Hornby 2008 new model list...

"beamendsltd" wrote

With respect this is all due to the Thatcher Government changing the rules which had until then prohibited lawyers from advertising their services. The Government were warned at the time what would happen, but of course they knew best - or maybe had fingers in the subsequent pie.

John.

Highly amused to read Chris Leigh's editorial in the latest Model Rail which arrived this morning. On the subject of the Hornby announment...."We then abide by an embargo which means we don't go public with the information until out first issue after January 1.....In the past two years the embargo has broken by others...." Dare I suggest that if one is going to get all high and mighty then it might be a good plan to ensure that the subs copies don't start dropping through letterboxes on the 28th December.

Nigel

wrote

LOL - REx spilled the beans well before Christmas. ;-)

John.

Well, yes and no..... I suspect the real change I refer to as "No Win No Fee" introcuded at the same time, which on the one hand allowed those on low income access to redress that they could not previously afford, but on the other hand relies the laywers acting responsibly - a bit of a double edged sword.

I should perhaps point out that The Previous Mrs. had a run-in with a "No Win No Fee" outfit with regard to a horse/car accident, which resulted in ever more desperate letters trying to find some reason to claim, eventually sinking to the level of trying to suggest she must have been using spurs! Quite clearly they had no grounds to claim right from the start, but were just trying their luck. Happily, we were insured with the NFU, who don't treat fools gladly.

The finger-in-pie I can certainly go along with, even if the major recipients were colleagues of a certain Mrs. Blair (absolutely no conflict of interest there, obviously, legislation should be so wolley it takes year of legal argument to dot the i's and cross the t's).

Cheers Richard

I have come to the conclusion that Hornby use the gap between telling the traders and telling the public about their plans for the following year to drum up rumours and possibilities that generate interest - basically it's a form of 'brand awareness campaign' - I mean, they must know that every year the leak happens somewhere, and they'll never get a year without it. If they were serious about sticking to a single release date then they'd tell everyone, traders and public, at the same time, like Bachmann do at the toy fair.

Ian J.

This argument is getting a bit tiring now. It goes "oh, WE can build whatever kits WE want, because WE think WE are good at it, so everyone else should be able to do the same".

Well, no actually, they cannot. I have spent money on several kits and they have all been failures, mainly because I am just not patient/ skilled enough to build a chassis that will move further than a centimetre, and that is just an inside cylinder 0-6-0. I daren't even think of my attempts at outside valve gear.

And, no, I am not blessed with a stuffed bank account, sufficient enough to enable me to commission someone else to build locos for me.

I have fingers like cow udders, eyes that focus about 10 yards away, a loco-building attention span of 5 seconds, and a desire to spend hours operating a model railway - not fiddling with tiny little screws that I cant tell if they are still between my fingers or have fallen on the floor.

I dont mind companies producing model locos from every region of the UK, but when people list the multitude of rtr ex-LNER locos that are available, 90% have a route availability that would preclude them from branch lines/secondary routes, and I do not have the money, space, etc to build a model of the ECML.

Well said that man, well said and seconded from here.

-- Rod

On 29/12/2007 09:16, beamendsltd said,

I've been the victim of one of these outfits, and they were supposedly on my side! A woman drove into my car, and it was really a relatively minor bump. Unfortunately I had so-called legal protection as part of my insurance cover, and when I reported it to the insurers all hell broke loose. It really wasn't worth two years of hassle and three court appearances for the sake of getting £180 costs back, but I couldn't get out of it. The damage itself was repaired by the insurers - another battle, but unrelated to the No Win No Fee saga.

If anyone comes across Angel Assistance/Helphire, then run a mile and don't look back.

On 29/12/2007 10:44, snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com said,

Well, actually, they can! The problem is that many of the cheaper kits that tempt beginners are so badly designed that even the very best kit builders will struggle to get them working. The most common failure is connecting rods that don't match the chassis hole centres - these will never work. The result of this is that people give up assuming it must be their own abilities and not the kit. In my experience, High Level Models kits go together like a Tamiya model, and some of the bigger ones are definitely worth a go for beginners. Another one is the Malcolm Mitchell 45XX kit.

I do accept that some people just want to operate the railway and others like to build kits, but with a good kit, kit-building is fun.

By the way, before scouring the carpet for the elusive tiny lost screw, check under your finger-nails :-)

On 28/12/2007 23:54, Nigel Emery said,

Yes - I found that very amusing as well! Pot, kettle, black :-)

In message , Nigel Emery

"Jane Sullivan" wrote

So I assume you can freely reproduce its contents until 1st January?

John.

Even better, reproduce it now with today's date as your copyright and then sue them for infringement next week :-)

Mark

Perhaps Hornby should do what the government does with its "New Year's Honours List", release it a day earlier each year until we end up with the "New Year's Model List" in the middle of December? :o)

(kim)

I hope that's not directed at me because that's not what I'm saying at all, I'd much rather that the locos and rolling stock were available RTR - particularly since the time taken by having to build the things is time that could've been spent on other stuff.

Bachmann have at least tried to offer some LNER classes which would go on branch lines and secondary routes (nothing pre-Gresley though) but, looking at the new Cade's, Hornby's range is pretty much small tank engines and big mainline ones - with nothing in between. It's almost as if the manufacturers don't believe there was an LNER before 1934.

Rather frustrating when you're trying to run an exhibition layout set in 1924-39 although we can get away with the big passenger trains as the branch Thorpe Thewles is on (Castle Eden branch in Teeside) was used for mainline diversions.

Who does? I wonder how long a 4mm to the foot model of the whole ECML would be? ;-)

Funnily enoungh, I've just got a High Level Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0ST kit for Christmas! They had a stand at the Gateshead show and I was very impressed with the range. Never had to roll brass before but hopefully I'll manage to finish it to a decent standard.

I was once having my breakfast and wondered why the table mat was sitting oddly and making a scraping noise when it moved. Sure enough, a tiny grub screw was under it. I tried to pick it up, and promptly dropped it on the carpet. After five minutes searching, I found it again, only to drop it once more on my way to put it somewhere safe. Cue more scrabbling and muttering before I finally found it again and, having finally deposited it where it wouldn't get lost, decided to go on the computer instead.

On Tue, 1 Jan 2008 17:25:53 +0000, Graham Thurlwell wrote

Er.... ... About 8km-ish? (KX to Edinburgh)

The following tip was in one of the recent model engineering mags. Wear an apron with a couple of velcro stips stuck to the bottom edge. Stick the other strips to the underside of the table you work at. When you start work on something delicate attach the apron to the table and any small screws / nuts etc will fall into it and are easily found.

Alan

Plus work in a very small tent with a sewn in floor!