MarkSG

The original Bassett-Lowke never did OO. And the brand name isn't particularly associated with Hornby, having only been owned by Hornby since 2008. So it doesn't have the "Hornby heritage" aspects of either Dublo or Triang. The use of the Basset-Lowke brand for the steampunk range seems to me to have been part of a deliberate intent to distance it a little from Hornby. The primary target market for the revived B-L isn't railway modellers, it's steampunk fans, and I suspect that Hornby felt they would be put off, rather than attracted, by using Hornby branding. It also has the advantage that it can be applied to things that don't even vaguely resemble model railways (such as the "brickpunk" range) without diluting the core Hornby brand. They could, I suppose have just made up a brand name that hasn't previously been used. But using one that's in their brand portfolio, but hasn't been used for more than half a century, probably made more sense from an intellectual property standpoint. And the name "Bassett-Lowke" does have a kind of Victorian, steampunky ring to it.

In the context of current models, Dublo is a "heritage" range which aims to exploit the historic branding. As far as the models themselves are concerned, they tend to be both premium quality and premium price! In particular, they typically have a diecast body (rather than plastic) which reflects traditional manufacturing techniques, but also makes them expensive compared to the regular range. As such, it's aimed more at collectors than modellers, but the models themselves are very good quality and perfectly suitable for use on a layout. Railroad is, as you say, the cheaper, less detailed range. A lot of it is older tooling, including that inherited from brands that Hornby has purchased in the past (eg, Lima), but Hornby does also release new tooling - albeit less detailed than the standard range - as Railroad. Railroad is aimed more at children than adult modellers, it's intended to be a transition between completely unrealistic toys and the standard range. For completeness, it's also worth mentioning Triang here. This, too, is a heritage range, but, unlike Dublo, the design is broadly the same as the standard range without Dublo's price/quality premium - the only real difference is the packaging. Hornby typically uses the modern Dublo and Triang brands for contemporary re-toolings of models that were once key parts of the original Hornby Dublo or Triang ranges, So, for example, the Gresley A4 in the Dublo range and Stephenson's Rocket in Triang.

Continuing the Pink Floyd theme, it's occurred to me that, in the same way that exhibition layouts often have spotter challenges aimed mainly at children - eg, find three dogs, two foxes, two hares and a pheasant - you could do one based on cameo scenes illustrating various Pink Floyd albums and see how many people can spot them all. For example: A whitewashed square of brick wall Livestock pens containing sheep and three different pigs, with a couple of sheepdogs watching over them A bagpiper playing in front of the gates to a factory named "Dawn Foods" A solitary cow in a field, looking back over its shoulder A poster advertising a travel agency Alternatively, you could do it with U2 singles: A street with a blank name plate A clock at 11 o'clock Something on fire A hill with a single tree on it Hornby R30081 passing through the station Anyone got any other suggestions?

I'm sure this is already available in Plastikard:

And I think it's likely that British outline TT:120 has a better export potential than British OO. I'm sure there are plenty of customers in Germany, France, etc who fall into the "train set" or "collector" categories, just as there are in the UK. That is, people who just buy what they enjoy running or displaying, without any particular preference for location, era, etc - the sort of person who might have a YouTube channel called Werners Züge or Les Trains de Pascal, say. But if they model/collect in HO, they might not be all that interested in mixing and matching it with British OO, not least because it won't couple up to European HO and will, in any case, just look wrong. But British TT:120 is perfectly compatible with European TT:120, both technically and visually. So someone with a big loft roundy-roundy on which they already run trains from Germany, France, Switzerland and elsewhere - just because they buy what they like and like what they buy - may well be inclined to add a few trains from Britain when they're available in the same scale as one they already model. And Hornby have every reason to want to supply that market.

