Hornby 2021 - They Nail it again!

[Georgeconna]

Some lovely Stuff coming out, That Rocket pack and yeeeess a Diecast Merchant Navy in the Doublo packing, sweet.

4 and 6W Coaches to lads!

125 in Midland Pullman Livery too.

Peco do a snap shot here. RMWEB has loads of Separate threads clogging up the forum TBH.

 

 

[DoctorPan]

Few 88DS are gonna find themselves in CSÉ colours!

[Georgeconna]

Order gone into the LMS for the Early Crest MN, Glad I did not bite when they fist came out, This will be a quality runner!

I'd love the Rocket park with the Mail coach but have the yellow one from last year ,does Des do a number set for it wonder?

[Galteemore]

And Ruston 88DS locos - as used by Irish Sugar and preserved at Whitehead  - sorry Dr Pan - didn’t see your post !

Edited January 5, 2021 by Galteemore

[minister_for_hardship]

2 hours ago, DoctorPan said:

Few 88DS are gonna find themselves in CSÉ colours!

The green was possibly a generic builders applied livery, don't think CSE had a "house" livery. The steam loco livery wasn't consistent, lining, no lining. Brass numbers/painted on numbers.

[roxy_guy10]

Sales up globally, good news all round.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/2021/2/10/22276171/covid-pandemic-scale-models-model-making-miniature-trains-coronavirus-airfix-hornby-peco

 

[Bumble_Bee]

Brilliant to hear! Loving their 'lockdown project' kits as well, a great idea for kids bored in the house.

 

I wonder though if people will continue their newfound railways after lockdown or will there be a country wide 'beeching axe' as kids return to school and adults return to work  

 

I have a love/hate relationship with hornby though after what they have been doing to other manufacturers like Hattons and Rails by trying to undercut them with the rocket coaches and the new pre-grouping six wheelers! 

Hattons coaches are far superior to the Hornby ones though so I'm looking forward to getting my set. 

[roxy_guy10]

It's a complicated company with a complicated history. The mixed feelings are understandable as their output is very uneven.

All said though, I'm delighted to see Airfix get a sales boost. Hornby has become a custodian of a lot of those older and much loved brands.

[Georgeconna]

6 hours ago, Bumble_Bee said:

Brilliant to hear! Loving their 'lockdown project' kits as well, a great idea for kids bored in the house.

 

I wonder though if people will continue their newfound railways after lockdown or will there be a country wide 'beeching axe' as kids return to school and adults return to work  

 

I have a love/hate relationship with hornby though after what they have been doing to other manufacturers like Hattons and Rails by trying to undercut them with the rocket coaches and the new pre-grouping six wheelers! 

Hattons coaches are far superior to the Hornby ones though so I'm looking forward to getting my set. 

 

Ah Hold on here!

Rails,  Firstly A Shop tried to make a quick buck off of the Hornby Rocket with a 3rd Class Coach, The come in with a Terrier too, something the big H had already  in their inventory that needed upgrading They got Burnt (nothings exclusive mind)

Hattons, firstly a Shop tried to muscle in with a some might say Problematic wobbly Class 66, They got brunt

Kernow , also a Shop have carved in a nice little Niche with their products, No Conflict.

Hornby stick to making their stuff and also selling it at high RRP prices on their web site or through discount through the shops. 

Now we have 'Lion', Rapido who do for sure make great products (can't Fault the APT- E and  Stirling Single I have)  decide to drop into Kinda of ERA 1 with the Lion / Thunderbolt (Titfield Thunderbolt) even though Hornby have form with the  Fabtastic Rocket and suitable Stock and have bashed out a Titfield Train set already, This is fine with me as I have 2 products to Choose from, Keeps cost reasonable and I don't have to pay now for something I might get in 2022.

Rapido or Hornby though, which one to go for.

Hornby are protecting their jobs and as you say the Brand. Its got History, The have the Factories to combat these 'Pretenders'  There is only one, there's plenty of shops.  Its up to you to choose where you go at the end of the day. No company is perfect to deal with that's for sure but you can be properly look after with Spares etc where good luck in Getting Spares for your Hattons 66 in years to come. Same with Baccy Great for spares.

I Like Hornby, Hornby has been with me since the 1970 to late 80s when I could run a HST, Short coaches  and LNER Plasticky teaks in a rake with no care in the world, Airfix too and Scalextric. Now they cover a lot of SR stuff where my interest lies. 

Business is Business, its dog eat dog, the fittest survive.

In Case anyone has not seen the Titfield Thunderbolt it is well worth sitting down with a cuppa for the Carry on not to Mind the opening scene!!

 

 

 

[DoctorPan]

Ah now Geogre, its hard to back Hornby when they have developed a nasty habit of trying to stamp out competition and undercut competaters for daring to do models that Hornby have sat on their arses and misread the market. How long were modellers crying out for a updated Terrier, only for Rails to answer that plea and Simon Kohler take great exception to. Then Hattons have brand new class 66s samples on display and suddenly Hornby updates their class 66s and brings them out cheap? Something smells fishy then you have Hornby staff going out to measure 4 wheeler carriages two months after Hattons announced their range and former Hornby staff have admited that the Hornby coaches only came about to further remind Hattons of their place in the market. Rails with the LMR coach, saw that the market wanted more LMR stock and announced a quick UK based model, only for Hornby to stomp the boot on them again and announce theirs. One or twice is an accident. 5 times suddenly is a pattern and a nasty one that.

