Dapol Mk3 Buffet - they exist

[valeofyork]

Hi Justin,

 

Yes they will but I have no current production slots for them until at least September.

Cheers

Dave

 

Is there much point in this? Won't pretty much everybody wanting to complete the WSMR / Pretendolino sets have bought the twin pack? (as I did to complete the WSMR one)?

 

I assume Justin is after a buffet in the old Virgin livery as the Mk2 rakes did have Mk3 buffets. The Pretendolino-liveried buffets (of which there were only ever two) have only run as part of the Mk3 set, WB64.

[justin1985]

I assume Justin is after a buffet in the old Virgin livery as the Mk2 rakes did have Mk3 buffets. The Pretendolino-liveried buffets (of which there were only ever two) have only run as part of the Mk3 set, WB64.

 

Precisely! There are an awful lot of loco hauled Dapol Mk 3 coaches out there in Virgin, not to mention Intercity etc. liveries, that could probably do with catering vehicles! 

 

Personally, I'm just after a catering Mk 3 with buffers to strip and repaint into Anglia Railways green, without having to buy a twin pack and end up with a Mk3 coach I won't use! These Anglia Mk3 TFRBs were inserted into Mk 2 rakes. 

[valeofyork]

Precisely! There are an awful lot of loco hauled Dapol Mk 3 coaches out there in Virgin, not to mention Intercity etc. liveries, that could probably do with catering vehicles! 

 

Personally, I'm just after a catering Mk 3 with buffers to strip and repaint into Anglia Railways green, without having to buy a twin pack and end up with a Mk3 coach I won't use! These Anglia Mk3 TFRBs were inserted into Mk 2 rakes. 

 

Anglia had six Mk3a RFMs as I recall without checking (TRFBs are HST vehicles). All of them are still in use on the line; they were the only vehicles in the old Anglia mainline fleet which were kept; the 86s and Mk2s being replaced by 90s and Mk3a / Mk3b carriages.

 

Anglia also had some Mk2 RFBs, some of which are still around elsewhere. One of them is now on the nearby Mid-Norfolk Railway, painted in blue and grey but still with its Anglia interior. Anglia only have one ex-Virgin Mk3a RFM, with the other catering vehicles being former TSOs with about a quarter of the seats removed and a counter area put in (there are six of these vehicles, I think).

 

The Anglia RFMs were the only Mk3a/b (i.e. loco-hauled) vehicles which weren't part of the Virgin fleet, excluding departmental and Royal Train vehicles which obviously aren't in passenger use.

 

I would also be interested in an old-Virgin livery RFM - currently have a Farish one but the Dapol Mk3s are far superior.

[davetheroad]

Just thinking of getting an East Midlands HST to complement my Pretendolino

 

HST book set available

buffet available

standard coaches available

aargh! first class coaches NOT available

 

If you wish to buy an east midlands HST you are stuffed.

 

Or is converting a second into a first merely a question of slapping some red dots on?

 

do east midland HST's have guard seconds?

[Steven B]

East Midlands Trains HSTs will have a TGS in the rake but Dapol have yet to release these in any livery yet.

 

Only the earlier blue/grey livery HSTs would have run routinely with no TGS. The Guards complained that the area set aside for them at the rear of the power car was too noisy and so the TGSs were built.

 

The release of the HST trailers has been a bit of a mess IMO. Later releases of coaches as suffered from miss-matching livery (different colour roof in I/C Swallow, matt/satin finish on Virgin). I've had an Intercity Executive HST for two years now and still only have four TS in the matching livery. I'm still waiting for TF, buffet & TGS cars to complete the rake. It perhaps would have been better if Dapol had all the models (power car, TGS, TF, TS & buffet) available at the start and released a couple of new liveries each year rather than releasing all the liveries in one go and making us wait years to compete our trains.

 

Interesting Farish did a new run of buffet & TGS cars in I/C Swallow (1000 of each) a couple of years ago and they've now sold out. Had Farish done a run of TS, TF, buffer & TGS in I/C exec I think I'd sell my Dapol Mk3s and finally have a complete train I can play with. I suspect I'm not alone...

 

Happy modelling.

 

Steven B.

[Revolution Mike]

Hi Steven

 

I agree with you, I don't think Dapol have really got it right on the Mk3 releases.  For similar reasons I've been accumulating a Farish Virgin HST rake - much easier to get hold of than Dapol Virgin Mk3s (aside from the missing types).

 

Cheers, Mike

[Armchair Modeller]

Anyone know if any more FGW coaches are due? The buffet has been around for weeks now but no sign of any new first or second class coaches.

