leavesontheline

Ryanair would still find a way to charge you for your own sh1# though 😁 This article brings all the school boy puns to my mind.... "Whizz Air - your Number One Airline" Brings a whole new meaning to "dumping fuel"..... I could go on....!

Nice model, just let down by the back-scene beyond the signal.......😃

Read the title a bit too quick in the 'View New Content' list and wondered why anyone would want PANTS for model trains in the UK..... Very sorry but I have no constructive comments to add on paints .....

Nailsea and Backwell Station?

Yes, very nice to see Sheep Dip today. Maybe the third (?) of your excellent layouts I've seen in the flesh. Did you see 'Bleat'? His sheep were flocked .....

Everyone too busy with their heads down looking at their phones to notice the archway above them!

Welcome back! C908 Someone has got the wrong scale cow on their layout 😄

Sorry, $ won't help much 😆 As it happens, I did initially put 'Cheltenham Model Centre' as it was very similar to price labels on items that I knew had come from that shop, however, a bit later on I found some more identical bright orange labels and via a bit of 'digital archaeology' managed to pinpoint the purchases to Transport Models in Preston. So no-where near the Southwest of the UK 🤣. I did visit that shop once though, which is now sadly closed. As you say, usually some evidence comes to light to enable a later update but at the moment I do still have two complete 'unknowns' per the images below and I am nearly at the end of the cataloguing exercise..... so hopefully there won't be any more! For UK modellers out there, once again, does anyone recognise these labels from their local retailer? I won't restrict it to the South West this time as these seem to be 'one-off's that I could have purchased anywhere! ("Happy days" when you could pick up a new Bachmann wagon for these prices!) Edited just to say that I think the second one below (the 'Our Price' sticker, no, not from the record store!) is actually from Durham Trains of Stanley, via a bit of memory trawling and a look at their website and facebook page! Still can't place the first one though. It would be a shame if this ended up as the only 'unknown shop' in my database!

Well yes, you would reasonably expect that, but so far I have been able to identify the source of most models purchased in shops, from their labels! Obviously this relies on having some 'confirmed' purchases, but it is surprising how many stick to their preferred label/label machine over the years! Also, my list of likely retailers doesn't cover a very wide distance which helps!!

Yes, thankyou, they were certainly high on my list of traders that I would have bought brand new items from at shows in this part of the country, but I also have models from them where the name "Cheltenham Model Centre" is also printed on the labels and they are white. Of course they could be of a different era and the other possibility is that they might use completely different labels for show stock compared to shop stock..... as any other shop/trader might well do. Its not vital that I find out obviously, but its just bugging me! Out of hundreds of models these are the only few I can't place!

Bit of a strange question this, but does anyone recognise the shop (or show trader) that this price tag/sticker might have come from? Most likely someone who is based in, or attends shows in the West, South West and South Wales. Reason for asking is that I am currently cataloguing my models and so far I have been able to establish the source of all models whether purchased in-person or online, but not this one! It is quite a distinctive sticker being almost fluorescent orange. This could be any time over the past ten years or so but I find most retailers stick to the same type of labels generally. I have models with this same sticker separated by several years, but can't trace any of them to a specific trader or show, or purchase! Thanks in hope that's its someone's local shop!

I haven't really checked any others no but no other price rises have jumped out at me like this one has. As it happens there is another interesting 'comparison' I have just found out about - over on the Accurascale thread about their acquisition of the Hattons Andrew Barclay and P Class models. I bought a couple of these for £99 in 2018 which was the selling price new from Hattons. So I was amazed to read this evening that Hattons had been due to sell this next batch for less, at £85. I was then even more surprised to read that Accurascale were apologising for having to put the price up to ..... wait for it ...... £99! So exactly the same as six years ago. These are very fine models and I'm sure the assembly time must be up there with the larger 8F due to all the extra details! I don't know all the details behind the manufacture of either model and what the actual production cost is, but I do find this comparison fascinating all the same! I know there are so many reasons for price rises and the situation 'is what it is' but that doesn't stop us from wondering 'why' and 'how' sometimes! I also believe that there are many industries, markets, companies who are just capitalising on various global situations to charge the customer more, or at least 'test the market' and see what people will pay!

For all we know, maybe someone already is?! It wouldn't surprise me, same as other Hornby models of this era like the Rebuilt Bulleid Pacifics that kicked off Hornby's 'revival' with Chinese manufacture along with the Black 5 as you already mention. There is no doubting any of this but I just wonder how many they will sell at £250 or even the -10% selling price of £225? The typical selling price of the latest Hornby 9F, at about £200, is kind of justifiable (as much as any prices are justifiable these days!) as it is arguably one of the best OO steam models out there and could be considered 'state of the art'. But the 8F, though still one of my favourite Hornby models, has no-where near the fidelity and presence of the latest 9F. They are leagues apart. In this latest 8F the 'change in design' seems to be to downgrade the smokebox to make it cheaper to manufacture! All mine have separate smokebox door darts and lamp irons too! Just look at the likes of R2229, R2462 and R3564 on Hattons' website (another reason I'll really miss Hattons). I was paying around £60-£70 in the early-mid 2010's for brand new 8F's and the last one I bought was R3564 in 2017 which was about £110 (selling price). I just can't get my head around the jump from £110 in 2017 to £225 in 2024 (just!). We won't know the reasons for the price increase (other than, as you say, just to make money) but this seems an unreasonable hike for this particular model or 'grade' of model. I wonder how many other models or even general electronics goods have seen prices double in the past 6-7 years? Edited just to add, that by my own reasoning and numbers, it actually doubled in price from say 2010 to 2017, so I guess why shouldn't it double again in the following 7 years!! Maybe to me 2010 to 2017 seemed like a long time apart, but 2017 still seems like barely yesterday. I guess that's the lost 'covid years' for you! I still think there is a ceiling for such a model and this has now been exceeded though.

Great show and very well attended from what I could see! Really nice variety of layouts and plenty of traders for 'bits and pieces' type stuff plus second hand models. Number of family groups very noticeable and I saw plenty of exhibitors going 'above and beyond' to engage the kids which was nice to see.

Totally agree with that (though I always cycled to and from work, so I miss the commute!) but why are the roads so busy when supposedly quite large numbers of the workforce still WFH?