rapidoandy

Afternoon all! Its a bit mad here but there is just enough time before Christmas to mention a few new wagons we are working on - the O11/O15 5 plank opens and the V14 and V16 vans. Take a look at the website for a little more info! Oh and we listened on the opens - these will be supplied with parts for the sheet rail in the up or stowed positions. To find out more head to the website: GWR ‘Mink A’ (V14/V16) – Rapido Trains UK GWR 5 Plank Open (O11/O15) – Rapido Trains UK

Brian - if you want we can happily send you a set of new pickups and springs etc. we might even have some new circuits if you want to put it back to factory condition.

Interesting turn of events for this thread... Well I will tell you - its not about how much detail you put in - but how well you design it. Assembly and decoration are the biggest factors. If they are fiddly details that cannot be set up on a jig or are unique to one version etc it gets expensive. However, In the case of the B set the compartments are modular and the internal walls a separate part. They are also the same across EVERY version. The net result is they can be assembled on a jig and in bulk (alongside interior printing is easier and requires less masking,. The net result is that the cost of the luggage racks and detailed interior is almost negligible - and with so many people looking at new models so hard these days it seems madness not to include it. So to summarise - you are not paying significantly extra, and taking out the luggage racks would save very little. Oh and in the grand scheme of things (like % of the final unit cost) tooling is not a huge amount. The production costs are where all the main money is. Tooling isn't cheap but production is a darn sight more expensive. The who financial background to a model is VERY complicated. Sometimes its cheaper to have MORE parts in a model compared to a part that needs a specialised mould to make it. Understanding and designing a model a certain way from the outset can have a huge impact on costs. Happy Thursday. Andy

Not at all! Simply - there is a level of detail that you cannot add to an N model that you can to an OO model - and its this detail that we have little or nor details for - especially between the frames. In my opinion we have made a stunning little N gauge model - but doing a straight "scale up" wont cut it detail wise. If someone out there has the works drawings and can show me what we have missed I would gladly take a look at an 00 one!

Try again. I have just done another clear down of the site cache which may help some people. I can confirm they are all live!

Well I am pleased to say both the Class 28 and the Conflat P have now arrived. We are now sorting through them and will (subject to various strikes) be getting them out to customers as soon as possible. Merry Christmas!

I shall be getting my first look at the samples tomorrow. (I’m very excited). keep an eye on the next newsletter - we may not be able to keep it into next year…

In a previous life I used to specialise in finding locomotive and rolling stock drawings. We certainly had drawings for the underframe arrangement, brake arrangement, buffing gear, body work and first and third class compartment layout/detail drawings along with various bogie drawings all relating to lot 1407 - the first batch of E140. I think on this occasion they came from a private individual who like me collects works drawings 😀.

Oh there’s more than that - however answer the questions about allocations and livery Yeadons was the right recommendation. As ever, not everything is possible in a model but we have tooled a lot of different bits to cater for different variations.

Absolutely . One of many things not right with the first CAD… now we have the fun bit of correcting all the issues. 😀

Disclaimer - this is the VERY FIRST CAD and it arrived at 0330 this morning. We havn’t looked at it or checked it over so inevitably it will have some mistakes and issues that we will correct. But seeing as everyone is asking and talking we thought we should show them off….

Its simply been mis-labelled. As some have pointed out the description should be "inter-war period". One of several things for me to correct when I get too mins away from thinking about a certain West Midlands show... Andy

Evening all. Well this seems to have gone down well! It’s a bit personal for me as I was involved in the restoration of 1310 and regularly used to drive it. I would recommend vol 32 of Yeadons to anyone interested. Lots of allocation details including photos of them in Scotland and Stratford. Also a poor photo of the curved lettering works version. Lots of variations coming with this and more in the future. Pipework, lubricators, , wheels and more depending on the exact prototype. When I recover from Warley I will try and pull some more info out for those that are interested. Andy

We are working on this - but sadly its not an easy thing to sort especially as we need to ensure security etc. If you have any queries please drop us an email to customerservice@rapidotrains.co.uk Andy

It did indeed have GPV on the end - not all did but this example was based on a photo:

Well, the good news (for us) is it's sold out - at least on our website. When a product is no longer available to order it disappears. Retailers who still have an allocation are advertising it so get in quick with them if you have not already. Andy

We have received some production samples of our forthcoming models and to say we are pleased is an understatement! These are just about ready to leave the factory and will arrive early next year. Some have nearly sold out so get your orders in quick.

We have to manually reply to each with your returns number. As you can imagine we have a number to get through so please bare with us. If you have not had a response by half way through the week drop me a message and let me know. Andy

Well, our week just gets better... Rapido Trains UK is conducting a precautionary product recall of our LNER dynamometer cars. Affected SKU numbers are 935001, 935002, 935003, 935004. Unfortunately, it has been discovered that the third-party electrical components installed in the production models do not meet our standards and are, in some cases, causing lighting circuits to overheat and burn out. In rare and extreme cases this is causing damage to the roofs of the models. We are asking that all owners of these models ensure that power is not applied to their models and that they contact us to arrange for your model to be returned to us for repair. We are currently speaking with our factory to arrange the construction of new electrical components and hope these can be completed in a relatively short space of time. To arrange for your model to be returned please visit www.rapidotrains.co.uk/recall If you do not have online access, please call on 0330 4609496 We have not taken this decision lightly but feel that this is the best option at the present time. If you have any questions, please contact us via email only at customerservice@rapidotrains.co.uk Many thanks, The Rapido Trains UK Team

I am surprised people have waited this long...

Apologies this is late being posted - it’s a busy weekend in the ahardy household. Anyway here’s a sneak peek at the first production sample..

You mean these.. Andy

That was actually me handling it around whilst filming. I had a mental note to "straighten that when you put it in the white box". However, between that thought and actually getting it in the white box I think the phone rang at least 3 times, a delivery went out and I probably got distracted by the dozen or so unread emails that came in yesterday whilst we were busy. We did find a few "warranty" issues along the way (which we have removed to address) but that is perfectly normal in this game. Anyone who thinks there should be 100% perfection in a run of models with no issues is obviously wrong. As I like to tell people, the ladies and gents that assemble, paint and detail these models are far better modellers than I, and probably many of us, will ever be...

And for those who would like to take a look: