James' May-Hem At Hornby Factory! | Big Trouble In Britain's Model Industry

[Music] in 1901 Frank Hornby founded a company that would go on to become one of the world's biggest model making and toy Empires it has brought joy to Millions with names such as Hornby Railways scalextreme and airfix now for the first time in its 118-year history the company has granted our cameras exclusive access during what is set to be its most important year yet hornby's lost 30 million pounds in the last five years which is an astronomical amount of money in a bid to save their beloved Brands they've re-employed a seasoned company veteran Simon Kohler it isn't a toy industry it's not the grocery industry it's a hobby model industry so far Simon's overseen the development of the Innovative vent van with twin track sand the cats and the launch of the 124th scale f6f Hellcat but now things are about to get a bit fractious you can buy my ass space if you like no no you can find mine as the model train rivalries kick off I don't see why you're doing I said this is spiteful no it's not yes it is [Applause] foreign welcome if you somehow missed part one of this compelling two-part document entry on tonight's final episode there is toy train Espionage as the company prepares for the launch of its 2019 range please be warned that the following film shows scenes of slightly crossed senior model Railway company Executives and viewer discretion is advised right on with the show [Music] [Applause] and once again you join us at a critical moment head of Audio Research Ken is the man responsible for putting the realistic chuffing sounds into the company's model locomotives to achieve this Ken first has to capture a realistic chuffing sound today Ken is working incognito [Music] he's not capturing any old train he's after a specific locomotive one that is part of a highly classified launch the company is planning that will lead to the fight I keep banging on about [Music] the basic idea of the day is to try and get a recording of like all the chop sequels and the deceleration sounds on the terrier Ken's secret assignment is immediately in danger of being not so secret as the platform is swarming with members of the public we don't want to give up all of our secrets away regarding sound and what we're doing and what might be coming at some point in the future but luckily for Ken the public here are all waiting for the NSB type 21c locomotive called the Norwegian this is not the train Ken has been tasked with recording the forums are really Rife for this sort of thing sort of just deny everything with the Norwegian and the public soon departing Ken now has the platform all to himself as the target of his covert Mission hisses interview this is the terrier this is what we're going for Victoria was a popular commuter steam locomotive operating routes across the southeast of England its name comes from its diminutive size and fast acceleration and apparently if you listen closely enough you can hear a bark amidst its chuff you don't often get a chance to get this close which is nice fascinating all the different sounds coming from different places let the audio sequencing begin [Music] luckily for Ken this jaunty music was added in the edit and won't affect his recording of the Terriers chuffing Sands [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] deceleration sounds and lots of coasting sounds which are really useful plus there's a few spot sounds you know really good guards whistle as the one-to-one scale Terrier disappears in a puff of steam Ken Slips Away unnoticed back to his top secret research lab where today's recordings will be reduced to 1 in 76 scale and added to his collection of audible Railway Delights which is also the name of Ken's prog rock band oh [Music] come on my son Tuesday morning and head of archives Peter is positively buoyant into the main Factory now which is unfortunately empty we've come down here and this is if anyone wants to um you know hang themselves well that didn't last long down this end was all the molding machines molding 24 hours a day Peter has taken a break from running the company's Visitor Center to give our cameraman a tour of the empty building in Margate that once housed all of the company's employees before the factory was moved to China and the head office to sandwich been a huge no it was it was and here we are look this is all this was all the where the accounts were Peter is unlikely to win the tour guide of the Year award anytime soon no I think this was where they sales people had an office here profitability automated sales very sad when you see it all this lovely space here just doing nothing thank you after 52 years at the company Peter just wants things back the way they were in their Heyday starting with their spiritual home of Margate when it first started over 2 000 people worked here in this company 2 000. well it has all gone from here but where if they come back here it'll come back will come back luckily for Peter his wishes may be about to come true [Music] as over at the company's new HQ in Sandwich CEO Lyndon Davies has a big announcement we have now formally entered into discussions for us to move back to the Margate site [Music] what is it okay that wasn't the huge