I (heart) choo-choo puffers!
Hornby Hobbies, a UK model railway manufacturer, have for many years now been flogging an old dog. Their model of William Stroudley's A1 Terrier was based on ex-Dapol mouldings from the '80s, and was showing its age despite its premium price. But if you wanted a ready-to-run Terrier, it was the only game in town.
Last year, Rails of Sheffield announced their intent to bring to market a vastly improved model from new tooling, in partnership with Dapol and the National Railway Museum. Soon thereafter Hornby responded with their announcement of a newly-tooled Terrier which they had had in development all along.
Apparently, the project had been shelved, but dusted off as a spoiler on the new Dapol/Rails/NRM announcement. But, according to aficionados more knowledgeable than I, they still didn't get it quite right
. Whether the new Dapol moulding is better enough to justify its £30 premium is as yet unknown, and will in any case be subjective.
The purpose of this entry is, however, to reflect on the reaction to the Dapol/Rails announcement from Hornby's Marketing and Development Director, Simon Kohler, who wailed It's our model; it's always been part of our range
.
BWAH HAH HA!...it may be your model, Mr Kohler, but YOU [Hornby] don't own the prototype and you don't get to dictate who can model it. So get your head out of your arse!