John-L

No I’ve had this myself in the past, you will be fine the stock is held for you until you update your card details. If you don’t do that then eventually ‘your’ stock is released into the shop stock (which is presumably why low stock items go in and out of stock during a release - like we saw with the Class 08)

It’s a good summary. April will be the real test for it I think. There was a lot of excitement building up around the 1st anniversary celebration but that turned out to be a bit of a letdown. It does feel like Aprils announcement needs to have some concrete release dates and at least a few big surprises otherwise Hornby risk losing the goodwill they’ve generated so far. The TAA tankers release has helped to kick off 2024 nicely, and if they can follow that up with a steady stream of releases then we will be heading into 2025 in good shape.

Still no sign of a member discount for the green class 08?

One thing still missing from the TT lineup is a proper starter set or a freight set. Some kind of shunting set with a Class 08 or goods set with a Class 66 would seem like a smart move (providing the cost could be kept low). Will be interesting to see what gets announced in April.

Definitely a good sign, if there were 200 available in the shop, and probably a good number pre-ordered besides that… surely a very good day for TT :)

That’s disappointing news. As someone mentioned, it might be due to those ships rerouted from the Suez Canal? That’s got to add a month or so to the journey. If the class 50s were originally late spring then they might now be early summer?

I’ve been charged for mine too, no email yet but I had all three types on order so it looks like they are all in stock for preorders. Hopefully combined postage for them rather than individual packages.

Makes sense for it to be the blue livery. I’m suspecting this set will replace the easterner rather than compliment it, if so then it could be that the mainline express replaces the Scotsman. So in effect, the same content in these new sets but the locos swapped around to keep it fresh. Same coaches and other content as the launch sets so a very low cost update that gives two ‘new’ sets and as you point out… a set with a ‘mallard’ for the novices.

Could be I guess. It’s an odd choice to create a new set that’s so close to being a remix of the launch sets unless there is a plan to discontinue them? Hopefully the mainline express is a blue era diesel set with Class 37 or 47 and not a BR version of the Scotsman.

Dang that’s disappointing. I was hoping for a Duchess set. So if we follow the logic here… then the mysterious ‘fourth set’ would be a BR livery A2 with BR Mk1s? Presumably the Scotsman and Easterner get retired at that point (with the new sets effectively replacing them?)

Nice! My preorders are showing as ‘processing’ so hopefully they will arrive early next week. Whats the next new release? HAA wagons?

That would get the new year off to a good start. Here's hoping it's accurate info from Gaugemaster. :)

Do the memberships run as late as Autumn? I thought all of the early birds were finished by March. Not sure where I read that, but it seemed to make sense at the time.

Interesting that the TT Talk says it’s available to buy now rather than preorder now? ‘Get yours now’ implies it’s in stock but if you look at the store page it’s due to be delivered in November?

Doesn’t look like the discount or points are available on this model? I guess that makes sense given that the announcements were delayed until April so the early bird discounts weren’t affecting revenue? This class 08 seems to be more of a leak than a planned pre-order release so that would also fit with that theory?

I completely agree that this set has to have Pullman coaches to justify the name. It’s also got to be different from the Scotsman set otherwise it will look like a duplicate. Im absolutely convinced this set will use the LMS Duchess, it makes sense for the era 3 and also as a counterpoint to the LNER centric releases so far. An LMS branded set really broadens the perception of the TT range imo. So it’s really got to point to either Duchess with red Pullmans (I feel red Pullmans might differentiate it from the Scotsman set enough) or Duchess with LMS 57’s (in which case the Pullman name makes no sense). The red Pullmans is my bet.

Is the Brighton Belle a good fit for the range at this point? There aren’t any other Southern locos or rolling stock, and that train feels pretty niche to me. I’d have thought Hornby would fill the big gaps (DMU, Class 37 etc.) before making a model like the Brighton Belle? Could the lack of Pullmans in the shop be due to manufacturing slots being used for new models instead of restocking? There is good reason to suspect Phase 2 & 3 models were already delayed by their original slots being used to manufacture more Scotsman & Easterner sets, so maybe making extra ‘standard’ Pullmans now would further delay the MK2s etc?

Pullman liveried MK2 coaches? Now that’s an interesting suggestion. It would certainly be a different take on the set we’ve seen so far, with a preserved locomotive instead of a historic one. I think the British Pullman was listed as era 3? However I notice Hornby also did a set with those Pullman MK2 coaches and a Class 47 as R3697 so if both the Mainline Express and the British Pullman were diesel sets…

Duchess with a rake of three coaches is the most likely combination for the logical reasons Peachy has listed. Only question is will it be a rake of three 57’s or three maroon Pullmans? My money is on the red Pullmans. Also wondering about that mainline express set. Class 47 and some blue and grey MK1’s would be ‘take my money’

I might be thinking of the webpage about future releases?

Yes they were always mentioned but they are pictured now. I seem to recall the earlier version of the catalogue only had a small block of text next to a mockup of an old Hornby/Triang class 37 masquerading as a future TT scale release? The 9F was feared to have been pushed back at one point, so having it and the castle featured more prominently bodes well for a 2024 or early 2025 release?

That’s a good catch. I didn’t realise the brochure had been updated again. I don’t think it had those details about the Class 37 locos before? It seems to have more pictures of the various models now? The 9F and the Castle are also pictured.

Spring or Summer 2025 would seem like the likely release date. If you’ve got inside info please share :) Hopefully the Class 47 and Class 31 won’t be far behind that as well.

I hope it’s coming earlier than that. I thought this Spring announcement would be items arriving in the spring, not items arriving in autumn? The DC versions of the Class 50 and Class 66 are due before the summer? April I think? So surely these DCC versions and the 08 are coming at the same time?

Hattons are selling off HM7000 sound decoders at £45 so it might be worth stocking up?