DJ Dangerous

Gerry Hoey / Millipede on Adverts.ie always has good value Irish stock for sale.

Looks to be AnyRail.

This looks gorgeous, absolutely lovely, and 2+2 = 29000 or 2600?

Helix0_8 is Tom of Irish Freight Models: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=helix0_8 Has a few other bits and bobs listed, too.

That there is a big part of the problem. The track is not available to everyday modellers, it’s hidden behind paywalls and membetship fees and secret societies. 21mm would be doomed if it followed that same route, if it ever started in the first place. If a modeller goes onto the Accurascale website, Mark’s Models website, Rails of Sheffield website, or wherever, they’ll buy track that’s either in stock or available to order. The majority won’t find the 21mm option, or even know of it’s existence, if it’s hidden away. People say that 21mm is a niche within a niche, and they are correct, but keeping it a secret from the majority of modellers won’t change that. I’d be happy to be involved in crowd-funding 21mm track, but only if it was going to be exposed to a broad audience. None if this hiding it away nonsense.

You're probably all correct, and I'm just too optimistic about the hobby growing and more modellers buying track further down the line... See what I did there? For information, IRM already design and promote almost every single model as 21mm-friendly. Only the very first releases were 21mm-unfriendly. I, and most modellers I speak with in private, now take this as the standard for Irish models, thanks to IRM's perseverence. A 21mm-unfriendly model would be quite a surprise - save for something like a steam loco where it proves unfeasable or impossible. Forgot to add that the 2024 run of Mk2D's from Murphy Models were also 21mm-friendly. To the naked eye, Murphy Models locos to date don't look to be 21mm-friendly, but I haven't measured, and members have converted them to 21mm:

That's why I feel that it would be a big marketing clanger if nobody were to cash in on this over the coming months / years. Agree a set of standards, publish them, tool up that one 8-sleeper piece, and start printing money. If there's demand for a set of points further down the line, then yeah, risk the investment, but all that's needed at first is some basic track, to hook more modellers into 21mm.

A few posts worth adding to the 21mm discussion, lifted from THIS thread. @Mayner hits the nail on the head with that last paragraph. We'd need a collaboration / concensus from both IRM and MM, being the two main Irish outline manufacturers, with a group of past, present and future 21mm modellers involved, to agree on the standards that would meet the needs of the many. You'll never please everybody, but the input from experienced 21mm modellers, and just as importantly, the likes of @murphaph who are dead set on going down that path, to pave the way for anything to happen. I still believe that it's likely to happen one day, that we will have 21mm flexible track at the very least, but when that day arrives is anybody's guess. With the 21mm-friendly models we have to date, and the amount of open source knowledge available, combined with advances in 3D printing at home, it would seem like a big mistake for a manufacturer to NOT cash in.

Accurascale / Irish Railway Models. Mark's Modes. RB Models. Brian Collins Enterprises. Rails of Sheffield. Kernow Model Centre. Frizinghall Model Railways. Adverts.ie. EBay. Go to the Bray show in two weeks.

This kind of discussion: https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/9509-would-you-model-in-21mm-if-rtr-track-and-models-were-readily-available That's the bottom line there, that the bottom line is the bottom line.

Aren't there differing standards / concencus on how Irish 21mm should be implemented? 20,2mm etc... If so, that makes offering drop-in wheelsets problematic. I'm sure an IRM / PECO collaboration on 21mm flexible track in metre lengths is just around the corner. I can just picture the mail-out: Take a Peco at our newest innovation; 21mm flexible track, designed in conjunction with our friends at Peco, and due in stock with our new 21mm drop-in IRM wheelsets!

What was the furore on RMW over? People saying that they were stuck with inaccurate locos etc?

Rails of Sheffield have reduced the unsold Murphy Models 141's by 10%, LOL: https://railsofsheffield.com/collections/murphy-models?sort_by=created-descending&filter.p.m.custom.availability=In Stock&filter.p.m.custom.condition=New&filter.v.price.gte=0&filter.v.price.lte=180&filter.p.tag=Diesel Locomotives They've been sitting on the shelves for a loooooong time with everybody but IRMascale, who sold out quickly.

The less said about Supertrain 33’s and 35’s the better. I had a plan to get around the lack of motive power with a Shapeways 141 from B1Lancer / Valve Design, running on an EFE Class 15 chassis, but that has now gone to Hell. Come back, B1Lancer, we need you!

I’m intrigued by there being no mention of OO Gauge… Accurascale O Gauge Ruston is 80% Irish… IRMascale have already teamed up with Heljan… Heljan O Gauge oil tanks are 80% Irish… Heljan O Gauge Mk2 coaches are 80% Irish… Just saying!

Jaysus!

They’re just streamlining the brands and distribution, don’t worry. IRM is probably going to be rolled slightly more under the umbrella of her younger sister, Accurascale… …who has kind of become the fat lady of the two.

Well I'm sure that the lads could be persuaded to dropkick his a few times before posting, to give him something to reassemble.

Sure why not go all in and make the track 21mm, while we're fantasizing?

A Hunslet loco and two coaches in limited edition packaging... Now there's an idea for the maroon NIR Mk2's!

LOL, sausages were gone within a fortnight. Using your sums, €18k / 30 years is €600 a year on models, probably less than some would spend on things like alcohol, cigarettes, parties, holidays etc. Tiny-bit-shite cars are the only way to go!

I think that the points are converted to a voucher with a unique code at that step in the process of redeeming them, so they should be recoverable. Probably a high volume of emails going through to Customer Support at the moment, but definitely email them for clarity as @Colin_McLeod says.

I’m a little confused by the “Sound” and “Sound Deluxe” versions, so hopefully they’ll put out some comparison videos of the two - well in advance of arrival in stock!

It’s just while changing distribution centres, I’m sure. As they’re winding down the Irish warehouse, there are less postage options available. And, if not, you can always move to Las Canarias and model Irish railways in the sun.

Brilliant! I work too much, so this way, I get some sort of enjoyment from my passion, while thinking that “one day” I’ll actually get to run them. LOL, you must be joking! A month’s wages here are a week’s wages up in Ireland - it’s just working and living frugally.