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Latest Hornby teak coaches


Kestrel
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It looks like it's back to the mistakes with the 'new' teaks, R4826-4830, if the photos are anything to go by. They show vertical graining on the doors when it should be horizontal below the window line.

This was the case when the original set was issued but was then corrected for future sets. I can't see many being sold if they are produced with the error still on.

I've e-mailed Hornby (no reply) to tell them and also rang them but I'm not holding out much hope as the bloke on the phone seemed to be on a different planet.

 

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On the Hornby 2018 someone said that Hornby have been told about the doors. Whether they do anything time will tell. After the last horrendous Teaking efforts on Corridor and Suburban release they need to get their act together.

 

Precision Labels do replacement decals for the doors as the first issue had the same problem.

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Perhaps they have used artwork from the very original teaks, rather than the later versions and hopefully the old saying that it may not reflect the finished product applies. (Positive thoughts :))

 

What I'm more concerned with is that the teak grain tampo is well done like the Sanda Kan versions.

 

What I wouldn't like is if they received the Ikea knotty Pine finish that showed up on the post SK Teaks, as Mick said - they were horrendous. I really wanted some of those suburbans, until I saw them :(

 

From what was written on the last Engine shed, they read various forums, so hopefully they see this. We know how good the Hornby teaks can be, but somehow the standard has slipped badly in the last few batches.

 

post-23233-0-56396400-1517131415.jpg

Ikea coffee table finish !!

Edited by The Blue Streak
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Perhaps they have used artwork from the very original teaks, rather than the later versions and hopefully the old saying that it may not reflect the finished product applies. (Positive thoughts :))

 

What I'm more concerned with is that the teak grain tampo is well done like the Sanda Kan versions.

 

What I wouldn't like is if they received the Ikea knotty Pine finish that showed up on the post SK Teaks, as Mick said - they were horrendous. I really wanted some of those suburbans, until I saw them :(

 

From what was written on the last Engine shed, they read various forums, so hopefully they see this. We know how good the Hornby teaks can be, but somehow the standard has slipped badly in the last few batches.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_9935020317.jpg

Ikea coffee table finish !!

.

 

A timely post this and perhaps a fitting tribute to Ingvar Kamprad,founder of IKEA,who has just passed away at the grand age of 91.

 

Seriously though this is a complex issue which refuses to go away.Teak or faux teak is a hard one to get right.Bachmann have delayed the introduction of their Thompson LNER coaches until they are satisfied that it's "acceptable" ,though forum members will doubtless have their own take on that soon enough. And Bachmann it should be remembered are dealing with their own factory in China,whreas Hornby contract their production to a variety of sources which adds to the complications. As Robin posts ,these images are digitally generated so we may hope for better when the product arrives.I agree though that the latest Hornby teak production is a bit of a nightmare,to say the least. Will they sell ? Please reflect that RMWeb represents a fraction of the model buying public who in all probability could not give a toss what is (usually) authoritatively posted here and will purchase because it "looks nice" even though it might be inaccurate.

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Perhaps they have used artwork from the very original teaks, rather than the later versions and hopefully the old saying that it may not reflect the finished product applies. (Positive thoughts :))

 

What I'm more concerned with is that the teak grain tampo is well done like the Sanda Kan versions.

 

What I wouldn't like is if they received the Ikea knotty Pine finish that showed up on the post SK Teaks, as Mick said - they were horrendous. I really wanted some of those suburbans, until I saw them :(

 

From what was written on the last Engine shed, they read various forums, so hopefully they see this. We know how good the Hornby teaks can be, but somehow the standard has slipped badly in the last few batches.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_9935020317.jpg

Ikea coffee table finish !!

Looks more like felled Red wood tree.

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Perhaps?

 

I cannot see how anyone would think that the "Teak" in that photo is anything like nice . At £50 a pop Hornby are having a laugh !!.

Point is...you with specialist knowledge will reject them out of hand....But most do not have that facility.They don't know,whether you accept that or not.The hard commercial reality of the current situation is that we have to live with it.The last batch went to retailers and went on websites or shelves and were not returned even though it was/is known that they are pretty awful by those of us who are aware and that does include the retailers. At this moment in time I imagine Hornby would have taken a financial hit they simply could not afford.

