Hattons Precision Baseboards

[Hilux5972]

Perhaps another option now would be to sell the cad work direct to modellers so they can get them cut themselves? Surely that would be a way that they could get some return on the money’s they have shelled out so far.

Edited December 5, 2020 by Hilux5972
Added content

[maq1988]

35 minutes ago, Hilux5972 said:

Perhaps another option now would be to sell the cad work direct to modellers so they can get them cut themselves? Surely that would be a way that they could get some return on the money’s they have shelled out so far.

 

One problem with having the CAD sold is if it's cut by a third party and there's alignment issues, who gets the blame? Hattons for a 'faulty' CAD? The company cutting the boards? Each type of cutter will be different, laser v. water, types of wood will differ.

 

Then you've got the can of worms that is intellectual property rights. What's to stop someone opening their own baseboard business with the hard work Hattons have done so far?

[AY Mod]

59 minutes ago, Hilux5972 said:

Perhaps another option now would be to sell the cad work direct to modellers so they can get them cut themselves? Surely that would be a way that they could get some return on the money’s they have shelled out so far.

 

What size of bed laser cutters do you think modellers have at home? Do you think they'd want to sell a cutting pattern to a competitor? 

[boxbrownie]

There are so many of these baseboard companies selling modular boards it is very surprising Hattons cannot find a good supplier of material.

I bought mine last year from Model Rail Baseboards in Ireland, excellent quality and really solid, it really is a revelation to have a full baseboard constructed in just an hour or so, so much easier than all those made before over the years.     

[AY Mod]

44 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

There are so many of these baseboard companies selling modular boards it is very surprising Hattons cannot find a good supplier of material.

 

It's not surprising to be honest; the existing suppliers are struggling to keep up with demand.

[norman]

I think it's probably more that Hatton's supplier not of the wood as has been suggested but the supplier of the baseboards has decided its not viable.  Hatton's prices were competitive but if you take Hatton's margin away that leaves their supplier struggling to make the business viable. Essentially I do not believe that Hatton's statement about the quality of the wood is accurate.

Norman

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, AY Mod said:

 

It's not surprising to be honest; the existing suppliers are struggling to keep up with demand.

I could understand if they said they couldn’t source because of demand, but the fact that every supplier they tried was substandard material.....well anyway, let’s hope they find one and carry on the item eventually.

[Free At Last]

As long as they are not made with Far Eastern Cr@p like this from a local timber yard, flat one day like this the next

[Widnes Model Centre]

3 hours ago, Free At Last said:

As long as they are not made with Far Eastern Cr@p like this from a local timber yard, flat one day like this the next

 

That actually looks like a very high quality marine ply. Preformed to make the hull of a boat, take it down to the Leeds Liverpool Canal and try it.

[Courtybella]

On 04/12/2020 at 15:36, MarkSG said:

This is something where the smaller suppliers, such as Tim Horn and Grainge & Hodder, have the advantage as they, presumably, have an existing relationship with a local supplier of wood and can take the time to ensure that they are getting the right quality every time. But that doesn't scale up to the mass market level that Hattons will have been hoping to sell at. Having to rely on high-volume wholesalers of wood does somewhat leave you at their mercy when it comes to quality.

Ill be honest here, but I’m glad Hattons have dropped (at least for the time being) the project, they seem to be in mission to muscle in on every aspect of the hobby. One man operations like Tim Horn are the life blood of the hobby, once they go that’s it gone forever, Hattons are fast becoming the Amazon of the hobby, eating up those stand in their way. The attempted shut down of the supply chain at the start of C19 signalled their intention, thankfully the other big shops sent a very strong signal they weren’t going to be forced into closing because Hattons couldn’t trade normally.

 

Hattons have long since left the “friendly local shop” beginnings, they’ve channels of not totally clear media “Sams Trains” being one it seems along with their own social media. 
 

There will always be a fan base who’ll rather cut their toes off than say anything negative aka the 66, A3/A4 quality or lack of topics etc.

 

I honestly expect this post to be deleted, as it obviously rocks a boat.

Edited December 5, 2020 by Courtybella

[Courtybella]

6 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

What size of bed laser cutters do you think modellers have at home? Do you think they'd want to sell a cutting pattern to a competitor? 

Hattons are top of the food chain though, who can really compete with them ? 
That would be like Mr Jones Fruit  and Veg taking on Tesco, no chance what so ever of a fair competition.

[AY Mod]

4 minutes ago, Courtybella said:

who can really compete with them ? 

 

All of the established baseboard building businesses that have existing supply arrangements with materials suppliers.

[Courtybella]

Just now, AY Mod said:

 

All of the established baseboard building businesses that have existing supply arrangements with materials suppliers.

I would assume Hattons would of had a seizable team (more than one) on the project, it doesn’t matter how big or sustainable  your supply chain is if your bottle necked at the design of custom boards, admin, packing, despatch stage.

 

Hattons also have the huge advantage across the board of being able to plug into their existing set ups, just like Alan Sugar does with his new start ups.

[AY Mod]

2 minutes ago, Courtybella said:

I would assume

 

None of your assumptions are evidenced.

 

I don't recall Lord Sugar taking on any carpentry apprentices either.

 

[Courtybella]

3 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

None of your assumptions are evidenced.

 

I don't recall Lord Sugar taking on any carpentry apprentices either.

