2024 Range Announcement - 9am 2nd April

[clive-1265812]

12 hours ago, Rallymatt said:

Agreed, the sound quality has been appalling, does undermine the professionalism of the company. 

Lapel mics would be sensible!

[Rallymatt]

All aboard the ‘Speculation Express’ 🤣 

I expect to see a bit of tinkering with sets and what is coming next as there will now be a good indication how the range is developing and feedback from what modellers are wanting. It’s unlikely there will be a huge divergence from previously announced plans as so much work goes into bringing each model to market. ‘Some’ have criticised Hornby for the blockbuster range announcement in Oct ‘22 when clearly some models were a way off in the future but it was a sign of intent; TT:120 is a serious railway modelling scale and range for Hornby and it’s that confidence that fostered the explosive growth in the scale. I don’t think we will see the distant future plans being announced in quite the same way again as that job has been done. It will be interesting to see if other items such as figures and accessories will start being added to the range. I  fairly confident it will be what it is though 😁
 

[Moccasin]

With most Phase 2 models being released by the end of this year, I presume it'll be a mix of the known extra models and confirmation of at least some Phase 3, maybe those arriving by Q2 2025, which looks to be the date for the Class 37 (based on the TXS profile release schedule). There are some Phase 2 models already showing as being 2025 (e.g. 50049 Defiance), so that limits capacity for all-new models next year. I do wonder (speculate?) if this particular model has been pushed back to free-up production capacity this year.

We'll know for sure in less than 3 weeks.

[Postman On The Rails]

2 hours ago, Peachy said:

👍 (because I’ve run out 🤣)

You need to ration your likes better 😝 

[Moccasin]

7 hours ago, John-L said:

Yes that seems most likely Peachy.  The new sets being content swapped versions of the existing sets, meaning mainline express is BR green A1 with MK1’s and British Pullman is LNER Blue A4 with Pullmans.

I was hopeful for a duchess set with 57’s but it’s not looking likely.

I think the Mainline Express set is unlikely to be announced next month as it seems like it's potentially planned for a later phase (it has no product code applied in the catalogue, unlike the other two). It is also described as being era 7, which suggests a diesel set (Class 31, 37, 47 or 50).

[John-L]

1 hour ago, Moccasin said:

It is also described as being era 7, which suggests a diesel set (Class 31, 37, 47 or 50).

I thought that at first, and it would be awesome if it turned out to be the case, but I”m sure I read somewhere more recently that it was era 6?  So green A1 loco and blood and custard MK1s would make sense as a ‘transposed content’ set swap (given that the British Pullman is an A4 and Pullmans).

Obviously if it was an early BR set with a 47 and some blue & grey MK1s that would be fantastic.  Fingers crossed.

 

 

[ntpntpntp]

I'm afraid I really don't see the point in all this speculation. What does it achieve other than to set up for "I told you so" or "not what I wanted" reactions?  Let's just wait and see, eh?  🙂

[John-L]

On 13/03/2024 at 18:43, ntpntpntp said:

I'm afraid I really don't see the point in all this speculation. What does it achieve other than to set up for "I told you so" or "not what I wanted" reactions?  Let's just wait and see, eh?  🙂

It’s all part of the fun.  🙂

[Skelton Junction]

Other than the known items in the coming phases I’d really appreciate the tanker to appear so those 57’ coaches can trundle the branch line from platform 3 at Betws y Coed 

[Too Tall]

I would love to see an 0-6-0 of any steam flavour (especially one with room for an HM7000 sound decoder from factory). but I am thinking its a little ways off yet. That doesn't diminish looking forward to the announcement at all. Diesels are not my cuppa, but it is still great to see them enter the range and I have watched all the usual suspects threads and vids with the new class 43's with interest 🙂

@Rallymatt you hit the nail on the head with your closing sentence 😁

[Hobby11]

Only 15 more days left to speculate... 🙄

[John-L]

3 hours ago, Hobby1707822967 said:

Only 15 more days left to speculate... 🙄

Then another 15 days of ‘told you so’ and ‘why…’ and ‘but…’   😉

[Lyndon68]

Would it be wrong to wish for flexible track to be released, only because I'm trying to stick with Hornby track and not Peco

[Fishmanoz]

Try Tillig flex, matches perfectly. 

[Hobby11]

54 minutes ago, John-L said:

Then another 15 days of ‘told you so’ and ‘why…’ and ‘but…’   😉

Sadly, yes... 😉

[Baz657]

Is it just me that's a tad fearful for them? I mean, putting on a pretty important live presentation and update via YouTube at 9am on the first day back after a really long bank holiday break.

What could possibly go wrong?

[Dave the Busker]

I'm hoping that it's a pre-recorded produced video that's going out on their YouTube channel at 9am, and that it's already in the can.

[Moccasin]

Not sure that it is. Martyn Weaver told me at MRS that he was having to break his holiday to be there. Presumably there’ll be a Q&A

[Dave the Busker]

Hopefully they've worked on getting the tech side a bit slicker by now. Ideally I think you'd want a pre-recorded slick product launch video followed by a live Q&A

[Moccasin]

Yes they certainly need to sort the sound out!

[Rallymatt]

If the sound isn’t sorted, heads should roll! 

[Dave the Busker]

My band managed to put out a 24 hour live stream gig on YouTube that sounded miles better than most of what Hornby's put out, and we work on a budget of £0 and tech not far up from tin cans and string. You'd think a reasonably big company would be able to get that right.

[GMD]

Sadly the PR side lags behind what I’d expect in a number of ways. Poorly researched web pages, amateurish social media posts, and mediocre product launch advertising. It’s a real shame. In this day and age you just cannot get away with poor quality in these areas. Despite that, still love much of what they do put out. Just need to nail the presentation and professionalism a little more. 

[BritInVanCA]

Most of the discussion videos seem like Mike has found a few people at the water cooler and with little planning on content, questions and technical setup decided to broadcast it. Hornby wants to be seen as a professional organization but is constantly showing us otherwise in regard to brand sales and marketing. Thank goodness their engineers work to a higher standard 

[Rallymatt]

I think Mike’s skills are behind the camera and that somehow his role has escalated (whether his choice or not) and that doesn’t come across well. Any public presentations should be managed by a senior (and skilled) PR/Marketing manager. Broadcasts should be hosted by a professional with good subject knowledge. These things are not hard to get right and they are so important.