KR Models

On 07/01/2021 at 21:46, chris p bacon said:

 

Are you sure of that ?

 

The GT3 Hornby Magazine reviewed was the EP from early in 2020. 

The GT3 that was sent to Hornby was a pre-production sample. 

1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

A mis-spelling of Warrington, where the FFPS line came off, and it's generic local collieries?

 

Mike.

Not a mis-spelling. Its meant to be from Carrington in the Greater Manchester area. Trying to pry some more info from him now.

Just now, chris p bacon said:

 

That may well be, but it will come at a cost.

 

A strange way to make a profit on a niche wagon.

Yes, there is a cost to everything. But the editing of the samples and tooling is all part of the production process and covered under the costs. Its nothing we didn't expect.

EP samples are just that, samples. The purpose of them is to fix what's wrong with them before it goes into production.

5 minutes ago, jonhall said:

 

I quoted ADB968008 who called it 'only an EP' - and my inverted comma's were there to highlight the ONLY bit, because the EP stage isn't an 'only' point,  it is a HUGE milestone/decision point.

 

The EP should be (and in this case probably is) the final chance, 'catch the complete cock-up stage before pressing go on production' stage. By the time the EP arrives (and images are shared by the manufacturer on any platform) that's a pretty good indication of what is going to be made 99.9+. I don't think the EP is a 3d print, its complete parts made from the production tooling but hand assembled to prove it all works.

 

Any changes are going to be limited to functional becaue it has to be changed (e.g. it won't go around corners) or easy (ie cheap) additions - like adding the odd missing rivet. It is WAY PAST the point of adding (for instance) interior detail - that's a start again change which has huge cost implications.

 

Jon

You are so so very wrong. 

We can have as many samples as we want prior to us hitting the go button on the production to make sure we get everything right. Which is exactly what we are doing. In no way is a EP sample a "final chance" as you put it. Its a prototype, not a finished product. 

On 20/12/2020 at 06:57, Michael Hodgson said:

Surely the simple answer is to go for the plain grey - it shouldn't be difficult to get somebody to produce transfers for those who want to add them, or if you faced the same problem with locos that had nameplates, to include stick-on plates.   

 

It's really just a commercial decision whether you think you will lose more sales by producing them without numbers than you lose to potential customers who think you've produced the "wrong" version because they've got to modify it.

We understand the importance of getting all the details right the first time.  The obvious first choice is the grey version, and possibly the never seen in public BR Black early crest version.

3 minutes ago, johndon said:

 

I posted an example of a Dave Alexander kit showing the internals a page or so ago.  I'd be happy to have a look thorough the photos I have but, I'll be honest, photos of the interior are pretty hard to come by. 

Hi John,

Can you email me the reference material of the interior, please? keith@krmodels.co.uk

On 20/12/2020 at 04:57, 69843 said:

@KR Models It must be asked directly, will the design re-evaluation see something done about the door pockets/internal details? I think the comments posted after the comment by yourselves clearly shows that expectant customers find the choice not to do wagon internal details a let down. I will admit, myself included.

Not to say it is why you did it or point a finger, but that is 1980s Hornby levels of thinking-internal details matter very much in this day and age of modelling, particularly for those modelling an empty run rather than a full run. The wagon has the potential to be a great hit and a real stand out of a much requested specific locale wagon-don't let yourselves down by not bringing it up to the standards that we know can be reached. You only get a chance to make first impressions once.

Do you have any examples of the internal view of the wagon so that we may correct this oversight?

13 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Maybe you should really take a look at what Accurascale are doing https://accurascale.co.uk/collections/loads

And we are making loads for the ore wagon.

On 18/12/2020 at 14:32, johndon said:

That’s my website

 

One thing to remember with the loads is that they varied enormously depending on the density and colour of the iron ore that came in to Tyne Dock. Colour could be anywhere from a bright orange to almost black, sometimes the load was clearly visible over the sides of the wagons and other times was below the top of the wagon sides.

 

John

 

As not to get bogged down with a varietyty of loads that cost for each set of tools and make the cost prohibitive, then we'll use the general approach of other manufacturers of supplying a load and you can colour differently if you want.  The loads will be removable.  We are in the design stage now.  Photo's to follow.

On 19/12/2020 at 01:49, Mel_H said:

I agree. Given that it would have been a mixed traffic Loco, rather than express, it is likely that lined BR black might have been applied.  I think it would look good! I understand that orders for the W1 in Fictional liveries have been high, much higher than expected.  KR could offer them as options, only to be produced if enough people order, like Rapido does

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  No final decision has been made over liveries, as we are still researching this ( yes we actually do research).  For sure the grey one, and the BR Black early crest, but after that, not sure.  There's 3 different versions of the grey one we have found.  No name plates or numbers, just numbers, numbers and crest.  So which one do you do?  You can't do all three grey versions as you have to have a minimum quantity to justify the setting up in the factory.

10 minutes ago, johndon said:

 

Good to hear.

