Hornby 2020 range announcements

[Hilux5972]

1 hour ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

 

Well they do make and sell lots of Steam locomotive models and not a single one of them burns coal or emits smoke and steam.

 

 

.

I don’t recall any of Hornbys diesel locos actually running on diesel either. Do you recall the Live Steamers? They emitted real steam and had the smell of real steam oil too. If the APT tilt annoys you then modify the bogies or don’t buy one. No one is forcing you to really. And as others have said, if it didn’t tilt at all, there would be hell to pay on here! 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Hilux5972

[AY Mod]

16 minutes ago, MarkSG said:

Hamley's are to toys what Fortum and Mason are to food - you don't go there if you want cheap, you go there if you want quality.

 

You buy from there if you want to tell people that's where bought it from, the price is largely irrelevant.

[TomScrut]

23 minutes ago, MarkSG said:

 

Hamley's isn't a discounter, though. They market themselves as "The Finest Toy Shop in the World" and focus strongly on the premium aspect of their offering. Hamley's are to toys what Fortum and Mason are to food - you don't go there if you want cheap, you go there if you want quality. But turnover doesn't have to be rapid when you're selling on a big margin.

 

I wouldn't say they are a place you go for quality? Isn't it the same stuff you can buy elsewhere but at RRP?

[classy52]

2 minutes ago, TomScrut said:

 

I wouldn't say they are a place you go for quality? Isn't it the same stuff you can buy elsewhere but at RRP?

 

Exactly, you just go there for the bag...

[MarkSG]

2 minutes ago, TomScrut said:

 

I wouldn't say they are a place you go for quality? Isn't it the same stuff you can buy elsewhere but at RRP?

 

The point is that it's stuff they consider to be up to their standards. Yes, you can often buy the same things elsewhere, and often cheaper. But what you can't find at Hamley's is the tat that you can also buy elsewhere. So buying from Hamleys, particularly if you go in without really knowing what you want but are prepared to browse for a bit, is a reasonable guarantee that whatever you do end up buying will be up to the quality you'd expect and that it won't break or stop working ten days after you take it out of the box.

[gwrrob]

I love Hamley’s and obviously floor four is the best but I never buy anything from there as previously mentioned everything railway wise is full rrp. They’ve been there for years ,so must be doing something right.

[30801]

40 minutes ago, MarkSG said:

 

Hamley's isn't a discounter, though. They market themselves as "The Finest Toy Shop in the World" and focus strongly on the premium aspect of their offering. Hamley's are to toys what Fortum and Mason are to food - you don't go there if you want cheap, you go there if you want quality. But turnover doesn't have to be rapid when you're selling on a big margin.

 

Used to get dragged into Hamley's when we went to London. Always found it to be a crowded shop selling exactly the same stuff as you could get in Toys R Us. They do have tons of staff around though.

They also had a discount outlet in Swindon but I think that's gone now.

[Phil Parker]

11 minutes ago, 30801 said:

Used to get dragged into Hamley's when we went to London. Always found it to be a crowded shop selling exactly the same stuff as you could get in Toys R Us. They do have tons of staff around though.

 

The staff are the best thing about Hamleys. Lots of people demonstrating the toys they are selling. It makes visiting a bit magical. You don't get that at a pile'em high sell'em cheap shop!

 

[classy52]

10 minutes ago, gwrrob said:

They’ve been there for years ,so must be doing something right.

 

They most probably survive off international & local tourism, stick a Hamley's out in the suburbs away from central London or an airport & it would more than likely go bust.

[TomScrut]

29 minutes ago, MarkSG said:

 

The point is that it's stuff they consider to be up to their standards. Yes, you can often buy the same things elsewhere, and often cheaper. But what you can't find at Hamley's is the tat that you can also buy elsewhere. So buying from Hamleys, particularly if you go in without really knowing what you want but are prepared to browse for a bit, is a reasonable guarantee that whatever you do end up buying will be up to the quality you'd expect and that it won't break or stop working ten days after you take it out of the box.

 

Dunno, last time I went there it seemed full of whatever gimmicks the kids were after at that time. Maybe they only stock branded products but I would not say "quality" is the word of choice.

[TomScrut]

6 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

 

The staff are the best thing about Hamleys. Lots of people demonstrating the toys they are selling. It makes visiting a bit magical. You don't get that at a pile'em high sell'em cheap shop!

 

 

Yeah that's one good thing about it.

 

It's tourism and bag seekers I think. I went with my son when were in London for the weekend and bought him something as he had some spending money but wouldn't normally go there if I was living in London wanting to buy toys.

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by TomScrut

[Trains4U]

44 minutes ago, TomScrut said:

 

I wouldn't say they are a place you go for quality? Isn't it the same stuff you can buy elsewhere but at RRP?

Look closer

 

RRP + 10%

[Ron Ron Ron]

I don't know what it's like these days, but 15 or 20 years ago, some of the model railway stuff on sale at Hamleys, was priced at r.r.p. plus. 

In other words, more expensive than the r.r.p. as Gareth has said.

+10% does sound about right from the rusty memory cells.

 

.

Edited January 9, 2020 by Ron Ron Ron

[TomScrut]

6 minutes ago, Trains4U said:

Look closer

 

RRP + 10%

In fairness I bet the rent is atrocious!

[Kaput]

Hamley's has always amused me with their prices - especially when its Lego for more than the RRP and both the big Hamley's shops I know of are within 10-20min walk of an actual Lego shop...

 

Still there is something kinda cool about the sheer size and insanity of the London Hamleys.

