Warbonnet

Great news! We can reveal further decorated samples of our Class 50 have showed up from the factory for assessment. We have now received BR Blue, BR Blue Large Logo with grey roof, and original Network South East liveries. These arrived with the Hanson and Hall and BR Large Logo with black roof we previewed before Christmas but we've only got around to photographing them now! As ever, some fit and finish issues are apparent on these samples, such as the headcode glass on D423 and the body to chassis fit on some examples, but these will be corrected on production models that you receive. Enough talking, more pics! As per our previous update, production is now underway with a delivery date of Q4 of 2024 envisaged. Order via your local stockist, or direct below. Please note that there is limited stock remaining across all running numbers as production is now in full swing! Pre-Order Your Class 50 Here! View the full article

Hi everyone, We have done up a wee formation guide on these to give you some idea on traction and set up! Cheers! Fran

It was "55 for 5" this time last year as we announced our second run of Class 55 Deltics to mark our 5th birthday in February 2023. The mighty Deltic was of course our first Accurascale locomotive, and one that proved to be unwaveringly popular among modellers, with models selling out in record time and a huge demand in place for a second production run. While feedback on the locomotives was resoundingly positive, there was some excellent constructive feedback too relating to some fit and finish problems some modellers had encountered with their models. This centred around some extra detailing parts around the fuel tanks becoming dislodged in transit, the end had rails sticking too far out, our large "Accurathrash" speaker hitting the roof of the locomotive as it powered up on some models and of course, those infamous brake chains on each bogie. Of course, always wanting to do better, we announced that we would go back to the drawing board with this feedback, and try to do better. All these small issues have now been addressed, with parts being more securely attached with bigger recesses for these parts, the brake chains will now have a new attachment arrangement which makes them more simple to attach and take off for locomotive maintenance, the speaker is now mounted in a lower position in the chassis frame and the handles have been adjusted. On these decorated samples, the handrails are still too far out, which we have fed back to the factory who will correct them. Overall, these new decorated samples, featuring these small tweaks are looking very impressive indeed! They have once again been hugely popular on pre-order, with many who missed out first time round coming back and bagging a mighty Deltic for themselves, as well as those looking to increase their fleet of these mighty beasts. We are delighted to share these decorated samples with you of the six running numbers that make up run two, including a much demanded return for Porterbook Purple 9016! Yes, we know plenty hate it, but plenty of others love it too judging by the sales of this stand out member of the class! The Deltics had been originally penciled in to arrive next month, but with the demand for this production run (far beyond what we originally envisaged) and all the production team currently finishing the Class 66 and 37 production runs, they have been delayed slightly. Production is well underway and delivery will now be in Q3 of 2024. We apologise for this delay, but we wanted to make sure that everyone who wanted a Deltic in this production run gets one! Some Deltics are still available to pre-order, but are close to selling out. Pre-order yours today via the link below, or from your local stockist for the four main range locomotives! Pre-Order Your Class 55 Deltic Here! View the full article

It's been a colourful few days here at Accurascale Towers, as we have been assessing and evaluating the decorated samples of the Andrew Barclay tank engines which we have taken over following the closure of Hattons. Following on from our colourful reveal last week of our O gauge Ruston 88DS decorated samples, we're thinking of selling sunglasses so you can cope with this kaleidoscope of colour! Overall, they're excellent and will certainly be up to the very best standards that the Hattons Originals errr... original (!) releases were. However, there are some minor corrections that need implementing to get them to those high standards once again. We noted on the NCB locomotive that the buffer shanks need to be black instead of red, and the handbrake centre section should be blue, not black. On the Caledonia Works locomotive, the lining on the cylinders does not extend to the full length of the cylinder, so this will be corrected too. "Efficient" also has some lining quirks which need correcting, including placement on the tank sides, the thickness and again around the cylinder ends. On "Victory", the factory have created a sample with the wrong cab windows, the motion bracket is incorrectly painted black and the base of the buffer shanks should be black. We will also be tweaking the shade. One further change we are looking to make is adjusting the three link chain couplings to give them a slightly more realistic appearance. Overall, these are very minor tweaks required to ready these locomotives for full production, which will now kick off in the coming weeks! This means that the delivery date to customers will be late Q4 of 2024. We are locked into the production run size that Hattons specified with the factory, so there is only a finite amount still available to pre-order. Pre-order yours today, with no money down, directly via the Accurascale website below, for £99.95 per loco. Pre-Order Your Andrew Barclay Tank Loco Here! View the full article

Hi everyone, It's been a busy start to the year here at IRM, with our lovely NIR Mark 2 coaches arriving and going down an absolute treat with modellers, our production samples of the Mark 2cs arriving (more on those soon) and of course, we have other projects rumbling in the background! Such as our ICR! Last week, ICR Project Manager Paul Isles, and our Sound Master Jamie Goodman attended Portlaosie Depot and Heuston Station Valeting Plant to record all the sounds for our ICR models in miniature. We would like to extend a big and sincere thank you to Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail for facilitating us and going the extra mile to help us with the recording of this project. They went above and beyond to make this model truly special. If you think our Mark 2s are good, then prepare to be blown away by these! Pre-orders are beginning to fill up some variants, so make sure you get yours in here: https://irishrailwaymodels.com/.../railcar-class-22000-icr Cheers! Fran

Following on from the rather exciting news last Tuesday that we had taken on a number of the Hattons Originals toolings, beginning with the Warwells in OO, The Wainwright P Class and the Andrew Barclay tank engines, we can now bring you the first update on these projects. We will have news of the Wainwright P Class and Andrew Barclay tanks in the coming weeks, but first let's look at the production samples of the Warwell wagons in OO gauge! As reported in our announcement blog last week, production of these models is already complete and the models had already been signed off by the Hattons team. We are now responsible for the delivery of these models to market, with any Hattons pre-orders having been transferred over to us and is now logged on our system. If you have not heard from Hattons, or from us and you do have a Warwell pre-order, please get in touch with us immediately so we can safeguard it for you. We can report that the fit and finish, along with the decoration on these wagons is excellent, and a credit to the Hattons Originals team, making these distinctive wagons really stand out. We can now confirm that these wagons will leave the factory next week for their trip from the Far East to our warehouse in the UK. We envisage them landing with us in April, depending on the continued unrest and shipping disruption in the Middle East. Although some of the running numbers are now sold out, we still have a selection which you can pre-order via our website for £25 per wagon. Click on the link below if you fancy adding some to your fleet, and be sure to check out Trains4u who have also commissioned two Warwell Wagons in this production run. (Please note that this production run is only available direct only from Accurascale to safeguard Hattons Pre-Orders and maintain their original price point of £25, apart from the Trains4u commissioned run) Pre-Order Your Warwell Wagons Right Here! View the full article

