DapolDave

Hi Nidge, yes and ironically this was on an early cad/cam. glad i'm out there in the next week or so for a 'chat' ;-) cheers Dave

Hi chaps, Good point and 1 thats not showing up well on the cad/cam. I have been through the previous cad files and it isnt there either which makes me believe it was left off when the scanning transition to cad/cam took place and it was 'smoothed' out. To help matters a bit i have attached a comparison picture betwen the one posted earlier (thats for that) and the cad/cam, scaled to about the same size. Cheers Dave

Hi chaps, Thanks for the input so far. its all totally relevant, and goes to show just how much moving certain things on cad/cam revision can, if you dont spot it, alter other things too. I am of a mind that this has to be the best 'Western' available in any scale, as who knows, apart from the N gauge one we might produce one in 'O' gauge too in years to come and i'd like it to be as accurate as possible. Now, i shall get the cad re-drawn on this feature and try and tweek the 'peak'. I'm trying to get to climb on another sample soon just to make cross reference to another of the class to double check a few things. One small thing you wont have seen is that the windows are modelled on the bodyside so the correct one looks like it will slide behind the other. Anythng else you see, feel free to yell. I know i get paid for product development, but there comes a time where you have to be honest, raise your hand, and ask for others to view and comment, and its really appreciated. cheers Guys

Hi everyone, Just back from a break and have received the latest Class 52 'Western' images. They are posted here for thoughts as always. However i do have a request. Anyone that knows me knows i'm not the easiest person to get onto locomotive roofs And it appears our scanning is in need of a top up regarding the roof panels and lift eyes / walkway. if anyone has any details on this regarding panel widths and close ups of the aformentioned walkways and eyes, then i'd be happy to hear from them, or else it's carting myself off to Tyseley with a big ladder / cherry picker (delete as appropriate ) Anyway, here are the latest images and i'm still not 100% happy with the cab front radiuses, and welcome feedback. Note that this cad/cam does have the pipes under the fuel tank added and a very big cavity for a speaker plus enclosure (the largest rectangular one DCC supplies have) for those that wish to convert to sound. cheers Dave

anyone seen the new releases list pinned to the Dapol section today? cheers Dave

Hi everyone, Just back to work from a few days of illness and i thought i'd put a few 'demons' to bed with the GC and FGW issue. Firstly i'll cover the GC issue. The original revised paint diagram we received for the GC HST included (and yes this is true) silver TF, and TS doors, a single black door on the TRSB with the other end door being gold. However this was changed by GC to be the TF with gold doors not the TSRB. However, when we got down to the final permissionas and approval for this livery they insisted on gold doors (reading between the lines there may be a repainting of the silver to gold on the cards), and with this specification this is how we have replicated the livery. Totally authorised by GC. With regards to the cooler group, well this was an easy one , although not totally palatable, to decide not to produce. Simply put the tooling for this cooler group would include £10000.00 of expenditure that could not , at the time be justified on this model given the limited sales of the HST prior to release. Indeed the GC is our worse seller at the moment despite extra coaches being available at launch (buffet still to come). FGW This was an interesting one as we again were under strict instructions to paint to their specifications. The original blue roof we did a deco approval sample for them for was rejected as being innaccurate and they requested the addition of a BLACK (not grey) centre roof stripe running form the exhaust deflector, along the roof of the power car and all coaches about 4 ribs wide (if i remember correctly). This we submitted and got asked to change it as the 'new' roof colour was all over black with blue upper 'shoulders'. This has been subsequently accepted by FGW and has now finished production and is on the high seas. It is worth noting that with modern Railway companies they are very fussy (in the best way) in getting their 'image' correctly portrayed, and we cannot just do a livery 'on spec' as this wont pass their approval process. As such both GC, FGW, NR, GBRF, DBS, FL, Virgin, ATW, Northern Rail etc all sign off officially on decorated models to ensure that Dapol cannot be blamed when the model doesnt turn out quite like the real thing. It's not a Dapol 'Horlicks' merely us following the train operators instructions as unless we do , we do not get authorisation to proceed with the decoration on our model. I hope this helps clear things up. cheers Dave

