After being an observing guest on this site for way too long (at least 7 years to my eternal shame), this announcement by Hornby regarding TT:120 has moved me at last to act.
Some personal background seems in order first. I am now in my early 70's and my involvement in railways in general and modelling in particular stems from when I was 6 years old (with earlier related memories than that ) with Hornby Dublo 'on the carpet' with my older brother and trainspotting a year later. With the demise of steam (on the Western) and music, soccer and girls, in no particular order, taking precedence throughout my mid teens to mid 20's , mea culpa, I lapsed altogether, but, my brother retained and enhanced his modelling life with club membership and a move to 0 gauge in the mid 1970's, at which time, newly married and seeking a hobby, he enticed me back. I have been securely 7mm F/S ever since, in quite a big way.
However, throughout that time, at multi gauge shows, though few and far between, layout displays in f/s 3mm (Bec kits and Peco wagons etc) have always appealed by way of size/scale. There is just something about it. For normal home use indoors it is just perfect, whereas 0 and even 00, are just too big, and I have never got beyond planning for home use in 0 gauge, (club and a garden railway group being a route along) and 00 has never appealed.
As part of a job lot at auction several years ago I acquired at minimal cost some 3mm stock, Kitmaster coaches, Peco and Triang TT wagons, and fascinatedly fondled😮 them over time, but, due to constraints of kit and scratch building in 3mm, I moved them on recently, and then..... this announcement for which I have waited years!
I wish Hornby (and Peco with clearly a tacit mutual arrangement) every success with this long overdue event, and am keen to become involved (and indoors at last) but with a f/s background it won't be just yet due to shortage of variety and lack of smaller locomotives. A roundy roundy table top layout is not appealing though for the memory alone the Duchess of Montrose and Stanier period 3 stock certainly fits the bill.
Thanks for indulging me.
B.
