Roy L S

To be fair, Bachmann are in this short clip simply informing when the announcements for the Summer will take place, we do already know about the 7mm scale Quarry Hunslets, wagons and buildings, but not specific models/liveries or as far as I am aware pricing, and that will follow on from the initial info given at Statfold Barn. The same is true of the recently announced OO Palvans and the N Gauge Farish anchor-mounted tanks where so far EPS only have been shown. Personally I am not completely clear whether there will be any further models announced for any scale at forthcoming quarterly announcements going forward, or whether all models will have EPs shown earlier, and the quarterly "announcements" just add in further info - this was my understanding but doesn't mean I haven't got it wrong! If it should transpire (and as I say this may be clearer to others than to me currently) then I can see the intrigue of the announcements will be very much diluted and the "wow" factor for surprises like the N Gauge LMS Twins somewhat less impactful, so I am thinking there may be a change in the focus of them. From what I have understood, this appears to have been a case of responding to feedback in making such changes, and doubtless it will be beneficial in some ways as announcing at EP stage provides an earlier "heads up" gives more time for retailers and also potential purchasers to know what is on the horizon and plan their purchases. It may not suit some though and as with most things, in making such changes is a case of damned if they do, and damned if they don't! 🤔 Roy

I am not a huge fan of Sam's Trains but out of interest kind of speed-watched through his review of the Black Five. I have to admit, based on the issues reported and demonstrated, it is understandable that he would be disappointed, I would have been too. This is supposedly a "premium" locomotive which is sold as a basic analogue model yet still costing North of £200 even discounted. Some of the issues such as "bendy" footplate have been seen before on locos such as the K1, and one would have hoped that steps would have been taken to remediate that for future models, but apparently not (albeit only time will tell whether it is endemic in this model). Glue-smears are unacceptable on any product, never mind a premium one. The loco-tender socket looks extremely "flaky" from the images, and I do wonder whether the existence of it is more to do with ease of assembly in the factory than significant benefit to the end-user? I pose this as a question as I model in N, where it is almost always the case that loco and tender are permanently coupled and wiring hard-wired through. Certainly the resultant loco-tender gap looks excessive, but more importantly cannot be easily reduced. I guess the lighting issue will be a matter of personal choice/opinion, but for me it is the naffest thing on what is supposedly a premium model and I really do think Hornby have mis-read the Market or are just trying too hard to be "innovative". The lamps look really bulky and overscale, at the size they may work better on the Ellis-Clark O Gauge Black Five possibly? However the biggest point is that the oil-lamps are there primarily to provide a visible cue to signalmen and other railway workers of the class of train, and even when lit, the light produced would be minimal. Adding illumination appears therefore a gimmick for this particular class of loco, but I would accept potentially less so where lamps are electric as was the case on certain classes. However, the point is that even here very often an oil lamp was fitted atop the electric lamp anyway. I wonder what market research was done amongst modellers to determine whether this was a desirable feature? My suspicion is not a lot. The "bones" of the model look really good, but my feeling is that Hornby have just tried too hard to differentiate and justify the price-point. I think a better made model without the gimmicks would be/is the way to go personally. Roy

Surely there is a fundamental difference between amortising tooling costs over production runs from sales of the item produced (that is to say a recovery of the cost/investment) and depreciation of the tooling value in the company's books and one is not inter-dependent on the other? A model can recover the tooling cost over an initial run or x number of production runs depending on the business model used and as far Bachmann is concerned as far as I am aware this information is business sensitive and not in the Public domain, but would be factored into the sales strategy and costings for a specific model. However, irrespective of the way the cost is amortised surely the tooling still has a "value" and it is that value which will be depreciated by whatever accounting method is appropriate to the company or accountancy rules that prevail in the relevant country? The second thing I would query (unless the number used is illustrative only) is how a cost of £500k for a typical model is arrived at? Again we have only anecdotal information which suggests that tooling probably typically costs in the region of £100k - £200k for a loco, but as far as I know no manufacturer routinely discloses this for reasons which again are pretty obvious. I kind of understand the rationale for thinking that the "bread and butter" classes of loco will have more potential for repeat runs and therefore better returns, but that would seem to be be based on assumptions that we are not privy too. I am sure there will have been models which have struggled to cover costs, and lessons learned from them, but equally an organisation like Bachmann will not produce more "niche" models without being confident of covering costs by whatever sales model they apply be it one production run or a number, and that will all be factored in to the pricing. Roy

