Hornby European Ranges

[73080]

Re: post # 8 - Tecnomodels in Italy offers free postage to Italy for orders over 99 euro.  If you want items sent to the UK postage is 19.90 euros by fast tracked service.  If spending 200+ euros, it is still cheaper buying in Italy and paying postage than buying in the UK, with one exception.

 

The Hobby Shop in Faversham is the only UK shop I have found that appears to be selling items in stock at prices competitive with Italian shops.  Only order direct from Hornby International if you are prepared to pay higher prices.

[Clearwater]

Cost and numbers involved. It would be totally uneconomical

What's your evidence for that? I'm afraid I don't agree.

 

1) H's stock system should be capable of showing who they've sold to and in what quantities. H will want to know what of those items has actually sold, not least so as retailer can reorder once out of stock

2) System should be recording where other buyers have demand. They then need to match whether there is a trade worth making taking into account any incremental delivery costs.

 

I agree it appears more complicated than how they currently appear to be structured and I appreciate the difference between a national retail chain and independent stockists however it would seem daft to me that if retailer in south west has demand to sell at full rrp to be discounted those same items by a cost greater than that of redelivering the goods. Plus improves cash flow for the retailers as stops them tying up cash in stock they can't sell

[Andy Hayter]

Isn't the flaw with the Sports Direct analogy that the stores belong to Sprots Direct and the Model railway stores are 100% indy?

 

So Sports Direct know exactly what the stock is everywhere in the country, whereas Hornby would have to guess - Oh we sold a lot in Merseyside and South Yorkshire, they (Hattons and Rails) must have some left.   Maybe, and maybe not.  It could be that the small indy in Saffron Walden is the one with 3 left on the shelf.

[40F]

What's your evidence for that? I'm afraid I don't agree.

 

1) H's stock system should be capable of showing who they've sold to and in what quantities. H will want to know what of those items has actually sold, not least so as retailer can reorder once out of stock

2) System should be recording where other buyers have demand. They then need to match whether there is a trade worth making taking into account any incremental delivery costs.

 

I agree it appears more complicated than how they currently appear to be structured and I appreciate the difference between a national retail chain and independent stockists however it would seem daft to me that if retailer in south west has demand to sell at full rrp to be discounted those same items by a cost greater than that of redelivering the goods. Plus improves cash flow for the retailers as stops them tying up cash in stock they can't sell

 

 

Isn't the flaw with the Sports Direct analogy that the stores belong to Sprots Direct and the Model railway stores are 100% indy?

 

So Sports Direct know exactly what the stock is everywhere in the country, whereas Hornby would have to guess - Oh we sold a lot in Merseyside and South Yorkshire, they (Hattons and Rails) must have some left.   Maybe, and maybe not.  It could be that the small indy in Saffron Walden is the one with 3 left on the shelf.

 

The answer is plain to work out and is clearly provided in the second response. With Sports Direct you are probably talking hundreds of relatively cheap products but with Hornby it would be say a dozen at most and the economics would be totally unviable.

[40F]

Remember we can all run a business ------- until we actually start to run one.

[APOLLO]

The Hornby international site states that "more of the ranges will be added soon in the coming months"

 

A few years ago, when Hornby bought the other firms and went "international" Hattons were selling for a short time a selection of this range. I bought 9 bogie coal hoppers as a lookalike to the Tyne Dock - Consett ore wagons. They run very well, look the part and I retained the metal continental couplings, just popping into the sockets a UK coupler at each end of the rake. i removed most of the German lettering with Tcut (after the photo below) and they now await weathering and the fitment of an iron ore load. Cost - £12 each. They have been unavailable in the UK for a long time. Can't remember if they were Lima or Rivarossi as I chucked the boxes.

 

 

Brit15

[Horsetan]

....I bought 9 bogie coal hoppers as a lookalike to the Tyne Dock - Consett ore wagons. They run very well, look the part and I retained the metal continental couplings, just popping into the sockets a UK coupler at each end of the rake. i removed most of the German lettering with Tcut (after the photo below) and they now await weathering and the fitment of an iron ore load. Cost - £12 each. They have been unavailable in the UK for a long time. Can't remember if they were Lima or Rivarossi ...

