Farang

Ordered online from Hattons on Saturday and delivered today by Amazon at 14.30. The model looks fine(can't comment on the shade of LNER Apple Green) and runs smoothly. However, the buffers on the tender droop a bit. Hattons also included an invitation to pre-order 100s of forthcoming items so it appears they're back in favour with Hornby.

If you fancy a bit of respraying, Hattons are now offering "Chamossaire" in LNER green for £109! I have just ordered one as at the price it was too good to miss. I'm too young to remember the LNER but did see all the Pacifics at KX late '50s early '60s. I just hope there is nothing wrong with it and Hornby are just clearing an over-stock at a knock down price.

Airfix used to have a Vickers Vanguard and possibly also a VC10 and B707? I had a collection of airliners in 1:200 scale. These were plastic(resin?) and diecast. A large one like a 747 or 777 would need about a square foot of space. But it was interesting to compare the sizes. A 707 was probably smaller that a A321. A BAC111 could probably pass beneath the wing of an A380. My collection of 43 was displayed on 2 x 2m shelves. Luckily I was able to sell the collection for a good price and didn't lose too much on the total purchase price. The UK market for these aircraft models appears to be quite small with only 4 or 5 dealers in the country.

Watching this programme two things struck me. The first was that Hornby seems to have a lot of "managers". And did you notice the acres of empty space behind some of the people being interviewed? I thought that all that area could be used as the warehouse and distribution of their products rather that paying millions to a third party miles away to provide that service? Looking at Hornby I see them as having two ranges, for two markets. You have the train sets and all the scenic items to go with them and then you have the highly detailed models for the committed enthusiasts. But in the latter market they'll lose a large slice to Accurascale and a couple of others. Hornby could have done what AS is doing but I suspect it was Simon Davies-Kohler who wanted to keep on producing umpteen modes of Flying Scotsman etc. And then you have the massive gamble on TT:120. In the intro to the video didn't SDK say it was aimed at people who were outside the hobby? But it seems sales are to existing modellers. SDK mentioned advertising it in newspapers. has anyone seen an advert in a newspaper?

You won't see this in a photo on Kernow's website because the photo is not side-on. The price of £130 may be a bargain but unless you're told the model has a fault, the printing, you'd expect it to be perfect. If the retailer tells you about the fault then it's up to you, your choice to purchase or not. And when you receive it, again, it's your choice to renumber or not depending on how bad you perceive the fault with the printing. The printing on one side was correct, the other side should have been correct. This shows a lack of QC at the factory. I'm not paying £130 and then another £35 or so on renumbering - my choice.

Why not write to the very top? Davies could have passed the letter to Customer Services.

Two years on.................. Dealers have been advertising R3649 Ellerman Lines for around £130. This morning I phoned a dealer who had it for £130.00 and mentioned the problem with the number on the left-hand cabside not being level. He immediately admitted that all the models had that fault which was why Hornby were clearing them. Hornby only produced one batch of this item. I wrote to Lyndon Davies about this in August 2021. He never replied. So, if you can live with the faulty printing it's a bargain.

All 24 kits have now been sold along with the spare etches and castings. I believe it is quite likely that the patterns, etch tooling, moulds etc will be destroyed.

What annoyed me was the constant use of the word train instead of locomotive. In designing this new model it seems the designer was using the old one and adding detail. Do Hornby ever refer to prototype drawings? A weight diagram would give the wheel spacings and basic dimensions. So, to those who have the new model is the wheel spacing correct? Would anyone care to comment on the accuracy or otherwise of the Crosti 9F as I've always fancied one. .

I remember a review in MRC many, many years ago on the Triang-Hornby(?) King Arthur class, I think it was. It ended: "it is perfect in every way". It most certainly was not. I read reviews in RM, HM and Model Rail. Model Rail was the only one to compare the dimensions of the model with the prototype. It is interesting to read reviews of the same model in all the magazines. HM has large photographs so you can see the product in close up which is useful as a photograph is worth a thousand words. RM reviews are often written in a "house" style, the prose a bit stilted. I dropped the subscription to Model Rail and have just taken a punt on BRM. My first impression of BRM is not very positive, an unimaginative layout and lots of white space on the pages. My local WHS does not stock it. Had I seen it there I may not have bothered with the subscription but I'll give it a year. All are printed on flimsy paper. The only magazine with decent paper in my opinion is MRJ. Are model railway magazines good value for money? That is for the individual to decide.

The new Merchant Navy sound was being demonstrated in a model of 35025 Lamport & Holt Line. When did Hornby release that model? If Simon Davies-Kohler is 72 isn't it about time he retired?

Watched Episode 1 last night on UKTVPLAY, will watch #2 tonight. Simon Davies-Kohler thinks TT120 will be the future for Hornby. He admits it's a gamble, a big gamble.

Only one really new tooling (B17/5) the rest is just repaints and modifications to existing tooling as far as I can see. I guess all the money for new tools went into developing the TT120 range. 60103 Era 11 (?) looks nice but shouldn't the tender front be black? I'd like an A3 but wouldn't buy the "ski jump" model but oh, all that daylight above the bogie. I must remember that these models have to get round toy-train curves.

Thank you. I remembered the guy's name was Bill, so Bill Brown it must be. It may have been Ron Cadman who introduced me to him. Models & Leisure was Ron Cadman, Pete Waterman and one other whose name escapes me. There was the retail business as you remember plus the range of kits. M&L were producing the castings but not the etchings, that may have been Grainge & Hodder in Birmingham.

Some forty years ago etched rolling stock kits were sold under this name. Who was the proprietor?

Just entered the site and I'm getting videos appearing. This does not happen in any other site I visit. Why is RM Web vulnerable?

In American a manufacturer may announce production of, say, and N scale F7A in 20 road names with 2-4 numbers for each. Dealers are given a cut-off date for ordering and any item which does not attract the minimum number is cancelled. Hornby has already finalised its 2023 catalogue to be released next month but new models will probably not arrive before early 2025. Plenty of time to get the numbers right, I'd have thought? Or does Simon Davies-Kohler just give his best guess on the quantity to be produced?

You are assuming Rapido have a run of 30K. My motto, from experience, never assume anything.

A run of 30K is impressive but with multiple numbers/liveries would that come down to perhaps 400, or less, of each? Hornby could have done multiple number/liveries if they had any imagination, which is what I think Simon Davies-Kohler lacks. Hornby is a hostage to its heritage, a prisoner of its past and eventually that is what will cause its demise. Sad if it does but all conditioned things are impermanent, so says the Buddha.

I understand that from the run of 23 kits just a couple remain and when sold all the moulds/patterns/tools etc are going to be destroyed. Some etched sheets, loco chassis kits and castings are still available.

An unwanted video is breaking into this thread when I view it, other threads, too.

Another opportunity that Hornby missed.

Thanks for the link. I see that Simon Davies-Kohler has a small shareholding.

Hornby lost £2.9 million in the six months to 30 September. Report in the daily Mail this morning.

@InterCitySpud I'm now 52 and finally in a stable place albeit Thailand to plan and construct a layout again in a large purpose-built air conditioned room. I've finally stopped moving every six months. Good luck in modelling in Thailand. Hope the termites won't eat your baseboard. And import duty is 27%. Mai pen rai.