sawyermodels Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 It appears to be the old tooling, but these could just be stock footage and maybe closer to the suggested release date of Mid-December we might get new images. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 30801 Posted May 12, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 12, 2015 It appears to be the old tooling, but these could just be stock footage and maybe closer to the suggested release date of Mid-December we might get new images. And the special award for wishful thinking goes to.... I think if it was new tooling Hornby would be making a fuss about it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br-nse-fan Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Just got an email from Hornby announcing a new range for the 70th anniversary... given the prices... I can be sure that Thomas & Friends will not be seen on a layout near me... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawyermodels Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Nothing wrong with wishful thinking but it is most likely to be old style tooling. Ive put my order in anyway Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed-farms Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Just seen the list myself, does seem to be the older models. However the price has dropped for some of them and given the expected date is 14th December there could be some very happy children on Christmas morning as long a Hornby doesnt delay them. I know my 2 step children love Thomas and one of them is getting a trainset off me for his birthday so the temptation to pre-order a few items may be too much to resist. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawyermodels Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Just seen the list myself, does seem to be the older models. However the price has dropped for some of them and given the expected date is 14th December there could be some very happy children on Christmas morning as long a Hornby doesnt delay them. I know my 2 step children love Thomas and one of them is getting a trainset off me for his birthday so the temptation to pre-order a few items may be too much to resist. yes i to noticed a drop in the prices, Thomas has come down by around £20.00, Gordon by around £20.00. I had my Hornby rep in last week and he said that half of the range is being released this year and the rest will be announced in the 2016 catalogue and released later in 2016. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Sooooo - its the 70th anniversary around now (going by Radio 4 coverage), and Hornby announce "Available from December 2015". They're probably thinking of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the introduction of Thomas into the Railway Stories in 1946 then. Looking at the models and prices, my local model shop had the "Percy and the Mail train" set for £50 last Christmas, and still has various individual 4-wheel goods wagons for £5 a throw, though a 3 wagon selection box is about £24. OTOH "Annie and Clarabell" are a snip at £20 as individual 4-wheel coaches in the normal Hornby Railroad range are nearer £15 each! To a certain extent Hornby appear to have missed a trick or two by not upgraded the tooling (going by the individual product shots), and not including a TTS offering for at least Thomas. Thomas WITH REAL SOUND would have been a sure-fire Xmas seller, though it would have to be in a DCC trainset, which would bump the price up a bit, I suppose, but if Bachmann can have a Junior intro DCC set.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 30801 Posted May 12, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 12, 2015 Thomas WITH REAL SOUND would have been a sure-fire Xmas seller Forget Thomas. I want DCC sound Annie & Clarabel. We'reGoingTooFastWe'reGoingTooFastWe'reGoingTooFastWe'reGoingTooFastWe'reGoingTooFastWe'reGoingTooFast 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Forget Thomas. I want DCC sound Annie & Clarabel. We'reGoingTooFastWe'reGoingTooFastWe'reGoingTooFastWe'reGoingTooFastWe'reGoingTooFastWe'reGoingTooFast The volume would have to be speed-related too! Just imagine a rake of chatty Annies, done up in LNER colours, behind an N2 on a Minories style layout as it hurtles towards the buffers..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Griffin Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Same old mouldings. No mention of dcc ready. Waste of time. I'll stick with the far superior Bachmann range Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Legend Posted May 12, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 12, 2015 So it's the old range. Well burst my buffers. Can't resist an I told you so! However it does seem Hornby have done something to moderate the prices. £39 each for Thomas and Percy is not that bad. You can get half a Bachmann Autocoach for that ( when it's available)Loss leaders obviously to suck you into £24 coaches. Wouldn't you be better with Railroad Mk1s.? And honestly how many people will buy Gordon at £100? Suspect only model railway clubs that have to have a Thomas set to display at their exhibitions. As to Edward, just looks like a Shire or Hunt deprived of his valve gear. Just not right! On the 70th anniversary I think the Rev W Awdry , and ourselves deserved something better. Loved these books , went through my childhood with them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I'd like to think this is great news for high street model shops. I hope Hornby is willing to provide suitable volumes to the independent model shops. It is a great offering for them to sell. I hope these items arrive well before Christmas so that they can find their way into Christmas stockings. Based on past Hornby behaviour, were I in the market for one of these, I would look for a massive Boxing Day sale on Hornby's website. The email I received does note that these items are not available for sale (through the website) outside the UK, Ireland and Channel Islands. It will be interesting to see how these items get marketed in Hornby's multiple channels - Tesco, Argos, outlet store etc. Having said all that, it's nice to see Thomas back in the range. It will make lots of happy memories for little girls and boys. