Jump to content
 

Hornby to possibly re-release models under the Hornby-Dublo label.


TravisM
 Share

Recommended Posts

On 03/08/2021 at 13:55, Pandora said:

For the majority of Dublo releases, there is no shortage of S/H to choose from, and the S/H prices are not excessive. For me this rules out a duplicate of a Dublo original

Candidates which have a scarcity may be the two unique Wrenn releases,  the Royal Scot of the Air smoothed  Bulleid Pacific.

A trawl through the Binns Road archives may reveal drawings of preposed  models by Dublo which never made production, such as the V2 later manufactured by the Dublo collectors, such models may have  strong sales interest.   a final  example .   the  LMS Beyer-Garratt produced in small numbers for Dublo collectors

The problem is that Hornby Dublo locomotives are finite,i mean,some people have 12 0-6-2 tank locos,why?.I have converted two of the latest spamcans to 3 rail,ok on the large radius curves,squeal a bit on the standard radius.

 

This the Jodel 3 rail Garratt,i waited over two years for this.

                          Ray.

20210323_102602.jpg

  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
15 hours ago, sagaguy said:

The problem is that Hornby Dublo locomotives are finite,i mean,some people have 12 0-6-2 tank locos,why?.I have converted two of the latest spamcans to 3 rail,ok on the large radius curves,squeal a bit on the standard radius.

 

This the Jodel 3 rail Garratt,i waited over two years for this.

                          Ray.

20210323_102602.jpg

Now that is a beautiful model (I wonder if the word beautiful has ever been applied to a B-G before? :))!

  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 07/08/2021 at 12:14, adb968008 said:


a new metal A4 and Coronation have already been done..6BBF93A0-E2DD-4A0F-AD0E-65C63A2D42C8.jpeg.6cf583bbd0be17f34502cbc9c06445db.jpeg

B746DD13-91B8-42FF-8FBC-2FF61F4006E1.jpeg.bb95ae67a39b97667029c1c6bc27daa7.jpeg

 

I hadn't paid much attention to these, but I have to say I'm impressed by the finesse of the A4 body casting, once the image is blown up. The nose area looks far more refined than the latest W1samples shown in another thread, in both detail and form.

 

The Nim. 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

The modern anniversary releases to celebrate Rovex,  the bodyshell castings  in metal,    are they:

1) new tooling  to the drawings of Dublo but with enhancements in detailing over and above the original Dublo tooling.

2) new tooling "in the spirit of Dublo" to replicate the Dublo look and feel.

3) The Dublo / Wrenn tooling returning from storage for a further lease of life

Edited by Pandora
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
14 minutes ago, Pandora said:

The modern anniversary releases to celebrate Rovex,  the bodyshell castings  in metal,    are they:

1) new tooling  to the drawings of Dublo but with enhancements in detailing over and above the original Dublo tooling.

2) new tooling "in the spirit of Dublo" to replicate the Dublo look and feel.

3) The Dublo / Wrenn tooling returning from storage for a further lease of life

Its actually a modern specification Duchess, to modern standards of plastic, but the loco is a metal body.

Here’s Hornbys 2017 Duchess, next to the 1949 Dublo and 2020’s Metal one.

 

7A73DE9C-F68B-47D0-B131-72D4566D5E71.jpeg

47B00783-8725-4DB6-9E6D-BD75612CB5B9.jpeg

C4DD6D11-0AE4-4E73-9BE4-C5054946073F.jpeg

88CDBEFC-F74C-496D-B1AB-5A0904E501D1.jpeg

03B07636-0B05-4859-B1A4-D9CBBC805E43.jpeg

CD895FCD-279A-4382-8299-D68A269D32F2.jpeg

  • Like 3
  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Have just received an email from Hornby to say that M/N General Steam Navigation is in the warehouse and will be delivered in a few days.

 

Just received a further email (5pm) saying they had arrived and available to order now - limited to 500 each model - no mention of being "sold-out" - yet!

Edited by Bulleidboy100
amendment
  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • RMweb Premium

Watched the TV program yesterday on Hornby which featured the Die Cast MN . Interesting . I’m still puzzled over batch sizes though . In the program I think Simon Kohler was heard to muse that limiting it to 500 would increase the value of it for collectors . Good for the collectors but you would have thought Hornby would be after maximising their own revenue rather than hoping the model appreciates ( they only get the initial £250 regardless) . Why would they not have gone for 1000 models? You’ve got all the costs of diecast  design but spread over 1000 units rather than 500 . Got to drive the unit cost down giving more margin to Hornby .  When you then see Invicta models got an allocation of one model there surely was scope for a larger production run . Same with the original Duchess of Atholl . They could easily have sold double .  Why the low numbers ? Is it just silly marketing?  Hornby need the money now 

  • Like 2
  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

yes you would in theory get more profit, from having 1000 - when you sell them. until then you've spent all that money on getting them built but without the cash in pocket of the sales.