Hi everyone, Hot on the heels of our NIR Mark 2 coaches arriving in stock, the factory has sent us the production samples of our IR and IE Mark 2b and Mark 2c coaches for us to assess. We thought we'd give you a wee teaser look and fill it with plenty of atmosphere while we were at it... Look out for a full update including delivery schedule in the coming weeks, but these aren't too far away now. Get your pre-order in while you still can: https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/mark-2-coaches/availability_pre-order Cheers! Fran

With our main range of decorated O gauge Ruston and Hornsby 88DS locomotives unveiled earlier this week, we can now unveil our "Accurascale Exclusive" special edition model; 655/29/38 in Tarmac livery! The Prototype Ruston Works No. 518494 was the last 88DS to be built by the firm, leaving Boultham Works on November 29th 1967 bound for Tarmac Roadstone Holdings Ltd’s Southern Division Plant at Hayes, where it was allocated the number 655/29/38 and painted into Tarmac’s in-house livery of Olive, with the Tarmac legend and Seven Ts logo being added. There, it joined a 4wDM Hibberd ‘Planet’, FH3765, which had been at the site since 1956. When the layout at Hayes was revised in June 1967 due to a need to handle increased stone traffic, the 88DS was purchased as FH3765 was not powerful enough for the increased loadings. During the late 1980's, stone began to be delivered in large block trains and the need to shunt wagons ceased. Laid up for a period, 655/29/38 went to the Swanage Railway for preservation on June 29th 1990. The Tarmac numbering scheme is interesting, as the first three digits show the Depot Number, followed by a two digit ‘type’ number (29 for locomotive in this case) and then the final two digits are the Fleet number. Tarmac’s Olive livery remained unchanged between 1966 and 1996 and has been reproduced on the model with help from Tarmac Roadstone Ltd’s own Andy Howdle. The Model As outlined in our recent update on the Ruston 88DS range, we are delighted with how our first O gauge locomotive is progressing so far. Naturally, there are a few improvements to be made at this point, including Of course, there are areas we can further improve such as the yellow that has been applied across the Wasp Stripes and Warning panels is a bit ‘thin’ on these samples, so the density needs to be increased. The buffers, drawhooks and wheels have not received their chemical blackening, which is normal for this stage and will be done on the finished models. Sound recording for our digital sound fitted models will commence in the coming weeks and we will look forward to bringing you some footage of the finished sound files once we have them prepared. Delivery is anticipated for Q1 2025, with this Tarmac model available direct only through the Accurascale website in both DC/DCC Ready and DCC Sound Fitted formats, each coming in the now famous special presentation packaging. Click on the link below to pre-order yours for no money down today! PRE-ORDER YOUR TARMAC RUSTON 88DS RIGHT HERE! View the full article

Hi folks, Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We shall look into it and talk to the factory when they return from the Chinese new year break. Cheers! Fran

Hi folks, Just a quick update; the corporate "bumblebee" livery coaches are now in very short supply, with less than 20 packs of each left in stock! So, if you want them, we suggest you move very soon, or risk missing out. Check them out in action on the excellent "Barrow Street" layout below! Order here: https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/mark-2-coaches/availability_in-stock Cheers! Fran

Hi Gareth, UK stock currently on the way to the UK to be shipped from there. Should land in the coming days! Cheers! Fran

Our hobby has been rocked by the news that Hattons Model Railways, a stalwart in the industry since the 1940s, has decided to close their doors for the last time. The familiar parcels wrapped in twine that many of us remember for many years have gone, along with one of the absolute pioneers of British retail with mail order, online sales and an eye for a shrewd deal along the way. We may only be around for 6 years now, so we only had the pleasure of working for Hattons in their very final years. But, what a pleasure that has been, and a relationship that has educated us as well as helped us to preach the gospel that is Accurascale to even more modellers. From top to bottom, they have been fantastic to deal with and we hope that their staff and management go on to have great success in new roles and careers. But, some of Hattons will live on, and we are delighted and privileged to be able to play a small role in securing their legacy. As you may already know, acquired the tooling of the Hattons Originals Class 66 locomotives and announced a whole new run with some added Accurascale ingredients at Model Rail Scotland 2023. The production is now almost complete on those locomotives and they ship in mid February. Utilising that existing relationship with Hattons, we have also been able to secure the future of other "Hattons Originals" toolings, beginning with the OO gauge Warwell wagons, The P Class 0-6-0 tank engine and the Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 tank locomotive. These three models will now join the Accurascale range forevermore! All three models are currently in different stages of production, with Hattons taken pre-orders on all three projects before they closed. We will update you on each project separately in future, but for now the current status of each project is below; OO Warwells The Warwells are complete and will leave the factory in China just after Chinese New Year in late February, landing in stock with us in April 2024. The price of these will be maintained the same as the Hattons price of £25 each. Our bundle deal of 10% if you buy two or more applies along with free UK Postage and Packaging and 3% cashback on all orders. Our new "Accuracare" lifetime warranty will apply to these wagons too! Trains4u will receive their special limited edition commission as planned. Please contact them for further details on those. Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 ST We're delighted to report that these locomotives are at decoration stage which we will reveal in the coming weeks. Production is slated to begin after the Chinese New Year break and delivery will be in Q4 2024. Unfortunately, with rising costs, the original price of £85 was impossible to maintain, so these locomotives are now priced at £99.95 each. However, with free postage and packaging and 3% cashback on all orders we can still soften the increase with some added value. They will also be covered by our new lifetime "Accuracare" warranty. P Class These locomotives are also at the decoration stage which we will also reveal very soon. Production is also slated to begin post Chinese New Year with delivery also in Q4 of 2024. These are likely to arrive after the Andrew Barclay tanks. As per the Andrew Barclay tanks, the P will also see an increase in price to £99.95, but with free postage and packaging and 3% cashback on all orders we can still soften that increase, along with covering them with our new lifetime "Accuracare" warranty. Your Hattons Pre-Orders So, if you have pre-ordered Warwells, P or Andrew Barclay, what happens next? Hattons will contact you asking if you have any objections with them moving your pre-orders to us. If you do not, then we will need you to register an account on our website and log your payment details for your pre-order. This is so we can safeguard your pre-order so you do not miss out. If you do not register after 2 weeks, we will consider your pre-order cancelled and we will offer the model for sale to other customers. Next Steps And Placing Pre-Orders As we are so deep into the production process on the P Class and the Andrew Barclay tank locos we cannot add any further locomotives to the production run, or make any further changes such as offering DCC Sound Fitted options. The specification will remain the same as Hattons originally specified when they first announced this new production run of locomotives. These models will be for sale exclusively on our website only in order to protect historic pre-orders and keep prices as low as we can in line with Hattons. As mentioned earlier, the commission of Warwells by Trains4u will remain in place and will be delivered to Trains4u in April as planned. Please see them for more information about those models. And finally, the question many of you may be asking; what other Hattons Originals models have joined our line up? Well, you will have to keep an eye on us for future announcements later this year and beyond to find out! Pre-Order Your OO Gauge Warwell Here: https://www.accurascale.com/collections/50t-kwa-warwell Pre-Order Your Andrew Barclay Tank Here: https://www.accurascale.com/collections/andrew-barclay-14-16-0-4-0st-industrial Pre-Order Your P Class Tank Here: https://www.accurascale.com/collections/secr-p-class-locomotive View the full article

