Manufacturers, Retailers, up your game!

[jacowin80]

I think that the tiny size of N must have an impact over what can be shown in photos on websites etc.  If I order a new loco and haven't been able to go near my layout for a while due to work commitments when the new model arrives the size and detail featured can be quite a shock.  N really is small as I am sure you all know. How hard is it to get photos for this forum and for ebay etc. 

[NeMo]

I am very new to this modelling game but I am getting very frustrated by manufacturers' and retailers' online presence.  It seems to me to be a closed shop, either you are "in the know" or we don't want you to be "in the know".

Don't forget that you're not the person Farish (or Dapol) wants to deal with; the retailers are. The place you go for photos is your online retailer, or better still, you go look at the model in person at your local brick-and-mortar model shop.

FWIW, Hattons generally has excellent photos, including a ruler so you know how big the model is. So they're usually my first port of call, even if I end up buying elsewhere (which is rare, Hattons being convenient, competitive, and invariably excellent to deal with in terms of customer care).

Cheers, NeMo

[PLD]

I understand that GWR had three separate "brands" to use a modern term... ... ...

Playing devils-advocate... To be brutal, the three styles are so significantly different in appearance that anyone with awareness of the three should be able to tell which a loco is wearing in all but the worst, most blurry image; and if you are not aware of the differences, well "ignorance is bliss" and you probably wont be bothered anyway...

[BobB]

It's not only things like the exact printed logo and its quality that can be difficult to determine, My own gripe is what about the couplings ? Are they NEM sockets or not ? I need to know (not only on the locomotives but carriages and wagons as well) because I have standardized on Dapol's easi-shunts. Yes I know, almost everything can be converted but it is a bit of a bother and expense and so influences my purchasing decisions. Why Dapol and especially Farish do not include this rather basic information on line (and neither do retailers) is frustrating.

Rant over so I suppose back to the initial topic.