Trains4U

We have a few more vehicles in the works… I’m going to have to put entries for all these elsewhere soon! in addition to the late spartan, we now have the early version, with mudguards and smaller headlights. this covers the 1978- early 1990s period. The stowage box is an optional fit. Secondly, is the first-gen WMIK, which is suitable for the 1990s this lacks the top-armour of the later variant and has steel “wolf” wheels Thirdly, One vehicle that has always been a huge gap in the market the Series 3 109 GS Truck. this will be available in both hard-top and canvas tilt versions This is an essential vehicle for any military formation in the 70s, 80s and early 90s There are some changes required, including military bumpers, and we are looking at options for clear glazing (this is likely to be pre-cut acrylic) finally, and perhaps most requested… The Jackal! this is the current light reconnaissance vehicle of the British army, with over 430 in service since 2008. This version is the Jackal 2, in service from 2009. We are looking at options for the earlier version. This brings our range bang up to date! these designs are undergoing finalisation and we should begin production in the next 3-4 weeks. pricing is TBC but will be along similar lines to existing models. yet more vehicles are in the pipeline… watch this space!

Following a customer request, we have started producing commercial wheel chocs to complement the IPA wagon four chocs are needed per vehicle (one axle is secured) these are available in packs of 16 for £12 they are extremely fine and printed in resin. please drop us a line if wanted. They will be put online soon. just to give you an idea of just how intricate these are…

Maybe in 2043, we’ll see a “Blur Vs Oasis” britpop battle train pack! (you can have that one for free, Hornby!)

I’ve just seen my allocations… I suppose it leaves me with more to spend with other manufacturers.

We are welcoming in 2023 with a new year 23% off sale! 23% off RRP on dozens of new rolling stock items, buildings and accessories in OO scale. New items are being added daily so keep checking back Check out the deals on our website! http://www.trains4u.com/c/886/Sale We will be adding sale items from our Scalextric, Games Workshop and plastic kit ranges as well over the next few days - if you like that sort of thing too!

I'm pleased to say that the vehicles are now available via our website. We have three vehicles available with more being added soon! The British Army Armoured WMIK - suitable for 2010 to present £10.00 each http://www.trains4u.com/p/145292/3D-Printed-Un-Armoured-WMIK-Unpainted-Resin-Model-(1:76-Scale) The British Army Unarmoured WMIK - suitable for 2000 - present £10.00 each http://www.trains4u.com/p/145292/3D-Printed-Un-Armoured-WMIK-Unpainted-Resin-Model-(1:76-Scale) and the late Alvis CVR(T) Spartan Armoured Personnel Carrier, suitable for 1990- 2010 £12.50 each http://www.trains4u.com/p/145293/3D-Printed-Spartan-Unpainted-Resin-Model-(1:76-Scale) All vehicles are supplied unpainted and require some tidying and assembly. You will need a 1.6mm drill bit and Cyano (super) glue to complete. Needless to say, these were incredibly popular at Warley, and we are printing further models this weekend.

Painted examples!

The test prints went well and we have been printing stock in time for Warley look carefully and you may find some in N gauge too! come and see us this weekend on stand C5!

There is a good store in Buford GA Trainmaster I think they seem to have moved since I was last there address is 4th Ave, Auburn, Georgia, USA

Thanks, that had been noted and the design is being amended. (the wheelarches and dash are also being adjusted)

We have had some, but not all of the remanufactured wagons delivered we are expecting more next week and at least one further batch beyond that. Until they arrive in the UK and are checked, we don’t know for certain exactly what will be arriving. right now, we have two of the six red cradle packs, all three packs of our freight brown HOPABs, our yellow coal sector HAAs and EWS HFAs. (I don’t know what KMS have) Before we list anything online, we are working through what orders we can fulfil with what we have. once the next batch arrives (hopefully at the weekend) we will ship out what we can to anyone who has ordered items from the range delivered to date. I appreciate that the wait has been frustrating, but please bear in mind, the whole batch has been remade. not fixed… remade, The problem was identified in mid-May in a little over five months, it has been rectified, tooling modified and thousands and thousands produced, packaged, shipped from China (despite continuing Covid lockdowns and shipping issues) and ready to send out. That, I think, is pretty remarkable! I also appreciate that people wish to be better informed, but we can only tell you what we know, which in all honesty, was not a lot. so now you know what we know. hopefully by the weekend we can advise what else is available :)