[Ron Ron Ron]

50 minutes ago, MarkSG said:

 

The point is that it's stuff they consider to be up to their standards........... a reasonable guarantee that whatever you do end up buying will be up to the quality you'd expect and that it won't break or stop working ten days after you take it out of the box.

 

We haven't visited them for maybe 15 years or so, after the kids were growing out of toys, but I remember we bought a toy there that failed to work within 2 minutes of opening the box and getting it working for the first time.

I can't for the life of me remember what it was. Might have been a helicopter, but I'm not sure. Mrs. Ron might remember, but she's away at the moment.

Anyway, my wife phoned them up and they said package it up and return the item by post, which she did. Refund promptly sent plus postage charge reimbursed.

 

Excellent customer service, but exactly the same sort of toys you could buy elsewhere, usually cheaper.

 

.

[TomScrut]

On another note, has anybody noticed the date from Hattons for the NMT power cars? I got an email saying Feb, the release from Hornby said May. Any idea which is right? I hope Feb is right now I have 3 Mk3s!

[gwrrob]

17 minutes ago, TomScrut said:

In fairness I bet the rent is atrocious!

 

You won't find a Poundland on Regent's Street.

[Coryton]

6 hours ago, JohnR said:

 

I'm wary of that, having seen trainsets being sold at large discounts, for around £50, which actually just have a cheap 0-4-0, a couple of wagons and a circle of track, ie, pretty much the same thing as the regular entry-level set which retails at £50. And no one would have paid the original price of £119.00 or whatever. 

I agree.

 

But this was just that - an 0-4-0, two wagons, track and controller, starting out at £60 and getting to £25 before Christmas. And apparently in at least one ASDA that had them left into January, under £20.

So I would call that a real reduction.

I imagine a fair few ended up on eBay in bits.

[Dunsignalling]

1 hour ago, MarkSG said:

 

Rapido used a mechanical tilting mechanism for the APT-E, which has exactly the same issue that it tilts even when moving slowly. But that sold like hot cakes. I don't know whether Hornby's system is quite as sophisticated as Rapido's, but then, it's also a lot cheaper. And the APT-P sold well enough the last time it was in Hornby's catalogue. That's one of the reasons people have been calling for it to come back!

IIRC, when the APT-P originally appeared in the Hornby range, it was still a current prototype, if not slightly futuristic - didn't H beat BR to it?

 

Those who bought them were very much aware of the real thing, which hadn't yet fallen flat on its a**e at that time and many would have seen it in action.

 

However, I do wonder if the clamour for its return is based on widespread interest in the prototype or nostalgia on the part of those who either had or wanted the model first time around. If it turns out to be the latter, will anyone else care?

 

Perhaps it'll be like all those guys whose parents could only afford Tri-ang when they were kids but who've done OK themselves and collect the HD they wanted but couldn't have in their youth.

 

None of the above applies in my own case; I did have Tri-ang but have no desire for compensatory HD. I once turned a Barnstaple into a passable model of a rebuilt West Country, but that was as far as it went.

 

However, the APT, real or model never really fired my imagination. Am I alone in my uncertainty as to how this one might work out for Hornby?

 

John 

[meatloaf]

9 hours ago, JohnR said:

Picked up my catalogue and copy of Hornby magazine in my local Tesco last night. Strapline on the shelf about the offer - as well as one about the new Airfix catalogue along with Airfix Model World magazine. 

 

Getting the two big brands out there is really good. 

 

Was same in Longton Tesco, where I got mine from, but they were on the end of a shelf and not placed near the model magazines

[Ron Ron Ron]

33 minutes ago, classy52 said:

 

They most probably survive off international & local tourism, stick a Hamley's out in the suburbs away from central London or an airport & it would more than likely go bust.

 

Mostly right, as they have a presence at a number of regional shopping centres.

 

London - Regent Street

London - London Bridge Station

London - St Pancras International Station

 

Gatwick Airport - North Terminal

Gatwick Airport - South Terminal

Heathrow Airport - Terminal 2

Heathrow Airport - Terminal 3

Heathrow Airport - Terminal 4

Luton Airport

Manchester Airport

Stansted Airport

 

Cardiff - St David's Centre

Glasgow - St Enoch Centre

Thurrock (Essex) - Lakeside Centre

Street (Somerset) - Clarks Village - Outlet Centre

Swindon - Outlet Centre

 

.

[dibber25]

1 hour ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

 

On balance I am Phil.

Otherwise there'll been no escaping the fact that, notwithstanding the fidelity of the model, it will be an expensive joke.

 

I know you will strongly disagree with that, but I have to ask, what are they attempting to produce here, a scale model or a toy?

Do you call it a toy and a joke for going round 2nd radius curves? (CJL)

[TomScrut]

2 minutes ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

 

Mostly right, as they have a presence at a number of regional shopping centres.

 

London - Regent Street

London - London Bridge Station

London - St Pancras International Station

 

Gatwick Airport - North Terminal

Gatwick Airport - South Terminal

Heathrow Airport - Terminal 2

Heathrow Airport - Terminal 3

Heathrow Airport - Terminal 4

Luton Airport

Manchester Airport

Stansted Airport

 

Cardiff - St David's Centre

Glasgow - St Enoch Centre

Thurrock (Essex) - Lakeside Centre

Street (Somerset) - Clarks Village - Outlet Centre

Swindon - Outlet Centre

 

.

 

The one at York designer outlet shut down, I am presuming it wasn't viable as it was always quiet

[meatloaf]

 

Had a quick look in the catologue and looking at the J94 I see they now list as DCC Ready. And the railroad pannier in the set says same. I always thought they lacked a socket.