As big of a Thomas & Friends fan as I am, I’m in full agreement with you about Hornby Edward. He’s the worst model in the range only second to Emily. The lack of outside cylinders and the fact that he’s taller than James highlight this. Everyone says Hornby had a 2P tooling they should’ve used at the time Edward’s original model was released (2006), and it’s hard to disagree! Meanwhile, Bill and Ben (along with Toby) were repurposed from the Thomas clockwork range from 1999. They were deliberately overscaled for children (I had the full range growing up), and that was unfortunately carried over into the OO range.
It’s just disgusting seeing these models absolutely massive and not correct to the Tv show or the books,well some of the books.Along with The E2’s being massive.Edward looks like he’s as long as the Hornby Gordon and my pillow
Plus they were this 🤏 close to make atleast replicas of the rev. Models but nope they had to use that thing for Edward...and i Don't want to start with Emily.....
@@TaG.189 They should have took an example from another company,but obviously since Hornby was probably not gaining has much money when they made the Thomas models.Thomas in my opinion is ok,he’s an actual E2 and E2’s were bloody massive
@@Over_Aviation i think they put most of the budget on Percy, wich from the rev. description could have Simply been a Smokey Joe Painted green with a face and bunker
The steampunk range’s worst aspect was that it brought shame and dishonour to the name of Basset-Lowke, who practically kickstarted the hobby single-handedly! A firm that made spectacular 0 gauge and live steam engines that still work wonderfully to this day. Hornby should have used the Basset-Lowke name to enter the 0 gauge market and/or live steam, which would have greatly helped their profits. Thanks as always Sam!
Too right, they can tarnish their own brand, but they needn't drag Basset-Lowke down with it... That could have been used so much better. Surely Hornby in N Gauge or using Basset-Lowke for O Gauge would have been far less financially risky than trying to relaunch TT?
Absolutely agree. Even though Bassett Lowke pretty much made none of their products until a few common items in their latter years, and of course WJ was the big sponsor for Greenly and WJ was a genuine hero, rescuing Stefan Bing and others from a certain heinous fate. Arguably of course, AW Gamage sold vast amounts of model railway equipment that WJ could only dream of, however Gamaged just the equipment, not the encompassing use of that equipment, and WJ also got other manufacturers involved in the hobby, as an example a wallpaper manufacturer retailing scenic scenes specifically designed as backdrops for a model railway. And wallpaper then wasn't machine printed of course, it was all complicated silk screened overlays and masks. Tbh the steampunk range sounds like one of those ventures by someone in the model railway industry having little to no knowledge or enthusiasm of the model railway hobby, just an enthusiasm for model railways as being a marketable product.
I’m very pleased with all the correct and tasteful replies. I do still wonder though, what does Sam and others know of this? Maybe it’s time to for him to review some samples of older, important models to keep their marks of progress known to many. Bassett-Lowke, Varney Super h0, Hornby Dublo, and many others have produced models that with a little love and attention can give todays newest models a good run for their money.
@1471SirFrederickBanbury well said. I did a timed result on my early fifties märklin CM800: 0.98 scale kph, 28.73 to move 8mm, 1 minute 51.95 seconds for one wheel revolution. Meaningless though: I'm more impressed with my 102 year old Ives wide gauge that runs noisely, and faultlessly, and looks magnificent in its enamel paint, cast iron and brass. I appreciate different tastes of course, and Sam did do a review of a Hornby 0 #50 think it was, and he treated it very fairly, and in context of what it was. Tbh I had lots of 3 rail dublo and every time I ran my prewar SNG and artic, I always thought how magnificent, and magical these toys were, reflecting that the dublo A4 wasn't a replica of an old steam loco, Gresleys A4 was still the pinnacle of front line service at the dublo launch...
@@richardstaz721 I beg to differ. We all want Hornby to thrive. I'd suggest that our host's criticism is constructive albeit I cannot talk for him. Life long modellers are fed up to the back teeth with the company's mgmnt delighting, it seems, in incessantly shooting it in the foot.
The strange thing about the Thomas range is that the quality of the model depended on what they had used for it. Most of the more obscure characters like Oliver, Murdoch, and Stepney faired well because they're prototypes were ubiquitous in oo scale but then you look at main characters like Edward and Toby and they just look horrible. I think people would look back on it better today if Hornby put more effort into the main characters
I remember the sound wagon being featured in James May’s Trouble in Model Britain about Simon coming back to rescue Hornby. I nearly bought one the other day for about £20. Thanks for saving me
Oddly enough the earlier model of sound wagon - darker colour and different sound set - is better quality. It focused on things like birdsong and traffic noise, where quality matters less because it adds ambience.
The most annoying thing about the SECR E2 is that it has the number 326. The SECR had a number 326, it was a Wainwright H Class 0-4-4T, and it was scrapped in 1961.
The TTS sound wagon is pointless!! Back in the olden days of model railways, modellers would visit preserved railways with a contraption called a cassette recorder (I used a Phillips N2220 back in the 1970's). These cassette recorders would record al the railway related sounds that the modeller desired in superior to digital, analogue quality onto 1.5 hour playing magnetic cassette tapes. Back home, these tapes could be inserted into an old fashioned stereo music centre, with cassette tape playing facilities, to be played in the background whilst operating a model railway layout, etc. Some people also published and sold railway sounds cassettes & LP records, advertising them in model railway magazine publications.
My issue with hornby's iteration of Edward, is because he isn't even the right class. The rehashed build designs of the e2, Percy, etc, are absolutely abismal
They're definitely not amazing by any means, but if you find "Definitely not Percy/Thomas" on sale and you have your own fictional railway and livery, they make for a fun weekend painting project at least.
Sam, what to do with your worst top ten items. 10: Repaint the livery to the correct livery or rebody it. 9: Take it apart, take out the sound system, and have it connected to the layout else where with better speakers. The van then can be unpickuped to use it free wheeling. 8: Strip it for usable parts or weather it with TMC or rebody. The latter which Hornby probably did with the returned model you got back. 7: The franchise should have insisted on new tooling before Hornby bought its licence. Not to use old tooling releases. A bad deal by the franchise and no wonder they lost the deal to Bachmann. Reuse as spares or repaint to proper liveries or rebody. 6: The 66 was also used for the NHS Thank You Capt Thomas Moore and I was so let down for the charity model. I expected a Super Detailed release and end up with a Railroad loco. Hence I bought the Bachmann release a few months ago with the WW2 Planes set, a better perfect tribute release. As for my Hornby NHS loco, offer me a price and its yours or to anyone watching. Highest offer wins with a 20% donation to the NHS from me. 5: Sacrilege to the Beatles name, or anything like it as a franchise or licence release. Just poor thought out items. Solution is to repaint, and weather to proper stock or replace all bodies to true liveried stock. 4: The 14xx model, if it can't be fixed, strip it for spare parts. Otherwise rechassis it. Also, repaint the body, or heavy weather it to hide the terrible printing. 3: The Coke franchise should have pulled the plug on the licence for these crass models. This lowmac, cut away the bottle, reload with a proper load and stick it in a siding, Sam. Even cut away the D couplers and replace with a magnetic set to see if that helps its running. 2: Runner up, well, lets see, hmm, resell at a big loss, give them away, bin them, or melt them down, but keep the metal wheels. 1: Top slot, the steam punk range. It's best to rebody the stock with proper fictional bodies, or use the best of the chassis' as spare parts and scrap the rest. As for the Lego, just mix the parts in with the rest of your bricks and say nothing, lol. I hope these hints and tips will help you make better use of the top ten fails, Sam. They are practical solutions to make good out of bad buys. Enjoy doing the Mods and lets see what you can do to make use of them in a future 'Can We Reperpose, or Destory' video, 😂😂😂. After watching the video for new content for the channel with Chloe. The above reperposing idea would be a start, lol.
