stonojnr

maybe it wouldnt look so bad if it didnt look like it had been painted by a 4 year old, or were they going for that real retro 80s look.

seems a bizarre thing to have expended any effort on just to create for a couple of photos and a few lines in their blog.

On 14/03/2024 at 13:50, phil-b259 said:

By contrast they manifestly do not need toy trains to generate money nor attract dither business. If they need additional marketing material then branded pens, golf balls, keychains, usb drives, etc are much easier and cheaper to procure, plus far more likely to be used / picked up by the intended audience than toy trains.

maybe Im missing something incredibly obvious here, but if the moulds already exist, and the demand is clearly there given how the last batch sold out, all Drax have to do is give the nod to Hornby, and they will go make some more and receive some money eventually for actually doing very little on their part.

it doesnt matter if they dont need toy trains to generate money, and at some stage they obviously understood toy trains to allow their wagons to be made and to own the permissive rights to them, but its essentially free cash to them at this stage, and if the marketeers at Drax cant join those dots together, why on earth arent the marketeers at Hornby bashing down their door and explaining it to them in terms they do understand.

its not like theyre saying Drax need to invest more of their cash to create a brand new wagon in the hopes of getting some tiny piece of payback, and small amount of pr goodwill, all they have to do is press the go button on the machine and crank some more out.

5 hours ago, Pint of Adnams said:

Once again the 2024 Hornby catalogue confounds by describing the FLIRT train family as '...and overhead power supply only'.

 

When grabbing the sound files did that include diesel and AC operation, and the changeover in each mode whilst in motion? They are quite noisy, especially so when running on diesel which they did even on the OHLE sections of the GE main line in their earlier days. The first train to pass our residence is a FLIRT at around 05.20 - no need to check the bedside clock!

 

Servo-controlled raising and lowering pantographs on changeover next?

 

Quite often seen on the GE main line in pairs or even triples, and mixed /3 and /4 formations.

maybe its just degrees of noise, I grew up listening to double header 37s that used to shake ornaments off shelves past our house, the flirts even on diesel seem whisper quiet to me in comparison.

On 28/08/2023 at 11:52, Adam1701D said:

Looks like Hornby have inadvertently spilled the beans on one of their 2024 releases 😇

but why would they already have a running sample for a release they havent announced yet ?  when theyve only just a few months back said theyve recently got the tool mouldings for something they announced best part of 18months ago and have been working on for 2 years, the timeline doesnt make sense, either theyve been working on both all along, in which case why not announce it at the same time ?

and then look what we missed on the screen when they released this back in December :(  which also covers a 4 engine/2 engine design.

well it certainly looks well detailed, and might GA have had slightly more involvement with this than most TOCS would ? seems interesting theyre pushing this video, and not Hornby,just seems more than mere engineering assistance/livery sign off.

though Im left still thinking how is this suddenly different from how the APT/Class91s were treated by Hornbys famous care and attention ? especially when SK describes the train as radical 🤨, you mean its not a kettle on wheels style radical uses this new fangled electrickery and diesel to move around.

Im intruiged by the sound, as thats literally the nosiest Ive heard them in diesel mode, they really are quiet in operation either trackside or station, the nosiest bit being that honking goose horn, so it will be interesting how that translates to their decoder., you spend extra buying this sound and its literally the quietest volume sound you get :)

one thing I did pick up on him saying is theyre 100mph, thats the max speed of the class, I dont think on the Anglia routes they operate on theyre cleared for that speed even when on the main line, as theyre definitely timetabled to take longer than the 745s to traverse the same bits of track currently.

10 hours ago, Mophead45143 said:

Am I right in thinking that the SF 'silver' roof 47's did actually have silver roofs to begin with, but then they ended up being a more creamy / grey later on? 47003 appears to be the latter looking at the pictures above.

 

Just wondering as I model 1977, and while it may sound pedantic, it is relevant as they only just started painting them then. Even for a renumber, would the style on 47003 be appropriate for this time?

