Dapol 121 and 122 dmus in O gauge

[Scrooge]

On 20/02/2022 at 07:56, Hal Nail said:

I don't profess to be an expert on their production process and wary of repeating comments on here as fact but it has been posted regularly across the forum that, with overseas batch manufacturing, there is little or no QC attempted. I think it's worth heeding the warning.

 

Instead they offer quibble free returns and therefore it's always advisible to check promptly, especially as the trend is towards 7mm selling out more quickly so you can get caught out. 

 

 

I agree with Hal Nail. I had a Dapol 14xx, with sound, in my hands for a few minutes before it was sent back due to damage in the post. Hattons offered to order a replacement as no more were in stock, but it was several months before they realised they could not get one and cancelled the order refunding my money. I never did get a 14xx, hopefully there may be a rerun. In my lifetime?

I also have a 122 with poor running and noisy motor or gears. I contacted Hattons within a couple of days but they were sold out. The only option they offered was a refund. I did not want to loose out again so I said I would consider it and hope it might improve with running, no such luck. After reading this thread I realised other people had the same problem and were trying to get them repaired by Dapol via DCC Supplies. I am still waiting for a reply from Dapol to see if it is possible.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Scrooge
spelling

[admiles]

On 21/02/2022 at 11:47, Scrooge said:

I agree with Hal Nail. I had a Dapol 14xx, with sound, in my hands for a few minutes before it was sent back due to damage in the post. Hattons offered to order a replacement as no more were in stock, but it was several months before they realised they could not get one and cancelled the order refunding my money. I never did get a 14xx, hopefully there may be a rerun. In my lifetime?

I also have a 122 with poor running and noisy motor or gears. I contacted Hattons within a couple of days but they were sold out. The only option they offered was a refund. I did not want to loose out again so I said I would consider it and hope it might improve with running, no such luck. After reading this thread I realised other people had the same problem and were trying to get them repaired by Dapol via DCC Supplies. I am still waiting for a reply from Dapol to see if it is possible.

 

Worth trying to find out if it's just one motor/set of gears causing the noise. If it is might be worth taking out the defective motor and just running with one. I've had to do this with my 122 and it runs fine on a single motor.  Might be a better option?

Edited February 22, 2022 by admiles

[Scrooge]

3 hours ago, admiles said:

 

Worth trying to find out if it's just one motor/set of gears causing the noise. If it is might be worth taking out the defective motor and just running with one. I've had to do this with my 122 and it runs fine on a single motor.  Might be a better option?

Thanks for the suggestion. Both motors are noisy, but one unacceptably so. I have a ticket raised with DCC Supplies so we will see if they progress it further and I will let you know how I get on. Now the exhibitions are due to start up it will be interesting to see if Dapol get any feedback on the 122 and 121 at Kettering or Alexandra Palace. 

[admiles]

20 hours ago, Scrooge said:

Thanks for the suggestion. Both motors are noisy, but one unacceptably so. I have a ticket raised with DCC Supplies so we will see if they progress it further and I will let you know how I get on. Now the exhibitions are due to start up it will be interesting to see if Dapol get any feedback on the 122 and 121 at Kettering or Alexandra Palace. 

 

Not too many options then. Mine had two very mis-matched motors. One ran reasonably normally, the other needed about 80% input on the controller (on DC) before it would start rather begrudgingly moving. This meant one bogie was dragging the other around  at normal speeds. I just ditched the knackered motor.

 

And this was on the replacement model!

[Hal Nail]

Are these running issues all on the earlier 122 or has anyone had the same on the 121 as well?

[mopar]

Opening my Blue 121 tomorrow. Fingers crossed it runs ok....

Quick question re. OHLE sign in the secondman's window.

On the real thing was it a sticker or a plastic plate, inside or outside the glass?

 

[37114]

1 hour ago, mopar said:

Opening my Blue 121 tomorrow. Fingers crossed it runs ok....

Quick question re. OHLE sign in the secondman's window.

On the real thing was it a sticker or a plastic plate, inside or outside the glass?

 

I think the OHLE sticker on the inside of the Window. Conscious that Dapol glazing is (scale) thicker than the real glass I stuck mine on the outside. 

[AshleyH]

I’ve just bought the GWR 150 Chocolate and Cream 121.  I have a transfer sheet for Head codes, but no destination blind transfers, has anybody else purchased this version and if so, what transfers were in the box please?

