More model ideas

[The Black Hat]

40 minutes ago, Black 5 Bear said:

Now you're talking, an A4 done to Accurascale standard!

 

I did say a few pages ago about an A4... There are a few early super detail engines that are now coming round to needing to be retooled. Naturally the popular choices then that were done first have now become the ones that people want upgraded to digital. So A4 comes round again, although there are still some others like B16 that could be done. 

[E100]

GNR K2 would do nicely though I sincerely hope there's a long lead time!

 

Plenty of variants and very widely traveled.

Edited November 20, 2023 by E100

[Wickham Green too]

11 hours ago, Budgie said:

If you want something that hasn't been produced already, what about this one:

 

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/the-surprising-story-of-steam-trains-in-the-central-line-tunnels-67050/

Complete with Accuratunnel to hide it in presumably. ☹️

[NXEA!]

A newly-tooled range of Mark 1’s would be a good choice, particularly with a higher-fidelity interior, internal lighting etc. The Bachmann offering can be upgraded and there are plenty of different variants and a multitude of different liveries that can keep the money coming in for Accurascale for many years. 

Edited November 20, 2023 by NXEA!

[brushman47544]

1 hour ago, NXEA! said:

A newly-tooled range of Mark 1’s would be a good choice, particularly with a higher-fidelity interior, internal lighting etc. The Bachmann offering can be upgraded and there are plenty of different variants and a multitude of different liveries that can keep the money coming in for Accurascale for many years. 

 

I'm convinced Bachmann already has this in hand. They announced WCRC liveried Mk1 without end steps years ago and the delay could well be a decision to retool the range completely.

[Dunsignalling]

11 hours ago, The Black Hat said:

I did say a few pages ago about an A4... There are a few early super detail engines that are now coming round to needing to be retooled. Naturally the popular choices then that were done first have now become the ones that people want upgraded to digital. So A4 comes round again, although there are still some others like B16 that could be done. 

 

I think it's odds-on that Hornby have near-complete retooled A3s and A4s that will be ready to go next year, incorporating the lighting system as demonstrated on the Turbomotive, and probably DCC smoke, too. 

 

The Gresley cash-cows are always early in the schedule for the latest "advances", irrespective of whatever Hornby might be doing elsewhere in the range.

 

John 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[NHY 581]

21 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

 

I think it's odds-on that Hornby have near-complete retooled A3s and A4s that will be ready to go next year, incorporating the lighting system as demonstrated on the Turbomotive, and probably DCC smoke, too. 

 

The Gresley cash-cows are always early in the schedule for the latest "advances", irrespective of whatever Hornby might be doing elsewhere in the range.

 

John 

 

Hi John,

Sorry but I can think of nothing less deserving. There are far more attractive locomotives to choose from including those more suited to smaller layouts. 

Accurascale are already leading the way and their price point must be giving Bachmann and Hornby a headache. Retailers offering Bachmann Class 37 'bundles' cannot be coincidental. 

No, time to look at more workmanlike subjects. Rapido have chosen well with their recent announcements. 

Dapol are developing their GWR 2.8.0s. An 8F from Accurascale would be splendid.......or...........a Jinty to modern standards.....but continuing with their Great Eastern theme.....an E4 2.4.0 is a bit left field but would be welcomed I'm sure or even an ex GER 2.4.2T such as an F5..........but there are loads more. 

 

Rob. 

[Dunsignalling]

18 minutes ago, NHY 581 said:

 

Hi John,

Sorry but I can think of nothing less deserving. There are far more attractive locomotives to choose from including those more suited to smaller layouts. 

Accurascale are already leading the way and their price point must be giving Bachmann and Hornby a headache. Retailers offering Bachmann Class 37 'bundles' cannot be coincidental. 

No, time to look at more workmanlike subjects. Rapido have chosen well with their recent announcements. 

Dapol are developing their GWR 2.8.0s. An 8F from Accurascale would be splendid.......or...........a Jinty to modern standards.....but continuing with their Great Eastern theme.....an E4 2.4.0 is a bit left field but would be welcomed I'm sure or even an ex GER 2.4.2T such as an F5..........but there are loads more. 

 

Rob. 