 

Regards,

 

Cameron

well didnt Stratford start doing it after the Union flag 47 with silver roof they painted up for the Silver Jubilee ? (Bachmann missed an obvious tie in there) so '77 might be slightly too early for the rest of them to have started gaining their silver roofs/ves too.

but it looks as I remember them, of course in daily use the silver roof tended to gain an increasing sheen of oil/diesel/weathering over time, which dulled the look and might have made it look more BR grey.

I wonder if it means Bachmann arent doing a Stratford roof version then though in their line up ? I was kind of hoping for a decent 47596 Aldeburgh Festival, but might have to get this instead.

13 hours ago, 40F said:

And to cap it all I believe that there is anther series of trumpet blowing sorry Hornby`s Model World or what ever it was called scheduled for later this year. They would be far better taking a long hard look at themselves and getting on with solving all the problems. 

yeah but like a lot of Hornby announcements, its not actually due to air till later next year ;)

On 11/06/2022 at 15:04, WestRail642fan said:

Has Hornby released any CADs for the 755s yet? those are really the only 2022 range models im interested in currently

not yet, and since these are now showing winter 23/24 on the Hornby store...

On 07/06/2022 at 17:05, GordonC said:

 

I think its more telling that the problem was identified, recognised as unacceptable and still sold and distributed out regardless. Having heard SK's own words about things 'having to be right' and 'models being for keeps' it just shows what little value those words have and treats buyers of a £1000 complete set with contempt.

 

And yet the fan-boys will praise what a great job Hornby do and we dont know what we're talking about.

well I cant wait to watch how the newly announced series 2 of Hornby A Model world covers it, but like most Hornby announcements weve got to wait a year to see it 😉

4 hours ago, neilf said:

I contacted Hornby, they replied they had tested the 91 on inclines and curves and points and had no wobbles or derailing 

well, maybe Im being a touch cynical with Hornby of late, but Id have been surprised if theyd replied back saying theyd either not tested it properly, or that theyd found these issues but decided to release it anyway.

its kind of a given I think theyll say theres no problem with it at all and everything if fine, unless you can demonstrably prove the issue and send it back to them to get it fixed kind of thing.

On 04/05/2022 at 11:24, adb968008 said:

Well now we know, its RES…

 

plus EWS and G&W.. As side of Greater Anglia variants, I guess that brings us to full house on all but the celebrities…

I should have taken a bet on there being more freightlining 90s in the offing...but its upto a point if all Bachman and Hornby are doing is churning out 90s in ever more unique one off short lived freight liveries, whilst completely ignoring nearly 16 years of passenger service on the GEML, which is equal to the time they spent on the WCML in all the Intercity variants and Virgin combined.

what is that about ?

On 25/04/2022 at 15:07, TomScrut said:

 

I expect artwork design and engineering design are done by completely different people, so one isn't necessary linked to the other.

youd expect it to be overseen by an overall lead designer though, who signs off what different department designers are producing, wouldnt you ? I mean someone takes responsibility for the overall thing theyve produced right ? unless its just Simon K pressing the yeah looks about right lets order button.

I mean another example of attention to detail missing on their D&E models, the new Class 91 Intercity livery has somehow ended up with front left and right cab window frames on the front in white, they should be black, even though it was on the renders correctly in black, so maybe its a factory mistake, back to QC.

but I picked up from a review on the For the Fallen version,which has its own livery issues on the cab front not aligning with the side panels and light cluster mistakes, but thats modelled with a specific roof setup for all the AC electric equipment which is correct for the later as is running today setup on the real thing, but it looks identical to the equipment setup theyve put on the Intercity livery version, which then cant be correct, if its known it has changed over time ?

On 22/04/2022 at 10:47, andyman7 said:

A situation likely to be remedied at a stroke (at least for the up-to-date modern period) when the Hornby FLIRT appears....

assuming it does appear of course, Hornby cancelled the last GA 90 they had in the catalogue,and it was just a respray in effect.

55 minutes ago, QuoitsPlayer said:

My Intercity one is somewhere between Cornwall and North Yorkshire in the 'care' of Royal Mail...