Yes for #9. Or leave the decoder in there and have it play the engine sound, and 3D print an OO-scale refrigeration unit. I assume the Brits have a refrigerated van Sam could use as a reference? NEM or tension-lock couplings would really help, too. You could take the weathered van body off and use it as a line side MOW shed, just put some random railway parts (also weathered) nearby, such as ties (sleepers), random barrels, cut pieces of rail, etc… Same could then place this somewhere near the turntable.
I bet for a million British pounds that Accurascale or Rapido can make a proper Furness Railway K2 4-4-0 American 8 wheeler tender engine in double 00 Sam. I mean, Rapido is making the real life Bill and Ben counterparts in model form.
Probably the most fun you can have with the TTS van is to note what you think the low-quality sounds eminating from it are. I heard an auction and a UK level crossing (like you said).
In the strangest way the Steam Punk Hornby stuff will the the one to collect. It's always the 'train wrecks' that in time pull the big money with hardcore collectors, especially when it's new MIB. As for the Hornby Thomas line what I liked was the performance on track Vs the sluggish and lackluster Bachmann line. I know near the end there were all sorts of engine problems with the Hornby Thomas engines. A big hobby retailer in sydney had a flurry of them return with motor problems. It was right at the end of the licence time so it wasn't a case of doing a swap out. The only option was repair. I'm surprised you didn't include the Hornby Live Steam sets. I have a Mallard (blue) MIB 2004 era. Maybe your the perfect person to present all the faults with this system.
2:18 Until you realise that only one e2 ever wore lbscr umber livery (no 100), and only for a short period of time, while every other e2 carried lbscr black livery, including no 100 for the majority of its life!
Also for some reason when the TTE series switched to full CGI they depicted an "origin story" Thomas as having green livery before getting NWR blue. I'm guessing that since LBSCR never actually did use SECR green it could potentially be a copyright issue to combine the two.
@@asteroidrules The LBSCR did paint many of its goods engines in a 'Goods Green' livery. There aren't really good pictures of them, as there were no color cameras back then. I don't think that color was very accurate to the SECR or the LBSCR. Thomas' number was odd too, I think he was numbered LBSC 70 for the 70th anniversary of the Railway series. But the E2s were never numbered around there. It could potentially work though. By the time Thomas was built, the actual LBSCR #70 Poplar(an A1x terrier that survives in preservation) would have been sold off to the Rother Valley/Kent and East Sussex Railway. The Terriers were already being duplicate listed and given a 6 prefix to their numbers so that newer locomotives could have their numbers(IE: Stepney was 655 by this point)
i believe that the only good hornby thomas product is James and maybe some rolling-stock, but thats because either the model casually resembles it, or because Awdry used a 3f for his own model of james, either way... they're neat collectables, but not great models...
Concerning the ex-Thomas released in SECR livery, maybe they should have released it in the Farnborough, Reigate, Alton, Upwell and Dover Railway livery?😀
Oh, btw, the next live Sams Trains, I would like to see all these locos and wagons together as a single train. Just to see how far it gets before it fails, lol. If you wish to see this happen click the like comment button. Over 50 votes and Sam is to do it, right Sam, lol.
