Standard Cowans Sheldon 15T Crane (mk1 and mk2 Jib) announced!

[Black 5 Bear]

39 minutes ago, B15nac said:

I've heard this could be postponed?

 

Regards Neil 

Was this from Hornby by any chance Neil?

[B15nac]

It's off Facebook not Hornby but I'm hoping it's not true 

 

Regards Neil 

 

 

[Black 5 Bear]

1 hour ago, B15nac said:

It's off Facebook not Hornby but I'm hoping it's not true 

 

Regards Neil 

 

 

Likewise, I was really looking forward to getting hold of this model.

Makes you wonder if this also applies to the 20t tankers they announced a couple of years back?

[Compound2632]

I'm not sure I understand the difference between postponement and the inactivity of the past year and a half? 

[Bucoops]

32 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

I'm not sure I understand the difference between postponement and the inactivity of the past year and a half? 

 

Quite glad I have a D&S one in the pile to produce the Colchester one.

[daltonparva]

Didn't Hornby buy/take over Oxford a few weeks ago? (I read it somewhere). If so it'll probably come out under the Hornby banner.

[Michael Hodgson]

I have two of these on pre-order, and the last I've heard was supposed to 1st quarter next year, though I wasn't holding my breath.  I still haven't forgiven Hattons for not producing the GPC crane.  I do hope this isn't going the same way

 

 

2 hours ago, daltonparva said:

Didn't Hornby buy/take over Oxford a few weeks ago? (I read it somewhere). If so it'll probably come out under the Hornby banner.

I think it was rather more than a few weeks back.

[Dunsignalling]

3 hours ago, daltonparva said:

Didn't Hornby buy/take over Oxford a few weeks ago? (I read it somewhere). If so it'll probably come out under the Hornby banner.

I'm not sure of the logic of that idea.

 

Hornby hasn't rebranded any of the existing Oxford range (repeat releases of which have continued since Oxford was taken in-house) and I'd think that would be the first indication of such a move.

 

I certainly hope these haven't been shelved as I have bought a Hatton's 6-wheel Riding van and pre-ordered a Rapido SECR brake and departmental wagons to go with mine!

 

They'd all look a little silly with no crane in the middle. 😒

 

John

Edited October 8, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[PaulG]

On 08/10/2022 at 18:17, Bucoops said:

 

Quite glad I have a D&S one in the pile to produce the Colchester one.

How are you getting on with the rest of the Colchester breakdown train?

 

I've completed three of the four other vehicles that made up the train, just waiting for Dan Pinnock to send me the LD&ECR 6-wheel brake 3rd kit.

[Bucoops]

13 hours ago, PaulG said:

How are you getting on with the rest of the Colchester breakdown train?

 

I've completed three of the four other vehicles that made up the train, just waiting for Dan Pinnock to send me the LD&ECR 6-wheel brake 3rd kit.

 

It's way down the list so not started it yet. Mine will be a "revised" version with a bit of rule 1 as I think it was actually based in Norwich in the late 1930s and had slightly different support vehicles.

[PaulG]

4 hours ago, Bucoops said:

 

It's way down the list so not started it yet. Mine will be a "revised" version with a bit of rule 1 as I think it was actually based in Norwich in the late 1930s and had slightly different support vehicles.

I've collected some earlier information so may be able to help. 

 

I have put a folder on the GERS eGroup and website, which you may have seen.

 

Paul

[Bucoops]

4 hours ago, PaulG said:

I've collected some earlier information so may be able to help. 

 

I have put a folder on the GERS eGroup and website, which you may have seen.

 

Paul

 

I think I have a while back - it has the coach numbers etc?

[MarkSG]

I don't know if anybody else has already noticed this, but the Cowans Sheldon crane (along with some other Oxford products) is now on the Hornby website:

 

https://uk.Hornby.com/products/standard-cowans-sheldon-15t-crane-br-stoke-mpd-rs1023-15-or76scs1001

 

I presume that means it's still scheduled for production, which is good news. But I'm not sure where Hornby are going with this, really. I can't see any particular reason why they'd want to keep the Oxford Rail brand going for new products, as it doesn't have any specific USP which differs from Hornby itself. It's not like Railroad, which is a clearly delineated sub-brand of Hornby with a different target market. Oxford Rail was once a competitor to Hornby, but as a Hornby owned brand it's just the same as their own products.

 

I can understand why they'd want to keep Oxford Diecast as a separate brand (and maybe move Hornby's own road vehicles into it), as that has its own brand recognition and own set of customers who don't necessarily overlap with Hornby's. But I don't know why they haven't just repackaged the crane, and other future Oxford Rail releases, as Hornby products. It will be exactly the same model whatever box it's in.