We first revealed our debut O gauge locomotive at the 2023 GETS show last October, and it certainly raised some eyebrows! "Accurascale not doing a large mainline diesel? Good heavens!" Indeed! The large diesel sector of the O gauge market is very well catered for, and as a small market, the 7mm side is likely to not withstand two companies competing on the same class of loco. It's also quite new to us, so we said we would go small, cater for layouts large and small, from the sidings of the large empires to the fun shunting planks in the spare rooms around the country and go small, cute and colourful. Our little Ruston 88DS gives us just that. We're delighted to say that our first decorated samples have arrived for assessment, with one complete model for further testing, and a collection of fully decorated bodyshells to give you a flavour of what's coming soon! As with any product development process, there is a lot to like, and some changes that are required! So, what do we like so far? Tampo and overall body paint colours across all liveries are very pleasing. Some of the highlights include W.M.J.E.A No.1 with its lining and Ruston crest on the cab sides. Our BR Green, and two tone Rowntree Mackintosh lined green and shadowed lettering are also pretty highlights! Sticking with our green theme, the Bowaters Northfleet 88DS in its Opaline Green and running gear in red, which really stands out and looks very striking. The cab interiors are very pleasing, with nice, detailed cab desks. We're also delighted with the weight! They are very, very solid and have a real quality feel to them, with excellent haulage capacity for a locomotive of their size as you will see when we demonstrate them in the coming weeks! Of course, there are areas we can further improve on and correct too. For instance, the yellow that has been applied across the Wasp Stripes and Warning panels is a bit ‘thin’ on these samples, so the density needs to be increased. Masking also needs to be improved, but both these issues are normal at this stage and something we have encountered on our OO locomotives at this stage of the process, being fully corrected on the production models customers receive. In places, the excellent fit of the parts has led to that fit being adversely affected by the paint layers; notably on the removable engine panel that covers the PCB which is now too tight and the Donkey Engine panels, which do not sit as flush as they should. Again, this is easily remedied. The glazing panels also suffer from not being cleaned up diligently, which is a common problem on EPs/Deco Samples. Again, this will be corrected for production models. Buffers, Drawhooks and Wheels have not received their chemical blackening, which is normal for this stage, but which does look odd even so. The Panhard Red used on the Tottenham Gas Works 88DS is wrong, but a definitive colour swatch has now been sent, and the red will be adjusted accordingly. Overall, our little rustons are progressing very well indeed through the design process and are bang on schedule. Sound recording for our digital sound fitted models will commence in the coming weeks and we will look forward to bringing you some footage of the finished sound files once we have them prepared. Delivery is anticipated for Q1 2025. Pre-order your O Gauge Ruston and Hornsby 88DS today via your local retailer, or direct for no money down via our website by clicking below! PRE-ORDER YOUR RUSTON AND HORNSBY 88DS HERE! View the full article

Hi folks, Remaining stock back on sale in limited numbers! Order here: https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/mark-2-coaches/availability_in-stock Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, I'm delighted to report that our NIR and RPSI coach packs have now arrived at our warehouse and dispatch of these coaches has begun in the last half hour! We have a large amount of pre-orders to get through which will take a number of days, so your patience is appreciated while we power through them. It is likely that we will have extra stock of these packs to go on sale, so if you missed out then you might just be in luck. Keep an eye on our website and they will go back on sale once the pre-orders are dealt with. Welcome to the first IRM coach! Cheers! Fran

It's been all go here at Accurascale Towers for our new Class 66s, with the last few months being extremely busy getting the various pieces in place before the model's imminent arrival. So what has been happening behind the scenes? Late last year Fran Burke and Steve Nicholls visited one of our factories to personally check on the 66 project progress. The production team have been working tirelessly to assemble our models with the completion date due before Chinese New Year, where they'll enjoy a well-earned break! Back in the UK, we've seen our pre-production samples go through vigorous testing and even entertaining the crowds at exhibitions like Making Tracks, where our samples have clocked up almost 40 real miles of running. We can't help ourselves, Playing trains is what it's all about! There is a serious side to all this testing. It allows our Class 66 Project Manager Steve Purves to find anything that's been missed or needs a tweak before the final assembly. With his feedback fed to the factory, they go on to produce the final production samples for us to evaluate, these models should be of the same quality as the models you'll receive. Boy, they didn't disappoint! At the beginning of January, the final production samples arrived and as you can see from the images, we're extremely pleased with how these models have turned out. It really makes all the hard work worthwhile. So, now we're happy, what's next? Great news on that front, as the final production samples have been tested and approved we expect them to ship just after CNY by sea. This will mean an expected arrival bang on time for the end of Q1 2024. With many variants now sold out to pre-order, only a few remain available to order. However, you can click the 'Notify me if item becomes available' button on the locomotive you'd like in case spares become available once landed. Browse the range here and don't forget, all models now have a Lifetime Warranty at no extra charge: https://www.accurascale.com/collections/class-66 View the full article