 

You know full what I mean when I make reference to Lord Sugar, let’s not turn a discussion into a Micky take.

Indeed I have zero evidence, I no need for such hence why I said assume as I can’t back up those assumptions with fact.

However, do you really think Hattons have one person working on a project their Likely to of invested many thousands, if it hundreds of thousands of pounds into ? I think the assumption is a fair one, knowing Hattons are a multi million pound, highly staffed (in model retail terms) operation.

[AY Mod]

23 minutes ago, Courtybella said:

do you really think Hattons have one person working on a project

 

I don't think anything, I haven't said anything of the kind so do not attempt to put words in my mouth.

[Courtybella]

1 minute ago, AY Mod said:

 

I don't think anything, I haven't said anything of the kind so do not attempt to put words in my mouth.

I wasn’t, I asked a question based on the facts of what I do know about Hattons (as a joey no one), you on the other hand a industry face should be in a much better position than me to know more in-depth facts, I wouldn’t expect you to disclose those though.

 

Anyway it’s been good talking to you, maybe others might take something away from our brief conversation.

[woodenhead]

29 minutes ago, Courtybella said:

You know full what I mean when I make reference to Lord Sugar, let’s not turn a discussion into a Micky take.

Indeed I have zero evidence, I no need for such hence why I said assume as I can’t back up those assumptions with fact.

However, do you really think Hattons have one person working on a project their Likely to of invested many thousands, if it hundreds of thousands of pounds into ? I think the assumption is a fair one, knowing Hattons are a multi million pound, highly staffed (in model retail terms) operation.

And in real business terms are still quite a small company - they had a dominant position, probably less so now they have lost Bachmann and it's products.  Rails are doing DCC chips, do you think they will cause Zimo, ESU, DCC Concepts and Digitrains to go out of business?

 

I think the baseboards are a good idea but I don't think they will take out the specialists like Tim Horn or Grainge and Hodder because they deliver quality products and can bespoke to your needs, Hattons are looking at mass production to a different market.

 

Hattons will have pulled the product because they cannot source the quality of product they want at the price point they need to make the project pay - once they find such a supply you will likely see a relaunch.

[Oldddudders]

5 hours ago, Free At Last said:

As long as they are not made with Far Eastern Cr@p like this from a local timber yard, flat one day like this the next

Where's the problem? Weathering is the modelling science of our time!

[Courtybella]

15 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

And in real business terms are still quite a small company - they had a dominant position, probably less so now they have lost Bachmann and it's products.  Rails are doing DCC chips, do you think they will cause Zimo, ESU, DCC Concepts and Digitrains to go out of business?

 

I think the baseboards are a good idea but I don't think they will take out the specialists like Tim Horn or Grainge and Hodder because they deliver quality products and can bespoke to your needs, Hattons are looking at mass production to a different market.

 

Hattons will have pulled the product because they cannot source the quality of product they want at the price point they need to make the project pay - once they find such a supply you will likely see a relaunch.

Hence why I said In terms of model railways regards their size, by a country mile their the biggest company in the UK with a decent export base as well (I’d assume).

 

Just for disclosure purposes, I have ordered from Hattons before and have a few orders outstanding - I also recognise the irony.

[Widnes Model Centre]

1 hour ago, Courtybella said:

 The attempted shut down of the supply chain at the start of C19 signalled their intention, thankfully the other big shops sent a very strong signal they weren’t going to be forced into closing because Hattons couldn’t trade normally. 

 

 

Wow, l didn’t know that! Truly shocking!

 

There again, having been present on all the Zoom Meetings regarding the industry response to preventing the spread of Covid 19, what you have stated above simply is a work of fiction. Why would Hattons not be able to trade normally? No one was able to trade “normally “.

[Courtybella]

11 minutes ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

 

Wow, l didn’t know that! Truly shocking!

 

There again, having been present on all the Zoom Meetings regarding the industry response to preventing the spread of Covid 19, what you have stated above simply is a work of fiction. Why would Hattons not be able to trade normally? No one was able to trade “normally “.

There was a thread on here about the consultation from Hattons to other shops about a joint shut down right at the start of the C19 outbreak, that’s how I know about it - whether it’s still here is another matter.

 

I think (correct me if I’m wrong) I don’t fully recall now, but wasn’t there a total shutdown of non essential retail at the very start of C19? Before online open was set up? 

[Darius43]

Reading this thread today reminds me of this quote:-

 

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Widnes Model Centre]

2 minutes ago, Courtybella said:

There was a thread on here about the consultation from Hattons to other shops about a joint shut down right at the start of the C19 outbreak, that’s how I know about it - whether it’s still here is another matter.

 

I think (correct me if I’m wrong) I don’t fully recall now, but wasn’t there a total shutdown of non essential retail at the very start of C19? Before online open was set up? 

 

Dont believe everything you read in a forum, sometimes it isn’t correct.

 

Non essential retail was shut down, online and delivery by shops was never shut down. Although l had to clarify this with my local MP. 

 

Hattons, to their credit have put the safety of their staff as number one priority from day one. Hattons have done lots of things that you would not be privy to during this Pandemic. None of which has been to their benefit.

 

Usual, no association, just a satisfied nearest model shop.

[Courtybella]

There was definitely a discussion about it on here, either way it’s there or was for anyone to search for it they wish.