Hello! 

The news of Hattons closing down has no doubt shocked a majority of the model railway community. The topic has been extensively covered by a lot of people so I won't rabble on! They will be missed and I wish the team all the best. 

With the sale on I made an impulse purchase of a second-hand Bachmann Class 168. This is well outside my era/area which is usually SE London around 1991-1995 but I do have my reasons, not that I need to justify it! 😂

Back in late 2003/early 2004 I visited the Signal Box Model shop in Rochester shortly after moving to Kent. Back then as a teenager I wasn't set on a specific era/area and I wanted whatever looked appealing. I remember going through the Bachmann catalogue and looked at the Class 168 in the original Chiltern Railways livery, it caught my eye. A few times visiting The Signal Box and it was there just released and I loved the look of it. I had no connection to Chiltern Railways until recently so it was the simple fact that I liked the livery which was reminiscent of the NSE livery in a strange way. It was the model that eventually disappeared from the shops and in my late teens I went off the hobby for a good few years. 

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when Hattons were having a closing down sale, I spotted the 168 at a decent price and I had to buy it. It arrived quickly and for a 20 year old model it has aged rather well! 

Now what to do with it? 👀