Old catalogues

[ianmacc]

Just passing a little time looking at old catalogues I seem to have picked up over the years. 
Anyone else found this surprisingly enjoyable like I am?

 

Latest one is the 1975 Heljan catalogue. A somewhat different organisation to the present day one specialising in plastic kits (and some quite quirky and attractive ones at that)

[Steamport Southport]

I sometimes do.

 

However they are just the normal British ones from the 1970s and '80s, some of which are very well thumbed. Mostly Hornby, Mainline, Airfix, Lima, etc. I might replace some of the poorer condition examples at some point as they are normally reasonably priced at exhibitions.

 

I do like looking through the adverts in old model railway magazines from the same era. You don't half find some interesting things in them.

 

 

 

Jason

Edited May 6, 2020 by Steamport Southport

[tom q vaxy]

this might keep you entertained for a bit:  https://hoseeker.net/

[tomparryharry]

It's all very well, as long as you don't look at the old price lists.....

 

"Aaaargh! How much?"

[andyman7]

11 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

It's all very well, as long as you don't look at the old price lists.....

 

"Aaaargh! How much?"

The Bank of England inflation calculator is a useful antidote. You very quickly realise that beyond Triang, the cost of models in the 60s was pretty hefty - and of course Triang were built down to a price 

[Legend]

Yes I look up my old Triang Hornby and Hornby catalogues . I’ve got Mainline , Airfix and Lima ones too that get occasional browses . Also old Airfix kit catalogues which feature some fantastic  artwork . I suppose it’s nostalgia and reversion into childhood , but enjoyable . 

[James Makin]

As a kid I worshipped the 1994 Hornby catalogue at the time, the pages worn and had to be sellotaped in places! 
 

The mockup scenes look terrible now but to my 8-year-old eyes they were absolutely the bees knees and I’d even circle certain items in the catalogue in the hope they might arrive under the tree that Christmas! 
 

I still treasure my first 90s Lima catalogue too, that magic moment of realising that other model railway products existed beyond the Hornby range you saw in toyshops, wow! 

 

Cheers,

James

[Nearholmer]

After a very long time, they become a valuable resource for people researching the product history of companies, and attempting to identify and date things in collections, rather than vehicles of nostalgia.

 

How old do they need to be to hit that spot? 50+ years, is my guess.

[ianmacc]

The Hornby 1980 catalogue with the huge and actually buildable in theory layout featured throughout (previously the covers had been fake layouts that only existed as far as the end of the camera lens!)

 

So good they used the pictures in the 1981 catalogue too!

 

[Steamport Southport]

3 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

After a very long time, they become a valuable resource for people researching the product history of companies, and attempting to identify and date things in collections, rather than vehicles of nostalgia.

 

How old do they need to be to hit that spot? 50+ years, is my guess.

 

It depends on your interests. Personally I don't really have much interest in antique models or toys. So anything prior to mid 1960s is nice to look at but has no nostalgia for me.

 

 

 

The catalogue which really did it for me was the Mainline catalogue of 1979. RTR model railways were no longer toys in unpainted plastic but looked like the proper models in the magazines.

 

http://www.mainlinerailways.org.uk/Catalogue 1979.htm

 

At the same time I felt that Hornby was starting to up it's game with their 1979 catalogue with 60022 Mallard on the cover. You can tell they are starting to be a bit more serious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason

[polybear]

10 hours ago, andyman7 said:

You very quickly realise that beyond Triang, the cost of models in the 60s was pretty hefty - and of course Triang were built down to a price 

 

And fifty years later many of those Triang are still running.... :)

[sjp23480]

I have a W&H catalogue from the 1980's, absolutely fascinating to flip to through now. 

 

I used to visit their store in New Cavendish Street a couple of times a year, but could never afford to buy very much. It was a tiny shop packed to the rafters with all the stuff you could never get from the regular model shops.  I'd love to be able to go back in time.

[hayfield]

37 minutes ago, sjp23480 said:

I have a W&H catalogue from the 1980's, absolutely fascinating to flip to through now. 

 

I used to visit their store in New Cavendish Street a couple of times a year, but could never afford to buy very much. It was a tiny shop packed to the rafters with all the stuff you could never get from the regular model shops.  I'd love to be able to go back in time.

 

I have at least 4 dating from the 60's with prices in LSD and I now struggle converting shillings into £'s

 

For old kit hunters they are a great reference source

Edited May 7, 2020 by hayfield

[sjp23480]

1 minute ago, hayfield said:

 

I have at least 4 dating from the 60's with prices in LSD and I now struggle converting shillings into £'s

 

For old kit hunters they are a great reference source

Hayfield,

I suspect your 1960's ones aren't too different to my one from the 1980's!  I often look through it and wonder what happened to all those kits and bits. 

Steve

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Back in the 1980's there was such a thing as the BEATTIES catalogue which brought together all the major makes into one catalogue. 

