News Archive 2010

I have added the Duchess details to the O gauge section. I am sorry to be vague about the price, unfortunately 6 months is a very long time in China!

We are now sold out of O gauge crimson lake Jubilees, plenty of green both types and tenders.

I have one 2223 tank early (round fire box), left from the inital batch, we will have LMS & early BR finished models ready to photograph soon. I am dissappointed to report that I now owe Randolph £10.00 having lost my bet on how many we would initially sell!

We have 4 of the limited edition (factory wasp stripes, cab interior) 08 blue shunters left £440 each, there are no more in the country.

In respose to all, who asked, we are happy to accept payment by credit or debit card at no extra cost.

Have a look at the special offer 2MT it is a fabulous model and you can have it fully finished for less than the Bachmann dealers sold the plain one for.

We are pleased to announce that manufacturing has commenced on a limited edition Gauge 1 Royal Scot, just 60 models will be available worldwide exclusively through ourselves. Each model will come with a plate and certifiacte of authentication and numbers will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Please see the gauge 1 model page for further details.

We now have the prices for the shipment due into the UK week commencing the 16th August the new prices will be implemented by Telford.

O Gauge

• Black 5, Scot, Jubilee, Schools, Hall £1025.00
• 8F £1050.00
• Manor £1025.00
• V2 & B1 £1065.00
• Terrier £500.00
• 1833 £500.00

Gauge 1

• Jubilee £1300.00
• 8F £1325.00

We have the following at old prices

• V2 Br green double chimney low fronted tender -1
• V2 LNER green early valve gear low tender - 2
• V2 LNER green late valve gear low tender - 1
• V2 LNER green late valve gear high tender - 1
• Black 5 - 1 of each variation
• 8F - 2
• Scot Green - 2
• Hall - 2
• Terrier LBSC - 1
• Jubilee green SFB - 2
• Jubilee green LFB - 2
• Jubilee crimson SFB welded - 1

Gauge 1

• Jubilee SFB Crimson - 2
• Jubilee LFB crimson - 2
• Jubilee LFB green - 2
• 8F - 4

Get them whilst you can.

The re-run of the gauge 1 tankers is in production we would expect them to arrive around November time this is a limited re-introduction of just 100 pieces, of which just under half are pre-sold.

No news is not good news I’m afraid, the factory has undergone radical changes over the last few months due to the demand for labour in China causing rising labour costs, rent and government levy’s equal to our national insurance. Although the pound is having a rally as I write, it is still weak compared with last year.

The end result is as follows

The prices on the website are for current stock, there is a consignment due into the UK mid August these models will be priced as follows

Factory colours

O Gauge

Black 5, Scot, Jubilee, Schools £1045.00
8F & B1 £1075.00
Manor £1025.00
V2 £1100.00
Terrier £480.00
1833 £500.00

There is one B1 in Brass left on this consignment, a small number of each finish of GWR built Manors and the first of the 1833’s plus limited numbers of BR finish V2’s

We have 3 x blue 08 shunters left and 3 x 32mm Double fairlies & 6 of each 2MT’s left from the Bachmann models

Gauge 1

Jubilee’s & 8F’s £1350.00

All other gauge 1 models remain as per price list

We have 1 x J94 low bunker, 3 x J94 high bunker, 1 x 45mm double fairly, 1 x 45XX, 6 x 4575’s left from the Bachmann models

I am expecting a further consignment before Telford which will be at the above prices.

After Telford the prices will be as follows

O Gauge

Black 5, Scot, Jubilee, Schools £1100.00
8F & B1 £1130.00
Manor £1075.00
V2 £1150.00
Terrier £505.00
1833 £525.00

In January the prices are predicted to be

Black 5, Scot, Jubilee, Schools £1185.00
8F & B1 £1215.00
Manor £1160.00
V2 £1210.00
Terrier £545.00
1833 £555.00

I would then expect quarterly increase throughout 2011 in the region of £60.00 per loco.

