Rapido UK Newsletter No. 28
©2023 Rapido Trains Ltd
Dear Rapido Customer,

Welcome to the February newsletter.

It felt as though we spent a bit too long in Eeyore’s gloomy place last issue. So, we’re a bit more upbeat this time; not exactly in full Tigger mode but perhaps in the sort of mood that a bear of very little brain might be in, knowing that it was soon time for a little smackerel of something…

ANDY: I know what you’ve been reading for bedtime stories recently…

RICHARD: Indeed.

February has still been a time of ups and downs but the scales have tipped more towards the ups than the downs.

So, let’s find out what’s been going on:

  • Team Rapido UK gets bigger
  • Hunslet update
  • VIX update
  • ‘Iron Mink’ and Four-Plank Wagon update
  • Class 28 update
  • OAA update
  • 'Big Goods' video
  • Expressions of interest: decision time!
  • Simply Southern status

And finally…
Jason explains why we have to have pre-orders

Right, let’s get on with it, shall we?
Corwin Bainbridge: Rapido UK's newest - and self-proclaimed vainest - team member!
Photograph: Linny Linehan
Welcome Corwin!

We’re delighted to announce that Corwin Bainbridge has officially joined the Rapido Trains UK team as Senior Technical Graphic Artist & Content Creator.

Corwin has been using his prodigious artwork skills for us on freelance basis since the early days of Rapido UK and is responsible for designing the artworks for the Hunslet 16in, the Class 28 and the ‘Conflat Ps’ to name but three.

But Andy has finally succeeded in persuading him to join us…

ANDY: You mean by reminding him what fun he could have working for a small yet vibrant and forward-thinking business and the sense of satisfaction and well-being that such a position could bring?

RICHARD: I would have said by constantly badgering him and wearing him down until he said ‘yes’.

Anyway, welcome aboard Corwin!

No only will Corwin be overhauling our social media presence but, together with Dan Thomas, will be forming a graphics team to be reckoned with… like having Shearer and Sheringham up front.

ANDY: Is that a football reference?

RICHARD: Yeah. Personally, I would have said Grant Holt and Chris Martin but I’m not sure how many readers would get that.

JASON: I would have said Laurel and Hardy.

ANDY: Ahem. Time to move on!

RICHARD: OK…
Please note that we have now sold out of all Hunslets versions so if you want one, you’ll have to order through your local Rapido UK stockist… while they still have stocks available.
Hunslets: an update

Good news!

Decoder manufacturer ESU has confirmed that the faulty component that found its way into our ‘N’ gauge Class 28 is NOT present in the decoders fitted to the Hunslet. That means that sound-fitted Hunslets are being despatched as fast as humanly possible.

As we've completely sold out of Hunslets, maybe the time is right to think about some new ones...
As with the Hunslets, all the VIXs have sold out here too. If you want one, you’ll have to shop around to try to find some. 
VIX vans: an update

Good news!

The VIX ferry vans finally arrived and they too have been despatched as quickly as Andy, Steve, Dan and Chris can. As with the Hunslets, the VIXs seem to have been very well received, which is gratifying to know.

The less good news is that we – and by ‘we’ I mean me – have dropped a bit of a clanger with two of the livery versions.

Firstly, I didn’t spot that the number on SKU910006 got missed off the final factory artwork (even though it’s on the mock-ups!). Secondly, for a reason that I still cannot fathom –

ANDY: You were probably confused that it wasn’t a Great Western steam engine…

RICHARD: – when I was compiling the list of VIXs to produce wrote down the number for SKU910007 as ‘B707187’ rather than B787187’. That number, which is actually for a 16t mineral wagon, has got everywhere: our website, retailers’ websites, press releases… and, of course, on to the side of the model.

ANDY: We’ve explored all avenues to get these problems fixed in the UK but the only available options is for them to take a little holiday to China…

RICHARD: I do apologise for making such a balls up and want to apologise to anyone still waiting for their SKU910006 and SKU910007s. We’re doing everything we can to get these fixed and into your hands as quickly as possible.
You can order your 'Iron Mink' from your local Rapido stockist or direct from ourselves.
‘Iron Mink’ and Four-Plank Wagon update

Good news!

