DJ models - Dave Jones new venture

[NeMo]

Well said OWL.
Some of the reviews in the main press are very woolie to say the least and seem to focus more on the life of the prototype than the quality of the model.

When I was working freelance, I used to write quite a few reviews for various Mac magazines. I still review books and DVDs for a science fiction website. While it's certainly fun being sent new stuff for free, reviewing isn't as easy as you might think.

For a start, reviewing demands expertise. So for example one time I was reviewing a software development platform that was similar to the old Apple Hypercard system but substantially different and much more complicated. It was a new product, so while I had ideas about what I wanted to achieve, I still had to spend many hours becoming reasonably competent with the product. Of course unlike the average user I could call or e-mail the developers and get help instantly (after all, they wanted a favourable review) but there's still a learning curve. But there's always a risk that as a reviewer you write about a failing in the product that was actually more about you misunderstanding it.

I've been stung by this problem myself, having someone who reviewed one of my books go on and on about something in a review he said I'd done wrong, when actually he'd misread a section. He wrote me afterwards to apologise, but the damage was done, the review was already in print.

There's also an inbuilt desire not to write negative reviews. Sometimes this is selfish. I've been sent stuff to review by the developers who produce nice, expensive programs we all want to own. But if I write a bad review, can I be sure they'll trust me with another product? Actually, yes, they often will, provided your criticisms are valid, and in one or two cases I've unearthed bugs they've fixed in the next update, so by communicating with the developer, I've actually helped. But the anxiety is still there. Plus, at the end of the day it's the editor that chooses reviewers not the developer (or their PR company) so provided your writing is good and stimulating, you'll still get fun stuff to review.

Editors often demand a specific format of review, with a balance of pros and cons for a "box out" panels alongside the text and photos. These might highlight problems, yes, but they can also hide them by making a review look balanced and neutral. For example a reviewer might balance a good thing ("nice use of animations between screens") that doesn't matter much with something that's actually quite serious ("occasional crashes at start-up").

Finally, good reviews take time. For something like a 4-page in-depth review I might get paid £400, which sounds pretty good if you factor in me keeping the software as well (which in the case of high-end stuff, may be worth at least as much money). But a decent review will take a couple of days to write, and you'd probably need to spend several days playing with a program if it's a completely new product or something that's been substantially updated from its last version. So that £400 ends up being spread across, say, 4-5 days, which comes out at £100 or less per day. Before tax, of course! Bottom line, if you're a freelance writer who does this for a living, you're very likely to spend only a limited amount of time per product otherwise you aren't making enough income. Bear in mind that freelancers rarely get enough writing for every single working day of the year, so while £100 a day might sound okay, you might not make any money at all the next day if you don't have another writing gig. On top of this, your editor will have set a deadline, often 2-3 weeks. Sometimes new software has longer deadlines because you have a pre-release version, but that of course means bugs are more likely a documentation may be patchy. Naturally, looking online won't help at all when you're reviewing pre-release software!

Bottom line is that reviewing is less easy than you think. If you buy one or two examples of a new model train, then yes, reporting back your conclusions is helpful. On aggregate, a dozen such submissions to this forum will be even better, but such online reviews tend to be statistically biassed. The people who join forums are more serious (or discerning, if you prefer) modellers who may be pickier about how a model train looks and runs. People tend to submit negative reviews more often than positive ones. In social groups like forums there's a tendency for people to agree with dominant personalities (which may simply be those modellers we respect, not necessarily bullies or blowhards).

You could well argue that this is still better than a brief, shallow review in a train magazine based on 20 minutes of running a model round an oval layout in the editor's office. It probably is quicker and easier for a reviewer to write 400 neutral words on the prototype than 400 words critiquing (if not necessarily criticising) the model in question. You may well think that running an 0-6-0 tank engine around a plain oval layout without points or ballasting is much less relevant compared to its performance on an end-to-end shunting layout with lots of points and scenics. I'd agree, and would certainly prefer to know how a model train performed after two months of operation rather than 20 minutes, but I doubt train magazines get sent samples anything like two months before the train goes on sale.

Writing all of this, I'm not sure I'm defending or criticising the magazine reviewers, but I do hope I'm sympathetic to their position and can help to shine a bit of a light on the problems reviewers face.

Cheers, NeMo

[EtchedPixels]

I'm most interested to see what his price point will be - the talk is about quality but is that going to go with a £200 price tag (which if it allows for extra quality, accuracy and so on may not be a bad thing).

