Corbs

I think Kyle (TRS Trains) offers an installation service :)

By then hopefully we'll have the animatronic passengers working! 😃 Not sure how I am going to get the bespectacled gentleman to turn the pages of his 4mm scale newspaper though....

I think that we all project our personal experiences and views onto the market, in my case my love of the second hand market is a reflection of when I came back to the hobby circa 10 years ago, we were living in our first place on our own (rather than a house share), money was tight, I was a bit younger than I am now (!) and I engaged with the hobby by buying cheap second hand cast-offs from people who had upgraded to new fancy stuff. The first ever new models I bought with my own money (in my whole life) were the two Caley 812s when I was into my 30s. I was under no delusions that I could afford new things at the time and therefore saw no need to complain about the price of said new models when the wonders of eBay and model/toy fairs were available. It is right to keep the need for fresh blood in mind but from my point of view it's not an issue because there is so much stuff that is affordable out there with the compromise that it's not as good as the new stuff. if it were, then there would be no point in making it. Conversely, recently I have seen multiple young people spending waaaaay in excess of what I would (even now at 35) on brand new models, so maybe the opposite is true.

I asked and was told the luggage rack works out at about a pound per coach.

oooh I forgot in the excitement - roof on the GWR Roundel versions has been switched to the correct 1930s white. There should now be one smoking first and one non-smoking first in each pair. Also moved the location of the roundel after examining the reference pic a little more and comparing it to where the coat of arms sits on the other liveries - it's not in the same place on each side.

What's your plan for this? Do you have superannuated Airfix/Hornby ones at the moment, in which case are you going to keep them or gradually replace with RTUK ones as and when you got the monies, or are you going to keep an eye out for cheapy cheap ones that are being released onto the market as the RTUK ones go out?

For me, asking for the middle ground in new models is so subjective that for most people it will miss the mark. It still won't be affordable enough for a new starter or young person, and it won't be detailed enough for the coin-a-sewer when other, similar models are available with more detail for (relatively) not much more. What is an acceptable compromise to one person will be a no-no to another. EDIT (sorry, forgot) - in my case I would rather spend my hard-earned on a new model when I feel like the manufacturer has done the best they can to make it as good as they can. I would not buy a new middle-of-the-road model when I can just lash up some second hand stuff. EDIT 2 - apologies if this comes across as overly negative or haughty, I realise that this thread is for one of my employers products that I have been working on but I don't mean it to sound like I am just being defensive because of that. With my 'company' hat on, I really feel proud that we do try to make the models as good as we can, even though they end up being on the pricier end of the scale.

Are those people buying new? That's what I was getting at with the second part of the post. What's wrong with the second-hand market (or building/customising your own stuff) for bulking out large collections?

Nor I (my car cost less than an APT-E set) but lots of people do which is why I can afford to drive around.

(personal opinion not that of RTUK) I don't see the point in making 'middle ground' models, who are they for? Basic starter sets are great for children and beginners, keep it affordable and replaceable in case of accidents. Highly-detailed models appeal to people who like that sort of thing. Surely the part in the middle is for the second-hand market (which is MASSIVE) and the bodger-modellers like myself who enjoy customisation? As said above, new models will release older ones on to the second hand market (e.g. Mainline Manors being sold in favour of Dapol/Accurascale ones) allowing more people to buy and enjoy them who would not be able to afford new.

I don't think any manufacturer is going to win public approval (or any medals) by deliberately de-rating the detail of their product in order to save a few quid off the RRP*. Something similar has been tried before by another manufacturer and it was received poorly. *especially if other manufacturers do offer the detail for a few quid more.

On the plus side for people who prefer to do the updating/detailing themselves, people who buy the new ones might sell their older ones on. Certainly I have benefitted from cheaper second hand models when it comes to customising them, easier than chopping in to a new model!

I think the warehouse has been snowed-in when the pallets were due to be collected.

They are waiting for the replacement PCBs to get to the warehouse before they can swap them in. When the recall happened it was a matter of urgency to prevent people using the model and risking damage.

@ahardy is now @rapidoandy so I don't think he uses the personal account much any more ;) No worries about the badgering, I am sure I saved a folder of pics as a backup but danged if I can remember where at the moment, might be on an old hard drive.

I think you are right there, it should have a white roof (GWW agrees with you). Thankfully it's not on the item description so it should be easy to change before production. To give some background, only the side artworks have been done for now (for the launch) - the full technical ones which show every view are in progress.

Thanks Mikkel, the 1978 edition is the physical copy I have here. That be this one although the SKUs make them appear out of order, this one is chronologically before shirtbutton. https://rapidotrains.co.uk/product/dia-e140-b-set-gwr-post-war-livery/

Have sent over the article. Ref. further versions - may have to be a 'possibly in the future' thing depending on how well the first batch sell as I think we are maxing them out now.

I think so. The article is dated as April 1946 and the other set pictured is No.2 (the Wartime Brown set). The choc/cream one is double-lined with coat of arms and G W R, numbered 6335 + 6316. GWR.org.uk says this set was "Kingsbridge Branch No.1 until 27 August 1936, when it became Bristol Division No.25". So presumably these photos are pre-war.

Good question, that's not something I've seen and I don't think 'Great Western Way' makes a note of a gap. Hard to tell in a lot of black and white photos but the post-war livery can look like there is a gap when it's the gold line above the black one. The Kingsbridge Branch set referenced in the MRC article looks to have the black band touching the brown. I'll ask the site admin if we can add the dates to the description.

Mine did that, had to hard refresh (shift + refresh) to get it to update.

Ask and ye shall receive* https://rapidotrains.co.uk/gwr-b-set-coaches/ New sets are on the shop! *Sometimes, if it aligns with what we wanted to do ;)

How dare you steal my thing and use it before me :P Probably a subject for another thread but the hardest bit about RC is to get it to do the same things that DCC does. Having it replace Analogue Control (forwards/backwards) is relatively simple.

You are right, Phil + that shows me that I need to move the waistline lettering/numbers down a tad too, which I shall amend. Thank you!

Excellent :) I have added the closer-up pics to the previous post as the side-by-side ones were a bit small/low res.