Old News
The
ALPS Printer has gone "Bang"
The
ALPS printer used to produce the white backing layers for the N Gauge Coach
sides has totally expired and is beyond economic repair.
This
has left me with a dilemma. Getting another ALPS-type printer is out of the
question - they are virtually impossible to get hold of now and those available
are very expensive. A recent example on eBay finished for $800!
I've
invested far too much time and money in the Electra range to pull the plug
and going back to the original system of shaded windows is out of the question,
so what to do now...?
The
answer lies with pre-cut vinyls. Recent years have seen the cost of vinyl
cutting machines come down in cost drastically. The self-adhesive white masks
are very thin and work really well with the coloured waterslide layer placed
over the top.
It
is hoped to order one of these machines very soon and re-introduce the range
back to its former glory as soon as possible.
Please
may I request that no orders be placed until mid-October, as I shall need
to re-design the artwork and get to grips with the new kit.
Unfortunately,
some of my "white-on-clear "decal packs will have to be withdrawn,
as I can no longer produce these. This includes the OO Gauge FGW Power Car
logos and One logos.
The
good news is that I have stocks of N Gauge decal packs following the N Gauge
show. Available for immediate order are:
I can
happily fulfill orders for the above immediately.
New
Class 313 CAD Image
Bob
Davis has sent be a definative CAD image of the Class 313 Driving Car.
Class
313 First Test Shots
Pictures of the
first bodyshell test shots in clear resin for the N Gauge Class 313 EMU lit
are now on-line here!
Take the High Road...
A distinctly Scottish theme
to the latest batch of releases. Firstly, by popular demand, Mark 1 Coaches
in West Highland Line livery. These coaches were introduced for Summertime
peak services between Glasgow and Mallaig but spent the winter at Bounds Green
on charter duties.
Click here
for details.
...and Mark 2a coaches
in the similar "Herbidean" Livery, as used on the Inverness - Kyle
of Lochalsh services. Get those 37/4s out now!
Click here
for details.
And, to finish off the
rake, observation car 6300, converted from a Class 101 DMU trailer.
Click here
for details.
Finally, the striking "Sealink"
Mark 1 coaches that saw service in the 1980s on the Glasgow - Stranraer boat
trains.
Click here
for details.
And yet more departmentals...
Class 101 Ultrasonic
Test Train
This 3-car
set was rolled out in 1991 to replace an ageing Park Royal DMU and comprised
of two very heavily modified Class 101 cars and a centre car converted from
a Class 430 4-REP motor coach.
Originally
turned out in BR Blue/Grey livery, this unit carried Serco, Railtrack and
now Network Rail colours and can be seen all over the country performing tests
on the nations' infrastructure.
Electra's
conversion requires a 2-car Class 101 and a 63ft Mk1 coach to complete and
is now available for £15.00 per 3-car set. Full details
here.
New Departmentals
Now Available for Order
Network
Rail Ultrasonic Test Train
Consisting of Mk1
Ultrasonic Test Coach 999606 and 2 Mark 2D runner coaches 72630 and 72631.
Ideal for topping'n'tailing by Class 31s or DRS 37s and suitable for just
about any modern image layout! £14.00 for 3 coach set (or individual
coaches for £6.00 each).
Departmental
Class 101 DMU - "IRIS 2"
Now available to
order: Laboratory
19 - IRIS 2 conversion for the Graham Farish Class 101 DMU - click
here for
more details.
The 2-car Ultrasonic test
Train conversion and a range of centre cars is also under development and
shall be available soon.
By popular demand, the
Class 101 is also available in Network SouthEast Livery.
Livery packs
for the Graham Farish Class 101 DMU are now available.
N Gauge
Show 2008
Electra Railway
Graphics will be attending the N Gauge Show near Warwick on September 13/14,
2008. We shall be sharing a stand with N-Train and will have a wide range
of products for sale as well as the latest developments on show. We look forward
to seeing you there!
Details
here!
New Look
Website
By now, you can't
have missed the new look to the Electra website. I hope you like it. Over
the comings days / weeks / months, I shall be refreshing the existing pages
and rolling out the new black / white / gold scheme.