reaction we were hoping for for this documentary but in a company like this revolution comes at one in 76 scale I don't know all the reasons for moving out of Margate all I know is the the site's okay we have a history there and I believe it'll provide a beating heart for the company [Music] and to reinforce Margate as the company's Beating Heart they are using the visitor center there to launch the forthcoming 2019 range to the retailers for a company that hasn't posted a profit in seven years this range needs to be a belter is to show that we're in the game guys you know we may have had a couple of sticky years but we're indefinitely in the game this is showing to the consumer we are listening you've asked for certain items you've got them in the range so the products that you're seeing will have a strong Market sale and that's what it's all about I want to sell lots of these new items I want to get the profits up thank you the forthcoming range is top secret and brand manager Montana is giving nothing away it's um completely hush-hush it's our secret secret projects there has been a little bit of nervousness we had a slight disaster there were 21 2019 items which accidentally were uploaded to our website and due to restriction errors and so myself and the online marketing manager worked together to get them down straight away the reason Montana and the team are so paranoid is they're about to introduce a locomotive into their 2019 range that's going to send shock waves through the world of model trains and here it is Simon and head of development Ed have received from the factory in China the first part of a brand new locomotive well this is going to be a terrier this is a terrier this is all the parts to make different variants on Terriers the terrier is a Mainstay of the company's range but Simon has spent over a hundred thousand pounds on new tooling to produce a new version of the logo rather than a reissue and he's brought production forward by several months now what's happened is a competitor of ours has announced that they're going to produce a terrier well you know so it's you know it's a it's a Hornby product and we feel we can certainly get to the market before they do with the track laid for a race to the shop shelves Simon is Keen to keep his plans hidden from his rival one of the things we've done is to say right all this is kept Under Wraps that's why we're discussing these in a in a closed room the first break for cover of the terrier will be on the 7th of January when we first start previewing with our customers [Music] the competitor in question is a retailer named rails of Sheffield in Sheffield they sell everything to do with model Railways and are run by LifeTime model rail Enthusiast John I think we're all right you know so obviously with that last delivery that well we've actually got one coming in aren't we so landed yet going right back to the 1970s my dad rented one shop up the road number 35. and he used to open Tuesday and Thursday evening 6 30 to 8 p.m and Saturday 10 till 5 and then all the rest of the time was shut and then when I was to go when I was 16 I said to my dad I fancy opened in the shop full time what do you think he said well you can have a go at it and the rest is history so to speak have we got a new coronation out yet right that's looking promising and this is the latest item to arrive yeah from home by the Queen Elizabeth rails are a huge player in the modeling world with a turnover last year of six million pounds they are one of hornby's biggest accounts spending around a million pounds on their products every year it really is eye candy but in recent years John became frustrated with hornby's lack of new models and so in a preemptive strike went into partnership with one of hornby's manufacturing Rivals dapple to produce their own trade including a new version of yes you guessed it one project that we've announced which is the Italians which was a previous Hornby locomotive that was something that Hornby produced 20 30 years ago and it's just it's just so dated we thought you know if this was put to Market in an all singing all dancing modern version you've only got to look at how many Hornby sold of it over the years I mean every year they do a terrier in the range and sold out every year a new version of it will be a good seller [Music] John is is really unaware that Simon Kohler is also currently making a new version of the terrier which he plans to launch before John's is ready [Music] the terrier fight is just one of many battles Simon is fighting in his attempts to turn the company around he's also trying to bolster some of the other brands in the group like their slot cars invented in 1957 in it had a scalextric topped the Christmas best seller list almost 10 years in a row but today like the model train and plane sides of the business it's lost its Groove with Hornby recording losses of around 10 million pounds last year Simon has very little money to revive the fortunes of scalextric undeterred he's producing their new advert on the tightest of budgets understand John Lewis spend a million pounds on on their TV commercials our budget is so much more smaller but I think with with the team we've got we can get something probably just as dramatic but maybe