Johnfromoz

Exactly. The strident nature in the communication of some of those dissatisfied is mind boggling, both here and on the Dapol site. A total lack of perspective I would say

Thanks to those who explained the strobing issue. Living in Tasmania I have not seen them in the flesh. John

Interesting that just about every video I've seen of a 68 from just about every angle shows the strobing type effect. I am curious as to why this effect is used. It will be interesting to see how Dapol replicate this. John

Forgive me if this has been covered way back in the thread somewhere, but have Dapol indicated that the lighting set up for the 68 will cary the very distinctive strobing effect from its LED headlights, or will this have to done through a DCC chip, as is an option in American chips? John

Hi John, Is this the same image link was previously posted here earlier in the thread, with a pre-tops 08 parked up next to a Bullied pacific, possibly at Nine Elms shed? I wonder if Dapol have used this or similar as their basis for the blue livery. Some of early SR gronk repaints do look a bit wierd, with an odd shade of rail blue, brown frames and running gear and blue buffer beams! As long as the remaining livery details and colour shades on the Dapol 08 are passable I can live with touching up the radiator frame. John

Or they have used the pre-tops early blue image with black radiator surround posted by someone earlier in the thread somewhere (nine elms?). Either way, its not a major issue for me.

Hi, Just wondering if any estimates as to availability (release date) of this kit have been published? John

Sadly, I think its just another example of the 'Australia Tax' at work. This country has been a victim of its own success, seen as having sailed through the GFC unscathed, its residents imagined as having 'loadsamoney' Rarely buy locally, to avoid these rip offs.

Yes, agreed. Current case in point is that over the weekend I picked up the weathered addition Freightliner Class 70 from MRD with what is for me a saving of nearly 40 GBP (inc. VAT rebate) compared to Hattons. How times have changed!

The dynamics of selling RTR is definitely changing......Having bought many thousands worth of stock from Hattons over 25 years ( mainly back in their 'glory days' of discounting high quality stuff from 1995 - 2012 when they were streets ahead, price-wise), I now rarely buy any big ticket locos from them, as their prices no longer have any significant 'edge' over say, a dozen or more other model shops who do mail order in the UK. This is not necessarily Hatton's fault, but part of the much discussed price rises emanating from the big suppliers and their trading conditions. I still make regular purchases from them , but usually only when I see something of perceived value from the pre-loved section (which itself can be eye-watering in price sometimes!) Hatton's service though, remains good. Guess its all just a reflection of supply and demand. John

Thanks Grimley, Must have been a heavy load on that BAA! It is also interesting in that the train has coils in both linear and transverse cradles in the same train, as well as slab carrying wagons. Perhaps it was just some sort of shunting move. John

Just an acknowledgement on forum of assistance recently provided to me by Nick (RS4) when I was looking for spare coil cradles for these wagons. I model British 00 1967 - 2000s here in Brisbane and thus am without much localised modelling support, so it was great camaraderie for Nick to help out from 12,000 miles away. One of the many benefits of this global model railway club that is RMWeb. John

As someone who lurked on here as a non-member for a good few years, I took the plunge and joined a couple of years ago, and have learnt so much from members and fellow modellers. There is nothing else quite like it. Thank you Andy York for getting this concept to the wonderful resource that it is today. John

Late to this thread, Based in Brisbane and modelling OO late 1960s - mid 2000s in three distinct periods. Switched to DCC about 10 yrs ago, and run a 2 x 10 end to end urban focused layout, mainly to showcase an indecent amount of stock collected since childhood in southern Ireland. Am planning to retire to Tassie in the near future, where hopefully I can run riot with a larger set up. Cheers, John

Hi, I have recently acquired four pre-loved 38-352 (railfreight red) BAAs with only three coil cradles per wagon. My initial research shows the wagons sold as new (and the prototype when carrying coils in the linear format) have five cradles per wagon. I am assuming therefore that running with three cradles only would be unprototypical carrying coils in the linear format. Am I right in thinking one way around this would be to mount the cradles and coils transverse (eye to the side) or without cradles (eye to the sky). The latter would require a cut down of the bachman coils or buying replacements. I have trawled the usual photo sites. TIA for any advice from steel wagon afficionados.