 

Having a laugh doesn't apply. The company's financial viability does. Stuff happens along with the mistakes.In which case,your money stays in the bank.

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e last batch went to retailers and went on websites or shelves and were not returned even though it was/is known that they are pretty awful by those of us who are aware and that does include the retailers. At this moment in time I imagine Hornby would have taken a financial hit they simply could not afford.

 

 

The last batch did seem to end up in the bargain bin in quite a few cases, in a way not seen with previous teak coaches. I hope that Hornby have therefore taken note!

I certainly won't buy any more teaks if they reflect the quality of recent releases. But if we see a return to SK printing quality I will be buying a few.

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Having a laugh doesn't apply. The company's financial viability does. Stuff happens along with the mistakes.In which case,your money stays in the bank.

 

 

Sadly it does, if Hornby cant get their act together over quality control e.g Teak livery, S15 Motors etc etc then they won't sell anything. I doubt very much, that there are many  Mums and Dads that are buying their little junior, £50 coaches and £150+ locos anymore .

 

Most people buying them nowadays, know within reason what they are looking at . Hornby et al need to have a much more refined/obvious gap, between the toy range and what is now a very expensive specialist and very delicate in use range of models.

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Sadly it does, if Hornby cant get their act together over quality control e.g Teak livery, S15 Motors etc etc then they won't sell anything. I doubt very much, that there are many  Mums and Dads that are buying their little junior, £50 coaches and £150+ locos anymore .

 

Most people buying them nowadays, know within reason what they are looking at . Hornby et al need to have a much more refined/obvious gap, between the toy range and what is now a very expensive specialist and very delicate in use range of models.

 Not mums and dads buying for little junior now,is it..nor ever was.It's mostly grey power surely.And I question once more your assumption that most know what they are looking at.Most on this forum do but we are only one " Select " :jester: group who buy model trains.Don't assume we are the only ones.I have it on the authority of one well known retailer for that.

   If you can prescribe a way to "getting an act together"...a phrase we've now been hearing about Hornby since the beginning of the present decade... then you've won Willy Wonka's golden ticket.And they are still making and selling trains.

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t

   If you can prescribe a way to "getting an act together"...a phrase we've now been hearing about Hornby since the beginning of the present decade... then you've won Willy Wonka's golden ticket.And they are still making and selling trains.

 

Yes they sure are a "act together" and they are in financial meltdown as a result.

 

Perhaps the various MD's are undercover Willy Wonka's ?  they have done well enough, out of their ticket to ride on the Hornby Choo Choo.   :jester:  :jester:

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Yes they sure are a "act together" and they are in financial meltdown as a result.

 

Perhaps the various MD's are undercover Willy Wonka's ?  they have done well enough, out of their ticket to ride on the Hornby Choo Choo.   :jester:  :jester:

No that is not quite what I meant and I do think continuing in this way is not helpful.I assume you,like me, wish for a healthy viable company that will produce quality models for some time to come.They are having their difficulties which are well documented on this forum and occasionally mistakes are made.I think we need to accept that and move on.

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Sadly this thread shows that there is confusion in parts of Hornby about whether they are selling toys or exquisite scale models... and the breakdown of communication between those who design the latter and some parts of the manufacturing process is sad.

 

This is what the new CEO must fix. Those teaks early in the thread are embarrassing. In my opinion.

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At one time Hornby Teaks were among the most beautifully finished and highly sought after coaches you could buy. The prices those SK versions go for second hand attest to that.

 

Then the printing became, well, a bit ordinary to put it politely and as a result I saw them going brand new for as little as 23 quid. The last batch of BR Teak corridors were going for that (they also had the knotty pine finish - with the exception of the sleeping car which was quite good curiously) so someone took a financial hit on those somewhere.

 

When you look at how exquisite the BR Teak corridor coaches were in the rare bird and London Olympics packs and the LNER versions made at the same time, you wonder how they could have got it so wrong later.

