Hornby 00 Gauge Trains on Film Titfield Thunderbolt Steam Locomotive Train Model

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But we still have the idiotic situation of two manufacturers producing a model of Lion, which is likely to be of limited interest. I suspect that StudioCanal had a pre-existing arrangement with Rapido Trains for their Titfield products. I already have a View concerning the quality of very senior management of this cherished but sadly rather tainted brand, so I'm not as shocked or surprised at this debacle as I suspect one should be.

There will be a significant number of people that go to Hornby as it's the name that they know and may occasionally check Hattons/RoS. Rapido Trains are producing a range of five newly tooled models inspired by 'The Titfield Thunderbolt', the iconic film in which a group of villagers try to keep their branch line operational after British Railways decide to close it. And film and media corporations are well known for their lax attitude to protecting their copyright and intellectual property. One presume money changed hands between Rapido and StudioCanal and both of those parties can't be pleased with this.The story was inspired by the group of enthusiasts, led by Tom Rolt, who took over the 2ft 3in gauge Talyllyn Railway in 1951 and thus kick-started the railway preservation movement. Studio Canal and Rapido had a very public arrangement to produce models of the Titfield props in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the film. Hornby has released a statement today regarding their Titfield Thunderbolt and The Lady with a Lamp model railway packs. So you don't go making products when some else has the rights, whether or not you made it in the past. The only similarity I know for certain was the fact that the other set came with the same engine, but the rights to the film name (which I can't remember right now) may also have been owned by Studiocanal?

And even if Hornby does decide to change their mind it would be easy and just say they are producing the Lion loco and the rest of the model moved around to say railroad. While this was going on, we also had to source drawings and images and to speak to owners of real vehicles.It seems that Hornby have had a policy for some time of nipping in quickly when smaller manufacturers announce a new product to take some of their market share by producing the same thing themselves. Simon K has made it very clear in both Hornby series he’s going to go after ‘their models’, although how Lion fits that I don’t know, and he’s stepped across into making them seem like bullies rather than the victim with the antics as a result. We can now also arrange UK-wide collections for boxed consignments weighing up to 30kg – just contact us with the item and address details, we’ll send a courier, and you can sit back and wait for the auction proceeds to arrive in your bank account. Comprising a 0-4-2 tank locomotive, RN 1401, Lowmac wagon with coach body load and a Western region brake van.

have decided to remove the two ‘Trains of Film’ packs from the Hornby 2022 product range and acknowledges and accepts that Studiocanal owns the licensing rights to the ‘Thunderbolt’ locomotive as depicted in the ‘Titfield Thunderbolt’ film as well as Dan Taylor’s grounded carriage body.as it was last year all this came out, so it appears some how they both knew they were both working on the same if not similar range. When a rival bus company sabotages the newly acquired train prior to an official inspection, the villagers resurrect the line’s first locomotive, Thunderbolt, and, against great odds, obtain permission to keep their line open.

per lot thereafter Some exclusions apply for larger lots such as dinner services, please contact our offices for a quote with regards to larger or bulkier lots. Don't miss great magazine archive content from Traction, Garden Rail, Engineering in Miniature and BRM magazines, plus bonus videos, trackplans, member-only competitions and RMweb Plus. I’m not joining any boycott of Hornby for two reasons, there’s plenty of folks relying on their jobs in Hornby and if the Hornby model doesn’t duplicate someone else’s announcement and it’s something I wanted then it’s a nice to have. The fiction that they can be relied upon to supply anything more desirable than re-runs of last-year's headline-grabbers via their long-suffering dealer network has well-and-truly been exposed.

This isn't the first time Hornby have made a Titfield-related set; their 2013 catalogue lists R3186 - "Trains on Film: 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' Train Pack", containing an all-over black 14xx, attempt at Dan's house on the Loriot Y, and a brakevan. Suffice it to say it's a Downing Street-level unnecessary own goal, by what alchemy of incompetence, hubris and lack of standards I cannot say and don't much care! I would have thought that the TT connection to Lion would have been so obvious from the start that that’s the first thing Hornby should have sorted out, but there you go: eye off the ball, or too many assumptions not being checked? I think a Buster set would get mired in the debate on the real robbers treatment of the driver though. Getting refused the license then blatantly copying the film version when you know you should have a license?