The Nth Degree

It was only a tiny snippet to tease, certainly not a full image. The model will be going in the factory tomorrow to start tooling. I'm away all weekend, but when I get back I'll make an official announcement in glorious full colour. I hope you all love as much as I do. It's certainly taken a lot out of Nikki and I designing it.

Yes, but that only applies if you use commercially available (and hugely expensive) drive mechanisms. A proprietary system designed for UK prototypes would have none of these problems.

I don't suppose Kevin Smith is a member here? He seems like an active supporter of British Z. I don't much like the track, to be possibly over-critical, and there is an incompatibility between the two most established control systems available, which would legitimately offer the opportunity to create another one for the British market. There's also an opportunity to design out the most troublesome aspect of this scale – track-fed supply. Small rechargeable packet LiPos could easily be incorporated, but with limited running time. Plenty to ponder.

Yes, and ABS too. Our machine can work with HIPS but we had to make a start testing so I bought PP as it's much more widely used in all areas than HIPS. We're still a good couple weeks away from accepting any orders for work, but by then we'll have a reasonably decent materials selection to work with.

Do you have a link?

Well, this has started cogs whirring. Nikki and I are talking. There's no demand because there are no UK models, and there are no UK models because there is no demand or is it lack of availability – that is the question...

I see, thanks. So locos would depend on supplies of motorised units from existing suppliers? What happened to British ingenuity – couldn't someone make something? Would there be a market if they did? The reason I ask is that I'm producing a little wagon kit as a marketing giveaway for a new injection moulding company, and the only complete kit that will fit the mould cavity is 1:220 scale, so I thought I'd have a look around at the British Z scene and came up empty. I must admit this is giving me a few thoughts to mull over...

With the seemingly legendary quest to reduce lead times and cost expenditures on LLCs projects, we have decided to actively do something about reducing both. In a few days time my designer, Nikki, and I will start a new injection moulding company. Last week we bought our first injection moulding machine. We're starting small and gaining experience as we go, but the long-term plan is for in-house production of all LLCs products. To help us learn from real, active jobs we'd like you to give us some work. In return we'll share as many of the costs with you as possible, making ours some of the lowest cost injection moulded parts you can commission. As we grow, so will our capability, and we hope you will too. Perhaps you've always wanted to start a small business with a great idea, only to find production costs are way too high. Well, think again. As long as it fits on our machine and it's possible to mould it, we'll produce it. Attached below are some guidelines on tooling, the procedures we work to and the costs. No hidden extras, no surprises. You will always own the tooling and the copyright to do with as you wish, but we're fairly confident you won't find a better deal. The company officially starts on Wednesday 10th January and we'll have a website and contact emails shortly after. I'll update the thread when this happens. So, if you can think it, we'll make it. Steve & Nikki Tooling Guide.pdf

Well, there isn't any! Why is that? With our propensity for ever-smaller houses I thought this would have been a tidy niche tucked away in the darkest corner somewhere, but there seems to be nothing at all, except for some novelty items in the Shapeway shop. Is this a dead scene here in the UK, or is everyone waiting for something to turn up and jump on it?

Hello Ian, I'll be picking up the next batch of samples on the 11th, so I hope to put up some pics not long after. I'm hoping these will be the last samples required so production can finally start. Fingers crossed!

We were on the list but had to drop out due to a family engagement. We'll be at Bristol in Jan though.

The Hornby Magazine Yearbook has some really good O gauge content in it, having just finished reading it. Overall it is very positive about the scale and manufacturers efforts to produce good, value for money products. I imagine in time more of those top 20 positions will be filled with O gauge models, and I hope it does. There is still a very long way to go to match the two popular smaller scales.

I'm very proud to announce that LLCs Class 15 has won 4th place in Hornby Magazine's Top 20 Products of 2017. I am absolutely delighted with this result and will provide a good benchmark for future models, which I assure you will only get better. I would like to thank all of my customers and supporters, and Mike Wild at Hornby Magazine for this wonderful accolade. Thank you. Steve

You don't have to worry about social media platforms having any exclusivity on major news items – any official announcements will be here, GOG and the new website arriving shortly, as well as FB, and you definitely won't miss it! Any reserved Rustons, either at LLC direct or any retailer will have their prices locked. After Christmas all new reservations will be at the higher price (approx +£20). Providing the new samples arriving shortly have all the errors corrected the schedule will proceed for delivery at the end of February. Regarding the Type 2, no announcement has yet been made. There may or may not have been a tactical faux pas on the website image (ahem...) but that doesn't count as anything official. Images and marketing information will appear all over this thread, including magazines and websites. We are creating something truly unique and we think it deserves as much media attention as possible. Everything is designed in from the start. From the custom motor, the multi-stage reduction gearbox, transfer box, carden shafts and bogie prop shafts with axle-mounted transverse metal gearboxes, to the bespoke future-proofed plug-in electrical system, audio engineered sound system, and right down to mounts and ducting for optional fan-assisted smoke units. As you can imagine, this takes quite a bit of time to engineer. The good news is that all of our models will use this same system-level approach and many of the systems have been designed with future models in mind, which will save time and money going forward. So far we only have one limited edition planned (with the proceeds directly benefitting the organisation helping us) but there could well be opportunities for special editions after this. Stay tuned, the reveal is not far off now...