not quite so fancy to keep cost down even more the advert is being made only within house staff including Mike the in-house videographer and also Mike no relation there's a lot um depending on this the retailers they're relying on us to promote scalextric and arguably one of the best ways to do it is on the TV so you've got to give them a good TV commercial so people can see it they get excited by it and they go out and buy it so yeah no pressure really it's no pressure the money saving isn't just reserved for the crew why pay for an actor when Martin the brand manager is available I want to be more drama with the cars [Music] you know when you squeeze I want you to squeeze if you mean it you know if your life depends on it [Music] all right you ready because oh Charles they're currently trying to capture two cars in Flight as they make the ultimate jump in the climactic final so do you think that was a shot I'm hoping a bit more calm I've got I've got a lot of black space capturing this crucial shot might sound simple enough but when you're shooting a 1 32nd scale model traveling at 320 scale miles an hour in slow motion at 200 frames per second anything more than an eighth of a second out and your shot is worthless oh there's any one of them step by step we get there and we will get there and we will get that money shot I know we will oh and calls [Music] okay [Music] do that one I can cut and Stitch Stitch it yeah that's cool [Music] I know you're all very keen to see the advert itself but unfortunately this is the BBC and adverts are not allowed however there's nothing in the rules that prevents us from watching Simon watching the advert everything okay right um I don't think we need that yeah I think you could show probably a second off that yeah it was to save even more money Simon decides against paying the tens of thousands of pounds to put the advert on TV and instead releases it online hopefully to appeal to a younger audience providing we can get over in in sort of 20 seconds the excitement and the drama of what scandalistic is all about then we've done it and the slot car revitalization doesn't stop there they've also invested in their newest employee Caitlin who's moving into a new flat ahead of her first day at the company I had a few one but I think I'd have to unpack the kettle first sounds good thank you migrating from her parents home in Somerset this is a big move for her and the company because Caitlyn will become the first female product designer in hornby's 118-year history uh could I have that in in here please that's brilliant thank you my airfix was probably my first link with Hornby because I used to make ethics models with my grandpa so this is the first ever Spitfire that I made as you can see the propellers kind of broken in the glasses a little bit fogged off I've sort of come full circle in a way sort of from making this as a really small child to now being in the place where these are designed that's amazing fresh out of University Caitlyn has just landed her dream job when you explain oh I'm moving away like oh what are you doing I'm like oh I'm designing Scholastics cars and like what I'm like yeah I know it's really cool I was a kid yeah I did and I think my brother and I raced them till they pretty much just fell apart we'd have tournaments and it would normally end in an argument because somebody had won and somebody had lost but it was just so much fun I mean it's an adventure and that's really exciting so I think I'm more excited than nervous while scalextric makes up a quarter of the company's overall business the biggest part of the group remains model trains and that is Simon's Focus today on a cold November morning in Birmingham this is the wall in modern Railway exhibition which is an annual exhibition held by the warley model Railway club and they've done this for over 50 years Wally is the largest model train show in the country it attracts the Great and the good of the model rail industry all the major manufacturers and retailers so with a brand new Range launching in just over A month's time it's essential that Simon maintains a very visible presence here one of the nice things about this industry is you have people like that gentleman there uh gentleman Trevor Morgan who I've known all my Hornby life wonderful man and that's what this business is it's full of really nice people but as Simon approaches the company's stand the warmth of the Brotherhood of train enthusiasts is interrupted by rails of Sheffield I'm just thinking I'm not happy with those uh signs that are backing on to our stand the fact he's got a dirty great big sign hanging sign which is great I would have thought that would have been enough but obviously it isn't and I think it's just basically taking the Mickey and I am going to go and see the organizers and I am going to ask them now to take them down with thousands of model train mad punters eagerly cueing to get into the main hall Simon doesn't have much time [Music] I can't do anything because there's nothing in that there's nothing in our rules and regulations it says they can't do that they're not above four meters they're a structural engineers sign them off because I asked him to have a look at it the lady from the NEC is happy with it so