[roundhouse]

I am sure I heard soemwhere that thye are still some time off. I am after another first and 4 standard ones to complete mine.

 

One thing I did notice the other day when in a hotel overlooking Carfiff central is that the HST coach roof colours do vary, some being virtually black, some with repainted blue patches whilst others are newly repainted blue, al in the same set.

 

Ian

[Armchair Modeller]

I am sure I heard soemwhere that thye are still some time off. I am after another first and 4 standard ones to complete mine.

 

One thing I did notice the other day when in a hotel overlooking Carfiff central is that the HST coach roof colours do vary, some being virtually black, some with repainted blue patches whilst others are newly repainted blue, al in the same set.

 

Ian

 

We could really do with the mini buffets too in FGW livery for the 7-coach formations. Still, I guess it would not be too difficult to make one out of an ordinary coach.... if only these were available!

[roundhouse]

PH Designs do a Network rail conversion kit for mk3's. They included etched window surrounds that could be useful for converting the Dapol mk3's to the correct window configuration. FGW livery should be easy to touch up assuming the Phoenix FGW blue is a close match.

Luckily I only need one set to re-enact the FGW diversions via Banbury (although 2 sets would be nice as there were often 2 in the station at a time over Easter).

 

I am considering using the PH Designs etches to modify my WSMR buffets.

 

http://www.phd-design-etchings.co.uk/Products/2mm%20NMT%20Carriage%20Windows%20Frames/2mm%20NMT%20Carriage%20Windows%20Frames.htm

[Armchair Modeller]

I haven't looked very closely, but think the FGW mini buffets can easily be converted from a standard coach - just 2 windows to paint over and a short yellow line to denote first class at one end - plus renumbering.

[davetheroad]

Oh dear, so the TGS may well be never available.

 

OK - plan B

 

i have a full 8 coach Farish HST in the old Midland Mainline livery. Maybe an Electra Vinyls conversion will do.

 

Except that Adam Warr is having trouble with his vinyl cutting machine again.

 

Maybe better to reserve the hundreds the Dapol HST would cost for a Class142, Farish class 70 etc etc.

[Mike W]

The same PH Designs etches that are mentioned above have enough on them to do convert 2 Dapol Mk3 coaches into TGS variants. I'm hoping to start mine this week and will post progress on here when I do.

[valeofyork]

Only the earlier blue/grey livery HSTs would have run routinely with no TGS. The Guards complained that the area set aside for them at the rear of the power car was too noisy and so the TGSs were built.

 

Almost correct. The Grand Central HSTs also run without a TGS, hence it is possible to complete this set (and I have done). - PC-TF-TRSB-TS-TS-TS-TS-PC

 

I agree it would be better if the power cars and coaches to form a complete set were released at once, rather than being staggered to such an extent that it's not possible to buy them all at once.

 

When are the TGSs due in those liveries which require them?

[Steven B]

If Dapol Dave's reading this, can we PLEASE have an update on what Mk3 coaches, in what liveries are being produced, and when we can expect them. Some confirmation that the finish of the later models will match those that already exist (i.e. rather than different roof colours on I/C swallow coaches and differint matt/satin finishes on the Pretendolino coach roofs.

 

It's fairly clear that us, your customers, are getting rather frustrated with both the lack of models in the shops and the lack of news about them. It's doing Dapol no favours at all. Where's the incentive to spend hundreds of pounds on a set of models when there's no guatentee that a full train can be completed?

 

 

Happy modelling.

 

Steven B.

[47475]

It also does not help when retailers don't differentiate between HST and loco-hauled versions, especially when there are no photos available yet.

 

I need an InterCity Executive HST First Class & Buffet. I am guessing the former is not announced yet, but would I be right in saying that NC216F is the latter?

 

Also, any indication if or when a TGS will be available?

 

Checking retailers websites just adds to the confusion, therefore I agree that a definitive list posted here of what exists and what is coming in terms of MK3s would help - with item numbers, HST/buffer version clarified, and InterCity Executive/Swallow version clarified.

[DapolDave]

Hi Steven,

 

Yes i'm reading this.

 

i feel i must put across the very valid point (although not if your a modeller i suppose) that everything apart from TGS coahces are on order with China, and have been for some months now.

Delivery is based on what is prioritised by the Chinese and Dapol, and what they have to produce over the year due to our requirements.

 

With this in mind, you have to realise that other items will take preceedence if it is, for example, a high ticket item that has cost £100,000 to tool, as this model needs to come to market before a coach that cost a fraction of that and will make back in profit (hopefully) a fraction of the tooling sum for the loco.

