Special announcement 26th Nov at Warley

[DarkRedCape]

If you look closely at the pictures on the website, it doesn’t appear to be a super detailed model. I’m guessing old tooling.

[ColinB]

The "new Duchess" is quite old at least over 4 years old, so I suspect the old tooling got binned when the new one came out. Hornby don't make a Railroad version of this model so it has to be the same chassis as the current model. Now they may have cost reduced it by cheapening up the valve gear and body and possibly putting the DCC decoder back in the loco, but I suspect that would cost more to implement. I am with the mistake theory.

[ColinB]

The "new Duchess" is quite old at least over 4 years old, so I suspect the old tooling got binned when the new one came out. Hornby don't make a Railroad version of this model so it has to be the same chassis as the current model. Now they may have cost reduced it by cheapening up the valve gear and body and possibly putting the DCC decoder back in the loco, but I suspect that would cost more to implement. I am with the mistake theory.

[Bulleidboy]

Why a mistake? Club models are usually a good deal - a few years ago Battle Britain "Manston" was £105 to club members, the yet to arrive Class 2 MT was priced at £149.99 - and then disappeared. So may be this model was priced to sell - and it did.

Coronation Class "Sir William A. Stanier" was a good model and priced at about £160 a few years ago, so may be the same tooling and a new livery.

[HornbyKiwi]

Perhaps Hornby have taken on board all the talk around the hobby concerning pricing. Perhaps the recent releases by newer players of high fidelity models at sharper prices has also had an impact on thinking.

It's also possible it's being run as a loss-leader to drive new subscriptions to the club though, with the quick sell through, you might expect the limited edition number of 500 to be increased in the coming days to meet demand.

HK.

[Brew Man]

Maybe it’ll reappear for an “adjusted” price. joy

Or scalpers got them.

 

 

Well they'd all have to become Club members at £30 a go in order to get one.

 

 

[DarkRedCape]

Woke up to this article this morning, it says the loco is based on the latest specification model.

https://www.keymodelworld.com/article/hornby-princess-coronation-46220-coronation-oo?utm_campaign=KMW%20-%20Rail%20newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=235482570&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_MVKmHDYQgefMGGzQQuXR4HysdUNcgXws3CTDIHl8ecfpbJ0ET-guZdp6TRInz9pkA7qpjKYwX1FfGuCMbrCgFLZie5ErK9RhjNfxt64QK28XOD2w&utm_content=235482570&utm_source=hs_email

[Yelrow]

Reads ok. Has to be a reason for such generosity, if right

[DarkRedCape]

What year did Hornby move to the current super detail models?

This loco has got to be just a slightly tweaked version of the R3682 model.

https://www.modelraildatabase.com/locomotives/details/5122/

[VESPA]

Hornby are making huge losses at present, so maybe some bright spark has decided to make things more realistically priced. The dearer they get the less they sell.

[Bulleidboy]

I don't think a £2.9m loss should cause to much concern at the moment, Victoria Beckhams clothing business current has debts of over £50m - and has never ever made a profit - so I readslightly_frowning_face

Collectors Club model prices have always been very low compared with mainstream models. I was out all day so missed out on this one.

[Brew Man]

I don't think a £2.9m loss should cause to much concern at the moment, Victoria Beckhams clothing business current has debts of over £50m - and has never ever made a profit - so I readslightly_frowning_face

Collectors Club model prices have always been very low compared with mainstream models. I was out all day so missed out on this one.

She'll be signing on the dole next - poor dear.

 

 

[ColinB]

Remind me how much is her husband worth? £2.9m loss is pretty significant loss. Trouble is currently because of their production situation in China they are just not making enough new models to sell. I mean we all moan about a lot of the 2021 catalogue items being released from Hornby's point of view they cannot make any money from them.

[Brew Man]

I bet there are quite a few people signing on the dole that can actually afford not to be. Not that I seriously thought she'd be one of them.

[AndyMac1707817969]

It would be pretty dumb for Hornby to plough on producing new models when they have not sold what they have got in stock. The catalogue is an intention to produce the items in it but if circumstances change which they have then it would be naive to carry on regardless, cashflow is key to any business. At the end of the day buyers are just indulging their hobby with whatever spare money they have, manufactures and sellers are trying to make a living and provide a livelihood for their staff.

