You used to be able to get a pendolino train set for about £175 now it's £275 just for the train pack and all that has changed is the livery. Ridiculous the way prices are going in this hobby
1990s Lima £25 loco 0.2% average wage, 2020s Bachmann Class 47 DCC Sound £260 1% average UK wage. Quality has gone up but I think prices have risen faster than quality. Also attendant with the increased complexity the failure rate has gone up from about 2% 1990s to 8% present (about 100 in each sample). Like comparing luxury cars with economy cars the most profit is made at the high end so all the manufacturers scramble to have the best detailed model. How many Hornby 66s do you have, how many Bachmann or Hattons 66s do you have? Therein lies the answer. The upside is that as a diesel and electric modeller the coverage today is amazing, undreamt of in the 1990s.
@@alanrobertson9790 and also - the prices are undreamnt of !! say what ever you want BUT in the cold light n of day ,they clearly arnt value for money !!
Soon it will only be Manchester City and Chelsea that will be able to afford Model Railways! That is a nice model though, and the close coupling really enhances it.
Still not sure why Hornby numbered it as an 11car unit but only sell 9. ;) On the subject of price...To be fair, 2 HST Powercars are easily 250+... then a rake of Mk3 Coaches too, at least 25+ each!
This seems like a strange decision by Hornby. Re-releasing an old set, with outdated traction tyres/motor/pick-up combination, wrongly numbered and without interior lighting, while whacking the extra 10% onto the already heavy price tag, seems like they're begging for criticism. Reading the comments, there's plenty of it.
I got the Alstom one in 2017 and it’s still ok today Pantograph is snapped Think it was about 125 quid for the whole set Now it would be worth £300 for the box
Looks smart. But with the APT release around the corner. I’ll keep my wallet in my pocket til that drops. Especially as Hornby has upped the price of that from £434 for the 7 car set up to £533 and additional coaches from £89 up to £98.99. I’m almost having second thoughts as wanted the full 14 car set. Just not sure how ‘worth it’ it’s really gonna be. Sincerely hope you guys get a good look at one on your layout.
@@maringarvanovic8011 it is a bit steep. Just don’t get what reason for the increase is. Needs to be on point to be worth it. Simply moulded painted parts with lights and tilt is not worth £900
I remember it was not that long ago that a train including a loco and 8 coaches or 30 small wagons would cost a few hundred pounds. Now thou you are looking at £400 minimum and quite a few are hitting the £1000 mark. I never thought it would get to that and this really is the last about 8 years. Example. Bachmann EWS 66 with 15 medium sized wagons. Eight years ago from hattons about £220 - £250. Same train from Hattons now is £600 to £650. My example is the EWS BRA steel wagon. Used to be £12, now £45. It cannot go on like this.
It has traction tyres, so in normal circumstances, yes. Expect some struggles on inclines though. Still, given its recent price bump, can't help but wonder why Hornby couldn't stuff its class 800 motor tooling (which is basically mounted mid carriage and drives both bogies of the drive car without the need for traction tyres) into the Pendelino (which has more than enough empty space in the drive car for it)
@@pirozcontractor6006 - Yes the 800 is good quality. If I got the Pendolino probably only go for 4, or 5 coaches anyhow. Long trains only look good on really big layouts.
It looks good. However, Hornby has chosen a 390/1 to represent, yet is only making it available as a 9-car set instead of a 11-car set. The lack of cab detail is annoying, especially how this model seems to have a lot of light bleed from the top marker light so it acts as a cab light. The lack of interior detailing is also annoying, but the window tint means you can't see in without interior lights anyway. The pantograph being plastic and unsprung is irritating, because it never stays up when you position it upwards. IMO, for the spec of this model, a 4-car set isn't worth over £200. Mine is the original release 7-pin DCC fitted 390012 Virgin Star, which I have extended to 11-car with the correct 5 extra coaches for 012 plus the 2 correct vehicle types to make it into 112. However, I haven't yet renumbered the unit to 112, or the 2 extra middle coaches to their new identities, or removed the pantograph from one of those 2 extra coaches. However, I have added bullfrog snot and quite a bit of weight into the motor end to give it enough traction to cope on a flat layout.
