Dapol new N-gauge M7

[Haddocksrock]

Had my BR lettered green example arrive from Rails and on looking at it it sloped down from back to front buffer beam and also across the body from side to side. So having seen Dapols post saying they would do the bogie modification if you returned it I posted it off to them with a copy of the receipt and a note saying what was wrong.

A couple of days later I received a slightly huffy phone call asking why I had returned it to them and not Rails? I pointed out that they had said on their web site that they offered to carry out the alteration and that I assumed all models were affected so Rails would not have a acceptable example. They said that only very few models had been affected and they would look at or replace it.

It arrived back today and either they never bothered to look at or just sent a replacement without inspecting it but the loco has the exact same faults! A couple of pics of the loco as it arrived today are attached.

Anybody else had the same problem? I'll give Rails a ring Monday and hopefully they will sort it out 🤞

[AndyB]

@Haddocksrock can I ask if your British Railways-letterd one was DCC fitted?

I bought a late crest one and thinking of getting the green "British Railways" one, too.

[Haddocksrock]

2 hours ago, AndyB said:

@Haddocksrock can I ask if your British Railways-letterd one was DCC fitted?

I bought a late crest one and thinking of getting the green "British Railways" one, too.

Hi,

No just a plain one. Did your late crest have the ski slope problem?

[AndyB]

45 minutes ago, Haddocksrock said:

Hi,

No just a plain one. Did your late crest have the ski slope problem?

 

To an extent. I believe it had Bern modified before shipping to the retailer.

I took the view that it could be years before Dapol bring out a replacement. So I could either live with the slight flaw, or not have a loco I needed for my layout at all. 

[Haddocksrock]

Thanks for the reply I assume the modification managed to lower the rear buffers down to somewhere near the correct height?

Or is it like my example shown in the pictures?

[AndyB]

9 hours ago, Haddocksrock said:

Thanks for the reply I assume the modification managed to lower the rear buffers down to somewhere near the correct height?

Or is it like my example shown in the pictures?

 

I bought it after any modification was made. Whether this particular example needed to be modified I can't say. 

 

 

Some purchasers say that as they view their layouts from above, rather than at lineside, it won't make that much difference to them. 

[fezza]

Both manufacturer and retailer should be ashamed that such obviously faulty products ended up with a customer. I'm now very reluctant to buy anything from Dapol unless I've seen it and tested it in a shop.

[Haddocksrock]

My example has returned to Dapol again for examination and hopefully rectification.

I will post an update when it is returned.

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by Haddocksrock
Added word

[D9020 Nimbus]

My late crest example has this problem. Additionally, it will not pass through the (Kato) points on my test track with the bogie leading — just sits with the driving wheels spinning, which suggests that there is insufficient weight on the drivers. I've returned it.

 

Time Dapol introduced some quality control—not just on the liveries. Some of their recent mistakes should have been spotted were any kind of QC being employed. They seem to be getting worse rather than better.

[Haddocksrock]

Well the M7 has arrived back form Dapol! It has been looked at and some adjustment/modification has been carried out which has resulted in a, perhaps, 50% improvement. It still has the slope from the back bufferbeam down to the front. It is still more pronounced on the RH side than the LH. I have taken some pics of it which i will attach.

 

The problem now is:-

Do I accept it as it is? As AndyB said it could be years before Dapol rerun this particular edition of the M7 and it does add a touch of colour to the layout as a carriage pilot a la Waterloo. On the other hand any new edition will surely have a modified chassis to correct the fault. Any resale value would obviously be vastly reduced as it is now a known fault on this first batch of models.

Do I accept that I have paid full price for an item that is not of full price quality? Rails of Sheffield have offered a full refund if I do decide not to accept it, so they have played fair on this.

Even though Dapol have told me only a few models are affected by this problem I suspect that this is not the case and that it is a fundamental design flaw on this first batch of models. I think either the bogie is too high or the clearance for the bogie wheel diameter has been misjudged when allowing for the ride height and one of these is jacking up the rear of the chassis.

 

I would look to Dapol to investigate and find a real cure for this as obviously the current modification is not working; although i will not hold my breath. I would accept a replacement bogie at some stage even with slightly smaller wheels if necessary. However with my dealings with Dapol over this i feel that they hope it will just fade away and we will just accept it as part of railway modelling as manufacturers in this field are not held to the same standards of customer satisfaction as, say, car makers or domestic appliance manufacturers! I doubt if any of the magazines would want to get involved and it will be interesting to see if any samples from this run of models are submitted to them for review.

[Silly Moo]

If it were me I would ask very nicely for someone at Rails to try and find me a better example of this particular loco. I know that they shouldn’t have to do this but they might have a better one in stock. 
 

The quality of these locos seems to be very variable. I have one with a badly fitting roof which I have decided to keep because it runs well and the livery is applied perfectly. I foolishly thought I could rectify the roof (how difficult could it be?)  but even with lots of careful filing and fiddling I can’t get it to fit properly. Something is just not just not square. A look on eBay shows quite a few others with the same fault. 
 

It’s such a pity that this loco has been a disappointment. 

[Gareth Collier]

I would return it. It doesn't appear to be only a few models affected and issues aren't just limited to the sloping footplate or to just one livery but across all the new releases.

On the Dapol Digest Joel confirmed all locos would be checked at Chirk and sloping footplates corrected by their "bending of their pick ups solution" before dispatch after the problems raised with the first releases but this evidently wasn't done or didn't solve things.

