Nova Scotian

I follow the announcements for a motorcycle manufacturer. Every round they have similarly "cloaked" teasers - you can tell if the wheels are spoked or cast, 17" vs 19" vs 21", you can guess the general format, but hard to do specifics. The frothing from these announcements would cover the UK 9 feet deep in gooey, motorcyclist froth. The Hornby one on the other hand I agree looks AI generated and therefore not a teaser. The dimensions and angles of the loco are what AI thinks it could be, without knowing what it is. Eg. The distance from chimney to dome, the short distance from dome to the end, the lack of any can structure etc. Looking forward to the announcement tomorrow, not quite as jaded as most here. I'm certain there'll be a dublo, I think it'll be a Princess per my earlier post, but smart money would be on a Castle class.

Wow, first 1980 release. Amazing how well the mainline and airfix tooling stands up today. Even the mechanisms, but for their longevity.

Let's see someone's running :)

https://www.burevalleymodels.com/c/241/Analogue

They could always jump on a certain trend and we'd get: - express blue - experimental blue - desert sand/khaki - maroon - BR big logo blue - Intercity swallow - Provincial railways - Transport for Wales/ScotRail Saltire - Harry Needle - Network Rail Yellow Eight-to-ten "might have been" liveries. Run 50 of each, you've got 400-500 added to the run. Special collectors certificate and you're golden. In seriousness, few Clans still around new, those that are are 190 GBP plus showing there's strong demand (limited discounting). It might be they need to give it a couple more years, but I certainly see another clan run in the next three years.

Oh, sorry - not sure how I missed that one! I also missed their Hunslet 16" announcement apparently, I was thinking that might be an industrial tank that Hornby would tackle.

Alright, my 2024 predictions. - Hornby Dublo Princess - Hornby Clan class (reckon it's time to see one again) - Hornby permutation of the IET (eg. Class 805 etc) - Hornby Class 27xx (or similar - a reimagining of a Hornby staple done to modern standards, and Bachmann already did the Jinty) - Hornby - one really stonking industrial tank like an Andrew Barclay 18" - Hornby - Lion without the brass firebox - Hornby - Announce a 197/196 etc to get their elbows out on a modern multiple unit, but takes 2+ years for delivery. - Bachmann, I reckon are going to come out with an updated Class 165/166 or similar - supporting their modern image DMU line. Lots of more recent livery choices and time for a high-fidelity DCC release. - Bachmann Class 57 using the upgrades from the 47 - Dapol - longshot, but reckon they were the HST competition that Hornby were worried about (per TV show). Class 43 and bunch of mk3s to be released 2024. - Dapol GWR steam, in order of liklihood: Saint, Grange, County, Star - Rapido - something to support their metropolitan product line, maybe A class? - Rapido Midland 115 (Spinner) - waste not to use what they learned from the Stirling Single - Accurascale - reckon a Class 59 to take on Dapol's (learning from the 66 Hattons project) - Heljan I'm struggling with, I think it's going to be something 8 coupled, like an LMS 7F - Heljan Class 10 Someone will announce an S160, now two WD Austerity 2-10-0s are on the cards. Someone will do a modern run of a Brittania, I couldn't decide who. Could be Hornby. Longer shot, but I think someone may attempt a class 13 as a niche product, but giving them the chassis design and most of the tooling to then see if there's interest in taking on both Hornby and Bachmann with an 08 release. No-one will do a Dx class.

With the jackshaft fixed, is there enough slop for when the axles deflect in the hornbeams? Or do you deal with it another way?

Shame these photos were lost in the server crash - maybe the OP can upload again one day or has an external site available? The state of this rail line continues to deteriorate. To me, Fiona was the last nail in the coffin for anything being salvageable, but I've not been up to see the line since (only heard of the significant washouts).

Rapido didn't get me what I really wanted this Christmas. Squirrelling 20 quid a week away next year for the hobby, half of that for rolling stock, if Rapido can put out a L&YR Class 25 or MSC long tank 0-6-0 they'll have at least a third of my rolling stock budget in a heartbeat.

If the board of directors are at the individual product level for approval then management + board is a complete mess. (eg. Titfield) Additionally, the olympic range was over a decade ago. With various term limits, changes etc I doubt much of the board from back then are on the board today. I did not like steampunk - but you can see what they tried to do with it, all the chassis already exist, the tooling changes were minimal. The "deals" have been no better than anywhere else they're currently blowing out the 0-4-0s for thirty quid. Win or loss, steampunk was probably a rounding error on an income statement. More serious to me was what they did to the Basset-Lowke name and the inability to determine how to have a real brand strategy. Happy for tiers to be gone - also hoping to see less of the silly for popular product launches - far too many times you'd see them sell out on pre-orders online + retailers, then a retailer would find themselves shorted (with an angry customer) and miraculously a handful of stock would turn up online again. That extra 30%-40% margin is extremely tempting.

Can anyone share the deal? The interface they're using the open the "door" isn't working on my mobile device.

I hope that not all the ones I voted for are made available to purchase as my bank account would not take it. I think there are about eight here I want - of those two fit perfectly what I'm starting to build out, the other six are rule 1. One of them involves a new gauge to me! If launched in the same year I could stretch to two or three - if they're spread out over the next decade I'd get all eight. Or I just have to get better at making Judith Edge kits and do a couple myself! Not as quirky - but tortured by my decision not to jump on Bellerophon pre-order. Great example of a very small locomotive class where an order would be purely rule 1 - because I want it. And if Rapido/Accurascale/Bachmann/Hornby/Heljan were making it I'd have ordered. Children getting to the age where I can send them down pit - that might help fund more of my selections.