 

Looking forward to opening it when it arrives, but at nearly 40 it makes me very sad to remember the 91s brand new and now being scrapped in a way Networkers going for cutting hasn't bothered me. 

yes mines somewhere between Cornwall and East Anglia at the moment   and its why I went for the IC livery, as even though you could make a claim the GNER was the more longer lived and and classic operating style, I remember them being brand new in that IC livery, being launched as the "train of the future" on the BBC, and saw alot of the test runs on the ECML, just never got to ride behind them as often as the HSTs, and now yes it is a bit sad theyre being scrapped.

I hope Hornby do several batch runs of these going forward, as if the Mk4s are already becoming a bit scarce in the GNER spec, its going to make it a pain to get a decent rake of things later on if they dont.

17 hours ago, JSpencer said:

 

True until new blood want advice about laying track, cleaning wheels, doing flocking etc... Model shops play a key role to expanding peoples horizons in the hobby.

 

Id argue theres a Youtube video for all that knowledge now, as there were magazine articles back in the day too, Ive always been happier treating model shops as nice places to browse and look at, but I know what I want when Im going in there and not interested in it being other than a box shifting transaction.

this purple engine would be the epitome of that browsing aspect just to look at it, but I wouldnt be interested in buying it at all

On 22/04/2022 at 14:21, woodenhead said:

They do do the latter when it comes to steam models particularly - Graham Muspratt and Tony Wright have been involved with models in the past from that respect.

 

It probably depends who the model is aimed at in terms of effort put in, clearly anything LNER Pacific or Southern Railway, they do a lot of research on as those models tend to look splendid even if bits fall off or you've a banana shaped chassis which are production issues not design / research.   Maybe they simply don't put the effort in when it comes to some D/E models

it just doesnt make sense to me at least, as to why one part of the business does seem to have this check/review process on signing off designs that way, which seems the sensible way to do it and youd think would translate across all their design efforts, yet clearly it doesnt.

even just as a matter of professional pride if you were a designer of D/E models,and if you really had no interest in them as a concept, youd still want to get it right and as accurate as you could, because thats what you spend hours a week working on, its that love of precision and design which is why you are a designer in the first place Id have thought.

On 21/04/2022 at 16:20, scouse889 said:

 

There's a worrying window of opportunity for "Liverpool Street-Newcastle" to appear from that!

there was a film in the 70s, though the name of it and who was in it escapes me at the moment, that did that swap with Liverpool Street in for Liverpool Lime Street because it was cheaper to film in London at the time I think, and the director didnt think anyone would really notice, but the main character was supposed to arrive in Liverpool by train but you see them exit around the old Liverpool Street cab rank and past a sign that I think they half obscured with extras/luggage so it just said Liverpool...so anything is possible

On 19/04/2022 at 21:17, TomScrut said:

 

Well, that's a good point but I expect by "all" it was probably meant as all normal liveries i.e. ones applied to multiple locos.

 

90s must have one of the highest livery/class size ratios going!

so I can expect a One, NXEA and Greater Anglia (both AGA and GA variants) by the end of the year...still not sure Ill be holding my breath for that to happen 😀

6 hours ago, XChris said:

Hornby’s Modern or even whole D&E team are just really letting the side down when it comes to progressing the hobby. I feel there at a Heljan level with the 91, but still miles off the Bachmann/Accurascale levels. I think that they really need to work on what’s coming out to make sure the rest of there releases come out above Heljan or even Bachmann level at least.

why do we think that is though ? I dont want to use the "details, details, details" mantra on them, again, but even in jest they know they make products people will count moulded rivets on in the steam side, and yet keep getting the detailed things in the D&E so wrong. How does the Scotland Azuma end up with Carlisle and Watford Junction on the destination boards and nobody at Hornby noticed ? which would be bad if it were being sold at railroad prices, but its £400+

9 hours ago, G-BOAF said:

satin varnish?

Personally I would send it back for a replacement....

