TomE

It's a strange choice isn't it. You'd think if they have limited production slots available for N Gauge, for whatever reason, they would choose to do the basic liveries that people need to replicate everyday formations But on the plus side, as mentioned above, if you're happy to repaint at least you'll actually be able to get hold of a TSO now. Tom.

Good to see the 03 & 04 get DCC sockets, a nice update and much needed especially in the face of the NGS Hunslet. The GMPTE 150 is a surprise and the Mk.2A TSO could be useful for those wanting more common liveries and are willing to repaint. It would have been better in bog standard BR blue though I feel. I guess the lack of mention of the 319 means we won't be seeing that until early next year now? And at least modern image modellers have some bang up to date toilets to go with the previous 1980's version... Tom.

There are some photos of the paint samples for the Caledonian Sleeper versions here They look superb! Tom.

I guess it helps that 99% of the time Farish (and Revolution) get it right so there is less to criticise, except the lack of output, lead times and of course, the price. The problem with Dapol is one minute they are producing models of Class 68 quality, which I still rate as one of the best modern image locos ever produced in N Gauge, and the next they are churning out tat like these. In my case this means that I will never pre-order a Dapol product because you just don't know where it's going to be on the scale of 68 to Pacer. At least with the other manufacturers you can be confident that when it arrives it will be a generally sound model that runs well and looks good out of the box. Tom.

The photo is from the Rails Of Sheffield listing, so safe to assume it’s a final production example. https://railsofsheffield.com/products/Dapol-2p-006-002-br-intercity-executive-mk3-sleeper-coach-no10701 Tom.

I see the Dapol 'close enough' department has been at the fonts again. Tom.

I think the door & window layout is different on the TFW 756s, which seems to be par for the course these days, not much is standard anymore! Tom.

195/331 are likely to be around for a long time and cover quite a wide area so not a bad shout, however somewhat limited in livery options at the moment. Is there much commonality between the 195/196/197? Personally I'd like to see the 755/3 & 4 in N. Tom.

A bit more info here This is great news. Easily the best N Gauge working colour light signals available at the time so pleased to see them making a return! Tom.

Hi Fran. Irrespective of lighting conditions, I'm just highlighting that the samples appear to use the same dark grey as the cab side window surround throughout all of the elements I mention, where as it is clearly a different colour on the prototype. I just point it out as it would be a shame to see an otherwise outstanding model and the huge effort to get the shading right spoilt by the colour being wrong. Tom.

Not my scale but those are very, very impressive indeed! Not 100% convinced on the colour of the doors, window strip, lower body strip & coach ends though, looks far too dark to me? The windows should also have a wide black stripe around them to complete the look. I'm sure that's already on the list of corrections though. I'm eagerly awaiting the Revolution N versions. Tom.

News from the Dapol stand on the WC/BoB was probably another 2 years away at least. Tom.

The EP samples I photographed are viewable here. Thanks to Ben & Mike for the opportunity to have a close up look at some of the goodies heading our way soon. The Mk.5 stock in particular is going to be something very special indeed! Tom.

Had a close look at the 128 EP at TINGS. Looking very nice indeed, with some excellent under frame details. There are some more pics here Tom.

Had a close up look at the Mk.5s at TINGs (thanks Ben & Mike!) They promise to be some of, if not the best, coaching stock produced in N Gauge to date. There are more pics along with a round up of other Revolution projects here Tom.

Farish had painted samples of the 319 on display. I thought they looked excellent. Also the sound fitted 60 & 5MT EPs we’re on show and the crew cut class 47. Tom.

Fantastic news and great to see them finally come to fruition! Just need to work out how I justify some! Tom.

Wouldn't get your expectations up on that one.... Not the easiest scheme to reproduce in N granted, but at least get the basic colours right. Tom.

Trouble is the longer it drags on, people are more likely to cancel their orders in the belief it will never appear at all. Changing the spec half way through probably won’t have helped either. I cancelled my pre orders when they announced it would be their first ‘next generation’ steam model post DJ era because I want to see the new CADs, EPs and painted samples before I decide whether to stump up the cash or not on what is now effectively a brand new and untested mechanism, and I suspect many others have done the same. Dapol may complain they don’t have sufficient pre-orders to move the project forward, but they’re not doing anything to change that situation either. Tom.

Ok, maybe that was a bit flippant, however this is what happens when you announce something and then do nothing about it. I strongly suspect the only reason Dapol even made an announcement about their 59 coming out of abeyance was because they got wind someone else was working on one. It remains to be seen whether the Dapol one is as far along as they say it is, or whether that was just an attempt to dissuade the other party. Regardless, this situation is entirely a result of Dapol sitting on their hands and stringing N Gauge modellers along for however many years it’s been since the initial announcement. Tom.

Snooze you lose! Tom.

Now THAT, is a next generation model...! Fantastic news, and just look at that underframe Tom.

West Country/BOB has simple valve gear….. Just sayin’………. Tom.

Latest update from the club mag: In the Tool Room: Class 158 DMU (New Tooling) Class 14 (Sound Upgrade) Engineering Prototypes received or awaited: BR Standard 5MT (Sound Upgrade) Livery Samples received or awaited: Class 60 (Sound Upgrade) Class 450 EMU Class 47 (Crewe Cut) Approved for Production: Class 319 EMU Tom.

I think you are correct. Farish have their sound upgraded 5MT at EP stage (according to the latest Bachmann Times). Dapol have the upgraded M7 chassis, but there is no new tool steam on the horizon from Dapol until they pull the West Country/BoB out of abeyance. Tom.