Jump to content
 

Dapol West Country & Rebuilt West Country

TomE

By TomE,
in Dapol

 Share

Recommended Posts

dpgibbons

dpgibbons

Posted
Posted (edited)

The previous indicated delivery date was 1H 2023, so it looks as if that has slipped by as much as a year. I wonder if the newly announced GWR Mogul is now ahead in the production queue.

 

The one aspect that has made considerable progress is the RRP - up from GBP120 for DCC ready when first announced in 2012, to GBP207 now. At this rate I may be too poor as well as too old to own one once they eventually appear.

 

 

Edited by dpgibbons
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • RMweb Gold
TomE

TomE

Posted
  • Author
  • RMweb Gold
Posted
13 hours ago, dpgibbons said:

The one aspect that has made considerable progress is the RRP - up from GBP120 for DCC ready when first announced in 2012, to GBP207 now. At this rate I may be too poor as well as too old to own one once they eventually appear.


Dapol should be under no illusion that for that asking price, this model must be the best N Gauge model they have ever produced in every respect!

Tom. 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
woodenhead

woodenhead

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Stefen1988 said:

GBP207 for DCC-ready only seems to be a bit high in comparision to other Dapol Models.

 

 

Apart from the 68 most other N gauge Dapol models must be a decade old - It''s only recently that they've come back to N gauge with new models - the cost will reflect it is a completely new tooling, a step away from the models of a decade ago and based on the current cost to design and build a model locomotive.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...
Chris Higgs

Chris Higgs

Posted
Posted
On 15/09/2022 at 18:53, rprodgers said:

Well there is an opening there, the Hornby unrebuilt one is showing its age.

 

Given Dapol are now over a decade from this being announced in N, I think the Hornby one will be quite ancient before they ever get to doing an OO version.

 

Chris

Link to post
Share on other sites
Elvinley

Elvinley

Posted
Posted
On 11/09/2022 at 17:42, woodenhead said:

Apart from the 68 most other N gauge Dapol models must be a decade old - It''s only recently that they've come back to N gauge with new models - the cost will reflect it is a completely new tooling, a step away from the models of a decade ago and based on the current cost to design and build a model locomotive.

There have also been the Class 50, Class 33, Schools and Pacer within the last 6 years. Nothing compared to their output the previous decade.

 

I would think the next release in N will be the revamped M7.

 

Cheers,

Ian 

  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Chris M

Chris M

Posted
Posted

I'm very happy that Dapol keep re-running their existing range usually with some new liveries and sometimes with some subtle improvements. Please keep it up.

 

Yes new tooling models take time, much longer than us modellers would want. I accept that in reality Dapol are a small business and they have to be very careful with their cash investments. Like any business they have to generate cash in order to invest in new tooling for new products. They will quite rightly only invest in new tooling for new products where it looks as though they are likely to get the best possible return on that investment. They use pre-orders for a new model as a kind of barometer to test the likely demand for new projects. This expected demand will guide Dapol's decision as to which new project to prioitise. The simple fact is that the pre-orders for the Bullied pacific were not great when it was announced. Other items announced must have received much better pre-orders which would be why investment was placed to make those models rather than the Bullieds. I would love to see a West Country and I still hope that Dapol will make one but I won't moan that it has taken so long. If Dapol don't go for the new products that look likely to provide the best return on investment then we will very quickly have no Dapol. Its all about Dapol making the right business decisions for Dapol to remain a successful company.

 

Hornby have borrowed millions to tool up for TT:120 and that is a big risk. It may turn out to be a great success and be the best thing Hornby ever did. On the other hand, if sales are mediocre, Hornby will be left with insufficient cash to service the loans they have taken out. From what I can see Dapol just keep ticking over, generating cash and then investing it in new products. That way we get a slow but steady trickle of new models and Dapol don't take on board loans that have to be repaid at a specified rate and time. In this uncertain world Dapol's policy seems the most sensible.

  • Like 2
  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
dpgibbons

dpgibbons

Posted
Posted

Given the incredibly long wait (Ten Years!) and the fact it's only at the CAD stage (Still! Again!), it's unsurprising that few have bothered to register a pre-order for the WC.

 

But if there is a market for any steam-era loco in N, it would surely be for this one.  As other makers would likely have proved by now, had Dapol not been squatting on this project for so long. 

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
Chris M

Chris M

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, dpgibbons said:

Given the incredibly long wait (Ten Years!) and the fact it's only at the CAD stage (Still! Again!), it's unsurprising that few have bothered to register a pre-order for the WC.

 

But if there is a market for any steam-era loco in N, it would surely be for this one.  As other makers would likely have proved by now, had Dapol not been squatting on this project for so long. 

If there had been a significant number of pre-orders when the project was first announced it is quite likely that the Bullied project would have been given high priority. The fact that it wasn't given priority when first announced (or since) does tend to suggest pre-orders have never got to a level that brings this project to the top of the list. Maybe pre-orders are good now and maybe therefore, Dapol have a plan to invest their in this model. Dapol are quite open about their policy on using the level of pre-order to decide priorities for investment. They announce future planned models and priority for further investment is very much guided by the level of pre-orders. Sounds like sensible business to me.

 

I do remember lots of Farish Merchant Navies at bargain prices a while after they arrived. That suggests sales of the MN were not as good as Farish had hoped; its a nice model so demand should have been good. I'm sure Dapol will have noticed that as well. I would agree that the light pacific has a much wider zone and length of operation so might well generate more sales than the MN.

 

Other manufacturers will jump if they feel there is a waiting market in as we have seen with the Rapido 44 (and 45/46 hopefully) and the Revolution class 59.

Link to post
Share on other sites
TomJ

TomJ

Posted
Posted

I  think it suffered from a previous designer (He Who Must Not Be Named) announcing pretty much every loco that was ever built to appear in N gauge. And in the next year….

New management seemed to have pretty much started afresh and with different, more limited but sensible plans

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • RMweb Gold
TomE

TomE

Posted
  • Author
  • RMweb Gold
Posted

I suspect there will be a lot of people holding off until they see EPs and running samples before ordering, given Dapol’s promises about this being their first next gen Steam locomotive, but with no idea what that looks and runs like for the updated price point. 
 

If all looks good when we do eventually see EPs then I’ll take the plunge and order, but I want to see how it’s shaping up first.

If Dapol make a decent job of it, there’s no reason it shouldn’t sell well given anyone modelling almost any era from 1945 onward can justify one with the number preserved and on the mainline, but they need to stop faffing around and get it made! 

 

Tom. 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • RMweb Gold
TomE

TomE

Posted
  • Author
  • RMweb Gold
Posted
30 minutes ago, Captain Electra said:

Happy to say that work on the N Gauge BoB/WC is in full swing and we are all working hard to make this a flagship loco in N Gauge.



That's good to hear Adam, thanks! 

Tom.  

Link to post
Share on other sites
steve1023

steve1023

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Captain Electra said:

Happy to say that work on the N Gauge BoB/WC is in full swing and we are all working hard to make this a flagship loco in N Gauge.

Hi Adam. Are you in someway involved with the project? Your post implies absolute confidence. I pre-ordered my BoB in 2011 I think. Need to know if I actually do need to start saving now. 

 

Steve

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • RMweb Gold
Adam1701D

Adam1701D

Posted
  • RMweb Gold
Posted

Hi Steve - I now work full-time for Dapol, mainly on the livery design side of things. We don't have an ETA for BoB as yet due the sheer complexity of producing seven variants of the same class. We are still working on the CADs with China, so it is early days yet. Once we have the first EPs then we can start looking into scheduling production.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
  • Round of applause 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 8 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...