Never in a million years did I think we'd get an R-T-R Ivor the engine. I've got a good feeling that Rapido are going to knock this one out of the park.
Ah, Ivor was big news when I was a boy in Wales during the late 1960s/70s, although I seem to recall we were watching repeats, as the show originated in the early 1960s, I think. Whatever, Oliver Postage was a genius.
It's just a pity about the ridiculous prices and then have the effrontery to include cardboard cut outs as if this justifies the prices. It didn't even appear to include any track; so any first-time buyer would have to add that on as well.
The Hornby thing reminds me of something that American department store chain JCPenney did. They always had “sales” on, even though the prices were the same as every other retailer. False sales and bogus prices that they were never actually charging for. Everything marked up by 20% just so they can knock it down again and claim it’s 20% off.
haha yeah it's weird isn't it? It seems crazy to think this is a smart strategy.. but then again there are people who don't religiously follow the prices like I do haha! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I'm guessing it would look kind of like this at the high end and have some newly tooled and attractively priced quality models at the budget end. From my layman's perspective, of course, as I don't know exactly how feasible such models would be from a marketing/financial perspective or how many newcomers avail themselves of the secondhand market.
Hi Sam, great video. Ref pricing: the overwhelming factor on deciding how much a model is going to cost is the size of the production run since there are considerable savings the more you make. And we know the OO market is roughly five times larger than N. Also, while N gauge models are smaller, the difference in price between the quantity of metal and plastic used is almost infinitessimal. The research costs tend to be the same, and often the QC costs more because the components are smaller and tolerances finer. I agree that a bigger model might 'feel' like more for your money, but when it comes to cost size isn't everything!! 😀
Thank you for their info - yeah that a very fair point about quantities. Having just reviewed the brand new Sonic Models J50 in N scale for less than £90, I still think these seem expensive. Plus with the Manor, Dapol only just did all the research and drawings for the OO version, so the N scale version should have been easier than starting from scratch... still, here's hoping it's a very impressive model, I'm sure it will be. Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Staying in one scale, say, OO; how much more profitable the models would be if the companies would push out a bit less new products? For example, 25% less. I think we really need a couple of those quiet months per year.
Thanks for the response. Great to have his from the horses mouth so to speak. Good to understand about the material cost being a much smaller factor in terms of cost.
Ivor the Engine must have been only on the Isles and not in the states. Also, this is the first time I ever heard of Clark Railworks and I added them to my manufacturing list. I think that the Hornby shenanigans is more a sign of desperation to stay afloat at the next board and stockholders meeting but hopefully you are correct. Great video and news, Jersey Bill
Close to unknown in Australia and those that do know treat it more as a curiosity than enthused about it. Unless they migrated from the UK. Sales performance outside the UK may be quite different to the other highly desirable Rapido UK products.
@@someNewYorkCentralfan Wasn't Shining Time Station just a variety show with Thomas and Friends sandwiched in the middle until it was used as the inspiration for Thomas and the Magic Railroad? If so, it look five seasons for the influence of the American adaptation to effect the course of the franchise (Which it eventually did when Britt Alcroft stepped down following TATMR). Perhaps Ivor would just have gotten a new voice actor, if that? Maybe a few words like "trucks" would have been localized? I don't know how long Ivor ran on for, I just have one picture book my parents got on a trip to Wales.
I got one word to say, WOW. Rapido is truly the new king of model railways. With their Ivor the Engine packs plus the Midland 4-4-0 tender locos and coaches, they are becoming the most exciting model railway company to do fantastic models and Hornby models are truly out of the lead actually. The Dapol GWR auto tanks are also super impressive and I’m planning to buy the non cab version with two coaches. Also their upcoming N gauge J72 is super as well and the one I’m thinking of getting is BR apple green version.
Speaking of the Midland 4-4-0, for some reason my mind always subconsciously reads "British Railways" as "British Airways" when I see the BR font shown at 5:18.
4:40 Actually Sam the Rapido Class 483 is a different model to the ex-Dapol/Hornby Class 2P model. The Rapido model represents the locomotives built by the Midland Railway, whereas the Hornby model represents the later version built by the LMS. The most obvious difference is that the 483s was right-hand drive, and the later 2Ps were left-hand drive. Visually the reverser levers and the ejectors were switch from the right-hand side to the left. The same thing is true of the Midland Railway Class 3835 and the LMS Class 4F. The Midland Railway only had the 483 class, whereas the LMS & S&DJR had both versions, as did BR, so for pre-grouping modellers this announcement is most welcome.
Hornby acting suspicious again… they are really giving me Ubisoft vibes at the moment. (For those not in the know, Ubisoft is a gaming company that have consistently made anti consumer decisions and lapses in quality who right now are fighting for their lives after realising that they actually aren’t invincible.)
@@vizmortlock well, I live in Australia, and our supermarkets are currently in court for doing something similar right now. I don’t know if it’s illegal in the UK, but it’s a crime down here
Good evening Sam!! It’s been a busy year for us in the railway modelling business!! Rapido, Hornby, Bachmann and Accurascale have announced new models, and KR Models are bringing out some new trains!!
You should review the EC Lowmac - it's got posable rings!! I have both the EC and Rapido, the rapido has no posable rings and you cant change the coupling without breaking the model. The EC version is perfect for the more 'serious' modeller as you can actually tie down loads realistically.
Thanks for sharing - yeah the rings are a cool feature, and it's certainly good about the couplings... I do think it's a pity they couldn't have included a load for the higher price though, as then they'd really have the edge! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Sam, The Lowmac Issue is right on point. Here's what I've been suggesting about greedy manufactures, is they don't try to complement each others work by producing complementary items let's say for this instance, how about making some loads for these wagons instead of producing another wagon, this doesn't always have to be about competition with one manufacture over another, they're going to have to learn to get along with each other.
You are forgetting about something called the UKs 'Compeition and Markets Authority'... Basically it is ILLEGAL for UK manufacturers to have private discussions about who does what and the CMA will impose big fines on anyone it catches even if the infarction is relatively minor. No 'ifs', no 'buts' and no 'but the model railway manufacturing market is so very small' will cut any ice - the CMAs stance is if a market cannot cope with duplications then it shouldn't exist. That in turn means that unless every single manufacture publicly announces what they are going to make right at the very start of the process and in the case of duplication then you are bound to get two manufacturers working on something - and if both manufacturers have spent significant quantities of cash by the time the duplication is revealed then its highly likely both will continue their work and bring their products to the shops.
Having spoken with someone that works at a model shop and has their finger on the pulse of what's happening, what Accurascale is doing with the FCA is their ultimate goal for their entire range. They got into the model shops at a razor thin margin to get mind share. The low prices were basically buying community goodwill. But the eventual result they want is what Hornby attempted with TT, all of the product only available exclusively from them at premium pricing with an inflated margin.