Well, it's pretty obviously because they want an export market but don't have the resources to do direct sales outside the UK. There's no way to square that particular circle other than by doing traditional trade sales outside the UK. I don't think that direct-only will last in the UK either, to be honest. If the range does take off, then they'll want to capitalise on that by getting it into toy shops and onto Amazon, just like the rest of their stuff. My hunch is that one of the main reasons for not pushing it out via the retail channels to begin with is that they don't want it cannibalising their OO sales. If a retailer has a fixed budget to spend with Hornby, then taking TT:120 will mean taking less OO. Which isn't what Hornby want. As things stand, retailers still have an incentive to push Hornby OO as much as possible. But that won't survive in the long run if TT:120 does take off, because retailers will want a slice of the TT:120 pie and will be forced to look elsewhere for it. And Hornby won't want their retailers to be more oriented towards their competitors. So, at some stage, they'll have to open it up to the trade channels. It's just a question of when.

A part of me wishes I'd bought a Stirling Single, especially given that the Hattons Genesis coaches provide it with something to pull (one of the reasons I didn't buy it at the time). I also sort-of wish I'd bought a Bachmann Blue Pullman in the first run, before they started doing ridiculously expensive "collectors editions". But, on the other hand, they just would join my APT-E, Hornby Rocket, Hattons/Heljan Garrett and the forthcoming Rapido Titfield Express (which I have ordered) as things which only get the occasional run-out on the test track rather than having a place on a layout I'm actually building. So I'm not that regretful about it. If/when I ever do get the loft conversion done and have space for a big roundy-roundy (which I've been promising myself for nearly ten years, but there's always something else which takes priority), then I might be more in the market for this kind of one-off, just for the fun of it. But, for now, I'm probably better off not buying it. Back in the earlier days of my active return to the hobby, about 15 years ago (good grief, is it really that long?) I missed out on several everyday items that I would have bought, because I didn't realise how much the world had changed and how much I needed to either buy on pre-order or immediately after release, rather than waiting until I felt like it. But, on the other hand, a lot of that sort of stuff does crop up every now and then on eBay and exhibition trade stands at reasonable prices, so there's not a lot that I really have missed out on completely.

That's Elmwell Village Depot. It's a brilliant layout, minimum space in O gauge but repeated four times! I'm fortunate enough to have seen it in action at a show, and I was absolutely gripped - leant on the rail and watched it all through the four seasons. It's featured in this episode of Model Town, which is available on YouTube. This should start at the right place if I've linked it correctly, if not it's at around 1:26:00 or thereabouts

One of the things that factory weathering can do much more effectively than end-user weathering, at least without a lot of work and some considerable skill, is reproduce faded lettering and colours. Dirt and grime effects are relatively easy to add to rolling stock because, like real dirt and grime, it's going on top of what's already there. But fading isn't an addition to what's there, it's a removal (or alteration) of what was once there. Similarly with rust and stains, they're something which comes from the inside out rather than being the outer layer. So you can't easily reproduce them by adding another layer on top of what's already there, you have to use a much more invasive form of weathering to do it by hand. I have seen some really good hand-weathered stock that does effectively reproduce fading, rust and staining. But I've never managed anything that good when I've tried it myself, and, to be honest, I have a feeling I never will. I simply don't have the time (or, to be frank, the dedication) to hone my skills to that level. But, from a manufacturer perspective, it's just a different livery to apply to the unpainted model. So I would like to see more of it done, and I'd buy models (particularly wagons and locos) which do offer those kind of factory weathered effects. I suspect the issue for manufacturers, though, is offering a weathered finish isn't likely to signficiantly increase overall sales. The people like me who would buy a weathered finish are, on the whole, those who will simply buy the pristine model and weather it themelves if that's all that's available. I'm not necessarily particularly in the market for GWR wagons as that's a bit out of my area, but I'm not going to not buy a Midland wagon just because it isn't available weathered, if you see what I mean. So offering a weathered version tends to split, rather than extend, the market, and hence may not be financially justifiable.

The Bachmann ones benefit from a light once over with some weathering powder or dilute "dirt" paint. They way I look at it, they've done the hard work of printing a suitably distressed "livery", and all I need to do is add the final touches. I'd typically do that with a pristine livery model anyway, so it's not a huge amount of extra work to also do it on top of factory weathering. And by applying it to both pristine and factory weathered models I get a good range of weathered effects, from "just a bit dirty" through "pretty manky" to "as absolutely grotty as it gets". Which is probably reasonably realistic. That said, I would like to see Rapido's take on factory weathering. And what I'd really like to see are some wagons in early BR condition with very faded, but still visible, Big Four lettering on the sides and just a BR patch in the corner, as opposed to models of wagons that have been given a full repaint into BR colours. Bachmann have done that with their weathered ex-PO wagons, but I've not yet seen it done to a company livery.