Hi Everyone, Murphy Models 141 Prices and Delivery Date Confirmed - Pre-Ordering Now Open Murphy Models has confirmed that production of their new run of 141 and 181 Class Locomotives will be complete and shipping from the factory from China will commence on February 1st, 2024. We expect these locomotives in stock in Mid-Late March. Price has also now been confirmed as €229.95. What Do You Need To Do? If you previously registered an "Expression of Interest" with us regarding the model, you will have received an email from us this morning requesting that you turn your expression of interest into a formal order with us. We require this to know if you wish to proceed with the order so we can confirm our order from Murphy Models, as production of these locomotives is strictly limited. If you did not receive one, or register in the first place, then you can still pre-order via the links below. You will not be charged until the locomotives are arriving with Murphy Models. Please note that we are currently awaiting updated images of the new models from Murphy Models, so the current images may not fully represent the final model. Pre-Order here: https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/murphy-models-class-141-181 Cheers! Fran

We like to shake the market up as you know, so we have decided to review our warranty window of one year and extend it to an incredible, industry first, of a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty on all new, in stock and forthcoming IRM models! But, what about the IRM models you already own? Well, we have not forgotten about you either! So, how about this? We are EXTENDING our lifetime manufacturer’s warranty to all models ever sold new by us, or new by our retailers in the past, too! This covers; Locomotives Coaches Wagons Accessories We really believe in our models, so we will stand over them for life! Should you be considering your next model purchase, you can check out our range, safe in the knowledge that we will have you covered, for life! See all terms and conditions by clicking here Need to contact us about a warranty issue? Contact us now now by clicking the chat icon (If you purchased direct from our website, have your order number ready. If you purchased from a retailer please include either a photo of your receipt or order confirmation email in the email) View the full article

We like to shake the market up as you know, so we have decided to review our warranty window of one year and extend it to an incredible, industry first, of a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty on all new, in stock and forthcoming Accurascale models! But, what about the Accurascale models you already own? Well, we have not forgotten about you either! So, how about this? We are EXTENDING our lifetime manufacturer’s warranty to all models ever sold new by us, or new by our retailers in the past, too! This covers; Locomotives Coaches Wagons Accessories We really believe in our models, so we will stand over them for life! Should you be considering your next model purchase, you can check out our range, safe in the knowledge that we will have you covered, for life! See all terms and conditions by clicking here Need to contact us about a warranty issue? Contact us now now by clicking the chat icon (If you purchased direct from our website, have your order number ready. If you purchased from a retailer please include either a photo of your receipt or order confirmation email in the email) View the full article

Hi everyone, Can confirm that our full allocation has now arrived with us and will soon be counted into stock and dispatch will begin. As @BosKonay says, once they're cleared the rest of the stock will go back on sale. We have a bit of headroom, so no need to panic just yet if you wish to get an order in! Cheers! Fran

