Simon Says: Blog 2

This second Simon Says Blog was released I believe on Friday 6^th June 2014. It was in an effort to explain the attempts that Hornby had made to reduce the retail prices of models when faced with the ever increasing costs from their Chinese manufacturer. Considering this blog was written some 10 years ago it seems that detail v. costs are still with us.

Title: Detail costs while less detail costs reputations!

Several weeks ago Graham Hubbard, Managing Director of Bachmann Europe Plc., invited members of the model railway press to the Bachmann offices in Leicestershire to explain, along with his Press Officer, Dennis Lovett why it had become a requirement for them to increase the prices of their products by and average of 20% and possibly even more. In the press briefing Graham and Dennis went to great lengths to explain the reasons why it had been necessary to increase prices to the degree they had.  They explained about labour costs in China and how much they had increased over recent years due to the strength of the Chinese economy.  How the new hi-tech industries were able to pay workers far more than the more traditional manufacturers were able to.  There was also the additional costs that the Chinese Government were imposing which included raising wages from £3 per hour to £6 over the next few years.  Add the additional costs of a further £1 per hour to cover workers pensions and medical health and it was logical to see why such an increase in the Bachmann prices had to be as high as they were.

Although Bachmann are now facing these increases head on, Hornby had to face these particular Chinese dragons some years previously.

Over the years the UK model railway industry has been responding to the demands and expectations of the modeller who have wanted, and in some cases demanded more detail and better models but have been reluctant to pay for the extra detail.  In Europe the modeller has always been prepared to pay for detail and the all round improvements that have evolved over the years but sadly this has not always been the case in the UK.

From the late Nineties Hornby invested heavily in model railways and moved manufacture to China.  Many have suggested that if they had not done so then Hornby, as it was known then would no longer exist. I personally subscribe to this thinking.  Hornby extended their association with Sanda Kan who had several manufacturing installations in China and were arguably at that time the premier model railway manufacturer in the World.

When Hornby launched the Merchant Navy locomotive, “Clan Line”, it was the most expensive locomotive in retail terms that the Margate company had produced and it was an instant hit! It showed that Hornby, who had been languishing in the model railway doldrums for some years, once more were going to be a force to be reckoned with and from that point Hornby began setting the trend on how to design and produce models to a level that had not been seen in the UK before and certainly not in mass produced models.  “Clan Line” boasted sprung buffers, a detail cab, a superb 5 pole motor, an abundance of separately fitted components, plus other parts for the enthusiast to fit, including the brake rods!  Fiddly things but it all added to producing a superb model.  After that Hornby kept raising the bar.  More parts, more detail, finer liveries, four colour boiler bands as printed and sprayed on the amazingly detailed Black 5 models.  All these enhancements were adding cost but in the early part of the first decade of the new Millennium, there was no Recession, the Chinese labour market was buoyant and all in the garden was rosy! What Hornby’s competitor’s had to do was to try and keep up.  Hornby believed that they were leading the way once more and to be very honest it felt good! What Hornby did not see but perhaps others did was that the bubble was bound to burst and for Hornby it was the start of a perfect storm and it started just as the first decade of the new Millennium was coming to a close.

First there were the price rises.  From China came the news that raw materials were increasing at an alarming rate and prices would have to be raised.  Then there was the increase in the wages of the factory workers.  China’s economy was blossoming, workers were asking for more; the Chinese Government were demanding more taxes from the manufacturers all of which had a knock on effect to the point where the owners of Sanda Kan, who at that time were owned by Morgan Stanley had to look at their manufacturing profitability and what they saw did not make them at all happy! Sanda Kan had to substantially increase their manufacturing prices and as a direct result Hornby had no choice but to increase their costs accordingly with the net result that before long the £100 retail barrier for a Hornby locomotive was not only reached but dramatically surpassed!  And still Hornby continued to push the design boundaries adding more and more detail to their models with ever increasing costs. Finally, the world of model railways caught up with the woes of the financial world and once the increases in manufacturing costs were linked to the full effect of the Recession it became very noticeable in an amazingly short time that the money from the modeller was just not there to keep the market for new locomotives and rolling stock as buoyant as it had once been.

