Blu Bianco

Hopefully it will dispatch in due course during the backlog clearing process anyway but should it not thanks for the clear advice Fran.

Hi Fran, In the case of two fully paid orders, and the later ordered one has been dispatched but the earlier one hasn't been, will this be caught by the warehouse team and caught up with in due course or is this something that needs to be brought to your attention after a specific amount of time has elapsed? Thanks, and apologies, just don't want to be sending an email and clogging up the system if unnecessary.

Thanks for the update

Hi Fran, Any further indicator on how the shipping is going with the 121's i.e. are you through the pre-orders yet or what stage are you at? I imagine you're fairly well snowed under there with orders (but not the worst complaint!). Thanks.

Thanks for coming back and the clarification.

Guys, Just noticed on your website, under Support - FAQ - Ordering, Payments and VAT - What payment options are available? that under 'Instant Checkouts', Amazon Pay is mentioned and their logo appears. Yet when you go to your basket and to checkout, this logo doesn't appear and there is no option to pay by Amazon Pay. Was there a plan to use this method initially and since it is not there now, do you have plans to implement it shortly? Thanks.

Thanks Jason. Can imagine the queues when they come into stock! If I was them I'd try to arrange an approx collection time at the time they're calling people, to try and space things out for everybody. But then we know human nature and understandably most will want to get their hands on them as soon as possible

Thanks Spudfan. Some liveries do look better than others, there are a few which could feasibly be seen in geographical area I'm interested in.

What a sound! Really miss that. Were a fair few NOHAB's (and similar) in Belgium (Class 52-54) and Luxembourg (Class 1600) also. I think Luxembourg have preserved a fair few of them.

Thank you very much for that Edo. This is why I asked, just incase someone here had queried already and you have been most helpful. I'm also quite happy to give them more time, as you say even once they arrive, it's another story getting things ready for collection/dispatch/shelves.

Been on quite a few of these in Latvia and Lithuania. Memories of trundling (at a good speed!) through forests, country villages and meadows on beautiful summer days! The ones in videos 3 & 4 are Class DR1's (various variants/modifications of the class subsequently) and were built by Rīgas Vagonbūves Rūpnīca (RVR), originally in 1963, in Riga, Latvia. They were/are used quite heavily across various Eastern European countries. Estonia withdrew theirs in 2014 though after transference to their Stadler Railcars and the discontinuation of the Tallinn-St. Petersburg route.

Does anyone know/have been informed as what is to happen regarding those who have placed pre-orders 'in-store' in Marks Models? Many of you maybe aware that old practice (before all current restrictions) was that you could put your name on a list in-store at the Hawkins Street branch (and maybe the others) to pre-order a specific MM loco and the kind staff would put one aside for you and call you when it came into stock and you would then go into pay for/collect it. Given the bricks and mortar shops will most likely continue to be closed when the first batch come into stock (and maybe beyond) is the advice to pre-order on their website now or are they going to operate/honour this list format somehow?

Thanks Dave, you've been a mine of information over the past two days! Its good to get to know some of the other good shops around. Will be certainly looking at them. Hopefully they take non-paypal-based credit card orders too. Just don't want to be registering with them (you have to before you even place an order) and then find out it is only Paypal! My own reasons for not wanting paypal, I know many people like it though and thats cool too.

Thanks irishthump and richrua. I see Wickness and Coastal use Paypal, not a big fan of it for own reasons. As for Digitrains, it doesn't appear obvious on their website, but since you have all used them, from memory, do they have a regular C.Card payment system or do they only use Paypal also?

Just what I wanted to hear! Thank you very much for the feedback irishmail.

Has anyone here ever ordered from: Digitrains - http://www.digitrains.co.uk Wickness - http://www.wicknessmodels.co.uk Tony's Train XChange - http://www.tonystrains.com Are they good to deal with? Any issues? I'm looking into the possibility of getting an NCE Power Cab, with a Smart Booster. (Although there are other options, Gaugemaster Prodigy Advance 2 or Roco Z21,I am fully researching the cans and can't's of expansion of each before I go with one). But if I was going down the expansion with the NCE route I would need a UTP Panel for the Booster for the NCE Power Cab, and I don't see them in Hattons or Rails. If no one has ordered from those above, but knows of a good online store to get a NCE UTP Panel then I'd really appreciate it, just to know it is possible! Thank you!

