Hello there everybody Sam'sTrains here, welcome back to my model railway, your first stop for latest model railway news; running sessions; experiments; 3D printed models; and no-nonsense reviews!
Still plenty of life left in this theme, surely... a track expansion with a "ring o" curved rails; a ticket (office) to ride; a Bullet train called Yoko; A Hard Day's Night sleeper service; a Class 08 diesel shunter with railgun (the Mark Chapman Train Set)... Or perhaps this is all a cry for Help and they ought to just Let It Be...
If using an old tooling to make a profit out of something like this helps Hornby to stay in business then it may not be for you and me, but it is worth doing just for that.
Should bring back the my first Hornby set range with this locomotive and “Percy” as well. I used to have the set and thought it was great due to being able to play with my other toys with it etc. If they sold them today, I would have got one for my son! Pity they stopped them!
In this case Simon really doesn't know what he's talking about. I do respect him somewhat in some ways but in terms of business acumen it's pretty hard to based on the recent financial performance. Some good observations around this and what Rapido are putting out. I hope this video comfortably pays for itself for your own wallets sake!
How does Simon Kohler think that re-badging some of Hornby's cheapest models with a band that broke up in 1970 is going to attract kids to railway modelling?
Here's an idea for Hornby (or whoever). Find events when someone famous had something to do with railways, and get a good, but not highly detailed model, that can be offered at a budget price, and then have it in a genuine livery, but then put removeable decals on top with the famous person stuff. Then, when the buyer is over the novelty, they can remove the decal and they have a good realistic model. I would never buy their current offering, but if they did it this way (for someone I like), I might be induced to buy it. [Edit] Yes, you final remarks about people disliking some of Hornby's behaviour - Spot on!
now you got me thinking about what if thomas had a glam rock phase and got painted black and has like KISS style face makeup. does it make any sense at all? No, but... it's an idea that i have gone and shared for everyone to enjoy. and laugh at, and maybe take seriously and make it their lifes mission to create such a strange thing.
You know what would make more sense to do a collaboration with instead of the beatles? Transformers, one of the more popular characters named Astrotrain turns into a steam train
A good constructive critique of this product. I read all of Simon Kohler's comments on his web site. Sad really. I am now 74 and was once a successful corporate marketer but I am old enough and wise enough to know that my day is done. Kohler does not have that insight. He is very much yesterday's man.
If I had a nickel for every Beatles item that was really just reused Thomas tooling, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
As soon as the clapping meme came on I knew Sam was in obliteration mode 😂 Kohler's so out of touch with everything I'm amazed he didn't call you 'woke'
If I ever bought this, I would immediately use some nail polish remover to scrub all the Beatles livery off of it, print some British rail decals, and just use it at a regular E2 with my tiring Jinty.
Not true - they only ever sent me something for free once, and I called it too expensive when I reviewed it. I no longer accept freebies for reviews. Don’t make things up.
Could be the start of something big. We could be looking forward to train (packs) commemorating all the great artists who have sung railway songs in years gone by. Bob Dylen sung quite a few such as "Train A-Travelin". An Elvis train with "Mystery Train" or a Seekers train with "Rockin Rolling Riding" could revive the train set market.
If Hornby want to entice new people to the hobby, surely they should try doing something new? I have what could best be described as a passing interest in model railways. A lot of what Hornby releases looks much the same to me. "Like the Flying Scotsman". Can't they branch out and build some trams (modern and classic) or maybe even some of those art deco american trains? Loads of folk don't care if their trains are era/region matching and just want what looks good. I bought the TT 120 Mallard looking thing. So I don't need a Mallard. I'm looking for variety. They don't seem particularly interested, though.
To be fair, at least performance-wise they're fixable. Axles are such an easy fix on rolling stock and they make a huge difference, and couplers are modular. So if you're just filling out a fleet on the cheap and don't care much about the detail, you could probably get a bunch of these along with some aftermarket axles and couplers and still save money vs buying something nicer out of the box. The same cannot be said about the locomotives.
I think the main reason Hornby did this Beatles act on the former model for Thomas is because of Ringo's connection with Thomas (which I don't even have to explain, but Sam, I'm surprised you didn't even mention it in this LOL). I became a musician because of the Beatles, and as someone who grew up with Thomas, I think you guys can guess how I got into them LOL I'm not even sure if it is worth buying for me. I love the Beatles and Thomas was my idol, but I'm not 100% sure if it is worth it.
I had an old Thomas model, decided to sand down the face and paint it all black, added early BR stickers and numbered it 32106, and I think it looks miles better than this tat! If Hornsby can’t make the E2 realistic, they should retire the model indefinatly, either that or make it a railroad model of the E2s, numbered (3)(2)105 - 109 being the extended side tank or 1915 - 16 batch!... sorry, had to vent. Feel better now. Keep up the good work. Please please me with more excellent vids to come 😉 kind regulates, Dan
Good review. He was obviously having a hard days night when he saw the original review! At least if these end up in a bargain bin they will be a cheap way to pick up spare parts.
Mart Martinson Plc released these same wagons a week after yours, how do theirs compare? I will probably buy theirs as higher price means higher quality.