As for Hornby, they're going for FOMO. This was a long-proven model, the American department store JCPenney was famous for it; their sales cratered when they switched from constant discounts to simply making the "discounted" price the standard.
2:42 I am amazed by any company that can make a physical 3D replica (I sometimes call it 4D as it exists on the same axis as you) of a 2D character or object. Kinda like the Phineas and Ferb figures I had as a kid Ivor The Engine is a classic cartoon which isn't marketed to new generations of children like Looney tunes or Tom & Jerry. The only toys I could find are plushes of some of the characters excluding Ivor. Rapido has been making high-spec North American passenger cars for years, so I'm glad they're finally doing a British model to that same degree. Sam, you should definitely take a look at a Rapido North American passenger car!
I'd been thinking about modelling Ivor for my next project and imagining having to scratch build locos and rolling stock. Not now!! Such an exciting announcement. I love fantasy railways.
For me Sam, I has to be the Rapido's new MR 483. I still can't decide between the S&DJR blue or the MR maroon to pre-order, they both look absolutely beautiful. Cheers Jasper & Willow
Indeed. I remember locos at three pounds! But then, my last scratchbuilt loco (metal and solder) cost £60-70 just for a motor and wheels with EM axles.
Hi Sam. Great show once again. I follow your advice regarding Heljan: don't worry about FOMO and wait until the sales. My last 2 Heljan locos - a class 33 & a class 57 - have both cost me £99, brand new. And, touch wood, they run smoothly, and no bits have fallen off. Yet... Hornby pricing strategy: it's the "Mike Ahsley effect". The same approach has been alive and well at Sports Direct for years. Hornby wagons: the 3 packs from Rails work out at £12ea. Kernow are selling them for £9.99ea.
With the Ellis Clarke lowmac you can change the couplers and if you want axles to sat EM gauge whereas the Rapido version uses a specialist coupler and fixed brake gears around the axle which makes them impossible to get out unless you butcher the model
Interesting behaviour from Hornby, Sam. Here in Australia, as we speak, that very behaviour by Woolworths and Coles is currently being investigated by the ACCC! The grocery retailers didn't believe that the shoppers would notice.👍
I see Hornby’s pulling a Woolies! (For the uninitiated, Australian supermarket Woolworths raised grocery prices and then ‘discounted’ them back to the original price.)
A search for accc coles and woolworths Will show how big a news item this is in Australia and goes into the likely court cases and multi million dollar fines possible. ACCC meaning Australian Competition and Consumer Commission an independent federal government statutory authority.
Much food for thought here ... [1] Rapido ... if they're releasing this many new items in the catalogue, they must have spent a big chunk of money on development and tooling. Which in turn means a pressing need to recoup that outlay. The Ivor the Engine range strikes me as a bit odd ... there won't be as many children familiar with the original series as is the case with Thomas the Tank Engine, so doing a "train set" version probably wasn't on the cards for that reason. It was probably decided to go for the more upmarket detailed execution, to tap into nostalgia on the part of people who *did* see the original series, then went on to become fairly demanding modellers in later life. That, however, is probably a pretty niche market, so how to recover the outlay on that, hmm? The MR 483 makes more sense. If they pull that one off to near-Accurascale levels, that could be a winner, but they'll need to be high standard for that price. The Evolution coaches, possibly a gamble, but appears to check the quality boxes, and doing them in LMR livery ticks an extra box into the bargain. A gamble that could work if enough people pair up the coaches with the 483s, though that's going to be an expensive indulgence. Pete Waterman has probably filed a bulk order for just this sort of pairing :) [2] Heljan ... they have a LOT of work to do to overcome their, ahem, *interesting* past endeavours. Will they succeed? Your regular viewers won't be surprised that you're reaching for the garlic and crucifix on this one :D [3] Dapol ... that N gauge Manor is going to raise a LOT of eyebrows. costing MORE than their OO Manor? Yeep. [4] Accurascale ... those ICI hopper wagons look VERY much like the hopper wagons in my local model shop that were £75, and which I only worked out later were being sold as a twin pack! Though to be fair, I didn't get a look inside the box, only at the line drawing. Looking at your ICI hopper as you held it in your hand, the size seems about right too. [5] Hornby ... oh good grief, cynical move or what? One that's going to backfire badly when the penny drops, with respect to how many people watch TH-cam. Ok, your video has around 8,000 views, and that's almost certainly going to be *very* heavily biased toward established modellers. But how many of those 8,000 viewers are going to pass this snippet on to people *outside* the established modelling demographic? It's at this point, that I hve to ask myself the question of whether or not Hornby have been ensnared by the vampires of venture capitalism, because this is EXACTLY the sort of tactic you would expect from this sort of management. Obviously they can't get away with shrinkflation or egregious price gouging, so they're slipping the cynicism past people via another route. This does NOT bode well for the future. Ditto the TT120 shifting - accounting voodoo ahoy. A line from Hamlet seems appropriate here ...
Not too much on the accurascale bench, but id really love to see a review of their new class 31!!! Its sad that accurascale has had to up their prices of their new 37 as 66s, i was quite shocked to see it the other day, but considering the new runs have working fans in the case of the 37 is amazing! Very informative, but quite a conundrum with hornbys strategy, but maybe itll work?! Great and very interstung video as always sam!!
I saw the rapido sample at GETS in milton beynes this weekend, they all look really bloody impressive. I will certainly be buying these as i have fond memories :)
@@SamsTrains Oh yes should've specified! I Saw them all and they were all good but I was talking about Ivor specifically! Im a bit young to remember pre grouping coaches in service! Thanks for another great roundup!
That discount tricked worked on me!! I bought a starter set for my dad for christmas and I was bragging to my mum about what a great deal I got on such an "expensive" set. I can confirm that trick made at least one sale, maybe it'll work on a few others? 🤣
The great Hornby discount spectacular never seemed to include the TT LMS Coronation locomotive...only her coaches! Well, that savings spectagular passed me by! The N scale J72 by Dapol is a really, REALLY exciting development....already preordered mine from Rails. The pre order purgatory the re-release of Graham Farish's J39 in LNER leaves much to be desired though. I never was good at playing "hurry up and wait"! ;)
Ahh interesting - yeah it's a lot of the first wave of models isn't it... again suggesting it isn't to celebrate 2 years, but to shift unsold stock! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I'm with you on those Accurascale wagons Sam. Having missed out on the original Hattons offering, I was all up for buying some until I saw the price and wondered why it had gone up so much. Maybe they have upgraded them - although if that's the case it seems odd that they've not said so. Or maybe Oxford/Hattons drove a hard bargain for the tooling!
One word on percentages, Sam. When Hornby (through necessity) up the price of their £100 unique 4-8-18 by 10 per cent it then costs £110. If they reduce it by 10 per cent later then it will cost £99. Not a huge difference, just to say that percentage increases and reductions can be deceptive.
@@SamsTrains But it doesn't come with a Bullman either. :( (Speaking of which, when does Bullman get his new wheels? I want to see Bullman 2.0. gate crash on the next free-rolling test to flex his fancy new ride.)
Not sure if you managed to get to gets, but the Elis Clark Quad-arts interior detail are going to take some beating, down to route maps and art work on the walls of the carriages
@@SamsTrains I’ve got some on order and a rake of coronation coaches, happy to borrow, don’t currently have the layout to justify them currently but couldn’t resist the coronations and the fancy details on the quad art
Hi Sam. I agree with your cynicism about Hornby's pricing strategy. According to retail consumer law a product can only be offered in a sale if it was previously offered at a higher price! I suspect Hornby's financial backers are being very strict with them and are making them work to a business plan. But it means if you buy an item for review when it comes out, you are then going to find it discounted a few months down the track! Thanks for uploading.
Re: Hornby - Manns Model moments did a great analysis and breakdown of their accounts that gave a really good insight. Essentially seems like they have a lot of stock to shift...
The Ivor The Engine train packs seem like a great idea, and I think it's just going to be incredible since Hornby lost the Thomas range, and Rapido are fantastic that they are doing this range and it looks amazing.
Hi Sam I have a heljan class 33 and I think it's a loco you may like I love watching your videos and I learn a lot from you and I do think you would rate it top markes the only two things I would rate it down on is the cab there is hardly any detail inside and the second thing is all the buffer beam add-ons like vacuum pipes and over things get in the way of the coupling but the model itself is a grate runner and it's quite reliable not shore if you have done a review on it but thanck you for creating all these videos and keep up the grate work
I like your thought about Ivor the Engine. It does seem like a natural entry level set although who remembers Ivor? Gen x onwards who are probably not entry level
Thanks for bringing us the news! So many exciting announcements!! Just so you know you missed the release of the Bachmann Class 30 and 31 and the Bachmann Class 25, so maybe include those for November?
Rapido's 483 Class is the highlight for me. As a big fan of the LMS 2P in the S&DJR from Hornby, this is the ultimate modern version of that. Together with the new Evolution range, this will be amazing all things together. Can't wait to get the DCC sound version with the lighting 👍 really excited for it
The two major supermarket chains here in Aus are in serious trouble for doing exactly what Hornby has done. They've been taken to the federal court by the ACCC for "misleading customers".
@@Fork219 They raised prices on a range of products for several months, then reduced them back to near previous levels advertising them as a super deep discount to assist their customers in "these trying times".
It looks to me that Hornby is being guided on pricing by Sports Directs involvement. High starting price and then offering, "discounts". Next they will become very frustrating with dodgy customer service issues. SD are notorious for making their online offer tricky to navigate. How many of us got those huge chamberpot sized mugs in an online order?
Re prices of new N scale vs older tooled OO scale Manors. Prices may reflect tooling costs of now vs then. Different unless cross subsidies happening. The recent trend over the last twenty years of wanting so much new product does come at real costs that cannot be imagined away.
I have ordered three of the Midland locos and all but one of the Evolution coach liveries. I won't be eating for some time but they look so good and pre-grouping is my thing. My EC Lowmac arrives tomorrow :)
You can get a lot of features in an N scale model. About 10 years ago Minitrix produced a model of the Db class 18.6 (ex. Bavarian S 3/6) Pacific steam loco for club members only. It was made entirely of diecast metal and was DCC and sound fitted with a speed synchronized smoke generator. The lighting included triple head and tail lights, engineers cab lighting and a red/orange LED flickering flrebox effect.
Hi Sam, great review as always, lots of lovely goodies to look forward to, I love the Ivor the engine items, I think I'll have to get them and pretend to be a child again. I agree with you on the Heljan warship, too expensive and pity someone else wasn't doing it, I feel the same about their classes 26, 27 & 33, not the price so much as i wish rapido or accurascale would do them better.
Yeah that's true actually - and Hornby did produce the 2P numbers rather than the 483 in the SDJR livery, so fair enough... still... they won't look great next to these! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Put my pre-order in for Ivor DCC Sound... I mean you have to for the Psshht ti cuff, psshht ti cuff... there you go Sam, some 3D printed figures will be needed...get that printer up and running 😄
Hornby has appeared to have taken advantage of Collector Club members with a quick cash grab. They announced on Saturday 12th, that the Collector Club would receive an exclusive model, which is a variant of the Locomotion Number One that was announced at the start of the year, limited to 750 units. The only real differences appear to be minor cosmetic ones, and the box it comes in. The CC version (R30345) is costing exactly the same as the regular version does post price increase, which is £184.99. That comes to £214.99 if you have to get the CC membership as well. Usually the CC model is slightly cheaper, to help offset that membership cost and make it more enticing to the members. That's not the case this time, which along with the abolition of Club discounts and boosted Hobby Rewards points, makes this feel like kind a rip-off when you compare it to previous years. Normally I really enjoy a good Collector Club model. But this time I'm just sticking with the original Locomotion that I ordered earlier in the year.
I absolutely love Ivor! Never mind Thomas, this is the fictional railway of my childhood. I’m planning a layout for him already. 2D cutout characters are an absolutely inspired nod to the original animations, and a playful acknowledgement that they’ve made a 3D model of such a fundamentally flat representation of an imaginary solid thing.
Fully agree about Ivor the Engine - super announcement, very exciting, and probably the first new model I've considered actually buying for years... Until I saw it was an expensive premium model. Wish it was simpler and more affordable.
Yeah definitely - strange that those basic looking wagons need to be £30 each... even more than their "serious" open wagons at the retailers... they are bundling them with extras but most of them are cardboard, haha! At least we know they'll be done well! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
You did miss a couple of details on the J72- the upper part of the boiler is metal, and it has a partly compensated chassis (as does the N Gauge Manor- something else you missed.....)
I mean, for once they probably couldn't get away with it legally. What with franchising rights and everything else, such an act would amount to piracy on the high seas.
Something I'm surprised wasn't mentioned was that according to some people the Tomas & Friends model of Duncan from Bachmann has been canceled due to apparently not looking enough like the real engine reuse the tooling for that.
