Bowaters Models

Chicken & egg dept'. A new line of rolling stock enlivens interest in a particular genre (for want of a better word). In turn the 2nd hand market for, out of production locos, to match this stock suddenly bouys up. As a result a loco maker thinks, "this might be worth a punt ? Espcially as I already have the, up till now, redundant tooling from the first time around". Stranger things have happened. Max
 
dunnyrail said:
Superb range of Kits and reasonably priced as well. Now if only they were to attack some German Harz NG Railcars and Wagons I would ba a happy bunny. I expect there would also be a lot of interest in similar French Productions as well. Plus perhaps Belgium Vicinal where one of the Steam Trams could be added to the list of desirable Stock.
JonD
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Be nice to see the passenger cars from Zillertal and Selfkantbahn that run on the W&L - I'd certainly be putting my name on the requisite number of those.

tac
 
tac foley said:
Be nice to see the passenger cars from Zillertal and Selfkantbahn that run on the W&L - I'd certainly be putting my name on the requisite number of those.

tac
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It's on the list. Should be after the WHR is completed I'm doing Zillertalbahn. Selfkantbahn would be harder because of the roofs.

Cheers,

Jon
 
angr607 said:
It's on the list. Should be after the WHR is completed I'm doing Zillertalbahn. Selfkantbahn would be harder because of the roofs.

Cheers,

Jon
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Would not a planked system for roofs work added one bybone to take account of the curve,mthough I was thinking more of the Goods Stock Opens and some of the Vans not covered by LGB.
JonD
 
Thanks for all the interest, for those wondering, our current backlog looks like this:-

Released:-

Freelance/Bowaters Battery Electrics
Bowaters Paper Railway Wagons
Bowaters Paper Railway Coaches
Chattenden and Upnor Railway Coaches
Ffestiniog Railway Modern Coaches (Expansion underway)
Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway Coaches (Expansion underway)

Design Work/Research on the way:-

Bowaters Paper Railway Bagnall 0-6-2T 'Superb'
Monson Railroad 0-4-4RT Forney No.3
Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes 2-4-4RT Forney No.9
Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Cabooses
Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Freight Stock
Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Passenger Stock
Welsh Highland Railway Modern Coaches

Intention to cover (to be confirmed at a later date):-

Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways Heritage Coaches
South African Railways 2ft Gauge Coaches
South African Railways 2ft Gauge Freight Stock
South African Railways 2ft Gauge Brake Vans
Sierra Leone Railway Coaches (Welshpool)
Zillertalbahn Railway Coaches (Welshpool)

You might have noticed, unlike the current trend in garden railways, we tend to operate at the larger end size wise for our range while still maintaining affordable prices and excellent quality.

Kind Regards,

Jon
 
tac foley said:
Be nice to see the passenger cars from Zillertal and Selfkantbahn that run on the W&L - I'd certainly be putting my name on the requisite number of those.

tac
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The Selfkantbahn is located very near me. Selketahlbahn is part of HSB
 
Rhos Helyg Loco Works said:
If only!

Taliesin, Mountaineer, Criccieth Castle and Linda all made by Roundhouse, all discontinued. FR Lindas rarely come up for sale and go for "silly money" when they do.

NGG16 produced by Accucraft, now discontinued, and also in the "silly money" category when they come up for sale.

No Fairlies or England 0-4-0s produced in commercial numbers (i.e. all limited production and/or "one offs"), and none in current production.

Vale of Ffestiniog produced by DJB Engineering, but discontinued many years ago.

What does that leave? Harlech Castle (which has only worked one passenger train as far as I am aware), Lilla from Roundhouse (but rarely seen hauling main line passenger stock), LYD from Accucraft, K1 soon available from Accucraft/Anything Narrow Gauge, Caernarfon Castle as a "scratch aid" kit from Worsley Works,

New FR/WHR locos are a bit thin on the ground, and the second-hand market is where most are now.
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Brings up a pet hate of mine..... the use of the word available.
If it is no longer made, and not in stock, then, it is NOT available. In another scale I work in, there is always a lot of talk of what is 'available' in the scale. If I can't buy it now, then it is not available.
 
Now, we've had some subtle clues as to what our 2018-2019 range will be following on from our hugely successful 2017. It's time to reveal exactly what we're up to!

