Roddy Angus

DCC Bachmann 2fs are retailing about £81 now and the next lot may well be dearer. Roddy

Does anyone do figures of reporters throwing up?

That's a deal breaker for me, I'll have to order a set just so that I can cancel my order in disgust! Roddy

I don't know if it would help but if you can find out details of Exercise Lionheart you might be able to see how various units/vehicles were, and would have been, transported. This was a large scale mobilisation exercise to test how troops and equipment, including TA, would be transported to continental Europe, should the balloon go up. I am not sure how much rail transport was used in reality. We drove our rovers and 3 tonners from Leith to South Shields, including going through Newcastle under police escort and ignoring red lights, which was fun, and then went by an RFA ship to I think Belgium. Coming back was more relaxed, by North Sea Ferries, but I think a lot of the civvies were a bit confused by the number of squaddies on board. Clearing customs was also fun, including a 3 tonner of booze consisting of everyone's alcohol allowance. You may be able to find out if rail was used for any transportation during the exercise, as a lot of the detail will now be declassified. Best wishes Roddy

Also meant to add, the escort coaches have a different end layout to standard coaches, presumably because they are designed to operate independently and not rely on power from the locomotive. Possibly not that noticable but depends how accurate you want to be. Best wishes Roddy

From looking at photos online, I think the 2f escort coaches may have used the strengthened class 47/57 windscreens. This is because the photos show bolt heads and I would assume that DRS would use what they had available. Hence the suggestion that they are class 47/57. This is based on guess work, and may be wrong, but that is what I have gone with. There is also a suggestion that the escort coaches are 2e, not 2f, but I haven't got round to checking on that yet. There does seem to be differences in the chassis configuration, but not sure if it is standard 2e or modified 2f. Regards Roddy

I hope you are not trying to imply that there was a deliberate attempt to damage a competitors' products by a factory, unless you have firm evidence to back that up? You could be hearing from their lawyers if you continue to make statements like that. Roddy

Thanks Andy, I thought 3 months would be a bit optomistic. Regards Roddy

Can we expect this within 3 months or have Bachmann abandoned their policy of only announcing products when they are ready to be delivered? Regards Roddy

Seems to be fixed for me at least, thanks Andy. Regards Roddy

On my PC, I get the pop up window every time I open an individual conversation and then again when I return to the "view new content" page. Accepting or rejecting all options makes no difference.

Hi Paul I found a facebook page entitled "Leadley Kits" but there was no information on it, just the outline of the page. Regards Roddy

I may be in a minority of one here, but I agree with what lies behind Hornby's tier system, that is not to say that I agree with what tiers any particular retailer has been put. Is Hornby not simply wanting to ensure that the large number of small retailers spread around the country actually have the stock to sell to their customers? If a few retailers, with a significant internet presence, manage to corner the market by ordering large numbers of popular items, possibly even the whole run of a certain item, and can guarantee to have those orders fulfilled, then they are in a position to undercut local suppliers due to the economies of scale, or the item simply not being available locally due to those particular retailers having secured all the stock. In the long run, this will mean that shoppers are drawn to those specific retailers and other outlets suffer a drop in sales, possibly leading to closure. This in turn forces more people towards those retailers with a significant online presence and the process starts again. Is Hornby not simply protecting the smaller local supplier by trying to limit the influence of the larger internet suppliers? They would be able to tell from the size of orders received whether the majority of sales are likely to be on the internet or by footfall. For example, if I was a model shop in Alligin (look it up, it's near Torridon) and ordered 100 APTs, I am sure that Hornby would know that I was going to sell them all on line and not to passing trade. If because of low overheads, I was able to sell at a discount and offer free extras, such as storage and postage, then I would be taking sales away from other shops. Would anyone, as a manufacturer, want to aid the destruction of their seller network by assisting a few retailers to dominate the market? Once the seller network is destroyed, those few retailers remaining can then exert pressure to reduce the price they pay for Hornby's products, and Hornby have little option but to agree, as there are no local shops to sell to now, leading to a fall in income for Hornby, a reduction in research and new models and, eventually, the closing of the company. Whilst I may not agree with exactly how Hornby are going around the process, and I do hope that there is a way that retailers can ask for a review of their tier placement, I can understand why Hornby feel the need to do something. I have no personal experience of selling but my dad was a director of a small publishing company, which he and a few friends started from scratch, and I remember his complaints about major booksellers exerting pressure for more and more discounts, credit facilities etc. which they were unable to refuse due to the influence of those particular sellers in the market place. This was in the days before internet sales when most people visited shops to buy books. In the end, they had to sell the company as they could not make sufficient income to afford to pay staff as they got older and less able to do all the work themselves. If certain retailers are allowed to get into a near monopoly position, then I am sure that exactly the same will happen in the model rail market. I can understand why those that are used to ordering from Hattons are disappointed by Hornby's move, I do order from Hattons and Rails if a product is not available locally, but I can equally understand why Hornby feel that they have to prevent a small number of very large retailers dominating the market, to the detriment of others. I apologies if my views upset anyone, that is not my intention, but any manufacturer has to protect their seller network if they want to survive. Regards Roddy

