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So is Hornbys launch stock, a decent combination of well known mainline preserved steam and modern diesels! "Contemporary" changes over time!

I feel that's missing the point, they are launching a new scale and trying to get new people involved, probably many without much interest or knowledge of railways. So a 4f for example wouldn't sell well, but a Pacific that looks like those they may have seen on tv or even in real life will. Horses for courses. We'll see other options in due course, but we'll have to be patient.

Oh, that is soooo ugly! Someone get in some decent designers, Battista Farina and the other Italian designers must be turning in their graves. Harris Mann is still around, they should employ him!!

Crazy Track and Mainline are aimed at two different markets, Mainline is very much modern 750/760mm gauge track and is very good, code 80 is just fine for that, also it competes with Tillig which has the looks but isn't as robust, and Roco which has good plain track but not so good points. I'd agree that Crazy Track needs replacing with the "code" 55 rail, though, it was brought out in a time when pizza cutter wheels were the norm, but with modern RTR we don't need the rail depth and the rail height is far out of line with most modern heritage narrow gauge line which use far lighter rail. There's a couple of layouts going round based on the Welshpool which use code 40 and it's amazing how much better they look. Even the code 55 would be better than code 80. Can't see it happening any time soon, though.

Will most of the people that but the models actually notice? I somehow doubt it...

It's also used in Europe as TTm for metre gauge prototypes, there's stuff on Shapeways based on the Harz and Brohtalbahn, there may be others but I haven't investigated it any further... As yet!

Just shows what can be fitted in compared with 00/H0.

Wouldn't be much use to the train set brigade they are aiming at, flexi track isn't as easy as set track on a trackmat! Seriously, though, Peco will do the things that you ask in due course, so no need for Hornby to do it?

You've probably said, but to save me going through the whole thread, how big is it?

The Russians nicked the rest and took it back with them as war reparations! ;)

Wow! I never thought I'd say this but I wish he was back in charge with comments like that! At least until it's sorted!!

Thanks, folks, she was OK on Sunday morning and we went out, When we came back she was totally different, hardly moving, thirst but no appetite. The vet says it can come on really quick sometimes which is what's happened here.

Snowy 2006 - 2022 RIP

True, what's surprising is hoe good their TT stuff was, I suppose that was with exports in mind.

Having new staff in those areas who may not be used to railway modelling and the various scales may explain some of the errors seen in some of the publicity so far?

I'd agree with Andy that there probably will be a need in due course, just no yet, whilst the target market might not want them there will be plenty of us existing modellers that are giving it a go that might! I was thinking about just cutting a building in half like I did on a recent H0e layout to make half relief models, using the other half elsewhere. Though I do like the look of Sandsmodels ones, I take it they will "clean up" and can have windows, doors, etc., fitted? I have a stock of TT and H0 scale doors and windows from a trip to the Czech Republic a few years ago!

It rather depends on how far in the background, if it were a street right behind the station and the half relief buildings were there I'd say that N scale ones would be too small. I've constructed plenty of building in 1:120 and they are quite a bit larger (more than you'd think!) than N scale ones I've seen at shows on s/h stalls. I made the mistake of buying an N scale one once thinking it would be OK, but it wasn't. Maybe in the far background, as forced perspective but any closer I'd suggest not.

Yes, the Piko N stuff was what I meant. We still see it around and it looks dire, considering what BTTB were churning out at the sane time it's not surprising N didn't take off in the old Soviet Bloc. I take it that it would be nigh on impossible to import western n gauge as well?

If it was Peco 12mm gauge track 5 or 6 years ago it was actually H0m track and so H0 scale track for metre gauge (Swiss) prototypes. Personally I preferred the Ratio TT track bases that you slotted rail into, I feel it looked better than the heavier looking H0m track when i modelled in 00n3, but my only H0m layout I used Peco and it looked fine. I'd have thought the sleeper spacing and size a little large for TT3 but with ballasting would look fine?

It pre dates N and the new flats being built in the Eastern Bloc were small, so it fitted the bill for people who hadn't the room for H0. By the time N came out and was of decent quality (some early stuff was dreadful) it had already taken root and N never got going in the East. I recon!! Andy, you read too much into stuff sometimes, I was simply expressing a different viewpoint, I could equally say the same about some of your own and others posts. That's all it is, nothing more, nothing less.

In effect we have the same conversation going on two threads! I'd throw this into the equation as well, re Heljan, Hornby cannot stop anyone else going into the market and we've had plenty of duplications in the past. Heljan could have looked at the Hornby launch as free publicity for TT120 and for any stock they may produce, in fact, even better than that, as only Heljan and Peco would be in the shops that gives them another sales edge, as any Hornby customers going into a shop to pick up Peco and other stuff like scenic materials would see the Heljan stock. But no, they've simply pulled out, that seems to make sense to some people but I still don't see the logic.

I do, but it doesn't seem logical. Before Hornby's big reveal when virtually nothing was due to be launched they were willing to go ahead even though any range would be tiny but now they aren't because it won't be in the shops. By that logic (if that's what it is and not just a dig at Hornby) if Hornby do start to sell it in shops they will be willing to start production - but the won't, because they've stopped everything. It still seems to me like they wanted to bail out and this gave them the chance, but they are hardly likely to admit that in public. You may view it differently, which is, of course, your prerogative. I await their TT stock when Hornby start selling it in shops, then! ;)

See this post I made earlier about a disabled guy with an EV, sounds like you will sympathise!

It's been five years in the making so not rushed! I suspect, as others have said, that the stuff is on the boat in its container so they know the arrival date and can start the launch. We can read too much into things, see the comments about the display model, which it now appears aren't the production models but stuff put together to publicise it. I'm not a finescale modeller so even those models looked, in the main, ok!

I wasn't aware that Auto Express were conducting a campaign, but well done them. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/358995/new-public-electric-car-charger-accessibility-standard-launched?amp&fbclid=IwAR0mUXFKsBQFyKzGkyUzBV5IvFXy1KyV7_SqDCn-vsqEap9B-TWfhtjhOxA