If you hadn't, I would have!

Gosh. Who'd 'a thunk it, eh?

I haven't watched any of the episodes yet (got them all on Sky+ for a binge session sometime in the future), but I've just read today's Hornby newsletter about the show. Which contains this nugget: "Plus, Head of Brand Montana has an idea of how to personalise Hornby’s trackside figure range; scanning and 3D printing real people." Now, I'm wondering precisely where she got that idea from. After all, if you wanted to model you, where would you go?

Judging by the photo, they don't appear to be working. And I suspect it would be in the product description if they were. Kytes Lights do a good range of working yard lamps. None of them are precisely identical to the Bachmann one, but there's probably one which would suit most circumstances. They're a regular visitor to shows, which is where I've bought lamps from them previously. or you can buy online.

It's also the sort of RTP that's easily broken, though. The thin struts will be quite fragile. I bought a Scenecraft "Industrial Stores and Canopy" (MPN 44-0088 for those who want to Google photos of it) for my layout, and the legs of the canopy arrived broken. Not beyond repair, but still mildly annoying. If I was in the market for the depot water tower, I'd probably make a point of buying it in person from a shop or trader at a show, so I could actually look at it first, rather than buying online. From a modelling perspective, though, these water towers often outlived their intended use. The one at the former M&GN depot at Melton Constable is still there, long after the railway departed. I have no idea whether it's still used to hold water, but it's there, nonetheless. So one of these could easily be placed on a contemporary DEMU layout, occupying part of the space in an industrial estate next to the railway that, in steam days, would have been the depot. https://goo.gl/maps/Efiesu8khZA1RqWR6

Yes, see also this one on the NYMR at Pickering as well: (Note to the OP, and anyone reading this: Flickr explicitly allows embedding (hotlinking) photos, but this is a setting that's under the control of the photostream owner. Invision Community (the software that RMweb runs on) is intelligent enough to be aware of this, so, when you post a link to a Flickr photo, it will first check to see if embedding is permitted and, if it is, will convert the link to embed the photo directly. If embedding isn't permitted, it will just post the link as normal. So when you see an embedded Flickr photo on RMweb, you can be assured that this is permittted by the photo's owner and therefore isn't an infringement of copyright).

Oooh, an Eastern water crane. Does anyone know precisely where in the East that's based on?

People on RMweb not understanding the mindset of people who aren't modellers shocker. Film at eleven. The Christmas wagons (and other special event wagons, such as the Father's Day wagon, or themed wagons, such as the Beatles collection or the football club collection) are deliberately aimed at collectors. Not modellers. They're not really even aimed at train set buyers, although they're more likely to run them than we are. There are people who buy the Christmas wagon every year, because they buy the Christmas wagon every year. And if they ever miss out on one when it's first released, they'll fill in the gap from eBay and pay whatever is necessary. And that's their thing. It's like collecting stamps, or coins, or Panini stickers, or Pokemon. The whole point is to get them all.

I suppose a model of a Eurostar, and potentially freight locos which use the tunnel, could be an obvious crossover. Maybe TT:120 might see the first RTR Class 9000 😀

You can see large photos of models on the manufacturers' and retailers' websites. While a magazine clearly needs to illustrate its reviews with photos, I'm not sure that's the most valuable part. I'm more interested in what the reviewers have to say, as that's something I can't get from a photo no matter how good the photo is. As I've said before, I do think the magazines could usefully supplement their printed reviews with short videos on their websites (or their YouTube channels) of the reviewed models on their test tracks. That would be something which is genuinely different to what I could get from looking at a retailer/manufacturer website, and less timeconsuming to watch than wading through a vlog channel's preamble and unboxing before getting to the interesting bit. But a still photo of a pristine, out of the box model isn't really going to tell me a lot more than a bog standard catalogue photo.

