who will take on the class 50 now?

[Nik96]

I think the fact they worked so hard to be commercially viable and keep us modelers buying they've done well to last this long before having to make the recent announcement and some big changes.

As for the Class 50 there's a lot of speculation that these are going to sell as well as imagined by some. The fact some of Grafar's didn't ever find a home to an extent proves this. What else is up the sleeve of Revolution though?

[joe cassidy]

As an aside, for class 50 fans, there is a give-away DVD with the March issue of 'The Railway Magazine' entitled 'The Last Years of the Class 50s'.

If anyone wants mine send me a PM, first come first served.

Best regards,


Joe

[austinbob]

Just bought a weathered Farish class 50 off eBay. After the news about the dapol version's demise I thought this is the only viable class 50 purchase at the moment.
There are quite a few around at the moment but this could now change rapidly.

[Adam1701D]

Will we now see renewed love for the Anbrico cast kit? 

[NeMo]

Will we now see renewed love for the Anbrico cast kit? 

There's a unmade kit on eBay at the moment...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ANBRICO-MODELS-KIT-BUILT-BR-CLASS-50-DIESEL-LOCO-BODY-KIT-mx-/111331742940

You need the Atlas 2103 Chassis apparently. Not sure how easy these are to get. Are they any better than the Farish chassis in terms of looks and performance?

Cheers, NeMo

[Adam1701D]

I had one many years ago (way before even the GF 47) - the loco had a huge cast chassis and weighed a ton!

Eventually, we put Lima 55 sideframes over the Atlas frames which actually didn't look too bad!

[Bob G]

Will we now see renewed love for the Anbrico cast kit? 

There's a unmade kit on eBay at the moment...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ANBRICO-MODELS-KIT-BUILT-BR-CLASS-50-DIESEL-LOCO-BODY-KIT-mx-/111331742940

You need the Atlas 2103 Chassis apparently. Not sure how easy these are to get. Are they any better than the Farish chassis in terms of looks and performance?

Cheers, NeMo

Imagine a bogie mounted Peco Jubilee motor vertically mounted driving two axles on one bogie and just two sprung contacts (one for each rail) pushing down onto the top of the rail on the other bogie - a bit like the pick ups on an old three rail Hornby loco. And a ton of steel chassis somewhere between the two. Surprised it even moved.

Eee when I were a lad we didn't worry about dead frogs. We just pushed the loco over em! The only thing digital was a watch!

I hope you see where I am going with this.... it's not exactly a love affair with this chassis. Makes the old LifeLike chassis positively delightful in its complexity

Bob

[Ian Morton]

Indeed. As part of a 'modernisation' I sold two Minitrix Warships to fund the purchase of that kit and the chassis.


What a mistake-a to make-a!

[Bob G]

Indeed. As part of a 'modernisation' I sold two Minitrix Warships to fund the purchase of that kit and the chassis.

Isn't that what BR did?

[njee20]

I speak only for myself, but I'll pay more for a more detailed model every time, and wouldn't buy a cheap "lower detail" option.

[Bob Tidbury]

I agree with what you say but according to some of the manufacturers it dosent cost a lot more to put all the bells and whistles on.Im like you I would rather have a model that will look the part pull a decent rake of coaches or wagons and run straight out of the box without oiling and bits falling off and lights failing after a few laps and even going up in a puff of smoke thats why I like Union Mills no thrills Models they are built to last not just look pretty in a wall cabinet and I might add at a very good price .
Thanks must go to Colin Heard for all his hard work keeping N gauge running , while others worry about how many rivets and bits they can add on ,if a one man band can do it why cant others.
No we dont want to go back to pizza cuter wheels and things like the Lima Deltic and Lima Coaches or the really  early early Farish type panniers but a nice copromise between them  and the very latest would be fine with me and I suspect a lot of modellers ,some people might even be put off by all the reports that they read about modern stock and stear clear of N gauge because they cant afford to gamble on getting a good loco money being as short ax it is nowadays.
Just my opinion for what its worth.
Bob Tidbury

[NeMo]

I speak only for myself, but I'll pay more for a more detailed model every time, and wouldn't buy a cheap "lower detail" option.

