7mm HUO Update and Sample Preview
As you know, the 7mm Scale HUO / HOP 24 marks our first move into O gauge. We received a significant amount of calls from modellers to scale our 4mm effort up to 7mm. We have not done that, we instead used the survey data and built a whole new model from scratch in CAD design, with a number of features incorporated that are not on the 4mm variant, such as compensation and extra detailing.
A number of weeks ago, we received a tooling sample from our factory in China, which we did display at the Great Electric Train Show and at the recent Warley Model Railway Show. However, this was done with a bit of reluctance, as we are unhappy with several aspects of this sample.
We do like a lot of the detail and crispness of the body, the chassis and the detailing parts, such as the underframe. We think that we will certainly win a lot of new fans in O gauge in this regard. However, there are some areas that need correction. Firstly, those buffers are hideous. We specified them to be metal, we got plastic. They are also undersized, so they have got to go. They will be metal and of correct size on the wagons you receive!
On top of that, the coupling chain is terrible, and that will be replaced. We are also not happy with how the compensation works, and this needs adjustment to get right so that it performs reliably and correctly. This is currently taking place in our factory.
Unfortunately the delivery date of these models has now been delayed as we make these adjustments. Delivery was to be December, and it would have been without these niggles, but we want the very best model we can produce to go to market, and we are sure you want the best model we can offer you. These changes are underway and we have been advised by our factory that the new delivery date will be in approx. 8 weeks time, arriving just before Chinese New Year. We will be pulling out all the stops to get them delivered to you to make up for this unforeseen delay.
We would like to thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter and we will keep you fully up to date with any updates on this project as we get them.