Two years prior to the Recession Hornby had launched RailRoad, a budget range of locomotives and rolling stock, however as costs were rising year on year it was apparent that there was a desperate need at Hornby to look at what could be done to reduce production costs.  The result being that a model of the new build  “Tornado” locomotive was to be created using a new design philosophy and for the model to be produced specifically for the inclusion in the “RailRoad” range. A great deal of thought was given to the design and the eventual manufacture of this model.  It was decided not to have pick ups on the tender as this would save assembly time, materials and of course money! Other design and manufacturing decisions were made to reduce cost.  The reduction in livery, a lack of separately fitted parts, no sprung buffers, no can glazing and generic RailRoad packaging were all considerations. The goal was to produce a large Pacific locomotive with a full retail price tag of £75 and that was achieved!  However, the model was so good that an enhanced liveried variant was also produced in the same year, also in RailRoad packaging at an additional cost of approximately £20.  Unsurprisingly both models were not only a financial success but also an example of what could be done with a little bit of judicious design thinking.

Consequently, armed with the success of the “Tornado” and what could be achieved, thoughts moved to how the lessons learnt could be used when designing models for the main Hornby range.  I clearly remember when the decision was made to start the program of design “rationalisation”.   I was concerned at the time as to what the reaction would be from the modeller when models for the main range started to be produced with no sprung buffers, moulded hand rails in place of metal, no axle bearings and 3 pole motors in place of 5.  My concern was that Hornby was entering into uncharted waters and although driven by having to save costs in production, not enough research had been undertaken to confirm that the road we were about to tread was the right one!!

The problem was that Hornby had to break the circle somewhere and unfortunately they chose a model, or to be precise a series of models where the drawings for highly detailed locomotives had all but been completed. The models chosen to “benefit” from what came to be known as “Design Clever” were the GWR Tanks – 42xx, 52xx and the 92xx.

The drawings for the GWR Tanks were altered to the new specifications, which possibly on reflection may not have been the right decision.  In my opinion it would have been best to leave the GWR Tanks as they were and start the new design technique on a model yet to be designed, however manufacturing costs were increasing at an alarming rate and the decision to change the drawings (de-spec) was made rightly or wrongly.

The delays on the GWR Tanks were inevitable and once released the comments raised about them on numerous forums are legendary and lessons were learnt but I still one wonder what the comments would have been if the models had not been revised but costing £20 – £30 more! Would they have been just too expensive for what they were?

Leaving aside the problems that Hornby had with continuity of supplies, there was no way that they could win with this new approach to model design.  I drove hundreds of miles and spent hours explaining to the model press why Hornby was having to look at the way models were being designed and why Hornby were to produce models with less fine detail. To justify the changes I explained about rising costs in China and the difficulty that our suppliers were having in trying to recruit labour.  To be fair to the Press they listened and on the whole they accepted and supported the Hornby rationale but it was a different thing when trying to explain to the modeller.  The problem was that as long as the modeller could price compare the new style Hornby model with something equivalent in the Bachmann range, where their model had the detail and with the purchase price being the same or less, then Hornby was certainly not going to win the hearts and minds of the modeller.  To them Hornby were seen to be expensive and inferior and the hard won reputation that the Margate company had striven for since the beginning of the Millennium was soon tarnished. Add into the mix the difficulty that Hornby were having in obtaining product from China then tarnished became something else!

In hindsight perhaps Hornby should have made more of an effort to convince the modeller that costs had increased dramatically in China.  Maybe they should have held a separate Press meeting, much the same as Bachmann did a few weeks ago and explained what was happening to costs, then perhaps the public’s perception of Hornby and the efforts it was making to reduce costs may have been accepted more readily.  Or would it?  The vast majority of modellers are very cost conscious so as long as Bachmann’s models continued to show the price and detail difference then Hornby were bound to lose the argument.

So what now?  The Bachmann management are questioning if it is vital for models to have sprung buffers, rotating fans, opening smoke box doors or any of the additional detail that keeps adding to the final cost of todays models.  These are the questions that Hornby was asking itself 4 or 5 years ago and the reasons why it has produced the newly tooled models to the level of detail it has today and why over these last few years Hornby has tried to determine what the modeller is demanding or expecting for their money.  Hornby look carefully at each design stage of a new model and question whether the model requires a separate part or if the part can be moulded without compromising the finished article?  Hornby will not always make the right “call” where detail is concerned but changes can be made to correct any misplaced decision at a later date, for example the smoke box door darts on the GWR Tanks.  The next production models will have this particular detail fitted and not moulded.