I agree with Talltim; the enclosure dimensions have been calculated and tuned precisely for the driver and passive radiator for best performance. Opening up a vent or altering dimensions will severely affect its dynamic range.

November update. It's not just the onset of autumn and winter, the days really are dragging on and on. Delays at the factory are crippling in every sense. The Rustons are now well overdue (by approx 4 months and counting) but there is some light at the end of the tunnel, to coin a very naff and overused phrase. The latest production samples will be with me in a few days and, providing these are OK, finished models will be delivered to the warehouse for despatch at the end of February. During these extended development, redevelopment and tooling stages some component-level prices have risen, along with a few materials costs. As the Rustons contain many electrical accessories already built in, this has had a significant impact on finished model pricing. Trying my best to be a man of my word, any current reservations will be honoured at their previously advertised prices (£225, or £285 for sound) and I will keep this amnesty offer open until Christmas, after which prices will rise by approx £20 per model. This is still an incredibly competitive price – try finding an equivalent-spec model for the same prices. The Type 2 is progressing well, although is slightly hampered by the delayed Rustons, and likewise the Class 50. I'm hoping that everything that needed to be learnt will have been soaked up by the Rustons and it will be plain sailing subsequently. We're developing a new website which will be much easier to use and shop in. It will also detail how we give back to the preservation community and keep anyone who's interested up-to-date in the projects we support. Here's the latest screenshot: That's pretty much all I can divulge at the moment. Stay tuned, send messages, join the FB group, or whatever floats your boat. Oh, one more thing, I have some fully decorated Liverpool Street pilot special editions of the Class 15 available in strictly limited quantity. They are available from our eBay shop here: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/192364546601 Thanks, Steve

No offence to those concerned, but I don't think your experience will be any different from the class 50, and possibly worse as the cab is a bit more complicated and fiddly. If it were me I would wait until MMP rerelease their 31 kit as the cabs are preformed resin mouldings, taking all the fuss out of the procedure completely. It's also an easier kit to build, despite being infinitely more detailed, and as far as value for money goes there is no comparison to any kit.

Don't give up! I'm having a long look at my Class 40 at the moment and may end up fabricating the supplied cast parts. I will probably end up building a rolling ladder-frame chassis as well so it's easier to add mechanical and electrical components.

I've seen the CAD images you're all referring to on the P22 FB page and a couple others, and I can join you in saying that it looks fantastic. If this company pulls it off it will be one of very few RTR models that look just as good upside down as it does the right way up!

Must be in good condition and not marked. Thank you.

I saw that too. Looks really nice. Prototypical drive system within the fully detailed bogie. Someone has spent a lot of time engineering that...

I couldn't possibly say. All I can say is that we are working very closely with a group who are building an extinct loco, and in turn we will make a substantial donation to their cause. Watch this space in the next couple weeks...

Any news Ray? You were giving me some impetus to carry on with my Class 40 bogies.

No definite dates yet I'm afraid. Tooling is currently being refined and optimised for efficiency both in running and assembly. Any major updates will appear here, so don't worry about missing anything - the same goes for any significant announcements. Our FB group is more about chat, speculation and showing what owners have done to their Class 15s, of which there are some fantastic repaints and weathering examples. For subsequent models we will change our announcement policy, removing development statements, expected delivery dates and anything time specific. There always seems to be some unexpected issue that crops up, and delays just cause me to stress out, but also damages LLCs reputation. We will announce the Type 2 with loose delivery dates and then after this we'll only announce models when parts are rolling off the machines. To avoid any preproduction errors as much as possible we set up working groups of people with in-depth knowledge of the prototypes being developed. If you have particular knowledge of a specific loco (or wagon, coach or DMU) we would be very happy to hear from you to add to our working group pool. Pool members get pre-production models (in some cases) and have their name mentioned in the Owner Manual. You also have the great satisfaction of knowing you helped produce a quality British model. Oh, you also get a model of your choice that you helped to produce. Simply send an email with your area of expertise to littlelococompany@gmail.com. Obviously, the group is subject to the strictest confidentiality. Steve

Ha! For the benefit of those not on FB, the Class 24 has been eliminated from the list of possibilities. Nothing else has been disclosed yet...