DJ Dangerous

Brilliant stuff, as ever!

As did @Ironroad, I asked a few years ago and they told me that they don’t charge VAT on pre-owned, so there’s none to remove. Looking at their pre-owned pricing, in general, items are quite frequently listed for higher prices than the same item new, even when still in stock, so there must be quite a margin on a lot of it. Hatton’s pre-owned section was great value but Rails have a different philosophy. I’ve been watching a few O Gauge locos sit there for a long time. Hatton’s wanted the stuff gone and priced accordingly, but Rails are quite happy to hold onto it for several years.

Of trains or of chocolate consumption? That Scania 770 will be working overtime!

They don’t deduct VAT from pre-owned items, sadly.

Where’s that young @Rob fellow skulked off to lately?

Thank Friday it’s Tara Junction!

Hornby Class 60 on offer at Rails of Sheffield, four variants, including DCC sound, almost down to half price: https://railsofsheffield.com/search?sort_by=relevance&q="Class 60 Co-Co"&options[prefix]=last&filter.v.price.gte=0&filter.v.price.lte=207&filter.p.tag=Bargains

3 x Dapol Irish Fuel Oil tanks, currently at €14, listing ends in six days: https://www.ebay.es/itm/306737236171 Same seller has a job lot of Irish road vehicles and buildings, including what look like some of @leslie10646’s bread containers, currently at €23, ending in five days: https://www.ebay.es/itm/306735399226

Poor old B135 has been languishing at £160 GBP at Rails of Sheffield for a while: https://railsofsheffield.com/products/murphy-models-mm0135-po-pre-owned-irish-class-121-b135-in-cie-original-grey-livery-diesel-locomotive Now joined by a DCC-fitted Murphy Models 121 Class no. B131 at £180 GBP: https://railsofsheffield.com/products/murphy-models-mm0131-cdc-po-pre-owned-cie-black-class-121-b131-diesel-locomotive-dcc-fitted More suited to UK buyers due to import costs, sadly.

Finished at only €20, not bad at all!

Exterminate, exterminate!

Whose order is that? Jaysus, it’s tiny! These are gonna be epic. The Park Royals really do cater to a wide audience.

Brilliant, @ttc0169!

The whole layout is shaping up to be something else!

That’s some gap to mind: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1m77dmxlvlo

It would be very hard to criticise IRM’s history of product launches. Given the market size, there has pretty much been something to please everybody. Whether 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s, 2020’s, or 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, there has been something to cater for almost every fetish. I don’t mind the order of the releases at all… Once we get an O Gauge C Class before I go pushing up daisies.

Wow, @JasonB. Savage looking run down that side, and the signal box is funk-phe-no-me-nal…

By “Bulleid”, I meant the fuel oil tanks, opens etc, the range was €90 per triple pack. Now, the range is €130 per triple pack. Bundle discounts and unsustainable pricing are variables, yes, but the base price for the range has gone from €90 to €130. Not bemoaning, as I fully understand your reasoning, but it’s still an increase which will have an impact on sales.

Without the bundle discount, pack per pack, the triple pack has gone from €90 to €130 over the last year. That’s 45%. To be open and honest, I understand that you guys have been hit hard with increased costs, currency fluctuation and inflation on top of that. You said so yourself in another thread. Those hits have had an impact on the price to the consumer. I doubt that a 45% increase in price will lead to a 45% drop in sales, things don’t work like that, but it will have some impact.

I was speaking very generally, in which case, yes, they have: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1272447/uk-wage-growth-vs-inflation/ Of course there will be lots of variation and lots of exceptions. In my case, I think it’s something like eight or nine years since my last significant pay increase. For clarity, Bulleid wagon triple packs were €90 a year ago. They are now €130. That’s 45%.

One thing you’ll definitely not see on the list is a certain Mr. @BosKonay!

Firstly, these coaches just look amaaaaaaaaazing. I’m leaking from several areas simultaneously after seeing those photos. IRM / A/S, along with other manufacturers, will have been hit hard with the Covid-19 bubble. Lockdown-induced boredom led to many people returning to the hobby, or entering for the first time. Suddenly, demand far outstripped supply. By the time manufacturers could get products onto the shelves, the bubble had already burst, so aside from reduced demand, there was increased supply as people sold off their Covid-19 era models. Market saturation is definitely a problem. The 45% price increase this year will also have curtailed sales and put buyers off. IRM / A/S have to deal with inflation like the rest of us, but I imagine that in most cases, the price increases are small and slow, so we don’t notice so much, and keep slogging away. Anybody remember when six-packs of Cadbury Creme Eggs became five packs??? Being very general, wages have kept up with inflation, so people are no better nor worse off. But, when your favourite luxury purchase has a sudden and hefty price increase, you’re likely to react. Me, personally? I haven’t yet paid for my PalVan order as to me, the value for money is not what it was, and I’m afraid that I may end up cancelling, and I have ordered very little since the prices went up. The future? Either prices need to come back down, even if this means less-detailed models, or the runs need to be smaller and / or less frequent so that scarcity and fear of missing out keep people paying the inflated prices. I hope that this doesn’t signal the end for IRM. The last five or ten years have been smashing thanks to IRM. Look at thosr B+I liners! Oh man, just wow. I guess it’s time for reflection. IRM / A/S has grown into a juggernaut with huge overheads, changing markets, competition and duplication of lines, and I can’t see the IRM model of a few years ago being compatible with the A/S model of today. Maybe the future for IRM is de-merging and simplifying, a smaller team, less launches, smaller runs, but with the benefit of A/S factory slots? I’m sure that the boys themselves are thinking long and hard about what to do going forward. Whatever happens, I’m thankful for what IRM, Paddy Murphy, and all of the smaller suppliers, have done for us over the years.

Have a look at Sunrise Models in case there’s anything of interest: http://sunrisetransfers.com/

Wonderful news, well done on getting the tweaks made!

At least 39 dead so far after a head-on collision in central Spain yesterday: