December News Round Up

Hi all, as we head into the festive period there are a number of minor things that we need to update you all on. Opening hours, events, announcements, etc.

Right, starting off with the opening hours. Up until Christmas Eve we will be open as usual, Tuesday to Saturday 10-5(4 on Saturday) with Christmas Eve actually falling on the Saturday, we will be closed Sunday and Monday as usual. However this is where the changes begin:
Holiday Tuesday 27th: CLOSED
Wednesday 28th: 11am-3pm
Thursday 29th: 11am-3pm
Friday 30th: 11am-3pm
Saturday 31st (New Years Eve): 11am-3pm.

Then a return to business as usual from Tuesday January 3rd 2017. We feel the hours between Christmas and New Year will suit both you the customer and us as a business as last year we found it to be a rather quiet week but at the same time offers a chance for those who want to come down the chance to do so. If you are planning to visit on one of those days during the usual opening hours please give us a call and we'll see what we can do with regards to making sure we are there.

On New Year's Day we will be attending Bridgnorth Toy Fair. Bridgnorth Leisure Centre, High Town, Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV16 4ER. 10:30-15:00. Entry price £2.00 (all ages). A chance to blow off the cobwebs at the ever popular Bridgnorth Toy Fair, why not combine the visit with a trip to the Severn Valley Railway and what could quite possibly be the final days of steaming for their popular little 45xx tank 4566 which is 'out of ticket' at the start of 2017.

Announcements

As I'm sure many of you are already aware, at Warley show (which we attended and were very proud to do so) Hornby announced several new products. Including the Modified Duchess as 46256 Sir William A. Stanier FRS, also 46235 City Of Birmingham in BR green with TTS sound and Duchess of Athol in LMS livery. There will also be new tooling class 87 electrics and the new Hitachi class 800 units being delivered for use by GWR. All will be available for pre-order from us, just let us know any requirements.

At the time of going to press we are expecting Peckett 0-4-0 tank engines, LNER (and BR) B12s and original condition SR (and BR) Merchant Navy pacifics in stock by the end of January.

We had a recent meeting with Hornby which outlined their future plans and strategies. Personally I felt the meeting was very positive and Hornby are certainly looking to improve their relationship with the dealers, it has to be said there were a lot of cynical voices in the room and there is clearly a long way to go for Hornby to rebuild their shattered reputation in this industry. I am not going to disclose exactly what was said in that meeting though in public. Let's just say the future looks a lot brighter.

Finally (in case this turns out to be the last blog of 2016) may I take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. A massive thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last 12 months and beyond, I couldn't do it without you guys. Keep enjoying your modelling. Tony :)

A Train Set for Christmas and other gift ideas....

It's that time of year when we start looking at the Christmas market and the obvious place to begin is with the classic gift, the train set. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing a set for someone but it helps to know what they like when it comes to railways and what they'd be looking for in a starter set.

Kicking off with the above pictured set Military Manoeuvres by Bachmann. I've made no secret in the past of how great I think this set is. For a first time railway modeller the great plus point of this set is it comes with a siding as part of the set so instant 'play value' as shunting can begin straight away without the need for additional track. However, the set being based on Military practice does make it a bit specialist for some modellers especially those who are just starting out....

If you want something a bit more traditional then The Midlander Express gives you exactly that. A very classic set, featuring an LMS Jubilee and two Maroon Mark1 coaches. In BR livery, it represents the period that is still the most popular amongst most modellers as it was the time when both steam and diesel ran side by side. Although as we've touched on in a different blog, the preservation layout offers the same benefit and the chance to mix regions. One negative of this set is it's very much an oval of track and a one train formation, even if there was a siding included it wouldn't be the kind of set you'd want to go shunting with anyway. (As a side note, I remember when I was a kid a friend having have a HST set that came with 2 sidings and a goods shed but looked completely ridiculous with HST coaches being shunted into them by the HST power car!) 

