Legend

At a time when costs are soaring , why would you add even more cost by fitting a decoder. Large numbers still don't need one, others will want the decoder of their choice. The way to go is make it easier to install decoder.

Actually Kader , set up Bachmann UK to market the old Mainline tooling they had .

I see your point , Paul. I was thinking that surplus stock should be offered to the dealer network which almost certainly would include the likes of Hattons , Rails , Kernow etc. if you haven't got a local dealer ( I really haven't up in Glasgow) , would you not use them? I don't think we can have it all ways .You can't have a strong and loyal dealer network and undercut them by selling direct at lower cost . Much as I liked the deals I got , it's just not compatible.

But it would still be a large hole and give Kader market dominance. More likely someone would buy the Hornby name , but that could be Kader! Neither of which is good. That's why we need an independent Hornby to survive.

Agreed and if they have any slow moving stock to sell they should first offer it to dealer network and only if not taken up have a bargain sale on internet. Having benefitted from some cheap direct selling I accept I will have to pay more here , but I think it's the only way to restore the faith of their retailer network. Dare I say it but restoring some of the retailers margin might also help. Again this will mean slightly increased prices but they will probably pale into insignificance compared with Bachmann, and frankly we need an independent Hornby to survive. The thought of Kader having a near monopoly given the increases over the last three years is not palatable

Really good edition this one. Lots of good layout articles. Had to buy this one because of Kilbowie it's literally just across the Clyde from me (or was) .Great Layout which won best layout at 2015 Model Rail Scotland. Although not really a fan of sound , this layout put it to good effect. It captures the scene well . Don't agree with the Comment piece however. Apparently bad QC is the consumers fault for insisting models are made down to a price. I don't think so. QC should never be an option in manufacture. Still it's a viewpoint and along with the health benefits of modelling, these are two aspects that you don't normally see comment on in a magazine, again proving that despite it's familiar image , Railway Modeller is innovative. A good read

Yes I came across this layout , I think it was on a banner headline that I happened to click on by mistake. It is a fantastic layout. In particular love the way the office, industrial building blend into the background, and of course the locos are terrific. I don't think I've ever seen Shenston Road in a magazine, it would be good to see an article on it

Sounds like there were a fair few compromises in there. If you combine it with higher costs you can probably see why not as successful. Shame , because a range like that back in the 60s to the UK 4mm scale would probably have been very popular. Can't help feeling Trix was a bit of a missed opportunity.

Good thread. It does appear that Trix is the forgotten man of 60s (and 70s?) RTR, overshadowed by Hornby Dublo and Triang, later Triang-Hornby and of course Hornby. While I've got books on the history of Triang (Pat Hammonds trilogy) and Hornby Dublo (Michael Forster) , I don't recall anything similar for Trix. My only contact was in magazines and visits to Argyle Models in Glasgow in late 60s /early 70s. I was a Triang Hornby kid, so Trix locos looked pretty exotic to me. I remember the Trans Pennine unit and A4s in Blue and Grey LNER liveries, the A3 Flying Scotsman, because it had two tenders and would it have been an A2. I don't recall ever seeing the electrics, warships or Class 5. So what was the reason it didn't catch on? You would have thought with that line up it would have achieved at least the same success as Wrenn in these days. Especially if they were contemplating bringing out a 47, we had to wait until 1975 for the first Hornby one to appear. Was it scale , were they all a hybrid 3.8mm? Or was it just too costly for it's time?

Quite surprised no one mentioned it , but there was a Stirling Single on display on the Locomotion stand at Glasgow, along with an APTE. Of course it might just have been a kit and not a test short. I'm not really interested in one, so just gave it a cursory glance.

Good for Nat (and Zach) . A refreshing blog.

But I hasn't stopped items being reviewed in the mags. I've seen King reviews and J50s recently. The only difference is the mags buy them and maybe they appear a month or so later. I think reviews are more important to the mags sales and circulation rather than they are to model sales. Not issuing a proper catalogue is more of a blunder.

I would have thought responsible management will be negotiating with banks and producing business plans to ensure this day does not arrive. The departure of Richard Ames will have been part of this, after all a business plan put together by someone who managed them into this position is not really credible. I think Roger Canham is a completely different proposition. So I really believe that they will avoid this doomsday scenario. I hope so for the employees, but also for us enthusiasts. Anyone in any doubt that we need Hornby should have a look at the Bachmann new announcements thread.

