Greenmodelmonkey

Depends on how it realistically this part of the business was marketed to the prospective buyers in the first place. I'm sure the chap was not going to invest in something that would not work, unless as you say he was misguided in some way. I'm sure the investment was substantial so still feel he should be given the opportunity to get business in order which means a longer wait by the sound of it, as he is still a one man band and this was made clear to all at the time of sale. Im still hopeful, and we should be thankful, that someone has taken on the responsibility to carry the business onwards even if it does not satisfy everbodys near term needs.

Having seen the operation when it was in Bristol I don't envy the new owner. As far as I know the workforce has shrunk from a 4 person operation to 1 so this will have a significant impact on operation I'm sure. Good luck to the new owner hope it eventually comes together.

Glad I stocked up before the the sale of the business in spite of being told there was no need.

There many sorts of rain strip and the version Dapol are depicting is acceptable and not necessarily a copy. I have learnt to accept that you can't please everyone with the models that Dapol produces for many different reasons, but I expect the model in this form will be very acceptable to most. This aside, having built a Slater's kit which (which was not perfect and a quiet a challenge at times to make) it will be a delight to just take one fully finished van out of the box for similar cost and likely to be a less fragile model. Just hope it hits shops in good time.

Having recently built a very small 7mm shelf layout with 4 turnouts, 2 tracks and circa 3m in length using C&L/Exactoscale products I have to say the overall cost was much higher than originally estimated. This was mainly due to having to buy many more components than actually required and ending up with a large surplus of parts which will not be used but had to pay for in order to complete layout. I believe The higher costs were introduced before the sale of C&L Finescale and the high cost of Exactoscale Fishplates compared to a large bag of Chairs were really expensive for such a small number of parts and this pushed the overall cost of the project upwards.

Real shame it got to this point as Coopercraft kits were very high quality some years ago. However, having purchased a 16mm kit from the latest owner about 3 years ago I realised that the quality had suffered from worn out tooling (kits were covered in flash). I contacted the new owner who said he was having problems with the tooling and suggested he may have to machine tooling to improve kits in the future. Since then never bought another Coopercraft kit and just now accept they are a thing of the past and have moved on to ready to run. Great kits in their time but all good things come to an end and not worth the effort chasing this chap in my opinion... Just steer clear of him.

Did they deliver an update as suggested?

For info the balance weights are not exactly at 6.30 and are closer to 7.00 o'clock when crank pin is vertical at 12.00 o'clock (source drawings from wild swan publications No 12 covering the Diesel Electric Shunters). This is due to the connecting rods not being symmetrical as as they have additional upstanding material for the oiling points on top of the connections rods. This additional material will change the point of the balance weight to compensate for this, hence weight it is not directly opposed to crank pin. For those that have access to drawings on publication above, when you look at cross sectional view it looks as though weights are at 5.00 clock but the view is looking from inside to outside so you so you have to reverse view hence it becomes 7.00 o'clock when side view is viewed from outside looking inwards. For me it's not an a big issue as my loco runs fine and wheels are mainly hidden by side frames. Bushes are a more of an issue as they make loco too wide but will just live with this issue as not prepared to potentially create another problem when trying to remove them...

Very surprised but what you said (?). I rang Peco direct and they were very happy to take order over the phone and got 3 packs of code 124 rail last week, but you will have to pay postage of course.

It's well more the effort and don't know how I could do without it now I have mastered it!

It's only the paint that holds the ladder together mine did the same and I sent the loco back and got replacement.

Nice to see people trying to help Dapol run their business for them...

Wow you were lucky to get bubble wrap as well as brown paper... I only got brown paper when I got my loco.

For info the balance weights are not exactly at 6.30 and are closer to 7.00 o'clock when crank pin is vertical at 12.00 o'clock (source drawings from wild swan publications No 12 covering the Diesel Electric Shunters). This is due to the connecting rods not being symmetrical as as they have additional upstanding material for the oiling points on top of the connections rods. This additional material will change the point of the balance weight to compensate for this, hence weight it is not directly opposed to crank pin. For those that have access to drawings on publication above, when you look at cross sectional view it looks as though weights are at 5.00 clock but the view is looking from inside to outside so you so you have to reverse view hence it becomes 7.00 o'clock when side view is viewed from outside looking inwards.

I asked if they could put some photos up that they said they had when they suddenly changed the livery of the 0 Gauge class 08 for the DCC Supplies version which changed from yellow to full black radiator (????), but they never did. They said they would review and the instructions for removing the bonnet on the same loco as they were incorrect, but they never did. Using the Digest did not work...Real shame as they are doing a tremendous job really just need to tie up the loose ends and delight the customer.

Yes I have used before but when I have asked for help I have been ignored and noticed others are treated the same so I will not bother using again. It's just a facade with nothing behind it for me.

In this day and age of social media, it's interesting to see how everybody reacts and interacts which I think is very refreshing and moves the hobby forward in a positive direction. However I think industry should embrace this positivity in some way and find a better way of interacting with the end customer during product development and production phases to ensure expectations are met on all sides. I wonder if this ever happens, as I sense its just 'them and us' which is not a good situation to be in for anyone?

But you were quiet happy to tell people to get a paintbrush out when others were challenging livery errors on the Dapol Class 08.

Why should you have to resort to a third party kit especially as you have to join MERG at additional cost (as good as they are)... send them back if they are still in warranty. Now I know why the promised 0 gauge signals never came to fruition that's a few quid saved!

Don't forget there are a significant number of people who have made a significant investment with Dapol and in return are effectively are supporting them as a business. If the business is to remain positive then tough times are sometimes needed. If the rumour you suggest is true it does not mean things will get better for us the end customer they could stay the same, get better or even get worse. Time will tell we just won't know until we have put our hands in our pockets and the next product lands on our door mats in the distant furure... then it's all too late again but many will just accept some of the quality issues as they have waited so long to own the model. Sounds like a pretty good business model to me!

I am sure Dapol are fully aware of these issues and know what the fix is, but of course it will come at a cost so I doubt they will positively engage and help resolve... It would be nice to think they care....

Let's hope they take note as I know they read these forums.

I expect the Dapol will remain elusive and give this issue a good ignoring like many other issues that surface on this forum.... but good luck!!!

When Dapol start to make Digest worthwhile is anybody's guess...

Squeeze the body not the bonnet as lugs are reversed according to instructions and no need for any tools which may damage/mark the loco. Note Dapol have failed to issue a correct method for removal and they said they would review when I asked .... Still waiting though!!!!