So, another year passes as we reach the end of 2023, and it has been our busiest and best year to date. 2023 has been a huge year for us, with so many new models delivered to market as we caught up on the models delayed due to the pandemic, we grew our team further with some new recruits joining our ranks, and we announced some new goodies too. So, pour yourself a drink, sit back and join us as we look back on 2023! New Model Arrivals Mark 5 Coaches Just missing out on our 2022 arrival update as they arrived at our warehouse just before Christmas last year, our Caledonian Sleeper and TPE Mark 5 coach sets went into squadron service on layouts in January of this year. Another massive milestone reached for us, our first coach model landed on the market to great acclaim among modellers and the modelling media alike. Despite a very large production run, both sets of coaches sold out very quickly, with the sleeper coaches in particular now selling for a premium. We will most certainly produce another run in the future, so keep an eye out for updates. They also look great with our lovely Class 92s, especially running in full 16 coach formation on Making Tracks 3! Class 37 April saw the arrival that many, many of you had been waiting for, as our Class 37s began to arrive in stock. Probably one of the most hotly anticipated locomotive releases in recent years, The first arrivals of our modernised Class 37/4s and then Scottish 'Car' headlight locos arrived in April and May to a sea of froth and approval. Such was the success of our Class 37, we literally had to stop selling them on pre-order as the production order for the factory swelled ever bigger. It is certainly by far the biggest production run of a locomotive we have ever undertaken and such as the demand it took over 12 months to finish them all. We were delighted by the backing that you, the British modelling public gave us, that we placed the rather substantial production order with confidence. Now, a few months later we are sold out of all but two running numbers, both of which are in single digits availability. Grab them to see what the fuss is about below, or check out our retail partners who have also indicated that they're practically sold out too! Buy Your Class 37 Here! Chaldron Run 2 Due to the popularity of our first run of Chaldron waggons, we announced a second run of the genesis of our "Powering Britain" range in January. Delivered in Q2, four new packs made up the second main range run, with extra special edition packs announced for Locomotion Models. We still have some in stock too, so check them out via the link below for the same great price as run one, just £44.99 per triple pack with 10% off when you buy two packs or more! Order Your Chaldrons Here New And Improved MDO/MDV and MDW Wagons Also announced in January was our second run of MDO and MDV wagons, this time joined by the MDW variant for the first time. Acting on feedback from finescale modellers, we made tooling alterations to the chassis of both wagons to ensure that regauging to EM and P4 was a more straightforward process than our first batch. These wagons arrived in stock in the Autumn and have gone down particularly well among modellers, especially now those MDW scrap trains can be re-created in miniature. We still have stock remaining of all types, which you can order via your local stockist or below direct. Order Your 21 Ton Mineral Wagons Here Coil A Wagons Run 2 Joining our ranks for a second run in 2023 was our lovely little Coil A wagons, covering the SFV and the SFW TOPS codes of these interesting pioneers of British Rail steel coil carrying wagons. As per the MDO and MDV wagons, they received suitable chassis tweaks to improve the conversion process to finescale EM and P4 gauges. These wagons also arrived in the Autumn and we still have some stock left on our website. Check out your local Accurascale stockist too for availability. Order Your Coil A Wagons Here Siphon G Our first Great Western model of 2023 arrived in mid May, as our hotly anticipated Siphon G Non Passenger Coaching Stock landed at our warehouse. As ever, we took our 'Accurascale Attitude' to this model and covered an extensive variety of detail variations which the Syphons saw during their long and varied career from the 1930s to the 1980s in order to create the ultimate model of these interesting prototypes and take steam era rolling stock to a new level. Following the feedback we have received on these that goal was achieved, with the high level of detail but robust construction going down particularly well with modellers. We are getting close to sell out on some running numbers already, but still have some stock left if you fancy adding some to your fleet. Click on the link below to browse the range! Pre-order Your Siphon Gs Here FNA-D Nuclear Flask Wagons Our first all new tooled wagon for 2024, the FNA-D nuclear flask wagons arriving into stock in early July. Produced with the vital assistance of WH Davis, who built the real wagons, our FNA's were announced at the 2022 GETS show and scopped the "Best OO Gauge Wagon of The Year" at the Hornby Mag awards at GETS 2023! Proving to be a very popular twin pack for our plethora of DRS Class 37s, and will continue to with our forthcoming DRS Class 66 as well as other current DRS traction, we have a limited supply left with packs A and B completely sold out. Check out the other packs below! Browse The FNA-D Range Here 78xx Manor Locomotives August saw the arrival of our second all-new locomotive in 2023 and one that was hotly anticipated by many corners of the hobby. It was of course, the much heralded arrival of our first steam locomotive, the 78xx Manor Class locomotives. Keen to see what we would do with steam following our initial focus of diesel and electric locomotives, many were impressed by our approach to steam, with the high use of diecast for construction of the loco along with our attention to detail, with a wide range of detail variation in both locomotive and tenders available to comprehensively cover the long career of these attractive and charismatic locomotives. Our Manors arrived across three batches stretching from Autumn into Winter, and most running numbers are now sold out, with just 5% of the full production run now left in stock. Check out your local retailer, or below for final stocks while you still can! Browse The Manor Range Here New Announcements Deltic Run 2 During our "take-over" of World of Railways during late January we announced a second run of our ever popular Deltics. Five new identities/livery combinations have been devised and the ever popular Porterbrook purple (no, seriously, the demand for it is incredible!) 9016 "Gordon Highlander" make up run two, with four of the six locomotives being stocked by retailers for the first time. Currently in production, the Deltics are envisaged to be with us in Q2 of 2024. Pre-order via your local stockist, or browse the range, including Accurascale Exclusives 9016 and D9000 in as-preserved mainline condition when it operated for Virgin XC in the late 1990s below Browse Deltic Range Here Mark 2c Coaches Following on from our announced Mark 2b coaches (currently on a ship and heading our way!) we decided to plug another gap in British Rail coaching stock and announce our range of Mark 2c coaches. Again, never produced as a high quality model in Ready-to-Run format previously, it proved to be a very popular choice among modellers, who have been crying out for this variant of the Mark 2 family for many years, especially the TSOT! Currently in manufacture, these coaches are due in Q2 2024. These coaches are currently sold out direct from our website, but check your local stockist for availability and keep an eye on our website once the coaches arrive for any additional availability. Class 66 Our first new locomotive announcement of 2023 came at Model Rail Scotland. Keen to make a big splash at the show which we sponsored for the first time, we unveiled the news of our 'Genetically Modified' sheds, revealing that we had taken over the tooling of these models from our friends at Hattons and widened the tooling suite to account for new variants and bring them in line with our other locomotives. The reception to our 66 evolution has been spectacular, with modellers looking forward to what we do with the most numerous locomotives currently operating on the network today. We are even using the model to give back to some worthy causes, which you can read about a little later on... Pre-order your Class 66, currently in production and due in late Q1 via the link below! Pre-order Your Class 66 Here J67/J68/J69 "Buckjumpers" Our second locomotive announcement for 2023 came at the London Festival Of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace as we unveiled our second steam locomotive; the J67/J68/J69 "Buckjumper family in 00 gauge! Also our first tank loco, these cute little tank engines feature all the detail differences you could possibly imagine on a British steam locomotive with a rather long career network, so gains a tooling suite to match. It probably explains why they have never been done to this extent by a Ready-to-Run manufacturer before, but like to put it on the line and cover as much as we can for variations and details craved by today's railway modellers. We're currently awaiting decorated samples which we will be keen to show off in the new year! In the meantime, you can browse the range, including two Accurascale Exclusives via the link below ahead of a Q2 2024 release Pre-order Your Buckjumper Here Class 37 Run 2 Demand for our Class 37s proved to be so colossal this year that we had to announce our second production run before the first batch had even arrived into stock. Thankfully, we were fully prepared for such eventualities that we had a nice, diverse range of locos across several eras from the 1960s to present to cover a wealth of modelling interests. From the much in-demand WR Class 37s with their unique lamp brackets to some modern colour with HN Rail and Colas, not to mention some 80s/90s splendour, our second run is already sold out direct but retailers will still have some availability. Production is almost complete too, so look forward to these bad boys towards the end of Q1 2024! 16 Ton Mineral Wagons Our big wagon range announcement of the Autumn was the Accurascale take on the humble but critical 16 ton mineral wagons in OO/4mm. Covering new ground as well as offering a new generation on what has gone before, the ubiquitous 16 tonner was an essential component in our "Powering Britain" range of coal wagons throughout eras. We went on to reveal decorated samples, including various colourful packs for industrial railway usage towards the end of this year, as they shape up nicely ahead of release in 2024! In the meantime, you can get your pre-orders in for these beauties via the link below, or via your local stockists! Pre-order the 16 ton mineral wagon range Ruston 88DS - Our First O Gauge Locomotive In October we announced our very first O gauge locomotive, the Ruston and Hornsby 88DS diesel mechanical shunter at the Great Electric Train Show at Milton Keynes. While many in the 7mm end of the hobby expected us to go big with our first announcement, we were keen to produce a locomotive that is affordable, long lasting and of use to small layout operations as well as large set ups. Our Ruston can even create the inspiration for a whole layout idea on its own, with their multitude of livery applications allowing you to create a whole new layout idea. We are currently awaiting decorated samples of these little stunners, which once again cover a multitude of detail variants as per the real thing. Pre-order via your local stockist, or below! Pre-order your O Gauge Ruston 88DS Here! ECC CDA Wagons Following the success of our first run of CDA wagons in later EWS and DB guises, we have been inundated with requests to produce these wagons in their iconic original livery of ECC quarries, complete with blue cradle, tarp and of course the famous branding on each side. We finally answered these requests in November and unveiled a line up of packs with various running numbers, launching with decorated samples. Pre-orders for these packs have been rather high to say the least, and production has begun, so make sure you get your pre-order in soon via your local stockist or direct below to avoid disappointment. Perfect for our Class 50s like 50 149 and of course some of our future Class 37s! Pre-Order Your ECC CDAs Here! GWR 57xx, 67xx and 8750 Class Pannier Tanks We always reserve a big announcement around the annual Warley show at the NEC, and this November was no different as we dropped our second steam locomotive announcement of 2023; the Panniers! Revealed with first samples already in hand, our take on one of the most numerous locomotive classes ever to run in Britain went down a storm, with demand being sky high for these beautiful tank engines. Once again, we take "The Accurascale Way" in our approach, covering a wealth of differing detail variants across the life of these locos in GWR, BR, and of course being us, post BR careers in industrial and preservation. We are still on the testing and fettling phase with these locos, but we do suggest that you get your pre-order in very soon to avoid disappointment via your local stockist, or direct via our website. Browse the AccuraPannier Range Progress Reports Of course, some of our projects announced in 2022 were not delivered in 2023, but we have progressed all of them to further stages of completeness, and shared progress reports about them over the past 12 months. They include: Class 31 - In production with first batch due in Q1 2024 SR Banana Vans - Currently on high seas and due in our warehouse in the coming weeks! BR Mark 2b Coaches - Currently on high seas and due in our warehouse in the coming weeks! Class 50 - Decorated samples recently received with more on the way for assessment. Class 89 - Decorated samples received, production now underway Mark 1 Suburban Coaches - Production underway NER 20T Hoppers - Decorated Samples due early 2024. You can keep up to date on all further updates on these projects by following our Project Status tracker, and of course subscribing to our email newsletter and social media channels such as Facebook. Whenever we have a new update, each is updated along with our "What's New" section under the "News" tab on our website. Check Out The Project Status Page Here Additions to The 'A' Team Richard Watson - Digital Manger Joining our ranks in late February, Richard joined the accurascale family as our digital and events manager, focusing on content for our social media channels, website and our catalogues, plus representing us at shows across the country. Having spent several years as the Associate Editor at Hornby Magazine, Richard has been at the heart of the model railway industry, and of course, is well known on YouTube for his "New Junction" channel.' Alex Carpenter - Project Manager Our Accurascale family grew ever stronger in May as Alex Carpenter joined us in the role of Project Manager. Alex will be familiar to many within the hobby through "ABC Workshops", features with Rail Express Modeller or from his time at Bachmann Europe. He has also taken the plunge into real train ownership, realising a life long ambition with the purchase of HST powercar '43025', which has been gaining some TLC in his spare time and will have some exciting updates in its own right in 2024, so keep an eye out for that. Over the past 7 months Alex has already put his stamp on several Accurascale models and we look forward to seeing more of his handiwork in 2024 and beyond! Raising Money For Special Causes Class 66 Special Edition To Raise £10,000 For Prostate Cancer UK We have always looked to work with worthy causes as part of our Corporate-Social Responsibility and in the past we have been working with many great preservation groups as they aid us in the development of our models. This year we have taken it further, with the opportunity of producing our new Class 66 locomotive to support two brilliant charities who also carry an important message to us all. The first fundraiser was launched when we staged our "Take Over" of Pete Waterman's "Making Tracks 3" at Chester Cathedral back in early August, as we revealed an Accurascale Exclusive model of 66 769 in Prostate Cancer UK livery as currently operated by GBRf, with a view to raise £10,000 for this brilliant cause. Of course, this donation does not happen without you, the British outline model buying public digging deep and putting your hands in your pockets, which we were delighted to see you doing so. As a result, the loco is long sold out and once the models arrive in stock in the new year we will be presenting a cheque to Prostate Cancer UK for £10,000! Class 66 Special Edition To Raise For Samaritans TThe eagle-eyed among you were quick to spot that the current Freightliner livery did not make up the launch line-up of our Class 66s when we unveiled them back in February. That's because we had a very special release in mind, which turned out to be our last launch of 2023! 66415 "You Are Never Alone" was so named by Freightliner to heighten awareness to the services provided by Samaritans to help prevent suicide, particularly among railway staff. We thought it was only fitting that we should reproduce this loco in OO gauge and again look again for your help to raise another £10,000 for a very worthy cause. Launched once again at Making Tracks 3, this time at Blackmere Village in December, it has proved to be a resounding hit with over 65% of the locos pre-sold at the time of writing. Without your help these donations would not be possible, so thank you very much for digging deep and ordering these locos. Pre-order Your Class 66 415 "You Are Never Alone" Here We Go To China To Visit Our Factories In October 2023, a crack team of Accurascale officials (and Fran, who just sweated a lot in the heat) were dispatched to China to visit some of the factory facilities we use and to negotiate the next chapter of our business by securing additional capacity, along with improving our workflows to reduce waiting times for customers. Thankfully this proved very successful indeed, with even more production capacity coming our way over the next few years as we look to grow further and deliver lots more exciting new models to market. We also got to see several of our projects underway and at various stages of production, including our Class 66s and the second run of Class 37s. Naturally, this afforded a photo opportunity which demonstrated Fran not having a clue what he was looking at, and Steve, our Production Manager, very much knowing what he was looking at. We also got to review the rigorous processes and precision methods our factories work to too, viewing all stages of designing one of our models. From receiving our CAD files and project packs, to tooling, injection moulding, to painting and assembly, we were able to see all the processes occur over several of our models. It really brought home the huge amount of talent, skill and capabilities that our factories have in other to create our models. As we have said, numerous times in the past; they are the very best railway modellers around! This has been something we had been planning to do for several years, but for the COVID disruption to world travel. We will certainly be back on a regular basis in the future to continue to produce the very best models on the market. It was bl***y hot though! Sponsorship After our early years of receiving fantastic support from shows and magazines to help get the Accurascale message to the masses, we have now grown sufficiently in size as a business where we can repay that support by sponsoring some of the larger shows that we now attend. We kicked off with our sponsorship of Model Rail Scotland in February along with the Great Electric Train Show at Milton Keynes in October. We also did our first sponsorship of the Warley Show in November, sponsoring the transport of the centrepiece locomotive to the show. We also support the Dublin and Wexford Model Railway shows along with our sister brand IRM in Ireland. As well as that, we were honoured to sponsor and support Pete Waterman's "Making Tracks" project this year and we will continue to support these projects in 2024, while also supporting other shows too that we attend. Awards We are genuinely lost for words here, and certainly for those that won't make us sound big-headed in any way. All we can say is thank you so much to every single one of you who gave us your vote in 2023. It was our most successful year for awards ever, winning Manufacturer of the Year across all three major bodies, and some from our specialist fields too like our Scottish modelling friends. We've listed below the awards we picked up in 2023 BRM Awards Gold Medals Deltic - Diesel/Electric Locomotive of The Year Chaldrons - Wagon of The Year Class 92 Pantograph - Innovation of The Year OO Gauge Manufacturer of The Year Overall Manufacturer of The Year Silver Medals Class 92 - 2nd Place Diesel and Electric Locomotive of The Year HYA/IIA Hoppers - 2nd Place Wagon of The Year Bronze Medal HAA Range of MGR Hoppers - 3rd Place Wagon of The Year Model Rail Awards Overall Manufacturer of The Year OO Manufacturer of The Year Deltic OO Diesel/Electric Loco of The Year Wagon of the Year - HAA Family Hornby Magazine Awards 2023 OO Locomotive Of The Year 1st - Class 37 2nd - 78xx Manor 3rd - Class 92 OO Wagon of The Year 1st - FNA-D Wagons 2nd - PFA Wagons With Nuclear Loads 3rd - Chaldron Wagons Manufacturer of The Year - Accurascale! Once again, thank you so much for your support and votes. We know we can always do better, further improve and strive to take the next step forward too, and we will continue to do so. However, to get recognition in this way from you, the modelling public means so much to a small company like ours (yes, we are still the definition of a small company, we just have some big ideas and goals we want to achieve by building a range of models to be the best out there). These awards mean we work even harder, as after all, getting to the top is one thing, staying there is even harder to do. With this in mind, wait till you see what we have in store for 2024, and even 2025 as we are currently working on behind the scenes. If you made it this far into the blog, then well done! You must be due another drink, so stick the kettle on, pour a pint, or whatever your tipple of choice may be, as we raise a glass/cup and wish you all a very happy new year! We hope 2024 brings you all the good fortune in railway modelling and life, and keep your eye on what we have in store for you! We would like to thank you all for your support during the past 12 months, digging deep and purchasing our models, spreading the accurascale word to others who may not know about us yet, and your feedback on what we have produced to date. We would also like to thank our retailers, who have promoted us to their customers this year, with special mention to AGR Models, Great Eastern Models, Kernow Model Railway Centre, Rails of Sheffield and the Severn Valley Railway who hosted us throughout the year too at their open days and events! Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful new year from the Accurascale Team, and here's to 2024. There's some really nice models to look forward to in the new year... View the full article

