andyman7

Completely agree re the warrant issue - but to be fair the OP has not specifically stated they are looking for freebies. I know that it is unlikely, but having some spare chassis blocks available for purchase would be quite useful!

A great exhibition that both my 10 year old boy and I enjoyed. This N/2mm layout was simply stunning for the perspective and view it achieved:

Given the large quantities of unmade Airfix wagon kits that still seem to be around, I think quite a few people took to heart the message about stocking up. I picked up a couple of perfect unmade Airfix meat wagons for £2 each at Warley......

The issue of Bachmann prices has been very well aired across multiple threads. Suffice to say that the message from 'head office' (USA not Barwell) seems to be that if the Branchline range wants factory time it has got to generate profit per unit on a par with other ranges (e.g. Liliput). We don't have access to their numbers but it may well be that 500 models that sell for £150 will make more profit than 2000 at £100. I can't justfiy a spending spree with these latest prices but the 85 is such a beauty that I may well buy one. Let's face it, 25 years ago, if someone had marketed a ready to run AC electric model to that standard at £200 it would have sold. I aslo suspect that the post-price hike Bachmann models are likely to be much scarcer in years to come and I'd rather not be wishing I'd bought one in 10 years time for the sake of the extra £80.

Agree re pricing, but the TSOs are fewer in number certainly in Airfix guise than BSO/FO simply because there were 3 fewer years of production. That is exacerbated by their being more in demand. Interstingly, probably even the harder to find are Airfix Mk2d FOs and BSOs factory fitted with wide tension lock couplings in correctly labelled post 1980 'GMR' brown boxes, as the overhang of blue box stock meant that these were ordered in far lower numbers in 1980/1. They are more common in unlabelled GMR boxes as it seems that Dapol acquired an awful lot of left over stock and boxes when they bought the Airfix/GMR railway system assets from General Mills/CPG in 1983.

It's not so much that demand was overestimated, more that between 1980 and 1983 the toy trade demand for model railways plummeted. This was the era that saw the demise of Airfix, Mainline and Hornby under DCM ownership as the kids went for computer games and traditional hobbies died a death. The Airfix RTR models were early examples of contract manufacturing as they were made in Hong Kong, and the quantities ordered of the BSO and FO did not take inot account the bottom falling out of the market, so there was a logjam of stock. One of the reasons that post 1983 Hornby models were made in such tiny quantities is that the shops put off ordering more than a bare minimum because in many cases there shelves were still full of pre 1980 red box Hornby.and the 1980-2 range items which had been made in greater quantities.

I don't see any problem with mixing, the key will be in the weathering. I'm currently working on a diorama covered section for my layout with a mix of resin, plastic kit and card buildings (basically using my sundry stash of buildings)

This brings back memories - those early 80s scraplines were mesmerising to me as a youth, approaching Swindon, Derby, Crewe one was confronted with seeminly endless lines of gutted locos, victims of the fall in traditional freight and sympotmatic of seismic changes taking place

The 'Limited Production' versions are quite interesting - there's plenty about suggesting that production wasn't that restricted but as I understand it it was more a reflection that from around 1969 the railway kits weren't included as part of the normal kit stockist selection but were supplied as seperate orders, mainly to model railway retailers which more reflected their intended audience than an 8 year old boy choosing between a Spitfire or a Hurricane.....

I've finally picked up some Blue Grey SOs to complement the FOs and catering vehicle. Incidentally I note that the catering vehicle has yellow corridor ends - I'm sure the one at the buffet end should be red; but the FOs and SOs have off white ends which were definately yellow back in the day. Not a massive issue. Anyway, one of the SOs had the following part loose in the box - any idea where it goes?

Hopefully you will sell rather than scrap, even with the faults it's not worth nothing, useful either as a project or for spares

Just googling to check the dates and it's brought me here - I'm just clarifying this is the 2019 exhibition as the dates in the first post are shown as 2018.

If I understand it correctly, t's the offices that are going back to Margate. Presumably the distributon will remain in Hersden - I recall that the Margate site was not considered ideal for that as t had been designed and built as a factory rather than a distribution centre.

Can you elaborate? I'm aware that Dapol currently and in the past has owned tooling used by other manufacturers but that's not copying.

There are others who can provide more detail but what I have picked up from the informed sources on RMWeb (i.e. those who have been involved in sourcing production) is that fine scale model production does not just need a Chinese factory that can knock out plastic mouldings - it needs a particularly trained and skilled workforce that is a bit less ten-a-penny than you imply. Add to that the fact that British RTR model commissions (which might typically be 1-2000 pieces) are not going to be as attractive to someone trying to amortise their production capacity when offered, say, a US commission for 5-10,000 pieces and I'm not so sure as you that this isn't a problem. What's the evidence? Well, I would have thought the erratic supply of red box, blue box, special commission and other models for quite some years now suggests a systemic issue.

