The annual 'what will they do next year?' thread.

Didn't see that coming. However, I have always felt that MZ has a strange pricing strategy. Most of the time they charge the full premium price which many people cannot afford, yet every now and then, you get something priced so stupidly competetive that you have to buy it. However, they are also my nearest supplier of Humbrol Paints in my neck of the woods, and thats still 65 miles away, so if the store closes, I'll have no choice but to use mail-order.

 

Not any more they are not.

Are there any model zone ltd editions announced but not delivered ?, they may end up creeping out through the "I know someone one who has a few" kind of channels, if the production run is imminent and model zone are finished.

 

http://www.hornby.com/shop/hornby-arnold-n-gauge/

 

Interesting development - as a broadly WR with interlopers n gauge modeller, I've tried very hard to justify £130 on one of them just because... However whether or not this specific set finds its way home, it would be welcome if Hornby and Arnold continue this collaboration with presumably Arnold's N gauge mechanisms and Hornby's UK design base producing some further models. Now a Blue Pullman set - hint hint!

 

Does anyone know when 71000 is being released I hear the release date is round July but I visited my local model shop and they still haven't heard when stock will be arriving.


Cheers

 

According to the 71000 trust website the models are due round about September.

 

I had an email yesterday from Rails saying Hornby have delayed delivery of more than 130 items in this years catalogue until 2014. Don't know if 71000 is included.

 

This was expected, production in china has massively contracted leading to production delays in many countries.
Model railway sales down 26%, massive loss on Olympics revenues.. Hornby needs to do something.

“Over the coming months our priority will be to focus on improving the execution of our core business, so that over time we can demonstrate high-quality and sustainable long-term revenue and earnings growth, combined with a disciplined approach to capital allocation.”

http://www.supplychainstandard.com/Articles/4523/Supply+chain+problems+hit+profits+at+Hornby.html

Read.. Sell what we have in stock, before we spend on new designs..especially if they can't get it produced and delivered without problems.

71000 is a high risk model in all aspects, production, retail and capital, with an unclear ROI... and marketing something which is not likely to run for a few years either...further dampening demand.
It is a significant capital investment.
If it were me it would be on the back burner.
shareholder's in Hornby wouldn't be happy I suspect either.

 

The Olympics strategy of last year was always going to be higher risk than they anticipated, for what market were they actually intending to tap? It certainly has left a legacy in this particular instance: more problems on top of the others mentioned above. I feel Hornby will be reeling from this for a few years, with the result that it will start to recede into a 'designed-clever' shell of potentially excellent models that won't quite meet the standard of only a few years ago. The problem is that we won't see any improved, higher-spec versions of these models released over the ensuing years as a result.

 

Thanks for the update. It makes you wonder if and when LNER 2-8-2 'Cock O' The North' P2 Class will arrive.


Cheers

 

Hatton's facebook page is showing a picture of a Bachmann order form showing some new sound models. These are:
35-600 Class 20 RRP £143
35-625 Class 37 RRP £148.85
35-650 45XX RRP £143
35-675 57XX RRP £132
35-700 5MT RRP £181

 

According to my local model shop today they are waiting delivery of 71000.

 

According to http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/74907-invicta-to-produce-ex-modelzone-ltd-eds/ these models will be released by Invicta Model Rail along with the rest of the Modelzone Limited editions that hadn't been released by Modelzone

 

The CCT & BPOT (and all the other limited editions previously announced by Modelzone) are available to pre-order at http://www.invictamodelrail.com/exclusive-models-117-c.asp

If you previously pre-ordered any of these models from Modelzone you will need to pre-order them with Invicta Model Rail.

 

I am reliably informed 71000 is due end of year 2013 (at least the high spec one is).

 

I hope they revise the smokebox dart. As has been established before, it looked rather naff on the 42xx.

 

To be honest I'm in two minds now as to whether to buy 71000 due to the so called "design clever" features Hornby have introduced. From the look of the pre-production model the moulded-on hand rails on the smoke deflectors look pretty naff along with other moulded features rather than separately fitted details. To put in comparison with Bachmann's recently released weathered version of their 9F no.92233, the detail was superb with many separately fitted details and although the price was £123 I felt it was well worth the cost. If 71000 is going to be price tagged at the same cost as this but with less details then I'm going to seriously think twice about buying it.

 

New numbers for the Peco Lynton & Barnstaple wagons http://www.peco-uk.com/page.asp?id=009

 

At the Bachmann Collectors' Club day at the Bluebell Railway the LB&SCR 'Atlantic' H2 class locomotive. The models will be:

• 31-920 – 2426 ‘St. Albans Head” SR Olive Green
• 31-921 – 32424 “Beachy Head” BR Black Early Emblem

Also Model Rail Magazine's USA Class locomotive will now be made by Bachmann and not Dapol.

More info on grahammuz.com/2013/08/31/bachmann-announce-that-it-is-to-produce-a-00-scale-ex-london-brighton-and-south-coast-atlantic-h2-class-4-4-2/