2021 hopes

[Foden]

8 minutes ago, 60800 said:

 

Here's hoping that the wide range of viewing options tomorrow morning will stop RMweb and the Hornby website from crashing or slowing to a snail's pace as they do every year. 

 

Cheers,

  60800

I can see Sam speculatively booking his post COVID holiday to the Caribbean, off the back of all the ‘nothing in there for me’ superchats, genius.

[Steamport Southport]

57 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

 

Sorry old chap, I can't fully agree with that. When Hornby released the W4 Peckett, I surmised that the B2 Peckett was a 'no-brainer'. It would appear that on this occasion, my surmising was correct.  Naturally, I cant speak for everybody.   

 

Never mind, only 10+ hours tomorrow.

 

I wonder whether we'll finally get Fonmon. 

 

It was the one they measured after all.

 

https://ribblesteam.org.uk/exhibits/steam/peckett-0-6-0st-no-1636-1924-fonmon/

[Clearwater]

On tooling, I was following a set of posts on Facebook lamenting the inability to be able to swap tender tops between chassis as the spacings could be slightly differently spaced (never mind the loco/tender connections being differently wired.). 
 

I think there’s a tendency for us non-experts to assume because a prototype, especially the GWR, used common components that it makes sense for a model to also use the same common components.  I don’t think that holds given the difference between the two.  Even if it does make sense to have a common design and save time in the drafting office, if the IP of the tooling is owned by a factory, they may not transfer it to a second factory.  It would not surprise me if a manufacturer was tendering between different factories for each new model hence a notionally similar GWR 3500g tender could end up being internally different as it makes more sense for a factory to own its own tools.  
 

There’s also the gap between model iterations to consider, as well as differences between main and railroad.  It may have made sense to make a mould in say two parts 10 years ago but a new, larger machine, may facilitate a larger single piece saving on labour costs for assembly.

 

THere are probably other factors but it does seem logical to me that each new run at each factory will have a new tool.  That may differ if you plan a range, eg a mogul/prairie/manor where your design concept expressly provides for the variations.

[TomScrut]

56 minutes ago, Clearwater said:

the IP of the tooling is owned by a factory, they may not transfer it to a second factory.

 

Typically (across a lot of manufacturing, not specifically model railways) tooling is owned by the people wanting the work doing, i.e. Hornby in this case. There are plenty of reasons why this is normally the case:

 

Why would the factory want to pay for, and own tooling they can't use other than for one customer? Get the customer to pay for it.

Risk is with the client, as they pay for the tooling

Client probably won't pay for tooling if they don't own it

Factory posesses tooling as a bargaining chip in the case of payment issues

IP is the clients so the tooling goes with it

If factory goes pop then tooling can be retrieved and relocated.

 

The issue actually lies in compatibility with other people's machines most of the time.

 

This is assuming the client does their own design work as the factory is simply doing the manufacturing. If somebody commissions a factory to design and make then there are all sorts of possibilities.

Edited January 4, 2021 by TomScrut

[adb968008]

5 hours ago, atom3624 said:

Big day tomorrow then ....

 

Final votes anyone?

 

Al.

Wide guess..

 

return of Minic.

[69843]

My vote?

At least one person who says 'Nothing in it for me'

[adb968008]

7 minutes ago, 69843 said:

My vote?

At least one person who says 'Nothing in it for me'

Andy already said those will get weeded out..

 

you could try..

 

nowt in it for me

naffin in it for me

nuffin in it for me

zero here

nil points

s..od all for me

are you kidding me

 

or even try a woolly dance around like...

 

its a really thought provoking 2021 range that shows all kinds of good intentions and market serving demand. With thoughtful foresight such as this they have had an epiphany of revelation aimed at almost every socio economic group, age factor and geography of the country, with a microscope of attention to every era, however not mine.

and I think he would weed that out too.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by adb968008

[9402 Fredrick]

1 hour ago, 60800 said:

 

Here's hoping that the wide range of viewing options tomorrow morning will stop RMweb and the Hornby website from crashing or slowing to a snail's pace as they do every year. 

