rembrow

Contacted Rails, was advised I should have received an e-mail after a pre order has gone through and are checking. As far as multiple item old pre orders only showing one item, this is a known anomoly and should be corrected soon

I have successfully placed a pre order on the new system for Accurascale coal loads for MDO wagons. The order has appeared as the first item on my pre orders. Only thing that hasn't happened, is I haven't received a confirmation e-mail, not sure if this is the new system or not. Looks like you have to enter card details for each pre order placed.

Activated mine from the e-mail, two slight issues 1. It did not transfer my contact details so had to re-enter address. 2. While my pre orders have transferred, it only shows one item and one item value, on orders with multiple items. So hope they have the full order on their system.

Looks like there are already delays. There have been safety restrictions placed on the vessel, for it's voyage to Europe, and due to low pressure weather in the eastern med, it has been sheltering for the last 2 days east of Sicily, off Syracusa.

They are switchable. There is a bank of 9 light switches on the underside of the chassis, very easily accessible. Switches 7,8 and 9 are for the cabs and interior lights. The model comes with all set to 'on'

Running in the BR green version. Lovely detail. Nice to see the switchable light functions for dc users, all in one bank of nine switches. One of the bogies is swimming in oil, have cleaned the base plate three times so far. I did struggle to get the model out of its packaging. The clear clam shell and wrap was so tight in the cardboard box it was a real struggle. This was caused by the dense white foam inserts, put in the clam shell top and bottom, presumably designed to prevent movement of the loco while in transit, to avoid parts coming off. It seems to work, but it does push the outer wrap outwards causing the tight fit. I'll remove the foam once I'm happy with the running.

I've got a pack of Bachmann 21 pin blanking plates, as they only sell them in multiples, so I've got plenty to spare. If you want one you can pm me.

Thanks for the update. Looks like the arrival will now be late August or early September if they are just departing. I don't know if they are like other Heljan made products for the UK market, and will be landed in Denmark first. Anyway the delay is good for me as I've just paid for 2 GWR railcars and I don't think the other half would have been happy if a third loco arrived this month.

I'm not surprised that Rails are not prepared to spend money to rectify the error, however they are the only conduit in which to make a complaint, which I believe is quite justified. The reason I've decided not to pre order in future, is that Rails charge a £30 non refundable deposit on their loco commissions, so if someone changes their mind, even due to the model having quality issues, they lose their deposit. I don't think it's unreasonable to say I'd rather wait for the model to hit the market before deciding to buy. In view of the recent experience and, due to the risk of losing the deposit, I will wait. I fully realise I risk the model not being available, but most are.

The Hattons newsletter for this week, issued today, advised that they are expecting the railcars in the next few days. Kernow at Guildford received them last week, but the Camborne shop and mail order is still expecting them.

What a crass response. Unlike a keyboard warrior I actually took the time to make contact with Rails to a)alert them to the issue and b) ask if there could be a solution. I only went back to Rails with my concern when they advised that nothing would be done. As far as future models are concerned, I'm not prepared to accept poor quality because it comes from a retailer commission or from a smaller manufacturer, even if it's a model I desire. You may be prepared to accept inferior products, which is your choice. There is no 'high horse' behaviour from me, I will buy if the product is reasonable or good quality, no matter what the source. What I'm not prepared to do again is pay a premium price and then spend extra time and cost on fixing avoidable faults. You have to temper that with the extra price being asked. The BR version came out at 1p short of £204 as Rails charged postage, which they don't on new Dapol/Bachmann/Hornby products. The announced Dapol Manor in BR lined black is being priced at sub £141 including postage, so there is a large premium on this model. As far as Dapol or Rails being too small to expect them to deal with the error - why not, they stand or fall by the quality of their products. Let's not forget that Footplate Models recently accepted that a commission they had from Dapol (pattern emerging here) of a Salmon BR engineers bogie rail wagon, had been produced with an incorrect length body. They alerted buyers, confirmed the buyers details and have arranged for replacement body to be made with the next version. Now that is customer service, from a much smaller retailer. If it was a manufacturing error, they can seek to get the manufacturer to supply replacements at no or reduced cost, however if it was an error at the livery sample stage, not so easy.

