Legend

And the various small Chinese manufacturers may well say bye bye Hornby, we've got plenty other manufacturers to make for. Its a risk. I dont know which strategy is correct, but suspect Hornby having to scramble around looking for alternative manufacturers on a take it or leave it basis. Hence the real reason for design clever ,to make it more suitable for some manufacturers to make (less finesse) and to lower the already increasing costs. This would account for the dribble of new products and that when they do hit the shops, its often in restricted numbers

Yes I see the bargains and I quite fancy one. Only trouble is L & Y tank arrived last week and another loco shaped box will cause mutiny in the ranks. So will hold off in the hope that prices come down and conditions at home ease!

Isnt that the much simplified version Truffy? Basicall SE&CR Green without the lining. I'm licking myself for not geting one, as now I have my Lanky tank I feel a pre grouping collection coming on!

Gave her a test run today. Lovely little model , smooth running through the speed range, no sign of a waddle! Really beautifully finished loco which I'm very happy to have bought. A couple of observations Buffers aren't sprung. Not a major issue as I run with tension looks anyway, just got used to them on recent locos. The buffers are also silver which i just find visually jarring and seems to draw attention to fact they are not sprung, but that's probably just me! It does derail pretty easily. Now this is due to my undulating trackwork not the model (I am suffering from baseboard droop , a very nasty complaint) but it is certainly less forgiving than other models eg prairie tanks that traverse point work easily. It does seem to run better backwards rather than forwards ,in terms of derailments.Initially I assumed it was because there was a bogie at the back , but actually it's the same mechanism as front. What is noticeable is that there is more movement in the wheels at the back than front. Not sure if this is intentional (doubt it).may experiment in easing wheel movement. Overall it's not an issue, just an occasional derailment on a particular section of the layout. I haven't got any suitable coaching stock , but she pulled 5 Mainline Period 1 LMS coaches without issue , and has quite a turn of speed. Ideal for your commuter expresses, although mine will probably be used on pilot duties (hence explaining the restored L&Y livery amongst LMS ). Limited current pick up doesn't seem to be an issue but I do use HF cleaners and therefore it's operating on DC not DCC Overall pretty happy!

Wish I could "like" this post twice or more times. caley jumbo or more likely an 812 class, as one is preserved, would be a great choice. I'd love a 126 as well but that's three different vehicles for what I think must be a limited market.......whereas a nice little steam engine in Caley blue would sell by the bucket load

Yep mine has arrived too. Unfortunately away for moment so won't see it till Friday, but I think a very commendable service from Locomotion.

Well I finally succumbed to the Lancashire and Yorkshire. Looks a nice loco . I'm going to put it on station pilot duties when I get it . I think the only 2-4-2 in production. A bit pricey given you can get an LMS one from Hattons @ £75 or around, but it looks something special and it's about the same price as a Hornby M7 , if you can get one! Now if Bachmann would only do something Caledonian.......

How to get lynched? Wear a Hornby badge and say Stars definitely had 12 spoked bogies!

Caley Blue 812 0-6-0 please. Thought this was Bachmann territory but they seem to be studiously avoiding it. Failing that anything Scottish of 4-4-0 or 0-6-0 variety. And our close neighbours in the NER are also very neglected.

You are correct Stationmaster in that Hornbys pricing structure is not logical from the point of view of added parts , additional assembly. I'm sure for years items have been priced at what Simon Kohler thought the market would stand. He's got caught out over the last few years as disposable income shrank, but Hornby still want same profit margins as before, hence the descent into design clever and moulded handrails

But isn't it absolutely perplexing that it's less expensive to modify the tender to have handrails rather than having someone hand fit them. I know costs are going up in China.........but really?!? As has been pointed out Bachmann isn't doing this on models retailing around £75. And as the tooling has been modified , does this mean that future A3s will have the same moulded on handrails?. Will the cost come down to the P2 price point......I'll bet not!

I suspect the twilight world is one where we no longer hang off the printed word but dare to express our own opinions on Internet forums such as this To me the actual media does not alter the validity of a point but ,being so easy to express an opinion,some clearly regard it as an inferior source of information.

I take the point Ian but I think Hornby is still a powerful brand, even though serious enthusiasts might not think so. I'd suggest keeping Hornby but splitting the range into something like "Silver Seal" or "Blue Riband". This would relate to top quality models. As has previously been suggested ,things like the B17 ,L1,Castle,King Arthur. The specifications relating to this brand would be clear. Wire handrails, etched plates, type of motor etc so everyone knows the spec, what they will be getting and can place orders with confidence Thereafter you would have "Railroad" which I always think sounds too American, so personally I'd go for the nostalgia market and have "Triang Railways" in this would be all the other models. It would be helpful if a full spec were given for each, as they would include some older models with various specs However this too needs a clear specification for any new models, so it should be clear what we are getting and whether we want to upgrade to "Blue Riband". At the moment things like the Star , Hall and P2 are in no mans land and it's not clear which ones , if any I should go for. I'd take the opportunity to update catalogue. The current versions have now followed the same format for 5 or. 6 years, have become boring and do not contain relevant information. Cut it down in size, give more details, make it more appealing

That's not a Jubilee and a fine rake of LMS coaches!