 

Cheers,

  60800

RMWeb will be a bit more stable than Hornby's website to be fair, also all the shops will have their own viewing pages for them.

[RichardT]

One last bite before the announcement renders this thread irrelevant except to social historians.

 

 

10 hours ago, TomScrut said:

 

But yet you're here commenting so it is surely relevant somehow to you?

 

 

I was being slightly paradoxical by way of responding to the OP's remark about "relevance".  I'm not in the market for what Hornby produce at the moment (although I could sometimes be tempted for display purposes...be strong!)  But I'm obviously interested in what Hornby do in a wider sense because they are a bellwether for the hobby as a whole, the only model railway producer with a brand awareness that reaches the general public.  And I also used, once upon a time, to have some responsibility for the model railway items in the NRM collection, so it's nice to see what my successors might be acquiring for the nation...

 

10 hours ago, TomScrut said:

I expect that penetrating the market might be difficult, especially given the thoughts of some people (wrongly in some cases, rightly in others) about Hornby being inferior to the alternatives (probably most famously Bachmann) would probably make it harder in N where the market I expect will be more serious model railway enthusiast

 

No idea where that perception of Hornby comes from, but all I can say from an N gauge modeller's perspective is that if Hornby shrank even a small proportion of their current range into N and confirmed that it would be available within a year or so of announcement then you'd have to stand aside to avoid getting crushed in the stampede of those "serious model railway enthusiast" N modellers.  We are pretty starved of product at the moment, especially from Bachmann/Farish, who promise but don't deliver for literally years.  Which, of course, leads to a perception that the market isn't there in N.

 

10 hours ago, TomScrut said:

That will probably end the same time people stop sniping at "box openers".

 

I love steam engines but I do find the "kettle" term amusing, I don't see it as derogatory really but then I don't also take it personally as I aren't a steam engine.

 

Thinking about it, my issue with "kettle" isn't so much that it's childish (now, "roundy-roundy" - that's childish) as that it's lazy and unfunny - a cliche substituting for thought.  Just like whenever there's a mention of Flying Scotsman you count silently under your breath waiting for the inevitable comment mentioning "Trigger's Broom", as if the writer was making some kind of original penetrating observation.  Anyway, that's veering wildly OT.

 

Some very interesting remarks there TomScrut!  Thanks for posting.

 

Best,

Richard T

[frobisher]

30 minutes ago, RichardT said:

No idea where that perception of Hornby comes from, but all I can say from an N gauge modeller's perspective is that if Hornby shrank even a small proportion of their current range into N and confirmed that it would be available within a year or so of announcement then you'd have to stand aside to avoid getting crushed in the stampede of those "serious model railway enthusiast" N modellers.  We are pretty starved of product at the moment, especially from Bachmann/Farish, who promise but don't deliver for literally years.  Which, of course, leads to a perception that the market isn't there in N.

 

As much as I'd love Hornby to make a serious (re)entry to the N gauge market I can't see it happening.  They'd need a "full range" at launch, and that is high risk and high investment.  Okay track they would covered for (they've standardised on the Arnold track for their continental brands), but you'd need at least 2-3 locos at launch with appropriate rolling stock.  You'd need these items to be generally attractive to "the public" rather than the niche products we're perhaps looking for.  The time to have done it would have been about 14/15 years ago before Dapol entrenched themselves against Farish.

 

 

 

[InterCitySpud]

I hope...the APT will have a removable nose cone, so it can be realistically towed to Carlisle.

[Steamport Southport]

So that's 57 pages of people hoping for a GWR 2021 then.....

 

 

[Ceptic]

My guess ?  Hmmm.. Let's see.. A 2-NOL Emu, based on their re-built L&SWR stock.

[The Johnster]

I thought the cats were out of the bag with Antics’ announcement.  

[Hilux5972]

12 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

I thought the cats were out of the bag with Antics’ announcement.  

As far as I can see the antics page is only, so far, items announced at start of 2020 that haven’t been released yet. 