  
The last Bachmann set we are going to feature is The Permanent Way, a bit different to the other two this one comes complete with Digital Sound fitted to the loco and the entry level Bachmann digital controller. The liveries are very much set in the 90s so only really suits those who want to model the more contemporary scene. Like The Midlander Express it also features just the basic oval of track. Although there is a degree of shunting options that would be available here and being a class 20 it would be well suited to hauling and shunting wagons.

Some good points that all Bachmann sets have to offer are:

• High quality products, the locos, coaches and wagons are all as good as the best products the range has to offer.
• Good quality, durable, control systems. We have been using the same Bachmann controller on our test layout for the best part of a decade and it works just as well as a new one. One word of caution regarding the basic Digital Controller is that it only accommodates nine locomotive addresses and can be easily outgrown. Having said that it is also a good quality, durable controller.
• Excellent value for money for the contents included.

Military Manoeuvres RRP 169.95, Our Price £145.
The Midlander Express RRP 209.95, Our Price £178.50
The Permanent Way RRP 274.95, Our Price £220.

Other sets in stock (not featured):
The Western Wanderer (Pannier Tank and 2 wagons) RRP £99.95, Our Price £85.
The Thames Clyde Express (Midland Compound and 3 Coaches)
RRP £174.95, Our Price £149.
Rural Commuter (105 DMU) RRP £99.95, Our Price £85.

 
We're not very keen on Hornby Sets here (even though they are the brand name most people are familiar with) but we have got The Postal Express in stock. Which with it's working mail coach and siding offers a great deal of play value and is great for the younger modeller, although we don't recommend it for the serious modeller... Sadly Hornby don't tend to offer their highest quality products in sets, usually it's products from their RailRoad range. Their controllers aren't the most robust of items either... This set RRPs at £119.99 we have it on Special Offer at £80.

Although we don't keep much N gauge in stock we do have two Graham Farish sets available, being made by Bachmann they are of similar quality to the Bachmann sets.

We have The Night Mail for modern image fans featuring a Class 47 with 2 mail coaches and a basic oval of track, RRP £199.95, Our Price £170.

For the steam fan, we have A Day At The Races (not pictured) featuring a BR Std 3 tank engine and 3 horseboxes in BR green. This set also has a siding with it.
RRP £189.95, Our Price £162.

Both sets come with the excellent Bachmann Controller that the OO sets also come with.

That's the sets end of the market looked at, now a time for a look at the other end of the market for 'stocking fillers' and 'cheap' gifts.

 Starting off with the excellent range of Oxford Wagons, at the time of writing all of the single 4 wheel wagons from Oxford come in at under £10 each. Wagons from Bachmann generally range from £12-£22 so there's a significant saving buying Oxford wagons even if the range isn't quite as big.

Another ever popular gift are the Metcalfe range of cardboard building kits, easy to put together and of solid build quality they are popular with those new to the hobby and experienced modellers alike. Prices on these kits ranges from £8 up to £20. We also keep a small range of N gauge Metcalfe products in stock.

Another suitable avenue for the cheaper gift is the pack of figures. We have stocked (and still do stock) the excellent range of figures from Bachmann and Modelscene. But recently have taken delivery of a new range from Woodland Scenics which feature many different scenarios to those we have seen before including Golfers, Fishermen, Cyclists and much more. Prices range from £7-£12.

Last up in our selection are the excellent range of road vehicles from Oxford Diecast. The range includes, cars, buses, lorries, farm vehicles, emergency services vehicles, even Ice Cream vans. A lot of the vehicles are represented in real life corporate colours (including all the railway companies) plus TV and film colour schemes too, the Anglia (top right) is in the same colours as Vyvyan's in The Young Ones! Prices range for £4 for a single car up to £25 for certain lorries & Gift Packs.

And for the man who has everything......

The stunning Bachmann Midland Pullman, which we have featured heavily in a previous blog. A truly magnificent model but costing an eye watering £509.95 (with discount!) it certainly doesn't come cheap!

These are just a few ideas we have for suitable gifts for Christmas. We do, of course, stock a comprehensive range of Locomotives, Coaches, Wagons, Buildings and Scenic accessories to suit all budgets and tastes.

