Van Hool Atlantean

[DJ Dangerous]

On 17/5/2022 at 9:11 AM, skinner75 said:

Did these get produced & delivered? Anyone with a second one they want to sell/trade?

 

 

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Am I the only one that thinks €185 is a huge price for the oo gauge bus? 

[flange lubricator]

10 hours ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Am I the only one that thinks €185 is a huge price for the oo gauge bus? 

Yes they are tad expensive but having purchased one of the earlier D class buses all I can say is they are a stunning model they are limited production runs  hence the price they and come in a presentation box too.

Edited March 30, 2023 by flange lubricator

[Warbonnet]

Irish buses of this era are serious one off prototypes being unique designs that we loved and remember so much. So tooling and mass production cannot be offset with loads of liveries, UK versions etc. Therefore, resin and limited production runs are the only answer. The production runs are tiny, and a huge amount of research, time and effort and quality go into them. When you look at model cars at the higher end of the market they show these buses to be actually good value. They're also really well presented as mentioned above.

Also, they appreciate, as when one comes up for sale (not too often) they go for serious money. So, you will at least get your money back, with a few quid on top, an accurate model of a bus that would otherwise never be made in model form and saves you countless hours in scratch or kit building something that wouldnt look as good. When you look at it from that point of view they're excellent value in my opinion. I'm glad I got my order in and gutted I missed out on some of the previous runs. I wont make that mistake again. 

Cheers!

Fran 

[Noel]

€185 ok if it’s motorised with lights and remote control (ie you can actually drive it on a layout). Sorry but €185 for an ornament not my personal cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

[Sean]

I agree at 185 its not for me however I am a railway modeller and I am more than happy with having a single oxford bus eireann mass produced yoke sitting somewhere on the layout.

 

with my ERA and set and setting being very rural also, it would look silly for me to populate the layout with obscure Dublin busses. (anyone modelling outside the big smoke will probabaly also have a similar sort of opinion)

 

that being said, model busses a huge niche of their own and these models should do well going by their history. had I actually lived in dublin during the times that these busses were zooming around i would probabaly have a lot more desire for one. Models of trucks in irish Liveries seem to follow along a similar style of model releases also.

 

Local crane hire company near me has models available of their fleet but prices are comparable enough to these.

[exciecoachbuilder]

8 hours ago, flange lubricator said:

Yes they are tad expensive but having purchased one of the earlier AN68 all I can say is they are a stunning model they are limited production runs  hence the price they and come in a presentation box too.

Hi, was the bus in the photo sold as an An 68? These buses were always known  in the bus depot's and in the BMS in Inchicore works as D cars. The Spa Road built Van Hool buses built in the 70's were always called AN68's, not the one in this photo. Paul.

[flange lubricator]

1 hour ago, exciecoachbuilder said:

Hi, was the bus in the photo sold as an An 68? These buses were always known  in the bus depot's and in the BMS in Inchicore works as D cars. The Spa Road built Van Hool buses built in the 70's were always called AN68's, not the one in this photo. Paul.

Yes your correct the model is PDR1A1 Metsec/  CIE H74D or D car the model is D602 which was built at Spa road by Van Hool McArdle  , CIE built D1-D521/23 , VHM built D522-554/524 , 555-602 in 1973  , D602 was the last Metsec CIE D , VHM then built the AN68 D603/604 - 840 1974 on . 

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

9 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

Irish buses of this era are serious one off prototypes being unique designs that we loved and remember so much. So tooling and mass production cannot be offset with loads of liveries, UK versions etc. Therefore, resin and limited production runs are the only answer. The production runs are tiny, and a huge amount of research, time and effort and quality go into them. When you look at model cars at the higher end of the market they show these buses to be actually good value. They're also really well presented as mentioned above.

Also, they appreciate, as when one comes up for sale (not too often) they go for serious money. So, you will at least get your money back, with a few quid on top, an accurate model of a bus that would otherwise never be made in model form and saves you countless hours in scratch or kit building something that wouldnt look as good. When you look at it from that point of view they're excellent value in my opinion. I'm glad I got my order in and gutted I missed out on some of the previous runs. I wont make that mistake again. 

Cheers!

Fran 

See that's where the difference is between a collector and a hobbiest, the collector is just interested in the amount of money one could make in the future.

[ttc0169]

Money well spent for the quality of bus that you get…As Derek is a one man operation I always like to and will continue to support his business  

Edited March 30, 2023 by ttc0169

[jhb171achill]

I remember that "biscuity brown" livery well - reminds me of mis-spent teen times......! (I think i am the solitary person on the planet who actually liked that livery).

One of those yokes with the number "10 Belfield" would bring back a lot of memories for me.....

Mind you, I remember seeing a GNR crest on a Dublin city bus too, and flying snails.............!

