Legend

Fair enough AJA . You must know what sells. Your right about what and when to compare. I can't remember when Thomas first appeared in Hornby catalogue , would it have been 85 or 86. Certainly around that time they had very little Money to invest. So using LBSCR tank and various other bits of the range would have been expedient at the time and was obviously successful. But the point I'd make is they were happy to persist with these old models . When times were good, and Hornby has done well over the years, they persisted with this superannuated range where tooling must have been well if not fully written off. Yet they were selling Gordon at the price of a large main range loco. Other than their Thomas and Percy sets , you can tell us, was there a huge demand for the Gordon's/Henry's of this world I couldn't remember the name of the model shop that sold Bachmann TTTE yesterday, but it has since come to me, Trains on Time. He recognised that Bachmann ,, who I think have the rights in the rest of the world had invested in the range. Possibly it's a bigger market allowing them to invest , but they did it. As a result their range to my eyes looks better than Hornbys and is more faithful to the Brit Allcroft series, which people will remember and even the original books. There was much more value for money meaning that sets could be extended easily and less costly. Does it matter? Well my point is that if Bachmann had the rights here then it might have attracted more people into the hobby . Instead we have had Hornby , which up to now has had limited investment , milked their tooling for all it's worth and sold models at high prices. Really give the impression of trying to make a quick buck with what they have and once again relying on the Hornby brand name. Probably expressed clumsily, but that's what I mean by the dead hand of Hornby. In other words wouldn't you have sold more and possibly enlarged your customer base if there was a better , and more pocket money, parent cash friendly range of TTTE models? Of course Hornby could have developed a new range, but I think it'll be more of the same tired old models at over hyped prices. Let's see

I'm willing to place a bet it'll be the old range reintroduced .

Had to disagree with this. After going on about Hornby bashers we clearly have a fan with rose tinted glasses here. The Hornby range is comprised of superannuated models from the main range, and these took years to appear. I think the 3f (James) and diesel both date from the 50s . Gordon is the old Flying Scotsman with a Schools tender, Henry the old Black 5 and Edward a Hunt with cylinders missing . Thomas is of course the old LBSCR tank , leaving only Toby and Percy as specially commissioned models. If Hornby used this as a low cost entry point for youngsters then they might move onto buying main range items and attract people to the hobby. But instead they charge top dollar for the models. Who in their right mind would buy a Gordon at £114 .i bet that kills potential extensions to the trainset dead. Another Hornby rip off I'm afraid Contrast that with Bachmann who model a complete range of specially commissioned models with Rolling eyes. They seem to capture the essence of Rev Audrey's models much better and at much lower cost. I know the model shop in Paisley used to sell them and he was inundated with orders. It's what could have been, but in the UK it's under the dead hand of Hornby! That's even assuming they can make and supply in big numbers.

It always fascinates me that you nip into Lidl or Aldi for your grocery shopping and come out with a Deep Sea Divers suit or welding set , because it's on offer. To me this is part of the appeal of these shops, you never know what you will find! This looks like a good deal, I feel a visit coming on

The model barren wastelands of Scotland

Much to my surprise I actually quite like the coaches!

Don't know the man at all, but clearly with 11 pages he is much missed. Still on hearing he is unwell let me wish him a good recovery

I think the problem is that these aren't the £60-£70 models of only 2 or 3 years back that we would have accepted and corrected ourselves (I've never believed that was the correct course of action as it encourages complacency from manufacturers) .I was in Harburn Hobbies ,Edinburgh , yesterday. This loco was for sale at £129.95. For that I would expect issues such as wavy running plates to be sorted. I accept the point about not being able to make one to that standard myself , but it's irrelevant, this is not a hand produced model , it's a mass produced (as much as anything mass produced these days) that I would expect QC to have been applied to.

Both I'm afraid. Of course if you never get a model then QC is irrelevant! So Hornby do need to secure their supplier base . However they also need consistency across their 5 or 6 manufacturers. I suspect this is all more difficult than we think as if they reject whole batches of models the manufacturer may lose interest in Hornby and simply make for someone else. Which brings us back to the fact that really Hornby needs it's own factory to be in full control.

That ones quite pronounced. I think that would go back if it were me

To be honest I'm struggling to see issue with TMC one

Yes that's one of the unique aspects of this hobby . Faced with defective materials most people fix it. Compare this with buying a new digital cares, electronic equipment , where it's instantly returned! Strange behaviour. Which is why Hornby gets away with it. Awaiting feedback on new 4 VEP with interest to see if any lessons learned.

Cheers Coachmann. Yes agreed if you can pick the proper Gresleys up at £22 to £25 go for it. I haven't seen any up here though, but Glasgow isn't really well served with model Shops anymore. There is a Modelzone in WHSmiths but certainly never seen anything deeply discounted

You can buy the old Gresley teaks second hand at around £10 each and there is also the Railroad versions. Frankly they do the job for me rather than he hideously overpriced latest Hornby versions

Just watch out if buying, the big ones are pretty heavy! Best if you have two guys to lift it

I'm sure the Model Railway mags will pick up on this fault and report it, forcing Hornby to get it right in subsequent batches. Oh was that a pig I just saw fly past?

And if so , good on them. The King is dead......Long live the King!

I'm hoping Kernow go all the way North and a Trans-clyde 116 is on the agends. Circa 1979 would do me fine ta

There also Hornbys complete disrespect for people who have preordered their models, see the Exeter thread. Better chance getting one with DJM I think

I think you have to look and see what's due. The only thing I can see is a D11 which is shown in LNER black in this months Hornby magazine and a green one is due for Model Rail. Hope it's something better than a set of oil tankers. The last limited edition didn't exactly take my breath away!

Yes that is very nice. Good that youve gone for more modern dwellings too emphasizing time period of layout. Might need a bit of litter around though!

Well I tend to run mine in three eras now BR Transition, BR Blue and most recently I've had a reawakening of interest in the big 4. Sparked off by the P2,since then I've acquired a J39 and 2 J72s all second hand . So looking forward to my C1, it was a must have as I've always wanted one since I saw them in a Partwork in the 70s. Really handsome engines and promises to be something special. That said, at that price it will probably be one of a very few new loco purchases next year

The Hornby ones are also inaccurate despite being told before production, at a Perth show, that they were not correct. Another one where Simon Kohler seemingly listened but then nothing happened! As has been pointed out above the roof should be black, the Hornby one was Blue, in fact the whole Hornby model looked like it had been moulded in blue, really not a very accurate model at all. As with the Scotrail mk3s it just a shame we have the dead hand of Hornby with large quantities required to do special commissions. Good luck to C&M obviously Dapol are much more flexible!

Thanks Mike, didn't see that posting. But you have to wonder why Dennis didn't just say the tooling is owned by NRM they are the only ones that can use it, rather than the politician speak we got, unless of course , the tooling reverts to Bachmann at some stage, which would account for him saying "remain" and "foreseeable future". Anyway , enough theories. As I said , having forked out the £180 just hope I'm not short changed.

Sorry Ian , got to disagree with that. No one denies that Locomotion and Bachmann need to make money, but they can do that without been economical with the truth. They should be up front about any arrangements. The statement from Dennis says nothing.