As previously mentioned, we are releasing two ranges in 2018 and expanding two others. Over 2018, we will be expanding our range of Ffestiniog Railway Modern Coaches, new Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway Coaches plus brand new ranges covering the Welsh Highland Railway (Design work complete) and Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad (prototyping in progress). We aim to get the new FR, SR&RL and SKLR kits all out by Peterborough (Supplier depending) with WHR following at Exeter. However, this is old news so onto the new announcements!

Bowaters Models 2019 Ranges:- South African Railways and Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways Heritage Stock

800px-Class_91-000_no._91-003.jpg


Bowaters Models will be releasing not one, but two ranges in 2019. The South African Railways Range will cover rolling stock found on the Avontuur Line in Port Elizabeth and will be perfect for owners of NG15s, NGG16s and Class 91s in 16mm scale. The range consists of 10 coaches, 4 wagons and 3 brake vans which should allow a range of different trains to be run. The two images show the sorts of train you should be able to achieve with our kits. Should the initial range do well, expansion is planned in the future. Image from Wikipedia.

To view details of the range, view the newly updated website area specially for it!:- http://www.bowatersmodels.co.uk/south-african-railways/

13344805_10153757757621523_3484314186138690534_n-300x225.jpg
20663511_10159181202730788_1375771361_o-1-300x225.jpg


The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway Heritage stock range is our second range for 2019 and offers kits to go with our existing coaches allowing the typical mix of old and new coaches used in daily operation on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways. Although we will be effectively redoing some kits that already exist or are only available as RTR, we can promise you these coaches will match our range of modern FR & WHR Coaches in both scale & key dimensions sharing common design style with those ranges at an affordable price. All coaches are modeled in as operating today condition. Both images kindly supplied by Max Brayne.

To view details of the range, view the newly updated website area specially for it!:- http://www.bowatersmodels.co.uk/ffestiniog-and-welsh-highland-railways-heritage-range/

These kits as with all our products will be scale models being designed to operate on 32mm track. 45mm gauge compatibility will be established once prototyping has been undertaken as will the minimum radius of operation.
 
Gavin Sowry said:
Brings up a pet hate of mine..... the use of the word available.
If it is no longer made, and not in stock, then, it is NOT available. In another scale I work in, there is always a lot of talk of what is 'available' in the scale. If I can't buy it now, then it is not available.
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Yes I quite agree - and that does raise a question regarding the 'availability' of Bowaters extensive range.

I see their website quotes a delivery delay of 2-3 months for the items currently available to order - but more worryingly for most of the range there seems to be little or no information on the two most important pieces of information for a potential customer - price and delivery (availability).

I would be very interested in the SR&RL rolling stock, but before placing an order I would also like to see some pictures of the production facility and test track - especially as the test track is located in West Sussex where I am.

Although I see from the test track website .....
http://www.bowatersmodels.co.uk/BLR16mm/index.php/the-railways-history/
http://www.bowatersmodels.co.uk/BLR16mm/index.php/the-railways-history/

.... it's construction did require the permission of someones parents - so I would imagine access for demonstrations to potential customers might be somewhat inconvienient at times.

One other concern I would have is the pricing of some of the accessory range. For instance - $60 (presumably US) does seem on the high side for a 16mm bell ....

https://www.shapeways.com/product/L3LFW4H9G/bma-006-mrr-bell?optionId=64221559

..... or $75 if you want it polished !
 
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Trainman 864 said:
Yes I quite agree - and that does raise a question regarding the 'availability' of Bowaters extensive range.

I see their website quotes a delivery delay of 2-3 months for the items currently available to order - but more worryingly for most of the range there seems to be little or no information on the two most important pieces of information for a potential customer - price and delivery (availability).

I would be very interested in the SR&RL rolling stock, but before placing an order I would also like to see some pictures of the production facility and test track - especially as the test track is located in West Sussex where I am.

Although I see from the test track website .....
http://www.bowatersmodels.co.uk/BLR16mm/index.php/the-railways-history/

.... it's construction did require the permission of someones parents - so I would imagine access for demonstrations to potential customers might be somewhat inconvienient at times.

One other concern I would have is the pricing of some of the accessory range. For instance - $60 (presumably US) does seem on the high side for a 16mm bell ....

https://www.shapeways.com/product/L3LFW4H9G/bma-006-mrr-bell?optionId=64221559

..... or $75 if you want it polished !
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I have no interest in Bowater's except as a potential Customer, if they in the future produce items that may interest me.

