S&DJR 7F

As I have put in another thread I will be happy to buy an 00 7F if one is released .As my prediction based on a Hornby Calender cover has utterly failed to come true ,it looks like I will have to wait a while longer unless Bachmann come up with the goods next year .I must point out that I dont actually "need' one .I just like them and frankly thats enough for me .If I like a subject enough I may well buy it and I suspect there are squillions of other punters doing the same .The fact a few select and often self apponted "experts" dont see a need for a model on their ultra subjective, and in their minds perfect layout , is not a good reason not to produce something .Many more of us will buy one cos we love it .
On the Subject of Alan Gibson kits .I suspect the people who took over have their hands more than full producing ,packing and selling thousands of tiny separate parts and 10 odd 7F kits isnt high on their priorities .in fact I would think twice before making it as someone has already noted on this site that a major company has measured one up .Many of our small component producers that many of us rely on are not internet savvy or even sales savvy,bless em .If they were they were probably avoid model railways like the plague and invest their money in a more sensible and profitable product .When Gibson parts were unobtainable there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth .Lets rejoice they are still around and expanding .

Where has it placed in the annual 'wanted' surveys? That will give some idea of the more general interest in this type, outside the committed enthusiast group.

The four OO RTR eight coupled goods types currently available are by reputation slow but steady sellers, and we are about to get a fifth in the form of the O4. All of these types were built in their hundreds and saw wide ranging service, so should appeal to a decent proportion of the market. A niche eight coupled goods type strikes me as rather risky - the reason these are slow sellers is that very few people buy more than one example of a goods machine - unlike glamourous named express types which get the multiple sales, usually attributed to the 'eye candy' factor. If it was a 'looker' like the BR 9F, which is the freight loco that does sell, then it might be in with a chance; but frankly, it simply ain't...