A campaign has started on You Tube to support local model shops

[DJ Dangerous]

18 hours ago, west_clare_wanderer said:

 

As others have said, I think the OP has misread the room here with the original post. Ultimately, without Accurascale taking this line, Heljan wouldn't exist. 

I had no idea who Jenny Kirk was. I avoid anything model railway related on YouTube. I certainly don't need "influencers" telling me what to think. There are an awful lot of self-opinionated folks around.... 

I have no problem with people posting on YouTube. I don’t feel that I’m being told what to think. Everybody has a place in the model railway world.

I could sit back and watch an hour of @ttc0169’s YouTube videos before I could handle ten minutes of somebody talking about trains rather than showing trains.

My problem arises when there is no analytical or critical thinking.

I didn’t have much faith in the campaign being genuine from the get-go, as was probably evident, and I’d love to be proven wrong.

Hard to measure the impact or success as the objectives were never laid out in the first place, neither in the original pre-edited post, nor in the vastly redacted version visible today.

[ttc0169]

20 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

I have no problem with people posting on YouTube. I don’t feel that I’m being told what to think. Everybody has a place in the model railway world.

I could sit back and watch an hour of @ttc0169’s YouTube videos before I could handle ten minutes of somebody talking about trains rather than showing trains.

My problem arises when there is no analytical or critical thinking.

I didn’t have much faith in the campaign being genuine from the get-go, as was probably evident, and I’d love to be proven wrong.

Hard to measure the impact or success as the objectives were never laid out in the first place, neither in the original pre-edited post, nor in the vastly redacted version visible today.

Cheers and thanks DJ…..I’ll have to get upstairs and start recording TRAINS that is…. 

[Horsetan]

To be fair, if people wanted to campaign to support their local model (railway) shop, they should have started that campaign 30+ years ago, when there were rather more such shops available to be supported.

It's a bit late in the day to be banging the drum now when most of the damage to survival has already been done.

[Warbonnet]

23 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Hard to measure the impact or success as the objectives were never laid out in the first place, neither in the original pre-edited post, nor in the vastly redacted version visible today.

Well I can confirm that it did absolute wonders for the sales on heljan.com, as it really brought the news of Heljan going direct only to the masses, who then checked out the site an saw the prices on offer. Oh, and the reasons why. 

We were delighted with it, TBH.

Cheers!

Fran 

[irishthump]

On 3/4/2026 at 10:40 PM, DJ Dangerous said:

Surprised to see Jenny Kirk ranting and rambling so much:

 

 

Although, she did try worming her way out to some extent in a subsequent livestream, but just comes across as desperate to support her previous rant:

 

 

Yeah, I watched the original video and I was cringing by the end of it. I actually like Jenny Kirk's videos, she produces pretty decent reviews of rolling stock and other products, nothing like the crap Sam's Trains vomits out on a daily basis. But that video devolved into nothing more than a rant.

[Georgeconna]

People can't resist a bargain really with the prices on offer especially on the Diesels. I would be waiting for how the new management will tackle the steamers as they a have not had the best rep.

[irishthump]

47 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

Well I can confirm that it did absolute wonders for the sales on heljan.com, as it really brought the news of Heljan going direct only to the masses, who then checked out the site an saw the prices on offer. Oh, and the reasons why. 

We were delighted with it, TBH.

Cheers!

Fran 

Good to hear it! Treated myself to a class 47. Delighted with it.

[Horsetan]

51 minutes ago, irishthump said:

... nothing like the crap Sam's Trains vomits out on a daily basis. ...

He just likes buying loads of stuff and showing it off.

[irishthump]

16 hours ago, Horsetan said:

He just likes buying loads of stuff and showing it off.

Not as simple as that. He's looking for engagement on Youtube, and that's it. His ragebait thumbnails are proof enough. Now I know that's part of the game for content creators but his reviews are pure pants. He's always glaringly ignorant of the prototype being modelled, and his barely-contained glee at finding a problem with the product being reviewed is grating. His standards also seem to shift from model to model, and I'm sorry but I refuse to take seriously a review of any loco that has been ran on that layout of his. I don't care how many times he says he hoovers the carpet, it's still track poorly laid on carpet with loose ballast all over it!

End of rant.

[DJ Dangerous]

21 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

Well I can confirm that it did absolute wonders for the sales on heljan.com, as it really brought the news of Heljan going direct only to the masses, who then checked out the site an saw the prices on offer. Oh, and the reasons why. 