 

I am currently trying to sell one on behalf of Twickenham & District MRC and TBH I'm surprised it hasn't had much interest as it seems the ideal resource for collectors, but equally it's just photos and details of each model - no nostalgic artwork of layouts of the period or images of young boys playing trains with their father smoking a pipe.

 

 

[Legend]

On 07/05/2020 at 15:22, James Makin said:

As a kid I worshipped the 1994 Hornby catalogue at the time, the pages worn and had to be sellotaped in places! 
 

The mockup scenes look terrible now but to my 8-year-old eyes they were absolutely the bees knees and I’d even circle certain items in the catalogue in the hope they might arrive under the tree that Christmas! 
 

I still treasure my first 90s Lima catalogue too, that magic moment of realising that other model railway products existed beyond the Hornby range you saw in toyshops, wow! 

 

Cheers,

James

in my case I remember the 1980 catalogue that was one of the last great ones in my eyes . Yes you could build the layout featured , in fact it was in the concurrent track plans book . My favourite catalogue was 1974 one, though, that featured layouts from the upcoming 3rd edition Track Plans . Lots of inspiration , I built layout after layout based in these or what I thought they were. The actual track plans book didn’t appear until 1975 .  
 

like James I remember the first catalogues from Mainline , Airfix and Lima ,and Having been brought up on Tri-ang Hornby and Hornby,  a sense of trepidation buying the first Models . Would they be compatible?  They were , of course, which immediately meant there were lots more possibilities , a Deltic and 33, for instance  to broaden the 31/35,37 and 47 models from Hornby . People forget just what limited choice there was back then . 

[woodenhead]

4 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

Back in the 1980's there was such a thing as the BEATTIES catalogue which brought together all the major makes into one catalogue. 

 

I am currently trying to sell one on behalf of Twickenham & District MRC and TBH I'm surprised it hasn't had much interest as it seems the ideal resource for collectors, but equally it's just photos and details of each model - no nostalgic artwork of layouts of the period or images of young boys playing trains with their father smoking a pipe.

 

 

Didn't Beatties do one that you could swap the images in and out of? 

 

i.e. add in pictures of new models as they became available, I seem to remember having something like that as a child - there was a lot of Wrenn content in it as it was before Lima went loco.

[kevinlms]

2 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Didn't Beatties do one that you could swap the images in and out of? 

 

i.e. add in pictures of new models as they became available, I seem to remember having something like that as a child - there was a lot of Wrenn content in it as it was before Lima went loco.

Then of course there was the Wrenn catalogue, which featured models that didn't appear for years, if ever!

[Steamport Southport]

I'm still waiting for the Lima V2....

 

 

They even had one in an advert and then it disappeared without trace.

 

 

 

 

Jason

[EddieB]

As has been alluded to, those tatty old catalogues have a sentimental value beyond secondhand sales - they were the stuff of dreams when growing up.

 

For me it was the Triang-Hornby ones with their Cuneo covers - and how many of us went back over the previous editions looking for the mouse after the revelation was made when Evening Star (1970?) appeared on the cover?

 

From then it was K’s and Wills Finecast, W&H - GEM was a single sheet iirc - before it got all too serious and the printed lists from Studiolith became the objects of desire.

[stewartingram]

3 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

I'm still waiting for the Lima V2....

 

 

They even had one in an advert and then it disappeared without trace.

 

 

 

 

Jason

I can wait a bit longer for that. The Kitmaster A3 should be here first.

 

Stewart

[hayfield]

54 minutes ago, EddieB said:

As has been alluded to, those tatty old catalogues have a sentimental value beyond secondhand sales - they were the stuff of dreams when growing up.

 

For me it was the Triang-Hornby ones with their Cuneo covers - and how many of us went back over the previous editions looking for the mouse after the revelation was made when Evening Star (1970?) appeared on the cover?

 

From then it was K’s and Wills Finecast, W&H - GEM was a single sheet iirc - before it got all too serious and the printed lists from Studiolith became the objects of desire.

 

 

I would be lost without my W&H catalogues, have four or five from the 60's to 80's. They are an invaluable source of reference on old loco kits. Have an early and late K's , Jamieson, GEM, Wills and a couple of other companies. I did sell some Triang and early Hornby catalogues as they had no interest for me. But I dont think many have much value

[ian@stenochs]

I enjoy the odd browse through catalogues of yesteryear. This is one from my collection. A time when most modellers were scratchbuilders.

For 1951 there are some interesting items illustrated especially the views of custom builds.
 

Ian.
 

[Pylon King]

On 07/05/2020 at 20:22, ianmacc said:

The Hornby 1980 catalogue with the huge and actually buildable in theory layout featured throughout (previously the covers had been fake layouts that only existed as far as the end of the camera lens!)

 

So good they used the pictures in the 1981 catalogue too!

 

Here is one example - photo taken in the autumn of 1970 for various catalogues , track plans books , box tops etc.

[ianmacc]

10 hours ago, Pylon King said:

Here is one example - photo taken in the autumn of 1970 for various catalogues , track plans books , box tops etc.

Yes that’s exactly it! Imagine trying to access that depot and turntable if they were part of an actual layout....