Advice on Dapol products please.

[railsquid]

Gentlemen, please forgive me but isn't it Ronseal that says, "it does exactly what it says on the tin?" or am I missing something? Is this the reason my fences look a bit tatty?

No Chris, your not missing something. Its just me missing a few brain cells. Not many left now!!

That's what comes of not ventilating sufficiently when painting

For the record I've got three Dapol motive power units. The class 58 is excellent, both from a visual and running perspective. The class 86 is pretty good too, no complaints (the worst I can say is that it seems to have developed a slight case of wheel squeak but nothing dramatic). HST - looks great, lacks oomph; although it has improved after I fiddled about with the dummy power car which was very stiff, even my squid DMU (the one in my avatar, which was 2nd hand and could do with maintenance) outperforms it.

[PLD]

If internet reports are to be believed, Dapol target specific individual modellers and ensure that they end up with all the duds, whereas others are favoured and only get the best quality products...


The reality is Dapol more than any other manufacturer (in any scale) seems to generate more extreme opinion either for or against... In my experience failure rates due to manufacturing or QC issues are no better or worse than others, but they are more vulnerable to inappropriate handling and user inflicted damage, particularly the steam locos.

There also have been some silly errors with liveries and detailing on the rolling stock that have let down otherwise very good models.

[Elvinley]

If internet reports are to be believed, Dapol target specific individual modellers and ensure that they end up with all the duds, whereas others are favoured and only get the best quality products...


The reality is Dapol more than any other manufacturer (in any scale) seems to generate more extreme opinion either for or against... In my experience failure rates due to manufacturing or QC issues are no better or worse than others, but they are more vulnerable to inappropriate handling and user inflicted damage, particularly the steam locos.

There also have been some silly errors with liveries and detailing on the rolling stock that have let down otherwise very good models.

Your have hit the nail on the head about the locos (especially steam) being vulnerable. They are very delicate indeed. The con rods and valve gear are paper thin and can be bent out of shape by rough handling. Cylinder drain cocks are a very vulnerable detail item.

[silly moo]

I agree with PLD and Elvinley, Dapol products especially steam locos need to be carefully handled.

I also think that trackwork needs to be good for steam locos and for N gauge in general. Derailment of front bogies seems to be the main problem.

One thing the manufacturers can't control is the quality of the users track work.

[Bealman]

A good point! 

[marco neri]

For my little experience with Dapol locos, the  only one problematic is Class 56...it is too slow, very slow ....the others (Class 67 , SUPERB!, Class 58, Class 86 , Class 66', a little bit light and DMU 156) running happy on my layout....
For steam fleet (A4, A3 ,Class 49 and Pannier)...no problems 'til now..

P.s ...Class 86 is a "bull"...was running on our social club layout for 4/5 hours without interruption

Greetings from Italy
Marco

[Les1952]

On quality there is little to choose between Dapol and Farish (or Minitrix or Fleischmann to name but two), with the probable exception of the 45xx which was early in Dapol's learning curve and shows it.

However with Farish if anyone sticks their head over the parapet to report a problem the torrent of post is to deny such a thing can possibly happen.  If an issue is reported on a Dapol product the torrent of post is to rubbish Dapol and state this fault proves Dapol can't possibly do anything right. 

There are also cases of outright denial that Dapol products CAN work well.  Example- "M7s can't run slowly"- at The NGS exhibition and AGM at Grimsby Trevor Webster and I used two Dapol M7s to shunt the yard of "Parnhams Maltings" as they were the only locos we had that were controllable enough to position Peco droppers over the electromagnets while moving over a setrack point.  The preferred option of Farish 04s was abandoned as both kept stalling.   At least two of those who watched this happening are STILL saying loudly that a Dapol M7 can't run slowly.

My current fleet of Dapol locos number about three dozen with roughly the same number of Farish and a dozen or so UM.  Add to that a substantial Continental fleet, a dozen Japanese and German trams and a few US survivors.  The only stand-out amongst all these for reliability is Union Mills- and that includes some very expensive overseas models.