I couldn't agree more on the warships, I have been hanging out for a decent Hymek for years and definitely not impressed with the Heljan offering so haven't bit that bullet yet, I have two of the early Bachmann class 42 Warships in my collection, one in BR maroon and the other in BR green and although they are heavy and good runners the detail is very basic being basically the old Kader/Mainline tooling? So I'd love for a quality Brit manufacturer to bring out the 42s and Hymeks one day...
Hi Sam, great video! Just a quick correction: Rapido are producing the Midland Railway 483 class, not the later LMS 2P. The 2P was based on the 483 Class and externally they were very similar. Unfortunately this means that Hornby will still have an excuse to produce their model!
I think Hornby's current special reductions are to blur the recent price increase to "ease" the perception of it. Unfortunately eventually most but not all of us get used to the increases. For example, some 12 years or so ago my new Bachmann 4 coach blue and grey EMU cost £110 and I then got green one for £75..........Compare that with how much they are now.
27:49 I'm not surprised this has been cancelled, it was originally the Queen Adelaide Coach Pack, before they announce (& then cancelled) the separate Queen Adelaide Coach R40437. So one third of the pack was already cancelled, and the remaining two coaches, Globe & Wellington, had already been produced in the R3810 Rocket Train Pack.
Worth noting for the November video a correction: Rapido isn’t making Fowler 2P that has been ran into the ground by Hornby, it’s the Midland 483 class which predates it. Also a 2P class, but still distinct enough on its own.
A good video here Sam, some very good news articles here, some big news for me this month is I have taken a dive into HO scale rolling stock as recently I managed to pick up a fairly long rake of coaches in the livery of the Compagnie Internationale Des Wagons Lits or to put it a more simpler name Orient Express Coaches made by Rivarossi, I haven got a HO loco for them yet but I’m going to be looking at getting a range of locos for them to be pulled by. Overall some great models featured here, I will admit the Ivor series is quite a strange one but if rapido think it’s going to be successful then good luck to them, the Heljan Warship is a very interesting one that I may look at as currently the only warship diesel I have is an old mainline one.
Those Evolution coaches look really appealing, but I have to keep telling myself that the Buckjumper should be my current goal. Then again, more LNWR coaches would be great, as would some Great Central ones.
Normally agree with you Sam, but disagree here. The Ellis Clark lowmac having separate tie down rings I think is a material benefit. True, you cannot see from a distance if no load. However it does enable you to use string to tie down an actual load so provides an opportunity for significant additional realism if the tie downs are used
Sam in regards to Heljan you should check out the class 25. They’re on sale for just over £100 at the moment and for the price I think they’re a fantastic model. Had no issues with mine and quality is seriously high, maybe you’ve been unlucky with your heljan purchases?
Bachmann Trains USA have cancelled the production of their 009 model of Duncan from the Thomas and Friends narrow gauge range. This is due to high production costs.
Recently, Hornby has revealed decorated samples of the Locomotion No 1. They have also announced a 1950s-era Locomotion No 1 which is a Hornby Collector's Club exclusive (the only difference is that this verson has no nameplate).. I've recently found out that Locomotion No 1 will have Hornby's silly Era 1 couplings as well as magnetic chain couplings like on Accurascale's Chauldon wagons.. This has put me into a dilema as I don't know whether to cancel my pre-order from Rails now that I know it won't have NEM couplings thus I realisticly can't put my current stock behind the model (and yet I can with the Rapido "Lion")
I'm in that group, I'd love a new warship but just wish it would been from Bachmann instead. Heljan models in my opinion are okay but feel there's always an issue; being a dcc compatibility, accuracy or detail fidelity issue (funnily enough I've always had 10/10 runners though)
Personally, I would be putting things like steam traction engines to provide the Lowmacs loads. These would require the rings rather than a load of old wheels!!
Never in a million years did I think we'd get an R-T-R Ivor the engine.
I've got a good feeling that Rapido are going to knock this one out of the park.
haha me neither... it'll be awesome won't it! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Ah, Ivor was big news when I was a boy in Wales during the late 1960s/70s, although I seem to recall we were watching repeats, as the show originated in the early 1960s, I think.
Whatever, Oliver Postage was a genius.
I wonder if you get a dragon with it. I'll definitely be after one of these.
It's just a pity about the ridiculous prices and then have the effrontery to include cardboard cutouts
It's just a pity about the ridiculous prices and then have the effrontery to include cardboard cut outs as if this justifies the prices. It didn't even appear to include any track; so any first-time buyer would have to add that on as well.
Rapido has successfully forced Sam to make a half hour long news video, well done guys. 😂
hahahaha!!
Hopefully they make a habit of it. More models for everyone, and more watch hours for Sam.
The Hornby thing reminds me of something that American department store chain JCPenney did. They always had “sales” on, even though the prices were the same as every other retailer. False sales and bogus prices that they were never actually charging for. Everything marked up by 20% just so they can knock it down again and claim it’s 20% off.
haha yeah it's weird isn't it? It seems crazy to think this is a smart strategy.. but then again there are people who don't religiously follow the prices like I do haha!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I think this is technically illegal in the U.S., but probably too hard to enforce...
We have a uk equivalent to that. A sports store named sports direct
Reminds me of DFS the sofa people they was always like that
@@Soundbounce123 Do they not have the same share holder as Hornby ?
If this is the hobby dying, I’d love to see it thriving
haha I know!!
I'm guessing it would look kind of like this at the high end and have some newly tooled and attractively priced quality models at the budget end. From my layman's perspective, of course, as I don't know exactly how feasible such models would be from a marketing/financial perspective or how many newcomers avail themselves of the secondhand market.
Hi Sam, great video. Ref pricing: the overwhelming factor on deciding how much a model is going to cost is the size of the production run since there are considerable savings the more you make. And we know the OO market is roughly five times larger than N. Also, while N gauge models are smaller, the difference in price between the quantity of metal and plastic used is almost infinitessimal. The research costs tend to be the same, and often the QC costs more because the components are smaller and tolerances finer. I agree that a bigger model might 'feel' like more for your money, but when it comes to cost size isn't everything!! 😀
Thank you for their info - yeah that a very fair point about quantities. Having just reviewed the brand new Sonic Models J50 in N scale for less than £90, I still think these seem expensive. Plus with the Manor, Dapol only just did all the research and drawings for the OO version, so the N scale version should have been easier than starting from scratch... still, here's hoping it's a very impressive model, I'm sure it will be.
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Staying in one scale, say, OO; how much more profitable the models would be if the companies would push out a bit less new products? For example, 25% less. I think we really need a couple of those quiet months per year.
That's what I tell my wife... size isn't everything... it's the quality! 😂
@@SamsTrains The thing is though, that N gauge models and OO models are so varstly different, is that they basically DO have to start from scratch.
Thanks for the response. Great to have his from the horses mouth so to speak. Good to understand about the material cost being a much smaller factor in terms of cost.
