New Arrivals, Hornby AND Oxford, with Bachmann thrown in for good measure!

Last week we played Hornby v Oxford on their latest arrivals, this week we can look at new arrivals from both companies.

Hornby's 71 in "as preserved" livery

Kicking off with yet another new loco from Hornby! In the last month we have seen three new toolings from them. The Q6, the Adams Radial tank and now the 71.

I won't bore you too much with a history lesson, as many reviewers seem to do. The class was built at Doncaster between 1958 and 1960. The class saw use on the Southern region largely for freight work and trains like the Golden Arrow. By 1977 the class was withdrawn, replaced by 33s and 73s.
The model itself has been wonderfully reproduced. Paint finish, lining and transfers are beautifully applied.

Performance is super smooth and very quiet, a nice detail is being able to see the engine through the side window. A detail pack is included, which features a set of reporting numbers and front skirts should you choose to remove a coupling from one (or both) end. I haven't tried myself yet but one has been chip fitted here and I'm told space is incredibly tight in there and a small chip is the best solution, this seems to be a recurring problem of late. RRP for each model is £154.99, our price £135.

One thing I am very pleased about is the decision not to plaster NRM all over the box of the "as preserved" example as in previous cases I've found it leads to confusion with the Shildon 'high gloss' examples, which I personally think look awful!

 Meanwhile Oxford Rail have released the first of their latest range of goods wagons. First up we have the LNER cattle wagon, seen here in BR(E) guise. First impressions are that it's a very nicely produced wagon with nice details and lettering applied. However, I have been informed by a wagons expert that there are several errors in the model, which could spoil the hardcore enthusiasts enjoyment of them. Our price is £10.50.

Next up we have the North British 4 plank wagon, initially released in it's parent companies colours. This model is again a very good example and the same wagon expert who has several doubts of the cattle wagon has no criticism of note on this wagon. My main issue is the fact they have a very limited use in my opinion as I believe less than 5% of all those built survived to BR ownership in 1948 and that was probably as far as they got! Our price is £8.50.


Overall I think Oxford Rail have made a great job on both of these and they continue their tradition of producing good quality, affordable goods wagons for the steam era modeller.

Last up we have a Bachmann reissue to bring you but quite a significant one. The Inspection saloon makes a welcome return to the range. Three examples are offered, second runs of Maroon and Blue/Grey livery are a nice addition, however it has to be the appearance in EWS livery that has stirred the most interest. As always beautifully detailed and finished it offers something very different to the up to date modern image modeller. All three liveries are available from us, RRP £59.95, our price £50.95.


That's all for this update, the launch of the project layout will come very soon I promise! If any of these items are of interest to any of you or any other queries please feel free to get in touch. Keep enjoying your modelling. Tony :)