Class 50, Class 59, prototype HST, Battle of Britain will be shelved for now

[Karhedron]

Announcement from Dapol.

Well that sucks, I was looking forward to the Light Pacifics in particular.

http://dapol.co.uk/index.php?route=blog%2Fpost&post_id=43#.WMvNx-hskGw.facebook
 

The effects of the decision to leave the EU last June continue, particularly on the devaluation of Sterling and the increase in the general feeling of uncertainty as the actual leave date looms. These effects coupled with the continued inflationary pressures being experienced in China means that the decision to invest in projects and develop new lines is becoming increasingly difficult. Not only is the unit cost of models rising at an alarming rate but the cost of the tooling is also escalating. Tooling prices are now more than double what they were 7 years ago.

As a company we appreciate that this is an increasingly expensive hobby and that the current economic uncertainty threatens discretionary model purchasing. The crunch that we find ourselves in with alarmingly rising costs, dwindling volumes due to higher retail prices being required means we have to be realistic about what we can and cannot develop.

It is my responsibility as MD of Dapol to ensure the company's sustainability and the long term future of the business. Not only do I have a responsibility to our fantastic customer base but I also have a workforce which depends on Dapol's success.

With this predicament at the forefront, the company has to make difficult decisions about our funding and prioritising of projects, especially those that made financial sense when first announced but currently do not. Unfortunately, some previously announced and mooted projects will have to be put on abeyance until the economic conditions become more favourable. This is particularly, but not exclusively the case in N gauge were the small size of the market, the relatively high cost of manufacture and natural cap on retail prices means that returns are least favourable. Projects such as the Class 50, Class 59, prototype HST, Battle of Britain and others are being delayed as result of this. Over the next two weeks we will update our development pages on the website to reflect these decisions, so please look there to find out about any of our projects that are of interest to you.

Coupled with this statement is also an apology from me. Dapol as a company has undoubtedly over announced products in the past which has led to this situation. The tendency to be overly optimistic about development times and unrealistic about what can be achieved has been prevalent. It is our intention that any new models announced from now on will have been researched and developed to an extent that the model will be in store within 14 months of being made public.

It is also our intention to make more products at our own factory in the UK. This is a slow process with huge learning challenges, however we all at Dapol are committed to this and are proud of what we make in our small factory in Chirk.

I thank you all for your patience and understanding

Kind Regards



Joel Bright

MD

[Bingley Hall]

If Dapol feel the Light Pacifics won't sell, then N-gauge looks to be in some pretty pretty serious trouble.

[B757-236GT]

Im suprised by the class 50 as i thought that was quite advanced and not too far away. Thats a real shame as i needed quite a few of those. The prototype HST i can understand and to a certain extent the 59 but the Pacific and the 50 are indeed very worrying.

Richard

[PaulCheffus]

Hi

Deja vu.

Didn't this last happen with the Pendolino and the 92 in around 2010. They were then quietly binned.

Pity about the prototype HST but after the 4mm one being postponed I half expected this.

Cheers

Paul

[bluedepot]

Opportunity for a crowdfunded class 50 or 59 maybe?

Is DJM still making a 59 in oo?


Tim

[Bob Tidbury]

Im glad Ive got my 3D printed Prototype HST even if its  the first print and the grilles are not very clearly moulded .
The next print is being modified it might even have provision for etched grilles.
Bob Tidbury

[red_death]

Unfortunately it looks to be increasingly clear that Dapol are focussing on 4mm and 7mm, which is a real pity. I was looking forward to the 59 and prototype HST (though I thought the way Dapol did expressions of interest was doomed to fail (and I gave them suggestions as to how to improve it)).

At least they still seem prepared to re-run their existing N gauge tooling which is something.

Given we've picked up the Pendolino and 92 from Dapol, I wonder what else we could do.

Cheers, Mike

[Nik96]

Slightly off topic, more models being produced in their factory in Chirk. That could take several weeks of transit time off of new projects...

How different is the prototype HST to the actual HST? There's some big visual differences such as the front window but in terms of under carriage detail?

[Paddy]

A shame but not surprising given the ever rising costs of models and the more modest market size of N gauge.  I am surprised by the Class 50 though as I would have thought this one fell in the sweet spot.

Paddy

[Calnefoxile]

How different is the prototype HST to the actual HST? There's some big visual differences such as the front window but in terms of under carriage detail?

Don't go there, we could fill this board up with detail differences between the two. 

It might be a good project for RevolutioN to pick up though @red_death   

Cheers

Neal.

[jond]

Given we've picked up the Pendolino and 92 from Dapol, I wonder what else we could do.
Cheers, Mike

Just thinking the same... with Revolution's approach to new products, there seems to be no danger of producing something that hasn't already been funded, so looking forward to seeing some possible new models.

Would be keen on a class 50 or 2 if that ever happened.

[Sprintex]

I think it's just a case of being over-cautious rather than complacent. Nice to see an admission at last of "too many announcements" though, maybe the projects they ARE continuing with will progress a little faster now?


Paul

[Roy L S]

If Dapol feel the Light Pacifics won't sell, then N-gauge looks to be in some pretty pretty serious trouble.

I suspect Mike is correct. With the merger (or takeover of?) Lion Heart and bringing Richard Webster into the fray it seemed inevitable that the focus for Dapol would change to 00 and particularly 0 where the bigger money seems to be. So more of a business decision that a reflection in the health of the N market quite probably which Bachmann from all accounts think is still growing.

It is then even more fortunate that we have Ben and Mike through REvolutioN pushing the bar higher with their crowdfunded models which it is to be hoped will keep Bachmann pushing up standards too.

Maybe this moratorium on new N products by Dapol will also help the likes of DJM by causing N gauge modellers to re-prioritise the spending of their N Gauge pound.

As to the West Country/BoB, I wonder if Farish will grasp the opportunity, after all this is indeed a versatile and popular model in other scales with many in preservation. Also worth noting that it was in both guises a staple model in the Farish range for many years (if somewhat inaccurately portrayed as both BoB/WC and MN in both streamlined and in streamlined guises.

Roy

[Karhedron]

If Dapol feel the Light Pacifics won't sell, then N-gauge looks to be in some pretty pretty serious trouble.

I don't think the sales prospects of the Light Pacifics were the problem.

Dapol announced towards the end of last year that they were having problems with the chassis. They wanted to develop a new drive-train (presumably to catch up with Farish's new coreless drive) and the Bulleids were to be the first to use this. Apparently the disappointment was sufficient to send them back to the drawing board (presumably with the design costs that would entail). I suspect that this is why the Light Pacifics have been parked.

This is a great shame as they could have been released a couple of years ago if Dapol had stuck with their existing cardan-shaft + tender drive arrangement for them. Given the Bulleids have a very enclose cab, this would actually have been less obtrusive than on their GWR locos. IIRC, the CADs for the Light Pacifics were pretty much ready around the time Dave Jones left.

[red_death]

According to Joel on FB the Pacer is well advanced, so it appears to be going ahead (thank goodness!).

Cheers, Mike