Harlequin

Yes, I agree. I can even see the gap in my first batch mogul 6336, but not quite as obvious. I think my "local" model shop is probably the same as CK's since the one in Exeter closed - but it's still a 45min drive away over Dartmoor!

The "black" is definitely not black there, is it! This is not just a camera or lighting artefact - I'm seeing something similar. Edit: To clarify: The model doesn't look anything like that colour in real life, so the camera is affecting the image but nevertheless you can see the difference in colour with your own eyes when the new mogul is stood alongside other locos.

I meant to post some photos of 5350 here, but I posted them in ANTB instead. Here's the link: I said in that post that my smartphone was doing funny things with the colours but I think I was mistaken. It's Dapol doing funny things! Have a look at this: 5350 new batch top left, 6336 first batch bottom right. This difference in colour of the "black" parts is real - 5350 is very obviously dark blue-grey. That's true of all her "black" parts, wheel centres, tender, etc.

Actually, I meant to post those photos in the Prairie and Moguls thread but, heck, this is close enough! Some of the photos are cruel close-ups but they do show that the general fitment of parts could be better, I think. The body doesn't sit down on the running plate as it should The handrail knobs are too big (not unusual for RTR models) but even so some of them have been damaged by the hand rail wire being roughly pushed through them The coal load doesn't sit down properly (not a big deal, just noting it) The cab glazing is a bit wonky and the porthole glazing seems to sit on top of the cab sheet. Not sure what's going on there - I wonder if some of the transparent plastic should have been painted loco green? Or maybe it is painted but we can see inside, behind the paint, because of refraction?

Here are a few shots of 5350, as received, showing some high points and low points: (Please don't worry about the colours - the smartphone is playing it's own game with them!)

"ZS003MG" is the product code for the sound file, not the decoder, but looking at Digitrains website I think it's safe to assume the decoder is one of the new Zimo MS range. The sound project should already have the mapping from F6 to output Aux1 and that really suggests that there is something wrong with your LED installation. With the LED and resistor disconnected from the decoder apply a 9V battery across it with + connected to what would be the blue common return. It should light up. If not then you've probably got the LED the wrong way round so reverse the battery and try again. If it still doesn't light up then the LED has probably blown. Remember that the blue common wire from the decoder is common positive and AUX1 output is pulled down to 0 when you activate it via the Function input. P.S. Trying to do function mapping by setting CVs is like doing keyhole surgery with a knitting needle. To really get to grips with decoder programming it's much easier to use a program like JMRI.

I hope this isn't going to add to the workload of our Moderators! They need every hour to keep on top of the forum and the pesky "ad-techs" who seem intent on annoying us for no good reason.

Sent mine back last Thursday. They probably received it on Monday. No news yet.

I read that the vertical boilers were a problem to operate too: When you opened the firebox door all the hot air that had built up in the firebox disappeared up the chimney to be replaced by colder air and so the ability to generate steam was reduced for a few minutes until the system warmed up again. Firemen learned to build up the fire at scheduled stops and hope that they wouldn't need to fire again during the journey to the next scheduled stop...

Yes, pickups in the bearings and wires up to the main PCB.

I got 5350 with portholes in "Great Western" livery today. (The pre-order was transferred from Hattons to Kernow. Sad that I had to do it but no problems.) It's wonderful that Dapol have produced these older variations and taken the opportunity to address some of the issues with the first batch. Well done Dapol! The only thing slightly amiss on first inspection is that the coal load won't sit down properly. I'll find out why later. Overall she looks good but more later when I've had time to do a proper inspection. Fitting the decoder is a piece of cake and she runs very smoothly, although still a bit too fast by default (about 60mph at 50% throttle).

Sorry if I've missed the sarcasm again(!) but you guys (and you @chuffinghell) do know that the Dapol Autocoach will come with a sound-fitted option, don't you... Ding Ding!

