blueeighties Posted March 1, 2019 Author Share Posted March 1, 2019 **WANTED Heljan 0 GAUGE CLASS 47 SPARES** Hi guys. I don't suppose I would be lucky enough to find someone who has a spare class 47 buffer and headstock, or even a full bufferbeam? Drop me a PM if you can help thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 I think it's time for a new division of the company. Lee's Locos building services.... 20190306_113247 by rothburyuk, on Flickr 20190306_134617 by rothburyuk, on Flickr 20190306_134624 by rothburyuk, on Flickr 20190306_144700 by rothburyuk, on Flickr 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 A very nice pair of 37s. Rebranded and re numbered, weathered, detailed, and both Legoman soundfitted, speakers fitted in the fuel tanks. dd by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0033 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0038 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0042 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0046 by rothburyuk, on Flickr 13 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 Did anyone watch the Hornby/James May programme on BBC4 last night? What did you think? Personally, I was very disappointed.But if I'm honest, not at all surprised. The impression I got, was of a very old company that has failed to keep up with the times, doing too little too late. Where where new innovations, new ideas, attempts to get into the now huge 40 something blue diesel era marketplace? Instead we have the usual geriatric filled shows, and what the hell was the focus on the DOGA 00 gauge society for? I thought that died with the ark. I appreciate the most recent management change, getting Simon Kohler back on board,an obvious step in the right direction. But Hornby still, to me anyways, seem to be way out of touch with the current marketplace. Hopefully they will survive as we all know Hornby from childhood, and it would be a tragic loss if they folded. But I think it's about time they just accepted they have lost a huge market share of what they used to do best....very few folk now go to a manufacturer and buy into their complete systems, stock, track, controls, buildings etc. There are now way too many new companies that have entered the marketplace offering todays high specification products, at a reasonable price, with decent delivery times, excellent customer communication, basically offering everything that Hornby have failed to offer for many years now. We all told you this was coming time and time again, but reps and management never listened. You reap what you sow. It's all such a shame. 1 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waverley West Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 (edited) Hi Lee, I actually quite enjoyed the programme, but I felt it put all the blame on the previous management, even though that management had been brought in to rescue the company when it was already ailing, so the team before them must share some of the blame. OK, they got it badly wrong, but so had the management team before them. That was never mentioned. For me, Hornby remains an irrelevance, even though I model a fair chunk of British railway history, from 1979 to 1994 roughly. They just don't seem interested in making the most of what few diesels they have in their range - I'm thinking blue/white stripe 31/4 and Railfreight 31 in particular. A bog standard Railfreight 56 would be good too. And it took them an eternity to bring out a Coal Sector 60. In the meantime, we've seen new entrant after new entrant enter the market and pick off Hornby's old "modern image" products that were overdue for retooling. They had so many opportunities to update their post-steam range and yet one by one we've seen them picked off - 101, 142, 156, 158 and most recently Accurascale's 55, 92 and Mk 5 stock and Cavelex's 91 and Mk 4 stock, Heljan's 86 and Hatton's 66 to mention just a few examples. These are (or should be) mainstream products in my view, especially the ECML giants. Admittedly, the IET and 87 are honourable exceptions, but you certainly couldn't build a layout set in a particular location or era around them. Modeller after modeller in the programme talked about how in their youth all the models they owned were Hornby and how that situation has changed. The same applies to me and it doesn't look like changing, for all the criticism of Bachmann on here and the apparent acclaim of Hornby's new "wonder" range (even if it is a step in the right direction in many ways), virtually all my modelling budget will go to Bachmann once again this year. I really would hate to see Hornby go under, but only because of what the company meant to me as a child. It wouldn't really make much difference to me as a modeller of the late BR period, a 20-year period of railway history. It's a huge shame, but I'm more than well catered for these days by other companies, so I'm not complaining about my lot. I just think it's a shame Hornby have so little interest in the era I model. Will people really still be so keen to model BR steam in 10-20 years time? And will the current 40-50 year olds not be keen to recreate their youth by then? Bachmann, Heljan, SLW, Accurascale and others certainly seem to think there's money to be made from us. PS I loved the comment from May about the faces of the teenagers being fuzzed out to give them a chance of meeting a woman in the future! Edited March 7, 2019 by Waverley West 2 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor_37260 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Enjoyed the first part, especially the tag that was mentioned - STABLE - "Stash acquired beyond life expectancy" how true - must be many of us in that camp............ The confrontation during an exhibition between SK and whoever ? in part 2 should prove interesting.......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 12 hours ago, Waverley West said: Hi Lee, I actually quite enjoyed the programme, but I felt it put all the blame on the previous management, even though that management had been brought in to rescue the company when it was already ailing, so the team before them must share some of the blame. OK, they got it badly wrong, but so had the management team before them. That was never mentioned. For me, Hornby remains an irrelevance, even though I model a fair chunk of British railway history, from 1979 to 1994 roughly. They just don't seem interested in making the most of what few diesels they have in their range - I'm thinking blue/white stripe 31/4 and Railfreight 31 in particular. A bog standard Railfreight 56 would be good too. And it took them an eternity to bring out a Coal Sector 60. In the meantime, we've seen new entrant after new entrant enter the market and pick off Hornby's old "modern image" products that were overdue for retooling. They had so many opportunities to update their post-steam range and yet one by one we've seen them picked off - 101, 142, 156, 158 and most recently Accurascale's 55, 92 and Mk 5 stock and Cavelex's 91 and Mk 4 stock, Heljan's 86 and Hatton's 66 to mention just a few examples. These are (or should be) mainstream products in my view, especially the ECML giants. Admittedly, the IET and 87 are honourable exceptions, but you certainly couldn't build a layout set in a particular location or era around them. Modeller after modeller in the programme talked about how in their youth all the models they owned were Hornby and how that situation has changed. The same applies to me and it doesn't look like changing, for all the criticism of Bachmann on here and the apparent acclaim of Hornby's new "wonder" range (even if it is a step in the right direction in many ways), virtually all my modelling budget will go to Bachmann once again this year. I really would hate to