Id send it back even without the scratch, that just looks an awful textured finish,for a £200+ locomotive remember, I dont care if from 10 metres away its not that noticeable, thats a bad level of livery finish imo, Ive never had a model that I used a varnish coat on end up looking like that, thats almost like the application has partially melted the plastic surface.

apparently R3890 is due within the next 2 to 4 weeks, I hope the InterCity Executive livery is not similarly afflicted.

3 hours ago, adb968008 said:

i don't think you need to rush with Hornby any more.

look how silent the whole Hornby topic has become.

The biggest topic of 2022 is the ill fated movie thread, hardly a positive.

 

The other manufacturers threads are quite healthy in discussion.

Im not sure thats necessarily a sign that Hornby have an issue with the excitement generated by their 2022 announcements or other manufacturers threads show they have more interest than Hornby, the reality is its very difficult to keep a topic going on Hornby models we might not see for another 12-18months that are little more than stock photos of real trains, vs  a Bachmann model that will be in the shops before the end of this month that weve got actual samples to see

So like we cant really discuss what these GA 755s are going to be like,  because despite the catalogue claiming a Spring 2022 release, nobody believes that date, in fact most would doubt a Spring 2023 release considering the backlog of 2020/2021 models still stuck on slow boats from China.

maybe if a prototype showed up on the next Engine Shed release, or appeared at a show Hornby decide to go to, maybe then there would be stuff to discuss, but there seems little point just aimlessly speculating when theres so little facts about it to discuss.

and if Hornby allocations are letting stocks turn up in shops now, howcome Kernow still arent accepting orders from the 2022 range ? I preordered on the basis I want these GA755s as models to add to my collection, and maybe enough interest means we get a 745, or something else Eastern region

8 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

I was interested because I've never noticed anything like it.

The closest I've seen on an 86 is in my attached photo, taken of 86238 in its late-90s Anglia days. I remember seeing a slight variation of this with a 3rd cross member, but this was not between the 2 existing contacts, it was in front & at a lower height so it should not have contacted the wire. I never understood what purpose it served & I only ever noticed it on multiple units too.

 

when the 86s arrived in the Anglia region mid 80s, they were still using the Stone Faiveley style, and got fitted with the Brecknell Willis high speed ones later, though in the early days some still had the diamond cross style ones too. But that might explain the visual differences you noticed.

the APT-P ended up with a Brecknell Willis, but I dont think Hornby has ever modelled the electrics pantographs accurately, though they did at least used to be metal and sprung better

4 hours ago, StuAllen said:

Just a thought, has anyone checked the validity of the email? Could it be a phishing attempt?

Ive spent what feels like the best part of 800 pounds on buying a model train with extra coaches that often derails, has giant capacitors on view in those coaches, that might melt or break the only power car that powers it, which isnt powerful enough to push a full train with the extra coaches, assuming its driveshafts havent fallen off in transit, and has at best a pantograph stolen from an airfix model.

how much more phished do I feel already by Hornby...

5 hours ago, 97xx said:

Using an RF 'sniffer; I find about a 50% reduction in radiated RF noise with an appropriate suppressor, but as some have said no-one really bothers with or about it these days.

 

With the virtual death of MW listening this has become a background issue, although move a typical cheapo wall wart PSU near to a MW radio and you'll hear lots of noise...

 

If you have a small MW radio, tune if off station and listen to your train.

you might think its only a background issue because MW radios arent as common thesedays, but I bet your broadband & wifi signals notices it alot.

2 hours ago, rob D2 said:

I watched the video , but the impression i got was exactly that .

 

the reason  they aren't stocking it is because they can't get any 

they said later in that video Hornby had offered them some stock in Jan, but theyd declined the offer, as theyd be hit with the price rise, and it pushes it into a price region their shop doesnt look to cater for, as they were set up to be a model shop thats shows its an affordable hobby for all the family, not an expensive collectors hobby.

and that seems a reasonable position from them IMO, and their point that the older model is half the price on Ebay, we might be getting a much better looking model but Im not sure weve got a model thats as good as the price tag infers based on all the issues people keep reporting in this thread.