 

I think they are also available from Fleischmann. It did occur to me that these bogie hoppers might also pass for a sort-of representation of the LMS 40T bogie hoppers

[MGR Hooper!]

What is not available though is the (new) Lima Expert range, which so far has been high spec but competitively priced (for European) models of Italian prototypes.

 

And there are lots of models still available in shops that the website doesn't have, which gives a misleading view on what is actually available if you know where to shop.

 

http://www.Hornby.com/uk-en/shop/brands/lima-h0-1-87/lima-h0-1-87-etr610-12-eurostar-italia-train-pack-tren-italia.html

 

http://www.Hornby.com/uk-en/shop/brands/lima-h0-1-87/lima-h0-1-87-etr610-04-in-cisalpino-livery-fs-trenitalia.html

 

http://www.Hornby.com/uk-en/shop/brands/lima-h0-1-87/lima-h0-1-87-e-636-030-electric-locomotive-fs.html

[rue_d_etropal]

European models have always been more expensive, and now under same company, produced in same factory. Like some older UK models, these cross subsidise the new UK models(I know because I was told this by Hornby a few years ago concerning UK models). It does amaze me that the Junior range is so cheap, but as mentioned the diesel is an old Jouef model. I think some of the design ideas(push on outside cranks) were used to do the Sentinel diesel .

Also from a price point of view I always tell those grumbling about UK train prices to check out European ones, especially as Hornby now produce both. I sometimes think many UK modelers try to ignore anything which is not British, hoping it might go away, but in this case they would then have to pay even more for British models.

 

Something else to consider. British shops buying in stock from abroad have to build in varying exchange rates, wheras Hornby can buy from China in bulk, with exchange rate fixed(insured), so in theory can plan ahead.

Some of the Junior prices look like a lot lower than they were a couple of years ago. The French diesel has been difficult to get hold of, but it seems Hornby now have supplies. Very tempted. Note they are in Lima range now. Also the small(cheap) diesel shunter, which has been available for double the price, I wonder which chassis that has now, as one I bought a couple of years ago had old pancake motor, but some sets had loco with new motor. If it has new motor, then it is worth the money.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...If they can sell an outside framed French diesel shunter for £35 (SNCF Class C HL2104), why can't they do a proper 08 in Railroad, instead of the obsolete Jinty chassis based version?...

 

Because they have:

1. Made a decision that this model is going to be sold at an 'entry level' price in their Junior range;

and,

2. Thanks to HO having been about thirty years ahead of OO in the past in terms of design quality, there is a good choice of usable and decent looking long amortised tooling for small locos available in HO for selection as the 'entry level' priced item, unlike from OO where loco tooling that is old + small = dire.

 

Consider that since Triang introduced the 'Jinty' in the 1950s, the continuing business used that same mechanism and its subsequent derivatives for all the in-house designed 0-6-0Ts right up to 2015! The J50 is the first all newly tooled 0-6-0T from Hornby and its Triangic predecessor incarnations in sixty years, and absolutely the first ever from this source made to be a scale model. Inconceivable from an HO manufacturer of comparable longevity and standing to Hornby I would suggest.

[jjb1970]

On the retailing side and driving efficiency and sales, I think it is easy to not appreciate just how ruthless and driven the big retailers are in the pursuit of efficient operations and sales. A few years ago I worked with a guy in a power station who's went to a graduate scheme with Sainsburys after graduating as he struggled to find an engineering job and he was adamant that he has never ever had a job that was anything like as demanding and challenging as basically selling veg at Sainsburys. He lasted about a year then found an engineering job, he is now a Chartered Engineer who has worked in offshore oil and gas and large power stations and managed projects with budgets like telephone numbers and swears that it has all been a walk in the park compared to his experience in retail. Now I'm not saying Hornby could apply the same model as Sainsbury or Asda, but I do get the impression that some of the stock management practices of those companies could have learning opportunities for Hornby and that in particular the attention to detail and application of powerful analytical tools to managing inventories etc would transfer over to Hornby.

