YesTor

...sounds like a hair-dryer to me?

Is that Boris Johnson on the left?

Amazon might be good at the 'stack 'em high and knock 'em out cheap' philosophy and I'd agree that they have innovated in the realms of delivery times and returns etc. One thing Amazon fail miserably on though is packaging - to the point I have now stopped ordering books from them, being totally sick and tired of every single book arriving creased and dog-eared! It astounds me that Amazon seem to think that a quality book of significant weight and value is adequately packed flimsily wrapped in something that resembles a used cereal packet. The other area that Amazon can never score on is individual customer service. If your problem/issue doesn't happen to fall into a predefined template that they can respond to with their library of generic 'customer service' responses then you're kind of stuffed. That's one area where the smaller retailers can still actually capitalize.

The advice from Amazon to check with the courier is okay up to a point, but ultimately it is the sender's (Amazon's) responsibility to follow-up if it turns out to be a total non-delivery.

Yes, I agree it is essentially 1st/2nd Class for businesses (although much cheaper in both cases incidentally). Still, I would very much regard the new system far 'superior' to the old-fashioned 'stick a stamp on it and hope for the best' method. Looking at it this way, with the old system I was constantly dealing with customers declaring non-receipt of goods, whereas since the new system has been in place from memory I can recall as few as just two losses/misplacements in 3 or more years - one seemingly 'lost', the other returned. I suppose the point I am making is that the introduction of newer/digital means of 'proof of delivery' on standard delivery services almost negates the requirement for such Signed For services. From reading the regular Royal Mail business updates the implication seems to be that fairly soon pretty much anything and everything will likely be trackable - a more than welcome progression in my opinion and would certainly remove the uncertainty surrounding whether items have actually been delivered, or otherwise; and from a business viewpoint save a huge amount of time constantly responding to emails of, "Where's my parcel?!", and thus consequently chasing items that have either been delivered to neighbours or are sitting at a collection/post office somewhere.

Hmmm, you are correct in that Signed For parcels do carry the same QR Code, which as previously discussed can be delivered simply by scanning said QR Code and potentially without obtaining a signature. Royal Mail 24/48 will also be delivered with the same simple scan of the QR Code and in line with the terms of the service, also without obtaining a signature. Same net result, no? In short, the sender pays extra for the privilege of affixing a 'Signed For' sticker to the package which in effect has been ignored. So effectively both services have different costs but potentially the same net result, which was in fact my point.

I reckon Royal Mail ought to rename 'Signed For' to 'Signed For except for when it isn't Signed For...' or perhaps 'Signed For as long as someone who vaguely looks like they might be the rightful recipient happens to be around...'

Apparently the terms of Royal Mail 'Signed For' changed [fairly] recently, whereby any postman is now within the rules to deliver a 'Signed For' item without actually obtaining a signature - an oxymoron if ever there was one! Another common misconception is that many people seem to foolishly believe that 'Signed For' (or as it used to be known, 'Recorded Delivery') is a registered service that mythically provides some kind of superior tracked service. Wrong. Signed For/Recorded is just that, as in it provides a signature at the point of delivery and nothing more - the package enters the postal system mixed with, and processed with standard mail and receives no additional tracking or superior treatment during its journey than any standard second class item. For my own business I always use Royal Mail 24 or Royal Mail 48 - it costs a lot less than paying extra for a signature that may never be obtained and for a delivery service that provides nothing above that of bog-standard mail. The good thing about Royal Mail 24/48 is that if you generate your postage online then a QR Code and reference number will be printed on the label. The postie then scans the label at the point of delivery (which is why we often hear the postman 'bleeping' a lot these days), which can then be checked online to confirm if and when the package has arrived with the recipient. In all fairness to Royal Mail this service has proved incredibly reliable. For the reasons above I no longer waste money on 'Signed For'. If anyone wants a true registered service (whereby a signature will be compulsory and also that provides tracking at various points throughout its journey), then Royal Mail Special Delivery is the only option, or indeed a totally separate courier service which may well be cheaper depending upon the level of insurance required.

For clarification, are differently coloured parts an indication of separately fitted items? If so, the bogies look interesting.

Agreed, full yellow front-end on the latter photo whilst half-yellow lower half on the previous. Agreed the number font looks strange. The roof on the model appears to be white. Does anyone know the correct shade for the roof grey, it looks way too light to be Network Rail grey? cheers Al

^ The above x 10

698g, and yes they are very nice runners.

