TomE

Well here's the NGN chat with Accurascale recorded at Alexandra Palace. First time we've done this so be gentle 😂 Hope it's of interest! Tom.

Probably not helped by the rather harsh photo booth lighting and metallic effect Bachmann have used. It's interesting to compare this to the other renditions of the scheme from other manufacturers. Tom.

I recorded the short interview for NGN with Accurascale at Alexandra Palace on Sunday. Just need to edit the footage into something presentable and then it’ll be up on the site & YT channel. Tom.

Given Farish’s current release methodology, there’s every chance they have been working on other, unannounced liveries along side these two. Tom.

Yeah, Q1 2024. Tom.

Bachmann had the livery samples for the TransPennine Express 350 and Southwest Trains Class 450 on display at the Alexandra Palace show. There’s a few photos of both here Tom.

I don't think that's the sound of tumbleweed you hear, but the collective rolling of eyes at yet another Dapol N Gauge model announced whilst we languish in year 11 of the Light Pacific saga. Tom.

Had the following e-mail this morning. Caused a minor heart flutter! Tom.

The AC Cars type came out top in the railcars section of the NGN D&E poll with 32% of the vote and placed 32nd overall. The Waggon und Maschinenbau type were in second place in the category with 19% and 89th position overall. Tom.

Well the NGN poll is showing some clear leaders out of the existing Accurascale OO range people would like to see pass through the shrink ray. Thanks to all those who have voted so far, and for those that haven't you can do so here The Class 37, Mk.2 coaches and HAA + variants are leading each of the rolling stock categories, although the Manor and HUO are also doing well. Interestingly, the item with the highest number of votes so far is from the supplementary question I added about the important considerations when buying N Gauge models, with running qualities currently leading that section. That no doubt speaks to some of the issues DrAl raised around motors & reliability. I'll be recording an interview with Accurascale about their thoughts around N Gauge at Alexandra Palace on the Sunday which will go up on NGN shortly after. Tom.

Excellent gesture and a worthy charity! Just added another 2 to my rake taking it to 10. Thinking around 16 will be enough to create a decent impression of a full rake in N so hope they don't sell out too quickly 🤣 Tom.

Finally, the O Gauge Fell no-one has been asking for! Tom.

Ahead of a chat with Accurascale about their thoughts and plans for N Gauge, there is a poll running over on NGN to get a clear picture of which models in the Accurascale range people would like to see: https://bit.ly/3IJOS5I Head over and cast your votes, then watch out for the chat sometime in the next couple of weeks. Tom.

I'd be willing to bet there'll be coaches coming out of your ears at some point this year! Tom.

Revolution have the first N Gauge test mouldings from the tooling on display at Model Rail Scotland this weekend. These are just the first test moulds intended for checking the basic shape is right and the dimensions correct and not full EP samples, but they are already looking like they will be excellent models, the 180 looking particularly impressive! There are more images here Tom.

Bachmann have produced plenty of Graham Farish 'train sets' in N Gauge. Recent ones have included: 370-065 Newspaper Express 370-070 Cornish Riviera Express 370-090 North Eastern Freight 370-130 The Night Mail 370-140 The Steel Worker 370-185 A Day at the Races 370-275 The Merseyside Express 370-280 Regional Commuter All of the the above have included loco, rolling stock, track & controller, the very definition of a train set. Tom.

‘Biscuit tins’ or ‘Kettles’, anyone who can take a sheet of brass and other assorted materials and make them in to a working model gets my admiration, plus always good to see more 2mm FS D&E content! Super work Bob, looking forward seeing more progress! Tom.

With the 37 I look at it like this. Yes, a lot of people already have a Farish 37 and yes, most of those people will be happy with them. But a lot of people, many of whom are probably not already in that oft touted number of 15-20% of OO vs N might look at it and say no, I'm not going to model N Gauge because the Farish 37 isn't up to modern standards, and those potential N Gauge Modellers are lost to another scale. Then there is the issue of progress. N Gauge would not be where it is today if Bachmann had not bought the Graham Farish range way back in 2001 and invested heavily in new, reliable chassis. It would not be where it is if Dapol had not entered the market and forced Bachmann to up their game again with better detail. It would not be where it is if Revolution hadn't arrived on the scene with a new way of getting models on to modellers layouts that otherwise would never have seen the light of day. Progress happens, without it we'd all still be buying chunks of metal that vaguely resemble a locomotive running on pizza cutter wheels (Although I'm sometimes left wondering if some N Gauge modellers would be happy if we went back to that!) If N Gauge is to progress and grow it needs to keep up with developments and standards in other RTR scales, not wallow in a stagnant world of that'll do. I suspect Accurascale entering the N Gauge market could well be exactly what it needs to make that next jump in progress and kickstart growth in the scale. Tom.

2nd highest feature request in the N Gauge News poll behind onboard stay alive! Tom.

I have to disagree with you there John. The Farish 37 has much that can be improved on, namely the huge body/bogie gap, over wide bogies, body to cab tumblehome transition and the mad trencher has been at the door outlines. There are also several missing versions that are not likely to see the light of day with Farish’s output levels. Given the current Farish tooling was released in 2009, it’s not really up there with modern standard locomotives like the Class 90 or Revolution Class 59. It’s not a bad model, but it is now a model of it’s time, and if N Gauge is to attract new modellers to the scale it needs models to modern standards. If Accurascale were to produce a Class 37, it’s not like the Farish model would disappear, but it would give modellers the choice of a new, current standard model or the 14 year old version. Tom.

Mk.2s & 37s would be the most obvious choice to start with from the current product line up. HAAs in bulk packs of 10-12 would also be a winner I think. What a N Gauge needs is a steady supply of bog standard stuff that’s fills the gaps between the headline attention grabbing models, although I wouldn’t say no to an Accurascale N Gauge Class 50! Tom.

My Renewable Pioneers set arrived this morning and the printing of the livery on these is absolutely blo*dy brilliant! Tom.

Hi Ben. Absolutely, and it’s not a criticism, I think these are superb models, largely due to the way you’ve been able to replicate what is a pretty complex livery with both photographic elements and fading colours, the two things that must be the biggest headache to reproduce in such a small scale! Tom.

That's what led me to the assumption it was waterslide as that end also has some of the livery element wrapping around onto end, which probably accounts for the missing visible band to the right of the data panels, but I guess that must also be a result of the printing method used? Tom.

The first of my two packs arrived today, ironically the set I ordered after the pre-order, but that's now also on it's way. Only had chance for a quick look over these but will be putting up a full review on NGN once the second set arrives. Impressive wagons, and models. The livery is nicely done via what appear to be waterslide decals, although there is some slight misalignment around the bodyside cutouts, but i'm not sure how else it could have been done given the complexity of the livery and it's a minor niggle really. Not sure I'll ever get near a full rake, but will almost certainly add a few more to the collection. Tom.