Hornby looking for ideas for more British N

[Zunnan]

I think it safe to assume they'll stick with stuff that is in their 00 range, and will want to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. Big ticket model that has the potential for a high volume of repeated sales is a certainty. The trouble is that a small fish has pinched Hornbys 00 range and shrunk it to compete with Bachmann, and in 00 we know that Hornby isn't affraid of going head on with the competition. I'd be surprised if Frying Fatman and the Stuffed Duck aren't high on their agenda, they just want people to suggest them to absolve some blame for duplicating Dapol, along with a range of Pullman coaches; which haven't been available since the Poole Farish days. To run alongside the Belle they could avoid duplication by doing an N15 and/or S15. These sold well in 00 and aren't forecast (yet) in N. The coaching stock to match in their 00 range hasn't been perpetuated by Dapol as they went a different route with their Maunsell coaches, so high window Maunsells could be a go; but Pullmans would be more likely.

I'm not going to make a suggestion to them as I don't think they'd want to dip their toe in the N Gauge water by shrinking their forthcoming LMS suburbans and a Fowler 2-6-4T, but I would be least surprised to see them settle on an LNER pacific of some foul flavour and Pullmans to go with it.

[MikeDunn]

No need to be offensive about a range/style of engine many people enjoy.  And before you say 'its only in fun' there is a distinct lack of smilies that may have alleviated your post.

Personally I am rather bemused that Hornby are moving into this market; if the BBs did so well - why are they selling them off cheap now ?  Maybe they will do more than dip another toe into the market and push out a group of locos that cover each main area (steam, diesel, maybe even an electric although that's less likely) as well as some rolling stock to go with them; and maybe it will be another exploratory peek of a single class they can rebadge cheaply.

I would be disappointed were they to duplicate Dapol / GraFar releases; they have a wide range to select from, after all, that they have in OO and aren't already in N - duplication will result in dilution of sales all around, and hence pressure from shareholders to "pull out of a market they are obviously unsuited for" (after all - were they well suited to it, they would have done better, right ?).  Once they have established themselves, then duplication would be less of an issue (assuming they last more than a couple of years in this small market - be honest : compared with OO, the N market is tiny).

I watch with interest ... but unless they produce something unique and in my interest range, I won't be buying from them in N (waits for the "but you must, else they'll pull out !" posts ).

[acko22]

Not sure why you are disappointed to see Hornby look at the N gauge market personally I think its to early to tell if Hornby are really interested or if its a passing interest.

As to selling the BB cheap well that could be a clever ploy to tempt people away from Grafar and Dapol. As things stand right now I think its positive they are asking us what we want but only time will tell how much they are really interested.

[daveg]

Would somebody kindly send me the link to the Hornby BB lower price order/info page.

I have stupidly deleted this and my Trash folder has auto emptied! 

Thanks

Dave G

[MikeDunn]

Not sure why you are disappointed to see Hornby look at the N gauge market personally I think its to early to tell if Hornby are really interested or if its a passing interest.

I said bemused, not disappointed ... http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bemuse.  The rest of that para is also wondering at the level of business interest Hornby are going to show.

The disappointment aspect was on the speculation (desire ?) of some members that Hornby should next produce exactly what Dapol & GraFar have in their range, just so that they can do an exact like-for-like comparison.

As to selling the BB cheap well that could be a clever ploy to tempt people away from Grafar and Dapol. As things stand right now I think its positive they are asking us what we want but only time will tell how much they are really interested.

Tempt us away ?  But neither of these competitors make the BBs ... hardly tempting us away with a massive range of ... one model in two liveries that has limited appeal   At £119 a set - yes, that is tempting ... but also looks like a screw-up in the typesetting department instead of £199   To me, £50 off £400 isn't particularly exciting 

I wish I could say that this 'request' was a positive step - but if they are really coming into the market they will already have the next N item in the pre-production stage (or mapped in for pre-production soon - or even close to approval for production).  It takes a long time for models to go from the initial decision to release to shops - at best, I would think 12 months for Hornby, and it could be closer to 24 months if their manufacturing chain is still weak (their record in OO over the past 5 years is poor at best on timescales - and abysmal for certain models, although not quite as bad as the competitors in N !).  I suspect, like others, this may be an exercise in "CYA" - to let them point to this & say "but it's what you asked for, why aren't you buying" when they release models of locos long in the competitors ranges that then do badly ...

