The next Ixion loco - what do you want?

[switcher 1]

No harm in giving suggestions for their third loco is there.

[David Siddall]

Just off the cuff as it were... anyone seen the prices Bachmann Brass 03s are going for on a certain auction site? Often for more than the DJH kit so I'm guessing they're in demand! IMO anyone who could wade in with an r-t-r version at Dapol-style prices would probably find an appreciative market.

 

And I might have mentioned before that I'd sell body parts and mortgage relatives for a reasonably priced r-t-r D6300 (Class 22) and a 121 in 7-mil ;-)

 

David

[Poggy1165]

It occurs to me that the comments on here might not be representative of the market. 7mm scale modellers tend to be older and many are computer-phobic. Just a thought.

[switcher 1]

It occurs to me that the comments on here might not be representative of the market. 7mm scale modellers tend to be older and many are computer-phobic. Just a thought.

Well I'm over 60 & I play with computers as well, but I get your point; also many are set in their ways about building everything from brass kits.

[jcm@gwr]

It occurs to me that the comments on here might not be representative of the market. 7mm scale modellers tend to be older and many are computer-phobic. Just a thought.

I was wondering why I was starting to dabble in the senior scale!

Jeff

[BR_Blue_1986]

Well, whilst I see the argument they don't need 7mm rtr.. But it feels like a bit of snobbery at times. Rtr, may not be for everyone's taste. But if it entices new modellers into 7mm (like myself, though at 26 I may not be a senior) it's a start, my first two loco's are a Heljan 55 an te brassworks DMU which I'm removing headcodes and adding HI lights. But I have also started with brass signals to get used to soldering and practice different techniques ok scrap brass, whilst I'm awaiting delivery of my David Andrews rebuilt BoB kit.

[edcayton]

It occurs to me that the comments on here might not be representative of the market. 7mm scale modellers tend to be older and many are computer-phobic. Just a thought.

 

That may well be the case, but I think the point here would be to attract new modellers to the scale. I have to say that a sufficiently tempting rtr offering would get me hooked.

 

Ed

[alant]

I think the introduction of ready to run at "affordable prices" is great for 0 Gauge generally. I am sure the increase in small sized layouts has been influenced by the likes of Ixion, Dapol and Heljan to a large extent.

 

I agree that the majority of 0 Gaugers are probably in their later years (myself included - although I am young at heart and still play bass guitar in a blues and rock band!) but agree rtr will attract new, younger members.

 

Alan.

[Stringfingerling]

I was wondering why I was starting to dabble in the senior scale!

Jeff

Dodgy old eyes make 7mm more attractive. Looking at some 4mm stuff I made 25 years ago gave me a bit of a jolt. The consolation is that as I get older I'm prepared to spend longer finding ways of doing awkward and fiddly things. I've been building baseboards for 6 months, no trains have moved yet, no track is laid, but i'm still enjoying myself!

[David Siddall]

I couldn't really deny that as a convert of just over a year I'm skating gracefully(ish) through the second half of my sixth decade. However I'm not sure about computer-phobic – I actually drive the wretched things for a living as a web and graphic designer! Having got my teeth into hand-building track after 40+ years of railway modelling I'm 1) as pleased as a pleased thing could be at the prospect of not having to built 'all' my own locos; and 2) have gained sufficient wisdom and experience over the years to acknowledge that I'm not sure anything I attempted could match today's r-t-r standards ;-)

 

David

[Night Train]

I'd like to see a 15xx tank loco, or a if we are going for "really low cost", then an 1101 dock tank.

[81A Oldoak]

I had an interesting conversation at the Southampton MRS show in Eastleigh yesterday with Philip Reid, who is usually to be found mannng the Gauge O Guild's stand at exhibitions in the South East. He was telling me that many potential recruits to O Gauge were generally content to have a go at a wagoin kit and even a coach, but were deterred when they reached the locomotive hurdle. The thought of having to buy an expensive kit and then build and paint it, he said, is a deterrent, but he praised our Ixion RTR Hudswell Clarke loco  as an ideal starter loco. All I will say is that I bought a small 2-4-2 tank locomotive kit yesterday that has a retail price of £205 to which I had to add £70 for Slaters wheels, £87 for a decent motor and gearbox and £7 for couplings. I still have to source and buy etched works and number plates. And that is before I even open the box. I am happy to do this because I will enjoy the build, but this will be my 15th locomotive kit. Meanwhile, having been thoroughly broked by Philip, I left a green Hudswell Clarke with him for demonstrations.

[Giles]

I'm well able to scratch- build and kit build - but I was charmed by these little things - and so so my wife happened to get me one for Christmas!

I think it is remarkable value for money - the running is absolutely superb, and with a little weathering, it holds it's own very well indeed. It has set the bar very high for RTR in this price bracket, and I shall be very interested to see what follows - both from Ixion, and from other companies.

