DJM Announcement - Crowdfunding King Class

trkilliman · April 06, 2017, 09:43:50 PM

I expressed an interest through his website.

I emailed Dave asking if a King in Ultramarine blue with BRITISH RAILWAYS on the tender might be considered. It's not the be all, but would be nice. With several irons in the fire I imagine he's quite busy.

Karhedron · April 06, 2017, 09:46:06 PM

Quote from: trkilliman on April 06, 2017, 09:43:50 PM
I emailed Dave asking if a King in Ultramarine blue with BRITISH RAILWAYS on the tender might be considered. It's not the be all, but would be nice. With several irons in the fire I imagine he's quite busy.

Looking at the options announced so far, the tooling should support it. Whether the economics of another livery would work out I do not know. Would probably require something like 250-300 orders to make it viable.

anselm · April 07, 2017, 06:49:26 PM

Quote from: johnlambert on April 06, 2017, 09:29:45 PM
I PM'ed Dave on RM Web as I didn't get an email confirmation and he replied very quickly to confirm that my order was on the system.

I too did not receive an email confirmation nor sadly any response to a private email sent on this forum to Dave on 23 March. I hope my Blue King is on the list.

Ian

crepello · April 10, 2017, 04:39:05 PM

Quote from: trkilliman on April 06, 2017, 09:18:38 PM
I have made an expression of interest for a blue King. I'm assuming this is in the condition it ran in B.R. days?

The more I think about a King loco, the more I am tempted to additionally go for a green early crest.

Do we get an acknowledgment of our expression/s of interest, so we know we are counted in?

I wait with bated breath to hear how much expression of interest has been generated!

Just in case you're in danger of falling into a trap on the livery, blue was an experiment in the early days of BR. Kings and all other express steam locos were soon painted in Brunswick green from about the mid-fifties (I'll have to look up the precise dates).

Karhedron · April 10, 2017, 05:05:50 PM

Quote from: crepello on April 10, 2017, 04:39:05 PM
Just in case you're in danger of falling into a trap on the livery, blue was an experiment in the early days of BR. Kings and all other express steam locos were soon painted in Brunswick green from about the mid-fifties (I'll have to look up the precise dates).

Not exactly experimental. The earlier Ultramarine Blue was experimental but the Caledonian Blue that was eventually selected was standard on all Class 8 locos in the early 50s. IIRC it was around 1952 that the Class 8s started to go Brunswick green so there is a good 3 year window where it was the official livery.

Bornin1980something · April 10, 2017, 10:21:30 PM

^Were they that indecisive? I mean, there have been complaints about the expense of changing private franchise liveries, but most of them last longer than three years.

Karhedron · April 10, 2017, 10:27:07 PM

Quote from: Bornin1980something on April 10, 2017, 10:21:30 PM
^Were they that indecisive? I mean, there have been complaints about the expense of changing private franchise liveries, but most of them last longer than three years.

I think that the shade of blue they opted for turned out to be very prone to fading whereas the green (which was already in use on Class 7 locos proved to be more durable.

Delboy · June 06, 2017, 12:26:52 PM

Just registered interest for the DJM-LS-N-005A 6017 King Edward IV BR Lined green with Late BR crest.

portland-docks · June 06, 2017, 09:31:39 PM

i expressed an interest but im very reluctant to put anything forward as i have YET to see anything from DJmodels in n gauge to judge them on...id rather see at least one or two locos in production first before committing money forward towards the king, as much as i hope it happens as i would love a blue king!

longbow · June 07, 2017, 12:06:21 AM

Given Dave's track record (and the early reviews of his N Gauge Mermaid) I have little fear of being disappointed by his King. My greater fear is that it won't get built because too many interested parties decide to wait and see.

johnlambert · June 07, 2017, 06:28:16 AM

Quote from: longbow on June 07, 2017, 12:06:21 AM
Given Dave's track record (and the early reviews of his N Gauge Mermaid) I have little fear of being disappointed by his King. My greater fear is that it won't get built because too many interested parties decide to wait and see.

I agree. I can't see anyone else lining up to make a N Gauge GWR King any time soon. From what I've seen of Dave's other models from the DJM brand - plus his output from his previous employer - I've got every confidence that the N Gauge King would be superb.

The last update from Dave was that the project was halfway to getting enough orders (I hope I've got that right), so there must be plenty of people who believe in the DJM King. I've signed up for two and really hope I'll be running them on my layout one day.

Chris Morris · June 07, 2017, 06:29:48 AM

Quote from: longbow on June 07, 2017, 12:06:21 AM
Given Dave's track record (and the early reviews of his N Gauge Mermaid) I have little fear of being disappointed by his King. My greater fear is that it won't get built because too many interested parties decide to wait and see.

Totally agree. There does appear to be a fair few people saying they will wait and see. What these people have to ask is - what new N gauge locos are currently in the development stage? Dapol has everything on hold with no suggestion that the projects will be revived in the foreseeable future. Farish may well have some plans they haven't revealed but there isn't exactly a lot on the stocks at the moment, especially steam era. Revolution appear to be going well but appear to get success from models of the current scene. DJM have got other potential N gauge locos they would like to develop such as the GWR mogul but if this project doesn't fly then the others start to look doubtful. If we are to see more new N gauge locos in the future then this King project needs to be a success. It is worth supporting it for that reason alone.

I've signed up for one.

trkilliman · June 07, 2017, 06:37:50 AM

Quote from: longbow on June 07, 2017, 12:06:21 AM
Given Dave's track record (and the early reviews of his N Gauge Mermaid) I have little fear of being disappointed by his King. My greater fear is that it won't get built because too many interested parties decide to wait and see.

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This is exactly my take on it Longbow.

If as many of us hope this comes to fruition I honestly expect it to be a real stunner of a model. If it is, then people will likely be clammering for more from DJM, and who knows, even the NGS may look favourably towards him for a special commision.

Time will of course tell, but I'm also happy to have faith in DJM, rather than sit on the sidelines and let others express interest/commit.

Karhedron · June 07, 2017, 08:49:56 AM

I agree with the above sentiments. Sometimes it takes a bit of a leap of faith to get these things off the ground but based on Dave's past form, I am reasonably confident it is not an undue risk.

I was slightly disappointed that most of the crowd-funding initiatives so far have been focused on modern (or at least post-steam) scene. The chance for one of the GWR's crack express locos in N gauge is too good for me to pass up.

Just as an aside, the level of detail and variation that Dave is looking to include is very impressive. Research has identified 15 different features that varied over the lifetime of the Kings and if the Hattons versions are anything to go by, Dave seems determined to make sure that "collars and cuffs match" for every loco.

Carmont · June 07, 2017, 09:12:59 AM

Interesting (and dismaying) that this sentiment comes up again. "I hope it gets made, but it's too risky for me to back" is effectively what people are saying, but what they really mean is"I hope others bear the risk for me to benefit."