RMweb Premium MJI Posted February 16, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 16, 2016 The CityAM link wants me to disable my Adblocker and firewall in order to read it - it won't display the text until I'm effectively funding the site by accepting ads. It's my choice to not do so. The share price is rising slowly. I can see that elsewhere and can be thankful for what it's worth that the head rolled just in time. His may yet not be the only one. The mess behind is literally typed in gobbledegook. Been deleting elements. There will be valid news somewhere not blocked Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggzuk Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Interesting article on the way of toys, children and play in a modern tech and media focused world. The inclusion of technology and links to the entertainment industry being key to toys success. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2016/feb/15/lego-up-and-Hornby-down-whats-what-in-the-world-of-toys Here are just few thoughts on tech to build into model railways to grab today's childrens attention and yes I know some do already exits DCC, of course Sound, yes, but has to be so much cheaper Driver's eye camera view More integration with tablets and smartphones Record and playback Role play, driver/signalman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Here are just few thoughts on tech to build into model railways to grab today's childrens attention and yes I know some do already exits DCC, of course Sound, yes, but has to be so much cheaper Driver's eye camera view More integration with tablets and smartphones Record and playback Role play, driver/signalman Already done and available from Roco... http://www.z21.eu/en . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fragmeister Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 My route back into the hobby was a train set as a Christmas present in 2013. Flying Scotsman to be precise. My route to expansion was secnd hand and RailRoad editions - the outlay wasn't too large and I got something that felt worthwhile. Only then did I proceed to more detailed models. Next I fancied DCC and my entrant that was Gadwall with TTS since which time I've chipped a couple of my RailRoad locos myself. I envy those more experienced modellers who get a new, expensive, super detailed model and virtually as soon as it is out of the box they are taking it apart and improving it. I can't speak for others but the ability to experiment with new models that don't cost the Earth and satisfy me enough in terms of accuracy and detail makes much of the RailRoad range worth having. I think there is a place for a mid price range, like there is for those CDs that long since left the charts but which people still buy. Having said that, I got the Bachmann Warship over the Hornby RailRoad Warship. There was no contest. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggzuk Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Already done and available from Roco... http://www.z21.eu/en . Yes fully aware it exist, but no UK outline with it. So far only electric locos have it on Roco's website. I really like the concept and to see ones own layout from the drivers perspective AND to drive the train would be great fun, my kids would love it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Yes fully aware it exist, but no UK outline with it. So far only electric locos have it on Roco's website. I really like the concept and to see ones own layout from the drivers perspective AND to drive the train would be great fun, my kids would love it. And at a price approximating to £335 for an electric outline loco alone, its out of the price range of most people. An interesting gimmick, and it would be wonderful to see approaching trains, etc, in real-time but if you've ever gone to the trouble of putting a small DV recorder in/on a wagon and trundling it around your layout in front of a loco, you'll find the results less than overwhelming. I particularly like Rocos photoshopped "cow on the line". They really need to put in disclaimers like "not actual game footage"! On the other hand, their control software with the loco-appropriate skins is a lot more interesting than the interface provided with Hornbys "Railmaster" software, which has positively Speccy era graphics... Ho hum. I'll stick with JMRI and Engine Driver. Its a bit cheaper! :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I do not confess to be an expert on marketing and the workings of the stock market. Nor do I profess to be widely knowledgeable of Hornby's current situation. However I do feel that the company as a whole has suffered through there being too many underperforming brands under its umbrella. It is widely known that Airfix has not made a profit for many years and I do wonder if this range has a viable future. Corgi was a struggling brand at the time Hornby took it on. I think that this may be a brand that the company could do without. As regards the model railway side of the business - I do feel that this has a future, but there needs to be more careful choices about what is being produced. Many people do come back into the range through the "train set" route - but do we need so many? I look in the local Hornby outlet and there is a wide variety of different sets, many featuring the little 0-4-0 tank in different liveries. Do we really need so many? Surely people are not going to buy more than one, so a constant changing and updating of this area seems a waste