thohurst

an 88 would indeed be brilliant, however (please correct me if I'm wrong) it has been said by Accurascale themselves that there's already an agreement in place for another manufacturer to produce the 88? Not sure if my memory is serving me so well here, but I seem to remember seeing this somewhere. Presumably, it would be Dapol considering they have the class 68 in their stable?

This is brilliant! Past the era I model but looks like I'll be buying a few anyways 😉

I'm convinced that the 8F is coming from Accurascale after seeing a rather suggestive tweet a number of weeks ago: count me in for far too many than my wallet can handle!

A few things I've got my fingers crossed for from Accurascale: - Shockhood B's (Would make sense as the use the same/similar underframe as the Coil A/MDV) - Gloucester Cemflo (They've done multiple runs of the Met-Cam, would be nice to see the Gloucester version) - APCM Bagged cement van (once again, a nice addition to their Cemflo's) - Ford Palvan - More MK2's (Manchester pullman, here's hoping!)

I think Hornby really has lost a grip on the products that used to be their signature. Smaller and bigger manufacturers alike have come in and grabbed some of the most iconic and popular models from Hornby's old rage - and Hornby's options are now limited - They don't seem to make Diesel, Electric or DMU & EMU's to a high-enough standard, which really just leaves them with Steam, of which they have an ever dwindling list of options. It looks like they might even lose the 8f to Accurascale thanks to a little tease on twitter, fingers crossed. Having lost the Freightliner FFA/FGA to Bachmann a number of years ago, the Cartic sets Revolution announced not too long ago, Rapido's new VIX ferry van, Accurascale with the MGR hoppers - These were all in Hornby's stable of older tooling's, seems a shame they didn't jump at the chance to give these common models some new life with updated tooling, but I think we can all be grateful for these other manufacturers stepping in! Seeing how these newer Manufacturers like Accurascale, Revolution and Rapido communicate with their customers, and the positive reputations they've gained, it does make me wonder how a company like Hornby will fare in the future for this hobby. These companies understand and listen to their customers, and they know what they want, and they continue to bring new models to the market at higher standards than ever before, while being competitive with price.

I would desperately like to see a class 304 in RTR also, however I dearly hope Hornby does NOT choose to make one - I just feel they wouldn't do it justice. It seems like the sort of model that would be better off in Bachmann's hands, especially considering Bachmann's electric locomotives seem to have been far better than Hornby's attempts thus far.

I am Immeasurably happy this wagon has been chosen! One I've hoped for many years would be made to this caliber. Well done Rapido!

Absolutely perfect choice, Accurascale! This looks like it's going to be an incredible model, at an incredibly competitive price considering the current state of things too! Just a shame there's no Green/Small-Yellow-Panel version. Would love to see one of the first batch (D5500-5519) in green/SYP!

I think the problem is less what has been done previously, and more what is presently available: A significant portion of these variants, in again a significant number of liveries have been unavailable for some time, and scouring the internet for pre-owned models has proven challenging, at least for finding Blue/Grey Bachmann Mk2 & Mk2a's. Accurascale seem to have perfected bringing constant supply - With a lot of their models having frequent re-releases with just different running numbers. Should they choose to expand their Mk2 range, I feel they'd do a great job of keeping these models available for purchase, rather than having to dig for seconds.

Now that Accurascale have filled a gap in the MK2 range with the mk2b, I'd love to see them attempt some of the other variations (even ones already done). As someone who's only just recently begun modelling the mid-to-late 60's period, I've found it incredibly hard to come across MK2 and MK2A's from Bachmann - Seems they've been very slack for a number of years with the amount of early MK2 coaches they've produced. I really think it'd be fantastic to see Accurascale corner the MK2 market. Should they choose to go down this path, they'd be able to produce a specific MK2 EMU that "everyone" has been asking for , along with the Manchester Pullman MK2 service.

I definitely see the desire for AC EMU's growing - it's the next logical step in the RTR market. Myself, along with many others on this topic and others have suggested various AC EMU's. Personally I'm holding high hopes that Accurascale produce a class 310, I think they're the only ones that could do it justice. I know some would prefer lower spec, cheaper EMU's, but if accurascale produced a 310 or 304 with all the bells and whistles - Proper lights, multiple bogie drive, motorized pantograph, I'd buy one (or even more!) in a heartbeat!

Would love to see a retooled and well detailed diagram 1/227 ferry van, and a ford palvan. Along with many others on this forum, I'd also like to see a retooled 8F and black 5 - I think it's right up Hornby's alley.

I think it's also important to remember that this is one of the earlier samples as far as I'm aware. The next lot of (presumably painted?) samples will have fixed various errors.

Thanks all for the advice. Some food for thought. I think I'm pretty set on 1966' time-base wise, so most likely it seems HAA's wouldn't have been seen on this part of the WCML at the time?

I'm very tempted to preorder some Accurascale pre-tops HAA hoppers. Would they have been seen on the electrified section of the WCML in the late 1960's? Haven't been able to find any photos of them under wires until the 70's. Cheers.

Has there been any update from Peco on the multi-track portal since they showed the sample some time ago?

I wonder what happened to this one, It seemed like an imminent release a few months ago. Hopefully it stays the same price for when they are finally released, they seem like a bargain!

They do some nice containers, for sure! Unfortunately as far as I'm aware, they don't produce any late 60's containers suitable for the early freightliner services.

I'd even settle for some container expansion packs with these extra variety of containers if they feel releasing new wagons isn't a viable option (though I don't see how it isn't)

I would really like to see Bachmann release another round of these. The inner sets for the early freightliner models are sold out virtually everywhere. I think it'd be great to see them release some new inner & outer sets with some different container types - Particularly the open containers, and the Guards caboose box for the outer set.

Perhaps a good candidate for KR models to do?

Would be interesting to see Accurascale try these. The only picture I've managed to find of one - 20t side discharge salt hopper. diag. 1/085

Looking forward to an update on these, Hopefully they have not been cancelled.

Not to divert too far away from the intention here, but I feel like upgrading the socket goes hand in hand with upgrading the tender connection on Hornby's locomotives. Some of the latest offerings from Dapol with the mogul, KR with the GT3 and Bachmann with the new V2 (along with plenty of US steam models) have shown with great success how electrical connections can be implemented into the tender connection while still being easily removable and reliable. If Hornby were to adopt this approach, they would be able to fit plenty more than just four wires to the tender, and make it so much easier to remove, I find those small screws such a hassle.

I feel that Bachmann have been pushing the socket dilemma in the right direction. By using the plux (8, 12, 16, 22) socket on their diesels and/or larger models, it's future proofing for plenty of functions and outputs. Along both Bachmann and Dapol with the next18 socket for smaller models and sockets inside the boilers of steam locos. If Hornby wanted to move to the plux socket I think it would be a smart idea. More functionality for those who want it, but because the socket is designed to use anywhere from 8-22 pins, they could have their TTS range still work fine with very little modification, just change the 8-pin plug to a plux8 plug. The move to these sockets also makes sound fitting easier and potentially more versatile. By having a socket equipped with the speaker output pins, for example what Dapol did with the mogul, a speaker in the smokebox and space for a second one in the tender, with the wires and connectors already provided in the model! It makes a lot more sense for an easy installation.