lyneux

Or why not order direct from Cambrian?

Using tungsten as a weight in a model train seems like a frivolous waste of a relatively rare metal that has many important industrial uses. I hope they find another solution!

Oh yes please (sorry Shane!)...

Blimey, that's pricey Jon. Metal etching is almost looking cheaper. Guy

George was at DEMU Showcase last year with S-Kits and will be at this year's Showcase too. As mentioned, Brian Hanson of Shawplan stocks a few S-Kits items too. HTH Guy

Agreed about the promises from Bachmann and DJM. Dapol too for that matter. But then (as if by magic) Hornby pull a Biomass Hopper from out of a hat. Surprises do sometimes happen! Guy

Having worked in Brussels, I'd say Brussels Nord is probably better for that kind of thing.

We are OT here talking about decoders, but whilst we are at it, how about voting for sound project files? e.g. Vote for the best Class 47 sound project. Guy

I totally agree. Go to Crewe and walk inside the APT-P. You are presented with a spacious airy interior with large windows and proper seating bays with tables. Compare this with the cramped dark interior of the Pendo and there is no comparison. I never used an APT-P toilet (for comparison's sake) but the smell of the toilets on the Pendo is very noticeable! About the only thing the Pendo wins on is the seat coverings... that tartan seating on the APT-P... what were they thinking!!!

I've spent a lot of time looking at photos of aggregate traffic from Westbury. I've never seen PGAs and PTAs in a mixed train from the ARC/Yeoman days. I'd love to be proved wrong though! I'm going to need quite a few rakes of both for my model of Whatley! Guy

Makes Bachmann's S Stock seem reasonably priced.

Ditto. I ordered via their website. All I got was a confirmation email with an order reference. The same for the balance payment that I made last August. I can't see anywhere on their website where I can log in and "view my orders"... unless I am missing something? Guy

Vodka and Coke?

Should add a nice amount of weight to the model! Guy

So what did they actually say in their email to you?

Oh dear, what a complete mess of executive livery! As stated higher in this thread (P16), I contacted them via Facebook in August to point out some of the errors on the sample, one of which got corrected (stripe widths), most ignored and a host of new errors introduced! Joel's reply at the time was "Thanks for all the comments, they are much appreciated. We will endeavour to get all these corrections in place prior to production." Unbelievably I look back at the Facebook page and my comments have now been deleted. They are totally entitled to do this but it does smack of brushing the problems under the carpet. The compiled list of errors is below: 1) Executive light grey is wrong (far too light) - not a problem on the sample! 2) Executive dark grey is wrong (too dark: black!) - not a problem on the sample! 3) Warning panel is wrong yellow (pre-1984). 4) Lower warning panel doesn't extend high enough (look at the position of the horizontal handrails in the photo above and compare with the photos P28). 5) White and red stripe widths have been corrected but they are still both positioned too high up the body making the lower exec light grey panel too deep. Dapol have them overlapping the door handle. Also compare the height of them against the triple grille. I'm more than capable of re-painting one myself, but I really shouldn't have to. Getting all three main colours wrong that make up the livery is un-excusable! This is supposed to be a new model to modern standards, however, this is one of the worst livery messes I've seen in recent years. Guy

Come what may, I'll certainly buy a pair. There are two options here: Stick with the power cars or do a decent Mk3 coach to go with them. The Mk3 will sell in large numbers if the production coaches are included. Nobody has done a consistent rake of modern-quality coach (heck, Hornby can't get them right). The prototypes are not that different to the production coaches so why wouldn't Rapido go for the Mk3? Guy

The CAD is Rapido's intellectual property so I don't think we should really be pressuring them to release it to 3rd parties. I honestly think resin casting is the way to go here for the small number of interiors required. If you've never done it before, now is the chance to learn! Guy

Shapeways is not a "part copying" service but a printing service. You'd need to 3D scan the part or produce a CAD drawing first before getting it printed. If it's just part-copying that you are interested in then no need to go down the 3D printing route: just try resin casting. HTH

Modelling red card! Colin, you need to learn about 3D printing and what part Shapeways plays in the process. I am then sending you on a resin casting course! Guy

Great news Jason. I'm looking forward to counting each and every one! Guy

Diesel hydraulics are not "real" diesels! Now a 59 on the other hand...

Just because DJM didn't get the rights, what makes you think Dapol haven't? After all, they started their 2mm 59 project back when Dave worked for them, so they have had nearly a years head-start on DJM. Maybe DJM failed to acquire the rights because Dapol already had them? We just don't know and there is no point speculating. Dave's comment is unfortunate and rather unprofessional IMO. Guy

I raised this with them on their Facebook Jo. Their reply: The CAD/CAM shown is for publicity only and incorporates and amalgamates many features of the individual subclasses. The project manager is aware of the feature differences and how these were applied to the different types and I am sure he will publish pictures in the forthcoming weeks.

I think what Mike means is that the CAD shows a 59/0 front light cluster with 59/1 or 59/2 NRN pod positioning. Where did that CAD come from (I don't see them on the Dapol website)? Where can we comment on the CADs...?