More specifically, rather that the OO CAD, it would be the existence of an extensive and pretty recent R&D file on the prototype loco that may well have influenced the choice. As there will be different considerations such as material thicknesses (which cannot necessarily be shrunk), clearances, drivetrain, DCC socket space and adequate tractive weight in the smaller model, I would have thought a brand new CAD would be done from the ground up, but yes, that can be derived from R&D already done as can livery artworks. Regards Roy

Hi Ben Thank you, it was more the anomaly that the field where estimated arrival date would go is blank, whereas in the case of other projects with a closed order book an estimate is given. I don't think I will receive any prior notification having paid in full, typically orders have just turned up thus far, but I will keep watching for news. Regards Roy

At the risk of having my head bitten off (again 🤔) in respect of the N Gauge models the order book closed on 30th September 2023, and it was my understanding that the wagons were in production. However, having checked the RevolutioN project page on their website, unlike every other project with an "order book closed" status there is no estimated UK delivery date for these wagons (or their OO gauge counterparts where admittedly the order book didn't close until 31/12/2023 - much later). Could one of the Gents on the Revolution Team provide an update on the status of these wagons please? Many thanks Roy

Lovely looking models, I feel sure they will find a "niche" in their own right and as a feeder for standard gauge layouts in O too, a great use for Peco O-16.5 track and refreshing to see this mentioned in the video.

Very interesting, but aligns with the changes to how Bachmann will be announcing new models going forward. The green hints 009 and Statfold is about pretty much all things narrow gauge, but the exhibition itself isn't. Nonetheless I would still put my money on 009, maybe not a loco but a piece of rolling stock. Roy

The older type 8F was free of the tiny pony wheels which were only found on the 4 wheel bogies, but they were very crude by today's standards, reasonable but not spectacular runners and certainly not as good as the latest coreless motor locos. The later 8F is an altogether different beast, with modern coreless motor chassis, DCC Next 18. fitted speaker, see through spokes etc - a lovely model. However I would suggest that given the design of the chassis, pickups and axle-bearings converting to a wider gauge could be something of a challenge. Also, there has only been one production run so far and that was a few years ago now so you are likely to only find one secondhand and probably not cheap. Roy

An Economy of Austerities maybe?

Hi Jerry Thanks for the info and encouragement, I appreciate that as with all things in most clubs or associations a limiting factor will be capacity in terms of both personnel and resources. I will doubtless end up buying some drop in wheelsets for one of my Farish Class 24 diesels to form a 2mm start point and buy some plain track by way of a small trial layout - I think breaking into 2mm really requires getting something running which so far I have failed quite dismally to do. I would have much preferred that to be a steam loco, but your points are all well made and understood. I guess I would see simplicity as key to that first steam conversion, so that would mean crankpins that are designed to facilitate reuse of existing coupling rods, on the basis that transition to 2mm scale has to be a staged process, from there moving on to fold up frets etc. I live near Bicester so I think there is an Oxford Area Group that is reasonably close, and I really should investigate that 🤔. EFE's next diesel loco. I had pondered this myself and as existing models seem to have some basic provenance in the DJM plans (I am not saying designs or CADs just plans) and also because there are so few diesel classes not already made RTR in N, I had been thinking in terms of the Baby Deltic which would certainly suit me fine! Rather excitingly in terms of steam that DJM thinking would also seem to suggest a Q6 0-8-0 at some point 🙂 which is probably why I am a mile off! Regards Roy

I have been an "on the fence" potential 2mm modeller and on and off a member of 2mm SA. I have just renewed membership for another year and have some handmade points (made for me years back) ready for a small trial layout. What has put me off starting has been the lack of a simple (and I mean simple) drop in wheel conversion kit for a RTR steam loco, yes diesels no problem but something similar is I think definitely needed for steam modellers to get something running easily as a "toehold" in the scale. As I have said above, the EFE J94 seems like the perfect opportunity to address this. Roy

