Dapol Class 22

[Pennine MC]

I feel that the reputation of the class 16s and 21s and build faults kind of sullied the reputation all the NBL products whether they were any good or not. Even the class 21s became reasonably reliable machines in their twilight years, mainly because all the design faults which caused pyrotechnics etc. had been ironed out.

 

It's become fashionable for not particularly well-read folk to trot out the same old cliches about any of the diesels that met with early withdrawal. I keep meaning to dig out an early Rail Enthusiast mag which had in it some first hand comment to the effect that Kingmoor staff did a lot of good work sorting out both its Claytons and Metrovicks. As for the 21s, you've only to look at the typical immaculate external condition of the Kittybrewster-based batch of machines to make a reasoned guess that the innards must have been similarly looked after; fairly recently I dropped across a comment from a secondman (possibly on a Flickr site) to the effect that he'd only known one failure in his time of working with them.

[Guest baldrick25]

Just been in touch with Kernow , and it seems that the class 22's have not arrived with them. Seems Dapol will have a couple of boxes airfreighted in there , and that's it!.

Sounds like a bigger scrum than the the one next the Bachmann refurbs stand..

[DapolDave]

To clarify, only D1000f. Running number D6331 in green SYP have been shipped over and we have had the full consignment of them. They have today gone out to stockist who ordered them and we are taking stock to all the Dapol stockists at Warley, but only their 'spares' as the others are already spoken for with customers.

Hope this makes sense and helps?

Cheers

Dave

[The Stationmaster]

To clarify, only D1000f. Running number D6331 in green SYP have been shipped over and we have had the full consignment of them. They have today gone out to stockist who ordered them and we are taking stock to all the Dapol stockists at Warley, but only their 'spares' as the others are already spoken for with customers.

Hope this makes sense and helps?

Cheers

Dave

Best reason yet for getting to the head of the queue to get in.

[Guest baldrick25]

To clarify, only D1000f. Running number D6331 in green SYP have been shipped over and we have had the full consignment of them. They have today gone out to stockist who ordered them and we are taking stock to all the Dapol stockists at Warley, but only their 'spares' as the others are already spoken for with customers.

Hope this makes sense and helps?

Cheers

Dave

 

Kernow told me at 5pm tonight that they have none , the van is packed and there is no chance of me getting one off them there . My pre-order for D6331 will not be fullfilled until December at the earliest- and I was one of the first in the queue to order. So if 'spares' are on sale at Warley , but preorders will be a month later , what does that say about the pre-order process?

[Captain Kernow]

I have ordered mine from my local model shop in Exeter, and I have absolutely no idea when he is going to get his stock in, but to be honest, a few weeks here or there isn't going to make any difference for me, if the model is worth waiting for, then it's worth waiting for.

[The Stationmaster]

 

Kernow told me at 5pm tonight that they have none , the van is packed and there is no chance of me getting one off them there . My pre-order for D6331 will not be fullfilled until December at the earliest- and I was one of the first in the queue to order. So if 'spares' are on sale at Warley , but preorders will be a month later , what does that say about the pre-order process?

That it works and you'll get one? DD has told us that Dapol sent them out today so unless they went by some sort of (very) express service they obviously won't have got to Cornwall today although they might get there tomorrow or on Monday but as Kernow have loaded their van they obviously aren't going to be on it.

 

But I can't see how that affects a pre-order? If you have pre-ordered that means - if Kernow are working as normal - that when they get their supply they will meet their pre-orders in succession according to when orders were placed, no more and no less (and perhaps they don't know that stock has left Dapol today or perhaps they aren't expecting it for a week or perhaps they know how long it usually takes deliveries to reach them?).

 

All DD has said is that 'spares' (after meeting his pre-orders) will be on sale at Warley and that he will be supplying Dapol stockists at Warley (well that's how I read it). All of that has nothing at all to do with pre-orders as I simply understand that to mean that you have ordered in advance and the retailer will have sufficient stock to meet that order. What it doesn't mean is that you will receive yours first in a situation where 'spare' stock goes into retail sales especially with the unusual situation of a major show coinciding with the availability of the 'spares'. It's no different from a usual retail situation - if the retailer orders more stock than he has pre-orders for he can and no doubt will put the spares on sale as soon as he has them available, which makes it quite possible for someone to walk into his premises and buy one over the counter before all the pre-orders have been dealt with (should there happen to be a lot of pre-orders).

[DapolDave]

Hi Baldrick, must be a misscommunication somewhere.

ALL the batch of D6331 have been made and delivered. There will be no more of that running number so I'd either wait till Monday before contacting your stockist or see them at warley if your going.

Cheers

Dave

[D605Eagle]

Hi Baldrick, must be a misscommunication somewhere.