Agree. But that's precisely the point, we now have no idea what features will be on each model. agree with Darren01 and Rembrow for years Hornby extracted the maximum they thought the market would bare. With cheap Chinese labour cost wasn't an issue . Now it is! And what they find is increasing costs and a market that won't take their annual price hike. Add the aforementioned manufacturing issues and marketing disaster and you have a company that has lost its way big time!

But will they care?

Experience has shown that unlike Bachmann, faced with these situations ,Hornby adopt the Ostrich method of customer service. Just bury your head in the sand and it'll go away. The initial fuss will die down , those that don't care will buy the model ,those that do will correct the model anyway. Whatever happens they still get the sales. Ive written before on Hornbys manufacturing policy , which was a catastrophe under Frank Martin. I feel sorry for the current management who are trying to sort it out. However like others I'm wondering if it isn't time for a completely different marketing approach from Hornby. Forget the glitzy Facebook pages lets get some actual information for the enthusiast. Exactly what specification will a model be? And here we come to the next biggest problem for Hornby(after manufacturing capacity to an acceptable standard) and that is the continual blurring of "Railroad" ,normal range, "design clever". A marketing disaster which means no one has a clue about how a model will turn out? So therefore you can't order with confidence.........result lack of credibility and orders! And what a mistake to announce "design clever". What is it apart from a now not so clever marketing slogan? Does it affect railroad or main range or is it a mixture depending on what designer actually produces the drawings? Really a true pot pourri of models. Wire handrails or not? Who knows? And the catalogue is not much use , very limited descriptions and highly photoshopped so the model you have preordered might not actually turn out like that at all! Now I am one of those who has been complaining about prices and the need to moderate them. At the risk of being branded heretic 10 or 12 spoke bogies really don't matter to me. However I do accept that to some people it really does matter. For that reason it is clear that Hornby should have a premium range with all the bells and whistles for prices £150+ and a normal range where I really think the critical price point is sub £100. And no I don't just mean rebranding the current mix. I mean a completely new range. It may be that the initial mouldings are the same but one features all metal handrails , separately fitted smoke box darts , etched nameplates, the other does not feature all these labour intensive attachments but is an accurate ,well decorated moulding with limited additional features. It really needs to happen soon, or Hornby have lost it. I'm completely clueless about how the new Hall will turn out.Just look at the heavy tanks and this thread, I'd say they've already lost the confidence of the enthusiast market, and as the train set market shrinks........who is their major customer?

Could it be the new manufacturing site they are using can't quite figure out how to do straight. Footplates. That's the big tanks, The Hall from photos seen on here, and now the Star. Also suspect the new site doesn't have large manufacturing capacity which is why we are seeing a drip feed of these models, like the tanks before them

She's gorgeous isn't she. Send the pic to Dennis Lovett. How could he refuse to make that!

I was at Bonnybridge and would just like to say great layout! I watched a 56 hauled MGR being loaded. Initially I thought the cups behind the fascia were coffee and that the guy loading had some caffeine addiction until the penny dropped! Nice to see something different being modelled. I hope ome of the sheep in the front field escaped from the marauding hands of wee visitors!

Surely this year or March 2014 Bachmann will announce a Caley 0-6-0 . Really thought when they started modelling Kirriemuir. In the Colletor mag that one was imminent. A Caley blue 0-6-0 to the standard of their SE&CR 0-6-0 what a prospect! Don't forget "oo" works a an outside possibility. Forget. Hornby a the Caley had. No Pacifics and it's. Time they gave the Caley 123 and pug a rest!

Fair enough Orcadian. I just saw the headline figure of £86 and read no further.........lesson learned!

Thanks for the info on pricing guys. I'm a bit miffed at Hattons if Bachmann haven't issued a price they should state so, instead of purporting to offer this at £86 which is now clearly just their guess. It should state pay deposit to eventual cost of the loco , instead of pretending to be the price. While they would lower price if it happens, it still seems a bit of a sharp practice to me.

I see Hattons are offering it to pre order @£86 which seems pretty reasonable. Obviously the lessons of the recession and lack of disposable income are hitting home with manufacturers. As to announcing it as a spoiler to Hornby, remember Hornby not exactly blessed with manufacturing options at the moment.

Paisley here