I needed to know why they couldn’t dig a tunnel and do an extension for most of the mainline Trains so that they could extend the unused abandoned underground train stations. Why couldn’t they use the part D78 Stock train doors on the sides and also restructure the front face of the A60 and A62 stock which will include the class 507, class 508, class 313, class 314 and class 315 remix and make them all together and also redesign all of them into an overhead wire line trains and also make most of them into Five carriages per units and also having three Disabled Toilets on those Five cars per units A60 and A62 stock trains and also convert the A60 and A62 stock trains into a Gardner 6LXC, Cummins M11, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner LG1200 and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Engines and also put the Loud 8-Speed Voith Gearboxes even Loud 10-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Gearboxes in the A60 and A62 stock, class 507, class 508, class 313, class 314, and class 315 and also modernise the A60 and A62 stock and make it into 11 carriages per unit so it could have fewer doors, more tables, computers and mobile phone chargers? A Stock Train and 8 Disabled Toilets on those A stock trains. why couldn’t we refurbish and modernise the waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel and make it even much more Larger and extend it to the bank station, making it into a Triple-Track Railway Line so those Five countries such as Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden to convert the waterloo and city line Triple-Track Railway tunnel into a High-Speed Railway lines? The Third Euro tunnel Triple-Track Railway line to make it 11 times better for passengers so they could go from A to B. Then put the modernised 11 carriages per unit A Stock and put them on a bigger modernised Waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel so it could go to bank station to those Five countries such as Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden. The modernised refurbished 11 carriages per unit A stock could be a High Speed The Third Triple-Track Euro Tunnel Train So it is promising and 47 times a lot more possible to do this kind of project if that will be OK for London Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden. oh by the way, could they also tunnel the Triple-Track Railway Line so it will stop from Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex so that the Passengers will go to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden and also extend the Triple-Track Railway Line from the Bank to Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex Stations so that more people from there could go to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden more Easily. Why couldn't they extend the Piccadilly Line and also build brand-new underground train stations so it could go even further right up to Clapton, Wood Street can they also make another brand new underground train station in Chingford and could they extend the Piccadilly Line and the DLR right up to Chingford? All of the classes 150, 155, 154, 117, 114, 105, and 106, will be replaced by all of the Gardner 6LXC, Cummins M11, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner LG1200 and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Five carriages three disabled toilets are air conditioning trains including Highams Park for extended roots which is the Piccadilly line and the DLR trains. Could you also convert all of the 1973 stock trains into an air-conditioned maximum speed 78 km/hours (48 MPH) re-refurbished and make it into a 8 cars per unit if that will be alright, and also extend all of the Piccadilly train stations to make more space for all of the extended 8 car per unit 1973 stock air condition trains and can you also build another Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive Companies and can they order Every 87 Octagon and Every 48 Hexagon shape LNER diagram unique small no.13 and unique small no.11 Boilers from those Countries such as Greece, Italy, Poland, and Sweden, can they make Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive speeds by up to 147MPH so you can try and test it on the Original Mainline so it will be much more safer for the Passengers to enjoy the 147MPH speed Limit only for HS2 and Channel Tunnel mainline services, if they needed 16 Carriages Per units, can they use those class 55’s, class 44’s, class 40’s and class 43HST Diesel Locomotive’s right at the Back of those 18 Carriages Per Units so they can take over at the Back to let those Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s have a rest for those interesting Journeys Please!!!!!!, oh can you make all of those 18 Tonne Boxes of Coal for all of those 147MPH Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s so the Companies will Understand us PASSENGER’S!!!! So please make sure that the Builders can do as they are told!!!!!!!! And PLEASE do something about these very very important Professional ideas Please? Prime Minister of England, Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister of Germany, Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister of Poland and that Includes the Mayor of London.
12:38 I can't even watch your Beattles review. Fast forward quick!!! Oops, sorry no, Coca Cola and Scream Kerplunk too. Well said Sam. Fair and with the sound of desperation in your voice that we all feel, I think.
I will admit sam that the class 66s don't belong in the railways range, however I think you got quite unlucky with the livery - mines lovely and runs amazingly! Other than that, I really agree with you sam - what on earth was hornby thinking with brickpunk?! They've gone absolutely nuts. Yet another great video sam! I hope you're alive for the next video, or it's going to be a boring week!
This was the first time I heard about beetle Thomas and I think a part of my soul was murdered brutally and lies dead on the floor. It was murdered by F8 of the van!