Ivor the Engine must have been only on the Isles and not in the states. Also, this is the first time I ever heard of Clark Railworks and I added them to my manufacturing list. I think that the Hornby shenanigans is more a sign of desperation to stay afloat at the next board and stockholders meeting but hopefully you are correct. Great video and news, Jersey Bill
Which is a blessing. Since if the Americans managed to ruin TTTE, God knows what would've happened if the Americans got interested in Ivor the engine
I heard that the Japanese know Ivor somewhat.
Yeah it's not too well known in the USA... though it's quite obscure even over here compared with Thomas etc these days!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Close to unknown in Australia and those that do know treat it more as a curiosity than enthused about it. Unless they migrated from the UK.
Sales performance outside the UK may be quite different to the other highly desirable Rapido UK products.
@@someNewYorkCentralfan Wasn't Shining Time Station just a variety show with Thomas and Friends sandwiched in the middle until it was used as the inspiration for Thomas and the Magic Railroad? If so, it look five seasons for the influence of the American adaptation to effect the course of the franchise (Which it eventually did when Britt Alcroft stepped down following TATMR).
Perhaps Ivor would just have gotten a new voice actor, if that? Maybe a few words like "trucks" would have been localized? I don't know how long Ivor ran on for, I just have one picture book my parents got on a trip to Wales.
I got one word to say, WOW. Rapido is truly the new king of model railways. With their Ivor the Engine packs plus the Midland 4-4-0 tender locos and coaches, they are becoming the most exciting model railway company to do fantastic models and Hornby models are truly out of the lead actually.
The Dapol GWR auto tanks are also super impressive and I’m planning to buy the non cab version with two coaches. Also their upcoming N gauge J72 is super as well and the one I’m thinking of getting is BR apple green version.
Yep - it's an impressive feat isn't it! Exciting is definitely the word :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Speaking of the Midland 4-4-0, for some reason my mind always subconsciously reads "British Railways" as "British Airways" when I see the BR font shown at 5:18.
4:40 Actually Sam the Rapido Class 483 is a different model to the ex-Dapol/Hornby Class 2P model. The Rapido model represents the locomotives built by the Midland Railway, whereas the Hornby model represents the later version built by the LMS.
The most obvious difference is that the 483s was right-hand drive, and the later 2Ps were left-hand drive. Visually the reverser levers and the ejectors were switch from the right-hand side to the left. The same thing is true of the Midland Railway Class 3835 and the LMS Class 4F.
The Midland Railway only had the 483 class, whereas the LMS & S&DJR had both versions, as did BR, so for pre-grouping modellers this announcement is most welcome.
Hornby acting suspicious again… they are really giving me Ubisoft vibes at the moment. (For those not in the know, Ubisoft is a gaming company that have consistently made anti consumer decisions and lapses in quality who right now are fighting for their lives after realising that they actually aren’t invincible.)
Not at all. They are behaving like many retailers. You may not like it, but it's nothing out of the ordinary
@@vizmortlock well, I live in Australia, and our supermarkets are currently in court for doing something similar right now. I don’t know if it’s illegal in the UK, but it’s a crime down here
Good evening Sam!! It’s been a busy year for us in the railway modelling business!! Rapido, Hornby, Bachmann and Accurascale have announced new models, and KR Models are bringing out some new trains!!
You should review the EC Lowmac - it's got posable rings!! I have both the EC and Rapido, the rapido has no posable rings and you cant change the coupling without breaking the model. The EC version is perfect for the more 'serious' modeller as you can actually tie down loads realistically.
Thanks for sharing - yeah the rings are a cool feature, and it's certainly good about the couplings... I do think it's a pity they couldn't have included a load for the higher price though, as then they'd really have the edge!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Sam, The Lowmac Issue is right on point. Here's what I've been suggesting about greedy manufactures, is they don't try to complement each others work by producing complementary items let's say for this instance, how about making some loads for these wagons instead of producing another wagon, this doesn't always have to be about competition with one manufacture over another, they're going to have to learn to get along with each other.
You are forgetting about something called the UKs 'Compeition and Markets Authority'...
Basically it is ILLEGAL for UK manufacturers to have private discussions about who does what and the CMA will impose big fines on anyone it catches even if the infarction is relatively minor.
No 'ifs', no 'buts' and no 'but the model railway manufacturing market is so very small' will cut any ice - the CMAs stance is if a market cannot cope with duplications then it shouldn't exist.
That in turn means that unless every single manufacture publicly announces what they are going to make right at the very start of the process and in the case of duplication then you are bound to get two manufacturers working on something - and if both manufacturers have spent significant quantities of cash by the time the duplication is revealed then its highly likely both will continue their work and bring their products to the shops.
Having spoken with someone that works at a model shop and has their finger on the pulse of what's happening, what Accurascale is doing with the FCA is their ultimate goal for their entire range. They got into the model shops at a razor thin margin to get mind share. The low prices were basically buying community goodwill. But the eventual result they want is what Hornby attempted with TT, all of the product only available exclusively from them at premium pricing with an inflated margin.
As for Hornby, they're going for FOMO. This was a long-proven model, the American department store JCPenney was famous for it; their sales cratered when they switched from constant discounts to simply making the "discounted" price the standard.
2:42 I am amazed by any company that can make a physical 3D replica (I sometimes call it 4D as it exists on the same axis as you) of a 2D character or object. Kinda like the Phineas and Ferb figures I had as a kid
Ivor The Engine is a classic cartoon which isn't marketed to new generations of children like Looney tunes or Tom & Jerry. The only toys I could find are plushes of some of the characters excluding Ivor.
Rapido has been making high-spec North American passenger cars for years, so I'm glad they're finally doing a British model to that same degree. Sam, you should definitely take a look at a Rapido North American passenger car!
I'd been thinking about modelling Ivor for my next project and imagining having to scratch build locos and rolling stock. Not now!! Such an exciting announcement. I love fantasy railways.
For me Sam, I has to be the Rapido's new MR 483. I still can't decide between the S&DJR blue or the MR maroon to pre-order, they both look absolutely beautiful.
Cheers Jasper & Willow
Ahh fantastic - yeah they look wonderful don't they!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
And there is my favourite news bulletin of the month! Jolly good job Sam
haha thank you so much!! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
bloody hell around $120AUD for one coach geeez i remember when you could buy a loco for about $20-$25aud
Indeed. I remember locos at three pounds! But then, my last scratchbuilt loco (metal and solder) cost £60-70 just for a motor and wheels with EM axles.
Hi Sam. Great show once again. I follow your advice regarding Heljan: don't worry about FOMO and wait until the sales. My last 2 Heljan locos - a class 33 & a class 57 - have both cost me £99, brand new. And, touch wood, they run smoothly, and no bits have fallen off. Yet...
