MyRule1 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Just had an e-mail from Hornby that asks "Can you remember a time when Hornby wasn’t based in Margate?". Someone in the marketing department has a short memory - they were based in Sandwich for many years. This amnesia also affected the Airfix launch when they said that the Chinook helicopter had not been in the Airfix range before, when the Italiari model had been sold in an Airfix box for many years. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Brasher Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Hornby would like us to believe that it started in Liverpool 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators AY Mod Posted January 12 Moderators Share Posted January 12 And that it's 104 years old. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold D9020 Nimbus Posted January 12 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 12 2 hours ago, MyRule1 said: This amnesia also affected the Airfix launch when they said that the Chinook helicopter had not been in the Airfix range before, when the Italiari model had been sold in an Airfix box for many years. Actually, they did specifically say that it had not been manufactured by Airfix in their own right before. Now I know why! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyRule1 Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 15 minutes ago, D9020 Nimbus said: Actually, they did specifically say that it had not been manufactured by Airfix in their own right before. Now I know why! They have obviously changed the wording as their Facebook page has comments pointing out the error such as "Airfix NOT your first Chinook. Sad times when you don't know your own product history" not my comment. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold D9020 Nimbus Posted January 12 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 12 Ah — I'm not on Facebook, I was going by the YouTube presentation by the Airfix Head of Brand. There he clearly mentioned that it was the first time Airfix had produced it in their own right. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pint of Adnams Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 "Can you remember a time when Hornby wasn’t based in Margate?" Yes I can! I remember Meccano, Hornby and Dinky Toys emanating from a factory in Binns Road, Liverpool. I can also remember that the new factory at Margate, opened in 1954, had the name over the offices entrance as Rovex Scale Models Limited, as pictured and fulsomely explained in 'Tri-ang Railways the first ten years' published in 1962. We have been here before, and I still do not understand why the present Hornby management persist in maintaining this false narrative. It grew out of Rovex Plastic Limited of Richmond, Surrey, which used the new plastic moulding techniques to produce "a realistic, reliable, robust train set at a reasonable price", using motors supplied by Zenith of Birmingham. The first "Princess" sets were ready just in time for Christmas 1950. Some redesign took place, replacing the plastic chassis with a metal one, with plunger pickups, and it was one of these sets that I received for Christmas in 1951 - I still have the locomotive but the short LMS coaches 'bananed' and were disposed of. This same year Zenith was incorporated into Rovex, and in turn Rovex was incorporated into the Lines Bros. Group and renamed Rovex Scale Models Limited. In 1952 the range was renamed Tri-ang Railways. The move from Richmond to Margate took place in 1954. The 'ten years' book has a chapter full of photographs showing the various processes undertaken in the large factory, typical 1950s scenes in a typical British industrial set-up of the period. This 70th celebration overlooks the job losses and damage to the local economy resulting from off-shoring production and the further trials and tribulations that resulted in. The management should be proud of their mixed and innovative heritage, not hide it as if an embarrassment. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pint of Adnams Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 My apologies to Hornby. Since typing the above yesterday I've received a copy of the 2024 catalogue and the full backstory is covered in the introductory pages, explaining the story as first regaled in 'the first ten years' complete with factory photographs and moving on to the present day. Covering the Meccano/Hornby story too, the difficulties of administration and suchlike. It even notes the move out of Margate and the outsourcing of the warehousing in 2015 and much other interesting and useful history. What a refreshing change. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Decorum Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 9 hours ago, Pint of Adnams said: My apologies to Hornby. Since typing the above yesterday I've received a copy of the 2024 catalogue and the full backstory is covered in the introductory pages, explaining the story as first regaled in 'the first ten years' complete with factory photographs and moving on to the present day. Covering the Meccano/Hornby story too, the difficulties of administration and suchlike. It even notes the move out of Margate and the outsourcing of the warehousing in 2015 and much other interesting and useful history. What a refreshing change. Interesting. I shall look forward to the catalogue more than I thought I would. Nevertheless, I can’t help feeling that Hornby is too preoccupied with its past and not enough with QC. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) On 13/01/2024 at 10:40, Pint of Adnams said: I still do not understand why the present Hornby management persist in maintaining this false narrative Because it sounds good, and presumably helps in some way to sell things, even if it does use the truth in a rather creative fashion. Being very cynical this evening, I’m wondering when their office cat will reach five years old, and how that will be drawn-upon for marketing purposes. Edited January 14 by Nearholmer 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted January 15 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 15 Heritage stories are great for marketing, look around at just how many companies exploit their (claimed) heritage and past achievements. In the case of Hornby there is at least a line running through their heritage. The original Hornby may have been bought by a rival but that rival made model trains and continued to use the name. What is much worse are heritage claims from companies which acquire a long dormant name and for which there is zero connection with the modern iteration or heritage claims which are flat out false. Watches are especially bad, the watch industry is full of people picking up dead names and immediately wrapping themselves in the history of a manufacturer which died decades ago or companies just making stuff up or turning myths into history as heritage is a foundation of marketing in that industry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pmorgancym Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 7 hours ago, Nearholmer said: Because it sounds good, and presumably helps in some way to sell things, even if it does use the truth in a rather creative fashion. Being very cynical this evening, I’m wondering when their office cat will reach five years old, and how that will be drawn-upon for marketing purposes. Another excuse to release the Great Gathering A4s presumably 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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