Hornby: A Model World

[Dunsignalling]

16 minutes ago, Blandford1969 said:

Just like the real thing then. Has the oil problem got worse as the engines got older, its not something I remember from my old Hornby engines which had it. 

Depends how much you use it, and the kind of oil. The proper  Seuthe stuff is better but expensive, and lots of people looked for a cheaper substitute, usually baby oil, which is rather more problematic in model railway terms.

 

John

Edited December 1, 2021 by Dunsignalling
Spelling

[Fat Controller]

14 hours ago, Ben B said:

 

The comedian David O'Dohety did a memorable song about Grand Designs, and the collapse of a relationship between the couple building their misguided dream house, on "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown" some years back... lyrics like "the caravan... the pregnancy..." and "it turned out the cracks weren't in fact in the foundations, but in our mar-riage..."

 

Whenever we watch it, we know that if the windows haven't been installed by the second break, that's when it's all going to go wrong, as it always seems to be the glazing where problems happen

A former colleague of my wife bought a property in Southern France; a friend put him forward to one of these programmes. The researcher duly turned up to see if he'd be of interest, and after several hours chatting, said that he wasn't the sort of person they were looking for. Michel asked why; the researcher said 'You speak fluent French. You've researched the property you're restoring, and have proper drawings that you understand. Finally, neither you, nor any of your immediate family have been diagnosed with any sort of life-changing or life-threatening illness.

I'm afraid we call many of these programmes 'car-crash television'; many of the participants seem to have a very limited grasp of building, often gleaned from using Lego..

[pete_mcfarlane]

1 hour ago, Fat Controller said:

I'm afraid we call many of these programmes 'car-crash television'; many of the participants seem to have a very limited grasp of building, often gleaned from using Lego..

They must get good at spotting the people they want. Every time I watch one of those programmes, it seems that £cost of buying property + £initial quote from builder = £entire life savings of participants.

 

So the inevitable cost increases from the things the builders find after they start ripping the 200 year old house apart cause them financial meltdown. Every single time. 

[2mmMark]

On 30/11/2021 at 13:22, Phatbob said:

 

Back in the days of great big CRT monitors on ones desk most folk in our big open plan office had a "mascot" on top of their monitor.  I had a 1:72 scale Hurricane.  99% of visitors to my workstation who mentioned it referred to it as a Spitfire and were subsequently politely educated.  The 1% who got it right received sincere congratulations on their perspicacity.

Did you find that for some reason, visitors to your particular workstation tailed off...  

What would have really blown their minds would have been a model of the slip-wing Hurricane.  "A biplane Spitfire!"

Edited December 1, 2021 by 2mmMark

[2mmMark]

2 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

Depends how much you use it, and the kind of oil. The proper  Seuthe stuff is better but expensive, and lots of people looked for a cheaper substitute, usually baby oil, which is rather more problematic in model railway terms.

 

John

Very important to have the right oil to seuthe a baby.

 

[Philip Elliott]

On 23/11/2021 at 19:54, Pre Grouping fan said:

 

I used to work for the injection moulding company featured in the episode, they are sorted, picked and packed exactly as shown on TV, though normally by more than 1 person per pick line. Having picked some myself, it does drive you crazy after a while! Mistakes happened as you had to work quick to pack x amount an hour.

What is the company called? It is good to see at least see some UK production of model products.

[AY Mod]

6 minutes ago, Philip Elliott said:

What is the company called? It is good to see at least see some UK production of model products.

 

It's easy to see if you watch the episode. 

[jonhall]

or google the production managers name + 'plastic moulding', or something similar - they actually have Hornby's quick build as a 'case study' on their website.

 

Jon

[Lambton58]

On 30/11/2021 at 17:01, Georgeconna said:

In all fairness there has been some great box art work both Cross and the the new era.

Absolutely!   The box art made the kits seem so exiting - still does!

 

 

Ahhh, Matchbox kits.   I really liked them as a kid.  Not all were perfect by any stretch of the imagination but they took on some very interesting prototypes and many were as good if not better than the contemporary Airfix offerings.  I particularly liked the 1:76 military models and still buy / build them if I seem them or the re-released Revell boxed versions. 

 

As for the programme, I'm quite enjoying it.  It has it's faults (if that's what you want to call them) but I'm finding the design and development aspects interesting.   The Playtrains range is interesting and I think will work for the target age range. There's much fun and play value there.  It's brightly coloured, has stickers, sound and movement and a simple infrared(?) controller.   Perhaps it's the 21st century equivalent of the  clockwork train sets many of us started with and look where we are now.

 

Ralph

Lambton58

 

[Hroth]

On 30/11/2021 at 17:01, Georgeconna said:

Don't forget the EE Lightning with no tail plane on the box art!!  (thankfully they were inside the box) .Its Corrected I think now even though have not had a pilgrimage to a model shop for some time to check.

 

In all fairness there has been some great box art work both Cross and the the new era.

