Alphagraphix new website !!!

[Galteemore]

Alphagraphix, beloved especially by 7mm modellers, now has a developing website ...https://www.alphagraphixkits.co.uk/.

[Westcorkrailway]

1 hour ago, Galteemore said:

Alphagraphix, beloved especially by 7mm modellers, now has a developing website ...https://www.alphagraphixkits.co.uk/.

Great pictures of some of his irish locos on there. I especially like cbcsr stuff obviously, and he has plenty of it!

[Galteemore]

His Irish range used to be bigger and you could effectively build a complete CBSC steam layout off his offerings - complete with the T and C !

[Westcorkrailway]

3 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

His Irish range used to be bigger and you could effectively build a complete CBSC steam layout off his offerings - complete with the T and C !

A bandon tank, ivatt 2-4-2, st molaga and argadeen along with CIE coaching stock would do a fantastic job of replicating west cork in itself! I think the J30 is the wrong variant for that time

 

Even for any 7mm modeler, the range is still unbelivable

[Galteemore]

They are a huge asset. I have built several of his brass kits and use his coloured card kits as templates for scratchbuilt stock. He’s branched out more into Col Stephens type stuff lately but if Irish modellers keep buying.....

[Georgeconna]

Good Step but Still a bit to go to reach the workings of this century's way of paying for stuff. Maybe Nostalgia is not what it as good as it sounds!

" send your remittance by post as we are not equipped for handling credit card sales"

 

[RobertRoche]

9 minutes ago, Georgeconna said:

Good Step but Still a bit to go to reach the workings of this century's way of paying for stuff. Maybe Nostalgia is not what it as good as it sounds!

" send your remittance by post as we are not equipped for handling credit card sales"

They take PayPal according to the contact us page.

[Galteemore]

In the world of 7mm small suppliers, that is a warp speed change! It’s good to see Roger taking steps in this direction - he’s a great friend to Irish modelling. 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Galteemore

[GSR 800]

1 hour ago, Galteemore said:

In the world of 7mm small suppliers, that is a warp speed change! It’s good to see Roger taking steps in this direction - he’s a great friend to Irish modelling. 

Probably the largest boost to Irish 7mm modelling I've seen in my (short!) time, makes it an order of magnitude more accessible.

[Westcorkrailway]

Question from an absolute novice. What is a card kit. Is it a card overlay or body for an existing chassis or something?

[Galteemore]

It’s a flat sheet of card that you cut out and stick together / old school modelling. Generally it makes up the wagon body and floor, to which you add the metal buffers and running gear. Many of us use them as templates to build more solid plasticard ones. But here’s one I built straight from the packet a few years ago, as my first 5’ 3” wagon.  Plus photo of what a kit looks like, and a plasticard wagon using Roger’s kit as a drawing. 

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Galteemore

[Westcorkrailway]

18 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

It’s a flat sheet of card that you cut out and stick together / old school modelling. Generally it makes up the wagon body and floor, to which you add the metal buffers and running gear. Many of us use them as templates to build more solid plasticard ones. But here’s one I built straight from the packet a few years ago, as my first 5’ 3” wagon.  Plus photo of what a kit looks like, and a plasticard wagon using Roger’s kit as a drawing. 

 

Look like a decent way of starting out, for only a few pounds too

[DiveController]

The home page talks of 4mm and 7m scales but it seems to me that all the Irish stuff is probably 7mm, correct?

Edited April 28, 2021 by DiveController

[Galteemore]

That’s the case, yes. Some of the card buildings may be 4mm. 

[David Holman]

Wow, well done Roger. Not before time we might say, especially as I only recently sent the usual 6x second class stamps for the paper version!

 Given there are a few photos of my models in there, goes without saying am a long time fan of all things Alphagraphix. As Galteemore says, the card kits work well on their own and you can add a whitemetal chassis too, though I prefer to use them as drawings for scratch builds from plastic.