Thanks Rick, It was more the structure of the cage I was thinking about - maybe just a thrice folded section of scale mesh. Should this be painted a light grey colour? Haven't looked into reversing the motor frame yet John

Hi, Does anyone yet have any ideas about trying to re-create some semblance of the missing guards area on this new version VEP? I'm thinking some scale etched mesh to resemble the parcels/luggage cage area. Waiting for mine to arrive, but planning to cut out the extra (incorrect) seating from the refurbished VEP that is lurking in the guards area, but my memory is a bit hazy on what to replace it with. Seeing right through the guards area doesn't seem right to me, but I cant be sure on this. TIA John

Has anyone attempted to plonk a Vitrains 37 body on the new TTS chassis? I acquired some spare bodies a few years ago and remember difficulties in trying to 'shoehorn' them onto the old Lima plastic chassis, which distorted and reduced bogie play. John

Having now taken delivery of the latest blue weathered issue (Centurian) and put it through its paces on DCC I cautiously make the following observations, in the context of somewhat patchy quality of the first releases:- There seems to me to be a general improvement in QC. Body screws on mine at least all properly threaded, with none overtightened. Not a hint of wheel wobble and bogie clearance when swivelling looks and feels to be completely unimpeded, wheels all sitting square to a flat surface underneath. Running over my code 75 points seems ok, shock/horror! Now these are only initial impressions, but just maybe some new QC measures have indeed been incorporated into the manufacture of this great model, as rumoured earlier.

Indeed, Dapol's weathering seems to be a step above the norm of a pass of mud coloured spray recent years (maybe the often cited 'Mercig' influence and effect). The overspray on the windows is trying to emulate the 'unwiped' area of windscreen outside the arc of the wipers which seem slightly too small compared to the prototype. I will have a shot at removing some of it, but if this is too hard I can live with it, as the general weathering is superb. This will be my third Dapol Wizzo, Here's hoping the electric circuitry is now solid, wheelsets are true and bodyscrews not overtightened! I'm keeping the faith at this time. I hope that they issue further weathered versions in due course. John

Hi all, Having received the customary email from Hattons that my pre-ordered weathered western ('Centurian') is on its way to me, I've taken a look at the online images and am intrigued by the good standard of weathering, albeit slightly different to the earlier Kernow batch. It seems equally well done, but with different shades used for the track dirt etc. On closer examination, it is apparent that the body panel lifting eyelets have all been pre-fitted, a big plus for us modellers who are time starved/ eyesight challenged or both! I am bemused that Dapol can offer this and professional weathering for a 4GBP premium over the pristine blue ones. Makes this model great value in my book. Just hope the chassis is a good 'un in this batch. The only mild concern I have is that there is possibly a bit of weathering overkill on the front windows. Does anyone have any ideas for gentle removal of the gunk without destroying the glazing? John

Reading through the various admirable workarounds described here to make the class 40 usable, I take a different view; with most locos closing in on 100 GBP I have raised my expectations about the fact that it should at least run, once out of the box. Its widely reported here and elsewhere that the class 40 is a lemon, with many lemons being replaced by more lemons by various suppliers, albeit acting in good faith. The problems with many of these run deeper than pick ups or lubricant contamination. Mine certainly had DCC/PCB/motor issues rather than current pick problems and several others on this thread have reported the same in one form or another. Hattons have been their usual exemplary selves when I insisted on a refund, and they have covered return postage costs. As I live in Brisbane, these are considerable and Hattons and others have surely taken a bath on these return costs from overseas punters on this curious class 40 debacle. I wonder if they raise this with Bachmann?

The issues on some of these run deeper than just the pickups or tight bogies. Mine had clear power to all of the lights but some sort of pcb connective problem. Awaiting a replacement.

Time for a 'why oh why' rant with Dapol, having just received my third western with stupid, avoidable faults (this time with all lighting circuits wired in reverse to loco movement. Just for once, it would be nice to anticipate a quality model at well over one hundred notes in cost. Come on Dapol, we support you by buying these things, despite a shaky start. Get your act together!! John

Well, surprise surprise, another duff one has turned up here in Brisbane. Been reading this thread over the past month, thinking I might be lucky with mine, but, alas, no. Checked pickups, all look clean, placed on DCC track and full lights working, both directions and no movement, assisted or otherwise. These symptoms are more than just pickup related, so back to Hattons it goes. Having ordered a new Dapol western at the same time, also faulty, (in that all lighting is wired in reverse to loco movement) I am also joining those lamenting the notable drop in quality control in recent times across most brands, but particularly Bachmann, who used to churn out solid dependable product. This class 40 debacle is a sign of the times. Dapol have always been a bit patchy with their westerns, so only mildly surprised there. But ultimately, annoyed given that prices are rising and quality falling. I have in excess of 300 locos collected over 30 years so feel qualified to make this judgement, sadly. Our 'purple patch' for quality feels to have been circa 1990s to 2010. John