from our point of view I can't see what we can do about it I'd say it's just it's just great I know it is I agree with it I agree with you no thanks Paul anyway we'll have a good show we'll have a good show John hey good morning all right morning is there anything you can do it's like our airspace anyway your airspace but not not facing out not facing that way you can buy my air space if you like no no you can buy mine if you like because I'm promoting your product your airspace you know if you just said it yesterday before they've gone at a concert did it but there's no way I'm messing about second him down all right I'm sorry okay you know all right all right have a good chat no of course not have a good show we'll see you later anyway oh dear Johnny's looking after his own interest he's not done this by accident he knows as people walk in they see the Hornby sign and above it they will see all his products uh but trust me I will never forget this I'm not going to let it spoil the event it's just tedious [Music] wonderful but you can bring you can bring the freight the fans into the yard go [Music] [Music] while Hornby remained the biggest model train manufacturer in the country they are not alone the conference center is full of their Rivals such as dapple Bachmann and Pico all vying for the customers cash oh that's not bad excellent right just get your route receipt and let's not forget the latest entry in the model manufacturing World John and his soon to be launched Terrier it's the first test shot out of the Tooling in China for our forthcoming Terry release we were hoping to have a bit more than that to show people but at least it shows the progress we've made so it's come out first quarter of next year so we're very excited about it having lost this morning's Battle of the banners Simon like an acutely sensitive Bloodhound is Keen to sniff out the progress of John's Terrier what I've seen is just a couple of samples but nothing nothing more than that so I mean what does that tell me it tells me that they're certainly not as advanced with uh the terrier as we are even though Simon's Terrier is clearly ahead of John's he's not going to tell him his plans until it's unveiled in Margate in five weeks time was that in the back of my mind this morning I must admit it did cross my mind it would be it would be alive I said he didn't and if he was that upset with me asking him to take down the signs how upset mighty be when he realizes that he's got competition with the terrier so we shall see we shall see but these model rail rivalries are a million miles well 217 miles away from the suburbs of Kent where Caitlin is preparing for her first day at work I'd just like it to be exciting and for me to be able to make a real impact as the company's first ever female product designer this is a historic moment good morning it's my first day I'm working for skillet chicks lovely can I get you to sign in how you doing welcome welcome to the hallways and the company has rolled out the red carpet we did give it a quick uh wipe down so it should be fairly clean with her desk sterilized Caitlyn can spend the morning trying to get logged onto the company email whilst taking the online safety in the workplace tutorial after that you'll move on to designing a new car working with head of development Darren your next project will be something called a Chevrolet Camaro IROC okay the like nurse car classic Nascar or stock car racing this is this is a really good one to kind of get you into it because yeah the key thing is getting the the key Dimensions right so you know making sure the height of the magnet from the top of the rounds is standardized because I'm sure like me you could listen to Darren all day but time pushes on and Caitlyn is taken to the test track I've got to have a go at like each of the different types of scalextric to familiarize myself with the brand when designing a new one 32nd scale car accuracy track clearance weight distribution and structural Integrity are all crucial factors and so if one's heavier it's less likely to fly off so just checking to see if there is a difference if everyone's initiation into the workplace was this much fun the world would simply be a better place but now it's time for some proper work designing the NASCAR inspired model it's good I'm really excited now um I can't wait to start making stuff and designing stuff this is a world of millimeters as a full-size race car is reduced to 1 in 32 scale for the skeleton model so it's like the first thing you do where you put all the surfaces in and from that you build the rest of the car there's so many sort of bits of detail and everything has to be properly constructed tolerances and stuff out to be have to be right so that all the parts actually fit together it's really fun it's really good I can't think of a better job to be honest I want to go to hamleys when that comes out and sit on the shelf and just be like yeah that's me the BBC would like to point out that there are other toy shops available and in the interest of balance we would like to point out that there are other broadcasters you can watch it's less than a month till the launch of hornby's new Range which will include their new version of the terrier Loco Simon has