I found with Bachmann it's worth waiting until deeper discounting or bundles are offered. I think that Bachmann have learned from what happened with the newer 37, they have to be more competitive price wise, particularly as Accurascale are good on this.
@modelrailfan376 ай бұрын
Well said!
@Simon-Davis6 ай бұрын
I'm glad to see the 31 from Bachmann, I've had no end of issues with my Accura class 37s with both DCC issues as well as its dubious trackholding. I have a pair of 31s on order with Accurascale, and have no intention of cancelling them although I'm dreading the same DCC issues that plague my 37s. I might order the Bachmann Red stripe 31, particularly because Accura aren't doing it but also because I trust the Bachmann product to work out of the box without issue.
@DongitsModelRailway6 ай бұрын
I've not had any running issues with my Accurascale locos thankfully, but I've definitely got the DCC lighting function issues. That seems to be a problem for anyone not running the Accurascale custom programmed ESU decoders. I've got two more Accurascale locos on pre-order -- and same as you I'm not cancelling them, but I'm concerned about what electrical problems they will bring with them.
@ILikeTransport6 ай бұрын
Are the DCC issues by any chance sound cutting out?
@Simon-Davis6 ай бұрын
@@ILikeTransport They become unresponsive to control in the most random ways. I've had them start up on their own, play random sounds and cut out sound entirely. Worse is when they go unresponsive while running so I'm unable to stop without turning off track power. Mine were bought as DC models but I bought the sound decoders from Accurascale. I'm hoping the 31s will behave being as they're sound fitted out of the box.
@ILikeTransport6 ай бұрын
@@Simon-Davis How bizarre, I've not heard any such issues or experienced it. I'd suggest you contact Accurascale about it if you haven't already, I found them to be very helpful with an issue I had of sound cutting out.
@Simon-Davis6 ай бұрын
@@ILikeTransport I did...apparently my track voltage is too low, should be between 18-20v. Which is odd as I use a beefed up system which runs my outdoors railway that pumps out a track voltage of 19.2v at 8A. They are the ONLY models which act up out of 80 locomotives across 00, H0 and G scales...but to be sure I've tested them on the club layout using NCE powercab, Gaugemaster Prodigy and a Roco Multimaus, and they don't run right with any of those controllers either.
@LocomotionMotion6 ай бұрын
Good video, very thorough and a balanced analysis
@LennixAlexander6 ай бұрын
Yeah the newer Bachman 47's seem to be quite heavily discounted, I own a couple and have never paid anything close to the full RRP
@modelrailfan376 ай бұрын
Yep, it’s always a good idea to wait for discounts, especially if you have a feeling something won’t sell!
@HamStrains6 ай бұрын
They seem to have developed a more preservation oriented steam range delivered through deals with locomotion models and shops as per that G5 and so on. Wouldn't discount further steam developments going forward or even more to be announced this year just maybe don't expect them to be directly from bachmann. Probably quite smart really as people do seem to enjoy getting their hands on things they've seen in a museum or can have some connection to via survicing examples elsewhere.
@modelrailfan376 ай бұрын
I wouldn’t necessarily say that, as that would mean that locomotives that were not preserved won’t be made, and Rapido have tons of steam locos that have been released or are on the way, and they seem to be selling well! Don’t forget as well that a few years ago Bachmann released the Midland 1P, and most of those sold out on preorder! They also did the 94XX and V2, which were in their main range, but their were versions that were exclusive to Locomotion Models and Rails of Sheffield. Honestly, releasing stuff in their standard range is probably better than making exclusives, as it means that they can supply more retailers, and Bachmann really seem to be in favour of helping retailers, which is great! On a more personal note as well, I don’t live in the UK, but I do have a semi-local model shop that has an online website, and they stock Bachmann Branchline, Dapol, Heljan, Oxford, and Rapido models, and when I buy my models, I always get them there, as international shipping is extremely expensive, so if Bachmann do make exclusives, then those who live international (and believe me lots of people in other parts of Europe, as well in Australia, New Zealand and North America model British railways) are not really able to buy these exclusive models, unless they want to pay ludicrous prices to get models into their respective country. Also, if you see a model in a shop, your usually more likely to be tempted to buy it, as usually things look nicer in person than in product listings, or at least that’s what most others have told me/I find myself. I know others will have different opinions on this, but I really don’t think it makes much sense to do exclusives…
@HamStrains6 ай бұрын
@@modelrailfan37 indeed they do tend to find their way to the main range, what I meant is more that they seem to be seeking to do those models that involve a tie in with someone more often than just producing something straight into the main range. More will be announced later in the year either way so we shall have to wait and see what they come up with. Wouldn't be too shocked if we see something quite out of left field come along, rapido announced the Jones goods, maybe bachmann will suprise with a caledonian single to compliment or a midland single to compliment their offerings from that railway.
