RMweb Premium ColinK Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 I wonder what the impact of Hattons closing will have on the remaining ‘traditional’ model shop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 4 minutes ago, 25081 said: just thinking of all the retailers that used to be in the merseyside and surrounding area during mid to late 70's and there was no doubt more - were the likes of the following hattons at 180 smithdown beatties in st johns precinct city models the model shop between clayton square and church st that did a lot of meccano - think it was called hobbies vanguards on queens drive birkenhead model shop alec green's also on oxton rd who did Hornby and raleigh bikes marriotts also on oxton rd who did hardware/household and lima peter toner's on seaview rd in liscard who did Hornby and think was also a bike shop the model shop in runcorn the model shop in ellesmere port who did mainly aero modelling but was useful for supplies and humbrol the model shop down below in the rows in chester then there were numourous other toy shops that sold Hornby and sweet and tobacconist stores who sold the airfix kit range - what happened to them all - suppose you could say in one way as happened with grocers and supermarkets that hattons probably swallowed a lot of the trade up as the smaller retailers just couldnt compete on price and its a trait of mankind that no one likes paying over the odds for anything - whatever hattons and all the others had and have been responsible for bringing a feeling of wellbeing and smiles to so many over the years Hobbies used to sell proper kits and all the little bits such as wheels and buffers. ISTR the model part was upstairs. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/lost-city-centre-toy-shop-28334985 Unfortunately near the end they tried to compete with Zodiac Toys and eventually was taken over by them. That didn't last much longer. Sorry for the link to the advert ridden website! Jason 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyman7 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 17 hours ago, Widnes Model Centre said: Buckingham House 1965-1979. You must have lived in Buckingham Avenue when the group, Real Thing lived in the upstairs of number 15. They lived in a friend’s house and my girlfriend at the time lived opposite. Hattons have brought us all together after all these years! That's an excellent example of the 'six degrees of separation' theory - that we are all six or fewer connections away from anyone else on the planet. From a model shop to the 70s music scene... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 9 minutes ago, melmerby said: Not tried Zimo or Lenz? Only typically £20 Their are reports of reliability problems with the Hattons decoders, so personally I stick to the dedicated decoder makers They're just £14 currently and I must say having used them since 2015 they've been good for me so far - I will miss them! The fleet is around 200 locos/units currently chipped and only had one failure from memory, I rate them as a budget alternative! I started with Lenz Golds, then down to Lenz Silvers, but as fleet volume increased I moved over to the cut price ones from Bachmann and Hornby, but Hattons came up on the inside as a winner for me! 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy_anorak59 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 19 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said: Hobbies used to sell proper kits and all the little bits such as wheels and buffers. ISTR the model part was upstairs. Yes - the model railway section was upstairs (turn left at the top of the stairs) : Hobbies on Tarleton Street and as I remember it: 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold MikeParkin65 Posted January 10 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10 32 minutes ago, James Makin said: They're just £14 currently and I must say having used them since 2015 they've been good for me so far - I will miss them! The fleet is around 200 locos/units currently chipped and only had one failure from memory, I rate them as a budget alternative! I started with Lenz Golds, then down to Lenz Silvers, but as fleet volume increased I moved over to the cut price ones from Bachmann and Hornby, but Hattons came up on the inside as a winner for me! 🙂 I believe the Hattons chips are made for them by DCC Concepts same as the Rails ones. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapford34102 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Sorry to see them go but clearly a very carefully planned withdrawl from the front line which must have taken a deal of planning. Hopefully the staff's futures were accounted for in that. Looking at their website today In was struck by the range of AMMO products they had stocked, not a line, or at least to this extent, that I would associate with the railway side of modelling. But it's an ill wind etc and I was happy to find a couple of unicorn droppings listed so....... Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin72 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I was very surprised to hear the sad news that they were winding down the business. I wish all the staff well and want to thank them for the great service I've received from them in the past. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted January 10 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10 31 minutes ago, billy_anorak59 said: Yes - the model railway section was upstairs (turn left at the top of the stairs) : Hobbies on Tarleton Street and as I remember it: I used to go there every Christmas with my grandad to choose a present.....happy days. I loved the little single line dioramas they had in ( I think) glass cases.....this bit of Pixash Lane was my own little tribute... Chris H 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 1 hour ago, Steamport Southport said: Hobbies used to sell proper kits and all the little bits such as wheels and buffers. ISTR the model part was upstairs. I've still got a whitemetal chimney that I got from Hobbies for some project or other. Its about an inch long... 🙂 39 minutes ago, billy_anorak59 said: Yes - the model railway section was upstairs (turn left at the top of the stairs) : Hobbies on Tarleton Street and as I remember it: Hobbies was a required port of call whenever we went into Liverpool. Boring stuff like dolls and dolls houses and such downstairs. Upstairs a delight of model railways... Are those real air rifles in the lefthand window display. or just cap guns? And the tail-end of a car in Tarleton St, before they pedestrianised the area. I remember dad driving along Church Street and Bold Street so we could see the Christmas lights... