QUOTE (mike hendle @ 6 Jun 2008, 14:15) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I have just returned to n gauge modelling after having a stroke,and I'm semi pleased with what I bought,I bought a Graham Farish Jubilee and what a fine model it is,also a Jinty tank loco,and a V2, 5 Graham Farish BR Mk1's and 4 Dapol Gresley coaches and 10 items of freight stock.
Now the disapointments,the BR Mk1 are still without interiors,I can remember buying them when Graham Farish first bought them out,then they were the cats whiskers but surely the're not now.
The Dapol Gresleys are out of this world compared to the Mk 1's, the only trouble is they wont't couple to the Graham Farish Loco's due the coupling hights being different, the ones on the loco's are higher than the ones on the coaches, I got round this by using a MK1 between the loco's and the Gresleys which kind of spoils things.
Now the V2 is useless it wont pull the skin off a rice pudding,it slips with 4 coaches ,even the Jinty will haul more. I bought it to haul the Dapol Coaches but it won't. I think the V2 is £72.00 down the drain,
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I now wish I had bought another Jubilee instead.
I have al,so on order 5 Graham Farish Stanier coaches and a Graham Farish Standard 3 Tank loco.which are due out later this year hopefully.
Hello Mike and welcome to the forum!
I can understand the frustration when a model doesn't live up to the standard expected, especially if it doesn't live up to the price!!
Dapol is a fairly new manufacturer and so they don't have ancient designs still in their catalogue like Farish clearly do. They've really pioneered getting the technology such as flywheels and close coupling that the rest of the N world has been enjoying for years into the UK market and low-and-behold Farish have been forced to raise their game to compete which is great for modellers. The trick is to spot the re-released old bangers which I suppose takes experience.
Regarding the V2, it's a tender mounted motor? Can this motor be replaced if its so feeble or you could try adding more weight to the tender to enhance the adhesion of the driving wheels? Lead shot or adhesive lead strips under the coal? A quick search on google for "farish V2" led me to a site suggesting that they're very prone to split gears which would weaken motive power somewhat...
I assume the new Dapol coaches run with minimal friction or some axle adjstment could be made to these? If they're anything like my Roco coaches then they will glide away at the slightest touch with a finger!
Fortunately in European N scale there is an online database www.spurweite-n.de that lists almost every continental model made and people leave reviews for the models which are very useful. Also past prices reached on eBay are listed which gives a ballpark figure for the value 'the market' places on an item. This helps particularly not just those who buy second hand but due to the nature of N scale often models are announced for one year and that is the only chance to get that model in that livery so even if one intends to only buy new if the model is out of production/was made years ago then fighting it out on eBay or checking resellers websites is the only way. I don't know if such a database exists for UK N gauge but it would be useful if it did!
Now the disapointments,the BR Mk1 are still without interiors,I can remember buying them when Graham Farish first bought them out,then they were the cats whiskers but surely the're not now.
The Dapol Gresleys are out of this world compared to the Mk 1's, the only trouble is they wont't couple to the Graham Farish Loco's due the coupling hights being different, the ones on the loco's are higher than the ones on the coaches, I got round this by using a MK1 between the loco's and the Gresleys which kind of spoils things.
Now the V2 is useless it wont pull the skin off a rice pudding,it slips with 4 coaches ,even the Jinty will haul more. I bought it to haul the Dapol Coaches but it won't. I think the V2 is £72.00 down the drain,
I have al,so on order 5 Graham Farish Stanier coaches and a Graham Farish Standard 3 Tank loco.which are due out later this year hopefully.
Hello Mike and welcome to the forum!
I can understand the frustration when a model doesn't live up to the standard expected, especially if it doesn't live up to the price!!
Dapol is a fairly new manufacturer and so they don't have ancient designs still in their catalogue like Farish clearly do. They've really pioneered getting the technology such as flywheels and close coupling that the rest of the N world has been enjoying for years into the UK market and low-and-behold Farish have been forced to raise their game to compete which is great for modellers. The trick is to spot the re-released old bangers which I suppose takes experience.
Regarding the V2, it's a tender mounted motor? Can this motor be replaced if its so feeble or you could try adding more weight to the tender to enhance the adhesion of the driving wheels? Lead shot or adhesive lead strips under the coal? A quick search on google for "farish V2" led me to a site suggesting that they're very prone to split gears which would weaken motive power somewhat...
I assume the new Dapol coaches run with minimal friction or some axle adjstment could be made to these? If they're anything like my Roco coaches then they will glide away at the slightest touch with a finger!
Fortunately in European N scale there is an online database www.spurweite-n.de that lists almost every continental model made and people leave reviews for the models which are very useful. Also past prices reached on eBay are listed which gives a ballpark figure for the value 'the market' places on an item. This helps particularly not just those who buy second hand but due to the nature of N scale often models are announced for one year and that is the only chance to get that model in that livery so even if one intends to only buy new if the model is out of production/was made years ago then fighting it out on eBay or checking resellers websites is the only way. I don't know if such a database exists for UK N gauge but it would be useful if it did!
