Warbonnet

Marketing.

Just a heads up everyone, this is on this Sunday and we'll have the probably the last of the ballasts on sale as we're down to the last nine packs. Could be your last chance to grab some! We'll have both ivory and orange bubbles too of course. With 76% of all bubbles sold out so far they may sell out even quicker than the ballasts! We will also have a sample of our first Accurascale wagon, the HUO hopper there too and will be taking preorders, if you're into British outline. Stop by and say hi!

Thanks everyone, here's a look at the chassis and some of the details going on the wagon. There are 74 separate components going into each wagon! We will have some factory samples in the coming days and will have at least the 3D print on show at the Stillorgan fair this Sunday.

Thanks to you all for taking part in the vote. As you can guess, the winner is an annual announcement. We are working on a small event for this which will take place on Saturday, March 3rd. Keep the day free in the diary and an eye on the forum in the coming days for further details!

Just a reminder everyone about this, voting closes tonight at 8pm! If the result carries for an announcement of the 2018 programme in advance then we are thinking of putting together a little social gathering to mark the occasion. More details will be revealed next week.

Would have certainly thought HO couplings first?

We thought Irish outline was a minefield, but it's a stroll compared to BR!

Hi everyone, Firstly, thank you to everyone for your words of encouragement so far, both on here, Facebook, PMs and email. They have confirmed that entering the British market was the right thing for us to do. Now, let’s have a first look at our HUO ‘in the plastic’. OK, we’ll level with you. Tooling was going quite nicely until we noticed a flaw. We want our model to be as perfect as manufacturing will allow, so we have decided to alter the tooling to correct the issue. This has delayed the sample by about two weeks, but we are confident that the bridge between sample and production is very small, so it should not affect delivery time. Indeed, our factory is now preparing test parts as you can see below. Thankfully, help was at hand and a quick phone call to a leading UK-based 3D printing firm secured this sample. Please bare this in mind when analysing photos, and there are some parts missing which will be on the production model. As soon as the factory production sample arrives, we will share pics with you. However, this print is seriously impressive and was turned around in double-quick time. You can see its limitations in areas like the buffer heads, but overall, wow! The book is now open on pre-orders. As stated previously, it’s £59.95 for a pack of three and we are doing a rake deal of all five packs of pre-TOPS wagons for £275, including free two-day shipping to the UK and Ireland! We will offer similar deals on TOPS variants when we start taking pre-orders. As you have probably read many times at this stage, we believe that the devil is in the detail, and the HUO will be no different. Below is a parts diagram showing just how many separate parts go into one of our wagons. We want to give you the highest possible detail for your buck. Anyone fancy counting? Below are livery details and numbers for the first five packs of HUOs in pre-TOPS condition. Pre-ordering is now open! Our web software only allows for payment up front pre-ordering, so please bare this in mind! Pack A B333635 Self-contained buffers HOP 24 1/2 marking [route info blanked out] B335009 Spindle buffers COAL HOP marking [route info blanked out] B335539N Spindle buffers HOP 24 1/2 marking [route info blanked out] Pack B B333897 Self-contained buffers HOP 24 marking LOAD ONLY TO STELLA NORTH OR SOUTH DUNSTON OR BLYTH POWER STATIONS B334155 Self-contained buffers HOP 24 marking LOAD ONLY TO STELLA NORTH OR SOUTH DUNSTON OR BLYTH POWER STATIONS B334160 Self-contained buffers HOP 24 marking LOAD ONLY TO STELLA NORTH OR SOUTH DUNSTON OR BLYTH POWER STATIONS Pack C B334429 Self-contained buffers 24 1/2T marking LOAD ONLY TO KINCARDINE POWER STATION SC REGION B334438 Self-contained buffers HOP marking [route info blanked out] B334548 Self-contained buffers 24 1/2T marking LOAD ONLY TO KINCARDINE POWER STATION SC REGION Pack D B334949 Spindle buffers HOP marking [route info blanked out] B335039 Spindle buffers HOP marking [route info blanked out] B335703 Self-contained buffers HOP marking [route info blanked out] Pack E B336817 Self-contained buffers 24 1/2T marking LOAD ONLY TO THORPE MARSH POWER STATION (YORKS) N.E.R. B336937 Self-contained buffers 24 1/2T marking LOAD ONLY TO THORPE MARSH POWER STATION (YORKS) N.E.R. B337128N Self-contained buffers HOP marking LOAD ONLY TO THORPE MARSH POWER STATION (YORKS) N.E.R.

I agree that the DD DVT is a minger too. I feel both have been smacked with the ugly stick!

I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder Noel, but famin’ Nora those yokes look like Daffy Duck!

How did you get the car out? Or do you have your dinner sitting in it every day?

Hi Northman, We have no NIR specific models on our radar at this time, but many of our forthcoming models travelled over the border. Hope that helps. Thanks, Fran

Hi everyone, Want to win a pack of IRM wagons? Are you on Facebook? Well, why not enter our competition! We have just hit 900 likes on Facebook! Thank you to everyone who has liked and shared our content so far, and indeed sent us in videos and pictures of IRM wagons in action. However, we're a bit vain and greedy (well, I am. I dont think the other lads mind too much!) and we really want to break the 1,000 likes barrier. So, we're offering you the chance to win a pack of wagons if you can help us get there. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is like our page. If you have already liked it, why not share it to encourage others to like it too? When the 1,000 like barrier is broken, we will chose one lucky person at random to take home the prize! https://www.facebook.com/irishrailwaymodels/ Also, if you want to submit videos and pics of your IRM stock in action, customised or otherwise, please post it below or email us at the usual address. Thanks, and good luck! Fran

Well everyone, it we're at 90% - 10% in favour of a 2018 programme announcement, but there is still a few days left. so you never know what way voting could go! Now, to plan the announcement should voting dictate it!