Price is always the first consideration nowadays. I have 9 full Hst sets so I am going to compare this to one of them. This 5 car set is less than the 2 HST power cars. I think that makes it good value and the HST set overpriced. It looks great and I really do not care about the motor. It looks good, runs well and can run with the full 9 or 11 cars.
What a magnificent set! Slightly alarming that they couldn't have put a 5-pole in it given that they're often available in the same form factor so the tooling would still work. Still, it's cheap compared to a Bachmann EMU for example.
It’s an incredibly smart model, highly tempting. Fortunately I’ve started to limit my range of modelling or I might just go bankrupt! Enjoy this style of video though!
Love the new avanti livery on what is already an iconic train I have the virgin alstom 4 car set I replaced the axle with traction tyres for the modified one and added 2 more pendolino weights to compensate for not having the traction tyres and what a transformation it flies now thanks for another great video Richard and Mike best wishes Kev Beighton Parkway Sheffield
Hi Richard and Mike thanks for your reply I remember that I got my modified axle for my Alstom pendolino was in pack from peters spares reference X9718M price £8.65 the extra weights were from ebay thanks again Kev Beighton Parkway Sheffield
I'm only a beginner with the hobby (the floor train runner!) but am desperate for the model! Forget the prices (If I can afford it) and the criticism, all I want is some model of an EMU from the early 2000s (in a 2021 livery!)
£275 for a set that was tooled 17 years ago, and £45 per coach? What are hornby smoking to charge that much when people’s wages haven’t risen no where near that much
I believe its called inflation to some degree, 10p in 1984 isnt worth what 10p is worth now ... Anyway... more importantly... how can we talk about the enjoyment of the Pendelino, a train, for the masses, if the fundamental fuel of the pendo ... the knitting is, for the most part lacking .. you would expect if you are paying £500 for the train set to at least be able to buy the knitting to keep the pantograph and ultimately the train fully juiced. The knitting being the Overhead Line Equipment ... being ready to use ... not having to scratch build ... you dont scratch build a semaphore signal or a KFA intermodal wagon, you get stunning replication which is ready to use. Yes there's talk of different things in the background to offer a ready made solution to this, PECO were planning something a while back. It should be like a Mars bar. You peel open the wrapper and its ready to eat ... the OLE gantry may need its cantilevers to be clipped on or maybe there will be some simple ones set to hornby track seperation requirements. The industry is going full tilt in offering the modern day model railway enthusiast their digital era highly detailed models that operate under the 25kv settings and here and now, we are seeing big progress with the newly tooled heljan class 86, hornby class 87, Bachmann's very popular class 90, Accurascales forthcoming class 92 and all the other Electric Multiple Unit sets including the Hornby Pendelino, APT and Javelin, Bachmann's 350 desiros and the train of the moment, the Hitachi Class 800 series, soon every network in the country will have its own example - surely we should have the knitting to compliment these stunning models.
I bought one of these and they are definitely very nice looking models, my biggest issue with them is for the price you get what appears to be the exact same motor/mechanism set up as in their Eurostar sets. Which for the price has left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. Exposed gears for the driving axles? Such a poor choice and it'll get clogged easily.
Never understand why Hornby don't research numbers before producing sets. This could've been numbered for a 9 car, but I guess that's too easy. You may want to check the formation on your set though. The 2nd and 3rd coach from the front need to be swapped round 😉 pantograph coach always 3rd from the end.
Their is nothing brand new about a 17 year old model with a different paint job and to charge an extra £100 for a paint job Hornby know how to fleece their customers.