[Dunsignalling]

55 minutes ago, MarkSG said:

I don't know if anybody else has already noticed this, but the Cowans Sheldon crane (along with some other Oxford products) is now on the Hornby website:

 

https://uk.Hornby.com/products/standard-cowans-sheldon-15t-crane-br-stoke-mpd-rs1023-15-or76scs1001

 

I presume that means it's still scheduled for production, which is good news. But I'm not sure where Hornby are going with this, really. I can't see any particular reason why they'd want to keep the Oxford Rail brand going for new products, as it doesn't have any specific USP which differs from Hornby itself. It's not like Railroad, which is a clearly delineated sub-brand of Hornby with a different target market. Oxford Rail was once a competitor to Hornby, but as a Hornby owned brand it's just the same as their own products.

 

I can understand why they'd want to keep Oxford Diecast as a separate brand (and maybe move Hornby's own road vehicles into it), as that has its own brand recognition and own set of customers who don't necessarily overlap with Hornby's. But I don't know why they haven't just repackaged the crane, and other future Oxford Rail releases, as Hornby products. It will be exactly the same model whatever box it's in.

The fact that Hornby hasn't just absorbed Oxford Rail it suggests to me that they haven't yet decided what they want to do with it.

 

I'm not sure if it was ever intended, under its previous owner, to be a competitor to Hornby, though.. The models they chose to cover have mainly been more quirky and less predictable than what Hornby tend to pick.

 

Maybe they'll keep it to appeal to those of us who are becoming immune to their habitual big, named and mainly LNER trope. 😉

 

John

[2750Papyrus]

Glad to see that the LMS and LNER versions are listed as well.  

[The Fatadder]

Still showing at £20 as well incredibly 

['CHARD]

4 minutes ago, The Fatadder said:

Still showing at £20 as well incredibly 

 

I thought that, raises the question of will it be designed down to a price, it's hardly as simple as the Pilchard.

[Wheatley]

I'd  settle for a 'done to a price' crane tbh. A lot of current stuff is over-specced which I suspect is how we ended up with the accepted price for a 16'6" open wagon heading towards 40 quid; half the detail can only be seen when it's upside down. 

[bigherb]

1 hour ago, Wheatley said:

I'd  settle for a 'done to a price' crane tbh. A lot of current stuff is over-specced which I suspect is how we ended up with the accepted price for a 16'6" open wagon heading towards 40 quid; half the detail can only be seen when it's upside down. 

I would agree, their rail gun was good enough at a good price for what is mainly a static model. At that price, I can buy two cranes (often needed for a heavy lift).

[Free At Last]

I wonder if the Oxford Rail pre-orders will still be honored or will it now go through the Hornby tier system. I note it has the same item code.
Should I expect a cancellation email from Hattons

[Colin_McLeod]

2 hours ago, Wheatley said:

I'd  settle for a 'done to a price' crane tbh. A lot of current stuff is over-specced which I suspect is how we ended up with the accepted price for a 16'6" open wagon heading towards 40 quid; half the detail can only be seen when it's upside down. 

 

I agree. The bar is now set very high with a price to match, but reasonably priced, lower spec, models are available on e bay.

[MarkSG]

2 hours ago, Wheatley said:

I'd  settle for a 'done to a price' crane tbh. A lot of current stuff is over-specced which I suspect is how we ended up with the accepted price for a 16'6" open wagon heading towards 40 quid; half the detail can only be seen when it's upside down. 

 

Mind you, an upside down wagon might be just what's needed for a cameo scene featuring a crane 😀

[Brit70053]

Adverts for 3 versions (not yet including the 'Sunderland' model) from Hornby have started to appear with one of my email accounts.

        These are still just for pre order and I've not found a release date, but I think this at least shows that Hornby do intend to produce these, presumably under their own branding.

             Regards,

                                 John

             

[David Stannard]

16 hours ago, Brit70053 said:

Adverts for 3 versions (not yet including the 'Sunderland' model) from Hornby have started to appear with one of my email accounts.

        These are still just for pre order and I've not found a release date, but I think this at least shows that Hornby do intend to produce these, presumably under their own branding.

             Regards,

                                 John

             

 

Chuck it in a Red Box and jack the price up substantially, smart marketing trick if they don't want to cop heat for the rather low price of the Oxford model jumping up.

[Dunsignalling]

12 minutes ago, David Stannard said:

 

Chuck it in a Red Box and jack the price up substantially, smart marketing trick if they don't want to cop heat for the rather low price of the Oxford model jumping up.

It will be a first if Hornby do that, as they've (so far) shown no inclination to unify the two brands.

 

I therefore suspect that, whichever way it goes, that decision will be made by the new CEO's team.

 

TBH, I mentally doubled Hatton's predicted price from the word go!

 

John

Edited January 23, 2023 by Dunsignalling