That is the Airfix version slightly updated (mostly in the chassis, I think) but basically the same tooling - that's how old it is! To see how awful it looks in closeup just look at this:

I remember waiting for the original Airfix 14xx. All the hype suggested it was going to be revolutionary and there must have been production problems because it was about a year late, I think. When it arrived in the model shop we had to buy it even though it was more than we could really afford at the time. Driving home with Dad we both felt guilty and excited in equal measure. I was holding this exquisite Faberge egg wrapped in brown paper and we were going to have the justify it to Mum and my sister. Sadly, I don't think it ever ran very well... So when the DJM/Hattons 14xx came out I obviously had to have one, regardless of the fact that I had no layout or even any track at the time! It got me back into the hobby. I was lucky and got two good ones but they are both recalcitrant runners if they've been sat for a while and one makes a horrible grinding noise sometimes...

Yes, exactly. If the DJM/Hattons tooling can't be resurrected economically then there's very little chance of new tooling because that version has ruined the market for many years to come. But the Airfix one is equally atrocious with all those chunky mouldings, the conical steam dome, the visible seams, etc,...

My guess is that they have 48xx under inspection and they won't say anything until/unless they figure out a way to make it work better. We know that the mechanism is a dog and 0-4-2Ts are always difficult to get to balance nicely. So there's a chance that it might be silently consigned to the bin as being uneconomic to fix (which was more or less its state at Hattons, of course)!

If you look at photo catalogues it's clear that very many more than the first 20 had high cab roofs. For instance, here's a lovely portrait of 4388:

Thanks Richard but the photo of the model of 5320 posted by Robin above (courtesy of Cheltenham Models) shows her in GWR livery with a BR numberplate and shedcode plate on the smokebox door. So, is that a photo of a pre-production version where the wrong smokebox door has been fitted by mistake?

Has anyone built a TT:120 Minories yet? At TT:120 scale, Minories SP35 would be 1.352 m long and 193mm wide, or call it 4ft 6in by 8in in old money.

The Zimo stayalive time controls work for external stayalive circuits. The decoder rectifies and smooths the DCC waveform from the track to become its main +ve and gnd power supply. It also watches the DCC signal for commands. So if that command signal disappears but there's still power between +ve and gnd it must be running on stay alive and it can start its timers. BTW: Decoders (at least current ones) are not just computer-like - they really are computers. Zimo MN and MS decoders have ARM cores in them, running the same instruction set as most mobile phones.

I just received my last ever parcel from Hatton's - something I had forgotten was in my trunk: End of an era! 😞

I have an uneasy feeling about that firebox... Most photos of the prototypes suggest a much flatter top surface but sometimes you can see something like the Dapol rendition. E.g.: The thing is, I think we're seeing the inwards taper of the firebox sides in that photo, not so much the backwards taper of the top... It will be fascinating to see one in the flesh, see what it really looks like from different angles and compare it with the previous batch and other locos. P.S. I have been making a CAD model of a Small Metro (Medium Metro actually) and I started off from weight diagrams before I had access to a frame plan. The weight diagrams introduced many mistakes that had to be tediously corrected later.

Hi Graham, Don’t feel too down about what you’ve got to do. Chuffnell R is immortalised on RMWeb and its development has delighted and entertained loads of people. I’m sure you have hugely enjoyed making it and sharing it with us. Job done! Change has to come and we’re all looking forward to seeing what you do next, whenever and whatever that might be!

I've never been able to prove conclusively to other people that the coal speaker grille idea produces better sound that more traditional methods. I'm sure it does but whenever I try to record it on video the sound just doesn't come across for some reason. So I don't think I've convinced many people it's worth trying. I even idly thought about sending some of my locos on tour so other people could make their own minds up... So it's really good to get this feedback from you and your wife(!) that there really is something in the idea! Edit: And of course, it's not loudness that we are striving for but fidelity of sound reproduction, which is where the quality of the samples comes into play and there are some questions around that.

It's been a long day for Bruno, so he's having a long rest: He brought me a vole and a blue-tit today. He lost the vole (thanks, cat!) but after he'd tossed the bird around for a while he ate it whole in front of me! Not very pleasant and it didn't stay down for long... Oh, what fun! I took a parcel to the Post Office this afternoon and he was clearly intending to follow me the whole way. He wasn't worried at all by the dogs, people and cars on the road but I was worried for him. So I had to come back home and lock him in! I don't think he would sit patiently outside the Post Office, tied to the railings on a lead like the local dogs. I imagine I'd come out to find a shredded end dangling loose and people cowering in doorways while a tornado of teeth and claws whirled around the square. We're gradually getting used to each other - he only bites me in play now.