@modelrailfan376 ай бұрын
@@HamStrains I’d love to see the Caledonian Single, even though I model the LNER, I probably wouldn’t be able to resist that and pick one up. The only tricky thing with the singles is none of them made it into BR ownership, and I think it is hard for companies to justify releasing steam locos that didn’t make it to BR condition (minus industrials of course, but even so, many of them would have been private owned, and near BR’s network), as a ton of people model that era. We did get the Precedent and Stirling Single though, and Hornby used to make the Caley 123, so never say never! I’d also really like to see Bachmann, or Rapido, or someone like that make the Caledonian 439, one’s preserved, it went to BR ownership, and is one of the more popular Scottish locomotives (at least from what I’ve heard, most likely because ones preserved), yet nobody has made a model of it for some reason 🤔
@HamStrains6 ай бұрын
@@modelrailfan37 439 is probably more likely a better long term investment in terms of range of liveries and numbers that could be offered over time for sure. Another one people are probably eyeing up or have been for a while is a T3 given that beasts recent overhaul and return to steam, plenty of awareness of it and people who would want a model of it at this point. Also whoever tools up a new 8F next would be missing a trick in not doing the little bit of extra work to do some of the overseas examples, just like bachann did a few special editions of austerity 2-8-0s in various foreign schemes that were fairly well received.
@modelrailfan376 ай бұрын
@@HamStrains ya I think 439 would be a really good idea, as well as the T3, the T3 having just returned to steam and all. I actually suggested to both Bachmann and Rapido that they should make these, as they do sorta seem like two companies that would most likely make these models, as recently most of Bachmann’s steam locomotives have been of relatively early prototypes (minus the V2), and that seems to be about the only thing Rapido have been doing (not a complaint of course, I’m super excited for most of Rapido’s new projects!). Overseas versions of the 8F would be a good idea, but part of me wonders if we really need a new 8F? The Hornby one isn’t that bad, it’s very overpriced given its age and the fact that it doesn’t have as many features as most newer locomotives, so honestly if the price wasn’t so high on the Hornby 8F, or they upgraded the model a bit, then I don’t think we need a new one. Then again, it is a popular locomotive, so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone is working on a new one right now!
@fentoncentral-ngauge6 ай бұрын
N gauge 31 is excellent 👍
@lucitonstjames39256 ай бұрын
With over £1m invested into creating a new gen six axle locomotive platform & the associated other tech for the 47 it was always a given that other locomotives would appear & here we are , the trick is whats next. The manufacturers all chasing the juicy low hanging fruit that these old diesels offer in terms of liveries / variations. Bachmann pretty confident they can get the retailers to buy these off them. the SFX spec is what Bachmann will be hoping shifts the most. Bachmann have a loyal client base , you know what you are getting with them & therein lies Accurascales problem with the associated issues with its previous 3 loco releases.
@DongitsModelRailway6 ай бұрын
I was expecting with a 69 already announced, a 56 would be an obvious candidate. I honestly wasn't expecting a 31...
@modelrailfan376 ай бұрын
@@DongitsModelRailway we don’t really need a 56 though, Clavax just released a new one, and there’s nothing wrong really with the old Hornby one.
@DongitsModelRailway6 ай бұрын
@@modelrailfan37 I agree ... but that statement could just as easily be said of the 31, too.
@modelrailfan376 ай бұрын
@@DongitsModelRailway yeah, true. Bachmann didn’t know that though (presumably) when they started tooling for the 31 (ie: Accurascale had not announced theirs yet)
@azuma8926 ай бұрын
Very insightful video with useful information here, but does it really take 3-4 years for a British newly tooled loco to hit the market? According to Changming, a manufacturer of Chinese models for the domestic market, they say it takes 12 to 18 months to develop a HO loco from the ground up and 10 to 12 months for N scale. Bachmann is owned by Kader who operates the factories so they should have good communication with the factory making their models, won't be surprised if their efficiency is similar to Chinese model makers.