Our Mark 1 Suburban coaches have generated much interest since we announced them in mid 2022, and it is easy to see why. As well as doing them 'The Accurascale Way' with fully detailed interiors, interior lighting, multiple running numbers per livery and of course, beautiful running characteristics, we have also tooled up all the variations on the 56ft 11' variant, allowing the modeller to built up a prototypical train for the first time using 'Ready-to-Run (RTR) models. Production of these coaches has been ongoing, but unfortunately during this process a flaw was discovered on the bodies that had been moulded, with a random pattern of holes appearing. This was due to the moulds not being cleaned sufficiently, with dirt creating these crevices. This was spotted during the painting process. Unfortunately, we had to reject these bodies and have them remanufactured due to this issue. While it means the finished models that modellers receive will be perfect, it does mean that there has been a delay in production. Final assembly is about to get underway, with the corrected bodies finished the injection moulding process and are being painted currently. It was our aim to have these finished ahead of the Chinese New Year break in late January, but this will now not be the case. Instead they will now be delivered in Q2 of 2024. We apologise for this delay, but large holes in the bodies is obviously something we could not tolerate and we have put guidelines into the factory to ensure that this does not occur again. To pre-order your Mark 1 sub coaches, contact your local stockist, or pre-order direct below! Pre-Order Your Mark 1 Subs Here! View the full article