Plus of course, if you're really stuck for what to buy we still do the good old Gift Voucher! 

Thanks for reading this, hope you enjoyed it. Please contact us if you require any advice and what to buy for the Railway Modeller in your life! Keep enjoying your modelling guys, Tony :)  

November Events and New Releases

Hi all, sorry we've been a bit quiet in recent times (all I seem to say in these blogs of late!) but here's the traditional month opening blog regarding our upcoming events.

We only have one event to bring you news of this month, but it is a VERY big one!

November 26th/27th, Warley National Model Railway Exhibition, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. 9:45-18:00 (9:15 for advanced ticket holders, 17:00 Sunday) Admission: Adults: £15.00 (£13.50 advance) Junior (5-16): £8.50 (£7.00 advance) last advance ticket orders 11th November so act fast to save money. Available from the NEC box office 0844 5810737 or www.theticketfactory.com

Our debut at the what is still the UK's biggest model railway show, in it's traditional venue of Hall 5 of the NEC. With 90 layouts to see and 150 trade stands there is a lot to see. Plus support from the majority of major manufacturers, there is nearly always a 'big' announcement made by one of them! As you can see from the picture we are stand D17, hopefully if you come you'll find us ok! Full details at www.thewarleyshow.co.uk

New Releases


Bachmann have dropped out a few new releases including a much anticipated new tooling.

 At long last the first of the new Bachmann Wickham Trollies have appeared, 32-992 in yellow. Still to follow are 32-991 in BR Maroon and 32-993 in yellow with wasp stripes.

We had one out on our test track to see what it was all about on Monday and they run very sweetly. Although we found it struggled with the long insul frog Hornby points. The unit drives off one axle on the wagon, which is fitted with a traction tyre (Bachmann kindly supply a spare pair of tyres). At the present time we are yet to find a solution as regards chipping, Bachmann have stated it isn't possible. My first instinct says that the best bet is to build up the load in the wagon to accommodate a very small chip (like the Gaugemaster DCC22). I will be keeping an eye on the usual forums and in magazines for other solutions.... RRP on this one is £79.95 our price £68.

Bachmann have also released another item in their Network SouthEast 30 collection. The Capital Commuter Train Pack comes with:
Class 416 EMU in NSE livery
Low Relief Art Deco Station with NSE decals
2 x Platform sections
Network SouthEast Publicity Postcards
Reproduction NSE 'Network Card' and holder (in the name of G.J Churchward!)
Certificate of Authenticity

Bachmann have also reissued the ever popular 9F, this time in weathered black livery with double chimney and the large 1F tender. As we have touched on in a previous blog weathering can be a bit hit and miss but this one has turned out very nicely, with some lovely subtle tints and a non uniform look to it. A very smart model. 92189 has been given her 40E Colwick shedplate so it's quite possible she performed on the legendary Annesley Runners from time to time

Continuing the weathered theme (and the reissue theme!) Bachmann have brought the popular little 64xx back in the same three liveries they carried last time around. 31-635a is in GWR, 31-636a returns in BR black early crest and 31-638 (pictured) appears in BR green late crest but this time weathered. Personally I'd rather have seen a bit more variation. Possibly shirt button crest on the GWR version or Early Crest on the BR green version (whether they carried Early Crest in BR green during their service days I'm not sure) but they certainly have in preservation. Maybe the weathering would have been better applied to the black version?

