Revolution Ben

Hi there, Yes, those both look like good suggestions. Depending how 'modular' it is, the Outland model might work better as a pair, with the two doors positioned next to each other to create an 'entrance.' Alternatively, there is the Scalescenes CLASP station building: https://scalescenes.com/product/r003c-clasp-modular-building/ There is a complimentary pack of editable station nameboards/posters etc: https://scalescenes.com/product/r001a-station-signs-and-posterboards/ I have used Scalescenes extensively in the past, and for N I consider them excellent. I haven't built this building but others are usually very modular and easy to adapt. I'll add my usual tip: printing out onto A4 self adhesive labels makes assembly much quicker and less messy. cheers Ben A.

Hi Steven, That looks great, and I like Nick's ideas for the layout of the station building. Have you considered getting rid of the blue bridge girder and extending the station building out above the platforms, with an entrance/drop off etc in the area where the lorry is in your photo? This is prototypical - Burton on Trent station follows this pattern and there are lots of images of the forecourt online and the plan can be seen on Google Maps. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, Just a heads up that all versions of these wagons - Drax original, Northern Powerhouse, Renewable Pioneers 'Domes/Tunnel' and Renewable Pioneers 'Dam/Tunnel' are now in stock with Rails. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Yes, it is probably an overestimate - the number was given as part of a discussion on pricing and to make the point that the dominant factor on the pricing of any model railway product is the number you expect to make. If anything a smaller market actually adds to the weight of my remark in that context. cheers Ben A.

That is subjective! I had read that they were uncomfortable but having travelled from Exeter to Paddington and London to York and Newcastle on them I found the seats are very comfortable - nice and firm. The ride quality is poorer than Mk3 stock though which, for me, is unsurpassed to me in terms of overall ride comfort. cheers Ben A.

That would be my *very* approximate estimate, though it is almost impossible to say for sure. A few years ago the NGS tended to accept the number of active N gauge enthusiasts was around the 50,000 mark, but the lockdown effect combined with increased, and positive, media exposure seems to have boosted numbers across the hobby over the last three years. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, The 800 is a lovely model but as you say Kato do save some money by using short-cuts like self-coloured bogies and underframes and minimising separately fitted parts (everything clips together, there is no glue) and by using common components adapted to their own bespoke DCC solution. However, the relatively low price is almost entirely down to volume. Their minimum production run of a single colour and numberset is known to be 10,000 units. This only works because - as Mr Kato himself has acknowledged - the vast majority of their products sell to Kato fans in Japan. Bear in mind Japan has a population twice that of the UK and that N there is the dominant scale. I have seen quoted numbers suggesting that there are as many as 7 million N gauge enthusiasts in Japan, making it well over 100 times the size of that the UK market. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, The first batch of models (fully paid and those who've settled any outstanding balances) were sent out on Friday, so should be hitting doormats tomorrow and Tuesday, depending on the efficiency of your local sorting office. The Class A tankers are a perfect complement to the Class Bs (for those customers who missed out, a second run will be with stockists in the next week or so, all with different running numbers to models released before) and mean that late 50s/early 60s fuel trains are a snap. In that era there were far more smaller fuel terminals, and these models can work well in a small lineside terminal with the appropriate NGS Hunslet shunter. The Esso fuel tanker models are available as singles, or in triple packs with different running numbers. In addition we are offering the Class As that were used to carry water for the Chipman's train in green and black twin packs: The MTV and ZKV models are simple but again available with livery variations and to our usual standards of detailing and finish: cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Until the CAD is completed we won't have finalised our pricing structure, though the three-car Class 175 we are offering may give a rough indication. cheers Ben A.