received the Prototype from the factory in China but there's a big mistake do you want to um come and have a chat about this Terrier yeah yeah we'll do it now yeah yeah let's do that well actually it's a very small mistake but it's a big problem for Simon and head of development Ed did you like that yes I'll be married okay what's the situation the domes tapering inwards and the pipes parallel yes it is awesome yeah yeah they seem to put one degree draft on which isn't a lot it's actually 17 000 inch on one side over over a whole inch 17 000 of an inch in the world of miniature trains that's massive that extra little bit of taper really notices and you know if he got picked up which you will do and you will do because you know somebody's gonna get the old micrometer out and I know where it'd be probably somewhere in Sheffield yeah ah this is going to be in the range forever in a day I don't want to make something that we know is wrong this wonky Dome won't do the designs will now have to be sent back to China to be altered do you think we will get decorated samples well there's still there's still some decorated Sounds by the end of December they keep our fingers crossed Simon is in the middle of a great train race with his Rivals rails of Sheffield who are bringing out their own Terrier this setback could affect the company's chances of getting their Terrier out first but Simon's clear their train has to be correct to the 17th though of an inch [Music] in a non-descript warehouse somewhere in the southeast of England while Ramsgate a covert project is underway but you want to bring these trees forward so you've got bigger trees here so when you look back there the castle doesn't look out of scale the castle we can see straight away the castle looks like it's in a distance when you stand here and that's the whole idea of it Simon has commissioned Tony a model train layout professional to make them a Harry Potter layout which Simon will use to announce their tie-in with Warner Brothers we don't know what it's going to look like we never ever do on any layout we make so if people say to me can you send me a visual or can you send me a computer image we don't work like that because we don't know we know what the customer wants we know what we want to do and it just we just design as we go along I didn't know how that was going to come out don't know where we made the castle we bought it but it didn't look like that it's the castle itself so again is about there that's the castle all this blending the castle in is what we've done ourselves foreign [Music] [Music] but properly train the coach will carry on going one way or the other because there's a gradient push it slightly stops again through the forest it stops if it wasn't done properly [Music] it wouldn't stop [Music] [Applause] you know the car have you seen the film where you've got the little blue car chasing the train so we're gonna get a little Rod the car's going to be like so and it's over the fire ducks so I'll probably put the car in might give it about there something like that you'll have the car chasing the train just a little Scene It looked quite good I think our important job is for you to look at a layout and say well because once you've got the whale Factor everything else sales I'm saying well now and I've built it this layer really does need to wow people as it will be the centerpiece of hornby's 2019 range launch in less than a week's time and over in Margate preparation for the launch is at a frenzy this is my life only works here 52 years wouldn't want to be anywhere else always get someone come around like a director or saying and they're always say you missed a bit there but if they do I should just say well if you think you can do better do it yourself yes yeah I was stripping them out four years ago because obviously you know we've all moved on so I had to empty all the cabinets did all the models in there transferred to um uh sandwich so now let's all come back round again and we're all happy and back here [Music] I can't wish her a better life can you and I get paid um animate the wife's hair all day yeah which is absolutely marvelous right we're going to put this one in the cabinet now no never the only way they get rid of me is going out in a coffin lovely the launch of the new range for the retailers is a critical test of how Simon's first year back at the company has gone Monday is incredibly important this is if you like the first our first full year our first full year uh and until you get the actual people buying the product from us I.E the retailers it's you know you've always gone that slight element of caution what will happen on Monday is that behind you people arrive have a cup of tea and a coffee and all the rest of it and then they'll be brought through into this area now this area will give a snapshot of the sort of things that they will receive [Music] Simon's hoping that one model in particular will grab the Retailer's attention under here we have our secret surprise and if I just give you a sneak peek this is the terrier this is the locomotive we've kept Under Wraps and very very few people know about it the fully dressed samples of the terrier have arrived from China making the launch of the range the perfect arena