Slightly off-topic perhaps, but actually, I would argue that the fruit and veg from Lidl is in fact way superior to that available at the standard supermarkets, especially compared to some of the wilting, top price veg I've seen on some of Tesco's shelves. Lidl is way cheaper too and therefore their fresh produce appears to fly off the shelf far quicker, is replenished faster, which again means fresher produce all round, and so the cycle continues... High-end supermarket 'snobbery' will certainly mean you pay higher prices but it is foolish to assume that it will necessarily translate to better quality. Learn to shop around...

It looks like an ice-cream van

It's all fine and dandy frothing over an all-new 47, however Heljan need to get the fundamental shape correct surely? Otherwise it's a pointless exercise. With Heljan's track-record on body shapes in general I think I'll wait until I've seen the finished model before I order/pre-order anything. Fingers crossed... everything crossed...

Very true words. As Henry Ford is supposedly quoted as saying, "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse. The customer doesn't know what they want until you show them...". I have to say I totally agree.

Essentially, yes. Agreed. I tested this method some time back and found that while Dettol does indeed appear to soften paint it does however seem to soften it to a horrendously sticky mess that becomes impossible to remove. There was also a distinct softening to the body moulding too which effectively ruined the wagon body I was testing, and thus my experiment ended up in the bin. My first and last journey into Dettol...

Aside from the PINK, the inclusion of those white stripes result in the ONE logo straying half onto the roofline - which makes the whole 'design' appear ill-conceived (I say 'design' with tongue firmly in cheek...) and at best simply looks clumsy. Surely a simpler approach would have been plain pink with the logo more centrally positioned. There truly are some appalling graphic designers around these days, it seems.

With all due respect and please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you were the one complaining about having to pay for return shipping to Bachmann?

The Dapol OOSPARE1 that you highlighted first are the correct connecting rods for the FEA wagons.

...if it wasn't an improvement on something released three decades ago then we really should be worried! I have to agree with this sentiment. Despite all of my previous observations I have indeed purchased a Freightliner version. To its absolute credit, I do feel that the overall look, feel and shape of the 90 has been captured superbly well - and to be honest that really is the fundamental element in any model surely, as many manufacturers do sadly seem to make incredible blunders when it comes down to basic shape - so no gripes here in this respect as Bachmann appear to have got all of that just right? To my eye, the livery on the Freightliner version is very nicely applied too, all logos neatly aligned etc. All looks absolutely great! I did view a few InterCity-liveried models at the weekend on various stalls at DEMU and I did notice that in almost all instances that the red and particularly the white bodyside stripes were quite fuzzy-edged in many cases, but I guess nothing is perfect...? Otherwise I stand by my much earlier comments, in that areas that let the model down for me somewhat are the slightly two-dimensional-looking bogie mouldings - there's just very little depth to the overall appearance and especially the flexicoil arrangement. Disappointing. Glazing, again, too prism-like for a model with such a prominent windscreen design. Pantograph - doesn't appear overly-convincing to my eye and although I realize this is of personal opinion the whole raising/lowering 'feature' seems to be much ado over very little? In this respect I much prefer the arrangement as per the earlier Class 85. As others have highlighted, in no way am I/we saying that this is an 'awful' model, far from it, it's very, very good! Although after 5 years in the making I can't help but feel more than a little underwhelmed. Will I buy another? Not sure, having originally pre-ordered six models in total I have now settled for just one, and I have a feeling those extra funds may head toward a certain Class 92 which I suspect might offer far more bang-for-one's-buck. I guess we'll see. cheers Al

Happy to be corrected, but the last I heard on this the Dapol catenary was supposedly dead-in-the-water?

I don't know, although I'm not sure if it's my perception alone but I do seem to keep reading of people with problems of seemingly non-drying Humbrol products? Other than that was your paint stirred sufficiently? Was the underlying coat of paint sufficiently hardened to accept a new layer of paint? If not then maybe there was a reaction with the base coat? On the subject of washes in general, aren't they simply a heavily diluted paint? Maybe select a paint that you know works well in terms of shade, drying etc, and dilute your own formula using thinners and experiment with that?

Alex, Cav, good to see you both again at DEMU earlier today. Just catching up here with your 'Expressions of interest' page and a couple of quick questions, namely: Does an "expression of interest" in this instance count as a firm order? What might the estimated payment schedule be? I realize 50% immediately prior to tooling, balance on delivery etc, but just curious when that initial hit might be, especially as there are lots of projects this year coming thick-and-fast from all directions? Best as always... Al

The Class 800 seems to be doing just fine? Okay, a typically high-profile, high-speed, front-line subject I realize - when compared to a humble Class 120 anyway - but nevertheless...