We were delighted with it, TBH.

Cheers!

Fran 

Well, is that not ironic???

 

20 hours ago, irishthump said:

Yeah, I watched the original video and I was cringing by the end of it. I actually like Jenny Kirk's videos, she produces pretty decent reviews of rolling stock and other products, nothing like the crap Sam's Trains vomits out on a daily basis. But that video devolved into nothing more than a rant.

Likewise, some of Jenny’s videos are enjoyable, but that crazy cringey tantrumy one was anything but…

 

20 hours ago, irishthump said:

Good to hear it! Treated myself to a class 47. Delighted with it.

Same, InterCity Executive Class 47 in OO Gauge sitting at Customs up in Madrid right now.

 

20 hours ago, Georgeconna said:

People can't resist a bargain really with the prices on offer especially on the Diesels. I would be waiting for how the new management will tackle the steamers as they a have not had the best rep.

A streamlined A4 with more pulling power would be lovely!

[Horsetan]

2 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Well, is that not ironic???

It's a bit like the Church trying to get something banned, resulting in the subject becoming much more popular. 

[Mol_PMB]

5 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

It's a bit like the Church trying to get something banned, resulting in the subject becoming much more popular. 

Now I have a vision of people worshipping at the altar of Rails of Sheffield...

Or perhaps they're more like one of those American TV preachers - they certainly seem to get plenty of suckers sending them money...

[Georgeconna]

5 hours ago, irishthump said:

Not as simple as that. He's looking for engagement on Youtube, and that's it. His ragebait thumbnails are proof enough. Now I know that's part of the game for content creators but his reviews are pure pants. He's always glaringly ignorant of the prototype being modelled, and his barely-contained glee at finding a problem with the product being reviewed is grating. His standards also seem to shift from model to model, and I'm sorry but I refuse to take seriously a review of any loco that has been ran on that layout of his. I don't care how many times he says he hoovers the carpet, it's still track poorly laid on carpet with loose ballast all over it!

End of rant.

This Rant seems to be a thing now especially on the plastic kit reviewers, Peter Oxley is one lad I enjoy but these "chats" are over an hour long sometimes! . I dont mind Sam, did not like him before but leave his videos run as background noise while at work. I skip Jenny tbh. 

[Horsetan]

2 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

.. perhaps they're more like one of those American TV preachers - they certainly seem to get plenty of suckers sending them money...

Ever seen the musical "Barnum"?

 

[Flying Snail]

23 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

Now I have a vision of people worshipping at the altar of Rails of Sheffield...

Or perhaps they're more like one of those American TV preachers - they certainly seem to get plenty of suckers sending them money...

The Passion of Saint Tibulus is what came to mind for me ...  

[Warbonnet]

1 hour ago, Horsetan said:

It's a bit like the Church trying to get something banned, resulting in the subject becoming much more popular. 

I think the best thing to come out of this overall though, is the amount of Heljan that has sold for small to medium retailers, at their original asking price, because 1. everyone is talking about Heljan again, and noticing that some of it is indeed nice. 2. Punters who like to buy in person, now know that there is only a finite amount of stock left on retailers shelves, so they're grabbing it while they can, and the smaller retailers are getting shot of stock that has sat for a while, or are even seeing it go up in value.

Makes the suggestion of shop stock getting bought back rather "dim witted!" 

[GSR 800]

It's called 'ragebait', bad reviews, angry rants, etc get the views. They're rewarded by the algorithm and so they continue to do it.

I don't mind Sam's Trains for the most part, some of his antics are a bit childish but most of his reviews are fair enough.

I think its important to have reviewers to help highlight some of the absolute nonsense some manufacturers try to get away with, and also bring light to some hidden gems, but often it turns into a trope of good and bad manufacturers.

It's not limited to youtubers either, seems like many N gauge modellers are smarting over Kohlers comments regarding the scale compared to TT. I think N gauge is very much slept on recently, some of the newer models (Green Arrow) look as good as any TT scale model. American N scale (specifically steam) is coming in leaps and bounds with the likes of Broadway Limited Imports and Kato. I have a PRR T1 duplex in N scale and its probably one of my favourite models, excellent performer and comes with all the bells and whistles! A great deal more in a much smaller space.