[Steamport Southport]

56 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

I thought the cats were out of the bag with Antics’ announcement.  

 

That's just the stuff that was delayed from last year.

 

Going to be a big hit for some of us when they do turn up. I reckon quite a few will have pre ordered the full sets of things like the APTs and Coronation Scot, and others more than one of the LNER locos.

 

 

[The Johnster]

Ooo goody, still fun later on then!

[Hilux5972]

This must the first year in a while that the range hasn’t been leaked early. 

[aaron3820]

Place ya bets folks!

 

[Hilux5972]

Ok starting from top going left to right. 
 

No Comment

I think  this one is inevitable 

No Comment

Highly likely

Possible

Considerably likely

Would be nice

God I hope not

Given how well they have sold, extremely likely

Why? Not really anything wrong with the current one

Good freight loco so quite possible

Undoubtably

Free Space hmmm

Unless it’s ready for immediate release, suicide announcement

Hmm possible

Would be a nice intercontinental train

Highly likely

Possible given the issues with the ski ramp running board on recent releases but not much else wrong with tooling

Lots of pregrouping interest so maybe

Would be nice to have the eastern coronation train

Not sure, I would imagine they wanna maximise the Peckett tooling before adding a contender into their own range

Very likely

Novelty? Please no more wasted expenditure on steampunk

Lots of people asking for 009 so who knows

Hoping for a new tooling for the county so we shall see. 
 

Now my eyes hurt from all that scrolling. Oh btw, 3 hours and 2 minutes to go people 

[TomScrut]

6 hours ago, RichardT said:

One last bite before the announcement renders this thread irrelevant except to social historians.

 

 

 

I was being slightly paradoxical by way of responding to the OP's remark about "relevance".  I'm not in the market for what Hornby produce at the moment (although I could sometimes be tempted for display purposes...be strong!)  But I'm obviously interested in what Hornby do in a wider sense because they are a bellwether for the hobby as a whole, the only model railway producer with a brand awareness that reaches the general public.  And I also used, once upon a time, to have some responsibility for the model railway items in the NRM collection, so it's nice to see what my successors might be acquiring for the nation...

 

 

No idea where that perception of Hornby comes from, but all I can say from an N gauge modeller's perspective is that if Hornby shrank even a small proportion of their current range into N and confirmed that it would be available within a year or so of announcement then you'd have to stand aside to avoid getting crushed in the stampede of those "serious model railway enthusiast" N modellers.  We are pretty starved of product at the moment, especially from Bachmann/Farish, who promise but don't deliver for literally years.  Which, of course, leads to a perception that the market isn't there in N.

 

 

Thinking about it, my issue with "kettle" isn't so much that it's childish (now, "roundy-roundy" - that's childish) as that it's lazy and unfunny - a cliche substituting for thought.  Just like whenever there's a mention of Flying Scotsman you count silently under your breath waiting for the inevitable comment mentioning "Trigger's Broom", as if the writer was making some kind of original penetrating observation.  Anyway, that's veering wildly OT.

 

Some very interesting remarks there TomScrut!  Thanks for posting.

 

Best,

Richard T

 

Fair dos re the relevance.

 

Yes I don't agree that Hornby are inferior, it's simply that some people I think don't want to consider them as a collection of products which are of different standards!

 

And yes I agree that it's maybe on of those throwaway comments, I don't think it is particularly malicious in it's nature but again it so well trod now that it is definitely an old joke.

[Legend]

1 hour ago, aaron3820 said:

Place ya bets folks!

 

 Good one . Suspect people will struggle to get a full line there . I particularly like Another gold plated engine no one asked for !  Could be fairly accurate though as aside from Blue Pullman HST there is a noticeable lack of BRBlue and diesels in any form , so you’re pretty much on. The money there! 

[Trains4U]

My hope is that not too many people explode when they discover the announcement is at 10am and not 9am...

[Pint of Adnams]

I've just heard that Michael Gove has insisted that all new product announcements be 'locked down' 

[Hroth]

90 minutes to go...