As big of a Thomas & Friends fan as I am, I’m in full agreement with you about Hornby Edward. He’s the worst model in the range only second to Emily. The lack of outside cylinders and the fact that he’s taller than James highlight this. Everyone says Hornby had a 2P tooling they should’ve used at the time Edward’s original model was released (2006), and it’s hard to disagree! Meanwhile, Bill and Ben (along with Toby) were repurposed from the Thomas clockwork range from 1999. They were deliberately overscaled for children (I had the full range growing up), and that was unfortunately carried over into the OO range.

"Function 8 is a murder" -Sam's Trains 2024

The steampunk range’s worst aspect was that it brought shame and dishonour to the name of Basset-Lowke, who practically kickstarted the hobby single-handedly! A firm that made spectacular 0 gauge and live steam engines that still work wonderfully to this day. Hornby should have used the Basset-Lowke name to enter the 0 gauge market and/or live steam, which would have greatly helped their profits. Thanks as always Sam!

As a Lego builder, I think the brickpunk range were the worst designs I have ever seen. A deceased hamster could design a better model.

The strange thing about the Thomas range is that the quality of the model depended on what they had used for it. Most of the more obscure characters like Oliver, Murdoch, and Stepney faired well because they're prototypes were ubiquitous in oo scale but then you look at main characters like Edward and Toby and they just look horrible. I think people would look back on it better today if Hornby put more effort into the main characters

Since you did Hornby's worst products, can you please do a Bachmann's worst products?

I feel like Hornby isn't trying anymore. Squeezing out every last dollar, old models, overpriced models.

I remember the sound wagon being featured in James May’s Trouble in Model Britain about Simon coming back to rescue Hornby. I nearly bought one the other day for about £20. Thanks for saving me

You literally explained every problem I have with the Hornby Thomas range. It’s so bad. How do you get a license as popular and important (at the time) as Thomas, and then don’t even try on it? They literally gave Arry and Bert the wrong faces. Like they actually have faces that are from two different characters. How do you even do that?

The most annoying thing about the SECR E2 is that it has the number 326. The SECR had a number 326, it was a Wainwright H Class 0-4-4T, and it was scrapped in 1961.

My issue with hornby's iteration of Edward, is because he isn't even the right class. The rehashed build designs of the e2, Percy, etc, are absolutely abismal

Lol funny how sam didn't recognise the level crossing barrier sound

That tank engine in that Beatles set…is another Thomas retooling! They used to make an 0-4-0 Thomas before the e2 one

The TTS sound wagon is pointless!! Back in the olden days of model railways, modellers would visit preserved railways with a contraption called a cassette recorder (I used a Phillips N2220 back in the 1970's). These cassette recorders would record al the railway related sounds that the modeller desired in superior to digital, analogue quality onto 1.5 hour playing magnetic cassette tapes. Back home, these tapes could be inserted into an old fashioned stereo music centre, with cassette tape playing facilities, to be played in the background whilst operating a model railway layout, etc. Some people also published and sold railway sounds cassettes & LP records, advertising them in model railway magazine publications.

I've noticed Sam that the 14xx never has a good reputation in model form. Hopefully one day someone will make a new tooled 14xx model. Cheers Jasper & Willow

I remember seeing one of those steampunk trains, the 0-4-0 one, for sale for 50p 😂

Sam, what to do with your worst top ten items. 10: Repaint the livery to the correct livery or rebody it. 9: Take it apart, take out the sound system, and have it connected to the layout else where with better speakers. The van then can be unpickuped to use it free wheeling. 8: Strip it for usable parts or weather it with TMC or rebody. The latter which Hornby probably did with the returned model you got back. 7: The franchise should have insisted on new tooling before Hornby bought its licence. Not to use old tooling releases. A bad deal by the franchise and no wonder they lost the deal to Bachmann. Reuse as spares or repaint to proper liveries or rebody. 6: The 66 was also used for the NHS Thank You Capt Thomas Moore and I was so let down for the charity model. I expected a Super Detailed release and end up with a Railroad loco. Hence I bought the Bachmann release a few months ago with the WW2 Planes set, a better perfect tribute release. As for my Hornby NHS loco, offer me a price and its yours or to anyone watching. Highest offer wins with a 20% donation to the NHS from me. 5: Sacrilege to the Beatles name, or anything like it as a franchise or licence release. Just poor thought out items. Solution is to repaint, and weather to proper stock or replace all bodies to true liveried stock. 4: The 14xx model, if it can't be fixed, strip it for spare parts. Otherwise rechassis it. Also, repaint the body, or heavy weather it to hide the terrible printing. 3: The Coke franchise should have pulled the plug on the licence for these crass models. This lowmac, cut away the bottle, reload with a proper load and stick it in a siding, Sam. Even cut away the D couplers and replace with a magnetic set to see if that helps its running. 2: Runner up, well, lets see, hmm, resell at a big loss, give them away, bin them, or melt them down, but keep the metal wheels. 1: Top slot, the steam punk range. It's best to rebody the stock with proper fictional bodies, or use the best of the chassis' as spare parts and scrap the rest. As for the Lego, just mix the parts in with the rest of your bricks and say nothing, lol. I hope these hints and tips will help you make better use of the top ten fails, Sam. They are practical solutions to make good out of bad buys. Enjoy doing the Mods and lets see what you can do to make use of them in a future 'Can We Reperpose, or Destory' video, 😂😂😂. After watching the video for new content for the channel with Chloe. The above reperposing idea would be a start, lol.

