Hornby 2021 - Playtrains starter range

[009 micro modeller]

11 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

Maybe - I am not that acquainted with the different technologies as applied to cars/trucks etc. But I believe they rely largely on radio control rather than IR? That is what I use for my garden live steam and diesel locos, but then they are to 1:19 scale. The bulk of the vehicles allows the insertion of such controls along with the servos etc to make it work.

 

I have a very cheap one, around 1:60 scale - the control equipment would easily fit into an 00 loco. I think it is RC rather than IR.

[Mike Storey]

10 hours ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

I have a very cheap one, around 1:60 scale - the control equipment would easily fit into an 00 loco. I think it is RC rather than IR.

 

Really?  I think you might find that is an illusion.

 

There have been many attempts fit the current technology into 00 locos, and NONE of them have worked without pretty major surgery.

[RJS1977]

I saw radio control demonstrated in a 009 loco at Swanley a few years ago.

 

Admittedly, it was a scratchbuilt plastikard body on a Kato 11-103 chassis, so the body and chassis had been chosen to create the maximum space possible, but if it's possible in 009, it should be possible in 00.

[Mike Storey]

2 minutes ago, RJS1977 said:

I saw radio control demonstrated in a 009 loco at Swanley a few years ago.

 

Admittedly, it was a scratchbuilt plastikard body on a Kato 11-103 chassis, so the body and chassis had been chosen to create the maximum space possible, but if it's possible in 009, it should be possible in 00.

 

Indeed, it has even been done in N gauge, but not as we know it, Jim.

[009 micro modeller]

12 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

 

Really?  I think you might find that is an illusion.

 

There have been many attempts fit the current technology into 00 locos, and NONE of them have worked without pretty major surgery.

 

11 hours ago, RJS1977 said:

I saw radio control demonstrated in a 009 loco at Swanley a few years ago.

 

Admittedly, it was a scratchbuilt plastikard body on a Kato 11-103 chassis, so the body and chassis had been chosen to create the maximum space possible, but if it's possible in 009, it should be possible in 00.

 

I’ve also seen it fitted into a 3D printed (but presumably to scale) RNAD diesel in 009, as well as a Minitrains Gmeinder:

 

 

 

Lots of the 009 RC started off experimenting with the control equipment from small RC toy cars before moving on to more refined stuff, as detailed in the articles that have been published in 009 News. Obviously when I said it would easily fit into an 00 loco it would depend on the shape and size of the space available inside the body, but as mentioned if it can be done in 009 it should be possible in 00.

[atom3624]

Very nice, and very neat installation as well.

 

There are several others on YT whereby a tiny car 1:100 scale or smaller is turned into an R/C car.

 

Al.

[Phil Parker]

Hornby have launched the PlayTrains portal:

 

https://uk.hornby.com/community/playtrains?fbclid=IwAR3vCp7VNyGqWFh40halBKA4TgBEpnAx6W1jsIX-5nfZsjzbqufw06T09u8

 

Loads of activities to keep your stuck at home kids quiet.

[tomparryharry]

I must say, I'm chuckling at the personalities of these Playtrains characters....

 

Flash. AKA Flash Harry.  " Look 'ere son, 'ave I got a bargain for you... Rolex Watch? Yours for a monkey...."

 

Thunder likes books, plays a Stradivarius violin, and lectures in Rueben's pictures at the V&A.  On his weekend off, he's off to support Millwall....

 

Only in jest. I think it's still a very good idea. We've all got to start somewhere....

 

 

"Gaw Blimey Guv'ner! Were's me barra? 

 

 

[Phil Parker]

I've already raised the issue that Flash's favourite food is celery...

[Phil Parker]

[Hroth]

There's no possible comment that could be made!

 

What we need is a demo of the system on Hornby set track, or even Peco code 100 Streamline rather than that red stuff.  I can see that in a fun Minories setup....

[Huw Griffiths]

That doesn't look right.

 

After all, I always thought track was supposed to be laid on the carpet.

 

Of course, I could be very much mistaken ... .

 

 

Seriously though, I could imagine a number of those sets being used on lawns (most probably looking a lot rougher than that), AstroTurf, or patios - perhaps even with their new owners doing their own personal attempts on a land speed record.

 

Saying that, if these help to get some kids "trained", there probably won't be too many complaints (at least until the batteries run down!).

 

 

Huw.

[AY Mod]

38 minutes ago, Hroth said:

What we need is a demo of the system on Hornby set track, or even Peco code 100 Streamline rather than that red stuff. 

 

We have carried out extensive testing and can reveal P4 track is rubbish.

 

We've been working very hard today.

[Huw Griffiths]

2 hours ago, AY Mod said:

We have carried out extensive testing and can reveal ...

 

We've been working very hard today.

 

Ah yes ... "serious research".

[Hroth]

7 hours ago, Huw Griffiths said:

 

Ah yes ... "serious research".

 

"In depth" too?

 

[CUCKOO LINE]

At least the track won't rust in the garden ! When are the detailing and weathering articles appearing !!!

[Huw Griffiths]

17 hours ago, Huw Griffiths said:

Ah yes ... "serious research".

 

I'm sure they'll publish their findings in due course. They're currently at the "peer review" stage.

 

 

10 hours ago, Hroth said:

"In depth" too?

 

Judging by the rain threatened for some parts of the country (and the downpour round here a few hours back), I'm beginning to wonder if "in at the deep end" might be closer to the mark.

 

 

1 hour ago, CUCKOO LINE said:

At least the track won't rust in the garden ! When are the detailing and weathering articles appearing !!!

 

Fair comment.

 

I suspect any features about working OHLE might create a buzz.

 

 

Seriously though, if the abuse my first model train suffered (about half a century back - ouch!) is anything to go by, something along these lines might be well suited to some very young people.