The Oxford Mark III was announced in 2016 and IRM was in existence before this date. Irish variations were confirmed to be on Oxford's radar after this date. Models such as these take significant time to plan, research and design. There is an email confirmation published on this forum from the Oxford spokesperson sent to a member confirming their intention to do an Irish version.

They were Noel, in fact they were going to be project four, including EGVs and push pulls (including the driver control car). But not now. As I'm sure you can appreciate I cannot say any more as there is a lot of commercially sensitive information behind it.

I got two. But I don't think it's fair I comment now that technically I work for the opposition. Best thing to do is check out the rmweb page on them, from the last 4 or 5 pages to see peoples reaction to the models when they arrived into their collections...

Their publishing date is Feb 1st, but the digital edition came out today, unbeknownst to us!

Another thing that is bringing down the prices too is that we now have full control over the product to the factory, and no fee for a third party agent like we did with bubbles and ballasts. That's how we can do the Tara, a larger bogie wagon, for €79.95 for a pack of two, cheaper per wagon as the ballast. (edit, what bosko said!)

Hi Tony, The difference is price is purely down to volume. Tooling for a new model is a massive outlay (literally, tens of thousands) and we can only spread that over a couple of thousand models produced. As the British market is a massive one in comparison, we are able to product more of a particular model and therefore, spread the cost of tooling over a much larger production run. Ireland will always be a small volume interest. Thanks, Fran

Hi folks, Well, since the cat is out of the bag in one of the magazines, we've decided to bring the first Accurascale announcement forward to, err, now! Our first model for the British market will be the 24.5-ton coal hopper wagon, which later received the TOPs code ‘HUO’. A total of 5,263 wagons were built by BR from 1954 for transporting coal and coke throughout Britain until their withdrawal in the 1980s, with many entering private use at collieries upon retirement by British Rail. The model, which is of the 1/148, lot 2069 pattern, has just finished tooling and an engineering sample is currently en route from our factory in China. The surviving prototypes were surveyed at the Tanfield Railway, near Stanley, County Durham in mid-October 2017. Following the survey, highly detailed CAD was produced locally and reviewed by wagon experts who had first-hand operational and survey experience of the prototypes when in service. We would like to thank the Tanfield Railway for the assistance we received and have made a donation to the railway to help with preservation of railway heritage for future generations. Flows which utilised HUOs include coke from East London to Wellingborough, Kirkby- Staythorpe, Killingworth to Stella, Kincardine, Stella North / Stella South / Dunston / Blyth, Thorpe Marsh Tunstead Works - Smaledale Works and Hessle Quarry to Hull Wilmington. They were also synonymous with coke flows from South Wales coking plants to Barry Docks. Our rendition of the HUO will feature the correct offset brake hanger arrangement and the following high level of specification, enjoyed by the customers of sister company IRM, whose Irish outline models are the most highly detailed on the market: · Sprung buffers with spindle, self contained and Oleo types all being catered for, depending on prototype · NEM coupling housing · RP25.110 darkened profile wheel sets · Factory-fitted wire handrails · Extra fine factory-fitted detail plastic parts · Individual lettering and markings from real wagons for authenticity · Built to scale tolerances to allow easy conversion to EM and P4 standards The HUO will go on sale in Q2 2018 in packs of three, with pre-TOPs, TOPs and private owner packs arriving on a staggered release basis throughout 2018 in a variety of liveries, such as BR freight grey and private owner wagons. They will also feature individual markings and detail faithful to research of the real wagons. The first release will see four different packs of three individually numbered wagons in BR grey with pre-TOPs markings so the modeller can build a 12-wagon train without duplication. Prices will be £59.95 for each pack of three wagons. In addition to the HUO, the various buffers used by the wagons throughout their lives will also be offered as separate detail parts for the detail-minded modeller. This will be sold in packs of eight for £2.95. This will be the first in a series of detail part packs offered by Accurascale for modellers. Both the HUO and the buffer detail packs are available to buy exclusively on the Accurascale website direct or from the Accurascale stand at various UK exhibitions from the second half of 2018. Orders will commence on February 1st.

I think the five year waiting times and ‘land grabbing’ has made the customer base cynical.

Exactly our thinking Jim. We're learning that the two markets are completely different, but we're learning fast thankfully!

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone! It's at polar opposite to the British market currently, with their consensus being 'dont tell us till its here', but with so many broken promises in that market it's not hard to understand why they prefer that tactic. Ah Gareth, you love being awkward! In all seriousness though, the plan would be to announce what we are doing in early Feb, and of course keep you updated on each project as it moves to the next stage, basically like we did with the ballasts and bubbles. I think that would work best? Keep letting us know folks, We have set a deadline of Feb 1st for everyone to have their say.