RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted November 29, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 29, 2011 Nah; it'll be about the return of Synchrosmoke, sandpaper sound modules, giraffe cars and things with propellers on them. And all you need to check the prices is an old price list and this http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/inflation/calculator/flash/index.htm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Nah; it'll be about the return of Synchrosmoke, sandpaper sound modules, giraffe cars and things with propellers on them. Wouldn't surprise me if it made a return in the Thomas range at an inflated price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Nah; it'll be about things with propellers on them. Oh yes please. the Schienenzeppelin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted November 29, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2011 Nah; it'll be about the return of Synchrosmoke, sandpaper sound modules, giraffe cars and things with propellers on them. Sandpaper sound modules! Erm, used to have one of those on a Hornby B12. Dead realistic...bit cheaper than a Loksound chip! Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted November 29, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2011 They never are in stock anywhere. they are kept at a central distribution warehouse, and it costs £6 for home delivery. The trick is to get the mrs to buy something online for home delivery and picggy back your engine, because its £6 whatever the order! I got a lovely Brit less than 1/2 price that way They're not available for home delivery (at least the ones I checked), I'm wondering if these 'bargains' actually exist at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 B12's still come with them... mine had it quickly removed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dilbert Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Wouldn't surprise me if it made a return in the Thomas range at an inflated price. Bring back BS (BattleSpace). Guaranteed to sell by the shedload at 1960s prices, good value and cheap economical... dilbert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 They're not available for home delivery (at least the ones I checked), I'm wondering if these 'bargains' actually exist at all. They're delivered from a central point or sent to stores for collection so they do exist. I did actually wonder if they're in an Argos warehouse or sent direct from Margate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted November 29, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2011 Yeah, as I've speculated on here in the past, it would make sense for both parties if Argos's sometimes vast range of Hornby group products were warehoused & shipped direct to customer from Margate. But the only interesting items (to me) I can find in the current sales list are are marked 'not available for home delivery' and are out of stock at the nearest 200 stores to my postcode, so I'm wondering if they actually exist at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D605Eagle Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Yeah, as I've speculated on here in the past, it would make sense for both parties if Argos's sometimes vast range of Hornby group products were warehoused & shipped direct to customer from Margate. But the only interesting items (to me) I can find in the current sales list are are marked 'not available for home delivery' and are out of stock at the nearest 200 stores to my postcode, so I'm wondering if they actually exist at all. I've not looked...but does it say special internet order only? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted November 29, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2011 I've not looked...but does it say special internet order only? The items I looked at are marked "currently out of stock for delivery" , the "collect from store" option is available, but then you have to find a store with any in stock before reserving it. As an experiment I tried one of the Schools and there was no stock at 200 stores, I gave up after that. I used this website to check stock:- http://www.icheckstock.co.uk/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCAR6015 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I've not looked...but does it say special internet order only? Argos web page states: " online exclusive " Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I expect this year's froth will concentrate on whether or not whatever it is going to be will have 'see through' handrails. Nah; it'll be about the return of Synchrosmoke, sandpaper sound modules, giraffe cars and things with propellers on them. Bring back BS (BattleSpace). Guaranteed to sell by the shedload at 1960s prices, good value and cheap economical... dilbert Battlespace, SynchrosmokeTM and MagnahesionTM! The clarion call for the charge of the Triang brigade. Bring back Nellie, and X04 motor The knurled wheel'd Blue Pullman When can their glory fade? O the wild fun they made? All the world wonder'd. ... May the model railway gods preserve us! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D605Eagle Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 The items I looked at are marked "currently out of stock for delivery" , the "collect from store" option is available, but then you have to find a store with any in stock before reserving it. As an experiment I tried one of the Schools and there was no stock at 200 stores, I gave up after that. I used this website to check stock:- http://www.icheckstock.co.uk/ Argos web page states: " online exclusive " I've just been for a gander, and I recon that they are all out of stock now and the website has not been updated with them deleted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catkins Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I would love to know how many of those little details in the packets get fitted. Roger I never put the loco crew in when that was all the extra detail that was provided! If they go down the path of less detail then as long as the basic body outline is accurate and the mechanism sound; I for one will be happy to return to the 'old school' process of adding after-market details to produce an individual, higher specification model of my own. It might even kill the notion that we're all glorified box shakers these days! I can see fringe benefits for the likes of Brassmasters, Comet and LMS in such a scenario. Dave. I am (slowly) getting the bits together to repaint a rather well known A1, and there is no way that i would pay top price for something that I'm going to strip and repaint so I would have no problems addind my own level of detail to a "mid-fi" model - I've already done it with a Mark 4 buffet, and am converting a Lima ho TSO to a TSO(T) so - BRING IT ON!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 On the news this morning. Price war breaks out over Christmas toys. Sound like a good market to be getting involved with at the moment. (Repeat to myself 100 times. I am not a cynic). Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold papagolfjuliet Posted November 30, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2011 Bring back BS (BattleSpace). Guaranteed to sell by the shedload at 1960s prices, good value and cheap economical... dilbert Fun though they were, they didn't sell all that well the first time around, which is why they hung around in the catalogue for years. I'm pretty sure that the 'Task Force Action' set of 1981 didn't set many records either. I wonder how the new military set is selling? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDL Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I actually think it would be a good idea if Hornby could bring out some real toy trains - that have a lot of operating potential and attract the younger end of our hobby. Battlespace etc would be great! I wonder whether Hornby have been burnt on any of their earlier scale models where they have no made the return they were hoping for, thinking of the q1,8f and Royal Scot etc. would be interesting to know if this has not proved sufficiently profitable and has / might made them more cautious in the future I agree on the pricing arguements for rail packs, but from their point of view it is only the marginal cost of producing the pack, if you even sell a 1/3 at the close to rrp you are probably breaking even. Not a bad short term business decision, whether it hurts them long term remains to be seen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I think the 8F will have paid Hornby dividends. The Royal Scot is the best yet, but of course anyone with half a brain cell could have warned the firm about the Q1. I think the LNER is not as popular as people assume too, outside of the big Pacifics. I used to put it down to the fact that few people could paint their model once they had built them (apple green and coach teak liveries being the most difficult even for pro's), but.......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 7013 Posted November 30, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2011 I don't see how this is "laughable". You can get a cheaper and less good model, or a more expensive and slightly better model. I think this is great: as customers we have choice, and the 24% price differential seems to reflect a difference in quality. No, that's not fair, you're not comparing like with like. The Hattons price for the Hornby is £119 rather than +/-£149. You'd still save yourself £52, but not the £80 you claim. If Hattons are following what I think is their usual pattern, the cheaper Bachmann product is not selling as well as the Hornby product so Hattons have discounted it by more. And if that's the case (note this long string of ifs...), it may be that more customers think the opposite of you -- that they are willing to pay a higher price for a product perceived to be of better quality (which is not the same as paying a high price for a product perceived to be of lesser quality, a different argument. As an aside, whereas I would normally have bought at least a couple of the commissioned EM1s I find myself holding back because of doubts that the quality level is sufficient to justify that really rather substantial price premium). If (that word again) my surmise about Hattons' pricing policy is correct, it seems that Hornby have got their pricing just about right on the 4MT. Certainly I have not seen any evidence that they are "hell bent on self destruction", which seems a bit harsh to me. Paul Perhaps I was a little harsh not quoting the Hattons price for the Hornby Loco ( My Mistake) However the reviews of the two locos only came out marginally in favour of the Hornby loco certainly not enough to justify a 24% higher price. Of course much of this is speculation as is the view that the Bachmann 4MTs are lower in price because they are not selling, it may be true but Hattons are not going to admit to it. Anyway even taking the best figures into account there is still a £52 saving to be made on the best price between the Bachamnn and Hornby locos, I know which one I would buy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenman Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 the reviews of the two locos only came out marginally in favour of the Hornby loco certainly not enough to justify a 24% higher price. ... I know which one I would buy. Isn't that the point, though -- you have a choice! For me, the greater detail on the Hornby is enough to justify a 24% higher price. Which means I value things differently than you. That is not to say that you are wrong and I am right, or that you are right and I am wrong. We just value things differently. So why would anyone be unhappy at the market providing options that suit both of us? Isn't that like me saying the Ford Focus is my perfect car, offering superb value-for-money, so any manufacturer offering a more expensive car with more gizmos is wrong and just trying to rip people off? Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenman Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 anyone with half a brain cell could have warned the firm about the Q1. I'm not sure the Q1 was a financial disaster: but Hornby produced a vast number of variations when it first came out, and I think they flooded the market (which is why we saw significant numbers of them hanging around for a while). I think they made the same mistake with the lovely Schools model, where even an enthusiast like me didn't buy as many as I would have if they were spread out over a longer period. Both models had previously announced versions cancelled, I think. The Q1 is, to me, a delightfully quirky model of a strange and unusual prototype: the fact that it's about to be reintroduced into the catalogue suggests that, first time round, it didn't do too badly. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 7013 Posted November 30, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2011 Point Taken Paul, it would not do for us to all be the same. I think your analogy is a bit suspect, it may have stood upbetter if you were comparing two Ford Focus (Focii?) i.e. If the cars were the same except for a slight differences in appearance rather than gizmos but ostensibly the same car. Anyway we agree to differ. For the record I sincerely hope that Hornby surprise us all at Xmas with some tasty goodies, but I believe any 'froth' will be high on hope and and low on expectation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 7013 Posted November 30, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2011 I remember the real Q1s as a kid, not the prettiest of locos but a powerful loco all the same, I have one on my layout and it is a superb loco. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold papagolfjuliet Posted November 30, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2011 I'm not sure the Q1 was a financial disaster: but Hornby produced a vast number of variations when it first came out, and I think they flooded the market (which is why we saw significant numbers of them hanging around for a while). I think they made the same mistake with the lovely Schools model ...and the T9, and the Bulleid light pacifics, and so on. Essentially any new Hornby loco which sells well on first release appears in multiple variants over the following couple of years and then, once the market has been well and truly saturated, disappears for a while. It's a very odd way of doing business. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.