02/04/08
- Most pages are now in the new format, with all new artwork. Check out the
new title pages for DMUs, Coaches and EMUs. Some forthcoming liveries can
be seen in the Parcels, HST and MkIII pages and there are some hints around
the website. Enjoy!
Cor, what a cracker!
I'm developing something
different for Southern modellers, the popular Maunsell-designed 4-COR EMUs.
This will form a conversion for Graham Farish Mark coaches to enable a good
representation of the original units to be made, particularly if some extra
work on the roof and underframes. The units will be available in Southern
Green, BR Unit Green and BR Rail Blue.
These units were introduced
in 1937 and worked services from Waterloo to Portsmouth. During the 1960s
more modern units displaced the CORs to other areas, such as the Brighton
line and the last was withdrawn in 1971.
Stop
Press 02/04/08 - Work has now begin on producing a resin front
end for this unit.
Click
here for full details.
Class
175 "Coradia" DMU update
Class
175 page now live, including photos of Electra's first prototype decal application.
Click here!
Class
175 Graphics: Price will be £12.00 per 2-car unit - available from 05/03/2007
(or sooner if I complete the tweaks to the prototype unit).
Scroll
down a bit for more details!
Now
Available...
Yellow
Peril...
Hot of the drawing
board is the N Gauge decal pack for the Mark 2F DBSO Driving Trailer no. 9703
in Network Rail Yellow livery. The real 9703 has just started undergoing trials
and you can keep up to the minute on your layout.
Electras' decal
pack features detailed side and end decals with clear windows and full instructions.
Now available for
just £6.00
Don't forget that
all other DBSO liveries are available, including Anglia, Intercity and One
Railway.
British
Railways Mark One Sleeping Cars
Now available in BR
maroon and Blue / Grey with a choice of numbers with E, M, W or Sc prefixes.
Price £6.00
per coach, 2 for £10.00, 3 for £14.00 and 4 for £18.00
XP64
Coaches - Click here!
New!!
Class 414 2-EPB: 2-Car Third-Rail EMU Stock
Now available
to order are the Class 416/2 2-EPB and Class 416/4 2-EPB Units.
The Class
416/4 Units were introduced in 1953 to the then-new BR Mark1 Coach design
and replaced many pre-war units around London.
The Class
416/2 Units were built in 1955 for the North Tyneside electrification, these
traijs moved to the Southern Region in 1963 and ran until the introduction
of Networker stock in 1993. These units differ from the earlier type by having
a larger luggage van and very distinctive front end on the Eastern Region
versions.
Available
in the following liveries:
BR Green - North
Tyneside front end and Lion on Wheel Logo - Class 414/2 Only
BR
Green - Southern Region-style front end
BR
Blue
BR
Blue Grey
BR
Blue/Grey with NSE branding
Network
SouthEast
As always, these decals
have clear windows and can be produced with the numbers of your choice. Available
now for £10.00 per 2-car set.
Full details here.
Work is
still progressing on the Class 175 and I hope to have some prototype model
photos ready soon.
Class 313 Update
Latest information
of Electra's Class 313 kit can be found here.
Class 175 "Coradia"
Conversion Kit coming soon!
I'd like to welcome Etched
Pixels to the growing list of N Gauge cottage industries. Alan Cox is
planning to introduce a range of etched accessories and conversion parts to
turn a Graham Farish Class 170 into a Class 175 "Coradia" DMU.
The Class 175s currently
run long-distance services for Arriva Trains Wales into northwest and central
England from Cardiff and Holyhead.
Alan's etches include replacement
roof panels, underframe and front air-dam. Electra will be producing a range
of bodyside decals to finish off the unit. Initially as a 2-car set, a 3-car
version will be available.
Planned liveries are First
NorthWestern, ex-First NorthWestern unbranded or with Arriva Branding and
two versions of Arriva Trains Wales livery.
Update
27/02/08 - Price will be £12.00 per 2-car unit - available from 05/03/2007
(or sooner if I complete the tweaks to the prototype unit).
Mind the Gap!
The first release of 2008
will be a decal pack to finish off Parkwood's excellent kit for the Metropolitan
Railway Bo-Bo Electric No.12 "Sarah Siddons".
Priced at £3.00,
these decals include bodyside lining and printed card nameplates.
Full details here
Older news for
2007 can be found here.