There are so many points made in the above that I agree with, but a few I do not: - "There are a lot of people in the hobby who have "bounced off" N. Over the years I've seen a lot of comments of the form " Haven't got a lot of space or a layout, started off in OO, tried N but it wasn't for me/found it too fiddly/couldn't get on with it so here I am, back in OO . Now how do I do something in the limited space I've got?" I think there will inevitably be some, but I would challenge there being "a lot" and certainly not enough to in itself warrant an entirely new scale being developed. "The argument that there is more RTR available in N is simply not the knockdown argument that some folk think, if your starting point is "N gauge is too small a scale to satisfy me". Respectfully I disagree. We have already witnessed comments to the effect that people will not engage with TT120 as a viable modelling scale until there is sufficient a range of models. I do not want to get into the issue of how quickly Hornby can (or will) add products to the range, but it is clear that the lack of range in TT120 now (and for what may be a considerable time to come) is preventing some from entering the scale. Such a range does exist in N, it is substantial, supported by many manufacturers and absolutely will attract many potential TT120 modellers for whom that is an issue, not least because of the quality of what is being produced, which is comparable and in many cases better. Also, at 2.065mm/ft (I am talking British here as TT120 already is a thing on the continent and elsewhere) is actually less than 1/5 smaller as a scale than TT120 - noticeably smaller of course, but significantly smaller? For a small minority possibly yes, for most probably not and for a layout in terms of square footage it takes up a lot less space for a comparable Tt120 layout. So, there absolutely will now and for a long time to come be a significant number who if looking for a minimum/smaller space British layout will choose N over TT120 based on available range alone. "Even this is to concede too much to the naysayers. It's entirely possible given what we've seen so far, that demand for TT:120 will be fully sufficient to sustain production of commercial RTR indefinitely. S gauge is a commercial scale in the US. The range of RTR is much smaller than for HO, of course, but folk who like the scale or perhaps want to be different, work in it. Marklin's Z gauge is never going to displace N , but it's been around since 1972 and there are no threads with eager posters speculating about how soon Marklin will drop it". Hornby under and influenced by Simon Kohler clearly saw a market for TT120 or they would not have started investing in the scale so heavily, this has continued, possibly in a more pragmatic and diluted form under current management. Initial demand was strong, but how many like me will have taken a "punt" on an "Easterner" set (or similar) because at a discounted price of £165 for a complete set it would simply have been rude not to, based on curiosity value alone? How much of this has translated into sustainable future sales to newcomers to railway modelling, or "converts" from other scales it is simply too soon to say. Definitely it has some, and some (like me) will see TT120 as a small "side hustle" to another established modelling scale but that's all, which doesn't matter as after all it is still sales, but then some, and likely a very significant proportion of existing modellers won't engage with the new scale at all. Will TT120 succeed and become established as a British modelling scale? At this point it is too soon to say for sure. What is abundantly clear is that Hornby have belief that it will and have a strategy to add products to the range for the next few years so they are giving it every chance. Personally I believe it will probably carve itself a place a place too, because the size will inevitably suit some as an alternative to OO or N and it would be wrong to suggest otherwise. However I can't see it threatening those established scales in terms of volume. If we could "fast forward" five years, I think that there is much more chance that we would see TT120 continuing to be modelled in Britain than not and with manufacturer's support. Roy

Except of course that with the exception of direct sales from Dapol your warranty is not with them, it is with the retailer you bought the loco from because that is who your contract is with. In either case though, be it Dapol or a retailer, they would very reasonably expect you to produce proof of purchase as part of any return/warranty claim. if bought direct from China via eBay or otherwise, the only proof of purchase a person could provide would make it self evident that the model was purchased through an unauthorised channel so your warranty and any claim under it would be void. Roy

The EFE one is no slouch in the haulage department, one of mine pulled 20 mineral wagons with no bother at all. I don't think there would be that much in it as there seems a fair bit of weight in the J94 so I am thinking tanks/footplate may be diecast. It should be remembered that the cab of the old Farish model is plastic. As should be expected given the ancient provenance of the Farish model, the new EFE one trounces it in pretty much every respect imaginable in terms of accuracy, detail, and running quality and is of course DCC ready. In my opinion there really isn't any comparison between the two (I have three EFE ones). Roy