Even Hornby have to look at their cash flow - you can only build what you can afford to build even if you can sell more than that...

Modern outsourced manufacturing isn't something I'd like to be basing a business on..

  • Like 2
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I've no interest at all in the model, I don't even know what its price is, but just to remember the point.....if the retail price is £250 (or whatever), that is the price paid by the consumer to the shop he buys it from. The shop pays trade price to Hornby, which is lower - so Hornby only get the trade price per item. (Unless of course the consumer gets it direct from Hornby of course).

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Legend said:

Watched the TV program yesterday on Hornby which featured the Die Cast MN . Interesting . I’m still puzzled over batch sizes though . In the program I think Simon Kohler was heard to muse that limiting it to 500 would increase the value of it for collectors . Good for the collectors but you would have thought Hornby would be after maximising their own revenue rather than hoping the model appreciates ( they only get the initial £250 regardless) . Why would they not have gone for 1000 models? You’ve got all the costs of diecast  design but spread over 1000 units rather than 500 . Got to drive the unit cost down giving more margin to Hornby .  When you then see Invicta models got an allocation of one model there surely was scope for a larger production run . Same with the original Duchess of Atholl . They could easily have sold double .  Why the low numbers ? Is it just silly marketing?  Hornby need the money now 

 

Hornby has the capacity to use the same moulds and jigs and assembly workforce for many variations on the Princess, Duchess and Merchant Navy models, thus increasing the returns.

 

The limit to 500 improved their margins by allowing quick sale at a good price. It may well be that these rather attractive models will be sufficiently popular to engender a whole series over the next few years, and that might include other models like A3 or A4  King or Castle, or whichever type appeals.

 

In any event the die-cast tools will I expect be used for more than 500 models. With just a small change we could have a 'Duchess of Montrose' in die-cast limited to 750 models and I can just image what these would go for on Ebay!  :)

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

500 looks to be the magic number and I think they called it right.

 

This one did not just evaporate to dust like 6231 did. It stuck on the shelves for a few weeks and has largely sold out, but it wasn't an instant sell out… that said it was 3 models all at once, rather than spread out.

 

if they had made 1000 I think it would be still in stock and at the factory too, tieing up cash for the longer term and pushing out future releases. Further it risks shops discounting it, which would dilute the dublo brand value.. which for something niche as this would be bad for attracting collectors to buy it.

 

What I find interesting was when 6231 came out, it dissapeared immediately, and not many images of it appeared here or elsewhere. These three just made are much more visible.. so who bought 6231 that made them squirrel it away ?


500 sold out,  Thats all they need.

Edited by adb968008
  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Well being one of the first of the postwar generation to experience HornbyDublo ,I for one purchased 6231.The MN was not of that ilk,so maybe these owe more to its 2017 issue ( or SK’s favour) . The next obvious choice is an A4 in diecast.No.7 Sir Nigel Gresley being I think favourite to be followed by its BR.green Dublo successors 

  • Like 2
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, adb968008 said:

....

 

What I find interesting was when 6231 came out, it dissapeared immediately, and not many images of it appeared here or elsewhere. These three just made are much more visible.. so who bought 6231 that made them squirrel it away ?


500 sold out,  Thats all they need.

 

I bought one after they went up in price, then by sheer chance found another in a NZ retailer's list at RRP so bought that too...    a brother bought one too, so between us we control the market, well, almost, ...

 

here is one of mine at a virtual Camden shed...  imposing bulk!

 

6231_duchess_portrait61_shed_5abcde_r1500.jpg.1ba1f8c8e8679d60fe42650a3839b2fb.jpg

 

edited photo will remove if inappropriate.

 

p.s.  growing up in the 40s and 50s we had an original Atholl too, and I bought a set two years ago as a momento of the age... almost unused, TW would not approve. :)

Edited by robmcg
corrections, addition
  • Like 9
Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, cbrooks122000 said:

Yes I figured Sir Nigel Gresley to be next, that would seem logical. I won't be surprised if it was in Wartime Black, they seem to sell quicker.

 

I know it's wishlisting, which makes some around here wince, but my faourite livery for A4s is post-war LNER blue without valances...  as per this non-existent Hornby model, edited.

 

7_4498_A4_LNER_Sir_Nigel_Gresley_1abc_r2080.jpg.5d57b28ab5d0aedf89969e9273726e0c.jpg

 

Will remove if required.

 

 

Edited by robmcg
spelling
  • Like 8
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 08/08/2021 at 17:41, cbrooks122000 said:

Jenny Kirk was saying, when she could not get a Duchess of Atholl that perhaps Hornby should do a run of 750. Trouble is at the moment you do your preorder and hope that you get one. I suppose though if you don't you have saved yourself an awful lot of money.