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawyermodels Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 It will be interesting to see if Henry remains as tender drive when he is just the railroad black 5 model with a face which as we all know is loco drive and DCC ready. Same with Edward, they could use the loco drive DCC ready 2P chassis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PreservationModeller Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I've seen people still adamantly claim these are stock photos; they have new R codes which imply there are changes to them being made. Bar the obvious R code change, no proof provided anywhere yet for the claims. We may yet be surprised. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hilux5972 Posted May 12, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 12, 2015 What a let down Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexeljet Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) I promised a rant, so here we are! Aren't you lucky! WHAT AN ABSOLUTE FREAKING JOKE. Why, Hornby? Why, Mattel? What is the point? Hornby discontinued the range, and then decided to "review" it. What did the review consist of? If they originally planned to discontinue the range, then what nimrod decided "You know what we need to make our range sell better? Keep it exactly the same!". Are Hornby even aware of the competition? Do they seriously think that less accurate models that are more expensive than their competitors have any chance of surviving on the market? Hornby appear to be suffering from what I like to call "Household Name Syndrome". In short, this is when a company, which is the market leader, becomes complacent and begins to sell lower-quality products than the competition, knowing (or in some cases, believing) that their products will sell because of their monopoly in the marketplace. This is the Hornby Thomas range in a nutshell. I imagine that when the range was being reviewed, Hornby came to a conclusion along the lines of "We're Hornby, we make model trains. Everyone knows that. Who needs effort when you've got brand recognition?" It's got no chance against the Bachmann range. Currently, Hornby have six engines available for pre-order. All of them are available in the Bachmann range. All of them are the same price or less in the Bachmann range and, with the possible exception of James and (depending on your view of the face) Percy, all are more accurately modelled in the Bachmann range. The prices have been brought down, but that's just not enough to justify the range's return. Bachmann's recent announcements show that they're listening. They are making a range that appeals to the adult modeller whilst still being accessible to children. Hornby's announcements just seem to exibit their complacency, and show that they're out of touch with the fans. Like or loathe Hornby, you must admit that they are far from flawless. Sure, some characters are more accurate to how they would look in real life, but that's not because Hornby want to supply the customer with a "finescale" Thomas range. It's because repainting existing models requires minimal effort and costs. The models that actually share an engine class with the original characters are just flukes. Many of the better looking models, like James and Percy, are the result of Britt Allcroft being disapproving of earlier, lazier designs. If Hornby had been allowed to do whatever they wanted, the Thomas range would look even worse than it does now. And yet, so many aesthetic problems could be fixed with minimal effort! Hornby is just too lazy, self-smug and detached to put any changes into fruition. Gordon is a prime example. Simply repainting him would do wonders. As he currently stands, he's got blue axleboxes, a battleship grey footplate, angry eyebrows and tiny, forward-facing pupils. If they painted his axleboxes black, whitened his footplate, toned down his eyebrows and enlarged his pupils (and had them facing downward or to the side) it would look perfectly acceptable! Would Hornby ever think to try such a thing? Nope! But do you want to know the biggest insult of them all? The fact that Hornby went and called this outdated mess "NEW!" How is it new? Do they really think that people have such tiny memories that they won't remember the "old" range, despite the fact that many models are still being displayed and/or catalogued in shops? All it managed to do was raise people's expectations; it had people believe that Hornby would reinvent their range to produce something that could put up a decent fight with Bachmann's range. Had they simply stated that they were reintroducing their existing Thomas range, and didn't keep everything so secretive and under-wraps