The GWR ‘Iron Minks’ and Diagram O21 opens have also arrived. Hurrah! And, as with the Hunslets and VIXs, the ‘Minks’ are being despatched as quickly as possible.

The GWR four-plank opens have also arrived and will be despatched very soon as well. You can order your four-planks from your local Rapido stockist or direct from ourselves.
There's now light at the end of the Class 28 decoder tunnel. Hopefully, it's not an approaching Class 28...
Class 28s: an update

There’s even some good news on the 'N' gauge Class 28 front too: ESU has promised us fresh decoders so that we can start to fix the faulty models that have been returned to us.

We can only apologise for the delay as we’ve been in ESU’s hands while its engineers have tried to find and fix the fault. ESU has told us that we’ve been particularly unlucky: this problem was limited to just our sound-fitted Class 28s and nothing else.

This fault affects most – but not all – models. If your sound-fitted Class 28 is running fine, then there’s no need to do anything with it except enjoy it.

However, if it does start to misbehave and needs fixing, please fill in the warranty form and we’ll be in touch to get it sorted.

If your Class 28 is already with us, we thank you for your patience and we’ll get it back to you as soon as we physically can.
Our 'OO' gauge OAAs are in production and should be ready to ship very soon.
First look: OAAs

It’s been a busy couple of months with new products arriving. We have a bit of a breather for a few weeks before the next items arrive, which is likely to be the 'OO' gauge OAA open wagons.

The components have been made, painted and printed and are now being assembled. We thought you’d like to see progress…
Here's the first in a series of images showing printed but not yet assembled OAA bodies. Don't judge the colours too harshly as the photographs were taken in poor factory lighting! This one is No. 100018 in BR bauxite with the yellow Air Braked Network spot (SKU915002).
And while we're at it, we couldn't resist showing you progress on the '15XX':
A box full of '15XX' cabs ready for painting.
And here are the sprues containing the smokebox doors, cab backs and coal loads. All the parts require removing from the sprue, tidying and gluing into place. We hope to be able to bring you images of more complete '15XXs' in the near future.
As well as the OAAs and the '15XXs', we’re going to receive the SECR six-wheel brakevans, the Southern eight-plank opens and The Titfield Thunderbolt train packs (plus, of course, Lion, the ‘Loriot Y’ and the ‘Toads’ in their non-film guises) between now and the summer. Busy doesn’t even come close!
You can click here or on the above image to watch our 'Big Goods' sample being tested.
‘Big Goods’ video

We promised you photographs of the Highland Railway ‘Big Goods’ this time… well, we’re going to go one better because we’ve got a video to share with you.

This isn’t one of our usual slick productions but rather an insight into the development of a model. Click here to watch it - or on the above image.

The point of an Engineering Prototype is that it is a prototype. It proves that the moulds work properly and we not only assess them for looks but also for performance.

EPs are not assembled by production line staff but, usually, by the design engineers. That means that they can be a bit hit and miss in terms of their finish and performance.
The first EP of our HR 'Big Goods'. Sadly, the samples don't perform as well as they look. We'll bring you more photographs once we receive fresh samples.
In an ideal world, an EP would arrive and perform beautifully straight away. We wouldn’t make any alterations and the model would be ready to enter production. Some EPs do perform beautifully (our Lion is a case in point). Sadly, most do not and the ‘Big Goods’ is a good example of this.

This video shows that the bogie wheels are not rotating properly. This was one of a number of faults, which we have fed back to the factory. They are now hard at work making revised samples, which we hope to be able to show off very soon.

You can also see that the front frames with the prominent guard irons are causing problems (not to mention that they’re positioned too wide). Based on our assessment of the EPs, we’ve decided to make these an optional part, so you can choose to fit them or not, depending on how generous the curves are on your layout.
If you missed our proper 'Big Goods' video, you can watch it either by clicking here or on the above image.
Green light: the Wisbech & Upwell coaches in BR maroon will go into production.
Expressions of Interest: decision time

Remember that we had three Expressions of Interest open?

Two were for spoof liveries (the HR ‘big Goods’ in BR lined black and the Wisbech & Upwell tramcars in BR crimson) plus an ‘O’ gauge version of the ‘J70’ tram engine.

