>> What scale are these please (I know they're marketed for N-gauge) but they
>> seem very small when compared with other British 1/148th scale structures?
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>model railway market. For example, MicroTrains offers several sets of "N
>scale" buildings for a Christmas Village, a Haunted Village,
While in a model shop some months ago I remarked to the owner that the
huge variety of the Hornby Scaledale/Lyddle end ranges was somewhat
overwhelming ,and that there must be a lot of people out there
building layouts and having the funds to do so.
He replied that he had a small but new customer base that were not
interested in model railways but did enjoy building model villages
/landscapes as a hobby of its own so it looks as if this is not
confined to North America.
As the OP is a model shop proprietor I wonder if he has gathered any
such customers himself?
The Shop I was in also supplied parts for Dolls houses which can be a
far more complex hobby than the title may suggest .This did mean he
had a footfall outside of the model railway fraternity already.
A purely model railway shop may not get them.
Best of luck to Hornby if they have managed to tap/create a market
outside of the traditional one.
G.Harman
Wolf K. - 27 Feb 2008 13:42 GMT
[...]
>> Besides, the
>> largest market for these things is in N. America, and not the scale
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> /landscapes as a hobby of its own so it looks as if this is not
> confined to North America.
A couple of my customers are more interested in scenery and townscape
than running trains, but they want a train just because "there should be
on running through the village...."
> G.Harman
MartinS - 27 Feb 2008 21:19 GMT
>>> What scale are these please (I know they're marketed for N-gauge)
>>> but they seem very small when compared with other British 1/148th
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
> Best of luck to Hornby if they have managed to tap/create a market
> outside of the traditional one.
Not far from me in Port Hope, Ontario, there is a Dollhouse and Model
Train Emporium that sells Hornby stuff, including Skaledale. I wonder if
they get much crossover?

Signature
Martin S.
John Turner - 28 Feb 2008 16:50 GMT
> As the OP is a model shop proprietor I wonder if he has gathered any
> such customers himself?
We sell a lot of Skaledale and a significantly lesser amount of Lyddle End.
Whilst I'm sure most of the sales are to those with model railways, it's
difficult to know what the motives are of everyone buying these items. I'd
guess some buy them for non-railway use, but I couldn't say so with any
degree of certainty.
I've got to say that the two ranges are becoming over-whelming for small
model shops such as mine, but this is symptomatic of Hornby putting far too
much product into the market place.
ohn.
oldship@interalpha.couk - 29 Feb 2008 10:07 GMT
>> As the OP is a model shop proprietor
>We sell a lot of Skaledale and a significantly lesser amount of Lyddle End.
>I've got to say that the two ranges are becoming over-whelming for small
>model shops such as mine, but this is symptomatic of Hornby putting far too
>much product into the market place.
>
>ohn.
This is what I wondered when I started the conversation with the owner
of the shop I was visiting. All those boxes some of which are quite
large need displaying and storage somewhere and the cost of holding
such stock just in case someone decides they need a prefabricated
Canal can not be insignificant. At least with kits such as Dapol,
Metalcalfe, Wills etc you can fit a few in the space taken by a
Scaledale box.
Going off at a tangent slightly has there been any effect on the sales
of this type of Kit by the ready built Scaledale range?
G.Harman
John Turner - 29 Feb 2008 21:04 GMT
> Going off at a tangent slightly has there been any effect on the sales
> of this type of Kit by the ready built Scaledale range?
The only really significant change I've seen in kits sales relates to
Metcalfe Models - these have decimated the sale of Superquick Kits in my
shop.
John.