D1032

Hi Rick, The neighbours dog must be a Wizzo fanatic... He only barks when there's a 'thousand' on the move. I bet he runs indoors whimpering with his tail between his legs when you get a hoover out! ) Talking of dogs, I love your layout, it's the mutts nuts! Cheers, Ian. PS - Did you get that 33/1 off Ebay?

Hi Nidge, That is one hell of a fantastic & ultimately comprehensive list with comments you've done there. Thank you very much for your very hard work in producing that. Cheers, Ian.

Hi everyone, I've been onto The Swindon Steam Museum today to order my Dapol LE Class 52 D1000 Western Enterprise. Apparently, it comes with a LE pin badge depicting the 'ferret & dartboard' casting that was on the secondman's cabside. If anyone else on the forum is interested, I've got a few stats, numbers & details to quote: Swindon Steam Museum Telephone: 01793 466626 Contact: Geoff Davies e-mail: gdavies@swindon.gov.uk As of today, there are approximately 250 out of the 400 LE's left to be sold & they are £159.99 each. If you choose to e-mail Geoff, all you need to do is quote your name, address, contact telephone number & state clearly that you want one of the Dapol D1000 LE models. BTW, I have no affiliation or financial interest with this museum organisation. Hope this is of use. Cheers, Ian.

Hi Dave, Oh no!! Not a Class 43 High Speed Tram? Surely not? A Class 43 Warship would get my vote & orders... Bye-bye Bachmann Warships! ;o) Cheers, Ian.

Firstly & most importantly, I owe you a sincere apology! I can assure you that I'm not usually so volatile; more like a labrador, me. I accept your comments regarding perfection, as the Heljan Western does have it's design discrepancies against the prototype. Perhaps what I should have stated is that I'm a self-confessed perfectionist & I was happy with what is available today. My Heljan Western that was used for the test was run on DC. Thanks to you, I am now well aware of the current draw & DCC Chipset problem. As I use my models for display only (usually), I was totally unaware of any potential problems of any sort. However, I have seen Heljan Class 47's where the chassis has become so hot & expanded that it's seriously cracked the bodyshell. With what has been discussed on this forum, I will, in time, replace all of my Heljan Westerns with Dapol versions. I've already cancelled my pre-order for the next batch of Heljan ones. As a matter of interest, which Heljan Western have you got? PM me off forum if you like. Cheers, Ian.

Hi Dave, You've really pulled the rabbit out of the hat on this one. It's the mutt's nuts! Once I've ditched my collection of those other ahem, Westerns, could I negotiate a deal for a bulk purchase? BTW, I'm deadly serious! Cheers, Ian.

It's not much good having 2.5K coaches if you've got nothing decent to haul them with! Cheers, Ian.

It certainly isn't & was never intended to be. The only point I was perhaps attempting to illustrate is that I consider the Heljan Western to be by far the best model currently available. I don't drink to excess, I don't smoke, take drugs or waste valuable & hard earned money on anything like that. What I do love is anything Western. I guess you could call that my addiction. With great thanks to Dapol Dave's interaction with this forum, we've now got the ultimately correct & detailed version of a Class 52 R-T-R model possible imminent for production & release. Therefore, I'm just about to cancel my pre-order for the next batch of Heljan Westerns. Then replace it with an order for Dapol ones! Now there's confidence in a product that has just left the drawing board! Cheers, Ian.

Hi Jerry, Thanks for your reply. I've just replied to another post on the forum, so now on to yours... The test was performed solely as a one off to ascertain the quality of the Heljan internals. It performed faultlessly! As I stated in one of my previous posts, I display my models. So in answer to your question, no, I couldn't give a monkeys how many coaches or wagons it will haul. What I do care about is the overall quality of the product that I'm paying lots of money for. From what is available now, the Heljan Western ticks most of the boxes. It's only the minor detailing discrepancies to the prototype & the detailing pack that lets it down. I am more than happy to tolerate that at the moment. That's why I've brought 50+ of them. Cheers, Ian.

The test we performed was purely a one off to ascertain just what a Heljan Western IS capable of. I reckon it would have pulled 70-80 coaches with relative ease! What I thought that you could have worked out for yourself is, like it or not, the Heljan Western is by far the best model of a Class 52 that's available now. The quality of the Heljan internals speak volumes. I concede that the detailing packs included are rubbish & not as per prototype. However, reiterating myself, it IS by far the best model of a class 52 that's been produced so far. I wonder if you would be brave enough to repeat your sarcastic comment to my face? Cheers, Ian.

Once again, many thanks for your lightning quick reply. Cheers, Ian.

I have been watching this thread with interest over the last 12 months or so. I'm stunned by the level of client interface to get the detailing perfect - which it now is. A couple of questions now for Dapol Dave... I display my locos, coaches & wagons. Are there any plans for Dapol to release a 'dummy' class 52 in the pipeline? Would it be sensibly priced? I feel £50+ for a non-powered loco would be extracting the proverbial. Whilst getting the external detailing perfect, what sort of internal motor will Dapol be using? Will it outperform a Heljan Western? One of my Heljan Wessies has hauled 60 Mk.3 coaches comfortably round a large club layout! BTW, I've got 50+ Heljan class 52's that would require replacing!