Dapol re-run A3 and A4 models in N Gauge

[MarshLane]

I'll post a message, given that it doesnt appear to have been mentioned elsewhere, but emails from Hattons and Rails of Sheffield have said that Dapol are to do another run of their A3 and A4 models in N gauge, for delivery in Q1 next year. 

 

The new batch announcement covers A1/A3s, including "Flying Scotsman" in both LNER apple green and BR green colour schemes, as well as "The White Knight" in BR green, while the A4s will covering "Mallard" in both LNER garter blue and BR green colour schemes, as well as "Silver King" in LNER silver grey and "Union of South Africa" in BR green.

 

No pictures as yet.

[Les1952]

Shame there isn't a late crest A3 with blinkers and a GNR-type tender.  I'll suggest a couple of more popular identities next time I'm in contact with Dapol.

 

All the very best

Les

 

[RichardT]

On 20/08/2020 at 21:48, MarshLane said:

The new batch announcement covers A1/A3s, including "Flying Scotsman" in both LNER apple green

I was quite interested when I saw the reference to an "A1" from Dapol, as like Les I was hoping for an early Gresley Pacific with a GNR tender.  However, the A1 reference seems to have been a Rails of Sheffield listing error - Dapol themselves are only mentioning A3 and A4.

 

I was also initially fooled by the fact that Dapol and Rails are using illustrations of existing models as placeholders, so I will be interested to see if the LNER livery A3 "Flying Scotsman" is now correctly numbered 103, as Scotsman wasn't rebuilt from A10 to A3 until January 1947. The previous FS model on the Dapol website is fictitious - named "FS", numbered 4472, in LNER green, but with an A3 boiler. 

 

Mind you, Dapol also released an equally fictitious wartime black "A10" Scotsman - with their A3 boiler.  So I'm not holding my breath.  The super-heater covers are quite prominent Dapol!  (At least as prominent as some of the tiny diesel details that modern period enthusiasts get worked up about.)

Edited August 21, 2020 by RichardT
Too many !!

[Bomag]

1 hour ago, RichardT said:

 

I was also initially fooled by the fact that Dapol and Rails are using illustrations of existing models as placeholders, so I will be interested to see if the LNER livery A3 "Flying Scotsman" is now correctly numbered 103, as Scotsman wasn't rebuilt from A10 to A3 until January 1947. The previous FS model on the Dapol website is fictitious - named "FS", numbered 4472, in LNER green, but with an A3 boiler. 

 

 

I have that model (ND128D) and it is right for my period (except for a couple of minor issues) - late 1970s to mid 1980's when it had a A3 boiler, single chimney and Apple Green. The world did not end in 1968.

[MarshLane]

2 hours ago, RichardT said:

I was quite interested when I saw the reference to an "A1" from Dapol, as like Les I was hoping for an early Gresley Pacific with a GNR tender.  However, the A1 reference seems to have been a Rails of Sheffield listing error - Dapol themselves are only mentioning A3 and A4.

 

Hattons are listing an A1 Class model of Flying Scotsman, so I don’t think it’s a RAILS error.

[RichardT]

15 hours ago, MarshLane said:

Hattons are listing an A1 Class model of Flying Scotsman, so I don’t think it’s a RAILS error.

Yes, apologies, you’re quite right - as here:

https://www.hattons.co.uk/newsdetail.aspx?id=871
where they describe the LNER green FS as an A1 and the BR green one as an A3 “as preserved”.   Despite that, in both cases the pictures show the models to be A3s - one with a round steam collector, the other with a streamlined collector - but with the caveat that they are using pictures of previously produced stock. So, I’ll await with interest to see the actual models - perhaps a pleasant surprise awaits re an actual Gresley A1!  Or, alternately, that they will both appear as illustrated and both will be described correctly as “as preserved”.

 

Of course the world didn’t end in 1968. I should have made it clear that I was talking about models of locos in their various “in service” conditions, as opposed to the inevitable mish-mash of changes resulting from preservation - especially in poor old Scotsman’s case!  
 

(Which, ironically, was one of the strongest reasons for acquiring it for the national collection. The argument was that it had been so messed about with since withdrawal that the compromises inherent in keeping it working on the main line were insignificant from a curatorial perspective. It could simply be acquired as a demonstrator to display the sight, sound and smell of a large working loco without worrying that operation was destroying original historical evidence. Unfortunately it was only after the hurried acquisition that we discovered just *how* messed around it had been by a series of owners with, let’s say, other objectives.)

 

Sorry - bit OT there.

 

Richard

Edited August 22, 2020 by RichardT

[Les1952]

Scotsman has run as 4472 in lined LNER green with an A3 boiler, in preservation.  For that it should have a corridoor tender, actually one of the cut-down top variety modelled by Farish on their A4.