see Hornby go under, but only because of what the company meant to me as a child. It wouldn't really make much difference to me as a modeller of the late BR period, a 20-year period of railway history. It's a huge shame, but I'm more than well catered for these days by other companies, so I'm not complaining about my lot. I just think it's a shame Hornby have so little interest in the era I model. Will people really still be so keen to model BR steam in 10-20 years time? And will the current 40-50 year olds not be keen to recreate their youth by then? Bachmann, Heljan, SLW, Accurascale and others certainly seem to think there's money to be made from us. PS I loved the comment from May about the faces of the teenagers being fuzzed out to give them a chance of meeting a woman in the future! Hi Dave. Agreed, and that comment made me chuckle out loud too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 I'll have to have a watch it on catchup. An investor should probably never invest in a company like Hornby as they don't seem to judge the market well. I'm surprised they've lasted so long tbh. I always thought Hornby were way too slow adopting the high-end models... and also missed a trick with O gauge. When there is a popular product it seems to sell out straight away and then not be available for years. (To be fair this could be applied to Heljan/Bachmann etc). I'm surprised they haven't focussed more on block trains for the modern era.... surely there is a product there that if you make one tooling you can sell a trainload (I'll get my coat). Funny though it's Hornby stuff that I've been recently working on... (60s, 56s & 50s). Not that they need anymore work than Bachmann or Heljan efforts just I happen to rather like their attempts. Although their judge of colours will keep Lee in business for a long time 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 Priming, sanding, priming sanding and bits and pieces! DSC_0001 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0048 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0002 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0003 by rothburyuk, on Flickr 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernBlue80s Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 I did not see the programme, so I was interested to read your views on it. As you know I am a rail blue man as that was what was about when I was a teen/young man in my 20s. Hornby have made some cracking models, I have a blue 08. 31s and the most recent incarnation of the 56. 56013, which I renumbered into 56001. I am sure the rivet counters would find fault with them, fair enough. (after writing that I realise Lee has just posted a picture of rivets...sorry Lee ) But for me the level of detail is excellent. Like others have pointed out, It just seems they have not really capitalised on the tooling. Another blue 56 would probably sell very well for starters, as Dave pointed out a white stripe class 31/4 is a no brainer and so on. The above is not a complaint it is just an observation that it seems a shame that they have not made the most of some excellent models 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 Ooh, at last! 54175306_967079136822354_7726398809747488768_n by rothburyuk, on Flickr These should get me through a few 37 conversions..... 37 cowl by rothburyuk, on Flickr Details.... DSC_0001 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0005 by rothburyuk, on Flickr 8 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray M Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Best tell that driver, It looks like is tinny is leaking. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post blueeighties Posted March 23, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 23, 2019 This month has been particularly hectic, so I thought I would treat myself to a rare day off! Still railway related, I spent a very enjoyable day with Mr Graeme Moyes and Alistair Clarke, operating and photographing Graeme's layout Hazelbank. I have to say the supplied freshly baked cakes were just as enjoyable as the layout DSC_0121 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0117 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0112 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0109 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0097 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0090 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0081 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0076 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0050 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0025 by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0021 by rothburyuk, on Flickr 20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanach Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 That’s a stunning layout . Is it permanently fixed ? Would love to have a driving session on that myself ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 Todays soundfits, 2 0 gauge Heljan Westerns, and a Deltic. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 Well this has proved to be a rather 'interesting' project..... 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted April 3, 2019 Author Share Posted April 3, 2019 Not my cup of tea, but a big Heljan 0 gauge Western resprayed into Golden Ochre. And before anyone panics, customers instruction for name and number Sound fitted with Youchoose sound. DSC_0014h by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0006b by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0001a by rothburyuk, on Flickr 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted April 4, 2019 Author Share Posted April 4, 2019 Ooh tasty bits, what do we have here then? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted April 4, 2019 Author Share Posted April 4, 2019 Always been an Iwata chap, fancied trying something a bit different. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray M Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 On 03/04/2019 at 17:08, blueeighties said: Not my cup of tea, but a big Heljan 0 gauge Western resprayed into Golden Ochre. And before anyone panics, customers instruction for name and number Sound fitted with Youchoose sound. DSC_0014h by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0006b by rothburyuk, on Flickr DSC_0001a by rothburyuk, on Flickr Always love your work Lee, BUT me thinks your name & number plates are a little to high, on this model. number plates are just below the cab door handle opening. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack374 Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 (edited) 17 hours ago, blueeighties said: Ooh tasty bits, what do we have here then? Number 22, per chance? Excellent work as always Lee! Jack. Edited April 5, 2019 by Jack374 Photo didn't quote very well.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Module00 Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 All your works are realy amazing, i read your thread with much attention and interest ! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 Busy busy, another delivery of soundchips and speakers, second one this week! DSC_0013 by rothburyuk, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 Fitting some Zimo MX648R soundchips and stayalive units to Hornby 08s. Fiddly and tight, but these things sound and run superbly. Stayalives an absolute must. 08 sound by rothburyuk, on Flickr 08 sound a by rothburyuk, on Flickr 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueeighties Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 Regardless of what chip is fitted, wheels and pickups must be scrupulously clean. 08 wheels by rothburyuk, on Flickr buds by rothburyuk, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now