alf aphid Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 6 minutes ago, Stabliofarmer said: I'd be interested to know the story with the E27N's. Are they built using the original 70 year old tooling? just with the axle area of the mould modified? Surely they either haven't kept hold of the moulds for all that time, or they weren't in good enough nick to use for a production run of 7500 items. Which would suggest they are new toolings... in which case why on earth make them so close to the original. Surely if you where making new tooling you'd go away and make a model that meets the same detail standards as the recent heritage range. To have an anniversary model and not demonstrate how the companies skills have moved on doesn't make much sense to me. Even if they kept the main casting and just put a new set of wheels and steering axle on it would be a significant improvement. Equally why not use the tooling for the plinthed 8715 version? Was this a diecast or a resin model? Either way it was a much more realistic representation than this new release. Maybe its just me, but if I wanted a heritage Britains item, I'd buy the vintage one, with actual heritage, not one that's just rolled of a production line thousands of miles away. Having said that I'll still be buying one or two of these releases because of the price Yes they did a similar weird thing for Ertl 75 years! They are a company in a bit of a muddle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stabliofarmer Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 3 minutes ago, alf aphid said: Yes they did a similar weird thing for Ertl 75 years! They are a company in a bit of a muddle Yes, I have had a look at careers with TOMY/Britains as I finish Uni this year. From what I can see working for Britains isn't a thing, just jobs within TOMY so presumably Britains is managed by someone in control of a few brands hence the haphazardness? Just speculation though, Hornby group looks like a much more focused place to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf aphid Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 13 minutes ago, Stabliofarmer said: Yes, I have had a look at careers with TOMY/Britains as I finish Uni this year. From what I can see working for Britains isn't a thing, just jobs within TOMY so presumably Britains is managed by someone in control of a few brands hence the haphazardness? Just speculation though, Hornby group looks like a much more focused place to work. I’m not so sure. I think Hornby are also struggling. Bachmann massively outperforming them. Whilst not as bad as Britains maybe, they should, like Britain’s be leading in their field, but equally have been overtaken due to complacency and lack of understanding of shifting markets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 41 minutes ago, Stabliofarmer said: I'd be interested to know the story with the E27N's. Are they built using the original 70 year old tooling? just with the axle area of the mould modified? Surely they either haven't kept hold of the moulds for all that time, or they weren't in good enough nick to use for a production run of 7500 items. Which would suggest they are new toolings... in which case why on earth make them so close to the original. Surely if you where making new tooling you'd go away and make a model that meets the same detail standards as the recent heritage range. To have an anniversary model and not demonstrate how the companies skills have moved on doesn't make much sense to me. Even if they kept the main casting and just put a new set of wheels and steering axle on it would be a significant improvement. Equally why not use the tooling for the plinthed 8715 version? Was this a diecast or a resin model? Either way it was a much more realistic representation than this new release. Maybe its just me, but if I wanted a heritage Britains item, I'd buy the vintage one, with actual heritage, not one that's just rolled of a production line thousands of miles away. Having said that I'll still be buying one or two of these releases because of the price It'll be new tooling and copied on the original toy. We explored re-running their old TW tooling to re-produce the County that never was (in blue) in the early years of discussions with the then head of Britains, Craig Varley. He advised that most was lost or destroyed in the transitions between factories. We also provisionally planned to run the Ford Highway tractor Ltd Edition with the old Rear Dump Trailer as a special set but again, the lack of tooling for the latter ruled it out. Would have been a smart set mind you! There seems to be a thing currently with re-running vintage issues with Dinky Toys being reproduced. These have proved to be pretty popular. There used to be great dialogue with the company and for all the time he was complained about, Craig Varley was probably best one they've had since the early 00's. Both he and FTF members were instrumental in getting some great advancements in the Britains lines. Particularly the new rear hitch, the Internationals, Fords and classic Deeres. Rory Day played his part too. It's a different company now though, with good intentions, but looks to have a rather hazy approach to product development! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf aphid Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 21 minutes ago, Andy said: It'll be new tooling and copied on the original toy. We explored re-running their old TW tooling to re-produce the County that never was (in blue) in the early years of discussions with the then head of Britains, Craig Varley. He advised that most was lost or destroyed in the transitions between factories. We also provisionally planned to run the Ford Highway tractor Ltd Edition with the old Rear Dump Trailer as a special set but again, the lack of tooling for the latter ruled it out. Would have been a smart set mind you! There seems to be a thing currently with re-running vintage issues with Dinky Toys being reproduced. These have proved to be pretty popular. There used to be great dialogue with the company and for all the time he was complained about, Craig Varley was probably best one they've had since the early 00's. Both he and FTF members were instrumental in getting some great advancements in the Britains lines. Particularly the new rear hitch, the Internationals, Fords and classic Deeres. Rory Day played his part too. It's a different company now though, with good intentions, but looks to have a rather hazy approach to product development! So has Craig gone now? I suspect like James eluded earlier, no one really focused on the Britains franchise and its potential Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmd Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 2 hours ago, Ferret90 said: Really looking forward to these, hopefully the wheels won’t be as wonky as the blue one... The gold one has a bar axle and the blue one stud type wonder if thats why they look wonky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf aphid Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 11 minutes ago, jmd said: The gold one has a bar axle and the blue one stud type wonder if thats why they look wonky I guess by the looks of it, the golden thing has been painted fully assembled, then tyres added, job done. Save 3p ghastly looking thing !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractorman314 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Looking at the 2021 catalogue, it would appear that the New Holland Baler has been dropped, or is there a new model coming, so they are now waiting until it is in production. A Britain's carpet farmer now has no way of preparing or planting a seed bed, but he can harvest the Cereals , but then he has no means of carting it from the combine, unless he uses a silage trailer. The range at the moment seems to be aimed at Grass production with the introduction of mowers and a new forager, which i like, but as said in previous posts we need a more balanced range, and stop deleting models , until they are replaced with an upgrade of model, or replacement model from different manufacturer. Surely its not rocket science. I also am not keen on these American Heritage models, when the list of real British or even European Heritage models is endless, and would produce far more sales for them. tractorman314. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justy 46 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 1 hour ago, jmd said: The gold one has a bar axle and the blue one stud type wonder if thats why they look wonky They might as well have sat a circus clown on the Fordson. It looks awful. Spoils the whole look off the tractor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stabliofarmer Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 3 hours ago, alf aphid said: I’m not so sure. I think Hornby are also struggling. Bachmann massively outperforming them. Whilst not as bad as Britains maybe, they should, like Britain’s be leading in their field, but equally have been overtaken due to complacency and lack of understanding of shifting markets There's a change at the top with Hornby, Lyndon Davies who has worked for Corgi his whole life as well as starting Oxford Diecast is CEO and seems to be moving things in the right direction. Hornby where hit hard in 09 when Sandra Kan, the factory that produced Hornby products alongside a number of smaller model railway brands, where bought out by Kader group, who own Bachmann. This gave Kader a monopoly and the divorce from Sandra Kan set them back heavily. The tide looks to slowly be turning though so we'll see how it pans out. They also have Airfix, Corgi and Scalextric under their wing which is quite the arsenal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stabliofarmer Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 3 hours ago, Andy said: It'll be new tooling and copied on the original toy. We explored re-running their old TW tooling to re-produce the County that never was (in blue) in the early years of discussions with the then head of Britains, Craig Varley. He advised that most was lost or destroyed in the transitions between factories. We also provisionally planned to run the Ford Highway tractor Ltd Edition with the old Rear Dump Trailer as a special set but again, the lack of tooling for the latter ruled it out. Would have been a smart set mind you! There seems to be a thing currently with re-running vintage issues with Dinky Toys being reproduced. These have proved to be pretty popular. There used to be great dialogue with the company and for all the time he was complained about, Craig Varley was probably best one they've had since the early 00's. Both he and FTF members were instrumental in getting some great advancements in the Britains lines. Particularly the new rear hitch, the Internationals, Fords and classic Deeres. Rory Day played his part too. It's a different company now though, with good