as if they had something to hide, then these high expectations and the disappointment that followed could have been avoided. Anyway, I've lost all hope for Hornby's Thomas range. The only thing that could save the range would be if the negative reception of the not-new-at-all Thomas range serves as a wake-up call to Hornby, and make them realise that progressing with the Thomas range is the only way it will survive. Somehow, I don't think that's likely. The range will just wither and rot, and presumably give way to Bachmann's range within a few years. Edited May 12, 2015 by Rexeljet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted May 12, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 12, 2015 So like any other duplicate buy the ones you like best Bachmann range available from various outlets in the UK and eBay. Those punters savvy enough to check prices online are going to find them in searches, the rest pay full whack at Hobbycraft et al Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 What a lot of fuss this thread is. The image in the OP suggested the 70th anniversary of "Three Railway Engines". With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight we might have predicted the launch date from day one. There was never anything to suggest that Hornby would roll out newly tooled models, and simple logic suggested that they would not. The expression "irrational exuberance" (used by former US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan to describe the dot-com stock market) comes to mind. I don't understand all the moaning when, before this thread appeared, people were complaining about Thomas having disappeared from the Hornby line up. Cheer up, it's back now! Just like before. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david12345 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 My 8 year old has just put an order in for Edward for Christmas and he is pleased as the Hornby ones run better and pull more than the Bachmann ones. He is the target audience and he seems pleased. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mike Bellamy Posted May 12, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 12, 2015 It's got no chance against the Bachmann range. Currently, Hornby have six engines available for pre-order. All of them are available in the Bachmann range. All of them are the same price or less in the Bachmann range Bachmann's recent announcements show that they're listening. They are making a range that appeals to the adult modeller whilst still being accessible to children. it had people believe that Hornby would reinvent their range to produce something that could put up a decent fight with Bachmann's range. The range will just wither and rot, and presumably give way to Bachmann's range within a few years. I have obviously been selective in quoting from your long posting above where it is clear that you don't like Hornby and prefer the Bachmann range. However you have to accept the fact that that Hornby have the UK licence and Bachmann are not allowed to sell their Thomas range here. I know there are several stockists but they must be importing the stock direct from USA or via a European intermediary. The Thomas range is not supported by Barwell and there is no manufacturer's warranty on anything they don't have a licence for - the same applies to the Hogwarts stock - licenced for USA and not UK See here http://www.Bachmann.co.uk/service/faq1.php?id=185&ref=general We can undertake to offer Service to most models made in the last ten years and also some older models. We can't offer parts or service for: •Hong Kong made Bachmann Branchline and US models •Poole made Graham Farish models (independent repairers often can service) •Palitoy 'Mainline' models •Replica models (will say 'Bachmann Hong Kong') •Non-European licenced products: 'Thomas the Tank Engine' and 'Hogwarts Express' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) However, to be fair, the Bachmann Thomas is a bit of a joke too, with the front buffers mounted way too low to allow coupling with any other stock. Yes, it may match the current CGI rendition, but that is something created by ignorant graphics designers. Then there's the multiplication of new characters and the modification of traditional characters by HiT in the name of commercial exploitation and copyright extension. I've got the Bachmann "Stuart" variant of their Thomas and far as I'm concerned, I prefer the Hornby version. Yes, the Hornby version of Thomas is expensive and they need to review prices in view of internet competition from "grey" imports, but it wouldn't surprise me if a proportion of the "new" Thomas locos turn out to be better paint-jobs on up to date standard models, rather than old tender drive ones. We'll just have to wait and see! ps. Comparing similar Thomas and Railroad models on the Hornby website, it can be seen that "Percy" is £40 whilst Smokey Joe or a 101 is £27.50, "Thomas" is pre-order at £40, the SDJR "jinty" is priced at £32.50 and an LMS Class 5 is £71.25 while "Henry" is £90. Its possible that the price differential with regard to licencing and other production effects is not that great. There may well be some more wriggle room but it seems that Hornby "Thomas" prices are not now as over-inflated as they once might have been. Edited May 12, 2015 by Hroth Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beacon Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I know to those of us on a forum like this we can discuss the