@DongitsModelRailway6 ай бұрын
Yes, it does genuinely appear to take that long. I'm still waiting for the release of a Bachmann model that was first shown in the 2014 catalogue. Ten years later and ... we haven't seen it yet. They were getting a reputation for unreasonable delays, and the solution was ... to announce things later, not to make things faster. This isn't a Bachmann specific issue -- It's not uncommon for a model to be announced more than two years before delivery, and yet the announcement includes images of EPs. That means just to go from EP to shipped product is >2 years.
@azuma8926 ай бұрын
Just out of interest, what is the model you've been waiting ten years for?
@DongitsModelRailway6 ай бұрын
Class 171 DMU in Southern livery. It was in the catalogue for about four years, was not released at the time, and is now ... not listed anywhere. The assumption is that a Turbostar refresh is still coming, likely now based on the design of the updated 158.
@Alpha-oo86 ай бұрын
Interestingly enough, heljan have just released their class 47, meaning there is a competing version on the market now, but I don’t know when they announced their version
@DongitsModelRailway6 ай бұрын
Timing here is interesting, as the Heljan project has been public for a long time -- the first announcement I can find is in 2019. The EP was first seen Jan 2021. But it's coming to market now, in early 2024. That's five years in public development and three years between EP and delivery. Bachmann announced their updated 47 August 2021, with it arriving to market in 2021 also. They probably had EPs already when Heljan first announced they were working on it. Had Bachmann been public with their EPs when they first arrived, the chances are that Heljan may have not decided to work on an updated 47, or would have quickly abandoned work on it (which they did with TT:120). But as Bachmann kept quiet, Heljan kept working, and by the time Bachmann went public, Heljan were too far along to pull the plug.
@modelrailfan376 ай бұрын
Good analogy! I don’t really think Bachmann were competing with Accurascale on the 31, but they definitely on some other models, and I think this ridiculous level of competition is a bit silly, as instead of waisting time re-releasing models that are now being made by other companies, Bachmann could instead put this time and money to bringing something back we haven’t seen for a long time, or working on a new tool project for something we have never seen. Regarding the 57’ mark 1, I don’t actually think that was a terrible announcement, as it’s about half the price of the Accurascale model, so I’m guessing it is meant to be more of a budget offering, and with the prices of models these days, I actually think we need to see more budget offerings.
@DongitsModelRailway6 ай бұрын
If Bachmann had updated the tooling for that 57ft Suburban with a flushglaze panel, or updated the underframe with close couplers (perhaps using the Mk1 BG as a template) then it'd have been worth doing as a "budget option". But when you can pick the literal same model up second hand in good condition in quantity for less than half the price of the latest run from the same tooling, and in enough quantity to build full trains, the people who are after the budget conscious option are better served by the second hand market. There's plenty of stuff Bachmann could usefully re-run though, that isn't competing with it's own previous production runs. Mk2F TSOs in Blue/Grey or InterCity liveries. FFA centre cars. Porthole seconds, composites and brake seconds in Maroon. All of these are nigh-on impossible to find and when one does turn up, it goes for stupid money. Why do they not re-run the obvious stuff like this?
@modelrailfan376 ай бұрын
@@DongitsModelRailway that’s a really good point!
@murrayangus6 ай бұрын
You mentioned the Hornby Class 31 have a dubious shape - can you explain?
@DongitsModelRailway6 ай бұрын
The main issue I see raised is about the shape (and particularly the depth) of the cab side windows. This has been a complaint since new - when it first launched there were people comparing it unfavourably to the Lima shell in terms of shape in this area.
@billfusionenterprise6 ай бұрын
Are you worried about Bachmann getting you with a copyright strike????? I say this because someone else picking on Bachmann got one. I found out though "Sam's Trains" video I thought is good because you 40 minutes before you get see that uncoupler item
@DongitsModelRailway6 ай бұрын
I saw that video before it was removed. I'm pretty confident I know why they filed that strike, and It's not about the footage of the uncoupler.
@HamStrains6 ай бұрын
@@DongitsModelRailway where there's drama to be milked for views in a sensationalist way you'll find Sam. If there is none, he'll create some anyway.