J-Lewis

No you are right, it’s LNER I misremembered :) At least I was right about it not being BR Blue and Grey . Interesting that LNER is not a livery listed for the HST individual packs? Which suggests the sets might have unique liveries. I wonder if the Mainline Express set might feature something unique also? If it’s a full blue Class 50 I will be sorely tempted.

Unfortunately no BR Blue Set, it’s only a GWR version. However Hornby have made a few bundles over the past year with the various steam locos, coaches and track etc. so maybe they will do a BR blue bundle at some point.

Yes it’s definitely a strange choice of brake. The standard brake van would have seemed like a more obvious choice. Apparently there is suggestion that the TT and 00 range are sharing research/design elements, so the Toad E was chosen because the 00 version is getting upgraded at the same time.

Apparently after the success of their recent SW1200 re-run MTB are planning a new TT wagon and a new TT locomotive for US outline TT:120.

You are in luck. There is a GWR HST set due to be released in the new year, also a Mainline Express diesel set which hasn’t been content confirmed yet, but is expected to feature either the Class 50 or the Class 47.

Can’t take it with them. So those models will hit the second hand market at knock down prices.

So many duplicates in the 00 market these days, it’s hard to see how it is sustainable. I also wonder about so many thousands of second hand 00 locos coming onto the market due to demographic changes, and if you can pick up a decent early 90’s loco for £30 why pay £130 for a brand new one that’s essentially the same model from any manufacturer? Even these new £300 premium locos aren’t exactly offering good value. There can’t be many people buying multiple Accurascale locos, it’s got to be a special purchase at that price surely? Hornby have the right idea with TT, a scale they can ‘own’ at least in part, and an untapped market where they will have the only Class 37 etc. for the foreseeable and provided the prices remain reasonable they will no doubt continue to grow that market.

Im sure I read that the new head of marketing is ex-Lego, so that would seem to bode well for future marketing efforts. We shall see what happens I guess.

Hornby seem to be aiming for the level of decent quality at a reasonable price, and aiming to maximise return. Their range includes a good spread of different price options, including some higher end models and a fair number of legacy products at decent prices. These new products like TT and HM7000 decoders are particularly keenly priced, I’m paying less than half what I’m used to for sound decoders and the performance is great. I suspect that even if Hornby did bring a super detailed Accurascale style loco to market those same internet naysayers would find something to gripe about. Ultimately at the end of the day it’s just a hobby and these are all toys (even the £300 ones). It might be better to buy a £125 sound fitted ex-Lima Hornby Railroad class 47 than a £300 Accurascale one. Especially given the depreciation on expensive models once played with or weathered. Heck even a £30 second hand Lima might be a better purchase. The gimmicks like sprung buffers and rotating exhaust fans etc. just seem to have given rise to a breed of collectors rather than modellers imo.

Yes but what difference does that make? It seems to be a dislike of the scale rather than the manufacturer? I reckon @Ravenser may have the right idea with the reply earlier in the thread.

No doesn’t seem to be any truth to it. If anything the TT range is missing out on sales due to a lack of manufacturing capacity. Many of the TT locos and sets have sold out several times over, and the later phase models are running approx six months late. I’m not aware of any evidence the OO range has suffered because of TT. Seems to just be a case of some OO centric folks resenting the new scale. Not clear why they don’t appear to hate on O gauge or N gauge in the same way. It’s weird.

Well hopefully you will fill the gap for a TT scale Hudswell? O Gauge is too big for my layout room :)

If you are active on this forum I’m sure the Class 66 will be mentioned when it is released. You’re safe to block Hornby emails now :)

I expect the new changes at the top of marketing and the new manager will be at least part of the reason why the information has been scarce. The Hornby website, and particularly the TT section hasn’t been updated for quite some time (it’s still promoting the diorama competition that ended a month ago). I suspect there are changes going behind the scenes and we are about to see the results. It’s already been hinted at by the new head of marketing. My money is on a Lego style release schedule, shorter ‘seasons’ and less lead time. So we get a lot more hype around whichever model is ‘current’ and then move on to the next one. We may already be seeing this with the marketing focus on the Class 50, but because it had been teased so much since launch it feel like repetition rather than hype?

It was mentioned as just finishing the design phase in an interview from two or three months ago. Still seems to be in Phase 4 but no dates given yet. If the phases are indeed each lasting twelve months then that would put the 9F as late 2026. Hopefully it’s not too far away as I’m also very keen to get one :)

My carton was the same. It looks like 700+ of each set per run. Anecdotally we know of at least six deliveries so approximately 4000-5000 sets sold in twelve months? Possibly a lot more. Then there are the various bundles and individual locos, several of which are also out of stock. So sales seem healthy so far, and judging from forum posts there seems to be a lot of pent up demand for new models too.

We are just entering phase 2 now. So running late. There is a GWR HST set due April but the Blue & Grey is only available as separate items. Currently it looks like the phases are shaking out as one per year, so phase 3 due thru 2025 and phase 4 in 2026? A lot will become clearer when we see the new catalogue updates (possibly at Warley?)

I’ve always loved modelling in underdog scales, so I will probably always have a soft spot for my old Triang TT collection, but TT:120 has definitely caught my interest now. Just need a tank engine for my new layout, and some more blue diesels for my next plan. A modern replacement for my old Green Class 31 by the end of next year perhaps? :)

I have a crate of laserdiscs, another of Betamax and a whole stack of MiniDV tapes. I’m not sure it helps the analogy any more than your cupboard. ;) I still say British TT:120 is off to a better start than expected and shows every sign of sticking around longer than 3mm did as a RTR format.

So far it looks like TT:120 could be Hornbys equivalent of Dapol’s O Gauge? A ‘new’ scale that creates a new market and allows them to at least partly own the scale. I think ten years ago few people would have predicted O gauge would be seeing such a jump in popularity and so many new RTR models? British TT:120 certainly seems to be more than a novelty at this point. If it continues to pull in these kinds of sales figures then I doubt the other manufacturers will be able to ignore it.

TT is off to a strong start, it’s seemingly sold considerably more than Hornby expected for the initial take up, the new models are looking great and provided the first four phases are delivered I’d say it’s got plenty of stock and variety to keep the ball rolling for the foreseeable future. Don’t forget there are two UK manufacturers and several continental ones all making high quality models in this scale, so it’s not quite the same as Minidisc which was a Sony only product. Laserdisc was superseded by DVD which was hugely successful so might not be a good analogy. Perhaps Triang TT 3mm is the laser disc and TT:120 is the DVD replacement? 😀

You are probably right, the 15% discount would make a big difference if the new phase preorders were live now.

Agree with all your points, although for me speculating is part of the fun (especially if it’s based on official info) 😃 That said, I do think a small goods train set in the launch lineup would have hit the nail even more firmly on the head.

I know right? 16T seems like such an obvious choice. Rumour is that Peco are working on one now. Would the choice of 21t allow for more variety with other wagons types using the same chassis? I’m not sure what other types of vans or flats could use it but there might be some?

I’ve not made my point very clearly. I’m talking about the planning for the launch. All those later phase models were in design and planning. We know that the tank engines were ready for tooling before the class 66 and the 9f were (info from TT magazine interviews). At some point before the announcement a decision was made that set what would be in phase 1 and that decision pushed all the tank engines into later phases and set the Class 08 as the sole early Blue/Modern livery model at launch. It seems to me that had the launch included a green livery for the 08 and a tank engine it would have presented a far more cohesive lineup and would have nipped at least some of the negativity in the bud.