Hornby pricing strategy: it's the "Mike Ahsley effect". The same approach has been alive and well at Sports Direct for years.
Hornby wagons: the 3 packs from Rails work out at £12ea. Kernow are selling them for £9.99ea.
If Heljan have used the team who did the Class 47 then our hopes cannot be high.
I know - shocking wasn't it? How cant they get even the basic shape right?
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
With the Ellis Clarke lowmac you can change the couplers and if you want axles to sat EM gauge whereas the Rapido version uses a specialist coupler and fixed brake gears around the axle which makes them impossible to get out unless you butcher the model
Interesting behaviour from Hornby, Sam. Here in Australia, as we speak, that very behaviour by Woolworths and Coles is currently being investigated by the ACCC! The grocery retailers didn't believe that the shoppers would notice.👍
I’m excited for next month’s video. Rapido and Bachmann have been working very hard on their new items and a full product photo of Stanley.
I see Hornby’s pulling a Woolies!
(For the uninitiated, Australian supermarket Woolworths raised grocery prices and then ‘discounted’ them back to the original price.)
hahaha that sounds like exactly what they're doing!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
A search for
accc coles and woolworths
Will show how big a news item this is in Australia and goes into the likely court cases and multi million dollar fines possible. ACCC meaning Australian Competition and Consumer Commission an independent federal government statutory authority.
More on that huge Australian story and court cases likely by searching for
accc coles and woolworths
Much food for thought here ...
[1] Rapido ... if they're releasing this many new items in the catalogue, they must have spent a big chunk of money on development and tooling. Which in turn means a pressing need to recoup that outlay. The Ivor the Engine range strikes me as a bit odd ... there won't be as many children familiar with the original series as is the case with Thomas the Tank Engine, so doing a "train set" version probably wasn't on the cards for that reason. It was probably decided to go for the more upmarket detailed execution, to tap into nostalgia on the part of people who *did* see the original series, then went on to become fairly demanding modellers in later life. That, however, is probably a pretty niche market, so how to recover the outlay on that, hmm?
The MR 483 makes more sense. If they pull that one off to near-Accurascale levels, that could be a winner, but they'll need to be high standard for that price. The Evolution coaches, possibly a gamble, but appears to check the quality boxes, and doing them in LMR livery ticks an extra box into the bargain. A gamble that could work if enough people pair up the coaches with the 483s, though that's going to be an expensive indulgence. Pete Waterman has probably filed a bulk order for just this sort of pairing :)
[2] Heljan ... they have a LOT of work to do to overcome their, ahem, *interesting* past endeavours. Will they succeed? Your regular viewers won't be surprised that you're reaching for the garlic and crucifix on this one :D
[3] Dapol ... that N gauge Manor is going to raise a LOT of eyebrows. costing MORE than their OO Manor? Yeep.
[4] Accurascale ... those ICI hopper wagons look VERY much like the hopper wagons in my local model shop that were £75, and which I only worked out later were being sold as a twin pack! Though to be fair, I didn't get a look inside the box, only at the line drawing. Looking at your ICI hopper as you held it in your hand, the size seems about right too.
[5] Hornby ... oh good grief, cynical move or what? One that's going to backfire badly when the penny drops, with respect to how many people watch TH-cam. Ok, your video has around 8,000 views, and that's almost certainly going to be *very* heavily biased toward established modellers. But how many of those 8,000 viewers are going to pass this snippet on to people *outside* the established modelling demographic?
It's at this point, that I hve to ask myself the question of whether or not Hornby have been ensnared by the vampires of venture capitalism, because this is EXACTLY the sort of tactic you would expect from this sort of management. Obviously they can't get away with shrinkflation or egregious price gouging, so they're slipping the cynicism past people via another route. This does NOT bode well for the future. Ditto the TT120 shifting - accounting voodoo ahoy. A line from Hamlet seems appropriate here ...
Not too much on the accurascale bench, but id really love to see a review of their new class 31!!! Its sad that accurascale has had to up their prices of their new 37 as 66s, i was quite shocked to see it the other day, but considering the new runs have working fans in the case of the 37 is amazing! Very informative, but quite a conundrum with hornbys strategy, but maybe itll work?! Great and very interstung video as always sam!!
Thanks Jack - yeah hopefully I'll be able to do a 31 review soon! Yes the working fans is an amazing feature isn't it!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Do you want some ice cream with that waffle Jack?
9:06 Still cheaper than an Australian Passenger Coach with no interior details or lighting 😅
I saw the rapido sample at GETS in milton beynes this weekend, they all look really bloody impressive. I will certainly be buying these as i have fond memories :)
Which sample was that the Ivor ones? They do look amazing :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Oh yes should've specified! I Saw them all and they were all good but I was talking about Ivor specifically! Im a bit young to remember pre grouping coaches in service! Thanks for another great roundup!
Nice video Sam, those Evolution coaches look good!
The edit work at 11:22 had me fully convinced that you filmed it on your normal white background sans the tracks hahahah
hahaha! Not until those sales ;)
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
That discount tricked worked on me!! I bought a starter set for my dad for christmas and I was bragging to my mum about what a great deal I got on such an "expensive" set. I can confirm that trick made at least one sale, maybe it'll work on a few others? 🤣
9:20 Sam there are 3 packs of the evo coaches for £170 at Rails kind of a savings option as 3 on there own are between £180-£210
Yeah that's true actually - pound or two cheaper that way!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Rapido are truly amazing. A full Ivor range and Coaches and locos that can go together?! Take my money Rapido! The coaches really do look amazing
The great Hornby discount spectacular never seemed to include the TT LMS Coronation locomotive...only her coaches! Well, that savings spectagular passed me by!
The N scale J72 by Dapol is a really, REALLY exciting development....already preordered mine from Rails. The pre order purgatory the re-release of Graham Farish's J39 in LNER leaves much to be desired though. I never was good at playing "hurry up and wait"! ;)
Ahh interesting - yeah it's a lot of the first wave of models isn't it... again suggesting it isn't to celebrate 2 years, but to shift unsold stock!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Thanks for all the updates
I'm with you on those Accurascale wagons Sam. Having missed out on the original Hattons offering, I was all up for buying some until I saw the price and wondered why it had gone up so much. Maybe they have upgraded them - although if that's the case it seems odd that they've not said so. Or maybe Oxford/Hattons drove a hard bargain for the tooling!
One word on percentages, Sam. When Hornby (through necessity) up the price of their £100 unique 4-8-18 by 10 per cent it then costs £110. If they reduce it by 10 per cent later then it will cost £99. Not a huge difference, just to say that percentage increases and reductions can be deceptive.
