DJ Dangerous

HN Rail 37405 now in stock! https://www.accurascale.com/en-eu/collections/in-stock-now/locomotive-class_class-37 Image upload facillity seems to be down so can't attach a pic, but they are lovely!

I feel like the key to most issues is prior communication. If people knew in advance about the likes of the missing cylinder lids on the 42' Flat re-run, the narrow UK buffer spacing on the Bulleid Opens, the narrow UK bogies on the NIR coaches, the change in distribution centre etc, they'd be able to make informed decisions. And, nobody would feel surprise or discontent if things weren't as they may have otherwise hoped. The forum is of amazing value to all of us, but also of a lot of value to IRM as it gives them a medium to communicate en masse, run opinion polls etc. @murphaph and @MAL are right, in my opinion, in suggesting that phasing out the narrow UK buffer spacing over time is the prudent path. It definitely makes sense to keep it if there'll be nothing with the correct spacing in the future, but on reflection, probably doesn't make sense when the subsequent project, the Park Royals, does have the correct spacing. I, too, definitely wouldn't have cancelled my orders in favour of scratch-building a hundred clunky pieces of rubbish! The IRM Bulleid Opens are simply stunning wagons. The detail, the correct width axles, the extras in the box, it all compliments an already wonderful wagon. Only had a very brief chance to look over the wagons yesterday evening, after one job and before the other, and I was blown away. I haven't looked in detail, but how hard is it to remove the buffers to reposition? Are the moulded into the chassis, requiring finicky and frustrating cutting? Or are they glued on, only requiring a little heat to remove? As @Warbonnet said, you're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't. There are pros and cons to both buffer options. Just maybe, next time, we'll know about these little details beforehand.

What a very @BosKonay thing to say. Can't find my troll smiley.

Do they all come with weathered rooves / roofs?

If the pics and videos are anything to go by, I'll be in Heaven. All you lucky so and so's showing them off weeks ahead of me! Think I'll go out and have a sulk under the blue sky.

I guess I should just... Wait for it... Build a bridge and get over it!

That explanation makes perfect sense, @Warbonnet. I wasn't aware of the UK spacing on all of the MM locos etc, never even thought to look - just wanted a picture of a pure IRM train! Might it be an idea, going forward, to add a little line of text in red under the "Common Features" for coaches and wagons that will have the UK buffer spacing? That would make everybody's life easier, the IRM crew and their customers. I assume that the Park Royal's will also have the buffers spaced this way, so they'll line up perfectly with Cravens, Bulleids etc? Examples of "Common Features" attached.

Shipping notification email received this morning, happy days!!!

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that the name @RobertRoche and the mention of a BRIDGE brings up very painful memories. Booooooooooooo!

Couldn’t resist a quick shot with A1 more in frame. What a loco!

So, dug out some of these wagons to admire them with the Mark’s Models’ Jinty, and of course IRM’s jaw-dropping A1! While angling for better shots, I couldn’t help but notice the distance between the buffers seems quite narrow. They line up perfectly with UK stock, like the Jinty and @leslie10646‘s Dapol commissions, but look a bit odd when next to an A Class. Is this prototypical of Irish wagons, that the buffers would follow a more British spacing?

Savage little loco! Can’t believe the value for money. Will let the photos do the talking. Little cameos from IRM and @leslie10646 too.

Couldn’t agree more, but first we have to look at the loco itself… They even provide a loco crew and vac bags! Couplings unscrewed very easily.

This little stunner arrived today! Beautiful model, great livery application, and the couplings unscrew from underneath!

