Porcy Mane

A local retailer offered me an Alpha meter at a very knock down price* a couple of years ago. My plan was to use it on my programming track. Long story short, when installed it made DCC programming very unreliable. This was mainly using Zimo decoders but it looks like Accurascale have confirmed the same effects with ESU. A meter when used on DC only gives readings in one direction only. Who needs that hassle? I soon went back to using my calibrated Flukes. Those green 37's are looking tasty. *It had sat on his shelves for too long so he gave it away.

Oh dearie me. You only had to read up thread by a few posts for reasons prospective Hornby customers/re-sellers/media don't have any confidence in getting a straight answer when communicating directly with Margate. Marvellous if 78010 turns up at Beck Hole next week but past if past experiences are anything to go off (again, see up thread for examples) you can see why people are a little dubious. No fault of TMC as they just go of the info given to them.

Top banana pic of a 1/108. Could almost have been custom made for A'scale.

Put far more succinctly than I ever could Mike. So back to the 2MT... Strangely, I'm still looking forward to getting mine and sticking it on the front of a 1963 St. Helens to Stella Gill pick up.

Agree with all of that but why the communication errors. "Goods are here" then are not. Rapido were very up front about the delays to one of their products when a pallet accidentally fell of the back of wagon. Their honesty and upfront attitude probably garnered them a great deal of goodwill. Something you really can't put a value too.

As do other other manufacturers. Eh? It would appear you're trying to turn a mole hill into a mountain whilst simultaneously tying multiple knots in your underpants. If Hornby delivered by the dates (or near to) the date they have stated on numerous occasions in the past they would have now recouped that investment and probably been in profit on that project. They are a manufacturer. They are in the business of risking the investing of monies to make a profit. Some of that profit comes from supplying retailers via contract. Retailers make their profit from the selling goods supplied by the manufactures and realising a mark up. Less risky for them due to buying on credit and to some degree being able to plan and budget ahead because they know of approximate delivery dates amongst other factors. Some of Hornby's recent "investments" have been incredibly poor probably realising very little profit but more importantly being for them a complete PR disaster along with loosing themselves a large amount of goodwill. Think about both Titgate & Lady and Lamp. Before that there was the Olympic games paraphernalia fiasco. You seem to have the impression that I have some sort of gripe against Hornby. I don't. Like many, Tri-ang Hornby was the railway manufacture during my formative years and without them probably would never have developed an interest in railways (both prototype and model) along with industrial history. Being a modeller I could have quite happily built a 2MT but decided to support Hornby and buy their product, because, A) it looks to be an excellent model and B) I still feel a bit of nostalgia towards Hornby as a brand. I talk to three model shop owners, two on a regular basis and one not so regular. One area were they share commonality is the frustrations they feel when trying to deal with the "new" Hornby (and see subsequent posts whilst I've been typing this). They know they make a good product, they have prospective customers wanting to buy that product but cannot give assurances that they will ever receive an allocation. Those frustrations probably turn to exasperation when retailers are informed "product X" will be delivered to you on such and such a date only to be told on delivery day, well actually... once again you know the rest. You wonder why I have sympathy with retailers!

Could be, but answer me this. Why tell retailers a product has arrived at the UK distribution centre only to back track a few days later? and how is it that some other Hornby products seem to leap frog the supply change problems? Yes the majority of other manufactures have suffered delays in the supply chain for reasons well documented elsewhere but for whatever reason, Hornby seem to suffer more that most with the 2MT being a particularly good example. Where other manufactures tend to offer up reasons for delays Hornby for some time have been giving delivery dates, then as that date approaches... well you know the rest. My sympathies lie with Hornby retailers.

It does now but it said 31st August two days ago. That changed to "Out of stock but can be ordered for delivery in seven to fourteen days" and in the last 24 hours it has changed yet again. The Hornby 2MT is the first Loco I have ever pre-ordered. That was because my local retailer did not reach Hornby's tier one standard despite meeting all of their criteria and to his credit he advised me to pre order from a tier one retailer. This was when the 2MT was first announced, however long ago that was. 2MT was duly ordered from Cheltenham Model Centre and again, all credit to them, each time Hornby upped the 2MT retail price CMC have contacted me, giving me the option to buy or cancel. A week ago they rang me to confirm payment details as Hornby had informed them that distribution to retailers was imminent. Conclude from that what you will, but it seems like Hornby are still messing their retailers about. Just my opinion but it would appear that Hornby need to be looking & learning at the way the new kids on the block interact with their retailers & customers. P

What's this? The Gaffa wish listing?

I can exclusively reveal that following the successful introduction of their one pass rattle can tartan paint, Magicoat is now undertaking tests for a one pass rattle can weathered finish exclusively for use on 1:76 scale models of 16 ton & 21 ton mineral wagons and including hopper variants. Following customer feedback after the introduction of their tartan paint whereby the type of tartan needed e.g. Stuart, Steward, Black Watch, etc., etc, was selected by choosing the appropriate nozzle at check out, the weathered finish paints will be applied using a slightly different method. For a heavily weathered finish the rattle can will need to be shaken vertically for approximately 1 minute. For a light weathering effect, the can will have to be shaken horizontally, again for approximately one minute. Should no weathering be required, no shaking is needed and the paint applied directly to the model will be automatically chosen as one of many shades of grey, BR bauxite or freight red as appropriate to the era being modelled. Testing is ongoing and this products is expected to be with retailers in quarter 5, three years ago. What do you think.

Every picture tells a story.

Ahem...

Aha... the good ol official portraits of B100925 that appeared as the crazy, mixed up artwork on the Mk1 & MkII Airfix 16ton box. Almost as entertaining as the 2-2-4 4MT.

Emphasis on the word "Carnforth". https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/LMS_Ivatt_Class_2_2-6-0_No._46441

Some remained comparatively "square" such a these in 1967.

Thanks for the quick reply. Reminder to self: Turn volume on whist watching youchube vids. Interior veiws? P

Admirably thin tyres on those wheels. Will the production run models with welded end doors have bottom box section corrected? Also going off the light bleed on the pressed end door version, will these wagons have interior detailing? Good to see the rebodied version being covered. P

DP2 or a Diag. 1/146 hopper!

Nah... just seeing who's sharp & keeping up.

And you never even mentioned 37047 & 37053 after they'd had their noses picked. Shame on you. :-)

I'm well into double figures with Q6 that have been through my hands with problems. Only one so far has had a damaged motor. I'd first check the wiring from the tender plug where it passes under the cab. All that I have seen have had the wiring squashed to varying degrees at this point. Try running the motor with a controlled 12v supply connected directly to the motor terminals and see if it runs hot then. If you still need to change the motor there are plenty that's available that can fit in the space. Not direct replacements but adaptations can be made using simple tools. Some latex tube and a 2mm ball bearing had this one sorted to make enough space for a smoke unit.

To get back to the model, for those "eagerly anticipating" (to use the yoochube influencers term) the arrival of this loco, CMC have a release date of the 31 August 2023 on their website. https://www.cheltenhammodelcentre.com/locomotives/Hornby-r3836-br-standard-2mt-2-6-0-78047-br-black/p-r3836

A rigid?

Aha... that's where they were based.

Would that be the recent Acrylic rail colours or the 1960's/70's authenticolour range? 😉