At the end of the day it really is the modeller who will determine how much detail they are prepared to pay for.  In respect of Hornby they are well on their way to understanding what the modeller is prepared to accept, however for Bachmann their journey of learning has only just begun. What changes will they make to the way they design their models? Perhaps Bachmann will draw on Hornby’s experience and learn from their past mistakes; there is nothing wrong in that but only time and future models will answer that particular question.

Enjoy your modelling

Simon

©KOHLERcoms

Re-Posted: 12th March 2024

Simon Says: Blog 1 The Introduction

This first posting was released onto the Hornby website on Friday 30th May  2014 and lays out how I anticipated the blog would communicate with the modeller. There were no restrictions imposed on me by the Hornby management which continued for the two years that the blog existed. Reading the blog nearly ten years later I can see that many of the concerns aired by the modellers are still very relevant.

The name Blog, apparently when used as a noun is defined as, “A personal website or web page on which an individual records opinions as well as providing links to other sites on a regular basis.”

As many of you are aware (and for those who do not) I had the great pleasure of working at Hornby for a little over 35 years and in that time I was privileged to not only be involved in many aspects of the Hornby Hobbies business, including product and brand development but also the marketing of several of those brands that make Hornby Hobbies the iconic company it is today. It goes without saying that the model railway brand, Hornby was my first passion and the one brand that I committed the major part of my time at Hornby with.  Sadly all good things must come to an end and so it was that on the last day of 
March this year I walked out of the Margate office as a Hornby employee for the last time.

It is common knowledge that there are some very significant changes happening at Hornby.  It is true that Hornby has suffered from well documented supply issues, which although improving with the addition of several new suppliers they are far from over.  Hornby now has a new Chief Executive, Richard Aimes who will no doubt focus in correcting the areas that need correcting and putting Hornby back on an even keel.  Part of the many changes planned include this new website which hopefully you will find both informative and easier to use with its improved navigation and presentation. With this new website the opportunity has arisen for Hornby to be able to communicate directly with the model rail enthusiast on a more proactive basis. When I was approached to independently head up this new part of the website I jumped at the chance.  One of the great enjoyments I had while at Hornby was to attend model railway exhibitions and actually talk to the modellers.  Those enthusiasts I met, some of them becoming friends would certainly let me know their opinions on Hornby and its products, good or not so good! At these shows I would also be able to pick up on modelling trends and discovering which items were in demand and those that were not, therefore being offered my own blog meant that I would once again be able to communicate with the modellers and listen to what they have to say. I was assured that the thoughts and opinions that appeared on this blog would not be censored even though sometimes the views expressed may not necessarily be those held by the management at Hornby.

Hopefully what you have read so far goes to explain why I am now hosting my own Blog on the new Hornby site! So what do I hope this blog will achieve? Well I really do want enthusiasts to let me know what their views are on the world of model railways but with just one caveat. Those that know me are more than aware that I respect people’s views but with the understanding that others do the same with mine.  In other words I enjoy a debate providing it is done in a courteous manner with maybe the odd trace of humour thrown in. I cannot abide silly comments and sarcasm when someone disagrees with someone else’s views. I am sure those reading this know exactly what I mean!

As the keen observer would have seen, this blog is titled “Simon Says” and it is aimed to provide an insight into the world of Hornby and to provide a platform for lively but courteous discussion on all things model railway.  The blog will also allow me to review new models, be they Hornby or other brands.  I will also aim to scan other forums and will endeavour to answer on “Simon Says” any questions raised about Hornby or it’s products, which have been left unanswered. However, above all it is to provide a conduit, an access to Hornby where opinions can be offered and accepted on their own merit. I do not want or insist that the content of this blog be mainly based on my opinions and views.  I want the driving force and the content to be inspired by you the modeller, so let me have your thoughts, your questions, your views and I will do my best to answer them.  There is also no need to worry about mentioning other brands and what you think of them.  You can compare brands and offer comment, good or bad.  There is no restriction only that I ask criticism is based on fact and presented in a respectful way.  Use this blog to inform and discuss.  It may be “Simon Says” but the ones who will do the talking are you the modeller!

Just recently there has been much comment on the cost of models and the amount of detail that is now included on them with the inevitable increase of the retail price.  What are your views, more detail or less? If less, then what would you leave off?  What is most important to you when buying a model; price, detail or running qualities?  The next “Simon Says” blog will be discussing such things so do let me have your thoughts either before or after I blog!

