Dogmatix Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 "CNY" ? Chinese New Year? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
orcadian Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 "CNY" ? Chinese New Year?Yes, that's it! (Sorry - smileys greyed out and I cant add any for you!) But do have a very happy New Year and a long and prosperous life! (And enjoy your modelling!) Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DapolDave Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Hi, As you can imagine, getting items made before Chinese New Year is fraught with problems, and things get moved around a bit. I know they are pushing on getting the Westernsmentioned in my earlier mail built and finished and shipped before CNY, The weathered ones, the WLA one and The Lord and Butler one will be subject to getting deco samples produced and accepted before production, hence the delay. As for which maroon? I got a Heljan Western and used that for an exact colour match. Cheers Dave 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
47164 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Dave, many thanks for the updates as always,and apologies if I have lit the ''touch paper'' so to speak. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted January 11, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 11, 2013 "CNY" ? Chinese New Year? As you can imagine, getting items made before Chinese New Year is fraught with problems, and things get moved around a bit. I know they are pushing on getting the Westerns mentioned in my earlier mail built and finished and shipped before CNY, Hope they don't put any of those jumping jack fire crackers in the Westerns as they leave China! That would definitely make them "Whizzos" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon020 Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Chinese New Year - Ah, D1074... Western Serpent 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRman Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Hope they don't put any of those jumping jack fire crackers in the Westerns as they leave China! That would definitely make them "Whizzos" D1075 'Western Firecracker'! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted January 12, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 12, 2013 D1075 'Western Firecracker'! That aptly describes D1011 "Western Thunderer" which, upon the only known occasion it was rostered to haul the family anywhere, completely failed to thunder at all and spat oil and sparks all over Penzance station before sitting firmly down and requiring us to seek out a bus to the chosen destination. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Andy Y Posted January 30, 2013 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 30, 2013 I've felt closer, as I'm sure many RMweb members have, to the gestation of this model than any other to date being able to see the laser scanning and witness the pitfalls that can happen in that process, the CAD evolution and the input of several forum members in open discussion and holding various pre-production models with the opportunity to comment upon those. The time's coming for its general release with the first issue being D1000 in Desert Sand livery for STEAM at Swindon. I've been poring over a production model of D1038 'Western Sovereign' for the last day or so and I really am bowled over by it. For those who like Dapol's Class 22 I'm sure you will love as it's another step forward in my opinion with several improvements on minor issues on the 22. After 50 years of trying I'd say we've got not just the best Western we've ever had the opportunity to own as 4mm modellers but, overall, the best diesel model. The shapes, proportions and details that seem to have troubled Trix, Hornby, Lima and Heljan in turn now seem to be laid to rest as this looks right from every angle and every inch wreaks of the character and subtleties of the real thing. The performance is superb from a smooth, slow crawl through to a scale speed which looks right for the 90mph achieved by Misha Black's designed loco in service with adequate haulage capacity of 12+ Bachmann Mark 1 coaches behind its solid weight. The specification for the model is as follows: 5-pol motor Twin brass flywheels NEM coupler pockets Directional lighting (excellently muted!) 21-pin decoder socket Provision for large speaker Etched roof fan grilles and catwalk Sprung buffers Self-adhesive headcodes Etched number and nameplates Separately fitted wire handrails, windscreen wipers and lamp brackets. Two variations of front valances are supplied, one for tension lock couplings as shown above and the full fairing for scale couplings as shown below. The accessory bag supplied includes buffer beam piping, door and side steps if curve clearance permits, dummy and tension lock couplings, speedometer cable and scale brakes for mounting at each end of each bogie (if you don't want your model to traverse any curves!). The accessory pack includes a fret of the lifting rings for the roof panels, these have been left as a customer fit as it would certainly have added to labour cost. Be warned, these are a pig to fit as they're about .75mm in diameter with a small tail which locates in the roof slots. I cut and lost the first one trying to turn it around for the best hold, there's 32 of them to do and there are no spares. I've suggested to Dave, in between bouts of profanity, that it may be wise for their approved spares agent, DCC Supplies, to stock up on these. Either that or there'll be plenty spare as many people won't fancy fitting them. I'm only moaning because I've got to give this model back to Dave on Saturday and I would be quite happy doing it on my own model (when the BR Blue ones arrive) as the end result is most pleasing and fine. The clarity of the fan grille etches and catwalks can be seen above too. Very, very good. The clearly illustrated instruction leaflet (which acknowledges the help provided by several RMweb members) shows the headcodes as being a self-adhesive external fit. I decided to take a look inside for the potential of internal fitting. The body is very easily removed through four screws, one toward each corner on the underside outside the bogies. The body then just lifts off. The cab internals can be removed by gently squeezing the body sides apart with the fingers and the cab structure then comes out. The cab is well detailed and crying out for a driver/secondman. If the headcodes