Well, like all good TV shows, two got through but one didn’t make the cut. Which one, you all ask? Well, let’s find out…

Good news: the Wisbech & Upwell coaches in BR maroon will be produced

Good news: the Highland Railway ‘Big Goods’ 4-6-0 in BR black will be produced
Green light: the 'Big Goods' in BR lined black will go into production.
Sadly, the ‘O’ gauge ‘J70’ didn’t make it. Moving into ‘O’ gauge would be a big risk for us and while we didn’t have a figure in mind that would have guaranteed making it, the response didn’t give us the confidence to commit our (still) quite limited resources to such a project. Especially with the economy as it is.

The ‘O’ gauge ‘J70’ isn’t completely dead.

JASON: Is it just pining for the fjords?

ANDY: Don’t you start!

RICHARD: Anyway, as I was saying, it’s not completely dead as we might revisit it again when we’ve got some more projects under our belt and the economy is in a healthier state.
One project not going ahead for the foreseeable future is the 'O' gauge 'J70'. One day perhaps...
Cancelled: Simply Southern's LMS five-plank open wagon commission.
Simply Southern status

We were informed in mid-February that the future of Simply Southern is in doubt. Due to personal circumstances, the proprietor is looking to sell the business but if a buyer cannot be found, it will close at the end of March.
This means that the LMS five-plank open commissioned by Simply Southern will be cancelled.
Low pre-orders for our fresh batch of 1:76 scale Fleetlines might mean that project gets the chop. Using pre-orders as a way of gauging the market's response to a project is one of the reasons why we have an order book system.
Oh, you can order a Fleetline by clicking here.
Thought of the month

We’ve received lots of correspondence from customers wondering why they can’t order Hunslets or VIX vans on our website. The reason is that they’ve sold out and retailers will only have them while stocks last.

This is a far cry from when you could walk into your local model shop and find that they had plenty of whatever it was you were looking for. Rapido’s founder and President, Jason Shron explains why things have changed.

Jason, over to you…

JASON: Thanks.

Pre-orders: we all hate them. We hate the fact that we have to rely on pre-orders to make our products; you, our customers, hate having to commit to models several years before they actually show up.

But they are a necessary evil and here's why:

Wind the clock back to the 20th Century and pre-orders were not needed at all because model manufacturing was based on the ‘one size fits all’ principle. A manufacturer could tool a model, make thousands at a time and churn out multiple liveries in each production run. The cost per model was low while the tooling cost was amortised (spread out) over huge runs and there were no costly prototype-specific details to worry about.
Back in the '60s, model manufacturers would produce one body shell and offer it in all manner of different liveries. Manufacturers such as Lima and Mainline moved things on a step by offering key detail differences. Today, there are two 'OO' gauge Class 47s on the market which both offer the smallest detail differences.
Over the last 25 years the hobby has moved more and more towards prototype-specific everything. We can't tool one ‘E1’, for example, and just paint it in LBSCR, Southern and BR liveries. Instead, we need to design and make numerous body slides and inserts.
A coloured render of our forthcoming LBSCR 'E1'. It's a hugely complex project requiring many different slides to replicate all the detail differences. Unfortunately, such complexity commands a high price tag.
A ’body slide’ is steel tooling that represents a whole new side, roof and/or end of a model. For the ‘E1’ running plate moulds, there are slides for flush rivets on the bufferbeams or pop-head rivets.

Inserts are different. These are sections of the mould that can be replaced by a new section to get a variety of detail. For instance, we can use an insert for a grille on a locomotive side; we swap different inserts on the mould to get different grille styles.

Such complicated tooling costs a mint. One body mould for a 1970s BR diesel could cost over £12,000. Then factor in all the slides and inserts and that cost can end up more than doubled! And that’s just one part of the whole model!
Compare this coloured render of the 'E1' in Southern Railway condition with the one above. How many detail differences can you spot? Remember that each one you find will costs money...
If Tri-ang or Hornby Dublo had been producing an ‘E1’, they would have one body tooling and only the paint and lettering would have changed. If you still wonder why models are so much more expensive now than they were ‘back in the day’, here’s your reason.

Why is that relevant to pre-orders?