ALL the batch of D6331 have been made and delivered. There will be no more of that running number so I'd either wait till Monday before contacting your stockist or see them at warley if your going.

Cheers

Dave

How many D6331s have been made Dave?

[Gwiwer]

The pre-order process, whoever you order through, assures you of getting a model you seek and sometimes at a better price than when they arrive in the shops. It is not, and never has been, a means by which you are guaranteed a model before it goes on general release.

 

In the case of something (such as the class 22) which proves extremely popular the production run may sell out to pre-orders and none may reach the retailers' shelves. That is a risk we as consumers take when we make our choice whether or not to pre-order. Many items will not sell out in advance and it would be unreasonable to expect any business to tie up stock in the back room while being asked for it at the counter until all the advance orders were fulfilled.

 

The same has occurred with the Beattie well tanks where it has been possible to purchase them over the counter in Camborne long before an order was received in the mail. I don't hear any complaints about that.

 

Kernow also have images of their first weathered samples (and I stress samples - none available for sale yet) which are apparently going to Warley displayed on their website and in the current newsletter which has gone out a day early today to allow for key staff being away for the weekend.

[Guest baldrick25]

So , drawing the same analogy with the Warley NEC entrance, those with advance tickets can wait in a queue till lunchtime, because more staff will be needed to deal with those without advance tickets , so they will get in first... I think not..

 

Its also surprising that DApolDave says that the bulk of the stock had been despatched to retailers TODAY, timing that just prevents or stops those retailers having the stock to take to the NEC. Maybe it was co-incedence, I don't know , but Dapol had certainly not been in touch with Kernow to either tell them of the despatch of the items, or to tell them that they will be able to despatch before sometime in December. Kernow had no knowledge of just when they would receive their D63xx at all.

Maybe its me , but when I've pre-ordered Bachmann etc advance orders, they have been despatched before the items were on the shelf, even if it was the day after that when they arrived due to the post. I shall certainly reconsider making a commitment to buy more than 2 Warley shows ago, only to see the walk-in customers be there first with mine at best over a week away.. Had the pre-orders not been substantial, then the production of the model may not have gone ahead anyway. So why not cancel the pre-order you may ask, quite simply its a comittment to buy - not an excuse to dump it when I feel like it.

 

It will be interesting just to see how many turn up on Ebay in the first few days.

Edited November 17, 2011 by baldrick25

[craigwelsh]

So , drawing the same analogy with the Warley NEC entrance, those with advance tickets can wait in a queue till lunchtime, because more staff will be needed to deal with those without advance tickets , so they will get in first... I think not..

Funnily enough the advanced ticket queue can be longer than the normal one..

 

The only situation where its clear in the name you get first is 'priority boarding' on a flight.

 

Magazine subscriptions, preorders and the Warley tickets dont give advanced status just convenience and some guarantee of getting something.

 

Dave said he's taking retailers non pre-order stock directly to Warley for them. Kernow models isn't just one bloke is it? Surely you could have spoken to someone who hadn't communicated with Dapol and been aware of the communication?

 

Surely you can see the special circumstance of a new product managing to arrive just before Warley meaning Dapol and retailers are keen to get the stock that isn't guaranteed sold to the show? Its the biggest show of the year!

Edited November 18, 2011 by craigwelsh

[edcayton]

Whatever they do some people would whinge. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't. For Pete's sake, it's a toy train!

 

Ed (who remembers queuing at 7.00 outside ToysRUs on Saturday morningsto get the latest "must have" for my kids)

[Gulliver]

To clarify, only D1000f. Running number D6331 in green SYP have been shipped over and we have had the full consignment of them. They have today gone out to stockist who ordered them and we are taking stock to all the Dapol stockists at Warley, but only their 'spares' as the others are already spoken for with customers.

Its also surprising that DApolDave says that the bulk of the stock had been despatched to retailers TODAY, timing that just prevents or stops those retailers having the stock to take to the NEC.

 

Dapol Dave has already said what is happening. They are taking the stock direct to Warley for those retailers that ordered it AND have spare stock that is not pre-ordered. If you have pre-ordered you are guaranteed your model. For all you know Kernow only have 2 spare, for example, and they may both be gone in the first five minutes. Without the pre-order you would then probably miss out.

 

As craigwelsh said Kernow is not one bloke and given the information had only just appeared on here today do you not think it possible that with all the Well Tanks being processed, as well as Model Rail Class 37s, and packing up for the biggest show of the year, that they may just have a lot going on and someone missed the update?

[Gwiwer]

Kernow had no knowledge of just when they would receive their D63xx at all.

 

Kernow MRC is a business employing a number of full- and part-time staff, they are open seven days a week and therefore not all staff work on the same days. They also have had additional people in packing and sending out the well tanks in recent weeks in order that we, their customers, may have those models we have waited patiently for as swiftly as possible. Those also need to be clear of the stock room before something else arrives for example the Dapol class 22s.

