I have heard that at a hobby shop that I frequent but am not sure if it’s right. Is Riverossi gone or soon-to-be gone?
Rivarossi went bankrupt not long ago and were bought out by Hornby. Hornby will be re-releasing some of the Rivarossi steam engines and cars.[:D]
Filed for bankruptcy early last year, and liquidated last December.
Gone like the 8-track!
[%-)] Should I be happy or sad?
8 tracks? Who remembers that? My first car had an 8 track player - remember those thingies that you could get to plug into the slot to play cassettes? Cassettes?
It seems that some people liked some of their locos alot, but I think different runs had different issues. Most users liked their heft, but sometimes they didn’t run quietly or the wheel flanges were too large for the smaller tracks that some modelers prefer. I would guess, by the smilies, that lots of guys are hoping Hornby tidies up the next runs and gives LL, Atlas, Athearn, BLI, and others a stiff bit of competition.
Cassettes…what are those? Jusk kidding[(-D]
I’m not going to miss the locos…it’s the passenger cars that I would (or will) miss.
Rivarossi stopped doing large flanges in the mid 90’s and gave all their engines and cars RP-25 flanges.
I know what you mean by sometimes the didn’t run quietly, my new-old U25C diesel is noisy enough to start an avalanch!![:D]
Heck, sound like another eBay opportunity, to me!!!
I’d say the Hornby buy-out should be a good thing - their recent UK market releases have been excellent models at sensible prices, and they’ll probably rework any deficiencies in the Rivarossi range before re-releasing it. Expect finer wheel flanges than the pizza cutters of old and also strong, smooth motors.
And I thought rerailing on O-Scale 3 rail was bad! [:D]
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I’d say the Hornby buy-out should be a good thing - their recent UK market releases have been excellent models at sensible prices, and they’ll probably rework any deficiencies in the Rivarossi range before re-releasing it. Expect finer wheel flanges than the pizza cutters of old and also strong, smooth motors.
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I have to say I disagree with this, although Hornby have drastically improved the quality of the new products, they are hidiously over priced - £30 for a Gresley teak coach, which we all know has some major flaws, such as a lack of tumblehome is a rip-off. The Class 31 is also overpriced for what it is - again a great model, but for £70 they really are taking the mick! Bachmann have produced a number of diesels, that although do not have opening cab doors (what is the point?) and rotating fans, are just as good, but about 25% cheaper.
I also feel Hornby should take a look at the prices they charge for their Thomas the Tank engine range, if the prices do not put the parents off, they will be out the range for most childrens pocket money!
I would expect the Rivarossi prices to stay the same, would be really nice if they did lower them though - or I won the lottery!
Regards,
Stephen.
Rivarossi also started putting 5 pole skewed can motors in most of their steam engines. (I did see a new 0-8-0 last week that had an older design flat motor, but it was still a new engine)
“I have to say I disagree with this, although Hornby have drastically improved the quality of the new products, they are hidiously over priced - £30 for a Gresley teak coach, which we all know has some major flaws, such as a lack of tumblehome is a rip-off. The Class 31 is also overpriced for what it is - again a great model, but for £70 they really are taking the mick! Bachmann have produced a number of diesels, that although do not have opening cab doors (what is the point?) and rotating fans, are just as good, but about 25% cheaper.”
i totally disagree. i have at least one of each of the recent bachmann releases. not one is as good as the hornby class 50. the motors are better than bachmanns. the detail is better and bachmann has recently taken to painting on hatches to avoid adjusting the moulds. i feel many of the recent bachmann diesels leave a lot to be desired. if you need proof of this try actually comparing the class 40 to a picture of the real thing!
i should add at this point that the bachmann class 20 has been modified and improved since i bought one and i havent had a chance to buy one yet.
i do partly agree about the class 31 though. but my views on that loco are skewed buy the fact that i dont like the loco anyway!
Peter
The only problem I had with Rivarossi passenger cars…is the molded underframe components. Separate parts would make it easier to rearrange the details to better suit a particular prototype.
Some of Bachmann’s (Botchman’s?) stuff is crap. Their F units have been around forever. They aren’t bad runners, but the detailing isn’t up to today’s standards.
Trust me, their British OO diesels are very good indeed - they run as well as if not better than Proto diesels. I think they may have two HO F units too - there’s the Plus version and also the cheapo trainset one. The Plus version is a fine model that repays some extra detailing, it’s not up to Genesis standards but then again it costs a lot less, especially if you buy used.
Not sure I can agree that the Hornby prices are overpriced - look at what you pay for Fleischmann, Marklin or Roco models. Hornby are reaching similar standards of detail and running qualities on their newest releases. You won’t find many Fleischmann locos for less than £70, and the Hornby 08, 31 and 50 are far more detailed than many of their range.
I think it was Neglected to also mention that the “Rivarossi” firm also included “Lima”, “Jouef” and “Arnold” for you N Scale modelers prior to its liquidation in 2004. I can only hope that Hornby will re-release some of the unique HO models that Lima produced specifically those for the “NS” Netherlands State Railway.
I look forward to seeing what the future holds for “Hornby” and its newly acquired assets with respects to European prototypes and in terms of additional model productions and improved performance with the locomotives and powered railcar lines. [:-^]
Stephan
[:0]Arnold is gone? [:(].When I was in N gauge Arnold produced the best (and most expensive!) locos and rolling stock.