It’s been a while since I’ve been able to put anything on here. So here is an update on things that have been going on since the last update.
We had a successful show at Llanfair, where we met fellow traders, old customers and new. We have been slowly plodding through the stack of pre-orders we had from the show, with only a handful now outstanding.
At Llanfair, we released our Padarn Railway Brakeman’s Van kit, as well as opened pre-orders for our Dinorwic Wagon range and the Ffestiniog Railway Mk3 Quarryman’s Carriages, in 4 different variations. We also displayed a “work in progress” which was the Ffestiniog Railway’s Mk2 Quarryman’s Carriages, in both Type A and Type B.
On the recent bank holiday, I had arranged to measure and photograph some FR carriages that were stored at Glan y Pwll. The morning was spent in the carriage shed measuring and photographing many of the heritage carriage fleet. The aim is to produce a kit for the Ffestiniog Railway’s Ashbury 4 wheeled carriage, No10. Which we can release in 3 variants. First Class (No10), Third Class(Nos 7,8,9,11) and Converted First (No14). Just a note, when quoting numbers, I use the “Old Company” numbering scheme, as many carriages and wagon in the preservation era have been re-numbered multiple times!
The weekend after the Llanfair Show, I took a weekend off and spent the Saturday with David Mees and the Irregular’s at the Wigfa & Llanrwst Light Railway. David was kind enough to lend me the use of his Roundhouse Mk1 Taliesin, which looks rather well at the front of the Quarryman’s train.
All stock with exception of No12 “Flying Bench” and No1 “Zoo Car” at the front of the train are H Jones Engineering Kits. The two at the front are IP Engineering kits.
Whilst on the subject of H Jones Engineering kits, I have also been working on the design of a few new kits. These are in various stages of development.
As you can see from the above images. I have a number of kits in development. The Open Goods and Hearse Van are nearly ready. The hearse van just needs me to find some time to laser cut the parts to test and the coal wagon needs some tweeking to the 3D print files.
Unfortunately, I’ll have to finish with some not-so-good news. Due to various circumstances which I will not go in to here, the price of Laser Grade Birch Plywood has gone up nearly 500%, some sizes are now very difficult to get hold of. Previously, I have made a batch of 10 kits to stock. Due to the price increase, I will have to cut kits to order. This maximises the use of the stock of plywood I have and keeps the kits at the same price. In future, the prices may have to increase as I buy new stock of plywood to replenish the stock that’s been used. The price will not increase until they absolutely have to. I believe that quality kit can be made affordable, which is what I try and achieve with my kits.