Pre-orders are a way for manufacturers and stores to cut down on their risk. How else would we be able to determine how many models to make with era-specific details? The Isle of Wight ‘E1’ has a completely different body from the original LBSCR version. We need to know in advance how many of each style to make.

We've also found that there are so many new releases coming out in our industry every month that excess stock takes a long time to sell. Pre-ordering prevents stores and manufacturers from having too much money tied up in stock.
We ordered the second run of BCT 'New Look' Guys before we had our website's ordering system operational. We used experience from the previous run and expert advice to gauge the numbers we should produce... and unlike the Hunslets or the VIX vans, we sill have plenty available to order!
The downsides of pre-ordering are plenty:

  • What if the manufacturer gets the details wrong when the model finally arrives?
  • What if my interests change between when I pre-order and when I receive the model?
  • What if this project is delayed and I’m in a position where I can no longer afford it?
  • What if there are quality control problems when the models arrive?

These are valid concerns and Rapido and Rapido UK have not been immune from any of them. All manufacturers have been dealing with delays in production over the last few years, thanks to Covid, shortage of electrical components, and delays in the logistics industry.

Models that should only take one year to come out are sometimes taking three or four. This has been a huge challenge for the industry in terms of budgeting. If a model takes three years to come out, that means we're waiting three years from when we start paying the tooling costs to when we finally get paid by our customers. That's a lot of financing spread over a large product line...

I don’t have to go into specifics about quality control issues or mistakes as, unfortunately, this and the previous newsletter have had more than their share of both. All good manufacturers will do their best to correct mistakes when they happen. Similarly, all good manufacturers will endeavour to fix any quality control issues that come up.

The Rapido UK team has worked extremely hard to do both.
Spot the deliberate mistake! Model manufacturers are only human and gaffes such as the incorrect running number will always happen. But it's how the manufacturer responds to issues that's important. Which is why we're sending this VIX back to the factory, at our cost, to get it re-printed.
What's the answer?

We unveiled a new ‘HO’ scale locomotive at the recent Springfield Show (this is the American equivalent of Warley) and it generated an unexpectedly enthusiastic response. One of the reasons was because we were launching the model with working samples rather than renders or very rough samples that didn't work yet.

Last year Rapido UK unveiled something new every month. That’s hugely exciting and a great way to get a new business noticed. But it’s not sustainable long term.
Rapido Inc's new 'HO' scale General Electric 44-ton locomotives were unveiled with working Engineering Prototypes. That has made a huge difference to the number of pre-orders taken. Hopefully, we'll be able to do something similar in the UK.
Happily, it means that a most models due to be delivered over the next 12-24 months have already been announced. We can thus slow down our announcements of products. This means that we’ll be at a stage where a new announcement is accompanied with a fully working, corrected and bug-free sample. This will bring the announcement-to-delivery time down considerably.

Sometimes we'll still have to launch with CAD or a not 100% perfect sample. That is especially true when we honestly have no idea how a model will be received. As Richard has only just mentioned, the O gauge J70s did not have enough interest to make the project financially viable. I'm very glad we did not commit to tooling that as we would have had a hard time covering our costs.

All we ask from you is to keep pre-ordering, whether it’s from your local retailer or direct from our website. We need those pre-orders so that we know how many models to produce and so we can be assured that we're making the models you want.
The Rapido UK stand will make its next appearance at the London Festival of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace on March 18th/19th, when we'll reveal what this is!
One last reminder...

The next newsletter is due to be published on March 16th, just before the London Festival of Railway Modelling opens. That’s because we’ll be announcing something at the show… and here is a sneak peek!

Any guesses as to what it is?

We’ll be at Ally Pally over the two days so come and see the samples of what we’ll be announcing as well as having the opportunity to see the progress and meet the Rapido UK team.
Thank you for making it to the end of another newsletter!

We'll see you on the 16th!

Best regards,

Richard

Richard Foster
Sales & Marketing Manager
Rapido Trains UK
You can write to us at Rapido Trains UK, Unit 3, Clinton Business Centre, Lodge Road, Staplehurst, Kent TN12 0QF. Alternatively, you can call us on 03304 609496 or you can
e-mail us at customerservice@rapidotrains.co.uk