Please make a follow up to this, but rather than ripping Hornby a well deserved new one, do it to Bachmann too. Just bought a very good condition Bachmann Class J but was disappointed by the split chassis and self tapping screws securing the plastic body. The front self tapping screw that holds the front of the body down was short and actually broke its stem that it was supposed be securing. While this model was an older model, I know Bachmann still like to release new models with this type of cheap construction.
@@DC4260Productions it is actually a Norfolk and Western J from the Bachmann Plus range. I've been running it in since I've unboxed it and, while it is in very good condition despite the broken body stem, it was sold to me as new and it has signs of mild use. It's actually a very good runner despite the split chassis and has a very enthusiastic smoke unit so now I'm just a bit torn as to what to do with it. May ask for a partial refund and just keep it, securing the body with a slightly longer screw with the same thread
Hornby’s Thomas range could have been fine. Edward is often modelled from a Hornby 2p, Bill and Ben could have been made for Hornby’s many 0-4-0 mechanisms, and Emily should have been a new tool. At least it has its pearls, like Spencer, Gordon, and James, which all look miles better than Bachmann, or the television series models.
While I will always defend Hornby as having made some genuinely good models from time to time (I love their pre-grouping coaches), but I have to admit they do stoop to some real lows. They love having these kind of cheap reskins of decade old models that can function as a train set for beginners, but these old models are getting tired and less impressive.
The only locomotives I wanted to get from the Hornby Thomas range were Thomas, Percy, and James. Compared to their Bachmann counterparts, they come with front couplers and will be “more useful” if required for shunting(a task each character has done in the show). The only way to attach a front couplers to the Bachmann models is to modify them.
It is a bit harsh putting the whole of the Thomas range in there. If you'd have put Edward, Bill and Ben on there own then fair enough. The Hornby Thomas, Henry and Gordon still look far superior to the bachmann ones as they had existing moulds. I remember when the steam punk were announced and thinking who'd on earth would by those. We got our answer, no one.
Funny thing Sam, Tony Wright master model loco builder who's layout, Little Bytham, is one of the best in the country, was very impressed with the Hornby A2/2's & the A2/3's 7 says he couldnt build a loco to match them. Now if you've seen Tony's loco builds that is some praise for Hornby indeed as his kit built loco's are just works of art.
I've two A2s and they're both great runners.There are plenty of worse models out there IMO. However I must admit the washed out livery is disappointing and a diecast running plate would have been better. I paid just over £100 for both of mine which I think is a fair price for what they are. I think Sam got a real dud with his which is why he slates them so much.
I've always liked the Hornby Thomas range, I like looking at them as "Day out with Thomas" models where railways try to represent the characters with whatever engine is available. Does that make them good? No, but it gives them their own charm, and I will totally admit that I love the Horny Toby, because it just looks so dumb and silly. As for that steampunk range. ...Yikes.
I've noticed Sam that the 14xx never has a good reputation in model form. Hopefully one day someone will make a new tooled 14xx model. Cheers Jasper & Willow
This is why I watch professional model train RU-vidrs to know if it’s worth it buying a set/train pack or not.I also feel bad for anyone why bought the “new” 14xx
The poor old 14xx in reality was a good, handy little engine. Keysers used to do a decent whitemetal kit which with a little care and skill could be made into a decent model. I have several, one Keysers, one Sayer Chaplin (they made etched kits in the early 1950's) and a third by Eames or Hamblings, also from the 50's, all of which run well. The problem with the Hornby / Dapol / Airfix engine is twofold. One is the traction tyre on the centre axle, which spoils pick up and also 'rocks' the engine fore and aft; on the original Airfix model the plunger pickups also easily foul up. Not sure what's wrong with the new Hornby reissue, but I'll stick with my veterans, thank you.
This one oughta ruffle some feathers on the Interwebs... EDIT: I nominate for 11th place, (dis)honourable mention the GWR 72xx. For such a large tank engine it is astonishingly light and weak, what few separately-applied details it has are quite brittle, and it has the same faded, plasticky finish as the A2/2.