Prices: Capital Commuter: RRP £209.95, our price: £178.50
9F: RRP: £164.95, our price £140.50
64xx Pannier (GWR & Black clean): RRP: £95.95, our price: £81.60
64xx Pannier (BR green weathered) RRP: £105.95, our price: £90.10

And finally! One last arrival, we don't usually feature Second Hand models in the blog but we are selling a SanCheng brass King on behalf of a customer. It could do with a slight touch up but underneath it is a beautifully made all brass locomotive. We are asking £1,000 for this one :)

Thanks for reading, hopefully see some of you at Warley and hope some of the above items are of interest to some of you! Keep enjoying your modelling guys, Tony :)

Ps, more blogs coming soon, I promise! ;)

Recent Arrivals - Bachmann and Dapol

We haven't done a good old fashioned recent arrivals blog for a while so to address that we are bringing you a series of blogs which are pretty much just pics and prices! Bachmann's latest offerings is a range of BR Standards and a mucky 40. While Dapol offer a 2nd bite at their excellent Terrier :)

Weathered 40 Aureol RRP £154.95 Our Price £130.75

A selection of Standard 4s (2 preserved examples) RRP 129.95 Our Price £110.46



Now onto some more reissues but this time in O gauge and the excellent Dapol Terriers make their re-entry to the market.

 

This time round they have been provided in four different guises:
GWR green No.5 Portishead, a real livery for the loco following purchase by the GWR of the stock and assests of the defunct Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway. Would be a nice stable mate for the upcoming Dapol Panniers....
Southern Olive Green No.9 Fisbourne, a reissue of Olive Green but this time representing an Isle Of Wight resident.
LBSC Umber Brown No.643 (Gipsyhill) another new livery from Dapol, this time the impressive LBSC brown livery as has been seen in recent times on the Bachmann E4 in OO and for fans of full size locos as carried by 672 Fenchurch on the Bluebell railway before withdrawal for overhaul.
BR Black Late Crest No. 32636 and finally a straight forward reissue of the ever popular BR black late crest.

RRP is £220, Our Price is £190 each.

Well that's the majority of recent arrivals covered (see separate blog for Hornby announcements) Please feel free to get in touch if any are of interest. Keep enjoying your modelling guys, Tony :)

Recent Arrivals - Hornby

We haven't done a good old fashioned recent arrivals blog for a while so to address that we are bringing you a series of blogs which are pretty much just pics and prices! Kicking off with Hornby and their latest edition of the World's Most Famous Loco (or is it?) 

 

 

R3443 60103 Flying Scotsman RRP £174.99 our price £160

 

R3408 King Edward V GWR shirtbutton RRP £164.99 our price £148

R3441 4499 Sir Murrough Wilson RRP £149.99 our price £138

R3415 & R3416 J15s RRP £114.99 our price £102 (each)

R3467 Terrier 751 SECR RRP £74.99 our price £70





 

 

A couple of notes on the above. The Kings also come in BR blue and BR green late crest (at the same price). The Terrier while being an interesting bold and characterful livery does suffer from not being DCC ready and the coloured plastic wheels.

 

Keep an eye out for our blogs on Dapol and Bachmann arrivals :) 

Upcoming Events, late September & October.

We had a break from events at the start of the month so have saved launching an events blog until the middle of September and as our first October event is right at the start of the month have chosen to include them at the same time.

Tuesday 20th September 2016, Rugby Evening Toyfair, Benn Hall, Rugby, CV21 2LN. 19:00-21:00, admission: adults: £1.50. Seniors: £1.20. Children: 50p. Our local evening fair, one of the smaller fairs in the UK but offering a reasonable selection of new and used models. Full details at: http://www.barrypotterfairs.com/

Saturday 1st October 2016, Daventry Model Railway Club 4th Annual Exhibition, Parker Academy, Ashby Road, Daventry, NN11 0QF. 10:00-17:00. Admission: Adults: £5.00, Young Person (5-17): £2.50 (under 5s free), OAP: £4.50, Family (2 adults + 2 children): £10.00. We return to our local club's show, whilst not one of the biggest shows in the UK the 17 layouts to 13 traders ratio is very good and it offers a nice smaller show for those of you who aren't keen on the hassle and jostle of the larger events. Good refreshments are available and a friendly team of Daventry club members will be available to look after you. Look out for us in the designated traders hall this year. Full details at: http://www.daventrymrc.org/exhibition2016/index.htm

Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th October 2016, The National Festival Of Railway Modelling, East Of England Showground, Peterborough, PE2 6XE. 10:00-17:00 (16:00 on Sunday, 09:30 entry to advanced ticket holders). Admission: Adults; £10 (£9.00 in advance, £8.00 in advance for BRM subscribers). Children: £5.00. Family: £30.00 (2 adults + 3 children). We return once again to the popular show at the East Of England showground. One of the UK's biggest shows featuring over 30 layouts and over 100 traders and societies as well as demonstrators and the BRM village. Well worth a visit. Full details at: https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/shows/show/the-national-festival-of-railway-modelling

Sunday 23rd October 2016, Coventry Toyfair, The Connexion Leisure Club, Leamington Road, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Coventry. CV8 3FL. Admission: Adults: £3.00. Seniors: £2.50. Children: £1.00. Early Admission (from 08:00): £5.00. Another of our local toyfairs and a much larger fair than Rugby offering far more choice. Offering around 150 tables. Full details at: http://www.barrypotterfairs.com/fairs.php?fair=20

That's all the events for September and October covered. A blog will appear soon detailing all recent new releases and the concluding part of our Woody Bay research. Hopefully the project layout will kick off soon :) Hope to see some of you at these events, keep enjoying your modelling. Tony :)

Recent Arrivals from Bachmann.

We've a bit quiet of late but we're back with a crop of Bachmann re-issues to bring you news about!

First up we have our most recent arrival, which a pair of class 40s. First up we have D338 in green with yellow panel. A split box 40 in green has been long awaited and they have been selling fast here as a result. Also released is 40159 in BR blue with centre headcode. Beautifully applied paintwork and lettering sets the model off a treat along with the superb running qualities that comes as standard with Bachmann models. We are very impressed with these and don't expect either to hang around for long. RRP is £138.95 our price is £118.96

 

 

Next up is the retooled Ivatt 2 tank engine. Until recently this was of the few split chassis models left in the range and it's wonderful to see Bachmann's commitment to removing all of these from their range. The chassis is superb, it runs sweetly and quietly, the wheels and motion are a big step up from what went before it. Like the V3 the chassis is designed to take the new 'next 18' chip, which is a fantastic product (see chips article)
However, like the V3 released before it (see our Chips Article for info), the body hasn't received any attention. It has to be said that for it's time it was a brilliant body and can still stand up against the majority of models on the market, but a few minor upgrades would have just set the model off a treat.

 

Two variants have been produced 41243 with early crest and 41291 with late crest (41291 comes DCC fitted, this can be removed easily) RRP for 41243 is £129.95 our price £110.50 while 41291 (with chip) RRP is £154.95 our price £132. While we recognise the effort Bachmann have put into this we feel that it doesn't stand up well against the models in that price bracket when comparing body details.  

 

 

 

I've saved what I consider to be the best 'til last. Bachmann's latest set 'Military Manoeuvres' is an absolute cracker. RRP £169.95 our price £145. For your money you get a 03 shunter in MoD livery (MoD 2144 Western Waggoner) 2 wagons in MoD livery and a BR standard brake van in MoD livery (not a pillbox as the box states) as well as this you get a circle of track with a siding.

 

Not only does this combination offer a lot of 'play value' to the first set buyer, I believe freight sets are good for this rather than just a passenger train set, plus the siding allows a wagon to be shunted out or in to the formation too. It also is something really different to the standard fare and at the present time is a rare opportunity for the military modeller to acquire stock in ready to go condition. While we have our reservations about the Ivatt 2, we whole hearted applaud this offering.

 

We will be taking a more in depth look at train sets closer to Christmas.

 

That's all for this one guys. At the time of writing all items are in stock in the shop (and still in stock at Bachmann so more can be ordered).

 

For those of you who are wondering about the progress of the project layout we will be returning to that soon and also be visiting Woody Bay for a charter with the replica Manning Wardle 2-6-2T Lyd and L&B coaches. Organised by the excellent 30742 charters (some places still available I believe) This event coincides with the railways steam gala.

 

Please feel free to get in touch over anything in this blog or for any other modelling issues. Keep enjoying your modelling. Tony :)