 

It is perfectly acceptable to find that a member of staff returning from their rostered days off (which would be mid-week for staff required to work weekends) may not have been advised of the latest situation with regards to a particular product. Kernow would hold many thousands of different items in stock. While the message regarding a particular item might not have reached the one person any given customer then speaks to it is also reasonable to expect that the staff member concerned offers the most recent information of which they are aware. If every enquiry were to need one person to chase up another (who might be busy serving, for example) to ask if there is any news then service delivery will be affected across the board.

 

Like any major retailer they would have been gearing up for Warley, for the Christmas shopping rush, for the delivery of a large number of new releases (check their recent newsletters to see just how much has come in) and still getting all of our orders out as fast as possible.

 

The current position on the general release class 22s has been set out clearly. The Kernow ones have not yet been signed off but the samples should be at Warley for comment. Some late delays have been unavoidable because Dapol changed the issues meaning Kernow now has to contact everyone with a plain green 22 on order to ask if they want the syp or not.

 

Edited to remove code which should not have been visible in the first place

Edited November 18, 2011 by Gwiwer

[DapolDave]

So , drawing the same analogy with the Warley NEC entrance, those with advance tickets can wait in a queue till lunchtime, because more staff will be needed to deal with those without advance tickets , so they will get in first... I think not..

 

Its also surprising that DApolDave says that the bulk of the stock had been despatched to retailers TODAY, timing that just prevents or stops those retailers having the stock to take to the NEC. Maybe it was co-incedence, I don't know , but Dapol had certainly not been in touch with Kernow to either tell them of the despatch of the items, or to tell them that they will be able to despatch before sometime in December. Kernow had no knowledge of just when they would receive their D63xx at all.

Maybe its me , but when I've pre-ordered Bachmann etc advance orders, they have been despatched before the items were on the shelf, even if it was the day after that when they arrived due to the post. I shall certainly reconsider making a commitment to buy more than 2 Warley shows ago, only to see the walk-in customers be there first with mine at best over a week away.. Had the pre-orders not been substantial, then the production of the model may not have gone ahead anyway. So why not cancel the pre-order you may ask, quite simply its a comittment to buy - not an excuse to dump it when I feel like it.

 

It will be interesting just to see how many turn up on Ebay in the first few days.

 

 

Hi Baldrick,

 

sorry i thought i had made myself clear, and i apologise for the confusion.

 

All stockists of Dapol products attending Warley were contacted with the offer of me personally taking Class 22 models to Warley for them.

Some said yes, some said no.

 

No matter what, all those that said no will be getting theirs today, all those that wanted some at Warley will be getting those today, and the balance of their orders will be arriving at their respective shops today as well.

 

Hope this clarifies things.

cheers

Dave

[DapolDave]

So , drawing the same analogy with the Warley NEC entrance, those with advance tickets can wait in a queue till lunchtime, because more staff will be needed to deal with those without advance tickets , so they will get in first... I think not..

 

Its also surprising that DApolDave says that the bulk of the stock had been despatched to retailers TODAY, timing that just prevents or stops those retailers having the stock to take to the NEC. Maybe it was co-incedence, I don't know , but Dapol had certainly not been in touch with Kernow to either tell them of the despatch of the items, or to tell them that they will be able to despatch before sometime in December. Kernow had no knowledge of just when they would receive their D63xx at all.

Maybe its me , but when I've pre-ordered Bachmann etc advance orders, they have been despatched before the items were on the shelf, even if it was the day after that when they arrived due to the post. I shall certainly reconsider making a commitment to buy more than 2 Warley shows ago, only to see the walk-in customers be there first with mine at best over a week away.. Had the pre-orders not been substantial, then the production of the model may not have gone ahead anyway. So why not cancel the pre-order you may ask, quite simply its a comittment to buy - not an excuse to dump it when I feel like it.

 

It will be interesting just to see how many turn up on Ebay in the first few days.

 

Oh and to Clarify again Baldrick,

Kernow certainly did know about D6331 as i spoke personally to the owner yesterday about their models and was asked to take some to Warley (they are in the van) and send the balance to Kernow, whcih will arrive today!

 

i hope you believe me when i tell you this as i have it on very good authority.....................my own!!!

cheers

Dave

[Enterprisingwestern]

It will be interesting to see what price these locos are selling at on ebay tomorrow.

[The Stationmaster]

It will be interesting to see what price these locos are selling at on ebay tomorrow.

It will be even more interesting to see if there are any left available for sale anywhere in the nec by midday Very shrewd move on DD's part going for a green one for this week (and yes Dave - you post was clear).

Edited November 18, 2011 by The Stationmaster

[lapford34102]

Hi,

Just been invoiced by Hattons for mine.