I do hope I'm wrong

[Zunnan]

As you got close by realising that my tone has a very thinly veiled swipe but with a deeper meaning, I'll fill in the gaps for you; though I am almost insulted by the unnecessary manner of your response. Smilies are no measure of the sarcasm, derision or an indication of the direction to take when reading a post.

I expect Hornby to produce Flying Scotsman. It was part of the Minitrix range they distributed and the biggest seller there, it is the single biggest seller in their 00 range too. It caters almost specifically to the trainset market if you think about it. In the '80s almost every boy I knew in my primary school had a Hornby Flying Scotsman set, either the LNER or the Pullman versions, and these same sets continue to sell in volume today. Given the resurgence in '80s memorabilia and that those kids will now largely have kids of their own and those parents are now grandparents, but house sizes have considerably shrunk, that '80s trainset market is quite a considerable hole which is not being fulfilled. Dapols A1 is not child friendly, nor is it produced in any quantity and it certainly doesn't come in a box bearing a name that is still held as the go to generic name that is mentioned without fail when you say you model railways. Dapols Gresleys are not particularly robust either, but Hornbys 'design clever' (formerly) way of producing models does result in more robust models with a degree of moulded detail which is more suited to less experienced hands. I'm not thinking of the serious modeller here, I'm thinking of the catalogue shop and museum markets for volume of sales of Hornbys biggest seller...'That set is too big. Oh look, they do a tiny one too!'.

When Minitrix ceased producing British N, where did the toolings go? Marklin bought the assets in 1997, but did Mangold sell the British toolings prior to that? Or did they change hands when Marklin themselves almost went bust in 2009, at a time when Hornby were making a land grab for a large number of brands? The A1 would need a retool, but those old Gresleys stand up well today. Tool 1 locomotive, reintroduce some well regarded coaches and the track/controllers are in production for other ranges already. Easy win. Tool up a handful of Pullman coaches and you have another set of greater saleability and individual coach sales.

Now to address the derision apparent in my initial post. Go to a swapmeet and look at just how common tatty old models of FS and Mallard are, they were made and sold in the tens of thousands and bought by all and sundry. I'm sick of seeing them! Even in todays small batch driven production run world they're STILL pretty much constantly available. Have Dapol taken advantage of their position with this very model in N? Not really, they've left a void there IMHO. Hornby have the distribution network (domestic and internationally) and household name to exploit that advantage should they go down that route.

[Agrippa]

I  thought this topic would just be "I'd like Hornby to bring out
a class XYZ or a  Castle or  Dean Single or whatever ", but it
seems to be turning into a bickering session.

It's not dignified when grown men start a handbag fight
over toy trains....

So there!

[Trainfish]

It's not dignified when grown men start a handbag fight

Now there's an idea for a street scene. With women as opposed to men of course.

[dodger]

good news

suppose hornby will be looking for something newish from their oo range they can just shrink?

what are the best hornby oo diesel locos and dmus?

as for emus, maybe a 395 or 2-bil? do they make others?


Tim

Or a 2 HAL, please!

Dodger

[Zunnan]

seems to be turning into a bickering session.

Who's bickering? It was merely pointed out that I was not being clear enough in expressing my thinking! 

[jivebunny]

It's not dignified when grown men start a handbag fight

Now there's an idea for a street scene. With women as opposed to men of course.

Depends which era you're modelling, there seems to be quite a trend for manbags nowadays! 

[Agrippa]

Bickering schmickering, it's still rock.n roll to me.....

I would suggest Hornby bring out Stephenson's Rocket
in N, complete with top hatted crew, unlikely though.

[Agrippa]

Depends which era you're modelling, there seems to be quite a trend for manbags nowadays! 
[/quote]

You speak for yourself !

[Thorpe Parva]

Standard Class 4 (75xxx Series).

[Mr chapman]

Who knows. Last time they bought out old Dapol 00 tooling. With a few locos being retired by dapol maybe they could start there and slap a hornby chassis underneath. If they did still have the minitrix A3/A4 Brit tooling ect perhaps we might see a budget range of sorts. I'm just happy they are having a go! I want Pullmans! Please...
Will this still be under hornby international? Or some new fangled horNby type thing.