[AndyMac1707817969]

The first job I ever had after leaving university was a company which was the target of a hostile takeover and the directors were all let go. For a couple of months one of the directors would sign on at the local dole office. He used to joke that while me was in signing on he could collect the rent as he owned the building the dole office was housed in. Can't blame him, he paid his taxes, a lot more than most. After all, the founding principle of the welfare state was that of contribution and benefit not entitlement.

[ColinB]

Sorry AndyMac who said Hornby have models they have not sold. For a start they sell to a retailer so it is them that are left with the unsold stock. I doubt that they have that much stock anyway, currently their business model is small runs of models to sell to moderately well off enthusiasts. This year they have made few models, so by definition not that many to sell, add to that the tier system where Retailers are complaining they cannot get stock, so why would they be left with models they can't sell. Even if each model has a huge "markup" they are still not making enough to cover running their business. Then we have the need to make different models as not everyone wants to trade in their old Evening Star for the new one, even if it is better. I suspect one of the reasons for their venture into TT is that the market for OO is drying up.

[ColinB]

Brew Man, you can only claim dole if you have paid a full stamp, so if you are self employed or run a business where you don't pay the full NI contributions, then you have to claim a benefit that is "means tested". To be honest other than a brief period during early Covid where they made a small profit, Hornby always seems to make a loss, the issues with the first Hush Hush, logistics must have cost them a fortune.

[AndyMac1707817969]

 ColinB it’s been getting more and more obvious over the last year or so that Hornby is pushing sales directly to the public. It’s more profitable for Hornby to sell directly and what other reason would they now have for a loyalty scheme other than to promote their own direct sales. There may well not be enough model shops left to handle an entire minimum production run so they have little choice anyway. It was not that long ago that Hornby would not allow retailers to discount more than 10% yet the Outlet is back with prices undercutting this. I have a good idea what a retailers mark-up is, if you have ever placed and order with a certain retailer (I will not mention whom) when their accounts department send you an invoice for the outstanding amount there is a second price in brackets about 60% different from the price being charged. An example, another production run of the APT was scheduled for release this summer but then pushed back to 2023, I would expect this push back is nothing to do with production issues but rather, none of the original production run has sold out except for the NDM. As of this evening Hornby have 99 sets of the 5 car APT still in stock, other retailers have this discounted to below £300 and they still have 50 of them in stock. My point really was not producing models that were scheduled for 2021 is probably quite a good idea. Production and their schedules have to be subservient to demand.

[Brew Man]

Brew Man, you can only claim dole if you have paid a full stamp, so if you are self employed or run a business where you don't pay the full NI contributions, then you have to claim a benefit that is "means tested". To be honest other than a brief period during early Covid where they made a small profit, Hornby always seems to make a loss, the issues with the first Hush Hush, logistics must have cost them a fortune.

 

 

Colin, apart from the fact it is not even called 'the Dole' anymore, the whole thing was meant to be light hearted, not factually accurate and not intended to spark a debate on benefits eligibility .

[wairoalbany]

I can’t say the new loco from Hornby really appeals to me. However a Class 91 or another APT may sometime in the future.

Would also be ideal if people could keep their thinly disguised political opinions, regarding benefits to themselves so I can read about trains and Hornby. That’d be just greeaaattt. Thanks.

[V200]

I am the only one who is totally underwhelmed by this announcement  . One does wonder why and what are Hornby playing at

[DarkRedCape]

I was certainly hoping for something new. Hopefully the 2023 catalog will unveil some new stuff, even if we don’t actually get it until 2025.

[Brew Man]

Given the situation in China right now I'm surprised anything is reaching our shores.

[ColinB]

Thinking about it I think AndyMac has a point. Although we have been complaining about the lack of Hornby releasing the models they had in their 2021 catalogue, I am wondering if given their current losses whether they can afford to make them while using the situation in China as a convenient excuse. Trouble is if you don't make new models, do don't generate enough money to make even more ones. We are seeing on the news that there are constant "lockdowns" in China so that will effect production but who knows. I do know that the new P2 has not been released even after all the hype on the TV series.