JShow

I believe they are samples.

Seven months without a word from Rapido is, in relative terms, the blink of an eye. However, if you're a railway modeller waiting for news on progress on a model you dearly want, seven months is an eternity. Rapido, I know you've been busy--very, very busy--but please, throw us a bone!

The Fawkes livery is super-sharp, but a bridge too far for me. It did prompt me to finally pre-order the maroon liveried version which, as Mol_PMB has reminded us, is as fictional as the Fawkes version.

It's interesting to see the "replacement" internal user vans and the Dia.67 vans in use contemporaneously. Interesting brake gear on No. 265.

I've found a photo in Mike Hitches' Bourneville: Steam & Chocolate with a partial view of a Caledonian van. The Cadbury script logo is visable, but the van itself looks a bit scruffy. A different van in the photo shows the logo and appears to be more freshly painted in a dark livery. The photo is from March, 1955.

The July 2023 Railway Modeller, vol 74, Number 873, has scale drawings of the vans that replaced them. The article states the new vans were "constructed in the 1960s," so, depending on how much time-bending you can tolerate, you're probably okay. The replacement vans look like they'd be a straightforward scratchbuilding project. The biggest barrier would be that the wheelbase is 10' 6" rather than the more common 10' wheelbase. Rapido's artwork shows "for internal use only." The replacement vans were also branded as internal user.

When is Rapido hoping these will be in our eager hands?

Insprired by...

Same. Surely Rails didn't purchase the tooling to decorate their office. We can be fairly certain that patience will be rewarded. The popularity of the Hattons releases suggests these could be a regular offering for many years to come.

Well, since you asked nicely...

Can we expect a Rapido "Rejected" post with a National Coal Board livery?

Per Rapido, all versions will come with dumb buffers as extras for the user to apply.

Rapido announced in their most recent newsletter that they will be adding to their GWR wagon model range by producing the N19 Loco Coal wagon and the O18 5-plank open in OO. These diagrams share underpinnings of already announced GWR wagons and date from 1913-1914. Rapido, I'm sure, will have more to post, but I wanted to share this news.

Batch two of the Genesis coaches are also due in the same time frame and will probably keep Hattons busier than the Barclays. I wonder if, at the bitter end, Rails or TMC might end up as the vendor for the very last of the stock.

I'm not aware of any other retailer's offering of a trunk service. I think Hattons is unique in that regard. Postage is become a limiting factor for overseas modellers of the UK scene.