Class 66 in OO Gauge - New Announcement

[rob D2]

2 hours ago, Class 158 productions said:

Well they’ve lost Bachmann, although I saw some new products come in, at near rrp. If the 66 project doesn’t do well, it will be a large hit for them, made even larger by the times we live in.  There is now a considerable amount of people who have either had a bad experience with their 66s or are just scared of the stigma of it and have now sworn by Bachmann. If Bachmann continues to do more celebrities and get the colours correct, I will probably go with them. The loss in detail might be annoying, but I’d rather have one run without wobbling or leave a trail of black plastic around the track. Such a shame, what the 66 could’ve been, still a decent model and if you get one that works, it’s great. 

Yes , that’s a shame really . We are not party to the “ discussions “ but if hattons had a Hornby , Bachmann and their own 66 they’d have the shed market covered .

 

And surely the quantity of other Bachmann stuff hattons sold through meant they were worth retaining .

 

It smacks of a playground hissy fit 

[TomScrut]

1 hour ago, rob D2 said:

And surely the quantity of other Bachmann stuff hattons sold through meant they were worth retaining .

 

Yeah but how many sales will Bachmann  have lost as a result? People would just buy it elsewhere I expect.

[phil-b259]

1 hour ago, rob D2 said:

Yes , that’s a shame really . We are not party to the “ discussions “ but if hattons had a Hornby , Bachmann and their own 66 they’d have the shed market covered .

 

And surely the quantity of other Bachmann stuff hattons sold through meant they were worth retaining .

 

It smacks of a playground hissy fit 

 

It does, but remember that it was Bachmann who withdrew support from Hattons - not the other way round. Hattons have in fact made significant efforts to find a solution but ultimately were unable to persuade Bachmann to drop the relevant clause in their T&Cs which gave rise to the situation, while Hattons themselves we unwilling to abandon their new business strategy to comply with Bachmanns T&Cs.

 

Had the class 66 been an outstanding success (in ALL respects) then Hattons would have vindicated for their stance, however with it turning out to be something of a curates egg, its probably Bachmann who are feeling good about the situation.

[Dicky L]

latest Class 66 to join the Chesborough North Fleet. 

 

66088 Will be receiving a severe weathering and fade before going into service for me. 

[The Black Hat]

3 hours ago, Class 158 productions said:

Well they’ve lost Bachmann, although I saw some new products come in, at near rrp. If the 66 project doesn’t do well, it will be a large hit for them, made even larger by the times we live in.  There is now a considerable amount of people who have either had a bad experience with their 66s or are just scared of the stigma of it and have now sworn by Bachmann. If Bachmann continues to do more celebrities and get the colours correct, I will probably go with them. The loss in detail might be annoying, but I’d rather have one run without wobbling or leave a trail of black plastic around the track. Such a shame, what the 66 could’ve been, still a decent model and if you get one that works, it’s great. 

Hattons didnt loose Bachmann. Bachmann lost Hatton's. 

If Hattons brought out an engine that was solely in the Hornby range Bachmann would have still quite happily sold to them. Still, all this has been talked about previously. 

I still think that Hattons 66 will be a stunner. A few modificiations following these first runs (as latter ones have been an add on) and they should be great and good to go. 

 

[WisTramwayMan]

1 hour ago, TomScrut said:

 

Yeah but how many sales will Bachmann  have lost as a result? People would just buy it elsewhere I expect.

And once they're buying their Bachmann stuff elsewhere and find a retailer who gives good discounts, service and back-up, there's a very good chance they'll buy their other stuff from that retailer.

 

I doubt as far the uk market's concerned that it's hardly affected Bachmann, if at all.

[TomScrut]

1 hour ago, phil-b259 said:

its probably Bachmann who are feeling good about the situation

 

The thing is if Bachmann sorted the lighting on their 66 out and sold it for the price they are selling it for now (after the standard 15%) I would have very little reason to think about the Hattons one. Yes the detail is better but when its going down the track its the lights that stick out to me as not being up to par. I run my Hattons and Bachmann ones together and that's my biggest bugbear I think.