As already mentioned this revised model has been a disappointment and possibly worse than the originals (except the original plastic handrails that warped). If people just put up with the poor QC Dapol can't learn for the future.

[Haddocksrock]

When I spoke to Rails and they offered a full refund I did ask about the possibility of a replacement without the sloping body problem. They rather poured cold water on that idea!!!! Which leads me to believe that the whole of this first manufactured batch have the same problem.

[fezza]

Serious question then - does anyone have one that is properly decorated, doesn't slope and will crawl properly through points?

 

If not Dapol should do the decent thing and recall them.

[Haddocksrock]

13 minutes ago, fezza said:

Serious question then - does anyone have one that is properly decorated, doesn't slope and will crawl properly through points?

 

If not Dapol should do the decent thing and recall them.

Interesting question!

[Kaput]

One thing to remember, the more people decide to just keep the dodgy ones instead of returning them the easier it is for Dapol to say the issues only impact a small number of the models.

 

If every single dodgy one was returned to the manufacturer they'll be a lot more likely to do something about it.

[Crepello]

11 hours ago, fezza said:

Serious question then - does anyone have one that is properly decorated, doesn't slope and will crawl properly through points?

 

If not Dapol should do the decent thing and recall them.

I seem to be one of the lucky ones. Mine’s good.

[Silly Moo]

12 hours ago, fezza said:

Serious question then - does anyone have one that is properly decorated, doesn't slope and will crawl properly through points?

 

If not Dapol should do the decent thing and recall them.

Mine is good apart from the cab roof. I have seen good examples it all seems a bit random, luck of the draw. 
 

Some people don’t seem to mind about the faults, an acquaintance of mine has one with a distinct ‘dent’ in the running board but doesn’t seem to have noticed it. I didn’t want to point it out. He is very happy with his loco apart from its pulling capacity which is another matter. 

[HExpressD]

12 hours ago, fezza said:

Serious question then - does anyone have one that is properly decorated, doesn't slope and will crawl properly through points?

 

If not Dapol should do the decent thing and recall them.

I think people can get a bit carried away and slaphappy with the idea of recalling a product if it isn't right. In my experience, a product will only be recalled if it is genuinely dangerous (this goes for all industries) not if the quality is a bit iffy. 

[AndyB]

FWIW I've placed an order for a 2nd M7. It was always my intention to do this before the problems became known.

 

I'm trying to move away from having "one example of every (Southern) locomotive" on my layout. Rather to present a more realistic view of a railway where "the ordinary" was the norm and the exotic was the exception.

 

I was originally going for one of the early and late crest black liveried examples. But having seen the green "British Railways" one on display I've gone a little off piste and opted for a bit of colour. So my rural Hampshire layout will seemingly host a Waterloo pilot! Rule 1, as they say. 

 

So I guess the point I'm making is that inspite of the issues with the model I'm happy to ignore that to show that sometimes mundane way railways operate. 

[Haddocksrock]

2 hours ago, AndyB said:

FWIW I've placed an order for a 2nd M7. It was always my intention to do this before the problems became known.

 

I'm trying to move away from having "one example of every (Southern) locomotive" on my layout. Rather to present a more realistic view of a railway where "the ordinary" was the norm and the exotic was the exception.

 

I was originally going for one of the early and late crest black liveried examples. But having seen the green "British Railways" one on display I've gone a little off piste and opted for a bit of colour. So my rural Hampshire layout will seemingly host a Waterloo pilot! Rule 1, as they say. 

 

So I guess the point I'm making is that inspite of the issues with the model I'm happy to ignore that to show that sometimes mundane way railways operate. 

Let us know how it looks when it arrives 🤞👍

Mine (if I keep it) has apparently been transferred over to the Central section for carriage pilot duties at St Paul's along with the ex Brighton Works Stroudley liveried Terrier as station pilot! If it was good enough for Liverpool Street it's good 

enough excuse for me LOL

[AndyB]

I was asked to post a photo of my new DCC-fitted M7 once it arrived. 

Hopefully both shots below are level and give a reasonably accurate account of the loco. 

 

There is a bit of residual slope on it. I don't know if at some point this was worse and its been corrected before shipping to my retailer. Or if it was OK (ish) to start with. 

 

 

The rear-view image has a bit of a lean. But I note there is some play I how it sits and that is sufficient to make it level. I don't suppose I'll be looking at it in extreme close up like this too often.

 

 

It ran smoothly on the test track in the shop.

 

 

[Landshrew47572]

It is an awful shame to see what should have been a successful upgrade to the old tooling spoilt by a clearly noticeable visual defect affecting a good majority of the initial batch.
 

I was looking at picking up an LSWR example for a new small layout idea but unless I can guarantee I don’t get lumbered with a wonky loco and have to sort out the issue myself, I’ll hold fire. So many promotional photos at retailers clearly show the front facing lean…

[Mr chapman]

Has anyone tried swapping bodies with an original spec M7? Be interesting to see if the new body sits alright on the older chassis. Or the older body sits alright on the newer chassis.

[Gareth Collier]

1 hour ago, Mr chapman said:

Has anyone tried swapping bodies with an original spec M7? Be interesting to see if the new body sits alright on the older chassis. Or the older body sits alright on the newer chassis.

Unfortunately not. It's been tried on another forum but there are numerous differences both front and rear.