Kernow commission ex LSWR Gate Stock Pull Push Sets

[rembrow]

I have one on Pre order and would of not spotted this had I not checked it here, did folk get an e-mail on this or were Kernow just going to leave the heads up on their website?

The Kernow update yesterday included the draft of an e-mail that they are intending to send to pre order customers. Probably this will go out in phases as they have done with the other longstanding projects. They did say that we needn't wait for the e-mail and could phone them from yesterday onwards. I had the usual efficient and helpful service, they located my order in less than 30secs by surname and postcode, and confirmed my latest used credit card.

[Caddy]

At the risk of opening an old debate one wonders now how much commercial advantage there really is in producing high quality, high value goods in China. Have not Dapol recently invested in a state of the art production facility for plastic moulding?

 

Surely the fact of dealing with producers and factories close by must be easier, and in many cases with people who know a little more about the prototype in the first place - remember those wagons printed on one side only! With the predicted upsurge in interest rates in the next 12 months added in to the mix I cannot for the life of me see prices remaining even at the level they are for the next round of retailers commissions. If someone were for example to commission and produce some Southern catering vehicles I would like many I suspect be happy to pay probably 65 to 70 pounds at the current rate.

 

The question is, could they not now be produced in the UK for retail sale at that price?

[autocoach]

At the risk of opening an old debate one wonders now how much commercial advantage there really is in producing high quality, high value goods in China. Have not Dapol recently invested in a state of the art production facility for plastic moulding?

 

Surely the fact of dealing with producers and factories close by must be easier, and in many cases with people who know a little more about the prototype in the first place - remember those wagons printed on one side only! With the predicted upsurge in interest rates in the next 12 months added in to the mix I cannot for the life of me see prices remaining even at the level they are for the next round of retailers commissions. If someone were for example to commission and produce some Southern catering vehicles I would like many I suspect be happy to pay probably 65 to 70 pounds at the current rate.

 

The question is, could they not now be produced in the UK for retail sale at that price?

See http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/126372-new-rapido-video-from-the-lrc-factory/ for what goes into making a  railroad/railway model to the quality expected these days. 

 

I suspect that the technology to automate the production assembly and decoration of RTR models will change over the next 10 years. And the UK and US may no longer be able to afford the luxury of hand assembled RTR goods. 

 

Note that I received my e-mail from Kernow this morning and am calculating whether the 6 year wait was a bit too long. My circumstances have changed from my order in 2011 and while I still model Padstow, the connection of the gated stock to that location in 1947 is tenuous. In the meantime I have received in the last year two versions of Hornby's Maunsell 58 foot rebuilds (sets 44 and 45) that do belong in Padstow on both North Cornwall and possibly Bodmin services. 

Edited September 20, 2017 by autocoach

[Nile]

At the risk of opening an old debate one wonders now how much commercial advantage there really is in producing high quality, high value goods in China. Have not Dapol recently invested in a state of the art production facility for plastic moulding?

 

Surely the fact of dealing with producers and factories close by must be easier, and in many cases with people who know a little more about the prototype in the first place - remember those wagons printed on one side only! With the predicted upsurge in interest rates in the next 12 months added in to the mix I cannot for the life of me see prices remaining even at the level they are for the next round of retailers commissions. If someone were for example to commission and produce some Southern catering vehicles I would like many I suspect be happy to pay probably 65 to 70 pounds at the current rate.

 

The question is, could they not now be produced in the UK for retail sale at that price?

 

Little Loco Company is managing it

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/82812-little-loco-company/page-17&do=findComment&comment=2533467

[Oldddudders]

 

The question is, could they not now be produced in the UK for retail sale at that price?

 

I feel sure that those, like Kernow, who are busily upsetting the traditional manufacturing applecart, are looking closely at the costs in China and Europe. There is a perception, right or wrong, that nimble Oriental fingers simply work better at assembly, wage rates entirely apart. I have no idea whether that is true, but actually assembling the things suddenly got a whole heap better in terms of viable add-on detail when manufacturing moved to China. My first experience of this sea-change was a US-market Life-Like Proto 2000 loco in about 1991. I know India and other emerging-economy nations have been tried as affordable successors to China, but that is where all manufacturing remains. We have been spoilt by China in the quality of detail available. Finding a cheaper successor with equivalent skills seems still some way off. 

[Oldddudders]

Little Loco Company is managing it

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/82812-little-loco-company/page-17&do=findComment&comment=2533467

In the senior scale. A significant easing in terms of the detailing required - everything is a bit bigger!

[Nile]

When I eventually get a 48DS from LLC I'll take a photo of it next to a OO loco for a size comparison.

[Georgeconna]

Ta

 

The Kernow update yesterday included the draft of an e-mail that they are intending to send to pre order customers. Probably this will go out in phases as they have done with the other longstanding projects. They did say that we needn't wait for the e-mail and could phone them from yesterday onwards. I had the usual efficient and helpful service, they located my order in less than 30secs by surname and postcode, and confirmed my latest used credit card.

Thanks, Was onto Kernow about seeing this info up here before being notified by them.A Mail was then sent out to me with Explanation. No brainer to pay the pre order price really. We would have to do it some day anyhow!  Kernow are fab to Deal with, Wish they had the loyalty points for overseas customs though.

[amdaley]

Sorry for asking this question again but I didn't get an answer on the previous occasion I asked.

 

Are the sample photos on the shop site photos of the actual production model that will be supplied to customers ? 

I'd heard mention that there were some livery tweaks to be done so was just wondering ?

 

At the time I asked here I also asked Kernow but didn't get an answer to my enquiry there either ?

