ruggedpeak

Thanks Huw. Was re-reading recent mags over the weekend as in bed with this year's seasonal man-flu so fired up the laptop to enter as something to do!

Just tried to enter the Western Power competition in this issue (closes 12 October) but it appears to have closed already

There are announcements this month on new Hornby commissions from NRM and Rails - November Hornby mag will have details. I'm not surprised Hornby have reduced the minimum quantity and are getting into commissions given the volumes Bachmann are doing, and Rapido etc. Reduces risk but still allows throughput. The market has changed and they are behind the curve. It makes a huge amount of sense to do lower volume commissions where there is no requirement for new tooling i.e. relivery jobs. After all, Bachmann is busy wearing out its 66 toolings!

Few close ups from DRS Open Day 2016. I couldn't get far enough back for my camera to get a full side on view, but they offer some useful detail.

That image is crying out for a caption competition!

‎ Oxford make money selling cheap and cheerful model cars and trucks etc that are shiny and colourful and at prices that means much of their range are impulse purchases ie £5. They also seem to flood the market with stock, presumably as they are so cheap to produce compared to a small wagon. ‎ ‎ I don't ever recall anyone rivet counting an Oxford 1:76 Mini or Fiesta. Fine for plonking on a layout as scenery but not subject to anything like the scrutiny of roling stock ‎ ‎ As Oxford are finding (in the media at least) the 'almost good enough'‎ may not cut it in the current rail market. The concern is that Hornby don't adopt the same 'almost good enough' approach. This seems to be one of Oxford"s core competences, producing okish models at prices below competitors. The road vehicles range was exploiting a gap in the market for decent, relevant vehicle models, however Oxford Rail is competing in a well established market with both incumbents and aggressive new entrants. A very different ballgame. We don't know if the Rail division is profitable so don't know if this strategy is working. My fear is Oxford's MO is more Northern Nellie than Peckett. Hopefully this new chap understands the difference. I also agree with the view that Hornby's lack of profitability is due to certain underperforming ranges and poor business decisions over the last few years.

My local shop is full of models more than 2 years old, and they don't update the prices. The label goes inside the clear bit of the box and stays there until it's sold. Have paid some very historic prices

As an aside I've just read in this month's Hornby mag that Hornby are also doing exclusives with NRM and Rails of Sheffield, details to be announced next month.

Bear in mind these days optimising value is seen as loading the company up with debt, charging extortionate 'management fees, separating out ownership of IP and assets and charging rent for them before driving the company into the ground to get rid of the problematic bits ie staff, customers etc. I hope this isn't the case here.

Exactly my point, which is what happened to indie computer shops. The retail landscape has changed dramatically, and running a large chain of stores based on current volumes and margins (plus increasing direct/crowdfund sales channels) makes this probably impossible to sustain. The Hattons/Rails model or the number of model shops in cheaper industrial units evidence this. But Hornby is a manufacturer and brand owner who should and needs to be showcasing its brands and ranges to the wider public, not just us existing enthusiasts. Hornby's brand and ranges need to be 'out there' to boost their sales as overall sales to enthusiasts are probably maxxed out at present and competition to Hornby from new manufacturers/commissioners selling to enthusiasts (as against the general public etc) such as Rapido, DJM, Locomotion, Revolution etc is increasing by the day. They are all exploiting the here and now for the existing crowd, but we need model businesses to work to expand the hobby as well. Of these newbies to the market, who is investing in trying to grow the hobby and attract new entrants, apart from Hornby?

Model Zone failed because they expanded too much, were carrying too many expensive retail properties and debt i.e. poor business model and business decisions: "A spokesperson for Modelzone admitted it was struggling in its most recent accounts filed with Companies House: "Trading performance for the year was disappointing ... Following a review of the business, it became clear that the business infrastructure and management capability was insufficient, not only to take the business forward and grow further, but also to deliver sustainable profitability." https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/aug/28/modelzone-collapses-deloitte-fails-buyer That does not mean a well planned, carefully executed and limited risk trial of retail premises based upon the entire Hornby plc range will suffer the same fate. Model Zone and Beatties were both pure retail plays that struggled to adapt to the 21st century and growth of the internet, as did many other retailers in other sectors who went bust, yet their sectors remain perfectly healthy. Jessops is a good example, although they have scraped through. Hornby and my suggestion are a totally different proposition, and I would suggest more akin to a Lego/Games Workshop hybrid. Model Zone failed yet Hattons, Rails and others are going great guns. And as I've pointed out before, the model market is following exactly the same path as the indie computer games sector did about 20 years ago, which sadly involved a lot of indies closing However the opportunities are there.

