Have KATO cancelled their Double Fairlie?

[Welshbloke]

The main kit manufacturer to look at is Dundas Models. They were Parkside Dundas, but sold the O, OO and N tooling and the Parkside brand to Peco a few years ago (the same kits now come in packaging branded "Parkside by Peco"). The 009 range stayed put as Dundas.

 

One caveat, the kits aren't exactly up to Tamiya standard and can need some fettling to make everything fit nicely. You will also need to figure out how to attach couplers - I find the "Greenwich" couplers work well, they come as an etched brass fret you cut out and fold up (with a few drops of superglue or solder to secure folds), then bend the mounting "tail" so they sit at the right height when it's glued to the wagon.

 

There is also a 3d print file to make a loaded slate wagon on Thingiverse, I've printed a few and left them on our club 009 layout. You need to find wheels, couplers and some ballast weight to go inside the slate loads, but a decent length train of them is cheap enough and looks pretty good.

[SL58654号]

On 8/13/2023 at 7:59 AM, Kamome said:

Asked Mr Kato and the Double Fairlie has indeed been canned due to Bachmann beating them to it.

It seems as though the release of the Large England variants in Japan is being delayed/cancelled also. I was looking forward to ordering a Large England engine but they're still currently unavailable after having been promised for release since March. 

[Kamome]

Fear not!

The large England has been slid back to July from a June release. A month delay (actually about 3 weeks) is still way better than the long delays often seen from British model railway manufacturers. I’m guessing the March release date on the posters was a typo.

Some sites are saying 23rd July now.  

 

There’s been a few delays this year. It’s nothing new, just they can’t always quite deliver everything they pitched in the month promised due to unforeseen circumstances. I still think their release schedule is pretty amazing and I’m sure they prioritise what they know will sell. 

 

Other delays so far this year

 

E353 Azusa

E7 and W7

683 Thunderbird 

Tokyo Metro 17000/18000

Unitrack Narrow gauge starter set

Unitram points

HO cork roadbed

Various Soundcards

HO DD51 JRF