I just thought I’d park those there… test printing starts this week. The WMIK is in 1990s - early 2000s configuration without the additional armour. The Spartan is in its later guise with additional storage bins and car headlights. An early version with the “clean” nose and headlights between the tracks is also a possibility These will be available for Warley.

In an unexpected turn, we have been given an allocation of all models in the range.

Hornby are on Amazon though Amazon won’t list product that isn’t shippable.

Most of the transfers we use for custom jobs come direct from Railtec. And we sell Revolution, KR Models, Cavalex, Rapido and Accurascale some of whom were direct only but subsequently opened up to trade and some who have always supplied to trade. But they do all now supply to trade and support retail and are moving in the opposite direction to Hornby.

Opinion respected, but its a conclusion drawn when people jump on any criticism. Genuine views of very experienced people and evidence based facts are dismissed because they don’t match the rose-tinted views of some contributors.

Why? the grievance is directly related to this announcement! Opinions and posts are not restricted to fanboys of the manufacturer in question and glowing praise of their products!

What is not hypothetical is the genuine grievance of the retail trade - note that this latest episode compounds three years worth of other unpleasant issues. It also isn't hypothetical that there is next to no interest to date in the previous TT announcements from Heljan, Gaugemaster and Peco. This is going to be a very tough hill to climb for Hornby, and they can't count on the retailers bailing them out this time (As we have before - If anyone from Hornby does read this, PLEASE look up your not-very-secretly-codenamed "Wedding Show" on the 6th December 2016) - The goodwill evaporated many moons ago...

The announcement from Heljan is certainly going to upset the applecart. I have read and heard statements from a number of retailers who have made it clear that they will not stock any british TT from any manufacturer. And why would they? not only is it another range that dilutes the market, but the key player is actively working against us. Why would it be in my interest as a retailer to stock track and accessories only for the customer to buy the shiny expensive bits elsewhere? what is the incentive? Why would we support the sale of a competing product, even with a non-committal possible consideration of making it available to trade at some point in the future. I'm wondering if Heljan, following Monday's announcements, received a slew of cancellations for their TT offerings from retailers. I hadn't ordered any anyway, I've had maybe two or three people show any interest in it, and none actually prepared to pre-order anything. That, combined with duplication from Hornby, would really make it obvious that it isn't viable. The market is speaking... In all honesty, if I were going to invest in stocking another scale, it would be G, not TT, and nothing anyone has announced has changed that for me so far. I wonder how many retailers (And there are well over 150 in the UK, despite what people say) think the same way?

Yes, factory fitted diesels (08, 31, 40, 90, 101, 108 and 150 so far I think), and steam (N class, 4MT and a few others) from Farish. We've fitted sound to farish 24s, 37s, 47, 55s and Dapol 26s, 33s and 50s. plus farish WDs and duchesses

At least it is in the model shops!

Yes yes they do all the time

And this is a genuine issue. it is all well and good saying “there’s this thing called the internet” but there is a massive assumption that buyers look beyond the name “Hornby”. it is easy to criticise from a (often perceived) position of knowledge as many opinions here are based on personal experience, but 99.9% of contributors on here are at least generally knowledgeable about railways. However… a sizeable proportion of model shop customers are not, these customers “have a Hornby”. Much like they “have a Hoover” It’s often hard enough explaining that Bachmann or PECO will work on their 00 railway. without an explicitly clear differential between the ranges, I forsee many issues and complaints about incompatibilities. I’m not suggesting for a moment that everyone is an idiot, but we do live in a world where disposable barbecues have to have “food not included” warnings printed on them.

Local toy shops DO exist, just not in the way you remember Smyths & The Entertainer are huge chains plus Argos and the superstores…