 

I assume that the tooling is still subject to change as the release levers are still missing from the ends on your EP as are the internal details of the hoppers and the doors?

 

John

 

Yes the tooling is always subject to change.  As far as the internal detail, we don't see much cause as it will be covered by either our load or loads that customers will put in themselves.

10 hours ago, thunderer08 said:

I ask as on your site it appears I would make two payments, the £50 deposit and then the remaining amount.

Also your site says sound fitted Fell diesel costs £207.50 but if paying via instalments the cost appears to be £253.50.

I am fully supportive of KR models and wish you every success but you need to make it clear how much total costs will be regardless of payment method and explain how many payments are required when paying via instalments.

It is anything but clear.

It has put me off ordering

This has been an issue from the start with this cart system.  The VAT and shipping is added in the cart depending on your shipping location.  There is no increase for using our payment plan system.  The full price is £253.50. £207.50 is the base price before the additions, which you'll see in the cart before you complete your purchase.

On 14/12/2020 at 10:59, Markwj said:

I would like to see how a rake of these copes on curves the couplings don’t look long enough and there could be buffer locking!  I am sure that’s an easy fix for KR models following I am sure almost destructive testing of the sample to make sure all is correct. We seem to have got to engineering sample from announcement very quickly which is good to see too.

This was the first thing we noticed.  This is why we do track testing.

On 14/12/2020 at 10:00, johndon said:

One comment from looking at the photo, the wheels, as fitted, appear to be 12/13mm disc wheels, they should be Lowmac style 10mm wheels...

 

John

The wheels is one of the fixes. Not much of a reduction to get it to scale.

28 minutes ago, Colin_McLeod said:

 

Why not tell him now?  Its something he is entitled to know BEFORE entering into a contract.

Because the dates for the payments are based on when the payment plan is opened. We only set the payment frequency and plan length. Payments come out every 2 months for both plans until the plan is completed. 

17 hours ago, thunderer08 said:

Thanks for your reply, can you confirm when each payment would be taken for the sound version and total cost?

You will receive all the details to your email address once you complete the initial payment.

3 hours ago, thunderer08 said:

I’ve messaged you twice on your website about full cost of the Fell diesel using pay in instalments, but have revived no reply, is there an issue with it? 
Thanks Mick 

Full cost is split up into 3 payments for Ready and 4 payments for Sound + delivery. £4.50 for UK, £19 for rest of Europe, and £23 for anywhere else in the world. Both have a £50 initial deposit to make.

On 11/11/2020 at 12:32, dogbox321 said:

Hi - without trying to take sides or anything-  The points I would like to make are:

 

Maybe KR want to show some tangible evidence of a products development prior to asking for expressions/initial payments on something such as the consett wagon.  Which then hopefully cuts down on the occasions people can moan about schedules slipping.  But on the other hand, to have undertaken your research and to send a product to tooling with major inaccuracies in the chassis such as missing tanks etc., is quite poor, and will possibly make a good many people think twice before ordering (even thought you are going to correct it) on the thoughts of what else is wrong/missing. 

 

What I am saying is - manufacturers nowadays go to extreme lengths to ensure details are correct, and if you produce "one" substandard product your reputation will be left in tatters, and people will not have the confidence to pre-order and pay for your products up front, which is the principle of your business model.  Plus I can totally understand the deposit scheme, so people are committed and don't just say they want one, but never commit to an order!  But in this scheme - people are trusting you, hence the details need to be right and you have a huge responsibility to deliver for those who are backing the company.  Likewise there was the "confusion" relating to the Nuclear Flask wagon.  Personally, I would be looking into my research techniques to ensure any flaws are identified and corrected prior to starting tooling, when mistakes start getting expensive, or worse still - slip through the net and onto the final production model.  Whilst Canada may not be the easiest of places to be based and get all the research required - I'm sure you must have "sources" within the UK and there are plenty of people with knowledge and experiences that they will share with you on a given subject manner.

 

I'm not complaining, just attempting to share my concerns in a constructive manner, so hopefully KRM can move forward in producing excellently detailed products - that both yourself and your customers can be proud of.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Christopher.  

These issues have been fixed.  This is why we do research.

4 hours ago, 1whitemoor said:

Has there been any further news on this or have KR reconsidered? 

 

Paul A. 

Nope, no reconsiderations. Just being patient with how we handle projects. Don't want to announce too much and spread ourselves too thin. Once the GT3 has been delivered, we should have more news on following projects.

59 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

Had you told Mike Wild they were though?

No, we hadn't.

8 hours ago, locoman462 said:

Yes, for some reason. the website does offer the option of BR Green and Brunswick Green instead of Green and Black for the CC ready model. I am sure the former is an error which needs correcting by KR Models. I am certain that the correct livery options were shown when I placed my order earlier this year.

 

Fixed it now, honestly have no idea how they came out skew-wiff like this now. They were correct as of a week ago.

2 minutes ago, chris p bacon said:

Your reply is rather disingenuous as It was live at the time of posting. 

Its not been live for a few days now.