[Warbonnet]

14 hours ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

See that's where the difference is between a collector and a hobbiest, the collector is just interested in the amount of money one could make in the future.

I have to say I disagree with that statement. A collector likes to collect, the thrill of the search and the chase, and they likely do not sell their collections, as if they do they're no longer a collector. 

I think "speculator" is a more fitting term. 

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

9 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

I have to say I disagree with that statement. A collector likes to collect, the thrill of the search and the chase, and they likely do not sell their collections, as if they do they're no longer a collector. 

I think "speculator" is a more fitting term. 

Isn't debate great

[flange lubricator]

3 minutes ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Isn't debate great

Yes nice that everyone has a different opinion and can express it 

[Sean]

Speculators profiteer from Collectors.

A hobbyist might be happy to only ever own one loco and a loop of track with some wagons.

definitely a very wide demographic to paint everyone with one type of brush.

[DJ Dangerous]

I'll put my hands up and say that I'd be the first to moan about the price of these and the low run quantities...

At the same time, I imagine that putting €20k or €30k or whatever into a run that may take a year to see the light of day is also a daunting prospect, so fair balls to Derek Farrelly et al.

When it comes to quality, and this is not to knock the BritBus models, but the Jotus and Resin Specialist models have quite a bit more fidelity.

I picked up a second hand Resin Specialist RS-76658 model, KD221, no. 059 of 150, and the previous owner did something wierd with the windows and lost a mirror, but still, here are a few photos of it alongside it's BritBus counterparts. A photo speaks a thousand words. Again, this is not a dig at the IRM / Britbus models, it's just a visual comparison.

 

 

[skinner75]

I have a KD, and the windows did the same thing on mine - looks like the glue let go. I was thinking that using 'glue & glaze' would be the job for 'sticking' them back into place.

Anybody else here have the same thing happen to their KDs?

[DJ Dangerous]

17 minutes ago, skinner75 said:

I have a KD, and the windows did the same thing on mine - looks like the glue let go. I was thinking that using 'glue & glaze' would be the job for 'sticking' them back into place.

Anybody else here have the same thing happen to their KDs?

 

The windows seem warped on this one.

I just assumed that the last owner had left it on a window sill in the sun or something.

[DJ Dangerous]

I've just received an email from Derek Farrelly - the CIE livery Van Hool AN86 Atlanteans have arrived in stock!

I assume that he may end up with one or two unclaimed pre-orders, so @DiveController and @skinner75, getin touch with him!

I've asked if I can share his photos, and will do so if permitted.

All I can say is...

[skinner75]

57 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

I've just received an email from Derek Farrelly - the CIE livery Van Hool AN86 Atlanteans have arrived in stock!

I assume that he may end up with one or two unclaimed pre-orders, so @DiveController and @skinner75, getin touch with him!

I've asked if I can share his photos, and will do so if permitted.

All I can say is...

I emailed him, as I had gave him deposits on 4 of them back in March

[skinner75]

Got all four this morning - stunning!

Really happy that the 16A was one of the route numbers, as this was one of my local bus routes when I was a kid

[DJ Dangerous]

2 hours ago, skinner75 said:

Got all four this morning - stunning!

Really happy that the 16A was one of the route numbers, as this was one of my local bus routes when I was a kid

 

So jealous here!

 

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Got the email this morning, he has the Cork and Poulapuca versions in stock for anyone who is interested.

[DiveController]

Hopefully he can now devote himself to a re-run of the Atlantean Ds in navy/cream Tbh  received two of these in tans from Derek ( incl. Ringaskiddy) but would love some navy cream especially with Cork routes from schooldays. No 8 or even No5 would be an instant purchase

[DJ Dangerous]

22 hours ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Got the email this morning, he has the Cork and Poulapuca versions in stock for anyone who is interested.

 

I never got that email, so thanks for letting the good folk here on the forum know. Mine are still "in transit", boooooooooooooo!

 

8 hours ago, DiveController said:

Hopefully he can now devote himself to a re-run of the Atlantean Ds in navy/cream Tbh  received two of these in tans from Derek ( incl. Ringaskiddy) but would love some navy cream especially with Cork routes from schooldays. No 8 or even No5 would be an instant purchase

 

You mean two-tone green, Silly!

How common were Dublin Atlanteans in Cork anyway?

[mphoey]

no matter what derek releases it will sell however as he has to stump up the money before he even gets them he has to be sure he gets a return the original blue cream atlanteans sold slowly the dublin bus green went on preorder.

i would love to see a driver trainer or bus eireann or city tour van hool but is there enough of a market to sell i believe he has to do 200 minimum of the same paint livery for production decals allow the batches of 50 units but the base is the same. 

so the question would be would 200 bus eireann white reds or 200 driver trainers sell or even a tour one . 

to me if another batch of van hools get done it will be dublin bus green ones but i think derek will be doing something later this year probably announce by oct show as he normally does