Err no. They have a Limby HST which could be used in Railroad, leaving the main range one for those that have £200 + to spend

Absolutely agree. Clearly they have to negotiate their banking position as top priority, but maximising revenue in the short term would also be helpful

I do see a lack of vision in the range and this has meant paying more attention to wish lists than I think has been healthy. Trouble with wish lists is , as more and more mainstream subjects are taken, the low hanging fruit as it were, you are chasing ever dwindling returns. I fear this will manifest itself with the 71 . I know it's Southern , it was near the top of the list of D&E wants, but let's face it most. Other classes are already available. There is a perception at the moment that everything Southern will sell , but I really can't see it. It had a very narrow operating area and not a particularly exciting shape. You really need the third rail as well. Worst still another company is making it! The third rail units seem to have peaked after a relatively short time, with many bargains to be had. Again I think a panel of enthusiasts could prove advantageous to a Hornby . What variants of the existing range would sell best. Might even be the case of curtailing the 2016 range in favour of some of the suggestions. Get the cash flow up with less danger of stock on shelves. As examples I'd say Blue /grey mk1s Single Chimney Collet tender Castle in late BR Livery Railroad BR green Flying Scotsman , also a set with said loco and three Crimson Cream coaches Complete revamp of Railroad range Class 66, 156 , 91 should be in it in various liveries (and out of main range) . Probably the HST and mk3s as well . There is a need for a simple large hopper in EWS/Freighliner liveries maybe with a play factor eg empty and refilling. The big steamers yo can see on real railway Tornado and FS should be in there to on the liveries you can currently see them in.

Loved the film. Got it on DVD. I remember it was the big Christmas night film. It would have been 1970 I think. Great pics of the actual railway

I would have thought the Bachmann one is still a few years away. They have a huge backlog to get through , so unless this has jumped the queue , it must still be sometime off. Frankly they shouldn't continue with the duplication and work on the 116 variant which seems to have sunk without trace.

It will be a variant of something that's just been made or on route to us. I'd have a look at the list of forthcoming items that Andy gives and make your guesses from that . A C Class is indeed on the way.

It's called control of supply chain and organisation. Other companies outside the world of model railways manage it. It has been known for sometime the colour that Scotsman would appear in . I'm sure they could have fine something despite fact production is in China. Ironically Crimson and Cream coaches became available last month, so they just needed the loco. We do know that FS is going to be in this livery for sometime, but I bet that doesn't stop Hornby churning the Railroad model out in Apple Green ad nauseum. I appreciate there is an NRM limited edition , but it is exactly that , most people would expect a trainset for substantially less. Just a bit of memorabilia. Was it Feb 81,they announced the wedding of Charles and Di. It took place in July the same year . Somewhere in between BR painted a 47/7 in large logo blue and call it Lady Diana Spencer. Hornby had their model out that July, capitalising on the event.

They are good, are significantly lighter than Bachmann , run well and have less uncoupling problems. Like you I wonder why blue grey has not appeared. Another miss for marketing dept , I think! If I remember correctly they replaced the 1962 range of coaches because they were more efficient to make . So design clever can work

I think that could be precisely the point Chris. We now demand so much detail that we have effectively priced these models out of the more general market and in some cases even the more specialist market too . I completely accept that the O2 is a fine model and I can also see the fine detail. It must take a long time to assemble with some very intricate parts. But not all models are like that or need to be. If you need an O2 for your region /period you would buy it. But for the person who just likes nice models and for which it's a discretionary buy , he probably won't spend the money. Hornby are caught between a rock and a hard place. They can produce these specialist models at a price or more general models , which might appeal to the discretionary buyers. As I've said before Design clever was probably a reasonable idea , just badly executed and it went too far (handrails on Saint) Personally I'm happy with my Railroad Mk1s . If there was a train pack of a Railroad Flying Scotsman in BR Green with three crimson and cream coaches available now, I'd bet it would sell well in the general market.

Nope. That's an LNER Scotsman. There is a BR Scotsman there with support coach for £174 which you can preorder. My point is they haven't got a replica of what was running today (and it has been known about for some time) available for sale to the interested public. So they miss out again.

That's extreme and by no way typical. At the other end are probably Railroad Mk1s with no more than 12 parts and Bachmann coaches, I think the Stanier Portholes are something like 50 . So the labour time and hours is not so huge. The trick of good design is to minimise the number of parts while making the product attractive to the customer. I'm not exactly against the idea of design clever , but where Hornby went wrong was a) promoting it and b) applying it stupidly, so you end up with obvious issues like the moulded handrails on the Saint. On the other hand moulded door handles on the 2Bil and cable runs were well executed and the general modeller accepted them

Yes I was struck by that too. Nice blood and custard rake on a dark green loco. She looked lovely coming out of a Kings Cross. I thought I saw the odd choc and cream one in there too , but it may have been trick of light. As to people not using railways not aware of danger. Are they so stupid we really need to tell them not to trespass on railway.