frobisher

Thing is getting the chassis right is actually an exercise in CAD. The CAD we get shown isn't actually what is used to cut the tooling, but a product all the parts that cut the tooling, fitted together, and at that point you can generally also then do things with that model. You can check the fit of the parts, how all the moving parts interact and run the chassis around on some virtual track. The constraints of the physics simulation will help immensely there. So basically, you don't prototype until you've got the CAD behaving properly. By its nature, a chassis is quick to produce CAD for as there aren't too many fiddly details, there will be tons of already designed bits on file as well that can be dropped in (bearings, wheels, bits of motion etc). Sorting out a scanned set of geometry into something that can be manufactured is probably a more time consuming job. It needs a whole bunch of rationalisation, sectioned, and finessing (sometimes the physical scan resolution just isn't high enough to get the subtleties of a shape etc), but it does give a much better starting point than an incomplete set of measurements.

Being hand assembled, they could probably be either depending on the whim of the constructer, but it makes most sense to make them live frog given the amount of dead frog you'd end up with given the cast piece. I'm very, very tempted to try some of these myself but have never actually done anything remotely like it.

Mind you, it won't help the historical AC modeller per se though will it, as the amount of overlap back to BR days is diminishing.<br /><br />Funnily enough, the three flagship trains mentioned have already been modelled in 00, and I'd put a wager on the 395 appearing in N from Arnold if the 5BEL does well enough for them (the 390 as well). Eurostar I don't think we'll ever see in UK N gauge though so we'll have to make do with the Kato one.

Well there's a whole can of worms in any case. Which prototype would you select? Something London end, something Glasgow end, something from somewhere in the rather large middle? Almost any one choice of prototype won't work for most people interested in AC electrics. Whatever prototype a manufacturer went for would be "brave" for that time period. It's only marginally easier in 00 (you've missed out the 2BIL and the Thumper isn't an EMU...). We "only" have the BR design 2EPB, the CEP is not refurbished whereupon they became wider used. The MLV is a very narrow usage unit as is the 5BEL. There's a whole slew of SR/SR Legacy stock missing as well particular mixes of which give you the essential character for parts of the 3rd rail network up to the 70's. The 4CIG is probably the single biggest missing piece though.

Yup. Dapol's not far off covering the whole lifespan of the class either. If they produced the front variant for a non-plated headcode box they'd have the flexicoil refitted ones completely covered I think and probably just doing new bogie tooling for the non refitted ones might suffice as the scar for the flexicoil suspension on the bodywork isn't too noticeable in the scale (but would be easily sanded down by those really offended by it). Unless of course there's a slide in the existing tooling to cover this eventuality..?

Er, not really that relevant to the point being made though. edit: Oh and a casual search of ebay shows Dapol 86s at around the expected retail prices only, and from retailers in the main so I suspect your £40 jobs are second hand ones. Doesn't really prove much mind.

Not quite the same thing. Were those second hand or retailer stock being liquidated? If the former, then it doesn't really mean much, beyond there are people selling theirs on. If the latter, then you can infer over stocking. Probably more indicative is that Dapol still carry stock of most of the releases in their online store.

I would like to refer the honourable gentleman to the wisdom of Thumper's Mum...

The Blue Pullman will be something of an informed choice however. With Olivia's sniffing around looking for someone to commission it from, and buoyant wish list poll positioning Bachmann could quite safely point to a level of demand that made financial sense to them. Thing is, "diesel hydraulics sell" hence the scramble to produce them all in the last few years.

Both Denis Lovett (Bachmann) and Dave Jones (then Dapol) are on record as saying "Electrics don't sell" in the past, and have done on RMWeb.

As far as I'm aware, and MW jumpers are moulded on the 86's where appropriate (so the 86/4 will have either the 87 style MW jumper, that and the TDM cables or the TDM cables alone), the accessories bag will have brake cables and ETH cables in it.

For the lovely countryside (that's what the anti HS2 biddies keep banging on about...)? A cycle route between London and Birmingham that keeps you away from road traffic sounds like a fantastic idea to me. The cost should be next to zero as well if it's right alongside as you could do it as part of the landscaping that they're having to do anyway. I suspect that will be necessary in any case so it won't be an either/or state of affairs.

And it has the fringe benefit of reducing the Class 50 head count

Because not every shop that stocks Hornby stocks Bachmann? Because they have the tooling already? Some items I would regard as "bread and butter" to a range. MK1 carriages, BR 20t brake vans, Toads, generic 5 plank wagons, and I think the shunters' truck may actually sit there as well now.

So quite a few "ifs" indeed. And of course it doesn't answer the capacity problem or the fact that Pendalinos aren't actually going to be the applied solution for the ECML in any case...

Well given a Pendolino service runs on a daily basis and it isn't currently planned to extend HS2 to Edinburgh, of course the Pendolino will get there before HS2 does.

If you look at his other items, you can grab 7 other VEP carriages you need in a oner - the mind boggles as to why he's selling 3-4 4VEPs in this way though...

Why though? The stock is Hornby's not Modelzone's so isn't actually an asset of MZ's. MZ may not have the authority to discount it.

I thought the original push pull stock (for operation with the 27/1's and 2's) was air braked?

Looks like MK2z or 2a's to me (the two TSOs in the middle have centre doors). Looks like BSO-TSO-TSO-TSO(?) (working back from the loco) to me with no form of train heating being supplied (47/3). I may of course be wrong on some or all of this.

Riiiight. Surely then it's the responsibility of the controller manufacturers to list the models they're compatible with?

Just a thought, but wasn't there something about the DCC connector being 22 pin rather than 21 pin on these? The solution for DCC running was to snip the extra pin off so that the decoders could fit and it may be worth doing the same when using the blanking plate as there may just be an extra potential floating around that shouldn't be. Just a thought.

There's a bit of a difference here though. The first I was aware of the problem was the Bachmann press release on the matter, whereas there was quite a bit of to and fro here before Hornby commented on the B Set issue. Bachmann do seem to be a bit quicker off the mark to note and sort out issues like this, but also there is a significant chunk of people who are happy to lay into Hornby at every available opportunity. We're all biased, we just don't often recognise what our biases are and why they are. Hornby are not as closely engaged with the hobby community as Bachmann and Dapol (especially). Heljan are probably less engaged than Hornby and stand somewhat more aloof and whilst there is plenty of criticism of the product there doesn't seem to be the expectation that they are "listening to us". Hornby to a certain extent are damned if they do, damned if they don't. The only thing that will satisfy some people is every product they produce is perfect and cheaper than the oppositions' and that's never going to happen.

I think if they produced an accurate 00 66 to the same specification as the proposed H0 one they might get quite a few sales as it would probably nose ahead of the Bachmann model overall. Would be a bit risky of course. Now here's a wild thought. Perhaps they could take another swing at the 86 but in H0 learning from the mistakes of the 00 now they are getting exported to Hungary and Romania? (coat please...!)

The only thing that marks the model out as a continental rather than UK one is the doubling up of the air brake pipes on the buffer beam.