for Simon to unleash his dog of war truth is that there's a competitor out there who is planning to steal that model from under our nose you can't let that happen it's our model so it's important that we have ours out first from drawing stage to tooling stage to production we'll have achieved that in probably nine months which is a bit of a record the artery has to be the best Terrier you know we want to be Top Dog as it were that is business that is business [Music] with the 2019 range launch fast approaching Simon is already looking at potential problems he needs to tackle in the years ahead which is why he finds himself in the streets of trendy East London it's a really noisy God I couldn't be around it worried that his customers are not getting any younger that's the polite way of saying they're dying off he needs to attract today's screen obsessed youngsters to the world of model trains and planes you know I'm a virgin when it comes to virtual reality but it sounds fascinating there's obviously you know worth a visit hello Simon a great pleasure to meet you how are you doing welcome to East London yeah lovely thanks follow me it's noisy yeah it is a bit yeah this young man is Ben who runs a virtual reality or VR company you see is this your first time doing VR yes you will be generous yes come on through right how does that feel oh yeah okay yeah tighten that up how's that yeah oh and so here are your controllers grab those yeah good God virtual reality is now a reality it's global market last year was worth nearly 20 billion pounds by 2022 it's expected to rise to 140 billion and Simon wants a piece of that action now grab that orb and pull the trigger so you've now you've gone through a portal oh I am I'm not hello reach down and stroke the dog hello go for the older viewer hi everyone watching this program virtual reality is an interactive computer-generated experience taking place within a simulated environment and now bent down and pick up one of those sticks yeah and you can throw that towards the dog and he'll go and Chase it well I don't want to throw it over the cliff I've only just met you oh yeah absolutely amazing Simon's certainly having fun but he's not convinced how virtual reality and the very real reality of model train collecting can come together I'm of the age where you hand your money over and you get something back something tangible something you can actually put on the Shelf oh how clever I work on the principle of Kiss keep it simple Simon oh welcome back gosh well I never but when Ben shows in the possible VR market for his models Simon sees the potential I presume I could in essence build a an airfix kit in virtual reality yes he could yeah yeah and then climbing the cockpit that's right yeah but not just that you can bring in characters you can bring in story lines more track more buildings more cars more scenery yeah and you will con you'll you'll start collecting sets and you will you will own those cents and they'll be yours forever yes yeah same principle for the age groups that we deal with you know I think they still like something tangible so they can touch but there are others you know coming into the market and they think differently we need to be looking that way we really do and um I think I think it's exciting but the future we'll have to wait [Music] the 2019 range is ready words no longer matter the success or failure of Simon and the company now rest on how many orders are placed Harry Potter Lair takes Center Stage alongside the covered up show stopper the terrier we now need to get the retailers in to place their orders and then that will give us a good idea what we've done what we've put down what we predicted will be right the retailers arrive including Richard from hattons in Liverpool the country's biggest model shop brand new tooling if the name sounds familiar here's why in the last episode Simon watched on as two model rail enthusiasts had their heads turned by hatton's class 66 Loco just looking at your prior types of 66 yeah yeah when's that joke March March okay which happens had manufactured themselves making them direct competitors of Hornby I have to keep my eye on anybody who makes model Railway models locomotives coaches or wagons anybody true to his word Simon capped his eye on them and has rushed out his own range of class 66s at an off-peak price compared with hatins now out there at the moment 75 pounds so your customers and probably can't afford the 160 odd pounds plus of a 66 you're 66 can actually have something for less than a hundred pounds that sound like a under 100 pounds but after years of you guys not been able to produce much in any volume why have you chosen to to make an item that I make manufacturing well yeah well it's it in some respects it is chalk and cheese you're pricing a artificially low level it is it is a low level because that's been an honest so it seems almost like you're doing it out spite no not and that absolutely not seriously absolutely not no you're not in of all all the different products you can produce no because you've got loads of products in your tooling Suite you've chosen to do this this you've made this concert you've made a decision to rival our product you haven't really produced anything in any