Dapol Update video

[njee20]

I can't see that being even a vague factor, it wasn't a recent model.

[Ben A]

It does seem that getting made in China is increasingly difficult. Bachmann/Farish are probably better off than the others because they are part of Kadar and Kadar are the manufacturers. Revolution Trains seem to be struggling to get things made just as much as Dapol, likewise Sonic.

Hi all,

I am loathe to interject in another manufacturer's thread however I should point out that in 2025 Revolution has delivered N IHA steel carriers with Class 66 locomotives and WIA car carriers en route, and Class 313 units nearing the end of production.

In OO we have delivered a second run of OO MMA/JNA box wagons and IHA steel carriers and OO WIA car carriers are en route.  There would have also been KSA wagons but when they arrived we rejected them due to unsatisfactory QC and they are being remade.

We have also displayed decorated PCA alumina tank wagons, EP samples of our PTA box wagons, JSA steel carriers, K-type Pullman cars and (admittedly not N) our TT:120 MMA/JNA box wagons.

If anything, production efficiency has returned to pre-Covid levels; however some models take longer than others and there can be any number of reasons for this and it is a normal part of the process.

cheers

Ben A.

[Newportnobby]

as regards the dapol spam can--were Dapol worried because the farish version didnt do too well ?

What information is that based on, please?

[Roy L S]

as regards the dapol spam can--were Dapol worried because the farish version didnt do too well ?

I doubt it, the Farish model is/was of the "Air Smoothed" Merchant Navy Class locomotive, a different larger and heavier loco of which only 30 were built and confined to the heaviest loads on main lines. They only existed in air-smoothed form until about 1957 when the last (Clan Line I believe) was rebuilt. So as a result, while a number of MNs have been preserved, all are as rebuilt by BR.

The West Country/Battle of Britain class on the other hand was a lighter design and as at home on a crack express as it was on a single carriage train on the single track "Withered Arm" lines of Devon. Many more were built, and a good number remained as built, retaining their "Air Smoothed" casings until withdrawn by BR (and those preserved of course still do to this day). Following withdrawal by the Southern Region (with the last going in 1967), many ended up in Woodham Brothers' scrapyard in Barry, Wales, and were not cut up but saved for preservation which is why so many survive to this day.

I suspect that because of it's broad appeal the un-rebuilt West Country/BoB Dapol are doing will actually prove to be a popular model.

So, I would conclude by saying that the un-rebuilt West Country/Battle of Britain is a completely different prospect as an N Gauge model to it's bigger brother the un-rebuilt "Merchant Navy".

I suspect that if Bachmann Farish had instead made a rebuilt Merchant Navy, it would have been an entirely different prospect and a very popular model, but for reasons only known to them they chose not to.

Roy

Edit: I should also have said that regardless of lack of popularity, the Bachmann/Farish model of the un-rebuilt Merchant Navy Class is a fine model and it isn't the quality of it that was the issue in my opinion just the prototype chosen.

[Roy L S]

as regards the dapol spam can--were Dapol worried because the farish version didnt do too well ?

What information is that based on, please?

Hi Mick

I am assuming that @Bigmac is referring to the comparatively recent Bach/Farish un-rebuilt Merchant Navy rather than earlier models of the "Spam Can" from the Poole era.

The very fact that there had been a "Span Can" in the original Farish range going back to 1975/6 which lasted throughout the Poole era and even into early Bachmann days strongly suggests to me a very popular model. Of course in those days the single body casting  masqueraded as both a Merchant Navy and a West country/BoB, something that would never be acceptable today.

As an aside, having seen the EP of the Dapol loco in the flesh and running at TINGS last year I can't wait to see the deco samples, it promises to be an excellent model.

Roy

[Newportnobby]

as regards the dapol spam can--were Dapol worried because the farish version didnt do too well ?

What information is that based on, please?

Hi Mick

I am assuming that @Bigmac is referring to the comparatively recent Bach/Farish un-rebuilt Merchant Navy rather than earlier models of the "Spam Can" from the Poole era.

It's why I asked, Roy. The spam can from Poole was a popular model, only suffering from the appalling front bogie afflicting all Poole locos with such. @Ali Smith has shown that can be relatively easily corrected. I was quite surprised BachFar chose the MN over the light pacific as the MN had more limiting lines it could run on as opposed to the WC/BoB so the latter would have been more popular. My guess is that as a light pacific had been announced by Dapol they didn't want to go head-to-head. I bet they wish they had, now. We'd have had one years ago

[Bigmac]

as regards the dapol spam can--were Dapol worried because the farish version didnt do too well ?

What information is that based on, please?

Hi Mick

I am assuming that @Bigmac is referring to the comparatively recent Bach/Farish un-rebuilt Merchant Navy rather than earlier models of the "Spam Can" from the Poole era.

It's why I asked, Roy. The spam can from Poole was a popular model, only suffering from the appalling front bogie afflicting all Poole locos with such. @Ali Smith has shown that can be relatively easily corrected. I was quite surprised BachFar chose the MN over the light pacific as the MN had more limiting lines it could run on as opposed to the WC/BoB so the latter would have been more popular. My guess is that as a light pacific had been announced by Dapol they didn't want to go head-to-head. I bet they wish they had, now. We'd have had one years ago

yes i was referring to the most recent bachfarish merchant navy---which i thought i had read hadnt sold well--if it did--why not a re run ?  Just maybe Dapol thought better of it.

[RailGooner]

as regards the dapol spam can--were Dapol worried because the farish version didnt do too well ?

What information is that based on, please?

Isn't a question a quest for information and thus always based on a lack of information?!

[Chris Morris]

My comment about slow pre-orders for the BoB does go back to when they were first announced. I'm sure it was Dapol themselves who said that the project was put on the back burner due to slow pre-orders. That was many years ago now and I am pleased to see a good level of confidence at Dapol with a lot of new tool and re-released items due in 2026. It could be an expensive year if everything comes through to expectations. My comments on other manufacturers are simply based on my own experience of actual delivery dates versus stated expected delivery. The Sonic prairie being a classic example of months turning into years but I will say it was worth the wait. I was not complaining or moaning, more sympathising.

[Foxhound]

Eclectic, I know, but a  BoB and an 87 look rather tempting.

[Adam1701D]

The N Gauge BoB has never been in abeyance but it was clear that the project needed to be started from scratch with a new factory, hence the delay. This is a brand new model in all respects, with specific tooling to suit the individual locomotives chosen. They are proving to be very popular, so I recommend getting a pre-order in if you haven't done so!

I am very excited about the Class 87s, which are due around the turn of the year. The retooled 56s should be following about a month later.

[Bigmac]

The N Gauge BoB has never been in abeyance but it was clear that the project needed to be started from scratch with a new factory, hence the delay. This is a brand new model in all respects, with specific tooling to suit the individual locomotives chosen. They are proving to be very popular, so I recommend getting a pre-order in if you haven't done so!

I am very excited about the Class 87s, which are due around the turn of the year. The retooled 56s should be following about a month later.

"They are proving to be very popular,"

how ?

[Newportnobby]

I assume by number of pre orders taken

[Bob G]

"They are proving to be very popular,"

how ?

Since Adam works for Dapol, I'm sure he has at least some insights that are based on fact rather than speculation, which the Forum seems to be thriving on at the moment.

[EtchedPixels]

And I imagine anyone working for Dapol is also keen to drum up business for Dapol.

It seems simple enough - if you want one order one, if you don't don't