Legend

Well I , along with a great many others, used to mix Hornby power cars and Jouef Mk3s , so I suppose matching Rapido HSDTs with Oxford Mk3s will be fine . I suspect the number of early Mk3s produced by Oxford will be small in comparison to the total no of mk3s they will churn out , so I don't think there would be a huge risk for them. They can wait until later to judge demand and numbers

Hesitating to ask this........but what's a sprag?

I'd never heard of the Marklin Warship. It's not clear was this just the German Diesel reliveried? I knew of the the Fleischmann model and of the Rivarossi Royal Scot but never seen this mentioned in a magazine. Very interesting Unfortunately I've still not seen this magazine. Not sure how it can be distributed up here in Glasgow as there's not that many model shops around .

Merry Christmas everyone. Wishing you all Health Wealth and Happiness.

Great little loco . Just run mine for the first time. Impressive slow speed control . A really fantastic price of kit . Got to be contender for model of the year .Tricky one as I thought Rapidos APTE was a dead cert, but for all it's diminutive size this locos certainly a show stopper. Beautiful blue colour, fantastic lining too.

Yes didn't know about this shop . As Vitalspark, I fair miss D&F models . Well stocked always happy to serve. Waddles models is a bit of a disappointment in that he does t seem to stock Hornby. He did have some Bachmann trucks for a while but that seems to be sporadic.,maybe he doesn't stock since their prices went through roof. I know he has Oxford and Dapol. I didn't know about this shop in Dumbarton Road so may have a wee nosey round . If it's reasonably stocked then I'll certainly give him some patronage. Glasgow needs a model shop. It can't be easy starting up in this climate. Is there also a shop in Cambuslang ? Anyone been?

Thanks to Butler Henderson pointing out that Hereford still had Huntley and Palmers Peckett in stock, I ordered one on Thursday, expecting it to arrive sometime between Christmas and New Year. Wow guess what arrived this morning . So well done Hereford Model Centre and the Royal Mail

Well today I was running my Hornby Railways 9F , a present from my parents for Christmas 1974 . Alongside her was Oliver Cromwell from 1975 and Mallard from 1979. All running perfectly well and as well as being nice locos , reminders of the people that gave them to me. So I do t think it's unreasonable to expect new models to last 20 years plus . Of course it's the sentimental value that makes them irreplaceable . We may have lower expectations for phones and washing machines, but of course when they expire we just replace them . Models are much more difficult to replace . It is a function of Far East Manufacturing, but so what , do we need to accept it? It's cheaper to make them there but that shouldn't mean we sacrifice quality.

Thanks for the heads up. Just ordered from Hereford. I was considering not bothering as it probably won't see a great deal of use, but that blue livery is gorgeous. Hornby have always had a theory that blue locos sell best,and that's certainly true with me . Not at all interested in the green versions, it's that blue livery that sold it. If it was only on a Caley 812

I think are parts for most Hornby models are not as common as they used to be. The reasons got to be that they are using all their time securing whole locomotives or models. Suspect factories they use are less keen on supplying spares. I had a Merchant Navy that had stripped a gear. Eventually I had to resort to sourcing a defective model and using 2 models to make one good one. Hornby just didn't have the spares and didn't know when or if the y would be available again

Agreed, they need more money. However I wouldn't throw it at them without conditions. As our armed forces have diminished has the Ministry of Defence or do we have the same number of civil servants as before? If it has declined I'll bet it's not at the same rate as the Navy! I'd start with a root and branch review of MoD . What do you do, how long do you take to do it? I want more value or money. Divert what we save straight to the forces. Don't just throw money at them and watch it be swallowed with no noticeable effect.

The article sums it up neatly. The only anti ship armament we have is a 4.5 " gun. That'll be good to send out when the Russian Navy next sails up the channel. might as well send out a ferry with a pea shooter. They need to get a grip . We need adaquately armed capable warships. Not only do we not have enough of them, the ones we have are very under armed. Great radars, at least they'll know what hit them!

Well you never know as Hornby has shown willingness to expand coach ranges eg the extension of Mk1 range. The problem is they are going up against an established range,but if they price them per Colletts(with post Brexit increase) , bring them in at the same standard I think like you this could be a very popular range for them. They would need to carefully select diagrams. But if Bachmanns Thompsons are coming in at £55 ( and that was pre Brexit) then I think there is scope. Also Bachmann are taking a long time to bring new coach ranges to market . I think we are talking 3 or 4 years for Thompsons, Birdcages and mk2s so there is still time for Hornby to steal a March here. More likely for 2018 though. Another filler for Hornby given that they are extending ranges is a CK for their Stanier range . Crying out to be modelled

Good morning from Hinkley Island. Apparently Barwell is just up the road. Wonder if I'll get an invite to Christmas Dinner? On holiday from Friday woohoo

I suppose they have to be a bit careful. They don't want to put people off buying the initial releases by intimating that further versions maybe available in future, as folks may hold off buying. In the past people might have bought first version, and the version they really wanted when it finally appears , but I think at £185 a piece folks will be a bit more circumspect.

The Peckett has the possibility of appearing in the catalogue for years, with a different livery or two appearing each year in limited quantities. This could be Hornbys Nellie, Pollie and Connie for the 21st century. Not for starter trainsets I just meen they are omnipresent in catalogue.

My mother became aware of a new product for headaches . Instead of a tablet it was a bandage /patch applied over bridge of nose or forehead. She went into Boots and asked for 4skin instead of 4head Lost her this year. She's sadly missed

Yes big thumbs up to you Dave for the very honest description of whats happened. I expect others will be affected too. It is one of the factors you have to take into account when manufacturing in China, but as you say it seems to have caught people out that folks are travelling so early. That's a new development.

I don't think it's announced yet as Azuma, although it's bound to follow. As far as I know the main release is GWR and there us a limited edition in Hitachi colours , but this is not Azuma

I think it's probably a reflection that we can't afford more nuclear ones. I'm assuming diesel subs are less expensive. While the article reads a big like a wish list there are some good bits in there. I do think we need to increase the capability of our type 45s assuming we can make them go, especially a surface to surface missile to replace Harpoon. These destroyers are paper tigers .

Do we know they are pulling out of Modelzone concessions. As I've said based on Glasgow I wouldn't be surprised, but it's worth noting it's not just Hornby in the equation but Airfix , Scalextric and Corgi as well. They do have other concessions that maybe are more likely to close, the aforementioned garden shops and Hawkins Bazaar as examples

I thought it was a washing powder, but that turns out to be OMO

Oh I see, thanks guys. No fear here, I'm a member. Just thinks its daft!

What's a FOMO?

I knew there had to be some rational explanation for the increase in prices pre Brexit! I think the members area is a serious error. Pretensions of big business where corporate clients are wined and dined and your latest wares are shown to them. This doesn't work in model railways , because there is no corporate client just a lot of ordinary guys wanting to see what's new. So to restrict viewing to those in the club is really a bit silly. As has been pointed out you really want to reach the maximum number of enthusiasts , whether they are card carrying members or not.