Warbonnet

Can we also leave the handbags at the door Blaine and Dive? Thanks

Thanks everyone, the responses so far have been very useful feedback! Hi Noel, the survey will run till next Wednesday. As we advertised the survey as confidential we will not be publishing the results. However, you can rest assured that the details provided will go a long way to shaping IRM in the near future

I think we would have to leave it for a sustained period of time before we can offer such downloads Noel. I think one thing we need to do to keep the hobby vibrant is to support the magazines as much as possible. They deserve and need our support.

As Patrick said, Lima had their strong points. Their moulding is very crisp in some areas, and some of their locos were well done. It was the lack of separately applied details and most obviously, rough, noisy motors in the British outline models that let them down. They were certainly better than the comparable Hornby diesels, wagons and in some cases, coaches of the time. Bachmann kicked up things a few notches but in fairness to Lima a lot of their stuff was tooled before Bachmann emerged on the scene. I have seen a basic Lima Mark 1 glide down the slightest of slopes, offering next to no rolling resistance. Just what you want in your stock. As good as the Bachmann Mark 1s are, they do run like the brakes are on. In that regard, some models have go backwards. Just my opinion, of course.

Thanks men! Gareth; sure the Irish stuff is nicer than the Canadian stuff

Thanks John, we're really looking forward to it hitting the shelves later this year

What would you like to see from us after the Tara Mines wagon? What do you think of what we've done so far? We're looking to constantly improve and learn from our customers. We would really appreciate if you could fill out this very short, confidential survey so we can give you what you want and how you buy your models. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9BWX3D5

Thanks Steven!

Stunning models Steven, always enjoy your updates!

Fantastic work! Well done Neil, Noel and Ken!

Super work as ever, Eoin!

We will be in beautiful Wales this weekend at two great toy fairs with ballast wagons for sale! We'll be in OSWESTRY on Saturday 1st July and COLWYN BAY on Sunday 2nd. The Pavilion at Oswestry show ground and the Leisure Centre at Colwyn Bay - both run 10.30am to 3.00pm. If you're in the area we'd love to meet you, so stop by and say hi!

We were actually approached about 18 months ago by another established manufacturer who wanted to produce a new British Mark III with a view to collobrate with us to do a kosher Irish version with proper prototype fidelity. This would've been a top of the line, bang on Irish outline Mark III with the proper doors, details and Genny van etc. However, Oxford beat them to the punch in the UK with their announcement and the project was halted. As Robbie correctly pointed out, we do not want to compromise the standards of Irish Railway Models by releasing a British Mark III repainted in Irish colours. That's been done before and we want to move Irish railway modelling on from those days.

Cheers men. Better right than rushed is definitely the name of the game Gareth. As Patrick says, there is additional details lacking on the pre-production models that will be added too!

While our ballast wagons have been hogging most of the limelight in recent weeks, we have been working away on the cement bubbles in the background. We have just finished specifying the livery graphic details for our factory in China which you can see above. Also, we were not too happy with some of the detailing on the Bubble and the pre-production model showed us that some alternations needed to be made. Our in-house design team has now completed this work and it has been passed onto our factory. This has resulted in the bubbles slipping back to a late September 2017 delivery. However, after the standard we have set with the ballast wagons, we felt it’s vital that you get the very best 4mm scale model of the most iconic of Irish wagons. Sales of the bubbles has also been swift, so make sure you secure yours today!

Work took me out to Malahide today, just in time to catch the lunchtime Tara with 085. We can't wait to get these wagons into production at Irish Railway Models 085 Malahide Laden Taras by franburke, on Flickr Also, the 29000s are a bit of a novelty to me, living out on Great Southern metals. Green Goddess 29405 at the 'hide 29405 Malahide by franburke, on Flickr

The funny thing is that the HO stuff is scale accurate for the track it runs on.

Amazing timing Gareth, we'll actually have an update for the bubbles that we will be putting live tomorrow, so watch this space!

You and your box porn. As bad as Wrenneire! haha Thanks for the kind words, Chris!

Exactly Eoin. The IE Cravens came first and the couplings were modified for the second run in CIE due to customer feedback.

Just a reminder that Irish Railway Models will be at Stillorgan this Sunday with ballast packs for sale. Please drop by and say hello!

Looks like an old DR/DB gondola. I think Lima done them in numerous identities like SNCF, SNCB, FS etc. As well as not matching any Irish prototypes, it doesn't look anything like a British one either but as you said, they stuck BR arrows on them too.

Six wagons and only a circle of track? Weird! Can't believe just how many different sets Lima pushed out with that CIE 33.

With all due respect David you are judging something that you have no understanding of what's going on behind the scenes. As I said, all will be revealed very soon. I also think that it's only fair that we bring this back on topic of the MIR kits after Dave took it off course.

All in good time Noel, all in good time. But there are big things coming down the tracks for Irish modellers. We don't want to announce too much until all the pieces are in place, but it will be well worth watching this space for very exciting times ahead!