The vessel initially sailed to Port Said where it anchored for safety checks on it's hull. It weighed anchor yesterday and is now en route to Rotterdam, expected to arrive around 25th July, and will then call at Felixstowe and other European ports.

I have been working on my BR liveried version to paint out the bright finish on handrails. When doing this with magnifying glasses, it seemed that the handrail knobs were left as grey flexible plastic and the rail left as nickel silver, so I felt that I had gone back to the 80s in painting the first Hornby handrail fitted locos. However for me the big problem is the misprint of the BR early logo on one side of the tender in the wrong direction. I've been in communication with Rails about whether any correction is planned, I was hoping for a replacement tender top. I drew their attention to a recent similar issue with a Bachmann model, the Class 20/3 in DRS early livery, where the DRS logo was printed in the wrong place on one side. Bachmann have decided to replace the loco body. In the Rails/Dapol D case, Rails advised that Dapol became aware after the model was shipped, but have decided that it will not be corrected. I pointed out this is a premium priced model and should have significant errors corrected, however they responded that the decision is Dapols and they are not going to change it. This to me is most telling, in Bachmann's recent case they publicly said this was not to the standard they expect and they need to correct it, however Dapol are not publicly acknowledging the error and are prepared to let it go as "it'll do". I also believe Rails can force the issue more with Dapol, but they are accepting the flaw. I have replaced the BR crests, I had to do both sides as the Dapol crest was slightly larger than the Fox version, however the finish is not as good as the original. I've advised Rails that I won't pre order any future commissions until I have seen the final version, particularly those from Dapol.

Estimated to arrive at next port, Rotterdam. about 25th July.

That's good news, looks like the customs clearance is getting better. I've got 2 railcars and a 33 in this consignment, I was wondering how to spend todays state pension payment, apart from the bills. Still only money.

Not yet arrived it seems. Although showing in 'new arrivals' they are showing as 'out of stock' with an expected arrival date of 10 July. I believe Heljan products are imported into Denmark, to their distribution facility, and then distributed to UK retailers, which entails a further customs clearance, where there can be delays. All of the 'oo' GWR railcars are also due from Denmark, so there is going to be a large stock despatch.

Apparently the vessel will have further safety checks, once clear of Suez, at Port Said, before proceeding to Rotterdam and Felixstowe. 'Left hand down a bit Number One, NOOO not that way!!!' For those who remember The Navy Lark.

An update on the Rails website this morning, advises that the new release Class 33s are on their way to them. This must mean they have arrived from China at Heljan in Denmark and are now being dispatched to UK retailers.

An update by Rails this morning advises the railcar are on their way to them This must mean they are being dispatched to UK retailers from Heljan in Denmark, as the bulk consignments, ex China, go to the Heljan facility in Denmark first.

It seems that the only way to avoid the consignment admin charge is to keep the order below £135. Unfortunately at the same time as the UK withdrawal from the EU took effect and reintroduced import VAT (don't forget we had import VAT on goods from tbe EU until the Single Market Act that came into effect in 1993), the UK governmet introduced a consignment value scheme, to avoid the complexity of duty/vat/admin with on line personal sales to UK non vat registered customers. The level is up to £135, excluding delivery costs. The seller has to register for vat in the UK and charges 20% UK VAT at the point of sale. Some overseas sellers have withdrawn from selling to the UK or will only sell above the £135 value level to avoid having to register for UK VAT. I've seen on a Shapeways forum that they seem to be using the scheme.

I've just had notification that my dcc ready BR early crest has been dispatched this morning.

If I remember correctly, the factory producing the Kernow Bulleid diesel, showed the decorated samples of 10201 or 10202 with connecting doors, a variant not yet made available by Kernow, as fitted for double heading on the WCML. It is common for the UK commissioner to advise, when showing decorated samples, that the body style may not match with the livery, to avoid viewers raising concerns.

Agreed, however their latest update of today, specifically states an early July release.

Now very confused about the release date for the railcars. The Heljan update released last week had them still 'in production', with an expected release of July/August. If they are in production, as stated, then unlikely to be released in July, however I've just had a Hattons update advising they are expected in early July. It would help to know which is correct as I have two to pay for.

No excitement here, just reporting progress.