Hopefully tomorrow if not Monday.

 

Stu

[Trevellan]

The postie delivered mine at 8am and I have the model in front of me as I type this. Andy's photo review suggested that this is a terrific model and seeing it in the flesh I'd say it's superb. Detailing and weathering will improve it still further. It will be running-in on the Bachrus rollers later, but if the mechanical aspects live up to the looks this will be an absolute winner.

 

I'd also make special note of the packaging, which is closer to the Heljan style than Bachmann or Hornby. The detailing parts are nicely located at either end of the box and it seems that Dapol have put a lot of thought into every aspect of this model. There are a few minor inaccuracies in the instruction leaflet, but nothing that half an ounce of common sense can't resolve. All of this bodes well for the forthcoming Western. Well done Dapol.

[Downendian]

Just ordered D6331 this morning- not going to Warley this year.

 

Interesting choice of GSYP as it wasn't in this livery that long, as it was one of the only two GFYE class 22s.

 

Will be getting the yellow paint out on her when it arrives.

 

Neil

[gmax]

Just ordered D6331 this morning- not going to Warley this year.

 

Interesting choice of GSYP as it wasn't in this livery that long, as it was one of the only two GFYE class 22s.

 

Will be getting the yellow paint out on her when it arrives.

 

Neil

Neil, do you know exactly when D6331 full went yellow ends?

AFAIK it was gsye in Sep 68 and gfye by April 1970.

Regards

Steve

[Rugd1022]

Hi Steve - D6331 was GSYP with headcode boxes from c1965 and gained it's full yellow end treatment in April 1970, being withdrawn in this condition in March 1971

 

I picked mine up from the Dapol stand first thing this morning (cheers Dave.... here's a tip, turn your phone off for a stress free life!), and have to say I'm well chuffed with it. The quality of the tooling is superb, nothing is overdone, especially the glazing, which on a loco with such a distinctive 'face' and so much character could easily have turned out as an expensive mistake. With the model sat here in front of me as I type, the relative height of the bogie side frames and valance* edging looks about right to me, I can sort of see why it's been mentioned previously but it does 'sit' very nicely on my one and only bit of track. Also, straight out of the box, the gap previously noted between the main body moulding and the buffer beam shrouds attached to the chassis block in some photos is neglegable.

 

* Talking of those valances.... something to be wary of when fitting part no. L3 above the fuel tank is knocking off the two finely moulded pipe runs at the right hand end, I nearly lost mine to the carpet fairy!

 

A couple of nice touches worthy of note are the etched NBL builders plates (four of 'em on this green machine) which other manufacturers might not have bothered with, and the characteristic footsteps hanging down from the cab corners which again, might easily have been left off the model entirely. As for those spoked wheels, well... superb. The only (tiny) niggles for me are the buffer heads which could do with flatting down, the headcode samples which look a shade on the small side and the widscreen wipers, which would benifit from toning down with a bit of weathering, and er, well...... that's about it really! I might try some Heljan Hymek headcodes on mine and see how they look.

 

Dave mentioned to me the 'slides' built into the tooling for the roof, sides and ends which will enable other variants to be done, a very shrewd move this which I'm sure will reep dividends for Dapol and bring several smiles to those wanting the much earlier disc headcode type and (my crafty little grey cells are telling me), later 'tidied up front end' versions.

 

All in all, this is a cracking little machine which deserves to do the business for Dapol, and bodes well for the Kernow D6xxs and of course the mighty Westerns yet to come. I'll be having more of these little beasties in green and blue.... looking at my D6331 here in front of me I want to set the controls of the Rugd1022 Patented Time Machine Device for 1967 and find a warm spot on the end of Plymouth North Road's platform 8.....

 

Apologies for the pants quality, but I couldn't resist a pic or two before the light disappeared down behind the cow shed....

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

All in all, this is a cracking little machine which deserves to do the business for Dapol, and bodes well for the Kernow D6xxs and of course the mighty Westerns yet to come. I'll be having more of these little beasties in green and blue.... looking at my D6331 here in front of me I want to set the controls of the Rugd1022 Patented Time Machine Device for 1967 and find a warm spot on the end of Plymouth North Road's platform 8.....

 

How on earth am I resisting opening the box that came back from Warley with me? Must be something to do with patience coming with age (or spending time on RMWeb instead?) but it looks superb and if, as others report, it goes as well as it looks Dapol are on a winner - I understand that Cheltenham had very few left on the stand by early afternoon although Kernow were not shifting them so quickly - possibly because Cheltenham were undercutting the Kernow price by a tenner .

 

Dapol have definitely chalked up another big plus for their brand with this one and if the stuff they have brought to market this year is any guide the futureshould be rosy for them - partly because they, unlike a company with a household name, seem to actually understand the market.