njee20

Funny thing that, do you think there is a risk of sales being impacted? I'm not really interested in a Honda road car, but that's influenced in no way by their abject failure in F1! I would love a McLaren road car, and that's not impacted by their abject failure :-) Talking of which... saw a lovely P1 coming off the M25 last night! Honda are certainly struggling, and it'll be interested to see how long McLaren sit tight, considering this year's title is a foregone conclusion (for them at least) you wonder about the wisdom of switching mid-season? That said, the much lauded 'improvements' from Honda haven't exactly been quick or revolutionary, and it's a low bar!

There are a lot of detail parts, but yes, that's RTR, hard to call it anything else...

Pretty likely, take your pick: Even:

All just filthy silver AFAIK.

Good for you, I find them fantastically useful. Just not necessary to stick them right in your line of sight!

For me it's not saying something for saying something's sake, it's when there are dates and times mentioned which scream by with nary a mention. The original deadline for purchasing passed and Dave extended it, then it went sailing by again. As Mark mentions there's a slightly different dynamic among N and OO gauge modellers as there's a separate model on the table in N gauge, but in Dave's case that would make me more keen to promote the N gauge one and keep people up to date. That's not making empty promises, but providing updates, even if they're "sorry guys, the timescales are slipping, numbers aren't good enough, I'm considering opening this to retailers to ensure everyone gets the model they want".

I don't want to speak out of turn Dave, and I speak only for myself. Obviously I want you to succeed, and for everyone to end up with a superb model, I just feel things are a bit amiss: - you said you'd invoice everyone by 5th March and tooling would commence immediately. Here we are 3 months on and that's not happened, but no reason why, indeed you still seem to be accepting orders after the deadline has passed, twice - despite that last point you're now hinting at incentives to crowdfund, why not mention these before going to retailers? Surely if you can say "buy now and you'll get entered into a draw for a cab ride with DBS and you'll get a discount on my forthcoming Caledonian sleeper coaches" (I'm making it up) then you'll drum up sales of the crowdfunded models - the retailer thing must have taken some organisation, you say it was a necessity to shore up disappointing sales of crowdfunded models (hence my saying in crisis), yet the first you mentioned was when Hattons newsletter came out announcing it. Again, why not be forthcoming and tell people sales aren't as expected? people will likely stump up for more models. - you're not even updating the n gauge thread, and no one's really commenting, doesn't that tell you that something is awry? You have a good channel here, support it. You've commented (in this thread) that this is about both models both definitely going ahead. Is this true still? - why are there still things to announce and irons in the fire? Again, the deadline for orders was 3 months ago! We should be at the stage of receiving samples by your own timelines, with tooling nearly complete. I've mentioned before how giving deadlines which whistle by is counter productive, and reduces confidence versus not giving deadlines at all. This entire project had a very aggressive time line from inception and it seems to be slipping, whilst we're still getting promises of reasons to sign up, why didn't you get these in place in the beginning? I know you're in the business of making (excellent by all accounts) models, not marketing, but yes, I really do lack the confidence to crowdfund a model, and a vague hint of an incentive and a competition which has been 6 months in the making doesn't sway me at the moment. Like others I will wait and buy from a retailer instead as it stands, why wouldn't I?

Mmm, you kept liveries up your sleeve and I bought elsewhere after giving you dozens of hints, there's the 'competition' you've not said anything concrete about; give us an incentive Dave, a tangible one. I'll gladly splash out on another 92! Why didn't tooling start straight after CNY as you said a few pages back? 4 months on the project is in crisis. Right now I'm lacking the confidence to buy, some backers are smarting from last week's announcement, there are times when tipping the wink and saying "ahhh just you wait..." is a cunning business strategy and this really isn't one of them IMO.

Are you mandating they sell at RRP though? Surely they can advertise a lower price?

Yes I think TV in this context was meant to mean "large screen", rather than something which receives a signal. My VW system can play DVDs, but not while the car is moving (or the engine is on, I forget, I've never tried). I do agree that they can be distracting, although I think standalone sat navs can be worse, there should be significant fines for being with the brightness turned up in the dark and/or right in their field of vision. I suspect we'll see a rise in 'gesture control' (as VW have introduced on the newest Golf iteration) or voice activation, to mitigate having to poke at virtual buttons on a screen with no tactile feedback. .

Yes the undercutting by Hattons of the crowdfunded price is a little unfortunate. Dave can't dictate what Hattons must sell their stock for, and it's a slightly invidious position - I presume they're a major buyer of his, so I doubt he wants to irk them too much with demands. If people buy more than one they're definitely better off than buying through Hattons, but quite why one would tie their capital up otherwise is uncertain, beside from supporting a fledgling company and/or wanting the 'rarer' numbered model. I am perhaps one of those who are 'to blame', I submitted an expression of interest for an N gauge one, but then backed the other manufacturer offering one as i have seen their products in the flesh and Dave wasn't doing the livery I wanted (although it was added later, I had already paid deposits elsewhere). There's every chance I'll buy one of Dave's still when they arrive, but not a crowdfunded one, there's just not the incentive. I'll be honest I'm watching timescales too, as tooling was scheduled to start immediately after Chinese New Year, and yet now the entire project is teetering on the edge of viability?

well that's just looking marvellous.

Were there NP JHAs? I thought they were all JMAs, which as you say are more or less HHAs with LTF 25 bogies. Would love some JHAs though, would do for Hanson too. Edit: and yes there were NP JHAs, as you were!

Hmmm, always been tempted by a rail grinder, at £50 I fear one will accidentally fall in my shopping basket next time there's free shipping!

Ah, my mistake. I'm interested in the N gauge one (but that thread is deader than a dead thing), which has only been offered in "DCC ready" or "DCC sound fitted", but not "DCC fitted". Surely fitting a decoder is the work of seconds though? I'd always buy DCC ready and fit a decoder of my choice.

The retailer batch was announced by Dave yesterday, you've read every post since. He's best placed to confirm things like limited edition certificates (I'd assume not), whether you can order 'retailer' editions through him directly (seems likely), and whether he's doing a straight "DCC fitted" version (probably not as it's never been discussed).

They look amazing, even a super close up. Great job!

Every livery carried by anything ever? Pete Waterman would need a bigger house!

That was my thought too, I'd happily get rid of IRJs!

Shame Max Chilton didnt hold on.

There have been plenty of big crashes in the tunnel over the years, but it's not really all that bad. Ian's spot on about the race, not a single overtake that stuck, and only a few laughable attempts.

The suggestion of "people you might know", yes, but not friend requests.

There's a rake at Crawley New Yard at least a couple of times a week. DBS red 59.

Life's too short IMO. Cookies are useful, I don't want to type passwords every time, no it's not necessary to sign into Google, but it makes things more seamless when looking at Gmail, using Google Hangouts and Google Docs. I've nothing to hide, I'm not going to publicise my address and bank details online, but as you say I'm sure the determined could procure both if they so desired.

Yep, if you don't want to be 'tracked' don't use the internet. I'm a very passive user of Facebook, it's useful for organising things where you may not know everyone - I'm doing a stag do at the moment, and it's much easier than emails/texts. It provides a bit of light entertainment, but my life wouldn't end if it disappeared tomorrow. It's mainly useful so grumpy people can shout loudly about how they don't use it and call it Farcebook or Faceache though. the really 'hilarious' ones refer to Twatter as well. So droll.