Hi Tyrone, sorry to hear of your problems with the HST sets. I'm worried that your decoders didnt fit. I'm not sure what ones you are using but we have recommended and fitted to the HSTthe following decoders, Zimo, Lens Silver, Ct Electronic, and i think Gaugemaster (from memory that last one as i'm at home). any other make of manufacture is not recommended because of either size (due ot shrink wrapping making the decoder thicker than it needs to be, or by other qualities that through testing we have not found to be 'up to the mark'. the broken in the box worries me as they are very securely packed with no lateral movement for the units, and wonder if (just thinking out loud and not accusing anyone) whether its been out of the box previously and not put back properly? Was the plastic bogie holder in place on the read powered unit bogie? 75mph is also a worry as we have scaled the gearing to be as authentic when on full power as possible and i havnt heard of this problem before. All in all, it doesnt matter, as by one way or another this product is faulty. Would you do me a favour and in this instance return it directly to me at Dapol (dont worry we'll pay your postage) as i'd like to have a look at your set with some urgency? I will check it out, and fully test it for you, and if needs be replace it in full. Let me know by PM what you would like to do? By the way, despite my posting about roof colours for the virgin set, this set was designed on purpose to have 'as delivered' black roofs and i spoke at length privately to members of this forum regarding this colour and the possible miss match and it was felt looking at pictures of the real thing, that we would be on a hiding for nothing if we went for the same colour as the HST was black on the roof, but weathered down quickly which was felt acceptable as a compromise. cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

Hi guys, this looks good (but then i would say that), mind you it does bode well for other upcoming OO locomotives and thier running ability. cheers Dave

Hi, the Blue / grey sets are here and will get labelled and out to the shops by the weekend. As for the Buffets? no not yet (dont ask ) but they will arrive. I'm afraid we are concentrating on getting older announced product out at the minute and final development of the buffet has slipped slightly (if 6 months+ can be called slightly) rest assured it is coming. cheers Dave

Hi Steve, Just a quick reply to your post. If you look at any coaching stock from above, you will find a miss match of roof colours due to weathering, fading, and dirt. Now obviously i could B.S. you here by saying thats the effect we wanted, however in truth the roof grey used on the HST book sets was more akin to the correct slightly darker grey of the power cars, and so it was done to match them rather than have people complain about the too light roof colour on them. Amazing really that until the book sets came out with the correct ex-works colour on the roof, no one noticed that the roof on the fist batch of MK3's was slightly lighter. Anyway, i hope you like the HST. Cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

Hi guys, yup, hook line and sinker, sorry. no ariel on either the 56 (which shall have them as customer applied parts in the accessory bag) or the Western in either gauge (although Champion has one for mainline running at the moment) i was going to milk it by adding things but i thought no one would fall for. off not on holiday for 2 weeks, more update when i return. cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

Hi, To clarify the first batch of HST 'book sets'. Virgin is .....well Virgin livery, Blue/Grey is a western region 253 set to go with the western region allocated MK3's we produced. Intercity 125 is the original livery using executive dark grey upper works (not swallow livery) Intercity swallow is the revised swallow using Falcon grey upper works (we are releasing MK3 coaches separately to go with this) However, all is not doom and gloom on this as we are currentl making the FW, GC and XC HST's for delivery later this year and i will slot in a batch of Executive Dark Grey original book sets as well , so dont sell your coaches yet. Glad all that saw the HST's running at Ally Pally and in the cabinet at the weekend liked them. not long now, and i think you may like them. cheers Dave Dapol ltd

HST sound fitted? who'd have thought that possible? am saying nothing. lol cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

lol, sorry, my fault, i was referring to the OO version, but if the Bachmann one comes out, who knows? apologies for getting your hopes up. lol cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

Hi Guys, to add to Andy's earlier comments, here's where we are with the cad. Firstly the only palpable thing you see that we have is here. Work is now going on to refine the cad/cam to include the nuances that earlier and later once had. (thinking battery box, side opening hatch and boiler grill etc) We are designing the Western to have a fixed valance and thinking about the possibility (only thinking mind) to supply the loco fitted with NEM microtrains couplers, with spare UK couplers in the box. The scanning was the most complex we have ever done, as mindful of other attempts in all gauges to replicate this model unsuccessfully, i asked for not the usual 4 points of scanning but 10 points. This was because i wanted to make sure that pesky roof , cab roof front (peak) and 'nose' with cab front windows and distances etc were scanned very accurately. We also scanned underneath the front valance and fuel tanks as there are 2 pipes underneath the tank that are coloured depending on liquid carried and i wanted to replicate these too. We also managed to capture the off set fan grillsnicely too. I also, along with the scanning company, took a full photo survey of 'Champion' for analysing alongside the scans, and pictures readily available on the Locomotive. So, thats progress so far, and while i know its not much to look at at the moment, it gives you an idea of how accurate (or otherwise ) the OO and N gauge model will be. As usual, i would appreciate any comments regarding the look etc, but i hope it doesnt dissappoint the way it looks at the moment. Delivery is still scheduled for this year in both gauges by the way. cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

and just to rub salt into the wounds....... 'Super Creep' 5 pole skew wound motor Twin flywheels low friction mechanism Darkened profile wheel sets correctly modelled bodies and cab fronts (for alternate versions) correctly modelled drop down or sliding windows correctly modelled foot alternate bogie steps correctly modelled alternate leaf spring bogies directional lighting (different on each model depending on livery) correctly modelled deflector plate on cab roof NEM651 DCC decoder socket Correctly modelled alternate fuel tank and air tanks Customer fitted snowploughs and headcode discs (where appropriate) NEM coupling pocket Small bogie to chassis clearance Etched metal see through side grilles with support stantions correctly modelled behind Separately applied handrails and windscreen wipers 2 buffer styles depending on variants produced I think that about does it cheers Dave Dapol ltd

