Just thought I'd compare dates.
Revolution 56XX
New model. Built from the ground up.
OK, I ordered late (March 2020), my delivery expected this week or next.
Time taken 17 months and this was during a pandemic.
Dapol/Gaugemaster 73's
Rework of an existing model.
Ordered September 2018, delivery ??????????
36 months and counting?
Do Dapol/Gaugemaster hold the dubious honour of the record for the longest delayed model?
Not sure of your point, and no, not even close. The 56XX was announced in 2018 (that you ordered one almost 2 years later seems to miss the point somewhat!), so it's been just under 3 years, which is still commendable. The Dapol Pacer was 7 years. Farish announced the 319 in 2016. Revolution also announced the 320/321 in 2016, neither have landed yet. Farish/EFE announced the 17 about 3 days before it arrived. Timescales vary, for all sorts of reasons.
Don't suffer in isolation Graham. Come and join the chorus (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=42427.0).
:beers:
As I understand it Sonic are a Chinese company. The guy behind the models is British and lives in China. I may be wrong but I get the impression that Sonic is closely aligned to one factory. Sonic are making N gauge models because the guys behind it are very much N gauge enthusiasts. Making N gauge models is almost certainly a sideline to the main source of income for those involved in Sonic.
Dapol are of course based in the UK. I don't know but it feels like they are not aligned to one factory. Dapol rely on model railways for their business. They have a limited staff because there isn't huge money to be made from model railways and are developing products in three scales. They have to spread their scarce development resources over all the scales and have to judge which area is most likely to provide the best return on investment.
So quite different businesses. I wouldn't criticise Dapol for the time it takes to get things done because I am sure they are doing their best. I'm sure Dapol would love to get new models to market more quickly but the realities of running a business and not going bust mean that you have to be very careful regarding how and when you invest your cash and your development resources. I expect that dealing with a country on the other side of the world with a very different culture and a different time zone hasn't helped lead times in the past but that is probably less of an issue now.
Quote from: RailGooner on August 02, 2021, 08:20:14 AM
Don't suffer in isolation Graham. Come and join the chorus (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=42427.0).
:beers:
I'm there. Post 1325 onwards.
Quote from: njee20 on August 02, 2021, 08:16:29 AM
Not sure of your point, and no, not even close. The 56XX was announced in 2018 (that you ordered one almost 2 years later seems to miss the point somewhat!), so it's been just under 3 years, which is still commendable. The Dapol Pacer was 7 years. Farish announced the 319 in 2016. Revolution also announced the 320/321 in 2016, neither have landed yet. Farish/EFE announced the 17 about 3 days before it arrived. Timescales vary, for all sorts of reasons.
I think you've just made the point for me. New developments take time. A simple repaint.........
So this could have gone in the thread bemoaning the delayed 73s? The comparison to Sonic is totally disingenuous, not least as you're starting the clock from when you ordered. If I order a 73 now then the lead time will be much more reasonable :doh:
Not detracting from Sonic's timeline on the 56XX, nor defending Dapol's on the 73. The colours look poor too, and I'll eat my hat if they fix them.
Trouble is that a repaint still has to wait for a slot in the factory, in a production queue which, as Chris has said, covers 3 scales. I suspect if Dapol released every model sequentially (like sonic) they could do it in under 3 years, but they're balancing an entire portfolio of models. Of course they could simply not announce them until they land, a la Farish/EFE, which gives the illusion of shortened gestation, but it's just that. We know Sonic have already been working on the J50, but that's nothing to do with the lead times per se, and everything to do with when they actually make the announcement.
I think Dapol are going through an exciting time when you think of all the N gauge re-runs they have in the pipeline. My main concern is finding the funds to buy everything I would like that is planned for next 12 months or so.
Current Dapol re-run plans that I can recall without looking it up:-
HST Castle set
Voyager
Skipper (class 142 for any Northerners)
153
50
66
9F
Britt
M7
59 (may well be more than a year away)
I'm sure there are more that I have forgotten about.
I seem to recall some time ago Dapol stating that nothing would be put into their production 'pipeline' until another had emerged. Since then they have just announced all sorts of models with Qtr 4 2021 due dates, so they've obviously backtracked. The other annoyance is you just cannot find out what sequence they're even by tagging them on their Digest website (a site to communicate with their customer base ::)).
I guess they just don't have that knowledge :unimpressed:
I think that was their new model development not re-run developments.
I'm not sure how much Dapol themselves know about exact timings. When asked the question of timing for the next batch of 142s on the Digest back in February I got a helpful answer .