Legend

Once again completely disheartened at the lack of showing of anything Scottish. I think the Caley3F makes it in Steam top 50 with 185 votes but is beaten by the Bullied Leader!!!!!!!! Could it be that now most mainstream items have been picked off that we are left with a significant number of also rans none of which are really that sought after? Thanks to Brian and team for the poll and all the hard work that goes on around it but if you were a manufacturer would you place your release program around it...... Dreadnought coaches really ?

Which year of Warley? Could it be we are finally close to an announcement. You just know I'll miss it. Still think it's a 126 Swindon Ayrshire unit. White circle or dot coupling code. Obvious !

The Year Book was a good idea poorly executed, because it really didn't contain enough detail of the range. The will there or won't there be a catalogue . Then when it came out it was going to be free then £3 . Shops didn't have any order forms and didn't really have anything to order. If I remember correctly there were lots of clarifications over what actually had been announced. Not coincidentally Hornby reported a large drop in orders in the post Christmas period. Probably because people didn't know what to order. So overall I say that's why not a great success On the other hand I do like the Engine Shed method of announcing new products, particularly if given the odd hint etc. I like the direct channel to their customers and the fact they are listening as evidenced by their B12 feedback in latest Engineshed. And in danger of attracting Andys broken record response , the ending of the ridiculous embargo that really only assisted certain magazines . It seemed that half the customers knew what was announced, half didn't but all were banned talking about it. So let's have more Engineshed announcements backed up with a proper catalogue.

Last year wasn't exactly a sparkling success. I think you will see a series of announcements on Engine Shed . The announcement if there is one will only be reliveries . Hopefully we will have a proper catalogue this year. As long as we don't go back to these ridiculous embargoes

Thanks to you also Brian, as Phil points out on his Blog a constant supporter. I'm already missing my Mon Wed Fri fixes . It's a shame it's ended this way . A bit like the rock slide at Gleoglehead shutting the Callendar and Oban before it's official close date! Possibly better than a lingering farewell though.

Incredible! These are mk1s that have never been released before . Is the argument that just because they are mk1s of any description they shouldn't be produced? These will be very successful for Hornby . And they don't just apply to steam era . In fact they spent more of their lives behind diesels . I think it's a very welcome approach which will not only sell these particular types but also draw attention to other coaches in the range . A very well thought out strategy by Hornby . They don't duplicate the Bachmann range and they are likely to be less expensive . So theres room for these I the market

The costs of production in China are still much less than making it in UK .the devaluation of the currency does mean it's costing about 18% more to source from China ,but it's still worthwhile .

It's official . New BSO and FO. Yay! Blue Grey too......hopefully the existing Mk1s will be released to match . A good edition of Engine Shed. Shows Hornby paying attention, particularly ref B12 wheels. Good communication. Well done them!.

Bachmann are already there! And that's without Brexit price increases. Ref Refurb 101 @£199

Thanks for explaining the differences Rembrow. I hadn't realised they had different bodies.

I'd like to second Scottish Exiles call for a 320 in OO. Now that would be nice. I like your approach . Offer what you can deliver, bring it to fruition in a relatively short lead time.the hobby needs more initiatives like yours

Yes have to admit Foxtrot Oscar means something entirely different to me! I'm hoping for a BSO , and hope we may have both in a range expansion. Probably makes sense lots of colour schemes , I think this would be a goer for Hornby. Is it an FK that Bachmann do? Is there any outward difference in body style between an FK and FO?

Great video. Interesting train formations. Thanks for posting

Yep seen these. I think they've got magnetic couplings . I'd imagine something like a HST or one of these new class 800 things would go down pretty well. If you remember Hornby were introducing a new range off starter sets . I think they announced it at toy fair , not sure if they still going ahead, but no doubt it's to compete with this Marklin system

But you can only do this in context. It does depend on the base. I would say RMweb has more enthusiasts on it , rather than the dad and son clientele referred to above. The enthusiast market is less price conscious and is more prepared ,sometimes it seems ,any price to get the model it wants, whereas for others the price is much more of a disincentive. Sometimes it feels rather like a salmon swimming against the current even mentioning price on here, and daring to mention that some manufacturers may well be exploiting the lack of price elasticity in enthusiasts!

