ruggedpeak

At the risk of not moaning I really like this month's issue - lots of good articles to read across a wider range of topic areas than normal. Prototype inspiration is a good addition. Keep it going, 154 pages is about right.

On the positive side, for those who found it the top floor bar overlooking the racecourse was nice and quiet with a full range of beverages

Errr wrong thread. Trying to use new RMWEB on phone isn't going very well!

Had a good day out Saturday having come up Friday and popped into Rails' new showroom just before closing time! Show was good but rammed. Much calmer after mid-afternoon. Good to see lots of kids/families. Really liked Charwelton - loved the long distance view down to the tunnel, probably the most realistic/natural looking I've seen. Lots to buy, managed to resist a TPE 68 but they look gorgeous in OO and some competitive pricing on them. Good day out

Did speak to yourself or your colleague at Erith about the military vehicles. A great layout - I remain surprised no one (not even Oxford) is doing more modern military vehicles in 1:76. The magazine is fab too, more is good :) I like lots to read and Traction provides that.

Really enjoyed the show. lots of fantastic layouts. Thanks to the organisers. Had a chat with Phil Parker in the cafe area over a sausage roll - if you are reading Phil it was "Tommy Walsh Yacht Varnish" from Poundland, does dry just takes a week or two! All in all a very good day out. I liked that there were plenty of D&E layouts and also the Isle of Wight layouts. I would agree about the bus to some degree, I missed the one stopping train an hour by 10 seconds due to a slow & unwieldy bus and a driver busy chatting so missed two green lights that would have got me on the train. But worse things happen at sea and I had a wander around Stafford town centre, somewhere I've not been before.

Having run my own Web business I know what these things are like so my sympathies to Andy and the team. Technology let's us do amazing things, but the complexity that facilitates those things is often a total [insert expletive here] to set up and get working. Sadly applying various metal based objects to the offending piece of kit doesn't work in the digital world. Thanks to the team. Good luck. En route to the Stafford show :)

Travelled down from Essex on the Javelin, good day out at a very good show. Thanks to the organisers well worth the trip. Layouts were very good, my favourite of the day was Harlyn Pier - scenery at the waterfront was exceptional: Loved the fish, lobsters and crabs, plus the sea sounds

Lots of retailers (Derails, MRD, Colletts etc) still have the £203 price but all have t&c's that allow them to change the price.

Now I've put it into 1080P and on a big screen I can tell you what this consist passing Kelvedon on 15/08/18 is: 37099 Merl Evans 977969 977983 5981 6264 37116 Quite a lot of detail is visible at max res and big screen (and putting my glasses on!)

Of course, its only natural....... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/why-men-collectors-gender-comics-toys-hoarder-long-reads-a8463101.html As long as you don't smell them, that's weird...!

Time to market will be key - especially for Bachmann and Hattons. My view, the overall market for BR large logo/Biffa Class 66's will grow as a result of this. Hornby will mop up sales at their lower price point, while Bachmann and Hattons duke it out. The question is whether the Hornby/Bachmann pincer movement is enough to make it non-vialbe for Hattons? Sales figures for each would be really interesting. An RMweb poll might give some idea....

Great interview with Mr K at Hornby, thanks I had to create a new Warner's account with a different email address as although I had one for my subs, no matter what I ticked I couldn't get the Express emails. New account works fine.

There are some good things in the announcement but as mentioned much earlier I really don't get why no DRS coaches. They go for a fortune on Ebay, are ideal for short train formations and Bachmann have released a very large number of DRS liveried locos in recent years (plus Dapol 68's). Hornby have now aligned coaches with locos, at least on the HST and IEP front. Bachmann must have a huge captive market for DRS coaches for Barrow/Anglia type services in both blue/white and DRS (see at 0.45) liveries. However there is plenty to spend money on this year for both Bachmann and Hornby which is good news. Loch Rannoch and Colas 37 are starters for 10. The fact that there are now 3 versions of the large logo 66 means I will review my Hattons pre-order as there are savings to be had - I'm in no way a finescale modeller and just like the large logo livery. A cheaper version would free up cash for other things - we shall see.

Me too, fantastic!

Government advice makes it sound as if the slightest conversation is a serious offence. It says you can't tell retailers what to charge for a product, despite model railway and many other manufacturers setting limits on discounts etc and that being perfectly legal. Model manufacturers trying to avoid duplication is highly unlikely to be anti-competitive or illegal. Indeed we know it goes on in other European markets to avoid the sort of issues we have had over here.

In an ideal world Bachmann could hit the spot by announcing that most of the things they promised years ago are on the boat. They wouldn't have to announce any truly new products at all. Sadly it won't happen but they seem to be a bit more exposed than Hornby in the super detail high price end of the market e.g. 66's. No one is going tool up to compete with any Hornby railroad style models and I think Hornby is ensuring that there is a core of its range that will sit on retailers shelves as slow or steady sellers for a number of years. This avoids the risk of the current hit and miss approach of new expensive and detailed models that H and B have been stuck with whilst trying to compete with crowd funders etc who have derisked this part of the process. And smaller retailers will presumably be pleased to have a colourful selection of 66's, Hogwarts etc to sell 'normal' punters in addition to the super detail. So whilst Hornby have a plan to wriggle out of the hole they were in we have to see if Bachmann also have a plan to tackle this.

Thanks. Does the catalogue have any more detail than the website on specifications of models?

Not that common but also not that uncommon to see positioning moves with 3+ 66's plus plenty of top and tailing on RHTT's, excursions etc.

Indeed, the Atlas Stobart is the fourth option, and there's a thread on it http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/93854-atlas-editions-stobart-class-66/&do=findComment&comment=3418440

Posted previously on the Merl Evans thread but shows PLPR coach, not 100% sure it is R4298 though - livery looks good representation:

There's a button on the Hornby homepage marked "international brands" - click and all the 2019 announcements for all brands are there https://www.Hornby.com/uk-en/shop/international-brands.html Rivarossi have nice big rail gun similar to the Oxford one...

If you are struggling to get anything to load today I'd suggest the issue probably isn't at Hornby's end.

Are you aware that Hattons nows supplies it's own brand models to other retailers and has launched its own brand of scenic materials? This is about rather more than just class 66's. Hattons appear to have deliberately targeted a number of key lines of Bachmann's business. And unlike Hornby, Bachmann have no direct sales process or access to major high street retailers to fall back on nor do they have the brand recognition that Hornby have. Hattons' action seem to pose a serious threat to Bachmann's business. Look at the likes of Uber and others - if Hattons dominate both retail and manufacture we the modellers will lose out. Suckered by cheap 66's we damage Bachmann. Do the math - a simple business strategy would be take out the weaker/more exposed of the two main manufacturers, replace them in the marketplace and then produce the newly tooled 37's etc. However without serious competition prices won't be £150 a loco but something more akin to Roco or Fleischmann. Then the squealing will really start! Be careful what you wish for. I hope Bachmann come out fighting next week.

I'm seeing the website problems as a positive - it seems to indicate huge interest in their 2019 range. Even global companies sometimes find their websites overwhelmed. Hornby have better things to focus on than 24 hours of high website demand. Working just fine now.