Really good video Sam, and very well narrated. I'm a big fan of European TT, however I would've been happy for Hornby to forsake their British TT range and have gone instead for a real Era I range. Things like locomotion are exciting. Now wouldn't it have been great if Hornby had put some real investment into genuine era wagons. Locos like the steam elephant, and what I think would be a clincher: an era I track system. What happens of course is you get your superlative locomotion No1, a few carriage underframes with dead livestock, empty carriages with a guard having a squat, and wheel it around on Hornby set track. Of course track then looked nothing like track now. No sleepers, contemporary lithographs picturing rails embedded in ash, or rails on stone setts. It'd be wonderful to have a track system with that look, and points didn't have point bladed, they were of the variety where the rail ends just displaced as appropriate. A working signal system where it's semaphore, operated by solenoid via the policeman standing at the base. With the tiny wagons you could have the genuine right-of-way, with 4' 8 1/2" gauge and 4' 8 1/2" track spacing as well. Those tiny wagon turntables like at old Euston where they used to re-marshall entire trains and locomotives without even leaving the platforms. And of course, Hornby could've even ventured into.... dare I say it?... broad gauge... But no, what we're all really after is more Beatles trains...
What about their ex Lima Class 55 with HO bogies, it just keeps reappearing in the range with a different livery. I remember Lima bringing this out in the 70's and it looked wrong then...
The whole "Steampunk" range is just a strange idea. I mean, steam was going strong into the 50s without the weird accoutrements on those Hornby..."things". Their concept was just silly. They need to switch chemicals :P
Yeah Hornby is a company I don't tend to buy from. Due to price and quality issues which is a shame. For the most part now I look to either old kit builds which need a revamp or even buying older stock like Mainline wagons which for their age are vastly superior.
I owe it to Sam for alerting me to the pitfalls of B.E. … I would have though for the prices they charge there might be just a scintilla of a chance you’d get a quality product … but it appears not.
That wrap thing that Hornby did with their Class 66 they also did with their limited edition Drax Power biomass wagons. I certainly wasn't happy with it considering it too had air pockets over details and began pealing at the edges shorty after I unboxed them. Far from impressive considering they were priced at, if i remember rightly, around £80 each.
I like the idea of Hornby making “true to life” models of the Thomas characters…but when they just grabbed the closest they could find was awful. I know new tooling would’ve cost more, but going this way has made it just seem like a cost cutting idea.
I think the steampunk line is such a missed opportunity. Kitbashing is a very valid form of expression, and I think if Hornby had released a couple of *very* basic designs, unpainted, maybe with no body at all - but a legit modern product with DCC - people might want to buy them to bash together their own designs. They could even do some 'spare parts' Airfix kits, and would probably sell more Humbrol paints while they were at it. But no, rather than an opportunity for growing the community, we get... the steampunk line.
My impressions of the stuff on the top 10 worst Hornby products from 10 to 1: Number 10: a AU of Thomas and friends where if he both came from and was built on "South Eastern Chatham Railway" and not the Railway of the "London Brighton South Coastal" Number 9: this van look like one of those trucks people would grifetti on out of boredom (and yes it's a real life rhing) they should build a truck with a sign in front of it saying "I want to be grifetti on" but it's a sting operation to catch the people who did it Number 8: this one just a question which is how did the engine gets it's name? Number 7: my theory of them using pre-existing models for the range: they saw the show and had a few problems with the TV props like "if Thomas is called 'little thomas' why is he as big as Gordon?" So they tried to fix the character sizes to a logical size range Number 6: the diesel looks like a RWS character if you put a face on it Number 5: how to make the Beatles band turn in their graves Number 4: Oliver's sibling is found Number 3: if Cola-Cola tops Pepsi in some ways because this product makes them look like they lost to Pepsi Number 2: where are they carrying the animals to? Number 1: robotic trains.... Need I say more?
You need to change the traction tyres on the 14xx. I had to change the traction tyres on my 14xx because it kept on stalling on the points. I agree about Edward, they should have used the 2P instead of the D49.