[Joseph_Pestell]

On the retailing side and driving efficiency and sales, I think it is easy to not appreciate just how ruthless and driven the big retailers are in the pursuit of efficient operations and sales. A few years ago I worked with a guy in a power station who's went to a graduate scheme with Sainsburys after graduating as he struggled to find an engineering job and he was adamant that he has never ever had a job that was anything like as demanding and challenging as basically selling veg at Sainsburys. He lasted about a year then found an engineering job, he is now a Chartered Engineer who has worked in offshore oil and gas and large power stations and managed projects with budgets like telephone numbers and swears that it has all been a walk in the park compared to his experience in retail. Now I'm not saying Hornby could apply the same model as Sainsbury or Asda, but I do get the impression that some of the stock management practices of those companies could have learning opportunities for Hornby and that in particular the attention to detail and application of powerful analytical tools to managing inventories etc would transfer over to Hornby.

 

If supermarkets are that clever at stock management, why are they throwing away so much food?

[steve1023]

Guys - Does anybody have any experience of the Arnold N gauge. Is it reliable/robust etc,etc....

 

Thanks in advance....

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

If supermarkets are that clever at stock management, why are they throwing away so much food?

 This is completely tangential, but just one segment of that, greencrocery: waste in the supply chain from harvesting to customer purchase of what is typically a very perishable and easily damaged product was historically very high. As a student circa 1970 I worked part time in greengrocery wholesale, and for 'staples' (pots, roots, onions, greens, apples etc.) the wastage from harvest to wholesale dispatch was generally reckoned as one third for within UK suppliers (worse for overseas suppliers). The retailer piece (from wholesale despatch to customer sale) reckoned on 33 to 50% wastage. So that was about 40% of what was harvested in the UK actually got sold to the customer in decent condition. There were mountains of waste! Advances in harvesting, storage, packaging, handling, transport and stock management have brought that down a long, long way. Still far from perfect, but way better than not so very long ago.

[Padishar Creel]

Guys - Does anybody have any experience of the Arnold N gauge. Is it reliable/robust etc,etc....

 

Thanks in advance....

Hi,

I have a RENFE DMU and a RENFE steam loco. Both ran like a dream from the box and still do.

The wheels on the rolling stock I have (CIWL coaches) are not matted, however I would recommend the brand.

I did not get a Brighton Belle, but I saw one running faultlessly in the Stuttgart Show last year.

 

Hope that helps

es grüßt

pc

 

[steve1023]

Hi,

I have a RENFE DMU and a RENFE steam loco. Both ran like a dream from the box and still do.

The wheels on the rolling stock I have (CIWL coaches) are not matted, however I would recommend the brand.

I did not get a Brighton Belle, but I saw one running faultlessly in the Stuttgart Show last year.

 

Hope that helps

es grüßt

pc

 

Thank you. Looking at the DB class 245.

[Taigatrommel]

Thank you. Looking at the DB class 245.

There's a comparative review between the Arnold and Fleischmann models of these in the latest Modelleisenbahner, the summary says it all:  "Both models are an appropriate implementation of the most modern DB AG Diesel. At first glance, Arnold is quite convincing. Fleischmann scores highest with additional details."  For my 2p the finish on the Arnold model is slightly better, but the Fleischmann model is slightly more detailed and €20 cheaper for the analogue model.

[5944]

Re: post # 8 - Tecnomodels in Italy offers free postage to Italy for orders over 99 euro. If you want items sent to the UK postage is 19.90 euros by fast tracked service. If spending 200+ euros, it is still cheaper buying in Italy and paying postage than buying in the UK, with one exception.

 

The Hobby Shop in Faversham is the only UK shop I have found that appears to be selling items in stock at prices competitive with Italian shops. Only order direct from Hornby International if you are prepared to pay higher prices.