Agreed. Plus in the first two pictures, the aim of the picture is at such a poor angle that the bogies seem to be hanging very low, almost directly on the table-top, like there are no wheels. Judging by the third picture the wheels are certainly there. But if you're looking to market your product the first two pictures are not doing it much of a favour and maybe after them no one looked at the third one!

Cheers. Reading on 'www.rmweb.co.uk' that it maybe possible but thanks for the research. It looks a very good system. As an Austrian/German product, you have had no issues with the Z21 recognising the Murphy Models/Bachmann/Hornby loco decoders? That would be my last real concern.

Thanks DiveController. Yes, I doubt I will be wanting too many locomotives running at once, generally one, at most maybe 2, with the capacity for another one maybe shunting. But with the cab lighting, etc, that may prove a bit much at times for the basic PowerCab. I will be manually controlling the switches for now but again in future, maybe better having a few more amps on hand should I go DCC with them. Also, thank you for your views Noel. I was looking at the possibility of the 5 amp booster (SB5). Fitting seems straightforward but it mentions you need a UTP unit (rather than the PCP that comes with the original boxed PowerCab that becomes redundant on purchase of the SB5), and this doesn't seem to be packaged with the booster pack, unless I'm mistaken, which is strange! Trying to source one then is another matter. I doubt you can use the PCP as a UTP! Have you just the basic 1.5 amp system or have you upgraded with the 5 amp to the Pro?

Thanks for the offer of the demo. Will do a bit more research myself first on all three, regarding features and what would suit me best, etc, and then come back to you. But if you don't mind me asking you one final query on here, I've seen the Z21 on YouTube and the way it interacts with the iPad or iPhone, it being its unique selling point. But on the subject of the throttle, can you use the multimaus (or other compatible throttle) on its own to program the locos, or is that all done through the smartphone element and you just solely use the throttle to drive the locos? Basically, if you purchase the multimaus, can you do everything through the throttle also (be it program and drive) or is there some element that you will always need the iPad or iPhone for? Thanks very much Dave.

I will take a look at it certainly, thanks Dave. I did see your advice earlier in the thread regarding the NCE and the Gaugemaster, you said both were fairly good. Although I do now note your subsequent comments regarding your customers and the programming of the NCE. Out of those two, is the Gaugemaster that much behind the NCE? Its not bad from what I can gather from most people's comments.

Thanks for that Railer. Yeah, I don't really like the unsatisfying buttons and as you say, slow responses, of the Elite. My only hold-back of going with the NCE is possibly its lack of power, at only 1.5 amps. Do you mind me asking how large of a layout you have and what kind of power/results you get from it? It says it can power upto 3 locos at once, but I don't know if the things like lights in the cab would also be a drain. I was looking at the 5 amp booster unit for it but don't know if that would be overkill as my layout is only a 10' x 8' but I would have a few locomotives and nearly all with cab lighting. Fitting of the booster appears easy other than the mention of a UTP unit which doesn't seem to come with the booster pack!

On a related note, I inherited a Hornby Elite but was considering changing to an NCE Power Cab (maybe with a Booster Pack for more power) or the Gaugemaster Prodigy Advance 2. Is this a worthwhile change or really more of a sideways move? I'm aware that Hornby is seen more as a 'Toy' controller, particularly the Select, however I don't think the Elite has that many fans either. The Power Cab seems popular yet the Gaugemaster Prodigy Advance 2 seems a bit more substantial. Any thoughts would be helpful.

Has anyone here bought the SB5 Booster to go along with the original Power Cab? I know that the original PCP adaptor that you plugged your track wires and connectors into becomes redundant, and they tell you to use a UTP adaptor. However I don't think this comes with the SB5 package, or does it? If not, how did you get around this? Are they readily available from reliable suppliers or is there another workaround?

Mine done now too. Will make for some interesting reading.