Hi Les, It wasn't tested on Fleischmann points. Do they have a dead frog? It worked well on Kato Unitrack and Peco electrofrog and unifrogs. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Ryecroft Arena was built by Steve Farmer, and has its own thread here: Strictly speaking it wasn't a 'lockdown project', just a project, since Steve tends to build smaller layouts and all the ones I have seen have been excellent. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Apologies for drifting OT, but in answer to the specific points above... You're right that traditionally N has not suited small shunting operations. The Dapol 'Easi-shunts' (a NEM compatible version of the Microtrains buck-eye type design) work well in my experience, and offer shunting possibilities in N. For modern modellers, where increasingly mainline locomotives are used to shunt, this has been straightforward and we've done plenty of shunting on three N-gauge exhibition layouts I have been involved with or operated (Horseley Fields, Tormouth and Ketton) however I agree that you don't see many 'shunting puzzle' type layouts with smaller locos and stock. The NGS Hunslet shunter, which began to be released about a year or so ago, has an on-board DCC decoder and capacitor to offer stay-alive capability to all users and under all my tests offered superb slow-running, especially on DCC. I am hoping that, allowing time for building, we may begin to see more 'shunting' orientated N gauge layouts at exhibitions in the coming year. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, The models have only just gone out to retailers, and we wouldn't rerun until they've sold out or are close to it. Furthermore, we have limited capacity, being a small company, and there are older 4mm models ahead in the rerun queue such as the Ealnos box wagons and, in due course, the TEA tankers. cheers Ben A.

Hi Nigel, You did, with Julian Thornhill and Paul Churchill, and the models are all the better for it! Many thanks again. I hope to see you at Glasgow again this year if you can make it. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, The Revolution website was updated with news on a variety of projects - including Caroline in 00 - on Wednesday. There will an update on the N gauge version next week. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Our research found that they had visited Immingham; whether they went elsewhere in Lincolnshire we don't know. cheers Ben A.

Just for clarity I am with Revolution, not Accurascale. cheers Ben A.

Hi Simon, The representations of the brake rods aren't connected to the moulding for the brake shoes and associated beams. I am not sure which parts you wish to pare away but I would say it is important to ensure the brake shoes remain secure and cannot rub the wheel treads. How you do this is your call! cheers Ben A.

Hello all, Just before Chinese New Year shuts everything down we have been sent the EP1 samples of the KSA Rover cube vans and timber carrier conversions. There are some details yet to be added (lashing loops and ferry hooks) and they will now be given extensive checking and test running. For anyone interested these will be on display on our stand at Model Rail Scotland at the end of February. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, The over-riding factor in the cost of any model is the numbers you expect to make. No OHLE unit (and I am a big fan of them) in N or 00 is going to sell as many units as, say, a Class 47. But the tooling per vehicle remains the same, so those costs have to be amortised over a smaller number of models. If we were making and selling 50,000 EMUs then the unit cost would be significantly lower, but modern production runs are far lower than this. And tooling suites have a limited life - we are already seeing calls for models produced as recently as 2010 to be 'retooled to modern standards' on this forum. The costs of a model are a combination of research, CAD design work, tooling (cutting moulds), moulded parts, motors, springs, wire, PCBs etc, painting, printing and assembly. Then there are the shipping costs and mark ups for the factory, manufacturer and retailer to incorporate. And of course VAT. Of these, and bearing in mind the demand that the model's 'shape' is right so CAD revisions may add more to the cost - only assembly and some parts costs would be reduced by a simpler model. My estimate would be that a 'design clever' OHLE unit as described by the OP would probably cost around £375 instead of £400. Is that saving worth it? I don't think so. There is another factor too: I don't know of any manufacturer that wants to be known for being 'less detailed but cheap' - who would? Furthermore, Revolution and (I suspect) other companies already make decisions based around minimising costs all the time. No one is trying to make models more expensive. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, All the liveries with available stock levels are listed here: https://www.ngsjoin.com/hunslet-industrial-shunter-339-c.asp cheers Ben A

Hi ModRXsouth, When you go into the 4mm options menu and select a particular wagon a graphic image comes up showing exactly the configuration of markings. This option may not be activated yet on the N gauge versions, but the markings will be the same across the scales on the same wagons, so you can use the 4mm graphics as a guide. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, I don't disagree, but I would add the caveat that, while supply chains remain disrupted and factory shutdowns due to sickness or power outage are still frequent, forecasting delivery schedules based on experience is subject to considerable error margins! cheers Ben A.

Thanks for noting the corrections on the website. Revolution has the PFA flats in production (they are being made for us by Accurascale) as well as the low height nuclear waste containers, Cawoods coal containers and gypsum containers. The other containers used by the nuclear industry may be a little too niche even for us - I understand some of the more esoteric types work on very limited and/or short flows. cheers Ben A.

Yes, but the complete phrase was "bodger/kit/scratchbuild scale" which, given the lack of RTR support, seems reasonable to me. Unless you are disgruntled at the idea anyone working in 3mm could ever bodge anything? cheers Ben A.