Adam1701D

I've registered for a set.

Great news and a logical choice. Nice for our 323 to have a playmate!

I have been reliably informed that Duke did not carry the fire-bottles pre-Virgin. The artwork has been duly corrected.

Hi Steven - we are not able to easily change the numbers, as the details have been sent out to our retailers. I feel the majority of customers will not be too worried about the exact dates a loco carried a specific livery. Rest assured, if this model is successful, there will be a further run, including more typical versions of Executive livery.

The first Engineering Prototype shots are now online. Look at all that lovely, separately-fitted roof detail! The bodywork is great but the pantographs are still a work in progress. Click HERE

Hi Steve We are now looking at Q2/Q3 2024 for these to arrive. Frustrating, I know (especially as I need a few).

I have a real soft spot for the Farish Mark 3, being an excellent platform for Electra conversions and have to admit the bodywork and shape is really excellent. For the GWR Sleeper seated coaches, they are an ideal way of correctly modelling all the window modifications. The downside is that they are very light and see-through. If these had been upgraded with interiors and improved couplings, then it the completion would have been much hotter.

Those are excellent choices for a follow-up run. Not sure about the twin headlight version, as that would incur some hefty tooling costs (new front end and new light runs).

I've settled on RAL 1003 for front end yellow, though there are notable exceptions. As for the correct BR Blue, we have the correct BS code but factory interpretations differ. I am being very strict with deco samples when they arrive.

Dapol are producing a new batch of Mk3 Sleepers this year with updated versions of Blue/Grey, Executive and IC Swallow. These will have corrected colours and chrome window surrounds and, of course, close coupling, interior detail and are light-bar ready;.

Fully you should mention that. I've just stopped drooling over the new Farish IC Charter Open Firsts. Not sure about getting anything else in the current production run but can certainly ask the question after Chinese New Year. And the slightest thought about green sleepers hasn't even begun to speculate about the merest possibility of crossing my mind...

That is a damn fine 59 you guys have done. Excellent job.

By the time we have tooled up a Class 156 to a similar spec to Charlie's, the cost of the actual model would probably end up the same. There are plenty of other units out there in OO we can do without duplicating an existing, excellent model. The 323 is just the start!

The 59 tooling was signed off before I joined Dapol, though the artwork is my own. As with the OO version, we will take any constructive criticism from the first batch and incorporate it into the second. I have learned much about 59s during my time on this project that I would like to incorporate into batch 2. I am actually really proud of our 59 and I believe the vast majority of our customers will be pleased. Even though I am modelling 80s ScotRail, I may well pick up a National Power Blue example, simply because I love the colours.

Any estimate I give will be likely to jinx the actual arrival, so I would rather not speculate at present. Once we get and approve the deco samples, we should be able to get an accurate assessment from the factory.

Just to keep everyone in the loop, it looks like we will not see the deco samples until after Chinese New Year - probably late February.

The production samples have been photographed and are now on the Dapol website here: N Gauge Class 59 I had these to review and play with just before Christmas and can confirm they are really lovely, with excellent smooth running and haulage. Gaugemaster are going to be selling 59003 in GBRF livery and Rails of Sheffield are doing 59206 in Freightliner orange. The factory has really stepped up with the finish since the first deco samples and they look first-rate. Delivery is a little uncertain, given the issues with international shipping in the Red Sea but early March looks a good bet.

Kato had a 9-car GWR sample on display at Warley last year. I expect LNER is getting preference because it's sexier. 😎

Apples and oranges. The 56 retool was a last-minute addition to models that were already planned and paid-for. I would certainly like to add sound in the future to some of the older diesels.

Still waiting for them, I'm afraid. I am experiencing a mixture of excitement and dread about these. Has to have been the most difficult livery I have done, with the multiple levels of shading and patterns, not to mention the numerous warning stickers. It's going to be a stunning loco.

Hi Mark The 155 is something we have looked at in considerable detail but may be a little way off yet. Out thinking is that the 153 is an older model and any future variants, other than those already promised, would need to retooled with improved chassis and DCC sound, etc. We could use the existing model as a base but the end cost to the customer would be the same as a new, top-notch version. This all depends on market conditions, as we have a number of planned N Gauge projects already in the pipeline, such as the revised 56, 87, 66 and some as yet announced goodness!

Not yet but they are promised for this month.

There certainly has been a wave of "Is railway modelling dying out?" articles on the various new websites The Grauniad has a particularly bad one which seems to focus entirely on Hornby, citing TT:120 as their attempt to save the hobby due to smaller house sizes. N Gauge, anyone? The demise of Hattons and Warley are both due to unique circumstances and not a sign of a wider malaise, with the current cost-of-living crisis is causing some belt-tightening across the industry but certainly not spelling doom.

I have asked the factory to see what can be improved with the performance and noise. Incidentally, I have just received the second Class 56 EP, which has the later Doncaster front end, diamond mesh grilles and Brush cantrail grilles. Very impressed.

No plans at present, I'm afraid. With the Cost of Living Crisis affecting sales, times are hard across the industry. Where before we might have released one in N automatically, now it is very much a case of seeing how the OO sales go first.