Due from Dapol March/April

[honk843]

I hope you are not thinking that I was having a bash at Dapol.

The wagons/coaches that they have produced are excellent and I can live with the cardon shaft in the Britannia hence my suggestion, However I have loads of all the existing models I want and will not be racing off to get a 59 (too much like 66s).

It would be nice for Dapol to produce something else I want. Since they announced that the high window B.R. version of their excellent Maunsell coaches ( I have about 15 of the existing ones) would follow. I am just disappointed that they seem to have gone the way of so many other of their promised products.

You see I have been doing N gauge for too long to get excited about anything!

[Bob G]

Ditto me.
But I have been forced to start in OO to get the models I actually want to collect , rather than the ones that Bachfar/Dapol choose to supply.
Tongue firmly in cheek.
Bob

[devonjames]

The updated Dapol Class 153 DMUs are also due in March.  I have two of these on pre-order and checked with Hattons yesterday and they told me they are still expecting delivery before the end of this month.

By the way Bingly Hall, if my supermarket delivery had 25% unavailable or substituted then I would certainly be switching supermarkets. I have a Tesco delivery every week and they are very good. No subs at all for the last 3 weeks and never more than one or two items. They have been very good for the last two years.

[Bob G]

By the way Bingly Hall, if my supermarket delivery had 25% unavailable or substituted then I would certainly be switching supermarkets. I have a Tesco delivery every week and they are very good. No subs at all for the last 3 weeks and never more than one or two items. They have been very good for the last two years.

Another vote for Tesco on-line shopping. They took us on two years ago in the depths of Covid when Sainsburys and the other majors would not. Never felt I have missed out on anything. 

Bob

[tunneroner61]

@Bingley Hall . Let me explain why I am 'disgusted' with Dapol over the delays to the Sir Tom Moore 66. I don't know how much you know about the man but during April 2020 he determined to raise £1000 for the NHS walking 100 lengths of his garden in time for his 100th birthday. In the event he raised over £30million, becoming a national hero. His efforts inspired many others to also raise money for the health service. GB Railfreight honoured him by naming a loco, on the day he turned 100.

When Dapol announced they were to produce a model of the loco with £40 per sale going to the NHS it seemed a win win for all. My criticism of Dapol is that they did not make the effort to deliver the model in 2020 keeping Sir Tom's efforts in the public eye. They missed the boat completely and here we are nearly 2 years later and no sign of the model. I have been in contact with them, but have not had any positive response as to a delivery date. I understand and accept all the issues about getting 'slots' in factories and coping with the pandemic. However it's easy to trot that out as an excuse.

I do not consider my remarks as Dapol bashing as you put it, but justified criticism of a poorly managed project . Oh and by the way I am not an angry old man, thank you, nor do I yell at clouds, whatever that means.

[Chris Morris]

@Bingley Hall . Let me explain why I am 'disgusted' with Dapol over the delays to the Sir Tom Moore 66. I don't know how much you know about the man but during April 2020 he determined to raise £1000 for the NHS walking 100 lengths of his garden in time for his 100th birthday. In the event he raised over £30million, becoming a national hero. His efforts inspired many others to also raise money for the health service. GB Railfreight honoured him by naming a loco, on the day he turned 100.

When Dapol announced they were to produce a model of the loco with £40 per sale going to the NHS it seemed a win win for all. My criticism of Dapol is that they did not make the effort to deliver the model in 2020 keeping Sir Tom's efforts in the public eye. They missed the boat completely and here we are nearly 2 years later and no sign of the model. I have been in contact with them, but have not had any positive response as to a delivery date. I understand and accept all the issues about getting 'slots' in factories and coping with the pandemic. However it's easy to trot that out as an excuse.

I do not consider my remarks as Dapol bashing as you put it, but justified criticism of a poorly managed project . Oh and by the way I am not an angry old man, thank you, nor do I yell at clouds, whatever that means.

I do not have sufficient knowledge of Dapol to say whether it was a badly managed project or not, clearly you must have. Like I said earlier, this loco could only be part of the next batch of 66s and could not have been made as a separate batch. I'm sure Dapol would have got the whole batch made earlier of it had been possible

[tunneroner61]

I have no inside knowledge of how Dapol manage projects. I don't seem to be able to make my point clearly, so I'll try again.
Sir Tom the man came to prominence in spring 2020. Dapol announced a model of the loco named after him in May 2020. Given how he had become a celebrity it would have been appropriate to deliver the model in 2020 whilst the pandemic was uppermost in our minds. What I am trying to get across is frustration that they didn't deliver the model  in a timely fashion during the year.

[njee20]

I'm sure they'd have wanted to as well. But it didn't work out, as said, it was always going to have to be included in the next batch of 66s. Those are all over a year later than announced. Disgusted by that? Ridiculous. You may not like comments about waiting for factory slots, but it's the reality.

You act like they sat in Chirk rubbing their hands going "I know, let's take 2 years to deliver this". Yes they've missed the boat somewhat, but I'm sure they're annoyed by that as it'll inevitably lead to cancellations from 'disgusted' buyers.

[PLD]

I have no inside knowledge of how Dapol manage projects. I don't seem to be able to make my point clearly, so I'll try again.
Sir Tom the man came to prominence in spring 2020. Dapol announced a model of the loco named after him in May 2020. Given how he had become a celebrity it would have been appropriate to deliver the model in 2020 whilst the pandemic was uppermost in our minds. What I am trying to get across is frustration that they didn't deliver the model  in a timely fashion during the year.

If Dapol had delivered any Class 66s in other liveries in the interim, you would have a justifiable case to argue the should have prioritised 'Sir Tom'; however as far as is understood from the information available, it WILL be in the first batch of the type produced since the announcement.
It may be there were reasons it couldn't be brought any further forward (possibly tied to a specific factory that holds the tooling, and other models that have come in the interim are from other facilities). It may be the Dapol have actually brought forward plans for a new run of 66s sooner than originally planned to expidite Sir Tom as much as they could... By your own admission you've no more knowledge than the rest of us on that score...

[tunneroner61]

You act like they sat in Chirk rubbing their hands going "I know, let's take 2 years to deliver this". Yes they've missed the boat somewhat, but I'm sure they're annoyed by that as it'll inevitably lead to cancellations from 'disgusted' buyers.

You are putting words in my mouth that I never said or implied. I still think Dapol should have made every effort to deliver the model in 2020 while it was pertinent. If they did it was sadly to no avail, how can I tell?

Why can't I be disgusted about something - it's only a personal opinion to which I am entitled.

I can see I am virtually alone in my thinking on the subject of the Sir Tom loco timescale, so I think it's time for me to bow out from this thread.

[njee20]

But they likely did make every effort. It just wasn't practical or achievable. I think everyone agrees with you that the timescale rather detracts from the item, but i personally find your reaction and continued insinuation that they somehow didn't try a bit excessive.

I doubt I'll buy one. It's certainly lost it's relevance for me, plus it's a Dapol 66, so performance will be grossly underwhelming! I think the Pride of GBRf is a far more striking livery, or the Cemex one, although I'm nervous they've never shown it without Wipac lights, even if they say they realise they're wrong...