 

I wasn't advocating a Gresley Pacific, quite the contrary!

 

Hornby has already made so many that lots of people must have more A4s than the LNER did....

 

My gut feeling is that the anticipated Accurascale announcement will be something fairly mainstream, and with a power classification between 4 and 7. Unless it's an 8F. 😊 

 

John

Edited November 20, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[JSpencer]

12 hours ago, The Black Hat said:

There are a few early super detail engines that are now coming round to needing to be retooled. 

 *cough* Rebuilt Merchant navy *cough*.

 

If there is a big class of Engine ripe for a retool, it is this one. The current model is now over 20 years old.

 

[NHY 581]

30 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

 

I wasn't advocating a Gresley Pacific, quite the contrary!

 

 

 

Phew ! I hoped you were being somewhat tongue in cheek !! 

 

Totally agree. Talk about flogging a dead racehorse.........

 

Rob

[Steamport Southport]

18 hours ago, The Johnster said:

I'd prefer to see a prototype that has not appeared as an RTR model to reasonable standards before, so not an 8F.  There are some fairly large and sometimes well-distributed classes as yet unexploited, such as the no.4 boilered large prairies, the Austin 7s, B16s, Fowler & Stanier 3MT tanks, and no doubt others.  And of course my 1854/2721 half-cab pannier I keep banging on about... 

 

There does seem to be a groundswell of demand for the 8F, though.  I'm not familiar with the Hornby model, but it isn't an ancient tooling and looks ok to me.  I can only assume there is some deep-rooted  fault with it of which Johnster wots not, though. 

 

Another thing I'd like to see is a 1950s jackshaft driven 4-coupled industrial diesel, but  we seem to have decided this release is a steam prototype.

 

Problem is the Hornby 8F is an ancient tooling. Even the newest version is over twenty years old.

 

It was an updated version of the tooling from the 1980s, which itself was a revamped version of the 1960s model!

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/directory/versiondetails/1247/hornby_oo_2_8_0_class_8f_lms

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/directory/versiondetails/1248/hornby_oo_2_8_0_class_8f_lms?instock=true&onorder=true&soldout=true

 

 

Jason

[Tim Dubya]

Surely it must be time for a class 47? 😜

[atom3624]

If we're looking at 'old super detail' then the rebuilt Merchant Navy locomotives are overdue ....

 

Al.

[Dunsignalling]

58 minutes ago, atom3624 said:

If we're looking at 'old super detail' then the rebuilt Merchant Navy locomotives are overdue ....

 

Al.

 

With loads of uncovered variations in the 40% of locos that can't be produced from the Hornby tooling.

 

John

[BVMR21]

16" cylinder Bagnalls have variations in chimneys, tanks, etc.. not to mention they both look and sound good, and would go nicely with the 16 ton minerals.

[atom3624]

If they're sticking to a GWR theme, then the County Class 4-6-0 could be considered .... 

[The Johnster]

Be careful what you wish for when it comes to 'overdue new toolings'.  Accurascale are a pretty safe pair of hands but some of the more established players (no names no packdrill) have form in replacing older toolings with new 'clever' designs, the purpose of which is to reduce tooling and production costs but not necessarily the detail or performance of the models.  It turned out not to be good business practice either, but companies such as that one are always going to be looking to cut costs, and cutting costs is not always to our benefit.  More recently they were tooling up for a range of perfectly cromulent LBSCR 4- and 6-wheelers which got themselves dumbed down into poor quality generics in order to gazump a range always intended to be generic.

 

New toolings are usually improvements on the previous version, and are certainly marketed as such, but one can't always automatically assume this to be the case.  They may well involve price increases which we don't mind stumping up for better models, but there should also be an element of better production engineering and reduced cost to the producers.  This is of course difficult to ascertain objectively, as it is of course sensitive commercial information wich is none of our business.

[MikeParkin65]

3 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

Problem is the Hornby 8F is an ancient tooling. Even the newest version is over twenty years old.

 

It was an updated version of the tooling from the 1980s, which itself was a revamped version of the 1960s model!

