship (as mentioned above) they may well be pretty much OK...  Do you have a specific reason to believe that this may not be the case?

[Accurascale Fran]

Wonder what the spares - especially body spares - backup will be like?

We have insisted on comprehensive spares being provided for both Irish wagons so far due to sheer volume of separately applied bits and have received big baggies of bits Ivan. We like to prepare for any eventuality as much as possible.

Edited December 11, 2017 by 071

[Mark Saunders]

Something I forgot on the survey is would there be spare chassis available for those that use them for rebodied/rebuilt wagons, especially those that model Industrial Railways?

 

Mark Saunders

[Horsetan]

With a good supplier/customer relationship (as mentioned above) they may well be pretty much OK...  Do you have a specific reason to believe that this may not be the case?

 

Looking at Bachmann and Hornby, try obtaining spare bodies.

[Accurascale Fran]

Something I forgot on the survey is would there be spare chassis available for those that use them for rebodied/rebuilt wagons, especially those that model Industrial Railways?

 

Mark Saunders

Interesting suggestion Mark. We’ll look into it.

[Anglian]

At this stage have you considered how you might approach making steam locomotives so they are easier to convert to EM, or is that a trade secret for the moment? I've always wondered if it were possible to make a screw together model chassis supplied with spacers and frames that can be set at different clearances from the main chassis block.

 

The notion of screw together chassis construction has a lot of appeal to me.

 

In the land of wishful thinking my own idea of perfection is actually 3mm to the foot R-T-R stock for 14.2mm track. It would be the first really true to gauge R-T-R British outline range, as far as I'm aware. That might be very appealing especially to the space starved who crave a more accurate model to gauge relationship straight out of the box. It would take years to establish a range, if it were to include ready to lay track work but such a move might totally redefine the scale modelling aspect of the hobby. That would be a massive leap of faith but I would literally buy almost any R-T-R 14.2mm British outline steam locomotive. Wasn't there a recent magazine article that put forward the case for 3mm?

Edited December 11, 2017 by Anglian

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

At this stage have you considered how you might approach making steam locomotives so they are easier to convert to EM, or is that a trade secret for the moment? I've always wondered if it were possible to make a screw together model chassis supplied with spacers and frames that can be set at different clearances from the main chassis block...

 This could be very relevant in the context of a business that might also want to cater for Irish Broad gauge. I think there is a reasonably simple (= economical) way possible. If the visible parts of the frames are designed around a conventional cast metal core block that is 'skinned' by a keeper plate formed as a channel and thus representing the visible frame side detail, produced with thin walls for 16.5mm gauge, thicker walls and thus wider for broader gauges, there can be maximum commonality of design and components. The compromise is slots in the cosmetic frames above the axles to allow the keeper plate on.

[37038]

...

 

In the land of wishful thinking my own idea of perfection is actually 3mm to the foot R-T-R stock for 14.2mm track. It would be the first really true to gauge R-T-R British outline range, as far as I'm aware. That might be very appealing especially to the space starved who crave a more accurate model to gauge relationship straight out of the box. It would take years to establish a range, if it were to include ready to lay track work but such a move might totally redefine the scale modelling aspect of the hobby. That would be a massive leap of faith but I would literally buy almost any R-T-R 14.2mm British outline steam locomotive. Wasn't there a recent magazine article that put forward the case for 3mm?

Looks like there might be at least 2 people who filled the survey in with that scale and gauge - the market is growing!

[Anglian]

LOL! I dare not think what the 3mm market share is worth, is it about 0.001% of UK based modellers who use it? Actually, seriously, are there figures that define the split between the scales and gauges that have any degree of accuracy or will they always be relative guesswork at best?

[Horsetan]

 This could be very relevant in the context of a business that might also want to cater for Irish Broad gauge. ...

 

It already does under the IRM label, surely? Just add your own 21mm gauge wheelsets.

[Tim Dubya]

[Mike Storey]

Screenshot_20171211-223111.png

 

But only if it had the correct Schlieren bogies, although I suppose Gloucesters would do.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

LOL! I dare not think what the 3mm market share is worth, is it about 0.001% of UK based modellers who use it? Actually, seriously, are there figures that define the split between the scales and gauges that have any degree of accuracy or will they always be relative guesswork at best?

 It is guesswork.

 

Accurate current market share data is an 'apples vs oranges haddock comparison, in respect of any scale/gauge that has vanishingly small RTR presence. The market share of the scales/gauges with significant RTR provision will just swamp those without.

 

Realistically whatever you think of the flaws of Triang's TT, it got a fair shot in the UK: the product was of significantly better quality than the contemporary OO product. What killed it was the other smaller scale/gauge combo emerging at the same time. N gauge won that fight and has gone to secure full occupation of the territory of next size down from OO/HO.

 

That's not saying that TT isn't deeply attractive. If Tsar Vladimir decided that Russia should achieve world domination in model railways, and embarked on a true scale 1:100 system replicating all existing subjects available in HO and OO, to be available within five years at a Kato quality standard or better, then I am in.

 

It already does under the IRM label, surely? Just add your own 21mm gauge wheelsets.

Is that for steam locos though?  That alone was the specific subject, ready conversion from 16.5mm gauge to broader options.

[Joseph_Pestell]

If we are going to reinvent the TT wheel (and I would like that), it would make more sense to stick with continental standards and have 1:120 scale trains running on 12mm track. So much more stuff already available.

[Tim Dubya]

If we are going to reinvent the TT wheel (and I would like that), it would make more sense to stick with continental standards and have 1:120 scale trains running on 12mm track. So much more stuff already available.

 

I'd be up for a bit of UK outline TT too...