What About The Bee

Thank you Roger! I have sent my forum post, along with a polite note to Hornby. Integrating the subcontracted shipper (GFM Henderson) into the Hornby database is a non-trivial effort. I don't expect miracles or instantaneous response.

Hello Roger I am very new here and to modeling in general but I have had a decades long armchair fascination with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Perhaps I misunderstood. Do Messrs Hornby not see Forum comments? I have a very positive view of Hornby and am simply trying to assist in their endeavors. Would you mind directing me to the appropriate feedback mechanism. Appreciated and thanks in advance!

I placed a pre-order for Lion (R30232). The order status was marked "pending". That made reasonable sense. Lion arrived at Hornby. My payment was taken, and the order status changed to "processing". That made reasonable sense. The package left Hornby's hands, and into the shippers hands. I know because DHL told me. Hornby did NOT. My order status remained "processing". What? DHL flew my order over the Atlantic Ocean, got it through US customs and into my hands! Signed for! Very, very exciting. I've just checked my order status. "Processing". Okay, that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The status field should reflect "shipped" when in the shipping firm hands and --> Hornby <-- should provide me with a tracking number. When the order is delivered, the order status should say "delivered". This is exactly how other firms do it. Given Hornby's overt statement in their annual report to grow the online business, Hornby should have a world class website to match. It makes zero sense to tell me my order is "processing" AFTER delivery. Exactly what is Hornby processing!? Mind, this is not a complaint over Lion. It is an issue over how customers are informed during the process. I am thrilled with Lion and have left a very positive review. I will see how that process works as I go.

What little I know of marketing suggests that the public likes to participate in anniversary celebrations. The public likes to commemorate an event with a purchase related to the event. Be it a £4 pamphlet, a £30 static display or even fully functional OO models. That object is a tangible reminder to the person who owns it of the celebration. Product at all price points is therefore a reasonable approach. There is nothing wrong with what you have suggested. A Corgi set would indeed be spectacular. Certainly, not every enthusiast wants Novelty to pull a consist or Cycloped to be running up and down the rails. Yet many would commit a part of their layout to a static display. So yes, a Corgi Commemorative as well! Cheers!

Today is 27 September. 6 days into Fall of 2022. I have just received an email from Hornby. Lion is in stock!!! As promised. This is the way to manage customer expectations. Meet them! Go Hornby!!!!

With the 200th Anniversary of the Rainhill Trials approaching, I would hope that Messrs Hornby et al would consider producing ALL of the competitors. Rocket is already in place, and surely Messrs Hornby et al are aware of the sales power of the locomotive. Novelty, Perseverance and Sans Pareil each have boilers in which a motor could be tucked away. A 6 pin chip will be interesting. Extra points for Cycloped! It would be simply amazing if the horse was to somehow move its legs. Put a really high gear in, to keep the velocity quite slow. This is sure to be a coveted model. The requisite loads and cars that each competitor was required to haul could be an additional sale. I surely would purchase that as well. The trials occurred in early October, 1829. It is now late September 2022. That gives Hornby just over 7 years (plus a few odd days) to make this happen. Make this so Hornby!!!

Thank you for the information. I'm relatively new to modeling, but with a very long term armchair interest in the L&MR. So please do forgive my rather neophyte questions. I am to understand that selecting the season of the year is too fine a granularity for predicting production? That Messrs Hornby, et al, cannot select which ¼ of a year they think it will be produced? A large part of customer satisfaction is simply managing expectations. I would be very surprised if Rapido would miss the marketing opportunity of coincidence with the film anniversary. Do you think this is also purely wishful thinking? Again, I am quite unfamiliar with the delivery reputation of these organizations. I like to think positively, that they say what they do, and do what they say. In short, I am trying to manage my own expectations, and not flutter about like a deranged lunatic. A little guidance is most appreciated. Thanks again!

Let the season begin!! Hornby have advised us that Lion is "Expected Autumn 2022". A glance at the calendar shows that today is the first day of that season, 22 Sept 2022. There are only 90 days from the 22nd until the 1st day of Winter, 21 December. So I haven't long to wait now. I shall take Hornby at their word. If Hornby state a season, I should believe it! So I am very excited that Lion may be on my layout by Xmas!! I've ordered both Lion R30232 and the Huskinson coach pack R40371, which is also "Expected Autumn 2022". Additionally, the sheep wagons R60165 and horse wagons R60166, but those are expected in 2023. What makes this most entertaining is that I have also ordered Rapido's Lion. Rapido have shown an engineering sample and have sworn to release Lion by the anniversary of a certain movie, 1 March 2023. There has been video of an undecorated Rapido model running on track, so Rapido are well along. It will be quite interesting to see which model shows up first and further, which model best captures Lion's spirit. The winner in my little head to head shall retain the famous name Lion (LMR57), the loser will become Tiger (LMR58). Of course, neither Lion nor Tiger, at issue, looked like the restored locomotive now in preservation. But its my railway and that is how it will be! Cheers!