Ronny

Totally different here where I live. I know a lot of modellers and to a man (& woman), they buy their kit over the internet. Why on earth wouldn't you? It's cheaper plus has zero sales tax, arrives at your door (usually free postage) in a couple of days and if anything is wrong, a simple return to get your money back. Local hobby stores are used for paint & glue. I don't know of any in a couple hours drive that would past muster as a UK railway store. A couple of general hobby places where radio control is king with a section for Woodland scenics & paint. Just re-reading and wondering how popular internet sales would be in the UK if no sales tax (VAT) were charged :-)

The Peckett liveries were described in the 5/2/16 edition. Or am I missing something here?

I've tried in the past (Birch Grove) only to receive a very polite letter saying only one could be ordered. Can't blame me for trying!

Looks FANTASTIC! !!

I subscribed to modeling magazines for decades. Pretty much all of them at one time or another (never Hornby tho). Airfix was my favorite for many years, especially when they had regular railway content. Also Model Rail. But two things happened. I found I was reading the magazines less and less. I was getting news from the internet so there was never, ever any surprises when I finally got round to ripping off the plastic. In fact it was kind of silly. Blaring headlines about an exclusive story or scoop referred to something that was old hat. And if I wanted advice on how to solve the tricky modeling problem du jour, it was a heck of a business going through thousands of stacked magazines looking for the right reference. Google was instant. Forums took a bit longer to respond but still a shed load easier. Plenty to chose from. The second thing was that I retired and money came in shorter supply. These magazine subscriptions started to look rather expensive. Especially after paying through the nose to have them shipped here to the US. So I Iet my last subscription (to Model Rail) lapse without renewal. No withdrawal symptoms. I get regular emails from the manufacturers and leading retailers. I get notification of Facebook posts or manufacturer blog updates (like Engine shed). All manufacturers seem to post the latest news there. I logon and read forums like this once in a while when I'm in the mood. I feel better informed. All for the princely sum of exactly nothing. So no, for me at least, there is no need for Hornby or anyone else to spend money on communicating with the printed or online press. I say use the money to produce more and better models. Which they appear to be doing!

I fear Bachmanns Chinese owners have demanded the same high margins for their UK operation as they see for their European ventures. I expect prices have some way more to climb before they settle.

Seems rather expensive to me for some rather old and crude models. The locomotive no doubt will be a lot better but still rather pricey for such a small model.

Well I give up. I played around yesterday for some time and didn't once get any of your problems. One for Hornby to sort out.

I do apologise. I only just read your post. I usually use a bookmark to get to Hornby.com but I didn't this time and just typed in Hornby.com. I then clicked the US flag at the top of the page to change to the Union Jack then scrolled to the bottom to click the collectors club which took me to the collectors page. All worked perfectly. Same for the competitions page. No problems at all. I started over and logged into my account and once again all worked perfectly while keeping me logged into my account through all the changes. Perhaps you are not changing the US flag to the Union Jack? The collectors club is a part of Hornby UK (there isn't a US club) so you need to connect to Hornby UK via the UK flag. One thing I really like is that when I login, all prices show minus VAT. The site is smart enough to know that I don't pay it so I don't have to perform mental arithmatic to see how much I will be charged. Makes a big difference. I sure hope the US never joins the EEC, a 20% surcharge on everything would be a tough pill to swallow (and that's a joke, not a political statement!!)

It's weird. I spent 30 mins this morningand I haven't been able to reproduce any of their complaints. The website works perfectly for me from my home in Arizona. Doesn't matter whether I sign in or whether i don't. I wonder if they have an old cookie or two that are gumming the works. If I were them, I'd delete all Hornby cookies and start over. I say this because I've had a new 'puter for the last couple of months and that may be relevant. Also on Windows 8.1. Good luck chaps.

700 in pre-grouping livery.

I don't have any problem with their website. Maybe the error is at your end?

Be nice if these LSWR locomotives & stock would actually come in LSWR livery! I know I could repaint but I'm one of the worlds worst. Wife won't even let me paint a wall :-( Fingers crossed for a rerun or special editions.

About time, it's been so long I don't even remember if I pre-ordered. I doubt if Kernow's remembers either :-)

Fantastic news!!! Bring it on Hornby.

Good to hear from a happy camper! I'm enjoying mine too. Excellent model.

Read this three times and I'm pretty sure all you said was that you don't like "speculators" because you don't like "speculators". And the Chinese REALLY don't like "speculators". I also think you popped in a claim that "speculators" could or would prevent modellers from buying this latest offering. I suspect your problem is with a hypothetical scenario something like where Rapido offers a never to be repeated limited edition which are all bought up by an unscrupulous individual who resells them for a huge profit i.e. totally different to what is actually happening.

I thought the term "collector" meant someone who purchase stuff for display and/or investment and not to run on a layout. But whatever.

You are very mistaken if you think the market for pre-grouping is confined to only collectors!

Wooohoo - another home run!!! Well done chaps, hope it's a raging success.

By "Swindon" do you mean "Steam"?

Thanks a lot Graham for a great reply. Not sure about the market for pre-grouping but I do know that pre-grouping liveried locomotives sell like hot cakes. You have to be darned quick before they sell out. See Bachmann's C class for example.

Not sure what you guys are looking at. I see £101.90 as the Hattons pre-order price.

Great news!! Got my order in for the Maunsells. If original LSWR livery was on offer, I'd get at least another couple sets.

I think you should at least ask for a photo first before deciding... .. of the model railway.