Sorry but seriously over priced. From a business perspective wouldn’t it be better to sell products at sensible price so customers would come back to purchase more etc. Talking about the colour isn’t really selling it to me. This isn’t to be negative because I think it’s a great model. Just for me and probably a lot of others it’s a lot of money 💰
You used to be able to get a pendolino train set for about £175 now it's £275 just for the train pack and all that has changed is the livery. Ridiculous the way prices are going in this hobby
1990s Lima £25 loco 0.2% average wage, 2020s Bachmann Class 47 DCC Sound £260 1% average UK wage. Quality has gone up but I think prices have risen faster than quality. Also attendant with the increased complexity the failure rate has gone up from about 2% 1990s to 8% present (about 100 in each sample). Like comparing luxury cars with economy cars the most profit is made at the high end so all the manufacturers scramble to have the best detailed model. How many Hornby 66s do you have, how many Bachmann or Hattons 66s do you have? Therein lies the answer. The upside is that as a diesel and electric modeller the coverage today is amazing, undreamt of in the 1990s.
Wages and shipping especially recently are causing a few rises from manufacturers
Even with these crazy prices it doesn't stop me wanting one 😂 Waiting on the Azuma first though
Why no 21 pin decoder? No 5 pole motor
@@alanrobertson9790 and also - the prices are undreamnt of !! say what ever you want BUT in the cold light n of day ,they clearly arnt value for money !!
Nice model and a great video keep
them coming lads.
Thanks Richard
Just taken delivery of the Pride one. And it's amazing can't wait for the coaches- hopefully we see a video of yours??
Wont be long now! :D
Thanks for the review, this one beautiful looking limited edition train set.
You're welcome Peter!
Soon it will only be Manchester City and Chelsea that will be able to afford Model Railways! That is a nice model though, and the close coupling really enhances it.
Still not sure why Hornby numbered it as an 11car unit but only sell 9. ;)
On the subject of price...To be fair, 2 HST Powercars are easily 250+... then a rake of Mk3 Coaches too, at least 25+ each!
This seems like a strange decision by Hornby. Re-releasing an old set, with outdated traction tyres/motor/pick-up combination, wrongly numbered and without interior lighting, while whacking the extra 10% onto the already heavy price tag, seems like they're begging for criticism. Reading the comments, there's plenty of it.
I was so excited when my avanti pendolino arrived at my house
Tell me about it, like Christmas come early
@@hornbymag yeah it really was an early Christmas present. And the box was massive. I was just so happy
Bought my Virgin Trains Pendolino back in 2009, for £90 brand new. The prices are just getting silly now.
I got the Alstom one in 2017 and it’s still ok today
Pantograph is snapped
Think it was about 125 quid for the whole set
Now it would be worth £300 for the box
Looks smart. But with the APT release around the corner. I’ll keep my wallet in my pocket til that drops. Especially as Hornby has upped the price of that from £434 for the 7 car set up to £533 and additional coaches from £89 up to £98.99. I’m almost having second thoughts as wanted the full 14 car set. Just not sure how ‘worth it’ it’s really gonna be. Sincerely hope you guys get a good look at one on your layout.
That increase made the decision for me. Got 28 feet to play with so was going to go for a full set. Not a chance now.
@@maringarvanovic8011 it is a bit steep. Just don’t get what reason for the increase is. Needs to be on point to be worth it. Simply moulded painted parts with lights and tilt is not worth £900
I remember it was not that long ago that a train including a loco and 8 coaches or 30 small wagons would cost a few hundred pounds. Now thou you are looking at £400 minimum and quite a few are hitting the £1000 mark. I never thought it would get to that and this really is the last about 8 years.
Example. Bachmann EWS 66 with 15 medium sized wagons. Eight years ago from hattons about £220 - £250. Same train from Hattons now is £600 to £650. My example is the EWS BRA steel wagon. Used to be £12, now £45. It cannot go on like this.
I have both the pride & awc pendolinos, arguably two of the best emus in my fleet!
You have to produce a version of the traindear that was in operation over the christmas one year
Single power bogie for a 9 coach train. Is this adequate?
It has traction tyres, so in normal circumstances, yes.