Hornby sat on their arses ignoring what the market was demanding and now that others have stepped up to fill the gaps, are throwing their weight around to starve off competation. They are already starting to lose customers who cannot stomach these practices and if they continue on so, I will stick to Bachy & others for any British stock I need.

 

[Westcorkrailway]

Ill be honest the ethics of what hornby are doing doesn't look great. They didn't like rails using "their model" and then proceeded to copy Hattons genesis coaches. The 88 DS is looking to be a good model. But even though they have made consistently good models and I will probably still buy a few in the future. I can't agree with that kind of Craic. If i buy the generic coaches for conversion to CIE ones ill will be going Hattons

[jhb171achill]

Seems to be the same with six-wheel carriages. Hattons announce they're launching them - then hey presto! Hornby are offering one!

I'd be ordering from Hattons quite simply because when I emailed them with enquiries they answered very promptly.

As an aside, I am astonished by the number of small model industries or operators who just won't answer emails! In days like these, you'd think they'd WANT business! Seems to happen both here and on the Isle of Brexit!

[Westcorkrailway]

What I will say is if 2 manufacturers are making 3 wheelers surely one will make one of these (albiet mine is a frankenstein and a pain to look at for too long, it took like 2 minutes to make anyway!)

 

Hattons have already announced what three wheelers will be in there 3rd round....maybe if there is a forth round or god knows hornby announce this Im sure people would want to have one on the layout or weathered in a siding. And mean coaching stock is abailble for steam locos and C Class locos if any were to be produced in the future....

[BosKonay]

Seems they’ve tried to cut Rapidos Lion off at the pass too

[Ironroad]

30 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

What I will say is if 2 manufacturers are making 3 wheelers

Hmm  3 wheel coaches, that would be interesting.

All joking aside, I have an abiding dislike of the company that calls itself Hornby and have never bought their products. Leopards don't change their spots, This is the entity that drove the real Hornby out of business almost 60 years ago, took their name and discarded their products, which were far far superior. 

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Westcorkrailway said:

 

Looks interesting (even if the "flying snail" is in the wrong place!). Gives an idea of what an Irish one would look like, though in reality, it's the 1955-63 lighter green that would be more appropriate for the early diesel period, more so than this earlier one.

[Westcorkrailway]

18 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Looks interesting (even if the "flying snail" is in the wrong place!). Gives an idea of what an Irish one would look like, though in reality, it's the 1955-63 lighter green that would be more appropriate for the early diesel period, more so than this earlier one.

I know, twas only shoving a bachmann/MM coach onto a hattons 6 wheel chassis. @Mike 84C has a much better example of what such a coach would look like. Its an interesting one as many who wish for flying snail laminates and park royals would be more then happy to accept these into layouts. I'd buy 3 or 4 for a bandon tank!

 

 

Im just observing that if these 2 companies are battling out in the 6 wheelers. And more liveries are introduced to sell more of each tooling. Maybe.....just maybe we will see a CIE option. And if not then theyll be re painted into CIE green anyway! My west cork bud has ordered some of the southern varients for this purpose.

[jhb171achill]

15 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Im just observing that if these 2 companies are battling out in the 6 wheelers. And more liveries are introduced to sell more of each tooling. Maybe.....just maybe we will see a CIE option. And if not then theyll be re painted into CIE green anyway! My west cork bud has ordered some of the southern varients for this purpose.

Indeed; we may hope!

There are three possible liveries for West Cork, if you're looking at the late steam / diesel era (the "grey'n'green" period).

1  The above older lined green.

2  SOME older spare stock were painted that dark green with NO lining; a locally done but unofficial version which seems to have been born of convenience by whatever painted they had in CIE in Cork. There were carriages (all ancient six-wheelers, but not of a design remotely like the Hattons ones) with plain green with TWO flying snails (no lining) and at least one with neither lining OR snails.

3  Most commonly, of course, by then - the lighter mid-green with one pale green line along the waistline only.

And, of course, either dirty silver or green "C" class locos, and dark grey steam engines.

The necessary AEC railcars would initially have been the darker green above, later the lighter shade.

Naturally, all wagons and brake vans grey.

[leslie10646]

A lot of interesting comment here re Hornby's (or the current iteration of Hornby) ethics - I expect nothing more  (or less?) in the commercial world these days, I'm afraid.

Getting back to model railways, "My Man" (ie the genius who makes my kits) says that the Hornby six wheelers are very good - he bought a sample Southern six wheeler on eBay, I believe, and was full of praise - even though he makes SR six wheelers as kits (but won't be any more!).

like George, above, I'll be coughing up for unrebuilt Merchant Navy!

[Georgeconna]

9 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

A lot of interesting comment here re Hornby's (or the current iteration of Hornby) ethics - I expect nothing more  (or less?) in the commercial world these days, I'm afraid.

Getting back to model railways, "My Man" (ie the genius who makes my kits) says that the Hornby six wheelers are very good - he bought a sample Southern six wheeler on eBay, I believe, and was full of praise - even though he makes SR six wheelers as kits (but won't be any more!).

like George, above, I'll be coughing up for unrebuilt Merchant Navy!

The Blue MN are very very tasty! Would suit Strong Country for sure!