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 Bob's Models in Small Heath Birmingham used to sell all sorts of other models and parts as well as model railway kits, wheels, motors etc. I bought, amongst other things, my M&L 633/850 kit there as well as slot car stuff such as wheels, tyres, gears, motors & body shells. They later concentrated more on RTR and even later mainly Radio Controlled models after moving to Hobs Moat Road, they closed about 10 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 23 minutes ago, Hroth said: I've still got a whitemetal chimney that I got from Hobbies for some project or other. Its about an inch long... 🙂 Hobbies was a required port of call whenever we went into Liverpool. Boring stuff like dolls and dolls houses and such downstairs. Upstairs a delight of model railways... Are those real air rifles in the lefthand window display. or just cap guns? And the tail-end of a car in Tarleton St, before they pedestrianised the area. I remember dad driving along Church Street and Bold Street so we could see the Christmas lights... the mpte brass band used to be set up in clayton square on christmas eve in the 70's playing christmas tunes on their instruments - imagine that nowadays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alan Oliver Posted January 10 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10 I wonder what will happen to the Hattons RHTT toolings, wonder if they will make another appearance under another manufacturer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold AndrueC Posted January 10 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10 1 hour ago, Steamport Southport said: Sorry for the link to the advert ridden website! Jason What adverts? I have UBlock Origin installed and there are no adverts when I browse that page, just a block of white space at the top and the right side both of which I could remove if I cared to. 😉 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted January 10 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10 1 minute ago, Alan Oliver said: I wonder what will happen to the Hattons RHTT toolings, wonder if they will make another appearance under another manufacturer. Even if their future hasn't already been arranged, such things have a habit of re-emerging. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 1 minute ago, Dunsignalling said: Even if their future hasn't already been arranged, such things have a habit of re-emerging. FEA-S? 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
298 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 7 hours ago, Mike Bellamy said: 256 when I looked a few minutes ago - but they did not show in the same search yesterday and so some stock is still being added . . . . . . . That is something that has changed, previously it would have shown "over 10" They also seem to have literally a ton of their own ballast, it's the days of keeping a low stock count and any assets like this not shifting isn't good for any aspect of the business. The "HO Model Power Caboose" count is down to 23, and if you brought all of the R609 in stock, you could make a helix 100 feet tall...! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleRedTrain Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Hattons now advertising baseball caps, tote bags and face masks to purchase: https://www.hattons.co.uk/stocklist/new (Only 3 caps left at time of writing... after I bagged myself one). Regarding the 'large number of items in stock' values. It looks like they're displaying the true quantity for anyone who is interested in bulk buying/reselling: https://www.hattons.co.uk/newsdetail?id=1501 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 17 minutes ago, 298 said: he "HO Model Power Caboose" count is down to 23 I wonder how many MP figure sets they originally had? All pre-owned and sealed from new! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold MikeParkin65 Posted January 10 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10 Has anything been said about the directory - https://www.hattons.co.uk/directory? Its a fantastic resource. Is it something that RMWeb could take on I wonder - seems well suited to 'community maintenance'. Would be a shame if it were lost especially after the demise of Ramsey's Guide 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 Hattons website is working perfectly today. Just added two items to trunk then shipped 10 and it took no more than a couple of mins. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 1 hour ago, 298 said: They also seem to have literally a ton of their own ballast, it's the days of keeping a low stock count and any assets like this not shifting isn't good for any aspect of the business. OK not ideal but maybe their MoQ was big, and it's not like it's expensive stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradfordbuffer Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 1 hour ago, melmerby said: I wonder how many MP figure sets they originally had? All pre-owned and sealed from new! If it is anything like 180 smithdown Rd and rosebud /airfix railway kits in carbord boxes I shudder to think as there where loads. Goodness knows many they shifted...🤪 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post andyman7 Posted January 10 Popular Post Share Posted January 10 Here's a tribute posted by TMC, which of course started life as the Trafford Model Centre even though they're now based on the other side of the country. https://mailchi.mp/tmc-direct.com/hattons?fbclid=IwAR3dRnzvTLJQP-UzfAyGxgJkmra7xcxHZJ2AkORUN0pVQCtLiAUzoiS_o3E 21 2 9 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Popular Post AY Mod Posted January 10 Author Moderators Popular Post Share Posted January 10 14 minutes ago, andyman7 said: Here's a tribute posted by TMC, which of course started life as the Trafford Model Centre even though they're now based on the other side of the country. https://mailchi.mp/tmc-direct.com/hattons?fbclid=IwAR3dRnzvTLJQP-UzfAyGxgJkmra7xcxHZJ2AkORUN0pVQCtLiAUzoiS_o3E And that's from someone else I respect enormously. Supportive messages from parts of the trade say as much about those businesses as they do Hattons. 21 28 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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