relative merits of Hornby and Bachmann models, their relative accuracy and cost and so on... but I was talking to a colleague at work today who has a son getting into Thomas. They didn't even know Hornby were still in business and for the cost of what I showed them was on offer, they weren't interested at all. This wasn't a person looking to encourage their child into a longer term expandable hobby or even remotely bothered by accuracy... if it is cheap, blue with a face and whizzes around in a circle they'll be happy as it will keep the child happy. I think Hornby have a hard job here coming up with something that could be any kind of amazing new way of getting children into model railways. I obviously hope they can though as it can only be good for the hobby in general. I'd also quite like an 'accurate' Thomas myself just for nostalgic reasons but I know I'm not the real target market for it! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexeljet Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 What a lot of fuss this thread is. The image in the OP suggested the 70th anniversary of "Three Railway Engines". With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight we might have predicted the launch date from day one. There was never anything to suggest that Hornby would roll out newly tooled models, and simple logic suggested that they would not. The expression "irrational exuberance" (used by former US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan to describe the dot-com stock market) comes to mind. I don't understand all the moaning when, before this thread appeared, people were complaining about Thomas having disappeared from the Hornby line up. Cheer up, it's back now! Just like before. Hornby Hobbies are very excited to announce a new range of Thomas the Tank Engine launching in 2015. It may not have directly stated new tooling, but the fact that Hornby called it a new range, and not a reintroduced range, or even just a range, would seem to indicate that there was some form of newness present in the reintroduced Thomas range. That could have been anything, from new tooling to new paint application to DCC support. My expectations were all over the place but I imagine many people felt that a new set of toolings to reflect the brand's current image could have been a distinct possibility. As the range currently stands, the only "new" thing about it seems to be the price. I have obviously been selective in quoting from your long posting above where it is clear that you don't like Hornby and prefer the Bachmann range. It's complicated. It's not a simple case of me hating Hornby and liking Bachmann. If this was the case I'd have been nowhere near as passionate in my post. I'd have likely just replied with a dismissive "Pfft, typical Hornby. You wouldn't see Bachmann doing this! Hip Hip Hooray for Bachmann!". I just don't think that dredging up the old toolings with literally no changes at all is a model for the future. Hornby's Thomas range should evolve and progress, but it's just stagnating and has been doing so for years prior to the discontinuation. It's nice to see that the prices have come down, but I don't think sales will pick up significantly from before the range was discontinued. This all just comes across as a glorified publicity stunt. I'm not sure if I could see Hornby Thomas lasting for too many years in the state it's in. If I considerably preferred Bachmann then I'd be happy about that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) I am truly amazed at the amount of interest shown here in this particular subject.I could say it but I won't........ Anyway.... ......This wasn't a person looking to encourage their child into a longer term expandable hobby or even remotely bothered by accuracy... if it is cheap, blue with a face and whizzes around in a circle they'll be happy as it will keep the child happy. Well maybe because it's a children's toy and the notion of it being some form of "hobby" seems faintly ridiculous, perhaps? I think Hornby have a hard job here coming up with something that could be any kind of amazing new way of getting children into model railways. Personally, I think it's hardly likely to be a product aimed squarely as a toy for very small children, except where there may be some other influence such as a railway modelling parent or grandparent. We all know that they'll reach a stage where they'll consider playing with TTTE as "baby'ish and then along with other toys, Thomas will hit the dustbin, or end up being sold off cheap just to get rid. That age is getting younger and younger and even many parents these days, consider it "not normal" to be playing with toys like this past age 8 or 9. Thomas has its place, but if you want "amazing new ways of getting children into model railways", I would most definitely be looking elsewhere. I'd also quite like an 'accurate' Thomas myself just for nostalgic reasons but I know I'm not the real target market for it! Judging from this topic thread, I think along with many others, you probably are......? Ron . Edited May 12, 2015 by Ron Ron Ron Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 I like the Hornby range, I like the idea of them being based on prototypes. When Hornby developed the range, it was done under the supervision of Britt Allcroft and Rev Awdry. I'd be happy with the same body with updated chassis, which tooling exists. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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