intentions, but looks to have a rather hazy approach to product development! Interesting to hear. I assume new tooling would have been made in the same modern methods they use for the new products, wire-Edm errosion etc. Though given the item you want to replicate exists it would be possible to use a pantograph and go real old school!. Thanks for sharing this sort of insight is always interesting to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stabliofarmer Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 26 minutes ago, tractorman314 said: Looking at the 2021 catalogue, it would appear that the New Holland Baler has been dropped, or is there a new model coming, so they are now waiting until it is in production. A Britain's carpet farmer now has no way of preparing or planting a seed bed, but he can harvest the Cereals , but then he has no means of carting it from the combine, unless he uses a silage trailer. The range at the moment seems to be aimed at Grass production with the introduction of mowers and a new forager, which i like, but as said in previous posts we need a more balanced range, and stop deleting models , until they are replaced with an upgrade of model, or replacement model from different manufacturer. Surely its not rocket science. I also am not keen on these American Heritage models, when the list of real British or even European Heritage models is endless, and would produce far more sales for them. tractorman314. If the sales of toy farm machinery are anything like scratch built models then the Irish Market is significant in comparison with mainland UK, possibly the reason for the grass heavy catalogue. Given the forwardness of the Irish sales rep when I've met him at shows that possibly allows decisions to lean towards what would sell well in Ireland. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf aphid Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 1 hour ago, Stabliofarmer said: There's a change at the top with Hornby, Lyndon Davies who has worked for Corgi his whole life as well as starting Oxford Diecast is CEO and seems to be moving things in the right direction. Hornby where hit hard in 09 when Sandra Kan, the factory that produced Hornby products alongside a number of smaller model railway brands, where bought out by Kader group, who own Bachmann. This gave Kader a monopoly and the divorce from Sandra Kan set them back heavily. The tide looks to slowly be turning though so we'll see how it pans out. They also have Airfix, Corgi and Scalextric under their wing which is quite the arsenal. I dearly hope you are right, I think it’s fair to say that they have become left behind in terms of running gear and DCC sound, and then the additional strain of competition from new commissioned manufacturers. you are right, they have some real names there though.... corgi became massive in the 90’s but seem to have retracted somewhat in recent years. I recall them stuffing the market with products, which ended up being heavily discounted to shift, never a good message to your loyal customers, I think many were turned off and shut their wallets. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hody21 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 I have been looking online and the retailers are starting to advertise the new Britains releases for the first half of this year. Huge price increases, the John Deere's around £27 - £30 and the Casi IH Arctic thing at £45. Toy money they are not. The JCB dumper not bad at around £21. The New Holland and Dump trailer is near £50, doesn't seam good value to me. Be very interested in the sales figures this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 4 hours ago, hody21 said: I have been looking online and the retailers are starting to advertise the new Britains releases for the first half of this year. Huge price increases, the John Deere's around £27 - £30 and the Casi IH Arctic thing at £45. Toy money they are not. The JCB dumper not bad at around £21. The New Holland and Dump trailer is near £50, doesn't seam good value to me. Be very interested in the sales figures this year. It's the sign of the times I am afraid, most manufacturers are increasing prices, for a number of reasons. For example I am staying well away from the new UH Valtras - they dont seem good value. RRP for the 2021 Britains releases are an indication of the cost to suppliers - there aint that much money in them! Though like you say, the sales figures will tell the ultimate truth. Its all relative though - when I was a kid and buying Britains, I thought that £2-£5 was a lot of money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hody21 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 5 minutes ago, AndyB said: It's the sign of the times I am afraid, most manufacturers are increasing prices, for a number of reasons. For example I am staying well away from the new UH Valtras - they dont seem good value. RRP for the 2021 Britains releases are an indication of the cost to suppliers - there aint that much money in them! Though like you say, the sales figures will tell the ultimate truth. Its all relative though - when I was a kid and buying Britains, I thought that £2-£5 was a lot of money! You have to ask yourself where is it all going to end, I totally agree it's the sign of the times but if nobody can afford to buy what is aimed at children rather than the adult collector then Britains will start having to ask themselves why bother which would be a shame. I