At least the Clark Railworks Lowmac does not come with a Cola bottle!!!
hahaha true - neither Rapido or Ellis Clark are that crazy!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains But it doesn't come with a Bullman either. :(
(Speaking of which, when does Bullman get his new wheels? I want to see Bullman 2.0. gate crash on the next free-rolling test to flex his fancy new ride.)
Not sure if you managed to get to gets, but the Elis Clark Quad-arts interior detail are going to take some beating, down to route maps and art work on the walls of the carriages
Yeah I did see those recently actually - might try and get some to review!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains I’ve got some on order and a rake of coronation coaches, happy to borrow, don’t currently have the layout to justify them currently but couldn’t resist the coronations and the fancy details on the quad art
Hi Sam. I agree with your cynicism about Hornby's pricing strategy. According to retail consumer law a product can only be offered in a sale if it was previously offered at a higher price! I suspect Hornby's financial backers are being very strict with them and are making them work to a business plan. But it means if you buy an item for review when it comes out, you are then going to find it discounted a few months down the track! Thanks for uploading.
Re: Hornby - Manns Model moments did a great analysis and breakdown of their accounts that gave a really good insight. Essentially seems like they have a lot of stock to shift...
The Ivor The Engine train packs seem like a great idea, and I think it's just going to be incredible since Hornby lost the Thomas range, and Rapido are fantastic that they are doing this range and it looks amazing.
Hi Sam I have a heljan class 33 and I think it's a loco you may like I love watching your videos and I learn a lot from you and I do think you would rate it top markes the only two things I would rate it down on is the cab there is hardly any detail inside and the second thing is all the buffer beam add-ons like vacuum pipes and over things get in the way of the coupling but the model itself is a grate runner and it's quite reliable not shore if you have done a review on it but thanck you for creating all these videos and keep up the grate work
Re: Hornby’s pricing structure - its aligned to how Sports Direct do pricing which is obvious considering who is influencing business decisions
@@Locomotion_Motion ... Oh dear. Mike "Loadsamoney" Ashley has his sticky fingers in Hornby? That explains a LOT.
I like your thought about Ivor the Engine. It does seem like a natural entry level set although who remembers Ivor? Gen x onwards who are probably not entry level
I picked up an Ellis Clark Lowmac at GETS and its truly amazing and all metal.
It does sound amazing - I'm getting one to do a comparison!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Thanks for bringing us the news! So many exciting announcements!! Just so you know you missed the release of the Bachmann Class 30 and 31 and the Bachmann Class 25, so maybe include those for November?
Rapido's 483 Class is the highlight for me. As a big fan of the LMS 2P in the S&DJR from Hornby, this is the ultimate modern version of that. Together with the new Evolution range, this will be amazing all things together. Can't wait to get the DCC sound version with the lighting 👍 really excited for it
Yeah that's one of mine too - amazing to see a new tooled one of these, can't wait!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
The two major supermarket chains here in Aus are in serious trouble for doing exactly what Hornby has done. They've been taken to the federal court by the ACCC for "misleading customers".
Coles and Woolworths, what did they do?
@@Fork219 They raised prices on a range of products for several months, then reduced them back to near previous levels advertising them as a super deep discount to assist their customers in "these trying times".
@@adrianaustralia9135 yikes
I’m a serious modeller, but I do love cartoon/animation models, I might just buy an Ivor pack.
I wonder if someone will produce the Greendale Rocket?
It looks to me that Hornby is being guided on pricing by Sports Directs involvement.
High starting price and then offering, "discounts".
Next they will become very frustrating with dodgy customer service issues. SD are notorious for making their online offer tricky to navigate. How many of us got those huge chamberpot sized mugs in an online order?
Re prices of new N scale vs older tooled OO scale Manors.
Prices may reflect tooling costs of now vs then.
Different unless cross subsidies happening.
The recent trend over the last twenty years of wanting so much new product does come at real costs that cannot be imagined away.
Next week Hornby be announced the Ivor The Engine range, just a revamped version of one of their older Triang models.😊
I have ordered three of the Midland locos and all but one of the Evolution coach liveries. I won't be eating for some time but they look so good and pre-grouping is my thing. My EC Lowmac arrives tomorrow :)
You can get a lot of features in an N scale model. About 10 years ago Minitrix produced a model of the Db class 18.6 (ex. Bavarian S 3/6) Pacific steam loco for club members only. It was made entirely of diecast metal and was DCC and sound fitted with a speed synchronized smoke generator. The lighting included triple head and tail lights, engineers cab lighting and a red/orange LED flickering flrebox effect.
Cool. Bet that wasn't cheap!
Hi Sam, great review as always, lots of lovely goodies to look forward to, I love the Ivor the engine items, I think I'll have to get them and pretend to be a child again. I agree with you on the Heljan warship, too expensive and pity someone else wasn't doing it, I feel the same about their classes 26, 27 & 33, not the price so much as i wish rapido or accurascale would do them better.
As far as I know the Hornby/airfix tooled 2p is based on the LMS built examples. This new tooling is the earlier Midland built 2p
Yeah that's true actually - and Hornby did produce the 2P numbers rather than the 483 in the SDJR livery, so fair enough... still... they won't look great next to these!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains indeed they won't. Long overdue for an up to date model.
That Ivor the Engine pack is how you do a "novelty" model train. Huge step up from Hornby just slapping the Beatles' faces onto a generic tank engine.
Put my pre-order in for Ivor DCC Sound... I mean you have to for the Psshht ti cuff, psshht ti cuff... there you go Sam, some 3D printed figures will be needed...get that printer up and running 😄
hahahaha!!! And it'd be great to do some 3D figures - not sure why they've 3D-ified the trains but not the characters!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hornby has appeared to have taken advantage of Collector Club members with a quick cash grab.
They announced on Saturday 12th, that the Collector Club would receive an exclusive model, which is a variant of the Locomotion Number One that was announced at the start of the year, limited to 750 units. The only real differences appear to be minor cosmetic ones, and the box it comes in.
The CC version (R30345) is costing exactly the same as the regular version does post price increase, which is £184.99. That comes to £214.99 if you have to get the CC membership as well.
Usually the CC model is slightly cheaper, to help offset that membership cost and make it more enticing to the members. That's not the case this time, which along with the abolition of Club discounts and boosted Hobby Rewards points, makes this feel like kind a rip-off when you compare it to previous years.
Normally I really enjoy a good Collector Club model. But this time I'm just sticking with the original Locomotion that I ordered earlier in the year.