TecnoModel also offer free postage to the UK on orders over €99. Never had a problem with ordering from there. I'd forgotten about The Hobby Shop, I've used them a couple of times for some Italian pieces. Looked at getting a DMU from there the other month, but it had gone by the time payday had come round. Damn!

[D9020 Nimbus]

For the poster interested in a DR class 86 in N gauge, this model is (or has been) in the Fleischmann range.

[Hroth]

Having kept an eye on the International Range over the past week or so, it looks like its definitely a toe-in-the-water exercise, with nothing being added and most of the models from the various manufacturers in the equivalent to the upper end of Hornby "main range" quality and pricing, with Lima in the main offering what I would consider "Railroad" style models.  While there are a few of their higher priced "Expert" range items, the majority are "Junior" range items.

 

One thing I have noticed is that the pricing of the "Junior" locos has tumbled considerably, by up to 33%.  The simple diesel shunters are currently at £12.99, one Bo-Bo Diesel at £19.99 and the rest priced at £26.99 apart from one hold out at the previous pricing of £34.99 and there's no mention of special offers.

 

Dunno whats going on!

[9FEd]

I've always wanted to dabble in Italian HO but I've always been deterred by the very patchy availability of models. In particular, I had been frustrated by Hornby's stewardship of their European brands for not distributing the models to the UK - would have thought it a no-brainer given the logistics are pre-existing so any sales picked up would simply be a bonus. 

 

As such, with some idle googling today very interested to discover this development. Hornby have obviously decided to test whether it really is a no brainer! 

 

Has anyone taken the plunge yet and bought anything? Quite tempted in case supply dries up again, especially at £27 for one of the articulated locos! Realistically, even for low detail entry level Lima models, its not going to get much better than that. 

[Hroth]

I've always wanted to dabble in Italian HO but I've always been deterred by the very patchy availability of models. In particular, I had been frustrated by Hornby's stewardship of their European brands for not distributing the models to the UK - would have thought it a no-brainer given the logistics are pre-existing so any sales picked up would simply be a bonus. 

 

As such, with some idle googling today very interested to discover this development. Hornby have obviously decided to test whether it really is a no brainer! 

 

Has anyone taken the plunge yet and bought anything? Quite tempted in case supply dries up again, especially at £27 for one of the articulated locos! Realistically, even for low detail entry level Lima models, its not going to get much better than that. 

Funny you should say that - one of the SNCF 0-6-0 shunters and a box van arrived today. Nicely packaged, runs well too, and if you have ever seen the old Lima BR Class 08 shunter, the coupling rods are far better proportioned!  The articulated loco would be completely out of place on my "Continental" branch, but I could find a reason for the BoBo diesels!

[rue_d_etropal]

it is worthwhile checking out Hornby International website as they have technical diagrams for man locos. Difficult to sort through as model numbers have changed, but if you find drawings for current locos then it identified motor chassis etc. The articulated locos look like the new bogie, not original Lima pancake.

I got one of the ex Jouef shunters and did not find it ran as well as hoped, especially compared with one of the budget Lima BO BOs at £20, which happily took 2 minutes to go round 8ft by 4ft test track. That is a good chassis and uses a centrally mounted motor, and plenty of weight. I am tempted to get one of the slightly better detailed versions in original livery, and then somehow justify an Italian loco on a French layout(possible Menton area themed layout?).

Interesting to not some UK shops had same stock on sale at much higher prices. wonder if Hornby intend to lower prices for shops as well.

[fezza]

Are there any good reviews of the Lima FS Italian stock?  A 445 for £20 looks a good price if it runs.. and coaches for £13?

 

Has anyone had a go at super detailing and upgrading them?

[brushman47544]

Are there any good reviews of the Lima FS Italian stock?  A 445 for £20 looks a good price if it runs.. and coaches for £13?

 

Has anyone had a go at super detailing and upgrading them?

 

Some of the Lima Junior FS stuff is ok (the 445 diesel and double deck coaches in particular, plus some of the wagons) - simplified but reasonable for what they are. Others such as the E444 and E656 locos are awful. No idea if they're worth upgrading though, or even if suitable detailing kits are available.