[Graham_Muz]

Tony (and perhaps whoever else you are on behalf of...)

 

The images on the Kernow web site (and for that matter today's weekly newsletter) are at the moment as far as I am aware still the livery samples from earlier in the year and yes I understand that livery tweaks (which is the purpose of such samples) have been made that will be reflected in the production versions that are due for shipment soon.

[Bulleidboy100]

I received my Kernow Newsletter today (it's always Friday). Having read the email to be sent out, I replied immediately saying take the payment now. I have always found Kernows a pleasure to deal with.

[amdaley]

Tony (and perhaps whoever else you are on behalf of...)

 

The images on the Kernow web site (and for that matter today's weekly newsletter) are at the moment as far as I am aware still the livery samples from earlier in the year and yes I understand that livery tweaks (which is the purpose of such samples) have been made that will be reflected in the production versions that are due for shipment soon.

 

Hi Graham.

 

Thank you for your reply.

I look forward to seeing the production version when they are available.

They look like really nice models & if liveried & detailed correctly would be a very worthwhile addition to any layout or collection.

​I will wait until I see the production models before purchasing.

 

As to your leading comment, I think at this stage I have a fair idea of who you are referring to.

This is not the first occasion it has been suggested on here that I'm acting on behalf of someone else and people making snide remarks has become extremely tiring even though it seems to be the norm on this forum.

I'm not interested in anyone's petty squabbles so please let me out of it.

I'm not from the UK & have never lived there so am very unlikely to know or have ever met the person you or anyone else may be referring to.

 

My only interest is in the models under discussion.

 

Thank you.

Tony.

[PhilH]

 'and people making snide remarks has become extremely tiring even though it seems to be the norm on this forum'

 

 

Isn't that a snide remark in itself? Not a statement of fact in my opinion.

[NHY 581]

Please move on ladies.............

 

 

It would be a tad ironic for a thread that has run for a whisker under six years to end up getting locked a matter of weeks before the release of its subject matter.

 

 

Rob

[Robin Brasher]

I have not received an email from Kernow and I ordered three sets on 12 January 2012 on the same order as Calbourne which arrived about a year ago.

[darren01]

Question is will everyone that ordered them still be getting one?, What if they don't get enough coming back for the models to be relased?. Hope not.

Also I am a little confused with his bit in the email "and Third coach and will be priced at £129.99.", So is one coach £129.99?. 

Edited September 23, 2017 by darren01

[No Decorum]

Question is will everyone that ordered them still be getting one?, What if they don't get enough coming back for the models to be relased?. Hope not.

I should think that Kernow will borrow any shortfall. The extra money paid by people who do not pay in advance will offset the bank charges.

[No Decorum]

Question is will everyone that ordered them still be getting one?, What if they don't get enough coming back for the models to be relased?. Hope not.

Also I am a little confused with his bit in the email "and Third coach and will be priced at £129.99.", So is one coach £129.99?. 

The second line failed to show on my screen at first. I take it you refer to the comment on the website: “Each twin pack will contain the Driving Brake Composite (which was downgraded to Driving Brake Third during 1939) and Third coach and will be priced at £129.99.” Delete the part of the sentence which describes the content of the pack and you get, “Each twin pack will contain the Driving Brake Composite (which was downgraded to Driving Brake Third during 1939) and Third coach and will be priced at £129.99.”

[Ian Hargrave]

Question is will everyone that ordered them still be getting one?, What if they don't get enough coming back for the models to be relased?. Hope not.

Also I am a little confused with his bit in the email "and Third coach and will be priced at £129.99.", So is one coach £129.99?. 

 

A simple answer to your concerns would be to give them a ring.

[Robin Brasher]

What happens if you are on holiday and don't get back until after 18th October or are in hospital? I still have not received an email from Kernow and I don't receive their newsletters. If I was not on the RM web I would not know anything about this request to pay £90 in advance for three gate stock sets and I will be away during October and out of email contact.

 

Anyway thanks to the vigilance of the people on the RM Web I will ring up Kernow and send them £90. The three push-pull sets in Southern olive green, BR crimson and BR green will be very useful when they arrive to run with my M7s and should be worth waiting five and three quarter years for.

[Gwiwer]

What happens if you are on holiday and don't get back until after 18th October or are in hospital?

 

There is only so much any retailer can reasonably do to alert its customers to such things.  Nothing I can think of would cover all bases within the bounds of reason.  There is always the potential for some - hopefully a very small minority - to not be aware of this issue and end up paying the new shelf price.  

 

As the stock has already been produced (as stated by KMRC) and the factory is only waiting for payment before shipping the answer to whether there would be enough should be academic.  They already exist.  The only question is how much will each customer pay.  This thread is not perhaps a balanced overall sample but to draw from comments made here it seems that those who have been contacted are by and large happy to pay up-front knowing the wait is very nearly over.

[Oldddudders]

None of us has received the email as far as I know. And the news of the 'Chinese change' is posted on the website.

[Gilwell Park]

None of us has received the email as far as I know. And the news of the 'Chinese change' is posted on the website.

I received my email on the 20th & promptly paid up. Originally ordered in 2011.  Roger

[tetsudofan]

I received my email on the 20th & promptly paid up. Originally ordered in 2011.  Roger

 

Exactly the same for me. Presumably Kernow are working through the pre-orders in chronological order so the earlier you did the pre-order the earlier you get the email.

 

Keith

[Oldddudders]

I received my email on the 20th & promptly paid up. Originally ordered in 2011.  Roger

Ah, that was the day I paid, so Kernow have a system that works - send emails only where needed!