 

[west_clare_wanderer]

6 hours ago, GSR 800 said:

I think its important to have reviewers to help highlight some of the absolute nonsense some manufacturers try to get away with, and also bring light to some hidden gems, but often it turns into a trope of good and bad manufacturers

 

Agreed, reviews are important, but personally I'd rather trust a review in a published magazine than some random fella posting a video from his bedroom. I've never heard that term "rage bait" before, but it is rather apt. The world seems angry about everything, all of the time! 

Increasingly, I think I am in the minority though. I don't go in for video content at all. I prefer images and the written word. However, that's clearly against the grain as YouTube seems to be the place where it's all at these days. I use YouTube for old sport clips and music.... Not toy trains

[Mol_PMB]

5 hours ago, west_clare_wanderer said:

 

Agreed, reviews are important, but personally I'd rather trust a review in a published magazine than some random fella posting a video from his bedroom. I've never heard that term "rage bait" before, but it is rather apt. The world seems angry about everything, all of the time! 

Increasingly, I think I am in the minority though. I don't go in for video content at all. I prefer images and the written word. However, that's clearly against the grain as YouTube seems to be the place where it's all at these days. I use YouTube for old sport clips and music.... Not toy trains

I’m with you in the minority, much preferring written words and still images. My brain likes to consume the information at its own pace rather than being forced by the pace of the video. I might re-read a paragraph several times and then make some notes, or spend ages looking at the details in the background of a photo. Or just turn the page past a bit I’m not interested in. 
When I have to watch youtube I’m forever pausing or fast-forwarding. 

I could go on but we’re probably way off topic already.

Edited Friday at 06:03 by Mol_PMB

[Mayner]

On 24/4/2026 at 5:46 AM, GSR 800 said:

It's called 'ragebait', bad reviews, angry rants, etc get the views. They're rewarded by the algorithm and so they continue to do it.

I don't mind Sam's Trains for the most part, some of his antics are a bit childish but most of his reviews are fair enough.

I think its important to have reviewers to help highlight some of the absolute nonsense some manufacturers try to get away with, and also bring light to some hidden gems, but often it turns into a trope of good and bad manufacturers.

It's not limited to youtubers either, seems like many N gauge modellers are smarting over Kohlers comments regarding the scale compared to TT. I think N gauge is very much slept on recently, some of the newer models (Green Arrow) look as good as any TT scale model. American N scale (specifically steam) is coming in leaps and bounds with the likes of Broadway Limited Imports and Kato. I have a PRR T1 duplex in N scale and its probably one of my favourite models, excellent performer and comes with all the bells and whistles! A great deal more in a much smaller space.

 

Although I once had delusions of becoming a 'lifestyle guru'/influencer/cult leader about 20 or so years ago, there was more than enough competition and real world kept me earthed .  These days I tend to avoid influencers and social media apart from this Board and RM Web a lot is just an echo chamber for Crap with so social media friends and some relatives simply parroting the crap they receive on social media feeds. 

I guess in the end I got to find things out for myself and make up my own mind, rather than be said and lead as my father sometimes said. 

Going back to N scale, I started collecting American outline N scale nearly 40 years ago because of the superior quality compared to British Outline N or even OO, with American  'manufacturers' like Atas first comissioning locos and stock from Roco, before moving on to Japan in the Mid 80s and China during the 90s. In certain respects the Japanese manufactured Atlas and Kato locos of the 90s are superior in terms of reliability and durability to the rather fragile Chinese manufactured models of more recent years.

For me I still see N as the ideal scale for building a model railway capable of running long trains of mainly rtr stock in a realistic environment in a reasonable space and 4mm and larger more suitable for model making (incl scratch and kit building).

[GSR 800]

1 hour ago, Mayner said:

Although I once had delusions of becoming a 'lifestyle guru'/influencer/cult leader about 20 or so years ago, there was more than enough competition and real world kept me earthed .  These days I tend to avoid influencers and social media apart from this Board and RM Web a lot is just an echo chamber for Crap with so social media friends and some relatives simply parroting the crap they receive on social media feeds. 

I guess in the end I got to find things out for myself and make up my own mind, rather than be said and lead as my father sometimes said. 