Many Thanks

Ashley 

[muddys-blues]

5 hours ago, AshleyH said:

I’ve just bought the GWR 150 Chocolate and Cream 121.  I have a transfer sheet for Head codes, but no destination blind transfers, has anybody else purchased this version and if so, what transfers were in the box please?

Many Thanks

Ashley 

Hello Ashley, I have the GWR version, and the blue grey version, mine only came with headcodes decals, which are pointless as the headcodes are blanked off.

 

My blue version, came with both headcodes decals and destination blind decals, which is okay, but the destination blinds are pretty much useless, as they are too big for the centre window !! 
 

I have bought some of the Dapol 122’s, and I aim to use some of the correctly spelt destination blinds from them on my 121’s.

 

I have to say, the blinds have been a bit of a c*ck up really, but hey ho in the grand scheme of things of what is going on in this crazy world right now, I can get by with them.

 

Best regards

Craig  

Edited February 27, 2022 by muddys-blues

[admiles]

On 27/02/2022 at 22:11, muddys-blues said:

Hello Ashley, I have the GWR version, and the blue grey version, mine only came with headcodes decals, which are pointless as the headcodes are blanked off.

 

My blue version, came with both headcodes decals and destination blind decals, which is okay, but the destination blinds are pretty much useless, as they are too big for the centre window !! 
 

I have bought some of the Dapol 122’s, and I aim to use some of the correctly spelt destination blinds from them on my 121’s.

 

I have to say, the blinds have been a bit of a c*ck up really, but hey ho in the grand scheme of things of what is going on in this crazy world right now, I can get by with them.

 

Best regards

Craig  

 

Railtec will do you a nice set of custom printed blinds with destination names of your choice for a reasonable price. My only connection is as a very satisfied customer!

[Hal Nail]

1 hour ago, admiles said:

 

Railtec will do you a nice set of custom printed blinds with destination names of your choice for a reasonable price. My only connection is as a very satisfied customer!

Except it won't let you order them at the moment as a backlog of custom work - there is an option to be e mailed when next available tho. 

Edited March 2, 2022 by Hal Nail

[mopar]

Finally opened mine earlier this evening.

Everything was fine except that one seat had come adrift in transit, so will re glue when I add a couple of passengers. Popped it up on the rollers and took a moment..... will it sound like an electric pencil sharpener or will it be smooth?

Phew! smooth as silk.

Very relieved to be fair, having read some of the earlier posts regarding poor running.

I went for a DCC fitted and have to say for the money it's fantastic value.

Tested all the lighting functions while it was trundling away happily on the rollers, looks superb all lit up.

 

[norman]

Hi Mopar

A rolling road is useful but does not test the dual bogies correctly. 

On the track the bogies need to be balanced but not so on the rolling road.

So please test on a length of track at slow speeds and let us know how it does.

[neal]

I have a couple of 122’s and a 121.  All Dapol dcc fitted.

 

All have had lengthy sessions on the rolling road, and generally sound and run smoothly when running on rollers, however none are great when on track.  When on the rollers, start at the lowest speed and see whether wheels start and rotate similarly as you accelerate.  If this is not the case, the bemf will most likely cause problems.  Lengthy running in did improve matters for me, but still does not result in perfect running.  Wheel clean and lube check also worth a go, one of my 122’s was bone dry…

 

Sadly, Dapol’s support for their decoder is not great.  There is scant information with the model, and pdf’s on their website are ambiguous. There appear to be 3 versions of the imperium decoder but there is no definitive CV list posted for the newest version (which appears to be the one installed).  It would be useful to have a run with bemf turned off.

 

There is really no need for this model to have had 2 motors fitted, it’s a shame that this feature appears to have caused issues for several owners.

 

I have one issue which is that one of the 121 head code box lights does not function.  Given the fact that Functions work differently between 122 and 121 models, I am struggling to fathom whether this could be a decoder issue.

 

Neal

[Hal Nail]

It was reported somewhere that Dapol were improving the motors for the 121 to sort the problem. As far as I can tell reading through the posts, all the issues reported on here have been the original model so I'm hopeful they have done something. 

 

All my stuff is still buried somewhere at the back of my storage unit but im not going to risk it so going to have to buy a couple of lengths of track and a mini controller to test mine!  

