Hornby TV Series

[Capt Kremen]

A heads up for those of us with memories of a great British 'toy' company.

'Hornby' - on the 'Yesterday' TV channel, starts 9pm Monday 11th October.

Trailer snippets show Hornby, Airfix & Scalextric.

Fingers crossed it's a worthwhile series and not too much a TV producers 'artistic' impression! 

[leccyflyer]

Stand by for incoming flak telling you that the Hornby Flying Scotsman isn;t realistic enough, because the coal is just plastic, that the box art on the Airfix kits isn't an exact representation of the particular B-17G it's supposed to be and that Jim Clark's parting is on the wrong side in his Scalextric car - plus those cars can't compete with Grand Theft Auto. ?

[Mike T]

From my experience of on-line loco reviewers, most are keen to point out how realistic or not the coal is!  As far as the older Airfix kits were concerned, the box art was always several orders of magnitude superior to the box contents.

 

I never had Scalextric.  I had the superior (IMO) Airfix Motor racing.  The cars were more realistic, the front wheels 'steered' and you could buy body kits to transfer your running gear around from car to car!

[Denis Watkins]

Have set a series link, thanks Cap.

There are a number of very accurate models in the range

But where detail problems exist, then it is a hobby in itself, upgrading and adding scale detailing.

Edited October 5, 2021 by Denis Watkins

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Never had toys, we where poor. ?

Had coal though.

[leccyflyer]

Used to play with Dinky toy diggers in Charlie Narbutas' back yard in the 60's and the tiny tiny bits of scale coal were very sought after accessories - we were all oil fired at home by then and didn't have any coal. ?

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

48 minutes ago, john stones 1 - Moderator said:

Never had toys, we where poor. ?

Had coal though.

Coal? Coal you say…you were lucky….

[EarlyBird]

Coke for us as we lived in a smokeless zone. I always that odd for a town that was, and is again, the home of British Steel.

[EarlyBird]

? we must have been rich as I had Hornby train set, Scalextric and a big Meccano set.

I think the Meccano turned me into an Engineer but the best was a woodwork tool set which made me interested in becoming a cabinet maker.

I was told there was no future for cabinet makers so I went to college and eventually became a Civil Engineer but the woodwork tools did lead to this hobby, so not wasted at all.

 

[Fun Flyer]

My only problem with Meccano was that everything you built was red and green and covered in holes!!

[Geoff S]

I had access to a huge Meccano collection gathered over the years by my father.  The models I built were mostly gold and blue that red and green stuff is the new-fangled versions ?     It was bigger than a number 10 set and a huge selection of gears etc.  I spent hours playing with it.  I think my half-brother's got it - he's a lot younger than I.

 

My train set was a Trix Twin which was bit rarer than Hornby Dublo. Scalextrix was after my time but my brothers had one, so I got to play with it occasionally.

 

Meccano, electric trains, and Scalextrix were, I think, far more fun and far more instructive than video games etc.  However, I'm quite sure had computers been around when I was at school I'd have been just as obsessed as kids are today.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Rather sadly. when I was about 9 or 10 I found a boxed Meccano set at the back of a cupboard and my Dad told me that it was his from his childhood and he had been saving it for me when I was a little older. I say sadly as he gave it to me and I don't know what became of it - I do know that in later years he appropriated my general Meccano collection to use at work (research scientist) and I suspect that it may have gone with it.

 

This was no ordinary set though.  It was dedicated to early aircraft with many special parts - possibly this set but it's probably 50 years since I last saw it.

 

I've often regretted that I didn't come across it later in life so that it could have been preserved but I did enjoy it immensely when I had it.

[Cuban8]

There was another couple of TV programmes about Airfix/Hornby and their problems a couple of years ago. Wondering if this new one is a rehash of what's been on before. I did see the trailer a day or two ago and it did look to be very similar.

The problem with Meccano was that it was very expensive. I had a small set back in the 60s and TBH it was next to useless because anything worthwhile building needed so many extras that once one's parents had forked out for a set, probably for one's birthday or Christmas, paying for other extra bits and pieces was not on - at least in my house. The pictures of roundabouts, ferris wheels, steam engines and cars etc were very attractive in the brochures, but did need a lot of extra parts beyond the basic kits, or one needed one of the big sets with many more parts included. I don't recall Meccano being very popular with my mates who were from a similar background.  Airfix was affordable and even the large scale kits were within reach of a few weeks, maybe a month or two's worth of pocket money.

 

Edited October 7, 2021 by Cuban8

[John Lee]

2 hours ago, Cuban8 said:

There was another couple of TV programmes about Airfix/Hornby and their problems a couple of years ago. Wondering if this new one is a rehash of what's been on before.

 

New and original according to the TV Channel's corporate site: Link

[Cuban8]

Yes it's all new! The one that I was thinking of was 'Big Trouble in Model Britain' from 2019. Looking forward to the new series.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Cuban8

[Geoff S]

I like to thank Capt Kremen for starting this thread and John Lee for the link that put me onto the UKTV channel.  I've watched 3 great documentaries on the History channel I'd have missed otherwise - Marie Celeste, Brooklands (though spoiled by the music IMO) and, lastly, one on the great John Surtees.  I'll certainly be watching the Hornby one on Monday.