 

She did not look Hard enough then, I copped 4 Duchess's one off the LMS shelf, others off the net. :)

 

I have one MN on order but that is only for the pulling power due the extra weight.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
21 hours ago, Ian Hargrave said:

Well being one of the first of the postwar generation to experience HornbyDublo ,I for one purchased 6231.The MN was not of that ilk,so maybe these owe more to its 2017 issue ( or SK’s favour) . The next obvious choice is an A4 in diecast.No.7 Sir Nigel Gresley being I think favourite to be followed by its BR.green Dublo successors 

I think an A4 maybe a mistake.. too early in the range, and there is equal detailed rtr metal competition too in the market.

 

I think they need to keep them Dublo models as “must haves” for now, i’d push an A4 further back and bring up something more of a life extension on whats been done in plastic, something like a Castle or an 8F, maybe a King… indeed a cheeky one would be a new original Scot.

 

In my mind LNER is being over sold, the A4 is oversold, and the Dublo brand is a longer term winner, so dont mix.

 

 

 

 

Edited by adb968008
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
1 hour ago, adb968008 said:

I think an A4 maybe a mistake.. too early in the range, and there is equal detailed rtr metal competition too in the market.

 

I think they need to keep them Dublo models as “must haves” for now, i’d push an A4 further back and bring up something more of a life extension on whats been done in plastic, something like a Castle or an 8F, maybe a King… indeed a cheeky one would be a new original Scot.

 

In my mind LNER is being over sold, the A4 is oversold, and the Dublo brand is a longer term winner, so dont mix.

 

 

 

 


Oh really?  Despite the fact that both No.7 and D of A “train sets “ were first out of the blocks postwar. A mistake?  Mix what and with what ingredients because the current marketing is blatantly skewed towards nostalgia ? Presumably you refer to Dapol’s market entry which simply doesn’t come close in any respect.  LNER oversold ? As you say,in your head . There maybe some who might not agree.
 

Sorry I don’t buy this at all.

  • Agree 1
  • Funny 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
3 hours ago, Ian Hargrave said:


Oh really?  Despite the fact that both No.7 and D of A “train sets “ were first out of the blocks postwar. A mistake?  Mix what and with what ingredients because the current marketing is blatantly skewed towards nostalgia ? Presumably you refer to Dapol’s market entry which simply doesn’t come close in any respect.  LNER oversold ? As you say,in your head . There maybe some who might not agree.
 

Sorry I don’t buy this at all.

We agree to disagree, but thats what makes the hobby a broad church.
I think as a collector not a specific fan of any region.

 

Duplication of a model is my pet peeve, and history demonstrates going head to head generally see’s discounts and long shelf lives.

 

Ive bought all 4 Dublo models to date, and have a suite of Dapol A4’s, which means I wont be buying a Dublo A4. After that as a collector with a selected gap in the collection, means its no longer a collection, and my interest wanes in the Dublo brand as a whole.


My inbox has any number of discount black LNER locos every week. I agree there is a vocal group of LNER supporters, who may have strong influence on certain manufacturers, but that doesnt necessarily mean its the most popular.


An A4 will sell, and there is a strong following, but A4 collectors are a different niche and may have no interest in the wider dublo brand, and so may actually damage it.

 

tbh if I were in the market for more OO gauge metal A4’s, and were paying borderline O gauge prices for them, my attentions would be at Golden Age, which sooner or later will reemerge under one name or another.

 

My opinion is Dublo is a specific niche, and exploiting it needs to be well thought, to avoid becoming a by word for an expensive regular model. To me, that means picking emotive choices that mean something, not slam dunks, like an A4 or 4472.. they can do them anytime. Dublo limited editions is on a new upwards curve, save the slam dunks when its closer to the top of that curve.


If I point to history, look at Bachmanns wooden box limited editions, it all went amazingly well until they did Ixion…at 3000 rather than 500..thereafter collectors bailed out. After that releases were just a model in a wooden box, and bargains followed for several.

 

 

 

Edited by adb968008
Link to post
Share on other sites

What I didn’t understand after watching the Hornby programme was why they issued the model in a Blue box. Blue was for 3 rail and Red was 2 rail. Logically then, they should be using Red boxes, as the models are clearly 2 rail.

 

steve

  • Agree 2
  • Interesting/Thought-provoking 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
1 minute ago, steve1 said:

What I didn’t understand after watching the Hornby programme was why they issued the model in a Blue box. Blue was for 3 rail and Red was 2 rail. Logically then, they should be using Red boxes, as the models are clearly 2 rail.

 

steve

Maybe they wanted to clearly differentiate them from 'normal' Hornby by using a different box colour, or they considered the blue boxes are a more distinctive reminder of HD then red.

  • Like 2
  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
38 minutes ago, steve1 said:

What I didn’t understand after watching the Hornby programme was why they issued the model in a Blue box. Blue was for 3 rail and Red was 2 rail. Logically then, they should be using Red boxes, as the models are clearly 2 rail.

 

steve

Imo brand awareness.

 

Looks nicer, more distinguishing.

I dont think red box with stripes would have the same stand out visual impact.


New York Yankees have the same impact.

 

Thats my thoughts.

 

Edited by adb968008
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...