Going back to N scale, I started collecting American outline N scale nearly 40 years ago because of the superior quality compared to British Outline N or even OO, with American  'manufacturers' like Atas first comissioning locos and stock from Roco, before moving on to Japan in the Mid 80s and China during the 90s. In certain respects the Japanese manufactured Atlas and Kato locos of the 90s are superior in terms of reliability and durability to the rather fragile Chinese manufactured models of more recent years.

For me I still see N as the ideal scale for building a model railway capable of running long trains of mainly rtr stock in a realistic environment in a reasonable space and 4mm and larger more suitable for model making (incl scratch and kit building).

 

On 24/4/2026 at 1:10 AM, west_clare_wanderer said:

 

Agreed, reviews are important, but personally I'd rather trust a review in a published magazine than some random fella posting a video from his bedroom. I've never heard that term "rage bait" before, but it is rather apt. The world seems angry about everything, all of the time! 

Increasingly, I think I am in the minority though. I don't go in for video content at all. I prefer images and the written word. However, that's clearly against the grain as YouTube seems to be the place where it's all at these days. I use YouTube for old sport clips and music.... Not toy trains

 

On 24/4/2026 at 6:55 AM, Mol_PMB said:

I’m with you in the minority, much preferring written words and still images. My brain likes to consume the information at its own pace rather than being forced by the pace of the video. I might re-read a paragraph several times and then make some notes, or spend ages looking at the details in the background of a photo. Or just turn the page past a bit I’m not interested in. 
When I have to watch youtube I’m forever pausing or fast-forwarding. 

I could go on but we’re probably way off topic already.

There are some truly wonderful railway/railroad focused youtubers, thinking primarily of the likes of Anthony Dawson, Jago Hazzard, Train of Thought, Railway Mania, High Iron, The Imagination Station, Distant Signal, Amtrakguy365, Boston and Maine Historical Society, Flying Scott, and Chadwick Model Railway to name just a few. 

There's also many channels that I can only watch on occasion (or actively avoid altogether) due to silly tropey nonsense and overexaggeration ad nauseum. The point made regarding echo chambers is certainly true, and when thats not the case theres often a salt mine of drama and shitslinging as a result, all unfolding on the platform!

A useful aspect of video reviews is of course, being able to see (and hear) the model running, as well as seeing it on a layout.

I nonetheless consume vast quantites of traditional print media for railways, locos, rolling stock, etc, whether real or in model form. Especially when researching its useful, and I like the tangibility of it, especially in an age where everything is becoming a subscription to extract as much value from the user as possible rather than allowing single purchase. 

 

To 'gauge' the issue regarding scale, I find myself consistently impressed with American outline manufacturers. It puzzles me that it seems to be more advanced there, whereas here in Europe housing is generally smaller and people have less space, surely N would be in higher demand!

Do have to agree regarding kitbuilding/scratchbuilding though, 00/HO and indeed 0 scale seem to be the ideals for such, hats off to those 2mm finescale modellers!

 

 

[Branchline121]

On 23/4/2026 at 4:29 PM, Horsetan said:

It's a bit like the Church trying to get something banned, resulting in the subject becoming much more popular. 

I believe they call it the "Streisand effect".

[Horsetan]

2 hours ago, Branchline121 said:

I believe they call it the "Streisand effect".

I remember it as The Passion Of St. Tibulus.....

[west_clare_wanderer]

9 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

I remember it as The Passion Of St. Tibulus.....

That would be an ecumenical matter......

[Horsetan]

24 minutes ago, west_clare_wanderer said:

That would be an ecumenical matter......

"Is it a kind of nudey thing, Father?"

[west_clare_wanderer]

16 hours ago, Horsetan said:

"Is it a kind of nudey thing, Father?"

"Cowboys Ted, a bunch of cowboys"

[Broithe]

26 minutes ago, west_clare_wanderer said:

"Cowboys Ted, a bunch of cowboys"

My immediate boss was a chap utterly devoid of any sense of humour.

One day, in a meeting about the dreadful state of what was coming out of an assembly plant we had in Georgia, USA - as a scheme to avoid import duties by claiming things were "Made in the USA", he made the following outburst.

"I think the Americans are all a bunch of cowboys!"

This caused some laughter that he failed to understand.

An attempt was made to hint at his inadvertent joke - "Actually, John, a lot of them are Indians".

More laughter from us and more bemusement from him.

He then made more comments about the competence of the workforce, which led us to realise that he thought we had revealed that the workforce were largely from southern Asia.

We knew when to give up...