You can send your thoughts and questions to me www.kohlercoms.com and if possible they will hopefully be included in my next blog.

Enjoy the blog but above all enjoy your modelling!

Simon

©KOHLERcoms

Re-Posted: 1st February 2024

Simon Says: Blog 1 The Introduction

This first posting was released onto the Hornby website on Friday 30th May  2014 and lays out how I anticipated the blog would communicate with the modeller. There were no restrictions imposed on me by the Hornby management which continued for the two years that the blog existed. Reading the blog nearly ten years later I can see that many of the concerns aired by the modellers are still very relevant.

The name Blog, apparently when used as a noun is defined as, “A personal website or web page on which an individual records opinions as well as providing links to other sites on a regular basis.”

As many of you are aware (and for those who do not) I had the great pleasure of working at Hornby for a little over 35 years and in that time I was privileged to not only be involved in many aspects of the Hornby Hobbies business, including product and brand development but also the marketing of several of those brands that make Hornby Hobbies the iconic company it is today. It goes without saying that the model railway brand, Hornby was my first passion and the one brand that I committed the major part of my time at Hornby with.  Sadly all good things must come to an end and so it was that on the last day of 
March this year I walked out of the Margate office as a Hornby employee for the last time.

It is common knowledge that there are some very significant changes happening at Hornby.  It is true that Hornby has suffered from well documented supply issues, which although improving with the addition of several new suppliers they are far from over.  Hornby now has a new Chief Executive, Richard Aimes who will no doubt focus in correcting the areas that need correcting and putting Hornby back on an even keel.  Part of the many changes planned include this new website which hopefully you will find both informative and easier to use with its improved navigation and presentation. With this new website the opportunity has arisen for Hornby to be able to communicate directly with the model rail enthusiast on a more proactive basis. When I was approached to independently head up this new part of the website I jumped at the chance.  One of the great enjoyments I had while at Hornby was to attend model railway exhibitions and actually talk to the modellers.  Those enthusiasts I met, some of them becoming friends would certainly let me know their opinions on Hornby and its products, good or not so good! At these shows I would also be able to pick up on modelling trends and discovering which items were in demand and those that were not, therefore being offered my own blog meant that I would once again be able to communicate with the modellers and listen to what they have to say. I was assured that the thoughts and opinions that appeared on this blog would not be censored even though sometimes the views expressed may not necessarily be those held by the management at Hornby.

Hopefully what you have read so far goes to explain why I am now hosting my own Blog on the new Hornby site! So what do I hope this blog will achieve? Well I really do want enthusiasts to let me know what their views are on the world of model railways but with just one caveat. Those that know me are more than aware that I respect people’s views but with the understanding that others do the same with mine.  In other words I enjoy a debate providing it is done in a courteous manner with maybe the odd trace of humour thrown in. I cannot abide silly comments and sarcasm when someone disagrees with someone else’s views. I am sure those reading this know exactly what I mean!

As the keen observer would have seen, this blog is titled “Simon Says” and it is aimed to provide an insight into the world of Hornby and to provide a platform for lively but courteous discussion on all things model railway.  The blog will also allow me to review new models, be they Hornby or other brands.  I will also aim to scan other forums and will endeavour to answer on “Simon Says” any questions raised about Hornby or it’s products, which have been left unanswered. However, above all it is to provide a conduit, an access to Hornby where opinions can be offered and accepted on their own merit. I do not want or insist that the content of this blog be mainly based on my opinions and views.  I want the driving force and the content to be inspired by you the modeller, so let me have your thoughts, your questions, your views and I will do my best to answer them.  There is also no need to worry about mentioning other brands and what you think of them.  You can compare brands and offer comment, good or bad.  There is no restriction only that I ask criticism is based on fact and presented in a respectful way.  Use this blog to inform and discuss.  It may be “Simon Says” but the ones who will do the talking are you the modeller!

Just recently there has been much comment on the cost of models and the amount of detail that is now included on them with the inevitable increase of the retail price.  What are your views, more detail or less? If less, then what would you leave off?  What is most important to you when buying a model; price, detail or running qualities?  The next “Simon Says” blog will be discussing such things so do let me have your thoughts either before or after I blog!

You can send your thoughts and questions to me www.kohlercoms.com and if possible they will hopefully be included in my next blog.

Enjoy the blog but above all enjoy your modelling!

Simon

©KOHLERcoms

 

Re-Posted: 1st February 2024