The Festive Season is all about giving, and we thought we would reserve our final launch of this year for a very special exclusive model which, with your help, will raise much needed funds for a most important and valuable service. We have already seen tremendous support for our Prostate Cancer UK Class 66 locomotive (which is now sold out!) so we have decided to try to raise another £10,000 for another special cause with your help. We wish to raise these funds and awareness using another one of our forthcoming Class 66 locomotives for a very worthy cause, this time focusing on mental health with Samaritans. The locomotive in question is Class 66 no 66 415 in Freightliner orange livery with black striping. Named ‘You Are Never Alone’ at Ipswich Station in November 2019, the real 66 415 was dedicated through a collaborative effort between Freightliner, Greater Anglia and Samaritans to pay tribute and to raise awareness of the invaluable work the Samaritans do to help prevent suicide across the UK and Republic of Ireland. The nameplate was unveiled by train drivers Steve Read and Dave Bray and Branch Director of Samaritans, Ipswich & East Suffolk, Judy Wright. The locomotive is plying its trade across the UK today proudly carrying its nameplate in the distinctive Genesee and Wyoming inspired Orange Freightliner livery. We've unveiled this very special model was announced at the latest “Accurascale Take-Over” of Pete Waterman’s “Making Tracks” event at Cheshire Outdoors, Blakemere Village, where the model railway feast runs from December 16th until January 7th 2024. A pre-production sample of the locomotive will be put to the test hauling the heaviest trains on the layout. According to the Office for National Statistics, around 5000 suicides are registered in England each year, with many more lives impacted. Males are around three times more likely to die by suicide than women, and men in their late 40s and early 50s are among those most at risk. Males of this age group make up a significant slice of Accurascale’s customer base, so the company approached Samaritans to raise awareness of their services in this novel and unique way. With suicide rates as high now as they were 20 years ago, we feel that it is vitally important to raise awareness of the services of Samaritans for anyone who is struggling to cope and who needs someone to listen without judgement or pressure. Creating this exclusive locomotive means that not only can funds be generated to support vital services, but also will be a reminder of such services that will live long on modellers layouts or in their collections. Speaking about the fundraising initiative, Richard Amos, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Samaritans, stated - "I'd like to say a massive thank you to Accurascale, for raising awareness and donating £10,000 from sales of their latest miniature locomotive model to Samaritans. This time of year can be an especially challenging time for many, and the special name of the locomotive 'You Are Not Alone', is a poignant reminder that Samaritans are there 24/7 every day of the year, to listen to anyone who is going through a difficult period in their lives or is struggling to cope. Their generous donation means that we can continue to be there for those who need us." Fran Burke, Accurascale Director of Marketing, Sales and Public Relations added – “We’re delighted that our forthcoming model of the Class 66 can once again impress modellers, but also do good by helping others. Samaritans is a cause very much close to our hearts and we thank them and Freightliner UK for allowing us to work together to produce our museum quality model of the Class 66 and work with you, the British outline railway modelling public, to help raise £10,000 which can help others who are suffering.” The model of 66415 is currently in production and will arrive with the rest of the first production run of the Class 66 locomotives and will arrive in the first quarter of 2024. It will come complete with presentation packaging and offered in both DC/DCC Ready and DCC Sound Fitted formats priced at £169.99 and £259.99 respectively. The locomotive will be available to order exclusively via the Accurascale website only and with production already underway stock is strictly limited, so early “no money down” pre-ordering is recommended to avoid disappointment. (Accurascale would like to thank Freightliner UK, Bessie Matthews and Samaritans For Their Help In Producing This Model) For More Information On The Services Provided By Samaritans Please Click Here Pre-order Your Class 66 415 By Clicking Here View the full article

