Hornby 2022 Range - pre-announcement frothing - now closed

[newbryford]

2 hours ago, phil gollin said:

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Don't worry  -  the prices will come down just as fast once the price of shipping/containers from China get back to normal !

 

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[newbryford]

47 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

First I would like to apologise for being far to lazy to read all 42 pages before my post so I had not seen your request.

 

Second as a confirmed Luddite who avoids the extra "C" when ever he can, I would like to be selfish and have one that works by simple and understandable mechanics.

 

They could/should do both then we both can have fun.

 

My bold.

The missing C isn't short for clockwork....

[luke_stevens]

Do we know if the announcements are just Hornby/ Airfix or will it be the non-UK brands too?

 

Luke

[Porcy Mane]

4 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

 

 That looks like transport that is delivering the Hornby 2MT to these shores.

[Pmorgancym]

10 minutes ago, andyman7 said:

I'm afraid I really struggle to accept subjective opinion recycled as fact. Or please help me find the thread that described the Dapol Class 122 as a perfect faultless model (for example), or the one about the Heljan Class 17 working perfectly on first release.

 

This is not to denigrate those manufacturers - everyone can make mistakes and get things wrong as well as getting them right. But some of the criticism here seems somewhat blinkered.

They are flawed but I would suggest they are better than Hornby's 153.  Are you suggesting Hornby's 153 is the definative version.  I would suggest one to the standard of Bachmann's 150 or 158, or the Dapol or Heljan  railcars is likely to be in the say 175-200quid rrp bracket.   I think it would make Hornby's effort at £150 look poor value. 

Edited January 9, 2022 by Pmorgancym

[The Stationmaster]

3 hours ago, Legend said:

Buying from an Apple store is an outstanding experience .  You are made to feel special . You are buying with confidence that it works and that if down the line something goes wrong there is tech expertise to help you . Hornby may want to the Apple of  Model Railways but they fall a long way short . On a scale of 1-10 they wouldn’t even register . 

Maybe that sort of improvement could be closer than we think with the cv of the latest addition to the Hornby  Board?  If this bloke is as clever as he sounds and gets a chance to find out what the customers really think about things like tiers and overselling then something might actually start to change?

 

https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/Hornby/news/rns/story/x52lj0x

Edited January 9, 2022 by The Stationmaster

[AY Mod]

2 minutes ago, luke_stevens said:

Do we know if the announcements are just Hornby/ Airfix or will it be the non-UK brands too?

 

The announcements on here are Hornby UK only. Sadly we don't get briefed on the other brands (just for personal interest of course). We did one year and it was very interesting, strangely it was the same year as the horrendous 'Next Slide' Death by PowerPoint briefing from an immediately forgettable suit.

[luke_stevens]

1 minute ago, The Stationmaster said:

Maybe that sort of improvement could be closer than we think with the cv of the latest addition to the Hornby  Board?  If this bloke is as clever as he sounds and gets a chance to find out what the customers really think about things like tiers and overselling then something might actually start to change?

 

https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/Hornby/news/rns/story/x52lj0x

 

I found the following sentence a bit of a concern:

 

"I am really excited to give strategic input as the brilliant team focuses on digital transformation and growth, to build the business for generations to come."

 

Digital Transformation? Doesn't give me good vibes

 

Luke

[newbryford]

52 minutes ago, norfolkchinaclay said:

I’ve been waiting for an EMT livery one for ages, having missed the first time around, but I don’t want it from Hornby if the detail parts are no longer going to be included.

 

Unless the 3D printing army come to the rescue again..

 

It wouldn't surprise me if they announced a new EMT 153 or two - to cash in on the three that are with Network Rail.

One in normal EMT livery and one with NwR branding (but no camera bits - so 153311 would be the best bet)

 

And a re-release of the EMT HST as they are fetching premium prices on the net.