of time to me. I understood the release of the Santa Express set a couple of years ago, as this could have appealed to those who like the idea of a train under a Christmas tree. Sadly it was vastly overpriced for such a market and now it seems to be re-released each year at a lower price. Sounds like an expensive mistake to me. Then there is the procession of expensive train packs in limited edition numbers. Are there that many collectors of such things out there? I do wonder! For me the range should have the three levels that have been alluded to elsewhere. The "Railroad" range - which should feature the starter train sets, older models / toolings brought back at a lower price. This should then be supported by the track pack and plastic buildings range, possibly with the play value type of scenic. The mid range could then feature the newly tooled models that currently fall into the Railroad bracket eg P2, Tornado, Crosti etc. Then the main range would feature the more expensive super detail models. Perhaps there should be less releases in each. At the end of the day. The company has got to focus on the ranges that make the most profit, whatever they may be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnyRailMan Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 What Hornby need is a a good buyout by the likes of Pete Waterman & Peter Jones ,everyone knows the passion Pete Waterman as for the hobby you only have to see him talk about trains to see that. Peter Jones buyout of the failing photography firm of Jessops shows brand names can come back to life 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Parker Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 It is widely known that Airfix has not made a profit for many years and I do wonder if this range has a viable future. Do you have a reliable source for this? I'm curious as the range has expanded considerably over recent years and retailers report it selling. Assuming they aren't losing money on every kit, it seems odd that even an inept managment would keep throwing money in the hole. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Peter Jones buyout of the failing photography firm of Jessops shows brand names can come back to life From where I sit I se it rather differently. Many shops closed, some still boarded up, our local one is an eyesore, many people sacked, many product lines no longer supported, ridiculous prices on what they do sell. Hornby going down that road? Not what I would like to see. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I believe Pete Waterman models in gauge 1 as well as 7mm, Rod Stewart, American HO, so I can't see them being the personal saviours of Hornby, if of course it needs saving. Something which none of us really know at the mo..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Do you have a reliable source for this? I'm curious as the range has expanded considerably over recent years and retailers report it selling. Assuming they aren't losing money on every kit, it seems odd that even an inept managment would keep throwing money in the hole. It was apparently reported in some model magazines recently. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 It was apparently reported in some model magazines recently. Which ones and when? It's struck me over the last couple of years that Airfix is one part of the business which is delivering some very good products, innovations which have been popular and a wider base of stockists. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Which ones and when? It's struck me over the last couple of years that Airfix is one part of the business which is delivering some very good products, innovations which have been popular and a wider base of stockists. I am afraid I cannot say confidently which magazine published the statement. It was written in a model mag that is not related to model railways. My father, who collects Corgi toys, read the statement and told me it. Sorry that I cannot be more specific. I believe the article stated losses over the last six years. Having not read the article myself I cannot guarantee the length of time as being what was reported. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted February 16, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 16, 2016 Whilst in no way wishing to be overly critical, better to only relate fact. Rob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Whilst in no way wishing to be overly critical, better to only relate fact. Rob. I had no reason to believe it not to be fact since my own father had read the article. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I go along with that. I asked earlier, who's buying it and why... I haven't a clue really, but I suspect it's more of the second two categories I listed, than the first (children's train sets). Then again I could be totally wrong? An insight from the model shop owners might assist here, bearing in mind that most of the toy sales will taking place through different channels to model shops. . The last paragraph highlights a key thing that Hornby have lost by direct selling and not having the retailer relationships. In the example of the 4f and the 9f it is very easy to get the feedback via the reps to the product and marketing teams. If the rep comes back saying "Trains R us told me they sold 15 Bachmann whatevers and only 1 of ours all the customers say ours is too expensive/ lacks detail etc" you have useful Intel and can use it as part of your marketing and product