are trimmed a little further than they come off the sheet it's possible to slide them behind the plastic glazing and secure with a small amount of glue on the bottom lip. Once yo're done the cab substructure can be replaced, again by parting the body sides slightly before inserting the lighting block. The decoder socket is easily accessible with sufficient room. The opposite end of the chassis has space for a large rectangular speaker for DCC sound. The etched name and numberplates are as good quality as it is possible to obtain, supplied by Shawplan and from their Extreme Etchings range, thoughtfully there is a small dotted line to assist positioning of the plates. This marking shown below approximates to the centre line but it's useful to refer to prototype images to get your reference points. The clarity of printing is good with ho bleed evident and clear portrayal of the coaching stock crest seen on the green Westerns. There's attention to detail with the filler pipes access and gauges. The speedometer cable glues into the chassis above the bogie and is a loose fit against the wheel allowing lateral movement. The bogies feature separately manufactured cosmetic springs rather than the moulded items more usually found on RTR products. There's a small panel line visible between the roof panel over the cab and the roof panel before the fan grilles which I'm not convinced should be there and aside from those lifting eyes there is nothing else, in my eyes, to fault this loco. With an RRP of £129.95 I cannot quibble about the value of this product as it is substantially better than any previous Western; and probably any other diesel. Dave may just have to fight me on Saturday for it! 63 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Endacott Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Those headcodes will need to be replaced. Geoff Endacott 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim H Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Can't wait for the N gauge version! 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmthtrains - David Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Looks stunning, and a great review Andy, but...could you add which scale this is? I am guessing OO as you mention tension lock couplings, but would be useful to include this in the title as Dapol are of course releasing this in N as well. David 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Yes, it is 4mm David (as alluded to in the article) but it bodes very well for the 2mm version. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold queensquare Posted January 30, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 30, 2013 Stunning, I'm almost tempted to get a blue one for my display cabinet. Very much looking forward to the N version. Jerry 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) Just..... WOW! Geoff is right about the reporting numbers in the headcode panels though - they're a touch too small but it's easily fixable and thankfully the font looks right for starters, other than that - see my first line above! I know I've made this point countless times before when new models appear, but in the case of BR diesel locos the way they 'sit' on their bogies is often what makes them look like big, solid, heavy pieces of kit... Dave and team, once again you've got it bang on in model form. The Westerns had an elegance about them which was all their own, but see one close up and you can see how big and heavy they are, and they seem to squat down on their bogies hugging the running rails, something which is emphasised by the presence of the all round skirting... Dapol have captured this to a tee.... just think back to all those models which had acres of daylight visible between the body and chassis parts... I say again, well done Dapol! (Inevitably, someone is bound to say 'can we have a D8xx Warship now please Dave?' somewhere in this thread so I thought I'd best get it in quick ). Superb. Edited January 30, 2013 by Rugd1022 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold gwrrob Posted January 30, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) Very nice and it bodes well for when the GWR railcar comes along. Whats the haulage capacity like Andy ? Get TW to run it on Little Bytham. Its 12 Bachman mk1 coaches then I've just read. Didn't read the review properly ! Edited January 30, 2013 by gwrrob 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I'll have to make a note to remember this one for consideration for model of the year in 2013. While I'm not a diesel person, this model looks fabulous. Thanks for the great review Andy! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesysmith Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Lets just say a western is so far removed from the yorkshire I model, you would more likely see somethiing yank shaped. But having seen the model, even I am weakening. That is just superb. As to it being model of the year 2013, it depends on what they release later. I`ll go now, saying in my best 7 of 9 voice "resistance is futile". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Wait what's that sound? My wallet is screaming again! Well done to Dave and all at Dapol, I hope all future projects are a) get as fantastic a response and as much help as this one has and b) look as stunning. Roll on the Royal Alex Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Andy, if I may be so bold... it even passes the black and white test too... ;O) 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cary hill Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Whats the haulage capacity like Andy ? Get TW to run it on Little Bytham. 12+ Bachmann Mk1s per the review 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Taz Posted January 30, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 30, 2013 Now that is gorgeous. Could tempt me to move my 1960 based layout forward a couple of years 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrushType4 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Andy, just need a 7mm version now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 40-something Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Superb!!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted January 30, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 30, 2013 Must get my order in tomorrow!! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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