Hornby 2014 speculation thread

[SirMeliot]

Looking through Airfix's range it seems £5.99 gets you a kit with one marking scheme and £7.99 gets you two schemes.
The new Hurricane kit only has one. So the price is really the same as before.

[Pennine MC]

I know this is a massive over simplification, but the idea that this is all the fault of labour in China is hogwash. Its about Hornby increasing its profits. (and if people pay it, fair play to them!)

I agree, generally; China is a factor certainly, but there has to be more to it and there's certainly a school of thought that says there's been a string of bad decisions as well. Not so sure about the fair play aspect either; I personally think their current tactics smell of desperation rather than simple greed, and I dont like the idea of what few 'proper' model shops there are left having to suffer for it.

[D605Eagle]

I predict that Hornby will end up with a huge pile of unsold stock that it can't shift, and will have to beg the box shifters to take it off their hands. If Hornby were the sole supplier of models then maybe they could call the shouts, but they're not.

[Bigmet]

While we know they are far from the sole supplier (and blue boxes have well outnumbered the red in my purchases) there's stlll that wonderful name lodged in the UK's - and beyond's - minds. It's wait and see now, can they get their legacy of tooling out of the closed Sanda Kan factory and into production with the several new suppliers they are working with?

Will the quality of the product match what was seen when Sanda Kan were the manufacturing partner? That's something I would expect to be a hot button, if past standards cannot be matched. The problems in China are not simply the reasonable increases in wage rates, but finding and retaining people with the right skill set. Competition for labour is fierce, and the employees move on for better wages naturally enough. What fiddly detail manufacture needs is people to acquire the necessary skill, and that takes time; and then to stay on the job for a year or three rather than walk off to another operation paying a bit more.

Hornby hopefully will look to develop further in India. There's a double advantage there, not much in the way of Indian model railways at the moment. Hornby could probably start a local range.

[Lysander]

Hornby hopefully will look to develop further in India. There's a double advantage there, not much in the way of Indian model railways at the moment. Hornby could probably start a local range.

Now, 'Railways of The Raj' : think what fabulous steam and matchboard stock that would entail........

Tony

[GWR_fan]

Hornby hopefully will look to develop further in India. There's a double advantage there, not much in the way of Indian model railways at the moment. Hornby could probably start a local range.

Now, 'Railways of The Raj' : think what fabulous steam and matchboard stock that would entail........

Tony

The quaint narrow-gauge Darjeeling locomotives (Beyer-Peecock from memory).


Tim

[GWR_fan]

On the subject of country of manufacture, my supplier of non-eBay purchases was under the impression that Hornby had sourced production from Cambodia. Now, that is way out of left field. I had always thought Vietnam would be a potential source of models, but Cambodia????????


Tim

[Bigmet]

Why not? The whole world has got to be developed so that everyone can share in the resulting good life that we take for granted.

[trainlover23]

True. Airfix is largely made in India, with an expanding range in the UK. Back to China, whilst labour costs have risen, they haven't gone up 25% Furthermore, even if they had, an increase of 25% on part of your costs doesn't equate to an increase of 25% in the retail price. Say it costs £10 in 2013 in labour to make a HST. In 2014, this will be £12.50. The unit however has risen in price from £160 to £210 over this period. Minus the £2.50 labour increase, this makes Hornby an EXTRA £47.50 per unit.

I know this is a massive over simplification, but the idea that this is all the fault of labour in China is hogwash. Its about Hornby increasing its profits. (and if people pay it, fair play to them!)

It is this statement that is hogwash. The labour increases in China are a part of the problem. Factor in the increased cost of transporting the goods to the UK , the increased cost of raw materials and then the increased costs of distributing the goods over here and that is your answer. This hobby is not the only area to be affected by price hikes.

[Alex3410]

Hornby have just posted this on Facebook PDF of products delayed from 2013 to 2014

i don't think its new information but thought it might be useful

[Old Man Phil]

An explanatiuon from Hornby would be useful/ helpful!!

[trainlover23]

An explanatiuon from Hornby would be useful/ helpful!!

In respect of what ????????????????????

[Bufferstop]

Well for starters it would be nice to know whether or not the delayed until 2014 list was based on some production schedules or just the earliest date,"if we get a miracle for Christmas". The marketing guy that Hornby sent to open their display at the Great Gathering was IMHO clueless. His minimal knowledge failed to impress my Wife as well as quite a few other "and partners". It's starting to look as though there's only one person at Hornby who knows anything their products.

[Old Man Phil]

trainlover23 , I was referring to Alex's comment immediately above mine regarding the listing showing all the delays.

[saslord]

Just for information. We have noticed that many new Airfix kits are now made in the EU and Humbrol Paints are now made in the UK along with all the quick build kits.