So get Santa to but your prezzies early because as they say “when there gone there gone”

To put things into context even with these increases, a fully finished model will still cost you less than its nearest R.T.R equivalent and still close to half the price of the reassuringly expensive models

There are limited stocks of both green & black B1’s available but I do not expect these to last until Halifax, if you want one before July/August you need to order now.

The factory have announced the following

There will be another £25 increase in June (just in time for Halifax) and you should expect further increases this year to the tune of an extra 15% per loco, we still have a few “pre-increase” models left, it is very much first come first served.

We will have a few Manors available for Halifax at the new price, the pre-order Manors are being shipped by sea so are at least 8 weeks away.

Manufacture is in progress on the 1833 and we will have the first pre-production sample of the Duchess available for inspection, I expect delivery to take place early next year.

Consider this

Even with the price increases the brass version of the Duchess is likely to be between £1200 & £1300, you could have it painted by Ian Rathbone, or Simon Greenwood and still have change from £1800 or by our workshops and have change from £1600, hand lined by professional painters, Severnmill plates, Fox transfers onto a hand built model. By doing the final finishing in the UK we are the last line in quality control, why would you want to pay more?

After a delay at Southampton we finally received the new container so the good news.

We have the following in stock at the old price.

O gauge

B1 black
B1 LNER green
1 only V2 BR green double chimney late valve gear high fronted tender (This is nice)
1 only V2 BR green late valve gear high fronted tender
V2 BR green early & late valve gear low fronted tender
V2 LNER green early & late valve gear, low/high tender
Hall
Schools
8F
Black 5, all versions
Terrier
Jubilee (including crimson lake)
Rebuilt Scot
Bachmann Blue 08
Bachmann 2MT black & green

Gauge 1

All models are in stock, including the 8F, but we have limited availability of short firebox jubilees in BR green & Bachmann low bunker J94’s.

We have news of the gauge 1 tankers, a production slot is available and we will be doing a re-run this year as soon as possible.

G gauge

The double Fairlies are back in stock in limited numbers.

General

Pre orders will be shipped next week and all orders for fully finished models are now with the painters.

The bad news.

The anniversary offers are withdrawn next week, this will particularly affect the price of the Manor.

The new prices will apply 1st May basically all models plus £25.00, as the existing stocks run out, with the exception of the Manor which will be plus £50.00 from this date.

We have further information today from the factory and would like to update you as follows

Due to the demand for labour in the Chinese market place the factory is running with reduced capacity as skilled staff are “poached”. Because of the time it takes to train new staff, this is not simply a case of recruiting more and setting them to work there is a time scale involved. This means that the factory has to give priority to existing orders and new orders are on an extended lead time, this will have the following effect:

O gauge

The initial B1 shipment will be with us next week a further shipment will not arrive until June at the earliest

The first shipment of Manors & 1833’s are due in June in time for the Halifax show, there will be limited numbers the second shipment will not arrive until Telford show in the Autumn

The Fowler tender is on indefinite hold due to limited demand

Gauge 1

The sunshine stock and Hall will not go into production until at least 2011 as this is the first production slot available

This also applies to the tank wagons

There are no more type 2 black 5’s available only early & type 1

General

As stated previously the anniversary offers will end on the 30th of April or as stock runs out whichever is the soonest.

Brass Price Increases.

Over the past two years the value of the Pound against other currencies has fallen by 25% making imports to the UK much more expensive. In addition with the introduction of European style labour laws and national insurance contributions in China, coupled with massive yearly pay rises that has caused the cost of labour to soar by over 50%, and the booming property market which has driven factory rents to rise to record levels, an increase is inevitable.

The result of all this can be seen in the confirmation we received today from the San Cheng factory which is responsible for the production of our Finescalebrass range, Tower Brass, and the former Bachmann Brassworks ranges in both 'O' gauge and Gauge 1. The factory has made it clear, that to remain viable, they intend to increase the price of all of these ranges by between 15% and 20% by the end of the year. It may be that this happens in a number of small steps or in one go, we suspect the former, either way it is happening NOW.