Also the direct selling is at full list price with limited stocks and the website directs you to check out the dealer network when they are out of stock. This is in contrast to a few years back when the website was undercutting dealers and had stock when dealer orders were unfulfilled. Personally although I think it's important to support the dealer network I don't think there are enough model shops left to support a delaer only approach - for example if you want Peco or Bachmann in the London area you're basically stuffed if Ian Allan don't have it....

It's playing the percentages. If you really want something, pre-order from a reliable supplier (hint - if they don't really carry much new stock, be wary whether they will have enough clout to fulfil a preorder if there is high demand). If you think 'nice...but let's wait and see', don't preorder and take a chance. Currently there is less chance of stock dumping after release as both Hornby and Bachmann have clearly clamped down on supply - nothing in Hornby's new release programme for 2018 has appeared on serious markdown, whereas a couple of years back prices were dropping by a third on some items a few weks after release. Somehow I don't think we'll be seeing Bacchy Freightliners or Mk2fs in the bargain bin either.

Given that the later clerestory was introduced in 1982 I don't think that in the long run they have lost out given the amount of use they've gotten from the tools. I do remember the disappointment at the time that the panelling was printed and not moulded!

Great to se the HS125, Jetstream and Storch reissued by Airfix - these have been unavailable for many years

Hopefully mods will agree that this is a sensible place to share this topic. Lots of discussion in the manufacturer threads is less about specific new announcements and is more a general debate on the state of - and direction of - the UK RTR market, so perhaps a dedicated thread is the right way to go. In an environment where Chinese manufacturing costs are rising, production capacity is limited and the UK RTR market has become very specialised, it's interesting to se some of the scenarios being played out. There is a school of though that wants some sort of nice gentlemens' club in which all manufacturers talk to each other, don't duplicate, and of course produce models to the price point and level of detail that suits an individuals' proclivities. However, capitalism doesn't work like that and such behaviour is in any case illegal under competition law. What we have seen is that as disposable income has been squeezed and costs have risen there is a real fight to try and optomise the trade off between profits in the supply chain, security of supply, cash flow and identifying profitable ventures. This year we are really beginning to see the direction of Hornby's strategy. Themes - cute, small superdetail locos (it is obvious these are proving a hit); continuing to try and dominate the superdetail prenationalisation carriage market; leveraging the Paddington and Harry Potter licenses; getting HSTs and IEPs out there (if you get the supply right, lots of coaches and power cars that people will buy); and getting budget items out there that youngsters and those on more limited incomes can afford when thefull fat offering will be out of reach - the 66 is a loco seen everywhere and my son knows the Hornby one is achievable and looks good to him; the Hattons/Bachmann one is out of reach and in any case not aimed at him. Most interesting to me is the Mk2f, which not only competes on price but is potentially playing on getting to shops in quantity when the Bachmann supply is limited. Bachmann are going through a perod of transition. We are of course not privy to commercial details but there is no doubt a lot of their product is now extremely late in delivery, and the change of factory imposes a further holdup. Their products are generally excellent but no longer cheap, and their markets are being nibbled at one end by more budget offerings and at the other by single model manufacturers or commissions making the 'ultimate' versions of models in their range. The risk here is less about Bachmann as a company and more about the continued development of the Branchline range given that it is one of the smaller divisions. Whilst the 'blue' and 'red' teams still underpin the RTR offering, the likes of Heljan, Oxford, Dapol and the plethora of single model/retailer commissions mean that there is a lot of competition for what is a niche business in the overall scheme of things. All of this is against a background where the retail high street model shop has disappeared at a rapid rate in the last 15 years - a trend which seems to be anticipating what will happen to the rest of the high street rather than being a 'blip'. The big box shifters are all into manufacturing these days, whilst niche retailers who udnertsnad their margins and customers can make a living in the right circumstances. The traditional customer base is ageing but there is a sense that in the digital age, craft type pursuits are proving attractive to younger people, and programmes such as the Great Model Railway Challenge are opening peoples' eyes to a pastime that is so past the mainstream that it's actually quite cool to some, helped by the rise of geek chic (!). Thoughts?

No, all the ones I've seen retain slam doors.

I've got one each of the Bachmann blue grey Mk2fs but goodness knows when any further ones will get made, so I'm happy to acquire some LMR Mk2fs from Hornby.

R2121A is a China made version which had the later Ringfield mechanism with all wheel pickups, doing away with each bogie block being 'live' to opposite polarity.

As supplied none of the Hornby Class 25s were ever DCC Ready so it sounds like someone has added things and in the process swapped the polarity of the wires to the motor. Are you sure that it isn't actually still chipped? Where a loco is not pre-wired for DCC the decoder needs hardwiring in and goes straigh from non-DCC to DCC-fitted. It will still run on DC with a chip fitted unless the chip has been programmed to deactiviate this capability.

I'm pretty sure at least some ran in NSE livery unrefurbished. I was commuting to London from Kent from late 1990 and recall a few VEPs still in unrefurbished condition but by then there were none in Blue/Grey. At the time I recall only a handful of Central section CIG/BIGs still in Blue/Grey, all VEPs in NSE and CEPs a misture of NSE and Jaffa livery.