I absolutely love Ivor! Never mind Thomas, this is the fictional railway of my childhood. I’m planning a layout for him already. 2D cutout characters are an absolutely inspired nod to the original animations, and a playful acknowledgement that they’ve made a 3D model of such a fundamentally flat representation of an imaginary solid thing.
Great video Sam! I generally cannot wait for the new Rapido loco! Started saving now 😂
Nice to see you calling out Accurascale.
Fully agree about Ivor the Engine - super announcement, very exciting, and probably the first new model I've considered actually buying for years... Until I saw it was an expensive premium model. Wish it was simpler and more affordable.
Yeah definitely - strange that those basic looking wagons need to be £30 each... even more than their "serious" open wagons at the retailers... they are bundling them with extras but most of them are cardboard, haha! At least we know they'll be done well!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Another great video Sam 👍
You did miss a couple of details on the J72- the upper part of the boiler is metal, and it has a partly compensated chassis (as does the N Gauge Manor- something else you missed.....)
Those coaches look fantastic !
I remember Ivor the Engine - Looks Great - Thanks for sharing 🙂🚂🚂🚂
Awesome video Sam
cant wait for hornby to announce that they coincidentally were also working on an Ivor the Engine range!
I mean, for once they probably couldn't get away with it legally. What with franchising rights and everything else, such an act would amount to piracy on the high seas.
Let’s see what we actually get when the model comes out!! We already have some of the best locomotives and trains for our layouts!!
Something I'm surprised wasn't mentioned was that according to some people the Tomas & Friends model of Duncan from Bachmann has been canceled due to apparently not looking enough like the real engine reuse the tooling for that.
I couldn't agree more on the warships, I have been hanging out for a decent Hymek for years and definitely not impressed with the Heljan offering so haven't bit that bullet yet, I have two of the early Bachmann class 42 Warships in my collection, one in BR maroon and the other in BR green and although they are heavy and good runners the detail is very basic being basically the old Kader/Mainline tooling? So I'd love for a quality Brit manufacturer to bring out the 42s and Hymeks one day...
Hi Sam, great video! Just a quick correction: Rapido are producing the Midland Railway 483 class, not the later LMS 2P. The 2P was based on the 483 Class and externally they were very similar. Unfortunately this means that Hornby will still have an excuse to produce their model!
Yeah that's true - it's not an LMS 2p, similar as they are!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I think Hornby's current special reductions are to blur the recent price increase to "ease" the perception of it. Unfortunately eventually most but not all of us get used to the increases. For example, some 12 years or so ago my new Bachmann 4 coach blue and grey EMU cost £110 and I then got green one for £75..........Compare that with how much they are now.
I imagine that the N gauge Manors are more expensive than the OO since predicted volumes are lower so tooling has to be amortised accordingly.
27:49 I'm not surprised this has been cancelled, it was originally the Queen Adelaide Coach Pack, before they announce (& then cancelled) the separate Queen Adelaide Coach R40437. So one third of the pack was already cancelled, and the remaining two coaches, Globe & Wellington, had already been produced in the R3810 Rocket Train Pack.
Always a great watch, thanks for putting the work in. Question, were you at Gets this year ?.
Worth noting for the November video a correction: Rapido isn’t making Fowler 2P that has been ran into the ground by Hornby, it’s the Midland 483 class which predates it. Also a 2P class, but still distinct enough on its own.
A good video here Sam, some very good news articles here, some big news for me this month is I have taken a dive into HO scale rolling stock as recently I managed to pick up a fairly long rake of coaches in the livery of the Compagnie Internationale Des Wagons Lits or to put it a more simpler name Orient Express Coaches made by Rivarossi, I haven got a HO loco for them yet but I’m going to be looking at getting a range of locos for them to be pulled by.
Overall some great models featured here, I will admit the Ivor series is quite a strange one but if rapido think it’s going to be successful then good luck to them, the Heljan Warship is a very interesting one that I may look at as currently the only warship diesel I have is an old mainline one.
Thanks David - ahh that's very exciting, hopefully you have fun with HO!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I loved Ivor the Engine as a kid, this looks great. Good job Rapido, but it is a bit pricey.
Those Evolution coaches look really appealing, but I have to keep telling myself that the Buckjumper should be my current goal. Then again, more LNWR coaches would be great, as would some Great Central ones.
Normally agree with you Sam, but disagree here. The Ellis Clark lowmac having separate tie down rings I think is a material benefit. True, you cannot see from a distance if no load. However it does enable you to use string to tie down an actual load so provides an opportunity for significant additional realism if the tie downs are used
FYI - the 483 is a bit different from the 2P, so Hornby still has some space to run. However, it will definitely give them a run for their money!
thanks for including some n gauge news
There were alot of steam locomotives announced this month Sam, let's just hope that there be even more next month.
Cheers Jasper & Willow
Yeah absolutely - I'm sure there will be!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
You missed the GCR Clerestories.
Ivor the engine was my introduction to trains in the early 70s.
N-gauge, the favorite scale of one Jean-Luc Picard.
Sam in regards to Heljan you should check out the class 25. They’re on sale for just over £100 at the moment and for the price I think they’re a fantastic model.
Had no issues with mine and quality is seriously high, maybe you’ve been unlucky with your heljan purchases?
Awesome video today Sam lots of things to look forward to
Thanks James :D
Bachmann Trains USA have cancelled the production of their 009 model of Duncan from the Thomas and Friends narrow gauge range. This is due to high production costs.
8:11 they did almost every brown and cream colour scheme except the Caledonian
That's so amazing video sam
Thanks Justin! :D
Recently, Hornby has revealed decorated samples of the Locomotion No 1. They have also announced a 1950s-era Locomotion No 1 which is a Hornby Collector's Club exclusive (the only difference is that this verson has no nameplate)..
I've recently found out that Locomotion No 1 will have Hornby's silly Era 1 couplings as well as magnetic chain couplings like on Accurascale's Chauldon wagons.. This has put me into a dilema as I don't know whether to cancel my pre-order from Rails now that I know it won't have NEM couplings thus I realisticly can't put my current stock behind the model (and yet I can with the Rapido "Lion")
Think you need need to look at the ICI wagons again they are £40 because they are a TWO PACK not a single release
I'm in that group, I'd love a new warship but just wish it would been from Bachmann instead. Heljan models in my opinion are okay but feel there's always an issue; being a dcc compatibility, accuracy or detail fidelity issue (funnily enough I've always had 10/10 runners though)
Personally, I would be putting things like steam traction engines to provide the Lowmacs loads. These would require the rings rather than a load of old wheels!!
Accurascale ICI at £40; makes the EC lowmac at the same price seem more reasonable, especially if the ICI is just plastic moulding.
The Rapido Lowmac appears sold out at most retailers… perhaps Ellis Clark still stands a chance.