We and the factory have absorbed a number of price increases and the increase in VAT over the last few months and are currently working on very low margins and cannot absorb any further increases without the ranges becoming totally uneconomic.

The increases are already in place on the container that docks next week, we will meet our commitment regarding pre-orders for the Manor until the end of this month and the price of the B1 will be as advertised for the current stock, however once these are sold (and there are very few left) the new price will apply.

You therefore has the opportunity to make your purchase fairly quickly or face the reality of the much higher prices that are being forced upon us. Let us not forget the size of this increase. It will add up to £100.00 to a tank engine and up to £200.00 to a large tender engine.

The factory has basically two choices, to either operate economically and make a profit or it can close down. You the customers have to decide whether you wish to lose a factory that has, over the last 15 years created a skilled workforce, which has produced a product range in two scales, the like of which previously did not exist or to continue to support this factory to introduce new models at an economical price.

All we can do is hope that you will take advantage of the low prices whilst they still exist and be prepared to pay a more realistic price in the future. Quite simply, if you don't then there will not be a factory. No factory, no product. As stated, this price increase will affect the Finescalebrass, Tower Brass, and the former Bachmann Brassworks ranges in both 'O' and Gauge 1. You will find a notice to a similar effect on the Tower website, you will also notice that Bachmann no longer list Brassworks on their website.

It is worth reinforcing that our products are handmade from brass and stainless steel using in-house facilities for laser cutting, moulding, pressing, machining and casting. It takes up to 3 “man” weeks to assemble an individual model. That is in addition to all the features you are well aware off sprung wheels, fine scale detail, helical gearboxes. The point is these models as just as well made and researched as the “museum quality models” being marketed for twice the cost and more. Why are we not twice the cost?

Our production runs are higher so the development costs can be spread over more models.

Our advertising spend is lower

We do not include any travel costs to & from the factory for ourselves or our advisors

We bulk import by sea not airfreight

We work on a lower margin as our range is larger

Our models are made for the modeller who wants to run them and not necessarily showcase them, this means we do not add detail which may be for show only, as an example our smoke box doors open to allow you to add extra weight into the boiler to improve traction not to display the chimney flue details which would never be seen in operation!

Could we reduce the price?

Of course, we could make a one piece casting out of white metal or resin for the tender and the boiler and cab then add plastic and white metal detail with a bit of brass here and there, but that is not what we are here for, we try and give you a top quality model at a fair price, not a model built to a price point, we have no intention of compromising our quality.

The next container from the factory is due in about 3 weeks, among the contents are:-

The new O gauge B1 (75% of the shipment is pre-sold).
BR livery V2’s including a double chimney version.
A further batch of Gauge 1 8F’s.

We have been informed by the factory that due to rising production costs future shipments will be at substantially increased prices, we are not sure of the exact numbers but it will not be single figures.

Existing stock will be at current prices however please note that we are running low on most models so if you are thinking of investing in a new model now is the time.

As of the 30th April all anniversary offers will be removed, this will result in the price of the Manor increasing, again pre-order now to hold this price.

Unfortunately China is well known for its ability to copy or clone products. Although I can almost understand why someone would want to buy a fake Rolex at a 40th of the cost of an original I am not sure why people are happy to buy copies of existing gauge 1 models at just below the original price. bearing in mind there is no research and development costs you would expect at least a 33% saving. Coming into the market are "fully" finished gauge 1 Jubilees for a small amount below the price we offer our individually finished models for. Before you consider "investing" your hard earned money in one of these give some thought to the following.

There is already an historical example of a copy gauge 1 outline loco by an otherwise quite reputable manufacturer, forgetting the inaccurate shape, the incorrect lining, the historically incorrect details these models can now be obtained new for less than £900, take out the VAT and dealer margin and your are left with a trade price of less than £650 so when you or your family come to sell that locomotive you are lucky if a dealer will offer you much over £450 quite a loss over the £1250 originally paid for these models.

The question is why bother? compare what you get for your money.