I agree with you Sam’sTrains, why some of the Thomas and friends hornby models are ok or sometimes good, the hornby Edward was not only the wrong class but it’s big and weird looking model for Edward. The same for the hornby Toby, he looks like his TV series model but he also too big and sometimes get stuck in your tunnel or the sheds on your model railway. Emily is the same like Edward because she is also the wrong class. Fun time hornby actually make a accurate thomas model from the tv series but they was only on the hornby clockwork/battery powered sets, they could have easily just take the body shell and make a little 0-6-0 chassis for the mode and they would have a perfect Thomas.
Aye even if they had just done the E2 in a plain black or any plain single colour and un-numbered aswell would have been better than what they are doing with it. At least then it would have made a decent starting point to paint or decal up. Kind of like Dapol basic unpainted wagons…
I suppose as you say when Hornby does something right; they really do it right. There's no doubt that there were certainly gems in the Hornby Thomas & Friends range despite some bad ones. The Hornby James for example as mentioned in an earlier video of yours is based on a tri-ang Deely 3F but with actual effort and modifications Hornby managed to create a rather grand portrayal of him. When you see the likes of that you don't even care if it's not his actual basis (a fictious experimental L&YR Class 28 with an added pony truck) as it's rather like his RWS look anyway. Even their "The Diesel" was pretty good (colour/detail wise) but was of course let down by being based on a 37. If only they had done a new version of him and based it on the Lima Class 40 tooling they now have the rights to. Murdoch and Spencer were magnificent too. It's a pity Hornby can no longer produce Thomas models as they seem to have a rather hefty amount of things to play with if they were to reinvent the range.
I wouldn't necessarily say half the presented models are even _bad,_ so much as, well, _cheap._ Hornby's got to stop recycling 40+-year-old models and actually make something NEW that people can afford. Rapido and Bachmann have stolen the march on them.
The old dicast push along Thomas range of the 1990s/early 2000s included a Thomas without a face in SECR livery! It would appear Hornby made it a OO electric model! Presumably the original Dicast version was supposed to be P Class 27 Primrose which did make an appearance in a Thomas book!
Ok sam been watching your channel since 2016 its how i learned my modeling basics Edward bill and emily deserve to be on this list but the whole rang was frankly good they made custom model for James and Percy also remember that They started thomas model production Decades before bachmann i mean they could have swichted but they also cartered to the railway series modeler so you cant knark the whole rang
I've incorporated the Bassett Lowke range into an award-winning model, Cato Cove (videos on here) that won Best in Show in 2022 at Folkstone🙂. Ah I thought you gave the Steampunk locos a good score when they first came out? Covid intervened and stopped the marketing of the product properly. It was a fun product designed to get a different audience into the hobby. At least Hornby have been brave to give it a go but I admit it is not for the traditionalist - they tend to keel over and......Sam? You ok?
Weirdest thing about the SECR E2 is that Hornby, back in the 70s/80s, did make one in LBSCR Umber. (although I think the model was actually slightly better, rather than the simplified Thomas mould) Only reason they did it, far as I can see, is to try and appeal to the Thomas crowd (as there was an episode where he rather strangely wore an "LBSCR Green" which...never existed), ironically failing. The steampunk stuff is dire for multiple reasons, and I quite like the steampunk aesthetic. If only Hornby had a good, small 0-4-0 chassis to work with....Oh they do! The L&Y Pug they nicked from Dapol. But no, they go with el-cheepo again, so even if you were buying the engines to rework yourself, the basis is abysmal.
My Hornby Lord Nelson is the worst model I own. Lightweight for its size, noisy motor for a modern model and one crankpin even undone itself causing the gear to jam in the process. Luckily managed to fix it myself but it’s still a poor model.
Yeah the Thomas and Friends range is too wonky to not get a bit of a slagging off. For every good one, theres an awful one. The T9 Greyhound would have been a better basis for Edward I think.