But a few points, it would appear that they are a 'Garden Shed Operation', nothing wrong with that. It means that you may get articles for a much lower price than elswhere. One imagines that they have a Lazer Cutting Machine in a Shed or Garage (I assume). As such a vist to a 'Factory Unit' would probably not be much of an event. Likewise every item that I looked at had a Price so perhaps you were looking at items that are in development thus Prices and Delivery would likely to not be available just yet. I guess that your words re inconvinent access to the Demo Line are on the mark. In an earlier post it mentions Batch Production meaning I guess that little is likely to be built for Stock. Another clue to the kind of service to expect. Not unusual in many of the larger scales. All of this seams quite reasonable to me, perhaps if we get some reviews from Forum Members of what the items build like objective decisions re purchases can be made.

Any one built any as yet?
 
Trainman 864 said:
Yes I quite agree - and that does raise a question regarding the 'availability' of Bowaters extensive range.

I see their website quotes a delivery delay of 2-3 months for the items currently available to order - but more worryingly for most of the range there seems to be little or no information on the two most important pieces of information for a potential customer - price and delivery (availability).

I would be very interested in the SR&RL rolling stock, but before placing an order I would also like to see some pictures of the production facility and test track - especially as the test track is located in West Sussex where I am.

Although I see from the test track website .....
http://www.bowatersmodels.co.uk/BLR16mm/index.php/the-railways-history/

.... it's construction did require the permission of someones parents - so I would imagine access for demonstrations to potential customers might be somewhat inconvienient at times.

One other concern I would have is the pricing of some of the accessory range. For instance - $60 (presumably US) does seem on the high side for a 16mm bell ....

https://www.shapeways.com/product/L3LFW4H9G/bma-006-mrr-bell?optionId=64221559

..... or $75 if you want it polished !
Click to expand...
Good Morning,

To answer your quieries, first of all, our range is technically always available. We currently operate a ondemand service which is why there is a delay. We are currently working towards a in stock system but this takes both time an. Money to achieve. We aim to have something in place by the rear end of 2018.

Prices are listed on our website in GBP and can be found under the relevant product pages. I know they're there because I was checking the website a couple of days ago! Once you order, we email you with your batch number and when we expect your kits to be with us. After standard quality control checks, we then send them on.

Our test track is my personal Garden Railway so I will be releasing images as I see fit over time. Regarding our production location, we work with another small kit designer to get our products produced. He does the laser cutting for us in the north of the UK. It's his decision whether to release images of his equipment or not and I certainly won't be making him.

The test track is not designed with demonstrations in mind and certainly isn't open to public viewing. By appointment we can come to you if you live in Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire or Kent assuming it can be made to fit around my very busy work diary.

Our accessories range pricing isn't decided by ourselves. That's Shapeways' choice. We only had a small percentage to each item for onward sale. Any issues regarding that, take it up with them.

I hope that answers your questions.

Jon
 
dunnyrail said:
I have no interest in Bowater's except as a potential Customer, if they in the future produce items that may interest me.

But a few points, it would appear that they are a 'Garden Shed Operation', nothing wrong with that. It means that you may get articles for a much lower price than elswhere. One imagines that they have a Lazer Cutting Machine in a Shed or Garage (I assume). As such a vist to a 'Factory Unit' would probably not be much of an event. Likewise every item that I looked at had a Price so perhaps you were looking at items that are in development thus Prices and Delivery would likely to not be available just yet. I guess that your words re inconvinent access to the Demo Line are on the mark. In an earlier post it mentions Batch Production meaning I guess that little is likely to be built for Stock. Another clue to the kind of service to expect. Not unusual in many of the larger scales. All of this seams quite reasonable to me, perhaps if we get some reviews from Forum Members of what the items build like objective decisions re purchases can be made.

Any one built any as yet?
Click to expand...
Hi,

Thank you for you acurate description of ourselves! You hit the nail on the head there. Regarding built up examples of our kits, we have a gallery on our website with some images. There's only 3 different examples there so far but I've been assuring several people are working on my kits and will be sending images in my direction so it should grow over the next few months.

http://www.bowatersmodels.co.uk/gallery/

Jon
 
I have a freelance 45mm dismal, which I am about to start..

Idea is to put battery RC in it.. If Fr Fred has a spare round-tuit he could let me have, then it will get done sooner! :nod::nod:

Comes with an assembled 3D printed motor-block, pair of metal chopper couplings, and bag of very nicely laser cut parts..

Instructions are on the website. - Not sure if this is so you get the most up to date, or because I got my kit quite early?
 
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