 

The awkward bit might then be the move to something slightly more prototypical in appearance.

 

Exactly what that might be is a matter of personal preference.

[Phil Parker]

27 minutes ago, Huw Griffiths said:

I'm sure they'll publish their findings in due course. They're currently at the "peer review" stage.

 

Spot on. The review will appear in November's BRM, and the unboxing video before that. I'm currently working on my October BRM TV video, so it's in the queue.

 

Before I can write the review however, the set needs to be tested by a couple of people closer to the intended market.

[Huw Griffiths]

Sounds fair enough.

 

In case you're wondering about the references to research, some people would know that, for a number of years, I was a "lab rat" in a university - where research (and publication of reports, findings etc in peer reviewed journals) was often used as a "shop window" and a mechanism for obtaining funding.

 

As for my own time, I have experimented with other types of models beside trains. A number of years (actually decades) ago, I had a lot of fun with some 27MHz radio controlled cars - an activity which I sometimes jokingly referred to by the euphemism "serious research".

 

(This might tell some people something about my sense of humour - which has been rather dry for as long as I can remember.)

 

Of course, the only serious bit about these things was ensuring that I never lost control of them when the battery packs were plugged in. (If this had happened, I reckoned that trying to explain "what went wrong" might get slightly tedious - but I had no intention of finding out.)

 

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by Huw Griffiths

[CUCKOO LINE]

On 21/08/2021 at 16:17, Phil Parker said:

 

 

 

Before I can write the review however, the set needs to be tested by a couple of people closer to the intended market.

You could inflict on those RMwebbers who step out of line !

[Fircombehall]

On 05/01/2021 at 12:58, Hroth said:

I understand that the playtrains will be competitively priced compared with the competition.  It'd be interesting to get one, merely to transfer the mechanism to, say, an old Hornby Class 25 bodyshell.  Remote control, battery powered Class 2 power!  Whats not to like?

 

 

I did something similar with a large ERTL Thomas Tank Engine and fitted Lego electric motor to it. I was surprised how good it looked. DCC is a good system but I believe a battery powered remote control system would be a step forward, particularly for garden layouts, as there would be no electrical connectivity issues. 

 

Let us know Hroth if you manage to do a conversion. I would be very interested to see the result.

[rue_d_etropal]

It would be interesting to compare this range with the Marklin system, as they look very similar, despite what has officially been said.

I tried one of the Marklin sets a couple of years ago. Amazingly it happily ran round our club latyout, which has handbuilt finescale track(minus chairs!), built back in the 80s. It was not so happy on standard pointwork, but my main disappointment was high lowest speed as I had thought of using it for a larger scale narrow gauge model.

[SamThomas]

Putting aside the conjecture, the if's, the whys, the what haves I think the range is great - I like the whole concept & if it helps the hobby & keeps children away from tiny "device" screens then so much the better.

 

The trains look good & I like the idea of the stickers for the locomotives. Personally, I like the bright red track too.

 

I'm often sceptical about what BigH do but I really do hope that this range is successful for them.

[Classsix T]

On 05/01/2021 at 11:39, Haymarket47 said:

Both of mine too I’m afraid. I hope this new system will encourage kids in but I’m not convinced. When I think back they loved the Brio trains and making different track layouts. For a while they liked the basic oval and a railroad hauling toy soldiers in wagons but the novelty wore off sadly. Now it’s PlayStation all the way

49 year old "kid" here. Having given considerable amounts of disposable income to both Sony (other video game console manufacturers are available) and Hornby (other model railway...you get the gist) the either/or mentality of computer games as a versus to railways doesn't wash with me I'm afraid.

 

Truth may boil down to the fact that irl railways were rather more interesting in the past. I now model three eras of Britain's railway history, two which I remember and one that Dad told me tales of and I've further researched.

 

It's not up to the likes of Hornby to "sell" railways as an interesting thing to inquisitive minds, that comes from their peers. Hornby can nurture that interest of course and would be stupid not to, their pay-off comes from mugs like me that desire their high-end models when we have the cash in our pockets to indulge. And still fill our boots with PlayStation.

 

C6T. 

[009 micro modeller]

1 hour ago, Classsix T said:

49 year old "kid" here. Having given considerable amounts of disposable income to both Sony (other video game console manufacturers are available) and Hornby (other model railway...you get the gist) the either/or mentality of computer games as a versus to railways doesn't wash with me I'm afraid.

I agree but I think it’s the amount of money sunk in one pastime/hobby that makes it either/or, as people can’t necessarily afford to do both (it goes for both kids and experienced adult railway modellers - a similar effect happens if you want to model in multiple scales but can only afford one). This is probably more of a concern for a parent buying stuff for their kids that they may or may not take a deeper interest in.

 

1 hour ago, Classsix T said:

Truth may boil down to the fact that irl railways were rather more interesting in the past.

Definitely agree. I think this is true even when today’s railway is compared to the fairly recent past. My everyday experience of railways these days is commuting on Great Northern and Thameslink, with endless class 700s, the very similar-looking 717s and a few 387s, and the intercity services that run alongside them on the ECML are increasingly dominated by Azumas or variants thereof in various operators’ liveries. Even just a few years ago there was more variety on the GN suburban lines in terms of loco and EMU types, and the same probably applies elsewhere on the network. There are aspects of the GN and Thameslink lines that I find impressive and perhaps even interesting, but not as a subject for a model railway. I also find the new trains on the southern end of the ECML a bit lacking in character compared to the trains they replaced, but that’s a bit more of a subjective thing.

 

I don’t model these railways, instead usually focusing on industrial narrow gauge, which I tend to find more interesting. However, it helped that I had parents who had some interest in model railways, and that we regularly visited family in Wales which meant that I experienced some NG railways first hand as well.