strategy. If you sell direct you lose that feedback, not just in sales comparison but also direct feedback (albeit you can look at RMweb etc) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crichel Down Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 All I can say is what would Frank Hornby think knowing what a mess management people have got his family firm into or even present day family members of Hornby. Actually, this company has nothing at all to do with Frank Hornby and his family firm (Meccano Limited). They were bought out by the Lines Brothers group in 1964 (when Meccano Limited was already in terminal decline). It transpired that Lines Brothers really only wanted the "Hornby" brand name, and closed down the prodcution of Hornby-Dublo toy trains in Liverpool fairly promptly after the takeover. The vicissitudes that "Hornby" has been through in the past 50 years would take too long to recount here, but they include several insolvencies and buy-outs. The current company actually traces its ancestry back to Rovex Plastics Limited (originally based in Richmomd, Surrey) - a toy company set up just after the Second World War that had the bright idea in about 1949 of producing toy trainsets in plastic (cellulose acetate in those days). Lacking the capital to develop their product range, Rovex arranged a friendly takeover of their company by Lines Bros, who then developed and marketed the Rovex product range under their "Tri-ang" trademark (as "Tri-ang Railways"). Much later, after one of the periodic blodbaths in the toy industry, the "Tri-ang" trade mark got sold off elsewhere, since when the products of the former Rovex company have been sold under the "Hornby" brand name. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold papagolfjuliet Posted February 16, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 16, 2016 (edited) The current company actually traces its ancestry back to Rovex Plastics Limited (originally based in Richmomd, Surrey) - a toy company set up just after the Second World War that had the bright idea in about 1949 of producing toy trainsets in plastic (cellulose acetate in those days). Lacking the capital to develop their product range, Rovex arranged a friendly takeover of their company by Lines Bros, who then developed and marketed the Rovex product range under their "Tri-ang" trademark (as "Tri-ang Railways"). So called because there were three Lines Brothers, and three lines make a triangle. In case you'd ever wondered. Edited February 16, 2016 by papagolfjuliet 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel_H Posted February 16, 2016 Author Share Posted February 16, 2016 Already done and available from Roco... http://www.z21.eu/en . Completely OT, but that's fascinating - especially if you've got a big layout. That "100% Lok Führer-Feeling" - what a marketing slogan! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Coryton Posted February 16, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 16, 2016 Completely OT, but that's fascinating - especially if you've got a big layout. That "100% Lok Führer-Feeling" - what a marketing slogan! Just watched one whizzing round the 00(/H0) layout in the Engine Shed (Gaugemaster) this lunchtime, Fascinating (though they need scenery in their tunnels). The camera sticking out of the front windscreen is a little less than lifelike though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I had no reason to believe it not to be fact since my own father had read the article. The article may have been referring to the period when Airfix was owned by Humbrol. Humbrol was indeed losing money - it went into receivership - but Humbrol was an expensive lumbering company with a factory in France, which was notoriously expensive to run and impossible to close because of French law. This was quite a while ago. Since Hornby's ownership it has become a much, much more efficient enterprise. How much it contributes has not been disclosed, but I very much doubt this particular business is making a loss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 The article may have been referring to the period when Airfix was owned by Humbrol. Humbrol was indeed losing money - it went into receivership - but Humbrol was an expensive lumbering company with a factory in France, which was notoriously expensive to run and impossible to close because of French law. This was quite a while ago. Since Hornby's ownership it has become a much, much more efficient enterprise. How much it contributes has not been disclosed, but I very much doubt this particular business is making a loss. You may be correct in this. I have scouted around the Internet and can find no reference to Airfix losses other than the ones you refer to. That said I am visiting my parents tomorrow so i may see if Dad can remember where he read the article and see if he still has the relevant mag. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesysmith Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 there was a posting today saying the md of Hornby plc has gone, and the shares have gone up. The question is where does this leave Hornby and how will it effect its relationship with the people who it owes monies to and those who hold the purse strings on hornbys monies to continue trading. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 So long as the remainder of the bow-enders hit the shelves, who cares..... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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