25 November 2014
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Lyndon visits the factory in China.
Oxford Diecast's owner provides some answers about the Adams Radial 4-4-2T Class 415. ...
Updates on Oxford Rail from Lyndon Davies Images
Oxford Diecast has unveiled more details about it's recently announced venture: Oxford Rail. This new plan will see the well known diecast manufacturer move into the world of model railways and its first release will be the much admired Adams Radial 4-4-2T Class 415 of the London and South Western Railway.
The announcement caused a great deal of excitement but also raised some questions… questions that Oxford Diecast's Lyndon Davies has since tried to answer. Below you can read some of the questions asked and the responses from Lyndon.
Is Oxford capable of manufacturing the Adams Radial?
We already produce similar products, for demanding customers worldwide, at our dedicated factory that has been in operation for many years. The factory is Oxford Diecast China Factory.
Is this a tester product?
Lyndon - Absolutely not. We started the production of scale locos and associated products 3 to 4 years ago. We used this time to build up our manufacturing capability. We have a 5 year development programme for Oxford Rail. We have developed a strategy, researching the market and identifying products that you want. We have products planned that have previously been produced, but need updating. We have a programme that has identified locomotives, coaches and wagons for future release. We will announce new items throughout 2015. This is not a locomotive - it is a product range.
When will Oxford release the Adams Radial?
We commenced tooling 3 months ago after extensive research over the last few years. Pre-production components will be available in Quarter 1 2015 (Q1). We will be giving more information to retailers during the trade shows in early 2015.
Where I be able to buy Oxford Rail products?
You will be able to get Oxford items from many places, we will work with reputable retailers - watch for announcements on this website. We will issue codings etc at the trade fairs in January/February. Shockingly it was suggested that we had not started the design of the Adams. Be assured we have, this is about product delivery. Our policy is to announce product when they are in tooling. However as my diecast collectors realise - sometimes I just release items without pre-warning - it makes it more exciting then, particularly when the products are relatively simple.
There are rumours that another company has been researching this item and releasing a competing product, does that worry you?
Yes we became aware of this earlier in the year. It is hard to keep secrets in this market particularly as we have so many friends within the industry. At this stage we had already started tooling. So it will be exciting to compare our products with the competition, as it will allow us to firmly show our capabilities. It will be interesting to look at the competing engineering and tooling configurations. We have our strategy and that means we won't deviate. As Dusty would always say don't announce items until you are 'cutting steel'. Being a toolmaker that is always the point of no return.
The announcement caused a great deal of excitement but also raised some questions… questions that Oxford Diecast's Lyndon Davies has since tried to answer. Below you can read some of the questions asked and the responses from Lyndon.
Is Oxford capable of manufacturing the Adams Radial?
We already produce similar products, for demanding customers worldwide, at our dedicated factory that has been in operation for many years. The factory is Oxford Diecast China Factory.
Is this a tester product?
Lyndon - Absolutely not. We started the production of scale locos and associated products 3 to 4 years ago. We used this time to build up our manufacturing capability. We have a 5 year development programme for Oxford Rail. We have developed a strategy, researching the market and identifying products that you want. We have products planned that have previously been produced, but need updating. We have a programme that has identified locomotives, coaches and wagons for future release. We will announce new items throughout 2015. This is not a locomotive - it is a product range.
When will Oxford release the Adams Radial?
We commenced tooling 3 months ago after extensive research over the last few years. Pre-production components will be available in Quarter 1 2015 (Q1). We will be giving more information to retailers during the trade shows in early 2015.
Where I be able to buy Oxford Rail products?
You will be able to get Oxford items from many places, we will work with reputable retailers - watch for announcements on this website. We will issue codings etc at the trade fairs in January/February. Shockingly it was suggested that we had not started the design of the Adams. Be assured we have, this is about product delivery. Our policy is to announce product when they are in tooling. However as my diecast collectors realise - sometimes I just release items without pre-warning - it makes it more exciting then, particularly when the products are relatively simple.
There are rumours that another company has been researching this item and releasing a competing product, does that worry you?
Yes we became aware of this earlier in the year. It is hard to keep secrets in this market particularly as we have so many friends within the industry. At this stage we had already started tooling. So it will be exciting to compare our products with the competition, as it will allow us to firmly show our capabilities. It will be interesting to look at the competing engineering and tooling configurations. We have our strategy and that means we won't deviate. As Dusty would always say don't announce items until you are 'cutting steel'. Being a toolmaker that is always the point of no return.
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