 

 

 

The Matchbox one though!! Love a full print of this for the wall!

 

So why are the ones in the Matchbox boxtop vectoring onto the Vulcan?

 

I have fond memories of Lightnings from RAF Valley screaming overhead when we were camping on Anglesey!

 

[Georgeconna]

The Lightnings used to practice intercept with the Vulcans, There is a article in aeroplane monthly recently on this very thing.

 

If you read the tiny text on the bottom of the matchbox one it explains it

[Jol Wilkinson]

11 hours ago, Lambton58 said:

Absolutely!   The box art made the kits seem so exiting - still does!

 

 

Ahhh, Matchbox kits.   I really liked them as a kid.  Not all were perfect by any stretch of the imagination but they took on some very interesting prototypes and many were as good if not better than the contemporary Airfix offerings.  I particularly liked the 1:76 military models and still buy / build them if I seem them or the re-released Revell boxed versions. 

 

As for the programme, I'm quite enjoying it.  It has it's faults (if that's what you want to call them) but I'm finding the design and development aspects interesting.   The Playtrains range is interesting and I think will work for the target age range. There's much fun and play value there.  It's brightly coloured, has stickers, sound and movement and a simple infrared(?) controller.   Perhaps it's the 21st century equivalent of the  clockwork train sets many of us started with and look where we are now.

 

Ralph

Lambton58

 

 

I have found the D&D side of the programme rather disappointing. Each week the procedure followed is the same and there is no indication of the D&D beyond  photographing/looking the real thing, the designer looking at a almost complete 3D CAD  image and adding some rivets, checking at initial prototype for accuracy, etc. I would like to have seen some of what actually goes into making a completed model, especially the painting/lining, but that would mean a trip to China for at least the Hornby products.

 

However, I recognise that the show has to have the usual human emotions built into it to appeal to a wider public, rather than be a more interesting "Inside the Factory" programme (although coping with Greg Wallace is hard work).

 

 

[Captain Kernow]

I watched it the other day and I thought it was fab.

 

It was a bit more fab than the previous weeks episode.

 

Is that right that next week we have a mix of horror and joy? The horror of that fellow being pulled along his attic floor by a mass of locos and the joy of Pete Goss's Copper Wort layout?

 

[railroadbill]

11 hours ago, Lambton58 said:

Absolutely!   The box art made the kits seem so exiting - still does!

 

 

Ahhh, Matchbox kits.   I really liked them as a kid.  Not all were perfect by any stretch of the imagination but they took on some very interesting prototypes and many were as good if not better than the contemporary Airfix offerings.  I particularly liked the 1:76 military models and still buy / build them if I seem them or the re-released Revell boxed versions. 

 

As for the programme, I'm quite enjoying it.  It has it's faults (if that's what you want to call them) but I'm finding the design and development aspects interesting.   The Playtrains range is interesting and I think will work for the target age range. There's much fun and play value there.  It's brightly coloured, has stickers, sound and movement and a simple infrared(?) controller.   Perhaps it's the 21st century equivalent of the  clockwork train sets many of us started with and look where we are now.

 

Ralph

Lambton58

 

When Matchbox first made plastic kits, the moulding quality was good, think that was what they advertised, and the parts were  detailed and fitted well together. Perhaps because Matchbox had a long experience of diecast production.  Remember making a couple of  vintage car kits (Bugatti and Aston Martin?)  that were excellent.  Best Matchbox kit ever, the Flower class Corvette!

Current Airfix seems very well engineered, lots of detail, fits together well, quality decals.  That Vampire looked good. Oh dear...

 

2 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

 

I have fond memories of Lightnings from RAF Valley screaming overhead when we were camping on Anglesey!

 

 

Remember seeing one at an air display (probably Biggin Hill),with my father, must have been 1960s, where the aircraft flew fast down the runway, then just pulled up and climbed very fast vertically with afterburners on.  Tremendous noise, thrust must have been considerably greater than the aircraft weight.

[railroadbill]

14 minutes ago, Captain Kernow said:

I watched it the other day and I thought it was fab.

 

It was a bit more fab than the previous weeks episode.

 

Is that right that next week we have a mix of horror and joy? The horror of that fellow being pulled along his attic floor by a mass of locos and the joy of Pete Goss's Copper Wort layout?

 

The horror! The horror!

[Lambton58]

5 minutes ago, railroadbill said:

When Matchbox first made plastic kits, the moulding quality was good, think that was what they advertised, and the parts were  detailed and fitted well together. Perhaps because Matchbox had a long experience of diecast production.  Remember making a couple of  vintage car kits (Bugatti and Aston Martin?)  that were excellent.  Best Matchbox kit ever, the Flower class Corvette!

 

Agreed.  I've recently done an Armstrong Whitworth Siskin and Churchill AVRE bridgelayer.  The latter was particularly well moulded and went together quite well for a small and complicated kit.