I think @GreatBigBlue's comment is more about choosing between a simpler model that's delivered versus a better detailed model that doesn't exist.

Looking to the future, the N-gauge side of the hobby needs to decide if it wants to cater to the "chequebook modellers" happy to pay CJM and Mercig prices, or the "family modellers" including teenagers and dads who can't afford to spend hundreds of pounds on playthings.

The way the hobby is going, it's on the way to becoming a rich man's pastime, a bit like amateur astronomy (one of my other hobbies, and once you get past basic kit, becomes wildly expensive, as in hundreds of pounds for a single eyepiece, and thousands for the telescope).

I do think it'd be nice to have cheaper, sturdy, and reliable models that might lack some of the details, but at the same time were more "pocket money priced" to attract younger hobbyists and, crucially, keep casual hobbyists spending modest amounts of money on an ongoing basis. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has to prioritise my wife and toddler ahead of toy trains -- and I'm a professional on an income well above the national average. The expense of the hobby must be extremely off-putting for many potentially modellers, such as those on pensions.

So basically, an updated Farish 50, with perhaps a better front-end and some lights could be just the thing!

Cheers, NeMo

[Sprintex]

Knocking on 60 and remembering the excitement of D400 at Glasgow central on my summer holiday departure I think I may have some authority here (ducks flying objects).   Why can't Dapol just pump out basic Class 50s? Forget fiddly details as it has been said elsewhere and here GET THE LOOK RIGHT it's N gauge stupid! The cost of adding over scale handrails, etched grills etc etc is pointless expense. It can't be seen from normal viewing distances. There will always be "rivet counters" yes I uttered that politically incorrect phrase. Who cares about what grill was covered or not covered in 1978? Not me.
I am wearing my intermediate computer glasses and the blurry warship on my layout looks good. It looks good though out of focus because its proportions are perfect. We had to put up with (not me) the ghastly Farish class 50 and 56 and people bought them in droves just because it said it was a class 50 on the box? No a perfect miniature of the real thing without all the bells and whistles would I'm sure sell and those wanting to cut and shut, add or take away offending details are free to do so without causing the manufacturer to produce a million versions. Blue, large logo, network southeast (if you must) all the same moulding BLAM job done. I applaud Hornby's MK1 coaches and prefer them to Bachmann's as they are finer without all that pipework and jiggly couplings. Are we here to run trains to evoke memories or just to look at them and nitpick?   

Not sure that just because you don't want fine detail those that do deserve to be insulted by calling them "rivet counters"

We've had this debate on here before and the majority viewpoint, as well as the research done by the manufacturers, was overwhelmingly in favour of finely detailed models rather than cheaper more basic ones.

Sadly the N gauge market just isn't big enough to have separate "detailed" and "budget" ranges like 00


Paul

[Karhedron]

The way the hobby is going, it's on the way to becoming a rich man's pastime, a bit like amateur astronomy (one of my other hobbies, and once you get past basic kit, becomes wildly expensive, as in hundreds of pounds for a single eyepiece, and thousands for the telescope).

I am also an astronomer on the side. 

You are right about the price of kit but as with astronomy, so with modelling. You can get quite a lot of astronomy done with a good pair of 7x50s which shouldn't break the bank and some nice dark skies (priceless ). Likewise in N gauge there is plenty of 2nd hand farish around for very little. If you want to start off with a basic BLT then 1 or 2 locos and a handful of stock is enough to get you going and building the layout can be hours of fun in itself.

Yes I know we all want a constant supply of shiny new models (I am as guilty of that as anyone  ) but we need to remember that high prices for the latest sound-fitted Pacifics are not necessarily a bar to the hobby as a whole.

[njee20]

I think @GreatBigBlue's comment is more about choosing between a simpler model that's delivered versus a better detailed model that doesn't exist.

I get that, but there are few, if any, examples where I'd buy a basic model over nothing at all. We have a superb range of excellently detailed models, I don't want something that regresses us 30 years. Like I said, I speak only for myself, but to that end I would definite try and dissuade any manufacturer from assuming the market would welcome a 'trainset' model with open arms. I'm lucky I guess in having excellent eyesight, I guess that makes me a rivet counter!