[adb968008]

1 hour ago, Porcy Mane said:

 

I'd have thought the response from those darn sarf would of been more along the lines of, "where is Widnes?".

Ive strong northern roots.

 

The locals in the sunny south here often ask if there are other Neanderthals like myself, left where I came from ?

or

if I want a job as a zoo attraction.

 

I could use a northern paraphrase to explain my presence in the south by saying, “where theres muck theres brass”, and theres a lot of brass in the south, so there must be a lot of muck too.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 9, 2022 by adb968008

[spamcan61]

4 minutes ago, luke_stevens said:

 

 

Digital Transformation? Doesn't give me good vibes

 

Luke

It's the clichéd kind of phrase  I'd not want to hear if I was a shareholder. I'd be wanting to hear how the supply chain was finally being sorted out, 14 years after Sanda Kan left the party.

[adb968008]

13 minutes ago, luke_stevens said:

 

I found the following sentence a bit of a concern:

 

"I am really excited to give strategic input as the brilliant team focuses on digital transformation and growth, to build the business for generations to come."

 

Digital Transformation? Doesn't give me good vibes

 

Luke

it gives me a good feeling, I think DCC has been over rated for years.

 

Moves into AR and VR would appeal to a younger audience and can out a lot of imagination and animated graphics into both model railways and scalextrix… I hope thats what they mean by digital transformation.

I also wonder if this is first step to an asset sale or stake reduction of some kind, this guy has a track record of start-up and spin off.

 

Either way I think its positive, its time to move some dust.

 

Edited January 9, 2022 by adb968008

[Railpassion]

I wish they would take a leaf out of Lego's book and implement dead-rail, radio control. My nephew's Lego train has sound and the running track can be laid quickly and changed each time. It doesn't need the track to run. 

 

Most of the problems in model railways come from dirty track, point rails and electrical connection issues. Supplying electricity to the rails is the weakest link.

Fitting low power motors and rechargeable batteries would allow huge flexibility and more realistic operation. Slow performance would improve with smaller motors too rather than the present motors which are rarely used at full speed (often a scale 150 mph or more). Wiring would only be for simple turnout control and signals. Prototypical rusty rails in sidings would enhance realism.

 

Will a big manufacturer take the plunge?

 

 

[andyman7]

28 minutes ago, Pmorgancym said:

They are flawed but I would suggest they are better than Hornby's 153.  Are you suggesting Hornby's 153 is the definative version.  I would suggest one to the standard of Bachmann's 150 or 158, or the Dapol or Heljan  railcars is likely to be in the say 175-200quid rrp bracket.   I think it would make Hornby's effort at £150 look poor value. 

No, indeed I'm not sure anyone's model of anything is 'definitive' for all time. The new Bachmann 158 is a generation ahead of other Sprinter-era models; but for example the Bachmann 150 (current price around £270) is very comparable with the 153 in terms of look and finish. The point being that Hornby's prices and specifications are not miles away from everyone else as seems to be implied. 

[Phatbob]

1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

First I would like to apologise for being far to lazy to read all 42 pages before my post so I had not seen your request.

 

Second as a confirmed Luddite who avoids the extra "C" when ever he can, I would like to be selfish and have one that works by simple and understandable mechanics.

 

They could/should do both then we both can have fun.

You're right of course Clive, they should do both.  Maybe also the Battlespace "Sniper" version too?

 

[spamcan61]

14 minutes ago, Railpassion said:

 

 

Most of the problems in model railways come from dirty track, point rails and electrical connection issues. Supplying electricity to the rails is the weakest link.

 

 

Controlling the trains isn't the problem, predicting how many of what they are going to sell, and then delivering in those quantities, at an 'acceptable' quality level, is their problem.

 

Having said that, from a technical viewpoint I agree with what you say, but it would be suicidal for Hornby to try anything that radical at this point. Don't forget they're living on borrowed money.