Expect some struggles on inclines though.
Still, given its recent price bump, can't help but wonder why Hornby couldn't stuff its class 800 motor tooling (which is basically mounted mid carriage and drives both bogies of the drive car without the need for traction tyres) into the Pendelino (which has more than enough empty space in the drive car for it)
My Pendolino can handle a full nine car rake without issues. I did add more weight to the motor car and it runs even better.
@@pirozcontractor6006 - Yes the 800 is good quality. If I got the Pendolino probably only go for 4, or 5 coaches anyhow. Long trains only look good on really big layouts.
It looks good. However, Hornby has chosen a 390/1 to represent, yet is only making it available as a 9-car set instead of a 11-car set. The lack of cab detail is annoying, especially how this model seems to have a lot of light bleed from the top marker light so it acts as a cab light. The lack of interior detailing is also annoying, but the window tint means you can't see in without interior lights anyway. The pantograph being plastic and unsprung is irritating, because it never stays up when you position it upwards.
IMO, for the spec of this model, a 4-car set isn't worth over £200.
Mine is the original release 7-pin DCC fitted 390012 Virgin Star, which I have extended to 11-car with the correct 5 extra coaches for 012 plus the 2 correct vehicle types to make it into 112. However, I haven't yet renumbered the unit to 112, or the 2 extra middle coaches to their new identities, or removed the pantograph from one of those 2 extra coaches. However, I have added bullfrog snot and quite a bit of weight into the motor end to give it enough traction to cope on a flat layout.
I got a special livery virgin trains one not just the normal virgin trains one
Price is always the first consideration nowadays. I have 9 full Hst sets so I am going to compare this to one of them. This 5 car set is less than the 2 HST power cars. I think that makes it good value and the HST set overpriced.
It looks great and I really do not care about the motor. It looks good, runs well and can run with the full 9 or 11 cars.
How much is the chips from then
What a magnificent set! Slightly alarming that they couldn't have put a 5-pole in it given that they're often available in the same form factor so the tooling would still work. Still, it's cheap compared to a Bachmann EMU for example.
Yes, let's hope with its success Hornby jump on other liveries
It’s an incredibly smart model, highly tempting. Fortunately I’ve started to limit my range of modelling or I might just go bankrupt! Enjoy this style of video though!
Glad you enjoy it! 😊
Looks a good product
Yes 😁
Love the new avanti livery on what is already an iconic train I have the virgin alstom 4 car set I replaced the axle with traction tyres for the modified one and added 2 more pendolino weights to compensate for not having the traction tyres and what a transformation it flies now thanks for another great video Richard and Mike best wishes
Kev Beighton Parkway Sheffield
Thanks Kev, I might follow a similar upgrade path... 😊
Hi Richard and Mike thanks for your reply I remember that I got my modified axle for my Alstom pendolino was in pack from peters spares reference X9718M price £8.65 the extra weights were from ebay thanks again
Kev Beighton Parkway Sheffield
Silly prices, think I'll keep my original 9-car Pendolino.
I would, be worth quite a bit these days
Where to buy this? I have always wanted a model train but they cost WAY To much
I'm only a beginner with the hobby (the floor train runner!) but am desperate for the model! Forget the prices (If I can afford it) and the criticism, all I want is some model of an EMU from the early 2000s (in a 2021 livery!)
£275 for a set that was tooled 17 years ago, and £45 per coach? What are hornby smoking to charge that much when people’s wages haven’t risen no where near that much
It is very disappointing that this model does not have interior lights particularly when these have been featured on the new 4 wheel coaches.
The lumen value in those historic vehicles is absurd.
Still love your stuff, even though I don't model in OO, but 24 'as well''s in 11 1/2 minutes ?
Makes for a great drinking game, it used to be 'erm' :D - Richard
@@hornbymag Errr ... fair comment :-)
Wait for the sale. I can't see hornby shifting an old tooling with a poor mechanism for that price !
