Karl

Some detailing picked out on Stanhope.

Thankyou very much, they're very kind words indeed!

Testing the track with Elidir and some rubble trucks.

Sunday morning working on Coronation Gallery, 'Holy War' simmers awaiting return to Avalon Shed. Must be due to go soon as some of the workers can be seen having jumped for a ride on the slate wagons.

Really good show and a really friendly air around the show today and I managed to find a brand new Nesta for sale on one stand. So very pleased!

Saw the advert in the free BRM at Doncaster, a very surprising and welcome announcement. Another model for my industrial layout I didn't know I wanted!

Haha! I could've added D34, J37 and Pickersgill 4-4-0 as well but thought that'd be greedy. I do think the Caley tank will come and I can see the D40 too. The others I'm not sure really, K4 possibly the most likely in the list but if that was likely I think it was more so when operational.

I was looking last week and found a few. I got the last one at one shop but this still says 1 in stock. https://churchstreetmodels.co.uk/391-053-oo9-quarry-hunslet-0-4-0st-dorothea-quarry-dorothea-lined-green/

The ballasting is almost dry now. I've gone for lots of small slate dust and chipping for this to make it look like a yard. The Birds Eye view gives a hint towards how small this is. The scenic section fits on just over 1 half or a Scale Model Scenery 22ltr baseboard. So about 40/45cm long.

Perhaps we'll be getting a GWR slip coach with a stay alive capacitor in it so under DCC you can release the coach and then gently coast it to a stop in a platform.... 😂

Fantastic! It's going to be Accurascale 009 of the Welshpool and Llanfair engines and stock! 😂 I'm expecting a second batch of something...or maybe a wagon. There's usually a bit more fanfare for a new tooling loco such as a link to a video that goes live at a certain point.

Lovely! Thanks for confirming.

Is that a little announcement Friday as in tomorrow or Friday of Model Rail Scotland?

Hopefully the next little announcement is Manor batch 2 then... with the larger tender....

...caley tank, K2/2, K4 and D40....

All my preorders moved across now too. Seems to have been a smooth process for those of us with orders. So thanks Hattons and Accurascale!

Isn't it just the announcement that they're picking up the Andrew Barclays and P class from Hattons.

I've just seen the price that the Class 31 is available for pre-order on and I think Bachmann deserve some praise here as it seems that the price is actually very comparable to the competitor version. So it's great to see the prices coming down/stabilising/being competitive, not sure what the word is but it looks good.

Or saying, it's too long can't they go back to the more frequent announcements then we didn't have to wait long. 😂

Baldwin 590 on the ledge in some dramatic lighting with the WD train.

I suspect there is a much larger overhead at Bachmann than the others that will need to be covered that will account for some of the price differential.

I think I should just clarify that the comments I make are in relation to new toolings announced since the change of announcement method. The Bulleid were new toolings but announced before the change the rest are not new toolings, but tweaked tooling. I think that is why there is disappointment is that in the last 2/3 years there have been 5/6 new diesel toolings but no steam all new tooling in 00. There is probably the subliminal assumption too of 'there will be a finite resource of research and development and so if they've been doing all these diesels they won't have even started any steam yet' meaning we're assuming on going disappoints too 😂. It is fair to say that this apparent 'slack' is being taken up by other companies who don't seem to do diesels. So across the industry steam does do very well. A few of Bachmann's apparent decisions do surprise me. For example it is 2 years since the Double Fairlies were released but there has been no FR stock which would seem to have made sense to follow the engines an annoucement or two later. Any one wanting to have some passenger coaches therefore gives their money to Peco, Nigel Brooks or Parkside and not Bachmann. I find this one very odd when the Dinorwic slates have followed the quarry hunslets very quickly so having bought the engine Bachmann get the secondary spend on stock too. Anyway, this isn't an 'nothing in it for me thing', I'm just surprised there not been any new 00 steam at all in a few years now whether it's one I'd buy or not. With regards to the comments about the 'modellers model what they remember and those in their 60's now will remember the 1970s and 1980s so will want that' are true to a point. I'm in my 30's and model steam. So the model what you remember is true for some not for others. I think I've taken enough time on this thread now anyway and think it'll reflect on us all better if the thread is full of more excited at what has been announced posts than yet more disappointed at what hasn't been ones. 😃

I quite agree that the G5 is excellent and the Rails/Bachmann 812 is very good. Perhaps this is hinting at a reality now that for Bachmann the cost benefit analysis that they do shows better returns on Diesels as that has been their focus for a few years, it wouldn't interest me but there's not been much for the Electric traction fan either over that time. Perhaps the financial maths works out that for a steam outline model it is better to work with a model shop as well and share the cost of production. I don't think steam era modellers are having a fit as it has been put, it's just a case of disappointment. Yes there is some murmouring and grumbling which comes with every disappointment. The statement of 'it's one of four announcements in the year' is quite true. The reason for said grumblings I think are that every 3 months for the last 2 and a half years that has been said for each announcement and the wait for a new steam model goes on. So it's 2 and a half rounds of 4 announcements and no new steam outline. Anyway, this is taking the topic away from what it should be which is discussing what will be produced not what wasn't. It's not a case of having a fit just a bit disappointed as when you see the quality of the new Diesels there is a bit of envy that there's no new steam coming at that standard too. 😂

The absence of steam toolings isn't the only thing that I thing is causing the disappointment amongst steam modellers. It's an apparent lack of 00 steam era being developed. Happy to be corrected but in the last 2 years or so I think in terms of steam era new toolings there is only the Dancehall brakevan. So that is where the wider 'Bachmann have turned their back on steam' has come from. It's not just an absence of engines but also period stock. I think we are now at almost 4/5 years since the last Bachmann all new steam engine tooling as a solely Bachmann model was announced and perhaps 2 years since released (V2). So we can only hope that the quietness is because Bachmann are beavering away in the background and at some point we are going to get a run of 4/5 new tooling annoucement over 18-24months, a bit like diesel fans have had with the 24/1, 20/3, 37, 47, 31 and 69 over the last 2 and a half years. A problem for Bachmann as I see it is perception. The Caley tank has been mentioned (a model I would love) and that type of engine and an 8F type always 'felt' like a Bachmann type model in the same way that LNER pacifics 'feel' like they are Hornby. An 8F now feels more like something Accurascale would do and a Caley Tank possibly feels more Rapido. Why do I bring this up? Well I have been a Bachmann CC member for about 15 years but if I am now starting to feel that Bachmann have moved their market to the modern image then there is less point me renewing as over the course of a year I no longer will expect a steam era model in the club exclusives or the magazine to have a mix of articles covering modern and steam. To be clear I don't expect Bachmann to include a steam era model and articles in every club magazine but I do expect that over the course of a year there'll be a fair spread. At the minute it is feeling like the spread is not even. Perhaps us 00 steam era are now learning how N gauge have felt for years!