 Not only can you do West Cork, you can also do most of the Sligo Leitrim as the card kits cover box and cattle wagons, along with most of the coaches AND the railbus, plus many of the railway buildings too. Note though my model of the railbus is made of plastic and nickel silver - indeed would think this is easier than trying to bend card into all those complex shapes. Couldn't have done it without the card kit though and the whole catalogue is a fantastic resource, because there are whitemetal castings for bits and bobs, transfers and all sorts. Arigna Town was largely built from it.

 The loco kits are great too, because the chassis is a very simple, one piece etch. Solder in the wheel bearings (facing outwards for  5'3), fold up the frame sides and fold down the spacers, then they presto, you have a chassis! On an 0-6-0 I've had wheels and rods on in about an hour - very satisfying. Roger has some clever tricks for dealing with complex shapes like curved footplates and would say that many of the kits are well within the scope of an enthusiastic beginner and likewise the coaches too. Only St Mologa was a bit of a challenge, but even then more because of its tiny size than anything.

 If there aren't a few more folk (and should be a lot more!) modelling Irish broad gauge in 7mm scale as a result of the catalogue going online, then there is no justice. Come on in - the water is lovely!

[Westcorkrailway]

I think alphagraphix having a website may pull a few more in, they were impossible to find before and what they actually had in stock was word of mouth and photos of kits built by people such as yourself david. And a gmail floating around was the only way of contacting them. A website makes it far easier to at least get a good view of range/kind of models they are

 

 

[Ironroad]

This is a fantastic step forward for an entity I have allways found to be elusive, however the following is really a throwback;

Quote

"If you would like us to post you a printed copy of our latest illustrated catalogue, please send six Second Class stamps to the above address.  (UK customers only)."

Edited April 28, 2021 by Ironroad
typo

[Mayner]

3 hours ago, Ironroad said:

This is a fantastic step forward for an entity I have allways found to be elusive, however the following is really a throwback;

Quote

"If you would like us to post you a printed copy of our latest illustrated catalogue, please send six Second Class stamps to the above address.  (UK customers only)."

A high proportion of the UK small supplier sales are through the large UK exhibitions, specialist societies and advertising in model railway magazines rather than impulse buying on the internet. 

Its likely that Alphagraphics and other specialist O Gauge suppliers are catering to a demographic group who prefer and are prepared to pay for a printed catalogue that also acts as a reference than look something up on the web. 

The main challenge for these suppliers at the moment is keeping up with demand as more people are turning to modelling as a result of Covid restrictions in the UK.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Mayner

[Galteemore]

That’s indeed the case, John. Very few 7mm suppliers have a shopping cart system online. The website is often a basic one and essentially an electronic catalogue. Many of these businesses operate on a very narrow profit margin and are cottage industries. Many of the suppliers have other jobs and basically offer their modelling business as a useful service to fellow modellers. This business model works much better at scale specific trade shows, which are a scratchbuilders dream - a huge hall full of useful bits you can discuss with the trader in person. Quite how it will work in future is unclear. Unless you have an all singing and dancing website like Laurie Griffin, online sales of,say,  tiny brass fittings in small volumes is not easy. 

[David Holman]

Agreed!

 I think most people who build their own stuff are happy to plan ahead and/or wait a bit. That said, Alphagraphix normally only take a week (probably for cheques to clear), while the likes of Eileens Emporium, Roxey Mouldings and Wizard Models turn things around very quickly and you can use credit card or PayPal. Collectively they have certainly helped me through lockdowns, but also very much looking forward to proper shopping again at shows. My local model shop had no microstrip whatsoever when I visited this morning, so an order to Eileens is now required for the next project.

[Mike 84C]

Just looked through my 2013 edition of Alphagraphix catalogue and it says the 7mm range of Irish rolling stock kits is available in 4mm scale by adding 400 to the kit reference e.g. kit cc9 becomes kit cc409. I have several from them to use as plans. They do quote an email add; sirberkley@tiscali.co.uk. Hope this helps and I am just a happy customer no connection!.