Well, did you spot our little clues? Our little references to POO? Our little sneak peek in our update yesterday? If you didn't, then let us confirm it for you! The latest 'Accurascale Exclusives' announcement is the iconic 16 ton mineral wagons in the wonderful ICI livery which were used for soda ash traffic. Prototype History Of ICI Mond Division’s Wagons for Soda Ash Traffic When the Imperial Chemical Company (ICI) won a contract to export Soda Ash from the Northwich Wallerscote site in the mid-1960s, they encountered a significant barrier to operations when it was found that the vessels allocated to the shipping could not navigate the River Weaver. Instead, it would be necessary to load the Soda Ash at Partington Wharf on the Manchester Ship Canal via the existing wagon tippler, previously employed for coal traffic, however this necessitated the use of unfitted rail wagons, no bigger than the existing 16T Mineral stock. To accommodate this new traffic, between December 1969 and December 1970 ICI’s Mond Division undertook a programme to convert 120 16T wagons at the Avenue Workshops in Northwich, covering vehicle numbers in the 652 to 801 range. These conversions were straightforward, merely adding a sheet bar and sealing the interior across the three door sides of the wagon and while the majority of these vehicles were scrapped by the mid-1970s, a number were re-liveried from their original ICI Green-Blue into the more familiar Grey-Blue, surviving into the early-1980s. Pack P covers these Batch One conversions in their later life, with Nos. 751, 737 and 690 all being fitted with the stepped shank buffer housings and fabricated (but redundant) end doors, as well as Morton Double 2-shoe independent brakes. Axle journals are a mix of standard and square types, with both solid and pressed steel handbrakes being featured. A further batch of 100 wagons were converted by C.C Crump, Connah’s Quay, between November 1971 and March 1972 and while they retained the sheet bar, the sides were reinforced with horizontal side braces and the removal of (in most cases) the side door, which was replaced by a welded panel. These wagons were numbered in the ICI 900-999 range, (C.C Crump 5500-5599), although at least one wagon from this batch, CLWD 5540, is known to have carried the TOPS code of POO (Private Owner Open). Pack Q covers these Batch Two conversions, showing the wagons in a later bleached ICI Grey-Blue livery and covers Nos. CCC5534 and CCC5579 in this condition and CLWD 5540 with its POO TOPS Panel (the decorated sample incorrectly shows this wagon as CCC5558 and is being revised). All wagons are fitted with stepped shank buffer housings, fabricated end doors, standard axle journals, solid handbrake handles and Morton 2-shoe brakes. The Model Making up the final two packs from our first production run of 16 ton minerals, these wagons will have the same unbeatable specification and will also be delivered in Q3, 2024. Priced at £74.95 per triple pack, with 10% off when you buy two packs or more, they will come with our usual special presentation packaging and are available to pre-order now from the Accurascale website direct only. Demand is expected to be high so make sure you get your pre-order in via the link below! Pre-Order Your ICI 16 Tonners By Clicking Here! We would like to offer our thanks to Ian Nickson, whose research into the ICI Soda Ash traffic has proved invaluable, along with Trevor Mann, Paul Bartlett and Paul Harrison, for use of their photographs. View the full article

Announced in September as our latest mammoth new wagon release range, our take on the humble 16 ton mineral wagon family has proved a big hit among modellers. Excited to see where we take the latest addition to our "Powering Britain" range of coal wagons, modellers have been sending in pre-orders by the bucket load direct and via our retail network. We can now present you with further excitement and a full progress report as we show the first decorated samples that we have received from the factory. As ever, even at this stage, there are still some niggles to address with the decoration samples - some to do with the decoration itself and some to do with the models, as the addition of paint reveals some gremlins in the bodywork: Paint coverage and (in places) density. Paint masking. Colour matching (mainly on the BR Freight Grey, which needs to be a fraction darker in tone). Refining the fit and assembly of some parts. Changing the part material used in certain areas. Eliminating some areas where sinkage has occurred during the injection process. Naturally, all these issues will be addressed as part of the refinement process ahead of production. In the meantime, let's feast on some pictures! With these wagons progressing as anticipated, we can confirm that they are on course for delivery in Q3 of 2024 as per initial announcement. Priced at just £74.95 per triple pack, with our usual 10% off when you buy two or more packs, and free postage and packaging when you buy direct, they yet again offer unbeatable value for money when it comes to the latest tooled, highest quality and detailed wagons. With a huge 20 different packs to make up the first run between general releases in BR livery, a selection of private owner sets reflecting later use in industrial railway settings and Accurascale Exclusive packs yet to be announced (roll on tomorrow!) it gives the modeller great potential to build large prototypical rakes along with a few wagons to add to a classic mixed freight operation. Pre-order via your local stockist, or direct by clicking the link below! Pre-Order Your 16 Ton Mineral Wagons Right Here! View the full article