Revolution Mike

Steve We are still finalising the exact details but it is looking like we will have a relatively short period for 50% deposits for Kickstarter backers. We will also open up pre-orders to non-Kickstarter backers but at a higher price. We still have just under 2.5 days left on the Kickstarter campaign and it is far from impossible that we will still make it. Indeed one of the thoughts behind announcing Plan B before the end of the Kickstarter campaign was that it might be enough of a tipping point to push us over the line. Cheers, Mike

I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding here - it is absolutely not a blank cheque for manufacturers to produce any old tat. The money is not just handed over willy-nilly to the manufacturer, but at pre-agreed stages which incentivise the manufacturer to produce the model to time and to an agreed level of quality. Ben and I are in effect acting on trust for all the people who pledge to make this project happen (and will be asking for their input at various stages of development as well as providing feedback ourselves). Cheers, Mike

Steve - this is Ben and my hobby as well! I think Guy's point was that things like Kickstarter (and other crowdfunding mechanisms) democratise the selection of models for manufacture. It also allows more "marginal" business cases to be produced. Cheers, Mike

300 is not enough to make the risk worthwhile! Fortunately a considerable number of people would like more than one set! It is not as if the PR has suddenly been sprung on people in the last week of the campaign. It is a difficult one regarding timing - you have to balance the timing to give you the best opportunity for exposure (for us The International N Gauge Show and Warley) with the fixed time limits allowed by Kickstarter vs when people are most likely to be able to pledge and all the while try to maintain momentum. Cheers, Mike

Kias I am sure you are right that people are swayed by wanting to back a winner, but the big problem with that is that if everyone behaves like that we get nowhere! I really can't emphasise enough that no money is taken unless the Kickstarter campaign is successful. Cheers, Mike

I really hope not - part of the point of the Kickstarter campaign is to prove that a market exists. If people all sit back, don't pledge and wait for Rapido/AN Other to produce it then we are back at square one ie it won't be produced. Cheers, Mike

Folks I've been in touch with some of you today about confirming your pledges etc and I know that a few people thought they had made pledges but we had no record of them. The easiest way to check if you have made a pledge is to login to your Kickstarter account and check your backer history. The Pendolino project should appear! If it doesn't then go to the project page - if you haven't made a pledge then the large green button will say "Back this project", if you have made a pledge then Kickstarter's system will not let you make another pledge and you only be offered the opportunity to "Amend your pledge" (or similar). We'd hate for anyone to miss out on pledging because of glitches in Kickstarter's process! Cheers, Mike

I see what you mean about how you could use the pledge system like that, but I'm not sure that Kickstarter's rules would allow partial payments. I guess it would depend on whether they consider it a financial incentive (banned). From our point of view when starting the project what we didn't want to happen was to take money off people and for whatever reason (because prices had increased or because we hadn't received full payment from supporters) not be able to pay bills or complete the project. Cheers, Mike

Hi Gary Is it blue or black? I had always assumed it was black, but could be wrong. Cheers, Mike

As Ben says we can't pledge directly, but there are ways and means if necessary! I'm after at least 2 sets, probably 3 (2 x 11, 1 x 9). The real question is how many to fit with sound! I'm quite happy to buy some sets for sale after and to top up the Kickstarter project (again if necessary). Cheers, Mike

Thanks - well that scuppers that idea! Not to worry, I already have records of the pledges and unique reference numbers, I just might have to share the reference numbers manually. Cheers, Mike

Folks For any of those of you that have pledged - when you have pledged does your confirmation email (or your Kickstarter account) tell you that you are backer XXX? It tells us what backer number you are and that would be helpful to know for order numbers! Cheers, Mike

Kickstarter take the money anytime from the end of a successful project to the next 10-14 days. The nature of these projects is that the cash is generally needed for the projects to go ahead (and Kickstarter want their share!). Cheers, Mike

Hi Ash Ben and I have already been through one round of contacting traders and we are embarking on a second round aimed at the smaller traders. Special liveries - despite best efforts we did not get very far with the film liveries. Ben and I discussed the Traindeer livery but we were worried about its relatively short life span. Our experience of the RBL Poppy set is that it doesn't generate large numbers of new pledges as typically people switch pledges rather than pledge for another set. Discounts - unfortunately we can not do that. We made the very conscious decision from day 1 that if we were handling other people's money and asking people to pay up front that we had to keep the price as low as possible so there is no margin for discounting as Ben and I are not trying to make any profit. Cheers, Mike

We think the likeliest solution is that the front panel will clip in/out of an NEM coupler pocket so that people can insert their coupler of choice for drags. Cheers, Mike

Hi Paul Yes, Poppy version with DCC sound is no problem - same deal, please just add £10 to the relevant pledge level (in this case to the £380 (+P&P) level ie £390 + P&P). Cheers, Mike

That is your perogative, but I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for the price of the polybulks to come down. The 4mm batch sold out pretty quickly and the second batch were even more expensive... If somewhere doesn't honour their pre-order prices then either take your custom elsewhere or take the risk in future - that simple. There is no reason why they have to honour the pre-order prices and most specifically say they will decide closer to the time (ie when they know the actual retail price). Cheers, Mike

Largely they stick to NMRA wheel profiles (though there have been a few stupid errors) but for some unfathomable reason not the B2Bs.... Cheers, Mike

Hi Cav By narrowing the gauge are you not risking problems the other way if things are set correctly to NMRA stds? Cheers, Mike

Wow the one hundredth and eleventh running of Wrecrail - I didn't realise any of you were that old! Cheers, Mike

Hi Great Western If the campaign is successful then the funds will be transferred to a dedicated bank account for the project. The project team (Ben and I) will then authorise payments to Rapido at pre-agreed activity-based milestones withe balance of payments loaded towards the delivery of the models to the UK. Cheers, Mike

Hi Tom The project continues to the end of the 60 days. Cheers, Mike

Hi GW No money is taken unless the Kickstarter campaign reaches its target and then money is taken in the period from the end of the campaign for about 2 weeks after. Set numbers - we will be producing 10 set numbers (mix of 390/0 and 390/1) and we will ask pledgers to vote on the preferred set numbers. Promotional livery - depends entirely on whether we could get permission. Unfortunately it would probably be unlikely for any of the Marvel or DC comics liveries, but we are investigating others. Yes, you can use the same controller for each scale. Cheers, Mike

Folks I wouldn't read too much into the number of backers or the average pledge per backer as the figures are completely skewed by pledges for multiple sets. We knew that DCC sound (and to a lesser degree 11-car sets) had the potential to mean we hit a monetary target but not a minimum number of sets so there is some degree of allowance for that in the monetary target (the eagle eyed will spot that 800 * £255 does not equal £210k). The reality is that if we hit the financial target then we have enough money to produce what has been ordered and we will be either slightly under or over 800 units and production will go ahead. I'm not sure I would use Kickstarter again for this type of project - it is great for somethings but it can't handle other requirements that well eg min order numbers or pledges for different rewards. Cheers, Mike

Nothing to forgive - Ben and I have always been very aware that it isn't our project but that it is for everyone involved or interested in it. Cheers, Mike