Forthcoming products (Commercial)

[Chris Veitch]

I am currently in the process of developing a couple of new products and I'm posting details here to give Society members some advance notice and hopefully gain some idea of possible demand. Please note that I will be launching these regardless of the level of response from this forum - this is *not* a case of me requesting X number of pre-orders before I'll start production, indeed I'm not actually taking pre-orders at all as I can't currently guarantee an availability date.

I'm currently working on:

i) An FR disc signal kit. This will be mainly etched with a lost wax brass base and lamp, and will include an alternative tunnel board to portray the Moelwyn Tunnel signals. Status of the kit is that the etcher is currently producing the first test etch, and one of the two casting masters is complete with the other one hopefully finished in the next couple of weeks.

ii) FR carriage 119-120 in original condition, i.e. before the recent complete rebuild. Resin roof master is done and the artwork is at the "nearly finished, how many can I fit on a sheet?" stage. It will be similar in construction to my current FR 104/106 kit, but with a cast resin roof. It will include ALL parts required to complete including bogies, wheels, roof, corridor connections, partitions, etc. It *won't* include the etched seating of my earlier kit as this made them rather heavy and considerably more complex to build. I may consider cast interior seating kits if there's demand.

If you're interested in either of these, please drop me a line at newkits<@>chrisveitch.co.uk (removing the <> brackets) and let me know. Hopefully this will enable me to make a more intelligent guess at production volumes. If you have any questions please ask.

Thanks,

Chris Veitch

PS I'm posting this in the Signalling and Rolling Stock areas as I'm not sure how the forum distributes new messages and the Signalling area is particularly sparse. Apologies if this upsets anyone.

[rhydddu009]

FR signal sounds great, I will likely have some.

I can also tell members of the forum the the roof for the 119/120 kit is superb, I have used it in conjunction with worsley sides/ends to model the carriages as they are now.

Colin

[Chris Veitch]

Thanks for that Colin. Judging from the response, we're the only ones here...

Chris

[invercloy]

I'd be interested in some of the disc signals for my new layout.

Chris, this may be worth posting on http://ngrm-online.com that forum is more active than this one, and I know there are some non-society members on there.  Just a thought, but your target audience is much bigger  ;)  If you're not a member then I'm happy to post it there on your behalf if you'd like?

[Chris Veitch]

Thanks Tom. That's OK, I am a member but haven't really had a look at it recently . It seems to have changed quite a bit and as you say, has a lot more traffic.

I'll probably give it a go when I'm a little further on, but I really wanted to give Society members the chance to put in their 2p-worth before announcing anything officially.

Regards,

Chris

[invercloy]

No probs, thought i'd mention it anyway.

I'm certainly interested as my new layout will be of the right era to use the discs!  :)

[Darren Hedges]

i) An FR disc signal kit. This will be mainly etched with a lost wax brass base and lamp, and will include an alternative tunnel board to portray the Moelwyn Tunnel signals. Status of the kit is that the etcher is currently producing the first test etch, and one of the two casting masters is complete with the other one hopefully finished in the next couple of weeks.

Sorry, but I assume you mean the 19th century ones as oppossed to the modern ones in use today?

Darren.

[Isle of Stoner]

Hi Chris

Personally the signal kits are something I've been looking forward to for a while and with my work hat on the coaches will be great sellers too.

Cheers


John Wooden

[Chris Veitch]

Darren,

Yes, they'll be the old pattern. I took the details from the one outside Boston Lodge last year.

Regards,

Chris

[Chris Veitch]

(Cross-post from NGRM online - hope this is OK)

I've attached a couple of photos of a pre-production sample of my new 009 Ffestiniog Railway Disc Signal Kit. I now have the test etch and have started to build a pilot model so I've posted a few images below. The kit is in 0.012" nickel silver and will have a cast brass base and lamp. I don't have the castings yet so I've turned up a simple base to help me make up the sample. I don't have a launch date or firm price yet, but I'd hope to be able to release it around Christmas (this year...!). If anyone is particularly interested in seeing this pilot model I'll have it at Swanley next weekend - I don't have a stand there but mail me off list and I'll arrange to meet up if possible. Note that the model in the photos is not finished - it doesn't have disc clamps and one of the handrails and hasn't been cleaned up particularly well. The kit also includes (not shown) a Moelwyn Tunnel board - a pair of these signals were used at the tunnel entrances but with a large "flag"-type rectangular board rather than a disc.

 


I've also managed to squeeze in a couple of sets of narrow gauge style locomotive number plates on the etch and I now have a few available. There are two sets:

1. Set of plain plates "1" to "10", 20 plates in total for

[rhydddu009]

hey chris, looking good!

[Isle of Stoner]

can't wait.

Cheers

[Chris Veitch]

I still don't have a date for the castings, but here's a shot of the lamp pattern. It's a bit of a cruel enlargement - bear in mind that the sides of the lamp are around 3.5mm across.

Chris

[Isle of Stoner]

Looks nice. Do you think it will be possible to drill it out and put an LED or grain of wheat in it?

Cheers

[invercloy]

Looks nice. Do you think it will be possible to drill it out and put an LED or grain of wheat in it?

Cheers

I've been thinking about that, I was wondering about running a fibre optic up to it with a LED beneath the baseboard.