It's obviously going to be a lot less complex than the Bachmann crane. But Oxford managed to deliver the rail gun, which is a pretty complicated piece of machinery, at a relatively low price. The venerable Hornby cranes have been around for a while and, while very much of their era (and now downgraded to the Railroad range), are cheap enough. Oxford only need to pitch theirs somewhere in between the Hornby and Bachmann models for it to be good enough for most people.

The "risk", such as it is, in buying TT:120 now is that Hornby, and the other manufacturers who are dipping their toes into it, may subsequently decide that it isn't commercially viable in the long run and stop releasing new products for it. If you're relying on RTR for a layout, then that's obviously going to leave you with little opportunity for future expansion. But it is a very small risk. There's enough, now, to put together a decent "train in a landscape" roundy-roundy, even if we don't, yet, have anywhere near the number of products available in OO. It may be a bit more limited in terms of available options, but a realistic layout is already doable. There's enough currently available for a couple of passenger trains in Big Four or several BR liveries, and the class 08 plus a few wagons would make for a working, if limited, shunting plank. You'll have to scratchbuild or kitbuild some buildings, obviously, but even in OO there isn't really enough RTP to get away without that completely. If I was considering a TT:120 layout (which I'm not, at the moment, as I don't really have the space right now), I'd treat it as a standalone project along the lines of my hypothetical (but much more likely to become a reality) Era 1 layout on which I can run my Hornby Rocket and (forthcoming) Tiger models. That is, essentially a working diorama rather than a fully-fledged layout, but capable of future expansion if/when the right combination of available products and circular tuits coincides. And the advantage of TT:120 is that I could do a working diorama on a 6x4 board without it looking too train setty. An oval of track, with a scenic half and a storage half, is more achievable in a limited space in TT:120 than it is in OO. So if you're into building small, self-contained layouts, there's no risk at all - there's already enough TT:120 to make that a realistic proposition. It's only a risk if you're the sort of person who likes to keep on buying, and keep on extending, over and over again, and don't want the future supply of products to dry up. Which, to be fair, a lot of us are. But just because it doesn't fit our way of doing things doesn't mean it won't work for anyone.

Yes; it's clearly not as objective as James May's "Big Trouble in Model Britain" programmes from a few years ago. But that, I think, reflects the difference between a big name presenter doing a show for one of the leading broadcasters vs a relatively unknown niche channel. Nobody is going to say "No" to May and the BBC, even if they want to be critical, whereas Yesterday will have needed to offer Hornby a guarantee that their programme will be generally positive. I don't think this one is that much more staged, though. The reality is that most of what goes on internally at any company is dull and boring, and recording hours and hours of footage just to whittle it down to the few interesting parts is incredibly tedious as well. It's easier to set up a few scenarios and then record them in progress. It's still real, in the sense that nobody has a script, but the topics and settings are prepared in advance. Plus, any "action" elements, such as running locos on a test track, will almost always be repeated specifically for the camera rather than having the camera there the first time. And there was definitely some of that in the BBC show, too.

I'm not really in a position to compare, since I haven't tried any other brands recently. Model Rail mag did a subscriber coupon for Geoscenics a couple of years ago, and I haven't needed more than I bought with it. But I don't have any complaints with them. My current project doesn't really need a lot of sheeted wagons, since it's based on the Wisbech and Upwell where the majority of open wagon traffic was coal, which isn't sheeted. But in my younger days, when I had a Big Four era roundy-roundy, I sheeted nearly all the five-plank wagons, mainly because I liked the look if it.

I'm possibly a little unusual, then, given that I quite like the fact that I can get a realistic looking set of wagons with minimal effort just by sheeting them. It's certainly easier than constructing loads for them, and cheaper than buying ready-made loads (which, in any case, tend to look irritatingly similar if you have several of them). 16 tarpaulins from Geoscenics for £12.50 works out much cheaper than 16 different loose wagon loads. (Here's a related question: How long did a tarpaulin typically last in service, and what happened to the tarpaulins that British Railways inherited along with the rolling stock? Did they just chuck them away, or did they carry on using them until their natural end of life?)