 

 

 

 

[switcher 1]

I had an interesting conversation at the Southampton MRS show in Eastleigh yesterday with Philip Reid, who is usually to be found mannng the Gauge O Guild's stand at exhibitions in the South East. He was telling me that many potential recruits to O Gauge were generally content to have a go at a wagoin kit and even a coach, but were deterred when they reached the locomotive hurdle. The thought of having to buy an expensive kit and then build and paint it, he said, is a deterrent, but he praised our Ixion RTR Hudswell Clarke loco  as an ideal starter loco. All I will say is that I bought a small 2-4-2 tank locomotive kit yesterday that has a retail price of £205 to which I had to add £70 for Slaters wheels, £87 for a decent motor and gearbox and £7 for couplings. I still have to source and buy etched works and number plates. And that is before I even open the box. I am happy to do this because I will enjoy the build, but this will be my 15th locomotive kit. Meanwhile, having been thoroughly broked by Philip, I left a green Hudswell Clarke with him for demonstrations.

Now that is exactly why it took me, & evidently a lot of other people, so long to get involved with '0'. I have bought some wagon kits, but they are still in their boxes, I have read the instructions, which in the main are clear enough, but the amount of (under frame) detailing is still a bit off putting to a newbie to kit building.

Can I also ask for a hint as to the new loco?

[Dava]

I do like Giles' loco above (and his layout) - convincingly workworn. I bought one of the first batch of Hudswells which has been sitting on the shelf since August waiting for its polarity to be changed and a few other defects (sandpipes snagging on railchairs etc) corrected. As I'm getting my Coney Hill light railway layout ready for the 7mm NGA at Mickleover - not Markeaton, as Mike B reminds me! - next Saturday, it was time to tackle the job. I have to say that dismantling the loco to remove the saddle tank (and reassemble it) is a complex and fiddly procedure with all the fine pipework etc. However it was successfully completed in the end and allowed some careful weathering effects.

 

Despite these minor flaws, the loco is a superb runner and very well detailed, so will be interested to see what Ixion propose to do next.

 

Dava

[81A Oldoak]

No harm in giving suggestions for their third loco is there.

Absolutely not. We welcome all suggestions and ideas and the only criteria for selection are 1) the loco is commercially viable and 2) we like it.

 

Regards,

 

Chris Klein

[CME and Bottlewasher]

Hi Chris/All,

 

I know we mentioned some NG types a little while back, yet I cant remember if I mentioned a M7 and/or a Warship (no kits or RTR for the latter)?

 

Kind regards,

 

CME

[alfsboy]

What ever comes out next ,0 scale is now come of age .it will soon be no longer the realm  of computerless old brass bashers  and a proper ready to run and play scale just like the smaller and larger brethren.Why you even buy scale track from Peco .Now there is a surprise .a 3MT tank would be a good strong usefull loco ,not too small or too big and a general use  multi region .There is even a green one .

[N15class]

What ever comes out next ,0 scale is now come of age .it will soon be no longer the realm  of computerless old brass bashers  and a proper ready to run and play scale just like the smaller and larger brethren.Why you even buy scale track from Peco .Now there is a surprise .a 3MT tank would be a good strong usefull loco ,not too small or too big and a general use  multi region .There is even a green one .

Some people actually like making models and enjoy the challanges, rather than opening boxes.

[chaz]

Some people actually like making models and enjoy the challanges, rather than opening boxes.

 

Well yes, of course. I like the challenge of a brass kit, the ease of a plastic one and the (occasional) joy of opening a box and realising that all I have to do is fit a DCC chip, change the couplings and add some grime. There is of course room for both kits and RTR - neither is compulsory. Rule One always applies.

 

Chaz

[Giles]

........ Some people enjoy both - so long as the contents of the boxes are good......

[Stringfingerling]

Razor edge flying banana?

 

Not that small but good for small layouts.

[CME and Bottlewasher]

I still cant fathom, especially in the current economic climate, why manufacturers havent come out with a plastic kit for a 7mm scale loco - that's all the Heljan locos are, with 'value added' (and thus cost) by being pre-assembled and painted etc.

 

Having said that the Ixion locos represent superb value for menoey and I just wish that I had a use/excuse for one of the two industrial locos yet sadly I havnt - so I am looking forward to what they do next. :-)

 

ATB

 

CME

[Ruston]

What ever comes out next ,0 scale is now come of age .it will soon be no longer the realm  of computerless old brass bashers  and a proper ready to run and play scale just like the smaller and larger brethren.Why you even buy scale track from Peco .Now there is a surprise .a 3MT tank would be a good strong usefull loco ,not too small or too big and a general use  multi region .There is even a green one .

 

As a "brass basher" who is neither old nor computerless I like the fact that O gauge isn't a "proper ready to run and play scale". It's one of the last bastions of proper modelling where you can be proud of what you've achieved because you've had to put in more effort than simply opening a box! I've no doubt that this point of view will not make me popular but, in the words of Catherine Tate,  am I bovvered?

 

Of course there's nothing wrong with another RTR loco (from Ixion) providing it's another industrial loco.

[Osgood]

I still cant fathom, especially in the current economic climate, why manufacturers havent come out with a plastic kit for a 7mm scale loco - that's all the Heljan locos are, with 'value added' (and thus cost) by being pre-assembled and painted etc.

 

The only thing i can think of is the excessive cost of injection moulding tooling compared with say cost of artwork for etched kits - or combination kits, where there may be just one or two resin mouldings (which can be cast without injection moulding equipment).