decent quantity for 10 years I've patiently sat there and eventually been forced into manufacturing myself I don't see why you're doing this I don't see why you're attacking your best customers we're not attacking honestly it's not attacking you're putting these out on a much lower margin than you normally would do out spite no this is spiteful no it's not yes it is well I didn't quite expect that reaction should we move on I don't believe it is indirect Conflict at all there's obviously a bit of conflict there audio was to get this company back on his feet and make a profit it's a shame he's taking it the way it is I could have thrown it in well you know you're a retail and you're treading on our ground I mean we produced the 66 before you did you you know you you've wandered into our Arena and the Half Price class 66s were just phase one of Simon's plans to beat his rivals on here Terrier that laugh from Richard is because he now knows that Simon has gone after his mate John from rails of Sheffield in Sheffield as well because rails of Sheffield have invested a lot of money in this um unfortunately I can't help that that was part of our plan it is one of our staple products yeah and you can't afford to Let It Go no really with the cat being chased out of the bag by Simon's Terrier [Music] the Hornby range which went live online when the launch opened can now be seen in the farthest corners of the globe and Sheffield good morning [Music] thank you they're doing 66's in Terriers now that isn't a coincidence you know I think it's a spoiler for people coming along and trying to compete with them pointed I'm a little bit disappointing Simon because I think you could have made a phone call at some point or I have seen him face to face as well uh but I've heard nothing it's a bit like a bit poisonous really um incidentally ours will be better [Music] if you want corned beef Hornby if you want Philly steak rails [Music] John will be able to make his feel ings feel Simon in person when he visits Margate to view the range himself [Music] it's not all industrial Intrigue and arguments at Hornby today is a big day for Caitlin as a special package has arrived for her from the factory in China so this is the free print of my car the Prototype hopefully it all fits together and works on the track I think there was a level of nervousness because I've never done this before but at the same time it's just sort of pure excitement now with all this car that I've designed it's amazing she takes the parts to Dom head of prototype realization or something like that hello it's his job to put the pieces together and see if they fit what I'll do I'll build it up and then if I've got any thoughts on tightness or anything like that of certain fits I'll come to see it directly anyway looks nice and so far thank you all right cheers first impressions are good usually um anybody who's new to designing Sky electrics products they will not have the experience necessary but certainly Canadian Scott seems to have hit the ground running there it looks like we've got light lenses to go in there which are nice all Caitlyn can do now is wait while her Destiny rests in Don's Workshop I think the nails won't be fully gone until it's built and I've tested it but hopefully it all goes together but Don has spotted a problem Caitlyn's missized the um the hole in the hole in the wheel for the axles so the diameter of that is as you see 2.3 mil roughly but we've got a hole in the wheel there to take the axle of 2.6 or something so it's a bit oversized he storms over to give Caitlyn a public dressing down hello hello um you might want to check your design okay with the fit of the wheels to the axles okay um oh yeah almost 2.78 yeah that's it so it's half a mill out yeah okay easily rectified definitely thanks for well sorry letting me know that's why we do it that's Caitlyn told time for Don to fix the one tenth of a millimeter error so there's your session how sweet the Prototype so cheshi is ready to be tested [Music] oh that's so cool I'm very pleased that this part works it has the correct amount of like attraction to the track and the guy blade can rotate freely so that it can Corner properly and everything it's really important to get all of these things right with the chassis running as smoothly as Don's favorite Barry White LP he can Retreat to his Workshop to put the rest of the car together then scalextric's first ever model designed by a woman will be complete super satisfying now to be like but it still needs to be painted and have the stickers attached but let's not ruin a historic Moment by being churlish [Music] good morning how you doing good John from rails of Sheffield has come down to Margate from Sheffield to check out the new 2019 range more importantly to have a go at Simon for bringing out a terrier ahead of his own Q awkward handshakes well luckily it didn't happen hey Simon right all right I think yeah yeah I think so yeah they told me to take more tablets all right yeah John has brought some muscle with him in case things kick off right there he is then yeah yeah how many years that would have been nice to communicate on that one wouldn't it well I mean the point is it's always been part of our of our rain it was all part of the