 

Dapol cannot just produce everything in 1 go as much as we'd like to, funds dont permit, and you the modeller, as has been proved in the past, quite rightly wont buy all at once. This leaves us with a situation where we produce something to help fill the gap coach wise, then we have to leave it to produce a loco or 2. (to help cash flow and to ease existing stock through shops), we then revisit coaches as and when we can slot them in, sometimes pushing them back, sometimes bringing them forward.

 

Coming back to the MK3 coaches it's obvious that this was never going to be a great seller to Dapol, but joined up thinking with the DVT and 86 plus the HST pretty much demanded it. We also managed to produce book sets with these in (minus the buffet coaches) that have subsequently been delivered (EMT, FGW, GC, W&SR, Pretendolino at present) with buffets and twin packs appearing a few months back.

 

This is not something we are being purposely tardy with, just prudent, and it's not meant to wind anyone up. With this in mind, buffets are on order (and have been for a while) for HST's in the following decorations

 

Blue/Grey E+W regions

Virgin

Intercity Executive

Intercity Swallow

 

With this we have also ordered 7000 MK3 loco hauled coaches (first, seconds & buffets) in the following decorations;

Virgin

Intercity Executive

Blue/Grey

Intercity Swallow

ATW

 

HST non buffered MK3 coaches are also on order in the following decorations;

Blue/Grey (E+W regions)

Virgin

FGW

Intercity Executive

Intercity Swallow

EMT

X/C

 

Now there is no way they will all come at once, because we dont want them too for reasons outlined above, but rest assured they are on order and they will come before years end (i can tell you that much).

The TGS is under development and as soon as we can we will also bring this to market in all decorations that require them

 

I hope this helps answer your questions to some degree.

cheers

Dave

[DapolDave]

If i get a chance in the next week or so, (and no promises) i'll post the definitive list of coaches, classes and types that are on order and their product codes.

(whether the stockists will listen or notice and change their websites when the relevant order forms are sent out is another matter but at least all here will know as well).

 

cheers

Dave

[roundhouse]

Thanks Dave

 

I thought that you weren't going to do a TGS (not sure were I got that from),  so that is good news.

 

Ian

[Stu from EGDL]

Hi Guys;

 

Just picked up my FGW Buffet via a friend....

There is something quite strange going on with the 'dynamic lines'...

 

 

My question to Dave I suppose is this....

Is this a rogue coach or a batch fault (both sides are the same)?

My fellow modellers coach is not quite so bad.

It doesn't match the previously released TS &TF coaches.

 

What are my options here as the trader it was bought from has NIL stock!!

 

Later;

STU from EGDL

[justin1985]

If i get a chance in the next week or so, (and no promises) i'll post the definitive list of coaches, classes and types that are on order and their product codes.

 

This would be very much appreciated!

 

We all understand that it is not deliberate, but there is a real sense of confusion regarding Mk3 coaches (and in fact generally about Dapol's range). Not only have the product codes changed from old format to new format (and I think some models were announced with old codes, but changed before release), but there have been various "mentions" of various coaches being cancelled, changed, introduced etc, without there being any way to check what is fact, and what is just rumor. Hence Ian's comment about the TGS.

 

The retailers might not be the best at keeping their lists up to date, but surely the least Dapol can do is keep a list of ALL confirmed forthcoming models on your website. (this needn't be illustrated if you want to avoid undermining sales of the catalogue). 

 

If retailers can see a definitive list of which models are pre-orderable (even if they ignore it) then it can't be much work to put a version of that list on the Dapol website. If customers have the confidence a model will be released, then maybe we will be more likely to badger retailers and pre-order it!

[DapolDave]

Hi Justin,

 

cant argue with that

cheers

Dave

[DapolDave]

Hi Stu,

 

Most unusual, and something i'm not familiar with i'm afraid.

No one else has ,apparently, had this problem so i'd be interested to hear from others here if they have please?

 

I have a single spare here at HQ, please PM me your address and i'll get it off to you tomorrow.

 

cheers

Dave

[valeofyork]

Dave - I see from the list above that you have ATW Mk3 coaches on order. Will you be producing the complete train (i.e. loco, RFM, 3xTSO, DVT)?

 

Thanks

[mikeharvey22]

Appreciate the update Dave. Maybe I have been fortunate so farwith my choice of 2 push-pull sets. I have two rakes which are complete enough for me - Pretendolino  DVT + 9 propelled improbably by a Freightliner 86 till I get a good looking Class 90, and a WSMR set of DVT+4 propelled by a 67. Wouldn't mind another standard class WSMR coach if anyone has a spare. But I have held off getting a Cross Country HST because of uncertainty about the TGS.

 

Mike