 

Anyway I have full confidence that Hornby can get back to where they once were with these coaches, the last year or so has been, in My eyes at least, a bit of a resurrection by Hornby. I think when they make quality products, they sell out.

When they don't, the items sit on the shelves and get sold for bargain prices (you can buy an A3 Minoru for under 95 quid because of the ski jump running boards) which is good for us in the short term but not so good for Hornby in the long run.

 

Anyway here's hoping the new run of teaks are brilliant and We have no excuse not to dive in and buy a bucket load of them. I won't be pre - ordering many until I see them, just in case. (Although I might take a chance on a full brake) :)

 

Just for those who have forgotten how good Hornby teaks can be, a BR era brake comp -

 

post-23233-0-55643400-1517189005.jpg

Edited by The Blue Streak
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I think anyone buying these will pretty much know what they should look like . £50+ coaches , or rakes thereof, aren't bought by casual purchasers, Grey pound or not.  If they don't get the teak correct then it ceases to be a serious model railway product and becomes a toy in the bargain basement section because enthusiast wont buy them .   Maybe they'll do for something for Edward or Gordon to pull.   Hornby really need to get this correct. Tie down the spec at the manufacturer and for goodness sake inspect them before taking delivery from supplier. I think there is still a view at Hornby "oh we will pass them on anyway , someone will buy them"

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post-24481-0-78947100-1517216551_thumb.jpgThe London Olympics train pack contained just the Gresley teaks I was looking for.

Teak livery in early BR days, with grey roofs. But shock / horror at the price, for a set

with an ancient loco, no track and no controller.

Then utopia !, at Warley in 2013, at trader had split the set and the teaks were £29.50 each !

a real bargain.

I agree the livery application on these early teaks was exquisite, Hornby have never bettered it.

 

Note however the gangway height still doesn't line up with Bachmann's new Thompsons.

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At one time Hornby Teaks were among the most beautifully finished and highly sought after coaches you could buy. The prices those SK versions go for second hand attest to that.

 

Then the printing became, well, a bit ordinary to put it politely and as a result I saw them going brand new for as little as 23 quid. The last batch of BR Teak corridors were going for that (they also had the knotty pine finish - with the exception of the sleeping car which was quite good curiously) so someone took a financial hit on those somewhere.

 

When you look at how exquisite the BR Teak corridor coaches were in the rare bird and London Olympics packs and the LNER versions made at the same time, you wonder how they could have got it so wrong later.

 

 

Wasn't it the case that the original good teaks had a huge number of individuals processes to get them to that standard?  Thus it was almost inevitable they would be value-engineered, but someone took their eye off the final output.

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Wasn't it the case that the original good teaks had a huge number of individuals processes to get them to that standard?  Thus it was almost inevitable they would be value-engineered, but someone took their eye off the final output.

38 printing processes according to Chris Leigh

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/120513-Hornby-thompson-suburban-coaches-lner-teak-issues/?p=2642667

 

If they are so process heavy, fine, raise the price accordingly, or produce a 'full fat' batch and a 'skinny' batch, and at least let the purchaser choose. I can then pay top dollar for a few fine Teaks, or pay less for two rakes of 10. What on earth are those of us with have a rake of the original fine models supposed to do now?

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38 printing processes according to Chris Leigh

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/120513-Hornby-thompson-suburban-coaches-lner-teak-issues/?p=2642667

 

If they are so process heavy, fine, raise the price accordingly, or produce a 'full fat' batch and a 'skinny' batch, and at least let the purchaser choose. I can then pay top dollar for a few fine Teaks, or pay less for two rakes of 10. What on earth are those of us with have a rake of the original fine models supposed to do now?

The price of the teaks were increased because of the printing process. I well remember Simon Kohler stating this at the time .

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The price of the teaks were increased because of the printing process. I well remember Simon Kohler stating this at the time .

 

Thereby alienating the "I'm not paying that much for a coach" brigade, who, for genuine reasons of limited wallet-size, are not insignificant in the market place. 

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