More eBay gold today! Biggest and best, first. Hard to equal those lovely O Gauge DAF 2800's from yesterday, but here's an orange DAF 2800 cab for less than €30: https://www.ebay.es/itm/395050468737 And, just as spicy, the Peterbilt from Duel, with trailer, for €70: https://www.ebay.es/itm/266906484675 And, finishing off today's O Gauge trifecta, the stunning Volvo F12 and trailer from Altaya for €25: https://www.ebay.es/itm/365012050423 Downsizing to OO Gauge, there's a Milgrew Scania from Oxford Diecast for €44: https://www.ebay.es/itm/266906527164 EFE Plaxton Paramount 3500 in Bus Eireann livery for €18: https://www.ebay.es/itm/256573288715 EFE Bus Eireann Wright Volvo Reknown for €30: https://www.ebay.es/itm/387184179206 Two Oxford Diecast Scania Irizar PB's in Ulster Bus livery for €25 and €17 respectively: https://www.ebay.es/itm/186567571238 https://www.ebay.es/itm/256573204772 Northern Ireland Police Land Rover in 1:87 for €43: https://www.ebay.es/itm/387205703805 Murphy Models 071 in that beautiful black and grey livery for €235, auction finishing in two hours: https://www.ebay.es/itm/116246575185 IRM A Class no. 036 in IR livery for €268: https://www.ebay.es/itm/226245210968 Saved the best for last, the 1993 Toyota Supra from "2 Fast 2 Furious" in 1:18 for €72: https://www.ebay.es/itm/355873264072 Couldn't add reference screenshots as 'phone was overheating, you know how it is in this weather, so adding now.

You're way off with the prototypical sign:

The Railtrak JJA autoballaster wagons go for stupid money. €100 plus per wagon, not even per pack. Back in the golden days of Hatton's, I was going to build a rake for respraying, as Hatton's often had the Railtrak ones for €30 and €40 each. However, THIS post from @BosKonay set off alarm bells in my head, and I abandoned the idea. Telling us things without even knowing he was telling us!

I think that, as @murphaph says, if people had the original tracking number, as well as the "newer" one when issued, they'd be a lot more content, tracking their parcels for the whole trip, not just the last leg.

"Oh" well or "oil" well?

I'm delighted for you lot, while secretly envious, but mine are also on the way, so all's well that ends well! Oh, wait. Oil's well that ends well.

That is some fine lookin' orange peel. Must smell lovely, too.

More lucky devils! I'm guessing that everybody at the wrong latitude now has their greasy (or oily?) mitts on these wagons?

1:64, the scale of Hot Wheels and the scale of kings! Yes, S Gauge would definitely be nice! An interesting point that you raise is the age / life / work demographic that we all slot into, and how that affects what we can / will do. Personally, I hardly even have time to run trains, never mind think about kits and stuff, and I suspect that a decent enough portion of the fanbase are in a similar position. When I was fifteen, I was hacking together bits of cardboard and plastic, spraying HO containers into CIE-ish orange, repainting Matchbox trucks etc, but that all went by the wayside as soon as I turned sixteen and started working while still in school. And, sadly, it's all still on hold, so many decades later. Maybe that's partially why the whole RTR thing seems so amazing to me. IRM and MM, along with a few other sharp tacks, offer something that I can enjoy straight out of the box, even if it's only to marvel at how it looks. Twenty odd years ago, the whole Irish RTR thing seemed like pie in the sky, but now, to be anticipating a RTR Irish steam loco, after seeing first-hand how lovely the Manors are, is kind of like a light at the end of the tunnel, another milestone for IRM, and a dream come true for us workaholic idiots.

They look lovely, even still boxed up, they just look fab!

OK, eBay is a gold mine today! Not doing reference screenshots as there is too much juicy stuff. Two drop-deads gorgeous O Gauge DAF 2800's, €35 and €52 respectively: https://www.ebay.es/itm/365000346719 https://www.ebay.es/itm/266902187073 Murphy Models 142 for €180: https://www.ebay.es/itm/196498656581 Murphy Models Cravens buffet for €60: https://www.ebay.es/itm/196498317565 (Somebody was loking for one of those buffet coaches recently, maybe @Davenport or @MOGUL) Murphy Bachmann Mk2 for €72: https://www.ebay.es/itm/256570442323 (Better off going for the IRM packs instead) IRM Ferts Pack D for €175: https://www.ebay.es/itm/116250593656 IRM Tara twinpack for €110: https://www.ebay.es/itm/116250676310 (Both of the previous listings are from Ian of MIR fame) CMNL / Northcord ALX 400 Dublin Bus blue and cream for €43, looks to be missing a mirror: https://www.ebay.es/itm/305668588084 Just for fun, two sets of three IRM NIR Mk2B/C coaches for €350 PER SET: https://www.ebay.es/itm/387189972352 https://www.ebay.es/itm/387189972423 Same seller who bought the O Gauge Jinty's from Hatton's on offer last year and has them for sale for fifty million dollars: https://www.ebay.es/itm/387189972359 Who do they think they have? Chelsea Clinton? When viewing any of these items, look at the related items below, as there are even more - too many to list!