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Hornby's ex-lima models

1738 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  34C
As everyone knows, Hornby aquired the old Lima range a couple of years ago & has steadily been re-introducing some of the models back into the market. However, whilst Hornby are producing such quality products like the T9, Class 60, Class 56 etc etc, why have they failed to really do any improvements to the ex-lima range (except fitting new motors) ?

For Instance :

The Class 101 - big front couplers, tan coloured interiors for all livery's, painted marker lights (Lima's were clear & more realistic) etc etc..

The Class 20 - Oh dear, I was waiting for this one but they have fitted small buffers, moulded windscreen wipers and there are no add on detailing parts supplied such as headcode discs like you got with the Lima ones.

Imagine a Class 101 built to the same standards as the Bachmann 108? It would sell by the shedfull and be a very welcome addition. Now I know this would mean a complete re-tooling but surely they could have improved the former Lima tooling instead of just producing the basic model that they are at the moment. What about lights for instance?
The Class 20 again is a model with a lot of potential (Lima's bodyshell was reasonably good), with some real improvements such as seperate wipers, proper sized buffers & some add on detailing parts would have increased the appeal of this model.

What I'm really trying to say is that a lot more could have been done with these models and also the others that they have reproduced (Class 59, 73 etc), rather than just the same as we had from Lima, bar a new motor & a better paint job!

Simply re-producing old Lima stuff is all very well but stick it in the Railroad range instead of charging the prices they do as they really do need a bit of work to make them look ok against the newer, better models of today.

Guess we have been spoilt though in the last couple of years - 10 years ago all my models were Lima & I was perfectly happy with them, even if I couldnt hear myself think when they were running......!
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Hi, although I haven't posted for a short while, I've noticed this too.

I think its a typical 'quick fix' that generates another income-stream without heavy retooling costs.

Wouldn't mind so much if these were part of the Railroad range...
The Lima models reintroduced by hornby are not intended to be high spec. They are similar to the Railroad range which is not intended to be high spec, but affordable. Basically Hornby are saying if you want a cheap class 20 go for our item or if you want a more detailed more expensive model go for Bachmanns (Currently £10-15 more).

Its a business model that should do well for them. It will help introduce younger people to the hobby and will also be useful for modelers with higher expectations. For example, I bought a Hornby class 20 simply for the chassis. If you are into detailing your own stock, then the older lima items and the railroad range are perfect for this.

Rob
Hornby has a captive market that simply will not buy it if it is not in a red box with their name on it. As such it is profitable to re-issue anything ex-Lima for which there appears to be demand. But I don't believe this is in the long term best interests of Hornby, because where these duplicate competitive products, then comparisions inevitably arise: and they are not usually in Hornby's favour. I have seen the evidence with younger modellers; and these having 'discovered' that the Bachmann 66 is much superior to Hornby's ex-Lima offering, they then also find out that Bachmann (and Heljan, and Dapol) are producing the freight stock that is running on today's UK railway. And suddenly the unswerving brand loyalty Hornby enjoyed has gone, forever...
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