Hornby Club "Collectors Models"

"Ian Cornish" wrote

They are just standard models but with different numbers &/or names, but occasionally Hornby seem to think that the members of their Collectors' Club should have the honour of paying a higher price than for a standard prouduction issue. Also as there's no competition from other retailers to sell these, they do nt normally get discounted.

Your guess is as good as mine on the first point and I've already answered your second. Don't buy any model hoping the value will increase - buy to use and enjoy - that way you'll not be disappointed.

John.

Thanks John,

I thought they were a little too good to be true. And my intention is to run them as much as time and daughter allow...

Ian.

John Turner wrote:

In message , John Turner writes

If Hornby want to make more money out of standard production issue models, they should do the following: - For wagons where there are rather a lot of them and there is a lot of printing on them, they could issue them unnumbered (i.e. what our American cousins call "data only", that is with all the other printing on the wagon apart from the numbers) and supply transfers so that you can number them yourselves. - For other wagons they could issue them "undecorated", i.e. in the right colour but with no printing on them at all. You, the modeller, would then have to get hold of the transfers to finish your model off.

Not everybody would want to or be able to take advantage of these, but I with my large garden railway would certainly want to get hold of multiple copies of mineral wagons (both pre- and post-nationalization).

Hear hear. It would be great to have the option of getting both locos and rolling stock unnumbered, with numbers supplied as waterslide or Letraset. I would happily put up with a "build to order" lead time on that, if they want to continue supplying toy shops with ready-numbered, but I strongly suspect that the majority of actual modellers and model shops would express a preference for un-numbered. That's a guess, of course.

Guy

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I'll add my voice to that. Back in the 70s though didn't Hornby do something a little like that. I remember a friend getting a Princess and in the box was a variety of name plates, anyone remember anything similar?

In the 1980s Hornby did the same thing blue un-numbered Class 47s and 86s, with a sheet of rub-on numbers and names (for the 86s).

In message , Rich Mackin writes

Speaking of Hornby, remember on the closing flap on the ends of the red boxes there were little symbols. On the locos/coaches etc it was a little circle (made to look like a wheel?) with an 'S' in the middle. On the train sets it was the same, but with an 'L' in the middle. What were they for?

They also did the same with a Railfreight Distribution Sector Class 47 and an original Network SouthEast 47 - pity at least two out of the three name/numbers for each livery supplied in no way matched the real thing!!!

Regards John M Upton

My Fotopic Collections: South Central/Southern, Model Railway & Other Rail Pictures:

"Rich Mackin" wrote

And the class 25s! Many customer complained like crazy about them not being properly finished. I understand sales were poor and they quickly resorted to applying full numbers.

John.

The mugs who buy them ?....

That was the LMS maroon Princess but in the early '70s they also did it with the streamlined Coronation, the Hall, the Battle of Britain and the Britannia. They later tried it with the Class 47 and Class 86.

As for unnumbered stock with transfers supplied, Hornby have tried this several times with locos and coaches but abandoned it as being unpopular. The UK market for unnumbered stock is a lot smaller than that of the US and not large enough.

I agree with John's advice. Never buy these limited edition models thinking they are an investment. Years ago, when people were less conscious of second hand values and retaining boxes, few survived in good condition. Today, almost everyone is conscious of the need to keep packaging and have thoughts of future collectability with the result that nothing gets thrown away and the market is flooded with so called 'rare' models. A3 'Colorado' has been on the back of the Hornby magazine for at least 2 years and yet only 500 were made. Probably in

I have a feeling that the models on the back of the magazine are being sold by a private company. You don't order them from Hornby.

Pat Hammond Publishing, PO Box 199, Scarborough, YO11 3GT, Tel: 01723 506326, E-mail: snipped-for-privacy@mremag.demon.co.uk

Read 'Model Railway Express' Britain's leading and FREE online magazine for railway modellers. Updated DAILY with approximately 2,000 daily readers. News, Model Reviews, Book Reviews, Articles, Classified Ads. You will find us at

The previous generation of Hornby Pullman coaches (until a couple of years ago) came with a sheet of alternative names to apply yourself.

I had one of those!

These were tokens and Hornby had the idea that customers could cut them out and use them in connection with special offers. The only offer I can remember which requested these tokens was when the Class 86 'Frank Hornby' was released. Hornby eventually abandoned the idea.

Pat

Hammond Publishing, PO Box 199, Scarborough, YO11 3GT, Tel: 01723 506326, E-mail: snipped-for-privacy@mremag.demon.co.uk

Read 'Model Railway Express' Britain's leading and FREE online magazine for railway modellers. Updated DAILY with approximately 2,000 daily readers. News, Model Reviews, Book Reviews, Articles, Classified Ads. You will find us at

In message , Pat Hammond writes

Indeed, as I have that model and I'm sure I got it from the tokens. Thanks for that Pat.

Hornby also supplied multiple name and number transfers for the LNER B17