More model ideas

[Legend]

Mk1s are certainly the type of model that can sustain more than one manufacturer .  But as well as Bachmann , you also have Hornby which are well priced . Not forgetting a second hand market that has lots of availability .  It would need to blow your socks off and be a huge advance on existing ranges to sell and I just cant see that . 

[Wickham Green too]

I'd hope to see the 'long' non-gangwayed Mk1s first ........ should be a good market among W.R. & S.R. modellers and - as has been pointed out a few times in the last 134 pages - they'd be a good starting point for various Electric Multiples.

[wombatofludham]

6 hours ago, Legend said:

Mk1s are certainly the type of model that can sustain more than one manufacturer .  But as well as Bachmann , you also have Hornby which are well priced . Not forgetting a second hand market that has lots of availability .  It would need to blow your socks off and be a huge advance on existing ranges to sell and I just cant see that . 

Interior lighting, painted seats, luggage racks, easy access roofs held in place by magnets to allow fitting of people, which is what they are doing for the Mk1 subs, would be enough to tempt me to replace my current mixed Bachmann and Hornby Mk1 fleet, especially if the Mk1 catering vehicles were modelled to represent the refurbished buffet restaurant cars to match the announced Mk2b and c coaches.  As others have said, the Mk1 range is so big and such a standard item it could cope with a new competing range, although I do agree that picking off the Mk2d and the long frame suburban Mk1 stock might be a lower hanging fruit.

[atom3624]

Did anyone mention the Class 40? ......

[nightstar.train]

2 hours ago, atom3624 said:

Did anyone mention the Class 40? ......

Not today I think. 

[Wickham Green too]

...... but probably more recently that the 4SUB !

[Covkid]

14 hours ago, Legend said:

 

Class 313/314/315/507/508   obvious !

For the ignorant among us how similar or even identical are those driving cars ?

In other words, would one tool per car cover each vehicle with slides ?

[Dunsignalling]

15 hours ago, wombatofludham said:

Interior lighting, painted seats, luggage racks, easy access roofs held in place by magnets to allow fitting of people, which is what they are doing for the Mk1 subs, would be enough to tempt me to replace my current mixed Bachmann and Hornby Mk1 fleet, especially..... if the Mk1 catering vehicles were modelled to represent the refurbished buffet restaurant cars to match the announced Mk2b and c coaches.  As others have said, the Mk1 range is so big and such a standard item it could cope with a new competing range, although I do agree that picking off the Mk2d and the long frame suburban Mk1 stock might be a lower hanging fruit.

 

Though those provisions wouldn't cause a flicker of interest in me. 

 

All very clever to show off to family and friends, but invisible on a working layout unless you go in for night-time running, which I don't enjoy, and actively avoid facilitating!

 

I've painted the seats in some of my coaches, but am not wholly convinced it's worth the effort. I also find "populated" coaches dubious in model form. When moving or in well-canopied stations, you really have to squint to find them in 4mm scale, but at rest in on-scene carriage sidings, they become all-too visible.

 

Despite their age (Bachmann) and relatively basic spec (Hornby) the existing ranges of Mk.1s are perfectly adequate "layout coaches" in my view, and readily upgradeable by those with even modest modelling skills.

 

No sale for me, but there are many other things, currently not available at all  that I would buy.  

 

John

Edited May 11, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[Legend]

9 hours ago, Covkid said:

For the ignorant among us how similar or even identical are those driving cars ?

In other words, would one tool per car cover each vehicle with slides ?

 

Over on the Cavendish thread it was pointed out that the light clusters on the 507/508 were changed, updated , so that is something that would need to be accounted for , other than that I think bodywise they are the same . The pantograph car has slightly different windows between a 313/314 .  I think the 314 has an additional small window at the pantograph end .  But if you look at the variations built into the tooling for  Deltics , 37s (in particular) and 31s surely such things could be incorporated into an emu tooling

Edited May 11, 2023 by Legend

[Wickham Green too]

6 minutes ago, Legend said:

... I think bodywise they are the same. ...

Unfortunately, though, the PEP prototypes were somewhat different and definitely couldn't be made from the same tooling.

[Legend]

7 minutes ago, Wickham Green too said:

Unfortunately, though, the PEP prototypes were somewhat different and definitely couldn't be made from the same tooling.

 

Yes the PEP prototypes were different but not the mainstream 313/314/315/507/508 . They were derived from the PEP but quite different. I would like a typical 1970s-2010s emu not a prototype , whose sales would I imagine be marginal .

 

When enquiring at Cavendish why they are not doing their N model in OO we get told someone else is doing it . They even say that in their latest N update - no before you ask we are not doing it in OO. I really hope its Accurascale.  Variants required and affordable .

Edited May 11, 2023 by Legend

[Wickham Green too]

4 minutes ago, Legend said:

... not a prototype , whose sales would I imagine be marginal. ...

Interestingly, other manufacturers seem to specialise in offering prototypes and presumably consider them economically viable.

[Legend]

1 minute ago, Wickham Green too said:

Interestingly, other manufacturers seem to specialise in offering prototypes and presumably consider them economically viable.

 

Yes you mean KR models .  I am constantly surprised by people buying the Fell , GT3 , Leader etc etc . But you are correct these do apparently sell .  Probably the closest equivalent here is the 4DD unit .  But all of these have some following , did the PEP prototype have the same visibility?  I know they were tested on the Southern and for a while we had a three car unit , part of which I think was in raw aluminium  up here based at Shields Road Glasgow . But unlike the fell etc I've never heard anyone say oh I really want one of these !

