I like the detail but it has to be practical. Hornby seem to be making models for the collector rather than the enthusiast who actually handles their models. Having said that, they (usually) run beautifully. But Bachmann models are in my experience more robust. I base the comment on having a large fleet of models and having to glue parts back onto Hornby models more than Bachmann ones!
Who will win the battle of the 4MTs? I'd be surprised if there's a huge demand, the original Mainline/Bachmann one's been around for decades and anyone interested in better running would surely have upgraded the chassis? Is it a popular prototype? Not as numerous nor as widespread as other BR standards. Price will favour Bachmann, brand will favour Hornby (and probably better running characteristics). So perhaps honours even? I have a hunch that Hornby decided to duplicate this model after Bachmann had announced theirs as they're getting fed up with their long standing best sellers being cherry picked (9F, 3F, class 47)!
Who will win the battle of the 4MTs? I'd be surprised if there's a huge demand, the original Mainline/Bachmann one's been around for decades and anyone interested in better running would surely have upgraded the chassis? Is it a popular prototype? Not as numerous nor as widespread as other BR standards. Price will favour Bachmann, brand will favour Hornby (and probably better running characteristics). So perhaps honours even? I have a hunch that Hornby decided to duplicate this model after Bachmann had announced theirs as they're getting fed up with their long standing best sellers being cherry picked (9F, 3F, class 47)!