Alan

[zwilnik]

I see this as a good chance for Dave to show that he's a better industrial designer than whoever was doing the technical side at Dapol.

While he was there the models looked really good, but the industrial design was terrible and caused most of the issues their detractors have experienced. The linkage between engine and tender on the steamers being one particularly daft bit of design that they only needed to look to Peco's 20 year old Jubilee for a particularly good tender power connection for instance.

If he's personally doing QC and testing each model, that's a good sign. It means he should be able to identify when there's been a design flaw that's causing assembly issues. The odd wonky one due to shipping is normal, but when you get more than a couple of percent of them failing because they're tricky to assemble it means you need to improve the design (or training of the assemblers).

It'll also be interesting to see if Dave's models are designed for display like the Dapol ones, or use on model railways/train sets like the Farish, Union Mills, Fleischmann, Arnold, Minitrix etc. ones.

Keeping my fingers crossed that we're in for some really good, useable, model railway engines

[stevieboy]

Based on my experience so far, with steam in particular, I'd happily pay double the current prices if quartering issues, self destructing mechanism's and cosmetic issues became a thing of the past.

[Wayne 56089]

3 interesting choices!!

Might be tempted by a baby Deltic 

[stevieboy]

I'm going to support this and pre-order a J94 when possible, I'm all for competition and especially if it ultimately raises the bar all round.

[Wayne 56089]

Unless I'm miSsing somethIng the website lists the prices and at 114 for a baby Deltic I am going to pre order two if I can get different running numbers and in a nice green colour!

Dave if you read this please pm me with details on pre ordering.

Thanks Paul

Plenty to choose from 

N23-001 D5903 BR 2 tone green with small yellow warning panel – £114.50
N23-002 D5909 BR Blue with full yellow front end - £114.50
N23-003 D5900 BR 2 tone green with small yellow warning panel - £114.50
N23-004 D5907 BR 2 tone green with small yellow warning panel - £114.50
N23-005 D5901 BR 2 tone green with small yellow warning panel weathered  (from Mercig Studios weathered master) - £124.50

[zwilnik]

Some good choices of locos there. Looks like he's not too fussed about OO (which is covered by so many other manufacturers anyway) and a baby deltic and J94 in O would be rather good for the gauge.

[REGP]

From the DJM Timeline Page it looks as if we can order locos with effect from week commencing 16 September.

That's one Baby Deltic and a J94 both weathered please (that's my Xmas list sorted).

Ray

[Claude Dreyfus]

Great to see another new manufacturer on the scene...and one which looks to have learned some lessons from Dapol. The J94 is a useful model and I'm sure will do well...but the class 17 and 23 are more fringe models; that said I have always liked the Claytons and may give one a go just because they looked great! In fairness...almost everything has now been taken by Dapol and Farish.

In his days prior to Dapol, Dave produced a tamper in both r-t-r and kit form...one of those in all three scales may have been perfect introduction.

Best of luck for the future!

[1936ace]

well there goes more money i dont have

maybe if im good enough, go to bed early, and think good things, the train fairy might leave a 17 and the baby deltic under pillow

bart

[keerout]

Yep, this is gonna cost money.... 
It does not say when all this is going to hit us though.... I better start feeding the piggiebank 
We live in exiting times!
Gerard 

[Thorpe Parva]

Good to see another manufacturer entering the market. None of these will be impacting on my wallet as they weren't seen between Wigston & Market Harborough. Class 28, powered & dummy, next please.
David

[Sea Mills]

It always surprises me that more models aren't available as dummies, either for double heading or posing in MPDs etc.   It would be an affordable way to populate a model or diorama, and a cheaper way to try your first weathering.

Maybe we will see this from Dave as Dapol's Hymek is one of the few I am aware of that is available as a dummy.

David

[alibuchan]

It always surprises me that more models aren't available as dummies, either for double heading or posing in MPDs etc.   It would be an affordable way to populate a model or diorama, and a cheaper way to try your first weathering.

Maybe we will see this from Dave as Dapol's Hymek is one of the few I am aware of that is available as a dummy.

David

Dapol hav done quit a few dummy's with the 66, 67, 73, hymeks, 153, 156, 121. I think that's it. Farish don't do any which is a shame.

Might get a 17 in N and possibly a J94 in O.

Alistair