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/directory/versiondetails/1247/hornby_oo_2_8_0_class_8f_lms

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/directory/versiondetails/1248/hornby_oo_2_8_0_class_8f_lms?instock=true&onorder=true&soldout=true

 

 

Jason

Not sure this is strictly true. The plastic bodied 8F owes nothing to the diecast Hornby Dublo model of the 1960's. Likewise I dont think there is much if anything shared between the 1980's tender driven plastic model and the current Hornby loco driven version. Agree a new 8F would be welcome (and a definite purchase for me) but at the moment anything that broadly fits into my theme and is made to modern standards is a potential purchase (hence the really unlikely Manor I have bought!) so could justify more glamourous possible prototypes (MN, WC/BoB, GWR County). Most wanted by me though is the B16 - I can imagine buying those in multiple and there are so many variations that share the same basic chassis

[Wickham Green too]

3 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

... ancient tooling. Even the newest version is over twenty years old. ... It was an updated version of the tooling from the 1980s, which itself was a revamped version of the 1960s model!

WOT ? ............ in what sense was the Hornby - formerly Triang - plastic model a revamped version of the Hornby Dublo diecast one ??!? ( The company nicked the Hornby name but bu**er all else.)

 

[JSpencer]

23 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

Be careful what you wish for when it comes to 'overdue new toolings'.  Accurascale are a pretty safe pair of hands but some of the more established players (no names no packdrill) have form in replacing older toolings with new 'clever' designs, the purpose of which is to reduce tooling and production costs but not necessarily the detail or performance of the models.  It turned out not to be good business practice either, but companies such as that one are always going to be looking to cut costs, and cutting costs is not always to our benefit.  More recently they were tooling up for a range of perfectly cromulent LBSCR 4- and 6-wheelers which got themselves dumbed down into poor quality generics in order to gazump a range always intended to be generic.

 

New toolings are usually improvements on the previous version, and are certainly marketed as such, but one can't always automatically assume this to be the case.  They may well involve price increases which we don't mind stumping up for better models, but there should also be an element of better production engineering and reduced cost to the producers.  This is of course difficult to ascertain objectively, as it is of course sensitive commercial information wich is none of our business.

 

TBH, I am having a hard time thinking of a loco class, done previously, that was entirely retooled to a lesser spec than the previous one. 

 

[BVMR21]

The thing with the Hornby 8F is it cannot replicate certain members of the class (namely the Swindon built variants) so would, at least in my opinion, be perfectly viable as a new tooled model if it included these variants (including the versions with GWR numbering on the bufferbeam in WW2 days).

[MikeParkin65]

17 minutes ago, BVMR21 said:

The thing with the Hornby 8F is it cannot replicate certain members of the class (namely the Swindon built variants) so would, at least in my opinion, be perfectly viable as a new tooled model if it included these variants (including the versions with GWR numbering on the bufferbeam in WW2 days).

Happily this thread is nothing but a wishlist. The 8F has been discussed at length (nothing wrong with raising it again though and I'm all for one!)  - the sort of conclusion in the last discussion was that there isnt really enough variation amongst the class (despite there being LMS, BR, WD, Longmoor blue and even Princess Coronation style BR Maroon all possible). AS seem to have such an eclectic portfolio at the moment it is very hard to predict might or might not appeal to them. I do wonder if heavy freight is a category the market is currently a little crowded - 2x 9F, WD 2-8-0 and now 2-10-0, USA 2-8-0 and the 28xx all with current or new versions planned.

[SulzerPeak]

Bearing in mind to remember steam bar preservation locos you would have had to been 10ish in 1968, is it not more prudent to make stuff people remember?

[MikeParkin65]

8 minutes ago, SulzerPeak said:

Bearing in mind to remember steam bar preservation locos you would have had to been 10ish in 1968, is it not more prudent to make stuff people remember?

Both Manors and 37's selling like hotcakes so the evidence is that the customer base is there for both

[NBL]

23 minutes ago, SulzerPeak said:

Bearing in mind to remember steam bar preservation locos you would have had to been 10ish in 1968, is it not more prudent to make stuff people remember?

Why?

 

I have a huge interest in WW2 Luftwaffe, I was born 25 years after that war ended.  should Eduard, Airfix, Revell etc only concentrate on planes that I remember from the late 70's onwards?