 

The other thing was that until about 1954 Scotsman was RIGHT HAND DRIVE, as were all A3s built as A1s.  That is one reason the two LNER liveried A3s of the original production were Papyrus and Grand Parade which were left hand drive as built.  The other reason being that these two were interesting and historic locos in their own right, Papyrus as the world's fastest non-streamlined loco and Grand Parade being the one they built twice, the "repaired" loco being finished at Doncaster BEFORE the original arrived in after the Castlecary accident.  Only the nameplates stayed with the identity.

 

Guess who was asked to provide identities for them....

 

All the very best

Les

[Bomag]

8 hours ago, RichardT said:

 

Of course the world didn’t end in 1968. I should have made it clear that I was talking about models of locos in their various “in service” conditions, as opposed to the inevitable mish-mash of changes resulting from preservation - especially in poor old Scotsman’s case!  
 

 

So services hauled when owned by Peglar, Macalpine, FS Ltd and UK Gov (via DCMS agency) don't count? I would accept 'not accurate the period xx to yy' but to use 'fictitious' is misleading.

[RichardT]

41 minutes ago, Bomag said:

So services hauled when owned by Peglar, Macalpine, FS Ltd and UK Gov (via DCMS agency) don't count? I would accept 'not accurate the period xx to yy' but to use 'fictitious' is misleading.

It's interesting.  I would posit that restored locos hauling trains with no meaningful transport function other than as an "experience" are great fun, but are essentially performative fiction. 

 

They have one of the main attributes of fiction - creating an imaginative situation that allows you to get an insight, albeit watered down, into sensations, concepts, emotions and attitudes which you might not have experienced in reality.  That's why the NRM runs Scotsman on the mainline - to offer a glimpse and a smell of something that no longer exists (the steam-powered mainline railway), as a prod to the imagination and empathy of the public.  (There was also the idea that it would earn some money, but the history of Scotsman shows that to have been a forlorn hope from day 1!)    

 

But yes, "fictitious" in the way I used it before was probably too strong given that the loco *has* looked like that at some point in its post-service afterlife.    That said, describing a model that looks like the one in the picture as an "A1" is not true.

 

I suspect we've done this to death now.  I was just hopeful that we might get in N what has already been produced in 00 - a first run Gresley Pacific.

 

Cheers. 

Edited August 23, 2020 by RichardT

[Les1952]

Dapol do know what is needed to make a Gresley A1, and it is surprisingly little in the way of new tooling.  However I suspect that a Gresley A1 would have to wait until the general update of the chassis, somewhere in the dim and distant future.

 

In the mean time a few reissues do no harm, especially to Dapol's balance sheet.  At least it gives a supply of new chassis should any of my A3 stud wear out completely, which will be longer now as Croft Spa hasn't attended any exhibitions lately- two days of tanking round and round with ten coaches in toll does take its toll....

 

Les

[johny retro]

Rails have announced Mallard and silver king as 'new releases' on their website.

Forgive my ignorance, but are these actually new models, or are Dapol still using the same tooling and tech from around 10 years ago?

And if so, how good are they?

[Kris]

23 hours ago, johny retro said:

Rails have announced Mallard and silver king as 'new releases' on their website.

Forgive my ignorance, but are these actually new models, or are Dapol still using the same tooling and tech from around 10 years ago?

And if so, how good are they?

These will be the same tools and tech as 10 years ago. I've never owned an A3 or A4 but if they are like the other Dapol models they are likely to be noisy.

[Ed-farms]

Same tooling, I own 1 A3 and 4 A4's and find them to be good runners, no noise issues on my end

[Hilux5972]

Anyone else seeing an issue here?

[TomE]

Looks like it’s suffered some sort of crush damage perhaps? 

 

 

Tom. 

 

[Les1952]

On 04/11/2022 at 18:15, Hilux5972 said:

Anyone else seeing an issue here?

 

Some of mine do droop a little, but 60010 and 60019 have just done a day of exhibition running at Spalding without any issues.

 

 

All the very best

Les

 

[Hilux5972]

Again on Rails Facebook pages. The cab is fine but still then pony truck on the green one. 

[Crepello]

Has anyone come up with a solution for the wonky Cartazzi truck?

[woodenhead]

41 minutes ago, Crepello said:

Has anyone come up with a solution for the wonky Cartazzi truck?

Buy a Hornby one 😛

[Les1952]

15 hours ago, Crepello said:

Has anyone come up with a solution for the wonky Cartazzi truck?

 

They appear to straighten themselves as you run them.  I noticed a distinctly wonky truck on one of mine after I'd photographed it (see also my post above).

 

 

A year or so later the same truck ran straight as a die at Spalding, and ran for a whole day without derailing.  The loco had been in the loco stock box for most of the intervening time as I worked on other layouts.

 

 

 

Les

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by Les1952
remembered I had a picture

[Stefen1988]

All rerun Gresley A4 seems to come with silver painted Buffers - even Dominion of South Africa & Mallard in the later BR green Liveries - is this correct for the prototypes?

Edited January 15, 2023 by Stefen1988

[Crepello]

It is. Buffers were often burnished by their depots, either for special workings or just for pride in their job.