Wednesday 6 March 2019

Quarryman’s Train

Among the interesting things to see at Model Rail Scotland recently were these samples of PECO's next OO9 products.


I'm delighted to see another FR product being launched on the market and I've always had a soft spot for these very basic carriages, and their brake van variants.

I could be tempted by a model of Van 2 in its green livery myself.

Our only model is one kit-bashed from the Dundas kit in the distinctly orange colour it sported at the end of the 1980s, so by now it's rather outdated with a lot of our other stock.

I do feel a little bad for Dundas who will inevitably see a decline in sales of what is a very good, and easily put together kit which has served the hobby well.

Models like this feed the narrative of some critics who argue that ready to run is bad for the hobby.

I prefer to believe that the entry of the likes of PECO and Bachmann will have the effect of expanding the market for narrow gauge, bringing new modellers into the scale.

Hopefully those people will progress to expanding their rolling stock from kits, thus making up for any impact on a couple of product lines.

3 comments:

  1. I fully agree with you Rob. More people coming into OO9 is good . Well done Peco and thank you Dundas for support over many years.

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  2. I also agree that more people coming to the scale is good, a lot of people are saying "I can finally build an oo9 layout". But I feel I will stick to the Kits and scratch building as £22 for a small van I feel is a bit steep for me, although i don't doubt they will sell.

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  3. Interesting. Talking to Andrew Hastie at Narrow Gauge North on Saturday, he can't shift the Bachmann WD D class RTR wagons but his kit for the same remains one of his best sellers.

    I guess that one RTR wagon might be the way in but a train of them is something else.

    We've had similar in the 009 Society with Bachmann announcing RNAD wagons. £12 for a kit vs £25+ for RTR isn't really going to harm us I think.

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