All the very best
Les

[ChrisWV10]

My early experience of Dapol wasn't good. A dead on arrival 66, a waddling, clicking M7 and a B17 that makes nasty growling noises on bends which I think comes from the drive shaft but haven't been able to resolve. Is this a symptom of their drive shaft steamers with tenders? 3 purchases all naff was enough to put me off, (I'd put myself in the group of modellers Dapol sell their duff mdels to!) but I thought I'd chance the EWS manager's train pack when it was released. Superb runner. So I tried a few more ... Another 67, 2 66s, 2 58s, 2 57xx, 2 HSTs, 2 rather noisy but otherwise ok 73s, a 153, a 156, a 14xx and 45 xx both bought second hand and a terrier. All are fine and nice lookers too. I haven't bought another tender loco tho'...yet! Also about a dozen coaches all fitted with light bars 

Must say I've never had a duff Farish loco (touch wood!) of about 40 purchases.

I have no qualms about buying from either manfacturer. If a model is faulty, it goes back for replacement or refund as any other purchase.

C.

PS replaced the clicking M7 with another which still clicked a bit but after extensive running is silky smooth and quiet. One of my favourite locos (LSWR livery)

[Agrippa]

I only have one Dapol loco, a 14xx which runs perfectly and is not as feeble as often stated.
However there always seem to be a lot of gripes about Dapol . Whether you buy a tv,
washing machine or model loco of whatever make it should run properly out of the box.

UM locos are smooth running , reliable and powerful, perhaps not as finely detailed as other
makes , but excellent and good value.

[ChrisWV10]

...oh, and a 22 which I think is their best model! In fact, since my initial disappointment, I haven't had a duff Dapol model since!

C. 

[Elvinley]

I think their recent diesels are excellent, both in looks and running qualities.

[Paddy]

There are also cases of outright denial that Dapol products CAN work well.  Example- "M7s can't run slowly"- at The NGS exhibition and AGM at Grimsby Trevor Webster and I used two Dapol M7s to shunt the yard of "Parnhams Maltings" as they were the only locos we had that were controllable enough to position Peco droppers over the electromagnets while moving over a setrack point.  The preferred option of Farish 04s was abandoned as both kept stalling.   At least two of those who watched this happening are STILL saying loudly that a Dapol M7 can't run slowly.
...
Les

Hi Les,

My Dapol M7 runs very well and slowly too (well slow enough for me).  Mind you, it did take two replacements to get one that ran and/or did not have assembly problems.

Paddy

[Paddy]

May be it is time I took another punt on a Dapol loco - I would like an Ivatt 2MT...

Paddy

[mickeyflinn]

My experience of Dapol locos are;
9F - Runs beautifully and has done straight from the box, even though both of the loco to tender wires have snapped so it only picks up from the tender wheels.
7P - Again, runs beautifully like the 9F. Loco to tender wires have snapped, but as they are the improved screw on design, have been replaced (and then the broken ones are quite easy to repair).
Class 121 DMU - Managed about 30mins running each way then stopped dead, never to move again. Seller refunded my money as they didn't have another green one with SYP.
A4 - First one growled, clicked and finally the valve gear jammed. The replacement is still noisy and now has an annoying wobble after I had to replace the traction tyres.
Class 22 (unweathered) - Like the 9F & 7P, runs beautifully if a little bit growly. 
Class 22 (weathered) - Bought direct from Dapol with the milk tankers. Runs quite smoothly now (didn't at first in one direction see http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=25180.msg270804#msg270804), and runs hot compared to the unweathered one. I'm going to keep hold of it over the Christmas period, DCC it and alter its speed curve to reduce the maximum speed to more like prototypical (it gets hotter the faster it is run) and give it a bit more running. If it doesn't get any better, I'll probably just send it to DCC Supplies and get it seen to under warranty.

[Tdm]

Just to add my two penny worth as someone fairly new to N gauge.

I have a mix of Dapol, Farish, and UM locomotives.

Have had a few problems with each, but when it comes to steam I am sticking with UM in the future because of the solidity of build and pulling power (the lack of fine detail doesn't bother me).

My favourite Farish diesel is the D1 Prototype, and of the Dapol diesels the Class 27.

Still having a few problems with one of the new Dapol "Westerns", and the Farish Class 25/3, although it has no running lights I Like, and mine is a bit noisy, but is one of the best for hauling a rake of goods wagons up a fairly steep slope without slipping. 

Regarding the Class 25 - I would love another of the more recent additions - but which is the best one to go for - the 25/1 or 25/2?