MODELS

Our models

Short firebox - distinguished by 5 washout plugs on one side, no hand holes on the top of the fire box, firebox finished short of the first splasher, so models like Silver Jubilee, Commonwealth names like Kolhapur.

Long firebox - 6 washout plugs on both sides, hand holes on top of the firebox, firebox finished in the middle of the first splasher, warship models like Leander.

Tenders - Jubilees ran with various tenders our models give you a choice of two Stanier 4000 gallon riveted & 4000 gallon welded.

Copy

Long fire box riveted tender only so if offered as Silver Jubilee or a Commonwealth country manifestly wrong.

LIVERY

Our models

Because we create individual models to your requirements each livery is researched for the period you wish and is create correctly in colour and number of scale lines, by top UK professionals. Lines are not missed out or put in the wrong place, the correct LMS livery for the period is applied , and there are many options, but all had two colours in the lining. Our BR livery represents any period from the days of black through to the late 60's. our full mixed traffic livery is just that, we do all the hard bits including lining the boiler bands, yes its fiddly, yes its hard to do and costs us more but why spoil the ship so to speak?

Copy

Not much to say really just compare, you get what you pay for, you cannot beat experience and skill.

FINISH

Our models

Hand lined by top professionals, supporting other UK manufacturers by using Fox transfers & Guilplates, wheel edges blackened, cab detail picked out brass pipes, white gauges, red levers, cab glazed, real coal load fitted, weathering as required.

Copy

See comment on livery.

MECHANICS

Our model

Using 12V DC through a helical gearbox we ensure the most efficient way of operating your locomotive, if you are running power through the track optimum performance can be achieved using a standard transformer, using batteries this system gives you maximum running time and using DCC the stall current allows the use of a standard chip. DCC is very new in gauge 1 and has only become possible with the development of the helical gearbox, previous worm drives produced too high a demand on the chips. Our experience in O gauge where this system is more common led us to develop this gearbox specifically for the DCC operations.

Copy

24V DC will need some driving, battery space in the tender for radio control, we use the boiler so giving more adhesion to the driving wheels.

SUPPORT

Our model

Each locomotive comes with a full 12 month guarantee, in the unlikely event of anything going wrong we will arrange to collect your model, repair or replace it and return it to you at our cost. After this period we will provide spares free of charge for you to fit for as long as spares are available for the model. On the basis that we make most components in house this has meant that we are still supporting models we made for Bachmann over 8 years ago. The factory has been making brass RTR models for over 15 years and manufacturers Bachmann Brassworks & Tower Models exclusive products, this ensures a continuity of supply and a vast pool of knowledge and experience. We hold over £150,000 worth of stock here in the UK which indicates our commitment to our customers.

Copy

If you like you can go on the internet & buy 5 models for re-sale direct from the factory, just remember to factor in sending them back to China and then re-shipping when they go wrong.

CONCLUSION

Copy models for auction on eBay starting at £1350 delivered, choice of one model, our models £1425.00 delivered a whole lot more loco for just £75 more and a full range of choices, is it worth the risk?

Plus if we stop making models there will be nothing to copy so where will that lead?

Our model has been researched, designed and is tried and tested, a copy is just that and supporting copying just takes away income from those who have put in the hard work as has has happened with manufactures in other gauges, why should we invest time and money if there is no return?

We cannot make Aster like claims for future values but can tell you that every model we have so far delivered has been admired and is cherished by its new owner, we are very happy to put you in touch with any of them to support this claim.

Revised anniversary offer

The gauge 1 free tank car offer has been an unprecedented success, so much so we have now used our initial allocation, Please see our gauge 1 discount offer which now replaces it.

The new gauge 1 8F is now in stock £1200.00 factory black, £1325.00 fully finished, our prices include VAT, customs duty and UK couriered delivery, this new loco is included in our anniversary offer.

A new year and a special offer, see our anniversary offers for a special priced Manor in O gauge and a free tank car offer in gauge 1. The first fully finished Jubilees have been delivered so far we have seen Leander, Newfoundland, Indomitable, Queensland, Kolhapur, Trafalgar & Minotaur , with more in the workshop.