So, just regarding the sound effect van, this concept just works SO much better in G-scale. LGB actually introduced the idea of putting sound systems in rolling stock, but it worked decently well for them because they could put decent speakers in them without driving prices up massively thanks to having a lot more space to work with.
How about the 0-4-0 Thomas model? I had a Thomas the tank engine loco as a child with only 4 wheels! It was seemingly ripped from the Pocket Rocket body, i would LOVE to know the story of the 4 wheeled Thomas the Tank Engine model!
Yeah. Ha, ha. The steampunk was about £43.99 more than it was worth. 🤣😆 I think they forgot that steampunk is about - you guessed it - steam (and clockwork) tech. Which your garden-variety Pannier tank engine already is. I would dare to say that some of the early American (4-4-0) locomotives, with their bright colors and brass fittings, are WAY more appropriate to steampunk than those piles of 💩. Even a USRA light Mikado (2-8-2) in the plain Union Pacific livery is definitely more steampunk than Hornby’s sad-sack range. 😢 As for the building with the gear decoration, I can only guess Hornby thought it was a structure that modeled a gear-making factory? What were they thinking?? Oh, that’s right, they were only thinking of $$$. Now, I’ll bet, they’re thinking of all the lost money still sitting in some warehouse somewhere.
I can only think about one product Hornby have got away with for FAR FAR too long. Undoubtedly it must be their oversized/overscaled semaphore signals. Whilst they function, yes that cannot be denied, they're just not to 00 scale & never have been. Probably 1/55 or 1/60 but still too big for a layout.... At least Hornby got Duck, Spencer & Murdoch right in their range
Yep. No problem. The Railway Children 4F. In reality a right hand drive version but Hornby chose to represent it with their VERY old left hand drive 4F which was VERY bad 40++ years ago when it was a zero detail tender drive abomination. Now, it's a very, very poor loco drive iteration that still lacks detail and any refinement. They really do have to be joking.....and don't get me started on what they have tried to charge for it 😂😂😂.
I am intensely baffled that a company like Hornby was low enough to infringe on Lego’s patents with that steaming pile of garbage that was the brickpunk sets, almost every piece there was a casted reproduction of official Lego pieces
Anyone remember the Hall and 72/43 class ( design cleaver ) locos, ? I purchased a 72xx, which was so bad, when contacting Hornby to return the product, for a refund, their answer was, " keep the engine " and here is a full refund...!! They did not even want it back 😮 ...says it all really, I later sold on the unfortunate engine😢
One of the problems I see Hornby have is that they are trying to cater for 2 different markets. The collectors market of which running quality isnt a concern and silly themes appear to be collectable. Then you have the serious model rail products of which like you say they do well at times. From a business model in my view they need to concentrate on the latter and forget the former and improve their products overall . Then they will do better and get a better reputation.
I agree with you, but Hornby will only survive by success in both camps, so maybe clearer separation of the two markets combined with marked improvements in quality is the way forward. I can only dream.....
part of why Lego is still leader might be due to the point that they sue everyone with weird claims and 20% price increase ... and then there isn't the quality decrease not included and compared to the danes ... the Horny models do not look THAT bad, i mean, as long as you don't compare them to good modelmakers ofc. if you want a good brick model, maybe look up BlueBrix BR 89 Display Model
Mhh… a knockoff LEGO lineup? Gotta said, I seen much better third party knockoff LEGO sets than this. Also I have a steampunk theme LEGO train station that looks 1.000 times better and it has a light kit with it. Honestly Hornby needs to change tactics of they want to keep ok going for another 50 years or so.
I thought the steampunk range was good..... For DND games. Glue a few gems and brass paint instead of silver.... Seriously brass would have looked so much better than the silver
I also dislike Hornby Edward, I mean, couldn't Hornby have used another 4-4-0 tender engine that resembles an FR K2? Or maybe make an Edward model from scratch?