I have to disagree about the cliche bit, based my anecdotal evidence from reading magazines and overhearing conversations at shows - many layout articles I read in the likes of BRM refer to the layout builder making a connection to their childhood in choice or type of layout. This is a recurring theme, and whilst one swallow doesn't make a summer, a good example is Heaton Lodge Junction (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/110677-heaton-lodge-junction/ ). A recent article about it in BRM (? haven't time to look it up at present) even had a photo of the layout builder and his 2 brothers as young lads clinging onto a gate watching trains at the location he now models decades later. Loitering around layouts at shows it amazes me how many people discuss their connection with those layouts based upon real locations. I had no family or professional connection with trains (other than commuting via EMU's everyday :yawn: ) other than Thomas stories and then a Hornby HST set, plus early teens gricing, before a lull of 25 years and now I am spending [too much] on models again in early middle age. I think a battery train set is something that can potentially lead to an interest in railways even in this day and age.

It is a bargain and a fab model with considerable modelling potential given the range of things NR has done/tried with the MPV, from experimental timber (MPV plus OTA's) and container trains (covered in RE magazine) through to the OHL renewal train that is various MPV units and wagons joined together. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/dr98003/ And if you have the ability you can do some pretty good stuff with it: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/106497-big-jims-workbenchits-all-gone-a-bit-yellow/page-5

It's not about whether the photos and words are the same, as paying customers some (many?) of us don't want to see the same layout twice within a few months. Otherwise we feel we are not getting our money's worth from the mags. It's bad enough having to see endless multi-page reviews of Kernow's 4TC in every mag for a period of 2-3 months, let alone then see the same layouts over and over.

I mentioned last month about problems with the layout of the print mag. Even worse this month. Pictures across 2 pages such as the Neely shot on p22-23 is ruined by poor placement, half the 66 is missing. This plus random borders or not borders on other pictures, some disappearing into the centre, it is a mess and noticeable when trying to read the mag. I don't know if its a layout/design issue or problems at the printers but it isn't good. The Gaugemaster ad is affected as you can't see prices on one page or product references on the other - in fact that page highlights the wonky binding. There seems little point Andy Y taking excellent photos if the end result looks like this: Something has gone wrong in the last few months. There never used to be a problem with pictures across the spine.

I don't disagree, but not getting in front of the wider public is IMHO holding back all Hornby's brands. And it only has to be in a handful of the most relevant malls across the UK. This is not just about trains, but Corgi, Airfix, Scalextrix, Pocher etc. The business case would have to stack up. Throw in the overseas rail brands and you have the potential to make an interesting store. I'm not a retail expert but even as a temporary pop up type store it could be trialled. Some malls do this. And with everything from the latest detailed Colas 60 to the Junior set, Airfix Quickbuild and starter kits, there is something for everyone to think about buying. And who wouldn't drool over a finished 1:24 Typhoon model if it were on display?

Except every business and brand has to attract the next generation of customers. Those 60 year olds they target now probably people who grew up with a trainset and/or trainspotting. Who came back to modelling having experienced it as a child or teen. Kids today are not necessarily getting that exposure so that when they are 60 they won't look back and think of their chidlhood fun playing trains, it will be something else. You have to invest in future customers as well as today's, or you will have no future. That is the problem the industry faces, 40 years time what proportion of the middle aged+ people will have any reminisences of playing trains as compared to today? This new set does something to address that and hopefully be profitable as well. Even Ferrari has to think about future customers: http://store.ferrari.com/au_en/kids-1/accessories/toys.html I definitely agree with earlier comments about families at shows etc not really having the opportunity to buy relevant (to them) products to make that entry into the hobby. The traditional trainset may be past its sell by date. Stands at shows probably don't stock something suitable for a smallish family purchase as it is probably not in trader's best interests, but museums etc ensure they have a range of things suitable to flog as you leave the venue. And this is where I also think a Hornby store with its full range of brands along the lines of a Games Workshop with demo's etc is needed to get more people into modelling of any sort - I did trains, model planes and tanks as a teenager, although now I only do trains but use the same skills. A store can have a Thomas layout and a all signing all dancing DCC sound layout and all sorts of stuff. I'll bite against the negativity. Anyone with reasonable spending power and teen or pre-teen kids will probably have the current Xbox and Playstation and many games at £49.95. Even ignoring the phone contract the annual spend on games, addons, accessories (extra controllers and headsets etc) and gaming devices is significant. And with each iteration the systems are only partly backward compatible, so more games have to bought. Traditional trainsets are not compatible with the way kids today tend to play. They play with something for a while then get bored and play with something else. A traditional Hornby set that has to sit on a 6x4 board simply doesn't fit that behaviour. This new set that is easy and flexible to put up, then pack away again when they go off trains for a while before coming back to it, is ideal. As is the accessories. Kids today are not like us adults who build a collection over a long period, they want lots of varied experiences of different things. Yet Hornby have made it compatible with 'proper' sets in case they do. My kids had a Tomy Thomas set with no extra bits yet played with for hours. Young kids don't need a whole catalogue of accessories, that's an adult thing. They want something that is fun for a reasonably long time until they get bored and then [their parent's] can pack it away and move onto the next thing. Whilst Brio had a range it was not necessary to get play value to buy lots of stuff. And finally - perhaps a new RMWeb challenge is who can building the best layout based upon the new Junior set, using all the bits in the box?