[The Ghost of IKB]

6 minutes ago, Wickham Green too said:

Interestingly, other manufacturers seem to specialise in offering prototypes and presumably consider them economically viable.

Prototype locos yes and the apte (though the second batch has hung around unlike the limited edition first batch) but a prototype emu with limited service life and limited geography? I doubt it would sell in vast numbers.

The 313 to 508 family thouh, surely a winner.

[Wickham Green too]

53 minutes ago, Legend said:

Yes you mean KR models . ...

... and other more - shall we say - mainstream manufacturers who've churned out the prototype Deltic, the 'Twins', S.R. triplets, 'Lion', "Kerosene Castle", 'Kestrel', "Turbomotive", 'Falcon', if I remember rightly, and even 10800 ! ....... the latter, in particular, had a very limited service life and limited geography.

[Dunsignalling]

1 hour ago, Wickham Green too said:

... and other more - shall we say - mainstream manufacturers who've churned out the prototype Deltic, the 'Twins', S.R. triplets, 'Lion', "Kerosene Castle", 'Kestrel', "Turbomotive", 'Falcon', if I remember rightly, and even 10800 ! ....... the latter, in particular, had a very limited service life and limited geography.

 

And, according to contemporary accounts, often required "bump-starting" using another loco....

 

[Flying Pig]

1 hour ago, Wickham Green too said:

.. and other more - shall we say - mainstream manufacturers who've churned out the prototype Deltic, the 'Twins',

 

 

Both by Bachmann who hardly "churn out" prototype locos (and very nice models to boot).

 

 

 

[Iskra]

Where an Accurascale (AS) Mk1 may become relevant is for modellers who have invested in AS Mk2's and run layouts with mixed Mk2/Mk1 formations. Currently, I'll need to run Mk2's and Mk1's together as on the West Highland Line, and if the current (perfectly adequate) Bachmann Mk1's look wildly out of place next to AS's new Mk2's, then that would tempt me to upgrade to AS Mk1's too to match and look more consistent and possibly be more compatible too. 

[The Ghost of IKB]

Few trains would look better than a string of blue grey accura mark one's pulled by.... guess what? An accura class 40!

[BournehamRob]

On 10/05/2023 at 18:51, atom3624 said:

Did anyone mention the Class 40? ......

 

Must not forgot to mention a Stanier 8F to go with a new Class 40

[atom3624]

Parallel Scot and Jubilee.

Al.

[BVMR21]

Stanir 8F is indeed something that would be good to see a new tooling of, but so would an Accurascale Industrial steam loco to go with the Chaldrons...

[96701]

How about some On Track Plant (OTP)?

 

Plasser Tampers 07-16, 07-32 or 08; Ballast Cleaner RM74; Ballast Regulator USP 5000C; Clarke Chapman 12t GPC, 75t Telescopic Jib Breakdown Crane.

 

I'm giving my age away now.

 

Any tamper should be self propelled, the others can be hauled in train formation.

[frobisher]

On 11/05/2023 at 09:17, Legend said:

 

Over on the Cavendish thread it was pointed out that the light clusters on the 507/508 were changed, updated , so that is something that would need to be accounted for , other than that I think bodywise they are the same . The pantograph car has slightly different windows between a 313/314 .  I think the 314 has an additional small window at the pantograph end .  But if you look at the variations built into the tooling for  Deltics , 37s (in particular) and 31s surely such things could be incorporated into an emu tooling

 

I'm not 100% sure about the 313/314/315 but there were early differences between the 507 and 508, notably the 508 external passenger door switches that were plated over when they were sent to Merseyside.

[wombatofludham]

On 11/05/2023 at 08:46, Dunsignalling said:

 

Though those provisions wouldn't cause a flicker of interest in me. 

 

All very clever to show off to family and friends, but invisible on a working layout unless you go in for night-time running, which I don't enjoy, and actively avoid facilitating!

 

I've painted the seats in some of my coaches, but am not wholly convinced it's worth the effort. I also find "populated" coaches dubious in model form. When moving or in well-canopied stations, you really have to squint to find them in 4mm scale, but at rest in on-scene carriage sidings, they become all-too visible.

 

Despite their age (Bachmann) and relatively basic spec (Hornby) the existing ranges of Mk.1s are perfectly adequate "layout coaches" in my view, and readily upgradeable by those with even modest modelling skills.

 

No sale for me, but there are many other things, currently not available at all  that I would buy.  

 

John

I set up my layout in the shed with polychromatic adjustable floodlighting (designed for outdoor decorative use) so I could set the level of illumination and light colour, allowing me to do dawn to dusk simulation.  You would be surprised how much carriage interior lighting shows up in these situations whilst allowing you to see enough to avoid any trip hazards.  This has convinced me of the added value of interior lighting to the point where I am slowly retrofitting magnetic-reed switch, battery operated lighting to the rest of the fleet.  Sadly, the one set of coaches which is the most difficult to fit the lighting to is the Bachmann Mk1 stock which is extremely difficult to gain access to compared to other similar stock.  I also paint the interiors where possible, and add some people, which really stand out in the artificial low light conditions.  Now that Rapido are supplying model buses with interior lights and with the availability of cheap LED street lights from our Chinese overlords, the new layouts I will be building in the garage of my new house will also feature adjustable, polychromatic LED lighting as it really is worth the effort.  If you add in a bluetooth speaker with ambient environmental noise, it really makes the layout more immersive - and helps justify the fact more companies are adding interior lights to carriages.