ash39

Looking excellent! The end details are interesting to see, as it's very rare to see a split Pendolino. I'm assuming a seperately fitted gangway is still to be added? I may have missed one further back in the thread, but is there a close up photo of any of the sample model showing the gap between the vehicles on straight track? I found the video of the test of the third and final version of the couplers, and it looks very close coupled even on the curves, which is amazing considering the length of the vehicles, the tight radius curves and apparent close coupling.

Got to say, body shape issues aside, the detail and moulding looks superb, particularly the rivets (I haven't counted them though!) I know Dapol commented on the destination displays being corrected. I'm sure they'll look better when darker but it's a shame they couldn't have been done with a clear window with the display behind it. I suppose doing it they way they have done, they can also do the dot matrix style displays without changing the tooling.

Looking great so far. Pontefract is fairly local to me, I'll definitely be coming along to that if all goes to plan!

Yes I've unfortunately decided against a 66737 after seeing one. It's a shame as I also had my eyes on 67014 until it came with glued on nameplates which took away any chance of bringing it up to its current un-named condition.

So it does! I looked at a handful of images and concluded the model was wrong but your image is conclusive. The orange is a touch over saturated but not disastrous. I wonder if it'd all tone down nicely with some weathering.

Has anyone picked up one of these yet? I was thinking of getting one, it's one of my favourites - the first photo I ever got published was of this loco hauling 66752-756 for delivery. However, without wanting to turn this into another Dapol moan, it looks to have succumbed to a pretty major livery error. The large '37' looks to be a much lighter shade than the rest of the numbers. Also on the hattons images the 'GBRf' logo is wonky but this could be a one off error. If anyone has any pictures in alternative lighting so it can be judged how off the shade is, it'd be much appreciated. Thanks

Looks superb. Imagine how much more finished the layout is going to look with that in place! Brickwork is excellent as well as others have said.

Or print them 5% underscale and supply etched ones in a bag which is the right solution for everyone. I'd prefer them not to be printed at all (makes it easier to rename to a shorter one without having to rub remove any printing) but that seems a fair compromise for everyone.uu

Thanks Ben for taking the time to explain the state of play, no apologies needed re the length! It's a shame some people will be disappointed livery wise, but it's inevitable interest will be spread thin with so many prototype liveries to choose from. My personal situation is a bit unusual, I'm in for a Northern 321/9 and if it makes the cut, I'll also add a plain/unpainted one to convert to a 322 in plain blue to run with it. If the 321/9 doesn't make it in any form, I'll probably change to a Scotrail 320 as it's the most attractive one for a 'rule one' type purchase.

Any progress been made on the CAD work for these yet? Or any decision been made on which liveries are to make the cut? It's been a bit quiet! Thanks

After following this thread for many years, I finally got to see my favourite n gauge layout at Wakefield tonight, fantastic. Got a few pics which I'll try upload later

Two Class 92's by two manufacurers is duplication. I'm not saying anyone is in the wrong, I'm just saying it's unfortunate and in my view a wasted opportunity to bring another class to market. I guess manufacturers are damned either way, 'call dibs' on a model early doors and spend 2-3 years getting it right and people will complain, or wait until you're closer to having something tangible but risk someone else being on the same path. Njee20, I've seen a layout somewhere, can't remember for the life of me now where I saw it, but they had a Class 89 with a light in the pan. Think it was operated by magnets in the OLE. Looked very effective, think with the possibilities modern DCC control brings it could be a very worthwhile addition if it can be done discretely enough.

Sounds great and would add to the realism of the model. Not a gimmick at all, and can't see how it can be described as one when the real thing does it! Speaking as an n gauge modeller, it's almost a case of waiting until DJM and Revolution have revealed their hands in terms of spec and development times before choosing which to go for. I know it's been discussed to death but I wish one of them had done a 90 instead, rather than this unfortunate duplication.

Been meaning to post this shot I took last year but only just got round to it, another opportunity to use a 'sleeper' 92 on freight, with models already available... 92033 & 66737 Overton 26/03/2015 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Cheers Ben for your help as always. My thinking was if 2 or more decoders were needed, it'd make more sense to go for a sound one for a relatively small uplift. If I placed an order for a DC version and you couldn't come up with a solution where 1x decoder was needed, would I be able to upgrade to a sound version before production? Thanks

Weighing up whether to order a Northern one with WYPTE as a secondary choice. Can anyone confirm the DCC situation for non sound fitted models? Will they require just one decoder, or extra ones for lighting like the Farish desiros? Thanks

Is this for real? The Class 91 has been around over 25 years and covers an area of over 400 miles between London and Scotland. How much further does it need to spread its wings to be worthy of a retool? There are much more niche models in existence than the Class 91 would be.

That's right, to be fair it started with the new model announcment. I think the Drax wagons have reached a dead end now anyway in light of Dave's insight, and there's a new thread for the container flats, so back to the 321s...

That's a shame, the amount of effort put into making the real wagons so distinctive, you'd think they'd be supportive of any project to model them and promote their switch to biomass in model form. I wonder if they could be persuaded for £2-3 per wagon as a licencing fee. They'd still be a hell of a lot cheaper than the Hornby ones, and they'd make a lot of money for essentially no work.

The amount of people who mentioned the Biomass wagons have hopefully planted the seed for Revolutions next project! I'll probably have a couple of the KFAs anyway, I personally don't fully know or appreciate the differences between the various types of container flats but they'll mix in with my other flats and support Revolution which I'm keen to do.

Ben, Stand looks great. I'm fortunate to be able to call York my 'local' show. It's a great venue with loads of natural light, a long way away from a dim lit sports hall! Mind you the forecast isn't great for the rest of the weekend... I'm hoping to get to the show tomorrow afternoon so I'll hopefully get to stop by for a chat. Might not be the right thread for this question, but any news on the new announcement?

Maybe not the biomass wagons after all then. After seeing (admittedly few) very keen modellers drop the best part of £2k on a rake of Hornby ones, I'm sure plenty of manufacturers would be keen to do them! Plus copyright issues with the Drax logos maybe. I'm changing my guess, given your definition of niche - Class 90

To me, niche either means very few exist, or the ones that do exist operate in a very defined area or time period. To me, track machines/tampers etc are niche in another way, ie most modellers are more interested in the more celebrated express trains and heavy freight, so woulx there be a big enough market for something like that? I may be totally off the mark, I'm basing that purely on my interests and the lack of seeing such models on other layouts, but that could be a chicken and egg scenario.

Biomass wagons would be great but potentially expensive on a personal level! I'll be at York so hopefully get to see the revolution stand.

Hope everything is going well with the testing. Looking at pictures of 390151, it appears it carried just the 'Business is Great' motif on the driving cars until around mid-2015, but it now carries full wraps on 4 of the intermediate vehicles (my OCD struggles with the fact it's not symmetrical!!). The vehicles are all different and quite complex looking! Is the model planned to have the full current wrap?