A few points: 1) if a child/teen is on their Playstation/iPhone etc believe me it is just as expensive as model railways as they spendreal money on virtual must have in game features for FIFA. As a parent it is infuriating since this money is not a tangible object that can be retained or passed on (like my model trains from when I was a kid) but a virtual nothing that will disappear when next year's FIFA comes out. Trains sets are probably a lot cheaper than x hundred pounds on a phone and contract (an iPhone contract is going to cost £500-800) and numerous app and online purchases. 2) Its already been mentioned that kids are turning away from virtual to real as they are bored with screens, and giving the increasing complexity and general crapness of modern IT in not actually working (see Rails website thread for example) many of us want to avoid the IT rubbish that we have to fight with every day at work and have a nice analogue hobby that doesn't involve screens or settings etc. If cost is an issue why are people doing DCC in droves (apart from the presumably sadistic pleasure to turning a perfectly good analogue mechanical object into a piece of IT!). DCC Sound doubles the cost of locos etc, yet specialist DCC businesses appear to be doing very nicely thank you. 3) Have you watched the video for the new set? It is not only at a great price point, but includes a tunnel, station, trees, signals and OHL line equipment. The train is also compatible with OO track. Plenty to play with exactly as per Brio etc. It is a great product with huge potential and I believe is being sold through major high street retailers to ensure it reaches the full audience. Which links to the wider point about the alleged demise of the hobby and Hornby. Hornby is investing and turning out products that are selling. Attendance at key shows and at preseved railways and for things like the Flying Scotsman runs shows there remains a huge interest in railways in general, but the industry has not been as good as it could at harnessing this. When the Scotsman was doing its recent runs where was Hornby or indeed any of the model railway sector to leverage this awareness and interest? If the hobby is declining it makes no sense to see Rapido, DJM, Hattons and many others bringing new models to market, DCC companies expanding rapidly and bringing innovation (none of which is cheap either!), bespoke baseboard/layout suppliers popping up etc. It is going through change and not all is positive (losing small shops) but declining? No, it is vibrant and alive. Personally I think Hornby should be opening flagship stores like Lego and Disney in major shopping centres to promote and sell all their brands, especially as such centres lack decent places for males to hang out during shopping trips! This wouldn't conflict with model shops as they are not in the Westfields etc.

Sounds great, count me in for a signed copy!

This one? It is very readable (read it on holiday) and comprehensive. A book that then applied this to common or not so common layout situations would be most useful.

Sweet. Like the headcode number 61 written in the screen dirt!

I suspect the no front brake offence will have had some trivial punishment like £30 fine so not worth bothering with when there were offences with custodial sentences. Shame he was NG on manslaughter. Don't understand it, this was not an "accident" of bad luck but the result of deliberate acts by this chap. This tragic incident was entirely avoidable. The courts still seem to treat road deaths as not as serious as other types of death.

I commend this publication to you - several chapters on crossings of all type, including the use of lasers and radar to detect obstacles on some types of crossings. https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/abc-Modern-Signalling-Handbook-Chris-Hall/0711038392

Coaches with frickin laser beams.......................!

Jim Were you by any chance at Liverpool Street this evening with 37057? Update: SWMBO took the photo as it was pulling out and said it was "very hot and smelly". Given the roof is only a few feet above the exhausts I'm not surprised! She took the picture cos it "wasn't a normal train at Liverpool Street" (i.e. not a white 90/317/321/360!). She was surprised later when I said "Big Jim drives that one..." and showed her this thread