 

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, Broithe said:

My immediate boss was a chap utterly devoid of any sense of humour.

One day, in a meeting about the dreadful state of what was coming out of an assembly plant we had in Georgia, USA - as a scheme to avoid import duties by claiming things were "Made in the USA", he made the following outburst.

"I think the Americans are all a bunch of cowboys!"

This caused some laughter that he failed to understand.

An attempt was made to hint at his inadvertent joke - "Actually, John, a lot of them are Indians".

More laughter from us and more bemusement from him.

He then made more comments about the competence of the workforce, which led us to realise that he thought we had revealed that the workforce were largely from southern Asia.

We knew when to give up...

 

There's one in every packet, isn't there! If I could wax lyrical on the ineptitude of various bosses I had over the years in the bank, I'd be here all night............. a few good, most adequate, a few woefully, catastrophically disastrous....

[Broithe]

41 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

There's one in every packet, isn't there! If I could wax lyrical on the ineptitude of various bosses I had over the years in the bank, I'd be here all night............. a few good, most adequate, a few woefully, catastrophically disastrous....

One? The packets were generally full of them...

In a meeting about one of our many disasters, around 1990, I was asked if I had seen a vaguely relevant programme on the TV the previous night.

"No. I don't have a television."

This was treated with total disbelief by all present. I had actually stopped having a TV in 1983.

"How do you manage without a television?"

"I don't need one, Steve. I just come in here five days a week and watch an eight-hour sit-com."

[GSR 800]

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

There's one in every packet, isn't there! If I could wax lyrical on the ineptitude of various bosses I had over the years in the bank, I'd be here all night............. a few good, most adequate, a few woefully, catastrophically disastrous....

 

[Mayner]

8 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

There's one in every packet, isn't there! If I could wax lyrical on the ineptitude of various bosses I had over the years in the bank, I'd be here all night............. a few good, most adequate, a few woefully, catastrophically disastrous....

On major construction projects we used to talk about managers being promoted to the level of this own incompetency. One valuable skill set in the boom times was jumping ship to a higher paid/more prestigious role before the shit hit the fan/chickens came home to roost in your current role. I tended to end up in the 'problem solver" role cleaning up the mess, but as I got older probabably reached my own level of incompetency proving the rule.

During the 90s a good friend/drinking buddy was a highly paid 'consultant' leading an IT project with his 'team' for a major UK insurer. Client eventually became alarmed (high cost & slow progress) sacked the consultant and his team, but first gave them a glowing reference to a competitor friend managed to repeat the process a couple of time almost destroying his reputation/health, but still survives

[Northroader]

Maybe it’s just the rest of us like a quiet life. One boss I had was a master con artist. A group of us would be discussing a job, and he would turn to you with a look of low cunning, and say confidentially, man to man: “You  know what I’m talking about, eh, Bob?” and I never had the b**** to say “ I haven't got a f****** clue!”

[Mol_PMB]

[skinner75]

"Those that can do, those that can't manage"

[Broithe]

One of our passing "seagull managers" had been to a proper posh-boy school, where they mainly teach you how to act superior.

He liked to use stock Latin phrases, in the knowledge that most others would have to acknowledge his infinite prowess, far beyond a mere mortal.

I did a couple of years of Latin and could cope with his level easily enough.

In one meeting, he was pressing for us to take a decision that would clear the decks for now, but would cause future failures that he was unable to understand.

He lost patience with people trying to explain the reality of what he wanted to do and declared "Alia iacta est!"

I made a repost in Latin and gave him a thumbs up and collected my stuff to leave.

My boss, sitting next to me, had no idea what was going on, but felt that he didn't know enough to argue with whatever had just happened, because he didn't know what it was.

Outside, he demanded "What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it - it's all his fault now and recorded in the minutes. We're safe."

"What did he say?"

"He's decided that we're doing that last daft thing that he suggested, despite what he's been told."

"No, the Latin bit - what was that?"

"Alia iacta est."

"What does that mean?"

"The die is cast - it means "I have made the final decision" - it's all his fault now, forget about it!"

"What did you say to him?"

"Quantun ille canis est in fenestra. But, it's OK, he didn't understand me, but he couldn't admit that."

"And what does that mean?"

"How much is that doggy in the window..."
 

I can't even remember the bloke's name, but he was on to pastures new a couple of months later - no doubt to spread his slurry over those pastures, too.