I would also be interested. Best wishes Roddy

Is that St Edmund Blackadder? Regards Roddy

These prices exclude VAT at 20%, which is presumably added at the checkout stage. Roddy

If you can find out what the actual frequency your transmitter works on, then it is polite practice to check with those also operating models that they are not using the same frequency. It also used to be normal protocol to add ribbons to the transmitter aerial showing what frequency you are on for others benefit, see list below. This is unlikely to be a problem as most RC users now use the 2.4 GHz frequency as it is less prone to interference, but some older users may still be on it, I still have my old Futaba M series sets bought nearly 40 years ago. 27MHz unfortunately is/was also used by a number of other services, CB radio and paging systems were the big ones which were the driver towards the use of 35 and 40 MHz before 2.4GHz systems became widely available. 26.975 Black 26.995 Brown 27.020 Brown/Red 27.045 Red 27.070 Red/Orange 27.095 Orange 27.120 Orange/Yellow 27.145 Yellow 27.170 Yellow/Green 27.195 Green 27.220 Green/Blue 27.245 Blue 27.270 Blue/Grey As I have mentioned before, just speak to others who are sailing as it is a great way to pass a relaxing afternoon. Best wishes Roddy

If properly designed and manufactured, there should be no risk of interference. 2.4GHz transmitters and receivers are joined by "binding" which means that they are electronically linked. It is not like the old 27MHz transmitters which needed to work on a separate channel to others to avoid interference. Buy one and have fun! Best wishes Roddy

What remake

I don't know what is going on but Hattons are still receiving stock from Hornby (see new arrivals) and are still taking pre-orders on a large number of Hornby future releases, so it looks unlikely that there has been a falling out between the two companies. I would not think that Hattons would be off loading pre-orders in anticipation of ceasing to stock Hornby products whilst still accepting pre-orders on other Hornby products. I would ask , if this is a Hornby problem, why does it not seem to be affecting any other supplier? I do wonder if Hattons needs to adjust its thinking to take account of smaller runs and therefore smaller quantities available for each retailer. I doubt that Hornby would ever let themselves get in the position that they are supplying most of the run of a particular item to a single retailer, even if they can sell it all. That would result in a monopoly as other retailers closed due to lack of stock. Regards Roddy

I've always found those sailing at a pond happy to share advice, as long as they know you are really interested and willing to listen. But always try to pick the owner of the type of boat you are interested in. Don't ask a fast electric enthusiast about yachts and expect an in depth reply, and vis versa. Best wishes Roddy

But won't they sink?

Why not go down to the pond and speak to those who are sailing there? Some ponds are better for certain types of yachts, depending on topography and prevailing winds, and getting some advice on what sails best may reduce the risk of disappointment. Most enthusiasts are happy to share thoughts. Best wishes Roddy

I would like to be the first to complain that it is not generic enough! Roddy

It may be slightly different to what you were meaning, but the National Museums of Scotland are all based completely outside London as well. Best wishes Roddy