Hi guys, I have updated the website to include in the N gauge news section the disc headcode class 26 and alternate steps. Please note that the roof radio pod and snowploughs are, like the headcode discs, customer fit for preference. Also that the side grill is, like our class 58, a see through etch. cheers Dave

Hi everyone, quick update for you. The first Virgin HST book set went to ModelRail today for photography. Not sure many of you are aware but it consists of a 1st + 3rd coaches plus a standard fit Powercar and a buffered power car. I'm sure they will be in a MR mag review soon. now thats sorted and put to bed we can concentrate on the buffet which will take a little more of my time in the next week or so, but i'll post porgress here as soon as i have something tangible. Soon after that i will work on the TGS. cheers Dave

hi everyone, The 26015 will be without twin frnt headlamps (shame as i rather like them that way). Also we are doing 2 types of bogie(inc leaf spring), and 2 types of bogie steps, plus snowploughs in the pack with the loco, along with customer added roof radio pods (where necessary) etched disc headcodes (where applicable), 2 types of underframe and with / withough door window, plated front door, welded front door or hinged front door, plus round / oval buffers and different roof shoulder grilles. 26008 will be the coal sector version. Hope this helps. cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

Hi, Yes the corridor connections will be first applied on the class 142 production models. The through wiring is an interesting issue as it allows each car to be uncoupled for storage. However during Warley a magazine (who will remain nameless) broke the through couplers and wiring through miss-handling, although i wanred them to be careful, so we may need to revisit this area. Even more so when i understand others OO gauge EMU has had connector breakages. The cad/cam posted above includes the older 'blocky' underframe that we have tried to redesign to allow for a more prototypical underside. More details on the model as it progresses, or even next week with the catalogue release....................who knows cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

Hiya, just to clarify things regarding the 142. the model shown at Warley was in fact a hand built (out of plasticard) engineering model of the 142. Based on the developed (to date) cad/cams. It has a motor, and through wiring plus the flexible , non gap, corridor connectors. please dont read anything into this model, its purelty for engineering purposes and is not indicative of the final model, whenever that appears By the way, the 121 was also a plastcard working model as well. hope this helps. cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

Hi David, The pantographs can be used on our class 86's. in fact i have pictures of both types on Freightliner locomotives. They will be handy for anyone wanting to do their own thing with kits out there, plus as you say we have a Pendolino and 92 announced so its handy there alos, plus i'm looking at other nice OHL motive power as well for future projects that will need them. cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

Hi Ben, They are not sprung, as i think that catenary should (when we get the wires out that is:rolleyes: ) be almost horizontal (unless modelling the MSW route:lol: ) and that in OO or N gauge the panto going up and down like a fiddlers elboe might look silly as it doesnt seem to look right in scale speeds. So they are semi poseable, and are slightly sprung when up to alleviate any possible snagging on wires / uneveness etc. Hope this helps. cheers Dave Dapol Ltd

D-oh, Sorry guys, the pictures are of the N gauge ones. cheers Dave Dapol ltd

Hi everyone, at Warley we announced (rather quietly it seems:rolleyes: ) scale N and OO gauge pantographs. Here is a press release: With our growing dissatisfaction in N gauge pantographs for UK outline models, Dapol have decided to ‘go it alone’ and produce scale N gauge pantographs of both the Brecknell-Willis and Stone Faiveley types for our future class 86 electric locomotive releases and for other models that we are in the planning stages for. These pantographs will be available separately and have fine etched steel heads, and are easily fitted by customers to upgrade their existing class 86 models. (Please note they will be available separately via the Dapol website as spares (price TBA.) Dapol are also pleased to announce that we are to manufacture (in line with our expanding OO catenary range) the same 2 types of Pantograph in OO gauge. However as indicative with the increase in scale we will be adding further details to the models, and hope to have only minor compatibility issues that the modeller should easily be able to change. Details of our expanding range of OO gauge catenary will be in our 2011 catalogue which will also include our newly announced ‘H’ section 2-4 track gantry kit. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can see this is the 2 pictures of the completed cad/cam (unless we have missed off something glaring) and i'd appreciate comments regarding them. Also do any of you have any thoughts on the OO versions (features, details required etc) Please donrt mail me directly as we are undergoing a server and computer systems change, but please (with the moderators permission of course) feel free to post here for both gauges. As always cheers (and festive greetings) Dave Dapol Ltd