It'll be interesting to see what happens, people like a current livery
I believe its called inflation to some degree, 10p in 1984 isnt worth what 10p is worth now ...
Anyway... more importantly... how can we talk about the enjoyment of the Pendelino, a train, for the masses, if the fundamental fuel of the pendo ... the knitting is, for the most part lacking .. you would expect if you are paying £500 for the train set to at least be able to buy the knitting to keep the pantograph and ultimately the train fully juiced.
The knitting being the Overhead Line Equipment ... being ready to use ... not having to scratch build ... you dont scratch build a semaphore signal or a KFA intermodal wagon, you get stunning replication which is ready to use.
Yes there's talk of different things in the background to offer a ready made solution to this, PECO were planning something a while back. It should be like a Mars bar. You peel open the wrapper and its ready to eat ... the OLE gantry may need its cantilevers to be clipped on or maybe there will be some simple ones set to hornby track seperation requirements.
The industry is going full tilt in offering the modern day model railway enthusiast their digital era highly detailed models that operate under the 25kv settings and here and now, we are seeing big progress with the newly tooled heljan class 86, hornby class 87, Bachmann's very popular class 90, Accurascales forthcoming class 92 and all the other Electric Multiple Unit sets including the Hornby Pendelino, APT and Javelin, Bachmann's 350 desiros and the train of the moment, the Hitachi Class 800 series, soon every network in the country will have its own example - surely we should have the knitting to compliment these stunning models.
Just buy R40015 and R40019 if you want the correct 11 carriage formation ;)
You should keep the virgin pendolino on store so you don’t need to buy it second hand from ebay
Expensive compared to the old Virgin one
I bought one of these and they are definitely very nice looking models, my biggest issue with them is for the price you get what appears to be the exact same motor/mechanism set up as in their Eurostar sets. Which for the price has left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth.
Exposed gears for the driving axles? Such a poor choice and it'll get clogged easily.
Worth relaying your feedback to Hornby
£500, say it fast! Say it any way, it is still a lot of money!
Absolutely it is a lot of money, in terms of good value compared to other brands its very competitive
Never understand why Hornby don't research numbers before producing sets. This could've been numbered for a 9 car, but I guess that's too easy.
You may want to check the formation on your set though. The 2nd and 3rd coach from the front need to be swapped round 😉 pantograph coach always 3rd from the end.
Pity it still has traction tires.
Five hundred quid? I could buy a "Z" gauge train for that money-and "Z" is a "true" scale as well. And wasn't "Avanti" C&A's own brand?!
You out the first 2 non driving coaches the wrong way round lol
Well spotted 😉
@@hornbymag hehe got a keen eye for detail ;)
Why can no one get the coaches right lol.
Value ? 4 wheel pick up, Dont think so!
Their is nothing brand new about a 17 year old model with a different paint job and to charge an extra £100 for a paint job Hornby know how to fleece their customers.
Sadly wages and especially shipping costs have risen in 17 years.
Hmmm, only a 3 pole motor and traction tyres?! Have to give this one a pass, Im afraid.
You could always drag it with a Bachmann 57 😄
Certainly looks the part but traction tires bare bones pick ups and basic motor are a major let down for the money. Not what I call value
Not at that price thanks, especially for traction tires!
Who is Hornby trying to fool? Pretending 9 car is 11
Not sure they're trying to fool anyone. 😊
Traction tires are a put off think I’ll stick with Bachmann locos
Sorry but seriously over priced. From a business perspective wouldn’t it be better to sell products at sensible price so customers would come back to purchase more etc. Talking about the colour isn’t really selling it to me. This isn’t to be negative because I think it’s a great model. Just for me and probably a lot of others it’s a lot of money 💰
An old model with a fresh paint job? No thanks
£500 set. I’m out the hobby!
I bought one of these. Absolute rubbish, wheel sets fell off, coach ends fell off, wouldn't run over points. Sent back.
It’s doesn’t noob it’s fine
Robbing 🤬🤬🤬🤬