Nice to see you back after your hiatus Adrian....
I have had a different experience. The Rheingold sets started becoming available at the end of our tax year. On June 30th an outstanding invoice of AUD1300 was paid to me and I was very happy. Like you, and never one to pay the full price for anything, the eye watering prices of today sometimes do my head in. Even though I am not an EpII modeller as you, I figured these Rheingold sets could be a beautiful thing, and after a bit of looking I found one of our friendly mail order shops would do the basic DC set, 01 + 4 lovely Rheingold wagons + 2 Packwagen for 510 Euro, a quick mental calculation after adding postage told me that this would finally cost AUD 915. Take away the 55$ postage and that means I could get the 01 loco and 6 wagons for $860. Retail price of the loco alone is around $600.
So on 5th July I took the plunge and put the order in. After a typical long (4 weeks) and nervous wait (never having spent this much ever before!!), it arrived in early August.
Overall very I am well pleased, the loco itself sets a new standard for detail, especially below the running board, where the finely spoked wheels and valve gear are exceptional. It looks more like a finescale 0-gauge model. This shot in natural light after unpacking shows what I mean ......
The wagons are beautifully detailed too
Superb running characteristics and recently the loco was reviewed (favourably - and they do not take prisoners) in MIBA 11/21.
Plus, I still had $385 to spend !!
Cheers,
6991
Incidentally Adrian, the Seyfried shop in Pforzheim is a thing of wonder. I visited a few years back and was introduced to the daughter of one of the bosses. She also works in the shop and has visited Australia. So we had a nice chat. Lovely folk and I do like a physical shop...
I have had a different experience. The Rheingold sets started becoming available at the end of our tax year. On June 30th an outstanding invoice of AUD1300 was paid to me and I was very happy. Like you, and never one to pay the full price for anything, the eye watering prices of today sometimes do my head in. Even though I am not an EpII modeller as you, I figured these Rheingold sets could be a beautiful thing, and after a bit of looking I found one of our friendly mail order shops would do the basic DC set, 01 + 4 lovely Rheingold wagons + 2 Packwagen for 510 Euro, a quick mental calculation after adding postage told me that this would finally cost AUD 915. Take away the 55$ postage and that means I could get the 01 loco and 6 wagons for $860. Retail price of the loco alone is around $600.
So on 5th July I took the plunge and put the order in. After a typical long (4 weeks) and nervous wait (never having spent this much ever before!!), it arrived in early August.
Overall very I am well pleased, the loco itself sets a new standard for detail, especially below the running board, where the finely spoked wheels and valve gear are exceptional. It looks more like a finescale 0-gauge model. This shot in natural light after unpacking shows what I mean ......
The wagons are beautifully detailed too
Superb running characteristics and recently the loco was reviewed (favourably - and they do not take prisoners) in MIBA 11/21.
Plus, I still had $385 to spend !!
Cheers,
6991
Incidentally Adrian, the Seyfried shop in Pforzheim is a thing of wonder. I visited a few years back and was introduced to the daughter of one of the bosses. She also works in the shop and has visited Australia. So we had a nice chat. Lovely folk and I do like a physical shop...