[mopar]

14 hours ago, norman said:

Hi Mopar

A rolling road is useful but does not test the dual bogies correctly. 

On the track the bogies need to be balanced but not so on the rolling road.

So please test on a length of track at slow speeds and let us know how it does.

Hi Norman,

I ran it on a temporary length of track on the worktop immediately after taking it off the rollers.

(No layout as yet) so 3 yards of flexi.

It whirred back and forth very nicely.

Seems ok to me.

 

[37114]

I haven't run mine yet other than sticking some power to the wheels while weathering them so hope it is OK. Here is my finished model, it W55033 modelled in its 1977 condition (before it lost one of its headcode boxes) which required subtle modifications (buffers changed to Oval, new jumpers to replace the overlong items Dapol provides, renumbering and people fitted) before weathering. 

[Hal Nail]

3 hours ago, 37114 said:

Here is my finished model, it W55033 modelled in its 1977 condition

Very nice. Did you replace the whole number or manage to find matching digits?

 

Once I've tested my I think I will have a crack at lowering some of the door windows for a little variety.

[37114]

2 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

Very nice. Did you replace the whole number or manage to find matching digits?

 

Once I've tested my I think I will have a crack at lowering some of the door windows for a little variety.

Whole number, they came from Railtec who supplied the number of my choice as one number plus provided the "B133" for the front.

[GWR57xx]

On 15/02/2022 at 18:33, 70E said:

In the end I decided to keep mine, however, I did email Dapol and they replied today saying that they are aware of the of the issue with the whiskers  and that a resolution to the problem is under discussion and that they would contact me when a decision had been made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you had a reply?

I’ve ordered a sound-fitted 121 with speed whiskers, so I spoke to the folks on the Dapol stand at the GOG exhibition yesterday and they were very non-committal regarding a fix.

Didn’t sound promising.

[Scrooge]

13 hours ago, GWR57xx said:

Have you had a reply?

I’ve ordered a sound-fitted 121 with speed whiskers, so I spoke to the folks on the Dapol stand at the GOG exhibition yesterday and they were very non-committal regarding a fix.

Didn’t sound promising.

I also mentioned it to Dapol at the GOG and was told they had only two complaints about the speed whiskers. In their opinion O gauge modellers were more tolerant and are more likely to reline the model. In fact one customer bought an example while I was there and said he had no problem with relining it. So I don't think a fix will happen.

[Hal Nail]

2 hours ago, Scrooge said:

I also mentioned it to Dapol at the GOG and was told they had only two complaints about the speed whiskers. In their opinion O gauge modellers were more tolerant and are more likely to reline the model. In fact one customer bought an example while I was there and said he had no problem with relining it. So I don't think a fix will happen.

 

I'm not sure about us being more tolerant or just better at modelling 

 

Fox do Pressed Steel speed whiskers and presumably removing the existing ones is no harder than renumbering.

 

https://www.fox-transfers.co.uk/transfers/pressed-steel-dmu-cats-whiskers

 

 

Edited March 7, 2022 by Hal Nail

[70E]

17 hours ago, GWR57xx said:

Have you had a reply?

I’ve ordered a sound-fitted 121 with speed whiskers, so I spoke to the folks on the Dapol stand at the GOG exhibition yesterday and they were very non-committal regarding a fix.

Didn’t sound promising.

I contacted them again on Saturday and had a reply this morning.

Hello Mark

 

Sorry but no feedback yet.

 

Kind regards

 

Kevin

 

 

 

[37114]

4 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

 

I'm not sure about us being more tolerant or just better at modelling 

 

Fox do Pressed Steel speed whiskers and presumably removing the existing ones is no harder than renumbering.

 

https://www.fox-transfers.co.uk/transfers/pressed-steel-dmu-cats-whiskers

 

 

I removed the light blue squares from the front of my one with some IPA and a cotton bud without damaging the paintwork underneath so presume the same would apply for the whiskers on the green ones.

[mopar]

1 hour ago, 37114 said:

I removed the light blue squares from the front of my one with some IPA and a cotton bud without damaging the paintwork underneath so presume the same would apply for the whiskers on the green ones.

I hadn't even noticed that those blue squares hardly appeared on the real thing. Just been looking at loads of photos....none have the blue squares.