[Class 158 productions]

Since hattons have stopped stocking new Bachmann, I just haven’t felt the need to use them anymore. I used to use them quite regularly but have now stopped. I’m probably in a small minority, but out of interest. How many others on here are like me, other shops often offer the same if not better experience. I do hope the 66s sell as it is a fabulous model, but until there is some acknowledgment or fixing, I’m not going to be buying anymore. And if bachmanns offering stays at its current price, I think some people may just give up waiting on hattons. 

[auldreekie]

Oh,  how disappointing.  I was hoping for a Caledonian Railway 4-4-0......

 

auldreekie

[atom3624]

I'm not able to 'frequent' any hobby shops enough to be considered such a regular customer that I feel I deserve 'special treatment', so I don't anticipate that.

As a result, I will decide I need a particular locomotive, carriage, wagon, rails, or accessories, and simply hunt down the best offers.

 

If Hattons are amongst those offering the best, I'll definitely use them, as their service is excellent - but that's not to say others' service isn't either, it's just something I'm familiar with.

 

Has anyone categorically proven that 'the Class 66 thing' is the reason Hattons no longer stock Bachmann?

It's a bit narrow-minded of Bachmann I believe - Hattons are quite a substantial seller in the marketplace, and continue to be so, in this ever-changing world of those who are stable, those who are not.

 

Al.

[Dicky L]

My experience of the Hattons 66 has overall been a good one and whilst I do not dispute there are some issues I think in terms of negativity this thread is possibly represented by the noisy minority. We should not assume this loco has been a failure. It’s quite feasible that the silent majority are more than happy with what’s on offer.

 

In terms of the Hattons v Bachmann debate that is being held here, its not only the extra detailing and lighting that sets the Hattons model a apart, The sound on the Hattons 66 has raised the bar to the extent that its a loco in a different league for me. I don’t envisage that Bachmann will produce a model that will have sufficient room to use an EM2 speaker without significant and expensive modification.

 

I have been vocal about some of the issues on the Hattons 66 in particular the total cockup with the colour of 66623. Other issues like axleboxes are just minor niggles and not game changers. I have several of these locos and I don’t anticipate buying another Bachmann 66 unless the lighting and speaker capacity changes to accommodate the EM2.

 

Just my point of view.

[phil-b259]

5 minutes ago, atom3624 said:

 

Has anyone categorically proven that 'the Class 66 thing' is the reason Hattons no longer stock Bachmann?

It's a bit narrow-minded of Bachmann I believe - Hattons are quite a substantial seller in the marketplace, and continue to be so, in this ever-changing world of those who are stable, those who are not.

 

 

No, because both parties have kept quiet about the specifics - but what we do know is that Hattons have broken the T&Cs all retailers must sign up to and thus will no longer be supplied with Bachmann (and associated brands) products.

 

From what has leaked out the issue is not actually the direct competition over the class 66 that is the issue - its more background moves by Hattons to become a wholesaler of competing products. The 66 project was however the first project to be developed by Hattons after the change in strategy and as such seems to been the trigger for Bachmann to pull the plug.

 

Months of discussions have failed to change the situation - Bachmann seem quite happy to live without Hattons as a outlet for their products while Hattons have so far seen no need to revert to their previous business setup. Time will tell if this situation is sustainable.

 

 

[TomScrut]

19 minutes ago, atom3624 said:

simply hunt down the best offer

 

I do that when I am looking for something that is already out that I have suddenly taken a liking to (or decided I have a "requirement" for it).

 

I have a lot of stuff on pre order, and other than the Accurascale and Revolution stuff that is ordered direct, I have stuff on order from Hattons, KMS, Colletts and Derails. I have used Rails for pre orders (and will do again) and I also intend trying TMC for pre-orders since they are my most local and I have had good service in the past from them. I do like to spread it about but I am also testing the waters in terms of service, speed of dispatch etc.

 

The great thing about Hattons is that they don't want a deposit and it is easy to cancel if circumstances change.

[daz9284]

What refund has people received from returning their 66? I ordered the Cemex one and DB ones together to save on the £4 postage. they sent out the DB one earlier in the year for free, then they charged me £4 for sending out 66780 on it's own (I didn't ask for this, it is what Hatton's decided to do).