planet well before I even left but after you've left and then when I came back I said look we've got to do the terrier because because well because with the 66 can you say hand on heart because I'm pretty sure you can't that you've not done the Terriers and the class 66s in the range as a spoiler for rails of Sheffield and hattons of Liverpool because I don't believe you that ain't coincidence uh no I saw no it's not I spoiler come on the love I feel that you you know even though we spend lots and lots of money with you I'm not feeling that okay we're in business not to upset yeah we're in business to sell product we want to sell as much as we can the Terry isn't a spoiler Terrier is what we call a local that carries on giving I couldn't let it go it had to happen you know that's that's business isn't it I have to do I have to protect it will you be sad if yours gets bad reviews and ours gets good reviews really uh we're really being miffed with our engineers would you cry in your soup would I cry I might have to go home and kick the dogs to be clear no dogs or animals of any kind were kicked in the making of this program let me start building bridges again Bridges have fallen [Music] [Music] all right well so are you going to redeem yourself uh well we've got more we'll skip that question I'm moving on you know I've moved on I'm good good with the tension lifting time to resolve this as gentlemen with one more round of insults and threats so if you were going to Hogwarts today was your first day and we're deciding which house you were in would you be in Slytherin do you think good so have you got Farm Insurance in your place good excellent that was good morning yeah went well very well it's a solid Ranger it will please the many rather than the few at the end of the day is a businessman and um you know you don't cut your nose off to spot your face and you know the man is sharp enough to realize that that's part of the game you know it's ping-pong baton ball it's fine so I have nightmares never never John thanks ever so much I really do appreciate it we'll talk more in future yeah no no we will do and I'll and I'll keep the dialogue going yeah we will it's not a problem okay thanks everybody we're not the sort of people to just lay down and think oh well you know oh yeah Sam yours is going to be great and we should have never tried to do a model to compete with yours thank you bye one or two of the things that were gonna cost us a bit more money uh well we're going ahead with now you know it's like well it's going to cost us a bit more we'll make a bit less but it hasn't been better and people be like wow I didn't see that coming so we're gonna teach him a lesson [Music] what time is it now but after all the posturing and threats of arson how did the range actually go down with the retailers this is the real test of Simon's first year back with the company [Music] [Music] it's measured out very well I think you know you you've got six figures there and you've got top end five figures over the course of the two weeks orders were double that of the 2018 range and the biggest orders of all patterns from Liverpool and rails of Sheffield in Sheffield [Music] the success of the range means part one of Simon and Linden's plan to turn the company around by increasing sales is on track good right phase two is to bring their running costs down so they're finally moving back to their historic and much cheaper HQ in Margate it's not one person it's not individuals it's a team when you've got a solid team nothing's nothing's impossible we've all got a common goal and that common goal is to put Hornby back on top the company's end-of-year sales figures are yet to be released but after a loss last year of around 10 million pounds they're unlikely to turn a profit this year but for Simon that dream is getting closer what it means to me is too emotional when Lyndon says someone we've done it I'll probably burst into tears thank you to see it going in the right direction it's a fantastically satisfying feeling but it hasn't finished so you can't see myself cool that was good you know it's not it's not the end of a film I'm afraid it is actually Simon and it could still be the end of the company that defined my childhood I mean Simon may have won the Battle of the terrier and the class 66 but what if happens and rails of Sheffield in Sheffield launch a counter-attack and if that sounds like the premise for an exciting and compelling second series then please sign my petition go to www dot go on BBC give us another Series this one was very inexpensive to make and I'll even have a haircut if you say yes dot Co dot UK good night [Music]

Channel: Naked Science

Views: 218,252

Keywords: hornby trains, hornby roadshow, hornby club, train sets, locomotives, locomotive, diesel locomotive, electric locomotive, loco, steam locomotive, flying scotsman, train enthusiast, Railways, Railroad, Express, doc, documentary film, documentaries, HD documentary, top gear, the grand tour, jeremy clarkson, richard hammond, james may, toy stories, james may's toy stories, 2009, bbc, cars, airfix, plasticine, meccano, scalextric, lego, hornby, special

Id: kWZa4bkBayw

Length: 58min 49sec (3529 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 20 2023