myself have now become far far more selective in what I buy now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justy 46 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 (edited) Well the collector might fork out the price if he feels the Britains item is worth it as will the young diorma builder and young carpet farmer with a few pound to spend from doing chores around the farm...but the child that enters the toy shop looking for their parents to splash out....they can forget about it..the parent will just steer the child to a cheaper alternative...like a NewRay or a smaller 1/50 scale Siku.........your loss Britains.. That will happen and I've seen it happen. Edited February 6, 2021 by justy 46 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractorman810 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 On 2/4/2021 at 9:36 PM, Stabliofarmer said: If the sales of toy farm machinery are anything like scratch built models then the Irish Market is significant in comparison with mainland UK, possibly the reason for the grass heavy catalogue. Given the forwardness of the Irish sales rep when I've met him at shows that possibly allows decisions to lean towards what would sell well in Ireland. yeah i sort of get that, but thats a huge kick to your other areas of sales, i for 1, and suspect a good few others, wont see a kane trailer, i may see very very rarely a nc tanker. to aim your pretty much entire implement range to one type of farming is honestly pretty poor . they really do need a balance range again, stuff that sells both sides of the irish sea. that or do some more familiar stuff that people will see. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hody21 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 12 minutes ago, Tractorman810 said: yeah i sort of get that, but thats a huge kick to your other areas of sales, i for 1, and suspect a good few others, wont see a kane trailer, i may see very very rarely a nc tanker. to aim your pretty much entire implement range to one type of farming is honestly pretty poor . they really do need a balance range again, stuff that sells both sides of the irish sea. that or do some more familiar stuff that people will see. Couldn't agree more, all I see around me is Richard Western or getting more and more common in Boughton ( who I know are Irish ). The West factory is only 10 miles from my house and you never see any of there trailers around bar the older ones. There is more to agriculture than grass and cows. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Palmer Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 (edited) some serious gaps in their range,1 combine,but nothing to plough with cultivate or drill with,also no big baler anymore by the looks of it,and if you buy these implements from another manafacturer you have hitching problems,so will collectors simply not get the britains tractors and get models from other companies?of course people will still buy britains but i can see units being sold decreasing for them Edited February 6, 2021 by Paul Palmer 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hajo Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 On 1/13/2021 at 10:39 PM, hody21 said: I recently bought the new Burego Valtra of Ebay, and I have to say I am very impressed. For the price of £15 plus P&P Britain's should be a little worried. All that's needed is a compatible hitch and a front linkage that goes up and down and you will have a very impressive model. Its heavy and far more detailed than Britain's of late. Comes in a dealer box too. Burego also made a Newholland a little while back which was also a very good replica of the real machine. If Britains are aiming there toys at children with a average price of a tractor now nudging £30 when this Valtra is around £15 then goodluck to them. I am not Britain's bashing as I have a lot of time for them but they really need to get with it and decide which direction they need/want to go in. Just my opinion. I also picked one off these up a few weeks ago, will make a great base model for some upgrades in the future. Love the colour, the wheels. Sorry but I can't make two quotes in one message ... Really looking forward to these, hopefully the wheels won’t be as wonky as the blue one... Those front wheels have always been wonky on the E27N. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 On 2/4/2021 at 4:00 PM, limegreen said: There is just one version of the 4890.i dont understood why .The white and black one is simple to make from this casting . I have just got a couple of the 4890s from the U.S. - you can still get them brand new - at great expense! The Toy Farmer version was only ever going to be produced as a limited ish run (5700 odd pieces) and then not re-issued as per the agreement with NFTS. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf aphid Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 So the re releases are a bit different! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tractor Twitcher Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 4 minutes ago, alf aphid said: So the re releases are a bit different! Pleasing to see the subtle differences. Definitely going to be on my shopping list when they arrive. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IH885XLMAN Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 Deffo be getting the 3050 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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