 

I returned 66780 but I only received £150 refund. I believe that i should receive the £154 because 1) it isn't my fault the product was faulty, and 2) it was their decision to send out the two models seperately and charge me for the second one.

 

regards

darryl

[Roy Langridge]

1 hour ago, phil-b259 said:

 

From what has leaked out the issue is not actually the direct competition over the class 66 that is the issue - its more background moves by Hattons to become a wholesaler of competing products. The 66 project was however the first project to be developed by Hattons after the change in strategy and as such seems to been the trigger for Bachmann to pull the plug.

 

 

 

Which may put a different light on the creation of EFE Rail where Bachmann themselves are acting as the wholesaler for products from the likes of Kernow, the latter avoiding being caught in a breach of Ts and Cs?

 

Roy

[AY Mod]

1 hour ago, phil-b259 said:

No, because both parties have kept quiet about the specifics

 

As you would expect really. None of us outside the discussions know enough to make judgment calls (Rumsfeld's unknown unknowns) so I will ask that we don't go into speculation, supposition or assumption of that topic. Back to 66s please.

[Chris56057]

My 66 has been generally okay so far - slight body wobble but I can live with that on an end to end layout. I definitely think it has been the noisey minority that have flagged up (in some cases, important issues), but this has detracted from the fact that this is a superior model to the Bachmann offering and that with a little more consistency on models coming through the production line will probably make the ultimate 66. Just my opinion! 

Edited August 25, 2020 by Chris56057

[rob D2]

- removed ,didn’t notice AY post straight away -

Edited August 25, 2020 by rob D2
Mod post noticed

[JohnC]

I now have 4 Hattons Class 66 locos and, although small mods had to be done, I am absolutely delighted with the locos.

 

Their 66 beats the Bachmann 66 into a cocked hat with regard Pulling Power, detailing and the sound is incredible.

 

When you can get a digitally fitted Class 66 for the same price as 3 forthcoming Bachmann National Power wagons, there is no competition really is there.

 

I hope Hattons bring out a second batch with improvements as I will certainly purchase more.

[TomScrut]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

3 forthcoming Bachmann National Power wagons

 

I think that says more about the price of the wagons to be honest!

[truffy]

17 hours ago, WisTramwayMan said:

And once they're buying their Bachmann stuff elsewhere and find a retailer who gives good discounts, service and back-up, there's a very good chance they'll buy their other stuff from that retailer.

 

17 hours ago, Class 158 productions said:

Since hattons have stopped stocking new Bachmann, I just haven’t felt the need to use them anymore. I used to use them quite regularly but have now stopped. I’m probably in a small minority, but out of interest. How many others on here are like me, 

I used to buy exclusively from Hattons. But all that stopped when they essentially dropped my H2 preorder without informing me. I felt that was pretty shonky and I wouldn’t now buy anything from them unless it was an exclusive. 
 

As for T&Cs, Hattons vs. Bachmann is really no different to Epic vs. Apple. If you sign up you have to understand the consequences of breaching them. 

[7013]

'Shonky' I didnt know anyone else who used that term apart from an Aussie friend of mine who introduced me to the term many years ago...Good word.

[The Black Hat]

18 hours ago, TomScrut said:

 

I think that says more about the price of the wagons to be honest!

Says more about Bachmann wagons, when you can get a rake of 5 from others, complete with flashing tail light... 

[TomScrut]

2 hours ago, The Black Hat said:

Says more about Bachmann wagons, when you can get a rake of 5 from others, complete with flashing tail light... 

 

Exactly, somebody else's recently announced large hopper wagons are a lot cheaper aren't they

[Lowlander]

Hi

 

I have had three models, two Freightliner and one EWS. They were all sent back for wobbling, dcc not working etc. I asked for like for like replacements, as long as they were tried out on their test track before they sent them to me. The three models have now came back with none of the issues and run perfectly well. I still had to superglue the rotating axle boxes, run some plastic weld behind the sandboxes and grills to better secure them. But really happy with the models now and have fitted sound to them after watching Everard Junctions excellent video on the pros and cons of the model.

Edited October 16, 2020 by ayrmrg