 

"Current Airfix seems very well engineered, lots of detail, fits together well, quality decals.  That Vampire looked good. Oh dear... "

Quite - the new ones are good.  I finished a late mark Spitfire last year - really nice model.  I now have a Mustang, PRU Spit, Typhoon and a Wildcat (amongst other kits!) calling for attention.  No wonder progress on the railway is slow! 

[PaulRhB]

2 hours ago, Captain Kernow said:

The horror of that fellow being pulled along his attic floor by a mass of locos

More impressive version here by the Miniatur Wunderland crew

 

 

[pete_mcfarlane]

3 hours ago, Georgeconna said:

The Lightnings used to practice intercept with the Vulcans, There is a article in aeroplane monthly recently on this very thing.

 

Presumably the Vulcan in the box art is cruising at about 60,000ft.....

 

14 hours ago, Lambton58 said:

Ahhh, Matchbox kits.   I really liked them as a kid.  Not all were perfect by any stretch of the imagination but they took on some very interesting prototypes and many were as good if not better than the contemporary Airfix offerings.  I particularly liked the 1:76 military models and still buy / build them if I seem them or the re-released Revell boxed versions. 

They were very good. So good that I built their Wellington twice. And as you say, they did a really wide range of models. 

 

[Barry Ten]

I like the series and I like Simon Kohler, but I do bristle a bit each time he talks about the models being "for keeps". I wonder if there's a disconnect between his impressions of Hornby customer service and what the punter actually experiences. I got nowhere when I tried to get my West Countries repaired because of split gears (ie Hornby manufacturing/QC issues) and was basically left to myself to source parts and a third-party repairer. This was for models that were only about ten years old, even though the WC/BoB had been in the catalogue on and off all the while. It's been down to a third party supplier to make replacement motor mount castings for the T9, too, which again isn't what I'd call an old model. Hornby provide an excellent product at time of purchase, but I'd like to see them up their game in terms of providing a reliable repair service and a decent inventory of parts. I know such things have a cost but I think if you're going to tout your models as being lifetime investments, which is how I interpret SK's "for keeps", then you've got to put your money where your mouth is.

[Metr0Land]

53 minutes ago, pete_mcfarlane said:

 

Presumably the Vulcan in the box art is cruising at about 60,000ft.....

 

 

 

  That would be quite low.  XR729 intercepted a U2 at 80,000 ft......  (approx 5m 13s onwards)

 

[Lambton58]

1 hour ago, pete_mcfarlane said:

 

Presumably the Vulcan in the box art is cruising at about 60,000ft.....

 

 

Photographed from a Canberra (according to RAF Luton... )

 

Quote

They were very good. So good that I built their Wellington twice. And as you say, they did a really wide range of models. 

The Siskin was a repeat of one I did in my teens.  Lovely little kit.

 

[Fireline]

1 hour ago, Barry Ten said:

I like the series and I like Simon Kohler, but I do bristle a bit each time he talks about the models being "for keeps". I wonder if there's a disconnect between his impressions of Hornby customer service and what the punter actually experiences. I got nowhere when I tried to get my West Countries repaired because of split gears (ie Hornby manufacturing/QC issues) and was basically left to myself to source parts and a third-party repairer. This was for models that were only about ten years old, even though the WC/BoB had been in the catalogue on and off all the while. It's been down to a third party supplier to make replacement motor mount castings for the T9, too, which again isn't what I'd call an old model. Hornby provide an excellent product at time of purchase, but I'd like to see them up their game in terms of providing a reliable repair service and a decent inventory of parts. I know such things have a cost but I think if you're going to tout your models as being lifetime investments, which is how I interpret SK's "for keeps", then you've got to put your money where your mouth is.

 

Hornby have the replacement motor mount castings for the T9. They have had for some time, and will send them out if asked. 

[RedgateModels]

1 hour ago, Barry Ten said:

 I got nowhere when I tried to get my West Countries repaired because of split gears (ie Hornby manufacturing/QC issues) and was basically left to myself to source parts and a third-party repairer. 

 

I've done quite well sorting out folks' Rebuilt W/C's  Just don't buy the wheelsets from Hornby, they are all faulty, well were last time I bought some .....

[Captain Kernow]

2 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

More impressive version here by the Miniatur Wunderland crew

Definitely. If you're going to do that sort of thing, that's definitely the way to do it.

 

They seem to have bought an entire production run of that particular model loco!

 

[Robin Brasher]

All my Hornby Dublo and Wrenn locomotives are still running as is my Tri-ang Princess so those were purchases for keeps but I wish the same could be said for my T9. My T9's motor is fine but unfortunately the gears no longer engage with the wheels. The motors of my airsmoothed Merchant Navy and H class burned out within a year.

 

Perhaps Hornby could take a leaf out of Ace and Darstaed's book and build some locomotives that are built to last.

 

The new Hornby locomotives run well at the outset and are excellent reproductions of the prototypes but I don't think they are any longer purchases for keeps.