bluedepot Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 hi everyone i see that jouef are making a new x4500 - which is down to cost approx 160 pounds. for a new model that seems cheap. whats the catch? i was thinking of pre ordering one but there are no pictures or reviews or even specifications for the model so i am waiting now. anyone got any info on these or pre ordered one? tim 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tetsudofan Posted May 19, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 19, 2020 Specification details will be found on pages 89 and 90 of the 2020 Hornby International Catalogue. The X4300 and X4500 (as well as a CC72000) are shown in a separate part of the catalogue named "Jouef Loisirs" situated between the main Jouef range and Jouef Junior Range. As you say the X4500 is marked as "new tooling" Looking at the specification its very basic, there are no sound versions available. The models are shown to have: -21 pin decoder socket -overall length of 490mm -motor with flywheel -extending coupling mechanism -front and rear lights So, I would think a basic model. Maybe Jouef are doing what Hornby did with the Cl.66 - turn out some basic models at a reasonable price for those who don't want all the bells and whistles of an LS Models version. Keith 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted May 19, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 19, 2020 4 minutes ago, tetsudofan said: Specification details will be found on pages 89 and 90 of the 2020 Hornby International Catalogue. The X4300 and X4500 (as well as a CC72000) are shown in a separate part of the catalogue named "Jouef Loisirs" situated between the main Jouef range and Jouef Junior Range. As you say the X4500 is marked as "new tooling" Looking at the specification its very basic, there are no sound versions available. The models are shown to have: -21 pin decoder socket -overall length of 490mm -motor with flywheel -extending coupling mechanism -front and rear lights So, I would think a basic model. Maybe Jouef are doing what Hornby did with the Cl.66 - turn out some basic models at a reasonable price for those who don't want all the bells and whistles of an LS Models version. Keith The body moulding on the old one was really quite good (as often with Jouef). So perhaps they are reviving that tooling but addressing the issues with the mechanism? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Hayter Posted May 19, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 19, 2020 REE are now issuing lower spec models at lower prices to try and catch those excluded on price and I guess this is the Hornby/Jouef response. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted May 19, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 19, 2020 Just been looking at the Jouef online catalogue. Pricing totally incomprehensible to me. New tooling items cheaper than some of the old grot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedepot Posted May 20, 2020 Author Share Posted May 20, 2020 thanks for the replies... i might pre order one. i can always cancel if i change my mind. it will be interesting to see what the jouef loisirs models will be like. tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jivebunny Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 I see this as a very good move from Hornby, hopefully the sales will justify more models of this sort. For the past 10 or 15 years the French market has been very restrictive in terms of pricing, and it's basically been a case of spending upwards of £200 on a locomotive or seeking out 20-year old second hand models. In fairness these can very decent value for money if you're either using DC or handy with a soldering iron, in particular "Lima Collection" stock and the old Jouef "Modéliste" range, but we're in desperate need of a "Hornby Railroad" type range for beginners and the younger generation who seem to be pretty much excluded from the hobby. I attend a model railway club that has 30-odd members, and at nearly 35 years of age I'm the youngest member, even though we're just outside a decent-sized city in Western France (400,000+ inhabitants in the metropolitain area). Over the past few weeks I've bought myself a two-car Piko Z9500 EMU and a Roco CC72000. Granted they're digital sound models with interior lighting etc, which is becoming the norm here, but the EMU set me back the equivalent of £340 and the 72000 weighed in at about £250, both after discount! The DC, non-sound version of the EMU is listed at £270 and the 72000 at £185. When you consider a Corail coach (basically a French Mk3a) costs about £60, it soon mounts up and it's no surprise young people aren't interested. Let's hope prices come down a bit with Hornby's initiative. Alan The 72000 is still in the post, but here's a smartphone shot of the Z9500 which is very, very nice (just as well, considering the price) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted June 10, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 10, 2020 Just been looking at the Lima Expert page of Hornby's website. For some reason, most prices there much more reasonable than for Jouef. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted June 10, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 10, 2020 2 minutes ago, jivebunny said: I see this as a very good move from Hornby, hopefully the sales will justify more models of this sort. For the past 10 or 15 years the French market has been very restrictive in terms of pricing, and it's basically been a case of spending upwards of £200 on a locomotive or seeking out 20-year old second hand models. In fairness these can very decent value for money if you're either using DC or handy with a soldering iron, in particular "Lima Collection" stock and the old Jouef "Modéliste" range, but we're in desperate need of a "Hornby Railroad" type range for beginners and the younger generation who seem to be pretty much excluded from the hobby. I attend a model railway club that has 30-odd members, and at nearly 35 years of age I'm the youngest member, even though we're just outside a decent-sized city in Western France (400,000+ inhabitants in the metropolitain area). Over the past few weeks I've bought myself a two-car Piko Z9500 EMU and a Roco CC72000. Granted they're digital sound models with interior lighting etc, which is becoming the norm here, but the EMU set me back the equivalent of £340 and the 72000 weighed in at about £250, both after discount! The DC, non-sound version of the EMU is listed at £270 and the 72000 at £185. When you consider a Corail coach (basically a French Mk3a) costs about £60, it soon mounts up and it's no surprise young people aren't interested. Let's hope prices come down a bit with Hornby's initiative. Alan The 72000 is still in the post, but here's a smartphone shot of the Z9500 which is very, very nice (just as well, considering the price) OK it's got a DCC sound chip. But apart from that, is it really so much better than the Jouef Z2 of 30 years ago? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jivebunny Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Joseph_Pestell said: OK it's got a DCC sound chip. But apart from that, is it really so much better than the Jouef Z2 of 30 years ago? Granted the Jouef Z2 was a great model at the time, but up against today's models it looks (and sounds...) fairly crude IMO, particularly the gaping holes where the light clusters should be. It's a lot of work to get it up to a decent standard, a bit like trying to make Hornby's 1980s HST power car look like the current model. Photo from eBay: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedepot Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 i looked at getting a piko z2 in lorraine, alsace or cfl livery, but just too expensive right now, and i have a few other things on pre order. maybe a non sound one will appear in a sale one day for a low price and i will get one. come on the gbp to euro exchange rate!!! tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Hayter Posted July 10, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 10, 2020 Any good? It is in the summer sale though I am not sure if it has been reduced (much). https://www.pierredominique.com/art-56759-automotrice-z11518-ter-lorraine-jaune-lythos-sncf.html 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jivebunny Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 The Z2, when you can get hold of the version you want, is difficult to find below 300€ for the DC version, or 400€ for the DCC sound version. That's just the French market unfortunately, much less demand than in the UK so average prices are a fair bit higher (which is where the vicious circle begins to slowly kill off the hobby...). Hopefully the Jouef Loisirs line will make a difference to that. I can't imagine the UK market would be in very good shape if starting prices for locomotives were around £150 and £50 for coaches. I got mine from MiniPlanes which is a retailer near Nantes (don't be fooled by the name, they sell tons of trains too). The price is a few euros lower than Pierre Dominique but I'm not sure how much international postage comes in at. Also worth noting is that parcels are heavily delayed at airports at the moment, it may be best to wait a bit of you have a tendency to get nervous about such things! I had one parcel arrive from Italy which got to France in 24 hours but then spent 9 days stuck at Charles de Gaulle. Similar story with some kit I sent over to Spain, which got stuck in Madrid. Everything arrived in the end, but it does make you a bit twitchy to have 400€ worth of fragile kit stuck in the postal system and not going anywhere... Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedepot Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 hi everyone a pre production sample has appeared... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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