Edited January 9, 2022 by spamcan61

[luke_stevens]

Or maybe the Rapido announcement will be that they have bought one of the factories that Hornby uses and will be producing all the items that had tooling in the factory...

 

Luke

[mdvle]

14 minutes ago, Railpassion said:

I wish they would take a leaf out of Lego's book and implement dead-rail, radio control. My nephew's Lego train has sound and the running track can be laid quickly and changed each time. It doesn't need the track to run.

 

People have been playing around with dead-rail for well over a decade now but the struggle still remains - where do you put the battery?

 

For Lego it's easy, as they are making a toy and can design things around that (and they probably sell a lot more units of that toy than any of the production runs for our models).

 

But for Hornby or anyone else, where the goal is an accurate representation of the real thing, that shell dicates the contraints of volume - and inside that volume you still need weight, motor, electronics, speaker.

 

Yes, there are a handful of prototypes that may have the space remaining inside - but to be successful it has to apply to the entire product line.  Where do you put the battery in a DMU/EMU, or a Class 08, or an industrial loco?

 

 

[mdvle]

6 hours ago, andyman7 said:

Are you serious? Have you counted the number of products Bachmann announced in the past decade that have been dropped or not made it into production? Have you not noticed that every single commissioner or manufacturer of products has or is suffering from severe delays to well documented supply chain problems?

 

Perhaps you should consider what we were discussing - which was the frequent occurrence of Hornby accepting orders from retailers and then failing to deliver the ordered quantity.

 

Absolutely nothing to do with the current logistics issues, and a seemingly unique to Hornby issue.

[ThaneofFife]

To be honest if your out of work or retired or such like then no doubt youll be sat there at 7, 8 or 10am or whatever time its meant to all kick off but I suspect many of us have jobs we have to do tomorrow so in a way its good.  Leave the big AM excitement to those who will be glued to the website for the launch and by the time me and my employed brothers have done their days work can drop in and thumb through everything over a leisurely nightcap without the slow drip feed or potential of a constantly crashing website......

[mdvle]

1 hour ago, luke_stevens said:

Do we know if the announcements are just Hornby/ Airfix or will it be the non-UK brands too?

 

Post elsewhere on RMweb indicates that it will be the next day, no idea if that is accurate or not

 

 

[Widnes Model Centre]

1 hour ago, Porcy Mane said:

 

I'd have thought the response from those darn sarf would of been more along the lines of, "where is Widnes?".

 

In case you don't know. Widnes is a small fishing village on the River Mersey. Situated between Manchester and Liverpool.

It's name derives from the Viking description of Widens as in where the Mersey starts to widen. When translated when Granted it's Charter it was spelt Widnes.

[Chris116]

1 minute ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

 

In case you don't know. Widnes is a small fishing village on the River Mersey. Situated between Manchester and Liverpool.

It's name derives from the Viking description of Widens as in where the Mersey starts to widen. When translated when Granted it's Charter it was spelt Widnes.

Which is why the Rugby League team are called Widnes Vikings. I might go to see them play London Broncos at the end of the month.

[adb968008]

9 minutes ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

 

In case you don't know. Widnes is a small fishing village on the River Mersey. Situated between Manchester and Liverpool.

It's name derives from the Viking description of Widens as in where the Mersey starts to widen. When translated when Granted it's Charter it was spelt Widnes.

Its also not a million miles from a major historical railway event that shaped the future of the UK, its empire and foreign / trade policy for the next 100 years… not to mention a factory that produced the UKs finest motive power, in types 1,3,4 & 5… and Poland owes almost its entire DC Electric fleet to it too.

 

Finally its got a model shop that sells everything… literally everything, as well as some other Tier 3 racket down the road.

 

Edited January 9, 2022 by adb968008

[wombatofludham]

Having waded through the debate on Hornby's Tears, I wonder if that 'erbert who was listing model railway stuff on Tatbay using a photo of Ken Dodd was in Hornby's Tiers for Souvenirs?

Aythankyou.