An Apology
One of the things that can be deeply frustrating about ordering a new tooled model is the wait. We share your frustration that the Leader is still not quite here.
When we shared the last newsletter outlining where we were up to, we really hoped that final assembly was on the horizon and that the models would have shipped by now. However, as often seems to be the case with models from any manufacturer, there is something unexpected that comes up that delays progress just when you thought you were in the home run.
In the Leader’s case, this has been an unforeseen wait for the new Plux22 ESU decoders. Due to supply issues with obtaining the right quality of processors, we have been informed by the factory that there will be a delay on their supply to the assembly line to be added to the DCC fitted versions of the Leader. It is something that we hadn’t been expecting, and we can only apologise.
Whilst technically this only affects the fitted models, the logistics of shipping from China means that the full batch must be shipped together on the same container, or incur a massive increase in costs and possibly even a delay for another container to be sourced. We have reluctantly decided that our only option is to wait for the Plux22 decoders in order to be able to complete the full batch.
Running Samples on Test
We have not been idle during this enforced delay, and have taken the opportunity to have samples air freighted to our Canadian offices to put them through extended testing. These include, as you can see in the picture, all the different livery variants being offered.
We are pleased to report that the standard of assembly and decoration has passed all tests and the models will be something special when the main production run arrives at our warehouse for onward delivery.
Whilst the prototype Leader was limited in the liveries it briefly ran on test in, we have followed on from the success of the what-if liveries on the GT3 with several that the prototypes might have worn had the project been continued by BR. BR green and Rail Blue are particularly appealing, even though a debate did briefly happen in our office on what TOPS number the Leader might have carried had it lasted longer. With the elimination of steam by BR in 1968, the chances are that the Leader would have been withdrawn by then and never carried a TOPS number.
If you do feel daring, there are a number of different manufacturers of high quality transfers for renumbering and may we suggest in the 98xxx range? These after market suppliers also allow a modeller to renumber Leaders to create a realistic fleet, with the number series of the locomotives most likely to have been 36002 and onwards had more reached traffic.
Stay Alive Now as Standard
Just a reminder to anyone who is keen for peace of mind when running on DCC, all models now come with a DCC stay-alive integrated into the circuit board. This will allow trouble-free running without problems caused by momentary loss of track power, for example when your model encounters point frogs or dirty spots. This is of particular benefit for those opting for factory-fitted sound as a momentary loss of power to a sound decoder can cause the sound to stop and either have to be manually restarted, or the locomotive to begin its start up procedure again. This option was added after feedback from you on occasional jittery running of the Fell locomotive, and going forward we would like to build this in to all future models.
News on the 4DD Project
For those eagerly awaiting our 4DD model, this will be following the Leader models into our warehouse for distribution. Again, we apologise for unforeseen delays and these are for the same reasons as detailed for the Leader, namely supply issues on processors for the decoders. As for the Leader, for logistical reasons, it isn’t possible to send the batch in two lots of DCC ready and DCC fitted due to the extra cost of shipping twice.
Please note that this model has been exceptionally popular with ALL VERSIONS NOW SOLD OUT TO PRE-ORDER.
KR Models stockists may still have some models available from their allocated stock, but hurry because these have proven to be our most popular model yet and they won’t hang around!
Check Availability and Order now at Rails of Sheffield
Shay progress
Progress on our Shay models hasn’t been forgotten. These have unfortunately been delayed, in part due to the bottleneck of the Leader and 4DD models waiting for decoders to become available. We have also identified during extensive tests that one of the gears in the drive train needs to be remanufactured and we would rather this issue that has arisen be fixed in production than to ship models that may generate higher than acceptable failures. We realize that this is not the statement that our customers want, but we take quality control very seriously.