Nice, although expensive in OO compared to forthcoming Oxford car carrier. Not an expert , so what would Warwells carry........tanks?

It is fascinating. In this case I'd equate it more to the Bachmann increases of the previous years. Unilever seem to be imposing a 10% across the board increase allegedly because of Brexit , although of course with Bachmann it's been considerably more over the last three years. Tesco ( unfortunately there isn't a model railway equivalent) , are saying whoa! Some of these goods you make in the UK , so what's your justification for increasing the price of them? The currency devaluation is real, and as I've said before I can see the need for Hornby and others to increase the price of goods to compensate. It will be the same in the groceries trade. But in Unilever we have a supplier that I think had been exposed as jumping on the band wagon and imposing a 10% increase across the board regardless of their actual cost increases. They are just using Brexit as a handy peg to increase their margins. More power to Tesco! Although cynically the exposure this is giving them will do their PR no harm at all and I wouldn't be surprised if they let this story out so they could appear to be on side of consumer.

Harburn Hobbies in Edinburgh seem to have a good line in specially commissioned wagons , so it is possible. Yes they are a bit more expensive but maybe only £2 or £3 more than the norm. I suppose a lot depends on whether you start with an already expensive Bachmann model or a cheaper Hornby/Dapol/Oxford model. It would be interesting to find out from Chris at what point he deemed the final price unacceptable.

Assumes there is a local modelshop. In Glasgow we really don't have one anymore. The excellent Pastimes is great for second hand , but I don't recall him being the first to receive new models from Hornby. Waddles models doesn't seem to have an account with Bachmann or Hornby. So I would be placing an order with Hattons, Hereford or maybe give C&M a try, but what's the difference compared to ordering from Hornby direct , which last time was very efficient? Playing a bit of devils advocate here, clearly you want to support model shops wherever you can, but just demonstrating a flaw in these possible new terms.

Isn't this why Oxford have announced initial Mk3s in these liveries......you don't need a DVT to run them . By combining with Mk1 parcels and restaurant cars you can have an effective train in blue grey and intercity. You do need an 86 or 87 to pull them though...............

But if there are no discounts on pre ordering, what's to stop you from ordering direct from Hornby? It's post free I think. That way you guarantee receiving a model . No incentive to ordering locally, which I thought the newly reformed marketing program was supposed to encourage

I kind of agree with RJS and Piranha. As prices go up, less people buy for sure. However I think you do have to look at the currency movements since Brexit vote. While they may (should) have had some currency hedged, there is no doubt that it will cost them more from their third party manufacturers to source models . I can't see any alternative for them but to raise prices. This is a real reason rather than some reasons Bachmann have magnified to justify 20% pa for the last three years. I do see Piranhas point re 142 . I don't know the price of this as it's never been a model I'm really interested in. Maybe instead of a block 15% increase then it would be better to target some models with higher increases and others with less. This does bring me to the restructuring of range that is required with trainset, railroad items (which probably should include 142) be priced lower and the more highly detailed enthusiast range perhaps priced up (but still with an eye to RJSs point if you price it too high folks just don't buy) . On a specific point I would bring back the Limby HST it is clear the main range model is better but is way too expensive for the general market. Especially with new liveries coming on line VTEC, GWR and forthcoming Scotrail, these could be good sellers .

I hope it can continue on as a blog, maybe with some form of contribution. I've always enjoyed it. I would reintroduce the 200 word limit though. People have to realise that you have to get point over quickly. I'd be surprised if people make it to the end of some of the very long posts, including one today!

This is beginning to make O interesting. I'm thinking Garden here

Assumes Mk3 still in their range