 

Geoff

[Cuban8]

12 hours ago, Geoff S said:

I like to thank Capt Kremen for starting this thread and John Lee for the link that put me onto the UKTV channel.  I've watched 3 great documentaries on the History channel I'd have missed otherwise - Marie Celeste, Brooklands (though spoiled by the music IMO) and, lastly, one on the great John Surtees.  I'll certainly be watching the Hornby one on Monday.

 

Geoff

A lot of good stuff on UKTV Player. All free and easy to access.  https://uktvplay.uktv.co.uk/genre/documentaries

 

Geoff S. If you enjoyed the John Surtees programme, which I thought was excellent, you might enjoy this

https://uktvplay.uktv.co.uk/shows/mike-hawthorn-on-the-limit/watch-online

Edited October 8, 2021 by Cuban8

[Geoff S]

Thanks, Cuban. 

 

I'll probably watch Mike Hawthorn documentary but, at the time, I was always more of a Stirling Moss fan.  The Surtees programme was excellent but it failed in some respects in not pointing out that when he was riding the MV 4s most of his competitors were on single cylinder Manx Nortons or 7R AJS with much less power and often as privateers.  Bob McIntyre first lapped the Island at 100mph but on a Gilera and then spent much of his career before his untimely death (at Oulton Park) on British singles.

 

We used to make the annual pilgrimage to the Island for the TT or MGP but it was mostly social with the Vintage Motor Cycle Club.  I rode my 1932 Scott and my wife her 250cc 1928 Raleigh.

 

Geoff

 

 

[Andy J]

Had a tour around the Meccano factory in Liverpool about sixty years ago and found it very interesting. Assume it has long since gone but the memory has lasted a lifetime.

[Geoff S]

Just watched the first episode and really enjoyed it.  The enthusiasm of the staff was evident.  One thing that struck me was the fact that there are still model railway shops packed with goodies - there's even one in Derby.  Sadly shops selling model aeroplanes etc seem to be rare as hen's teeth, everywhere.

 

Geoff

[Capt Kremen]

Popped into my local newsagents late this afternoon.

Railway magazines - (Hobby & Full-Size) in plentiful number stretched the whole of the lengthy back wall.

Model aircraft - a couple of plastic kit mags e.g. Airfix & Scale International but no sign of any RCM&E, Aeromodeller, Flying Scale Models etc.

Let's hope they are so popular they all sold out, sadly I somehow doubt that is the case.

 

Hornby Episode 1 - Yes, agree very enthusiastic folk 'behind the scenes' AND the lady proprietor in a model railway shop too.

Looking forward to episode 2 next week when Airfix gets the spotlight.

[leccyflyer]

That's a very astute observation about the magazines. I get the impression that both hobbies are still mainly fishing in the same demographic - the older participants being the more numerous and, of course there is a degree of cross pollination. The closer comparison might well be in the plastic kit static modellers and railway modellers- there are still lots of plastic kit modellers about, and that hobby does not require a local flying field or transport, so possibly does have a younger component. It's very difficult for the lone youngster to take an active part in the model flying hobby these days.

 

I thought the programme was a joy and look forward to seeing the Airfix episode, it was a highlight of the week buying and building those pocket money Airfix and Frog kits -and getting the Matchbox ones with Green Shield Stamps as well. The plastic modelling hobby has come on in leaps and bounds in terms of technical quality- the kits nowadays are superb.

[Dad_flyer]

I think there will be more young railway modellers than flyers. Maybe not a lot who are committed to the modelling part, but it is so much easier to start. Trains don't fall out of the sky ?, and parents and grandparents are more likely to buy a train set than an RC plane.

The second step is harder, working out what you might want from a layout as a set loop is a bit boring. It is also still expensive. 

On my sample of Child_flyer and friends there are more railways than planes.

[leccyflyer]

I think model railways was pretty much dead in the water with youngsters in the 80's until Thomas The Tank Engine came along and saved the day. Certainly my nephews and nieces had zero interest in model railways when they were young- it was all about action figures, Star Wars, Transformers and Thundercats. Thomas did change that.

My main reason for getting back into model flying was my son coming along, it's a fabulous lad and dad hobby and it's been a marvellous journey, though he hasn't flown since the lockdown and, for the first time, hasn't renewed his BMFA membership. 

 

[dave windymiller]

Ahh Meccano, Hornby, Scalextrics and Airfix.    Before i discovered balsawood,  I would tie airfix models to a piece of string and spin them round and round (c/l fashion).  Some even "flew".  I had a big Meccano airplane which was heavy so would fly on an even longer piece of string...  

 

....until I hit a kid on the head with it.  Never seen so much blood!    I was banned from such activities for several years before the cox bell aerocobra arrived.   I could fly with the thing on fire now!!