With the details it would have been rude not to... Green lined one winging its way to my family, I'll collect the next time I'm there. I'll look for some PBA transfers and a made up nameplate sometime.

My FOMO is strong and likely well founded. Ummed and arred all week - went out for a christmas do last night, drank more than I usually do. Came home and thought "I'll figure out paying for it somehow", but then realised I missed the promotion! My own stupid fault. Hope everyone has fun next week as their packages arrive :) In the cold light of a Saturday morning I have to buy cat litter, dog food, and the expensive monthly pill for fleas + ticks for the dog, adding up to about the cost of a Kerr Stuart Victory

@Talltim Exactly. If I'm modelling 2023, great, but trying to model what I see on the railway today would be constantly changing. I wonder how many people say "this moment, in November of 2023, on the 22nd day, is the exact moment by which I wish to capture this scene, and I am certain that after months spent building it and thousands on rolling stock that won't change"

I build a layout for 1953 and I can be certain that noone is going to change livery on me. It's a set time in the past. I build a 2023 layout, I invest huge sums in 221s, 390s, 68s and mk5s, a 397 not yet made, 185s, 802s, some 66s, 60s, etc etc. Modern day Carlisle. Next year a train operator has been taken over, livery changes. Or 68s and mk5 are withdrawn. If I'm interested in a present day layout I'm now replacing stock, which isn't available. Or I'm leaving my layout stuck in 2023. Which isn't up to date now it's 2024. There are liveries that lasted a brief hiccup in time. I've been shocked at how much some kind-of-modern liveries are so unpopular now. Say GNER in the 373s era of 2000-2005 (chosen at random as I liked that livery and the 373s on that route were awesome) Any manufacturer needs enough volume. Are there 500-1000 people modelling the ECML 2000-2005? I bet there are several times more modelling it in 1955. Guess what I'm getting at is the market slice is small - having the money to keep their modeling up to date, which limits manufacturer interest Oh and commuter EMUs are boring. Like black 0-6-0s that noone can tell apart. Expresses in the past, shunters, and freight in the modern era seem to be where the interest lies.

Per the Planet Industrials thread, Stuart Kerr Victory 0-6-ST - currently 100 GBP, down from 130. https://www.lightrailwaystores.co.uk/collections/planet-industrials If they're good enough for @Phil Parker ;) https://philsworkbench.blogspot.com/2022/10/unboxing-victory.html

The green is close enough to the Port of Bristol Authority green from the steam era I could almost pretend they had to bring one in to supplement the Pecketts and Avonsides... right? Anyone want to talk me into it, or talk me back down off the ledge?

So a quick search through Hornby and the main box shifters shows no new J15s or K1s - this was a problem a couple of years ago (I remember them being blown out at 50% off, maybe even 60% once or twice?) but not for a while. Possibly not even since after the first few months of COVID? Not Hornby, but I remember Heljan O gauge shunters they couldn't give away at 160 quid eventually - now there's nothing that low. The used of that model are now being sold for over 230GBP. From the statement and observation I think the biggest trouble they've had is getting competitively priced production slots that deliver when expected. I think TT will end up being a cash cow - they're getting high margins from direct selling, its selling well, they own the space. We'll know pretty quickly - if we see more and more production slots for TT as opposed to OO we'll know where the money is going. The margins from direct selling are just too attractive, but it doesn't mean they shouldn't have someone working hard on supplier relations, negotiating production slots etc.

They sold out very quickly. I had Vale of Glamorgan sitting in an open tab while I weighed my options, and when I went to add to cart just to see what the shipping would be it had already sold out. 78 quid, and then DCC was about 100 quid. They do "look" right - they carry the heft and the colour scheme etc. The only one they have left in stock is ARC yellow at 123 GBP, which is a saving of about 50 pounds, but not the almost 90 pounds of the deal on black Friday on Vale of Glamorgan. https://www.hattons.co.uk/153959/dapol_4d_005_001_class_59_1_59103_village_of_mells_in_arc_yellow/stockdetail Other Dapol 59s listed on the website are available to pre-order.

Kernow have the lowest prices on the Sentinels I've seen at 55 quid for the 0-6-0 (5-15 quid cheaper than elsewhere. I was on the verge of ordering one for myself, but can't justify it. NCB: https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/74194/R30085-Hornby-Sentinel-0-6-0DH-Diesel-Stanton-No-57---NCB PBA: https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/74192/R30083-Hornby-Port-of-Bristol-Authority-Sentinel-0-6-0DH-39

Link here: https://www.burevalleymodels.com/c/5/Black-Friday The Small England with 40 quid off are good value

Saw a post on twitter this morning of a DB class 60 stating that all will be withdrawn by end of year. https://twitter.com/chris_railway/status/1726936216573214865

Ooooof, this will be a hard one. No L&YR Class 25 or MSC tank as hoped, so should have been an easy day on the credit card. But I love the J52s - have a treasured Hornby example in GNR green (pure rule 1). These look fantastic. May have to sleep on it.