Great video thanks. Hope your operation goes well. Look forward to next update.

I bet for a million British pounds that Accurascale or Rapido can make a proper Furness Railway K2 4-4-0 American tender engine in double 00 Sam. I mean, Rapido is making the real life Bill and Ben counterparts in model form.

Oh no, the Hornby steampunk range managed to outlive Sam! 😱

Thank you for another very informative Video, and also a really amusing one, which I laughed out loud at. Brilliant as usual.

I've got the sound effect van. The siren is a level crossing and the shooting sound as you say it is. Is doors being closed at the station

Lol, funny, goofy music with the closing titles hahah. We remember all those reviews, and this is a joyful witted Sam style overview of all that drab 🤣 Cheerio.

A great video as always. Whenever i see the coca cola wagon and the beatles loco i can only wonder... what the hell were they thinking...?

20:41 lol, that was very funny Sam. Cheers Jasper & Willow

Liking the video! Can you a similar topic but with Bachmann?

On my way to some ghost house for my sister, over an hour left to go and this is gonna make the wait more fun! You uploaded this as I was at a gas station!

im pretty sure the secr e2 is a reference to the thomas and friends ertl bluebell which also used thomas model repainted

It just occurred to me that the SECR green E2 is probably based on the ERTL model of Bluebell.

2:18 Until you realise that only one e2 ever wore lbscr umber livery (no 100), and only for a short period of time, while every other e2 carried lbscr black livery, including no 100 for the majority of its life!

Concerning the ex-Thomas released in SECR livery, maybe they should have released it in the Farnborough, Reigate, Alton, Upwell and Dover Railway livery?😀

Please make a follow up to this, but rather than ripping Hornby a well deserved new one, do it to Bachmann too. Just bought a very good condition Bachmann Class J but was disappointed by the split chassis and self tapping screws securing the plastic body. The front self tapping screw that holds the front of the body down was short and actually broke its stem that it was supposed be securing. While this model was an older model, I know Bachmann still like to release new models with this type of cheap construction.

Very entertaining. Thank you.

3:19 funny story Sam, I actually got one of those along time ago, but it never really work on me. The speaker just gave up on me, and I've never tried to fix it ever since, now it's just a piece of rolling stock on my layout. Cheers Jasper & Willow

I like the idea of Hornby making “true to life” models of the Thomas characters…but when they just grabbed the closest they could find was awful. I know new tooling would’ve cost more, but going this way has made it just seem like a cost cutting idea.

Loved your video. I do agree with your assessments. What I would like to know is why you don't like rubber tires on train wheels? Just curious.

Awesome video Sam's trains 😊 did you know that Hornby made a wooden train set?

The only locomotives I wanted to get from the Hornby Thomas range were Thomas, Percy, and James. Compared to their Bachmann counterparts, they come with front couplers and will be “more useful” if required for shunting(a task each character has done in the show). The only way to attach a front couplers to the Bachmann models is to modify them.

Really good video Sam, and very well narrated. I'm a big fan of European TT, however I would've been happy for Hornby to forsake their British TT range and have gone instead for a real Era I range. Things like locomotion are exciting. Now wouldn't it have been great if Hornby had put some real investment into genuine era wagons. Locos like the steam elephant, and what I think would be a clincher: an era I track system. What happens of course is you get your superlative locomotion No1, a few carriage underframes with dead livestock, empty carriages with a guard having a squat, and wheel it around on Hornby set track. Of course track then looked nothing like track now. No sleepers, contemporary lithographs picturing rails embedded in ash, or rails on stone setts. It'd be wonderful to have a track system with that look, and points didn't have point bladed, they were of the variety where the rail ends just displaced as appropriate. A working signal system where it's semaphore, operated by solenoid via the policeman standing at the base. With the tiny wagons you could have the genuine right-of-way, with 4' 8 1/2" gauge and 4' 8 1/2" track spacing as well. Those tiny wagon turntables like at old Euston where they used to re-marshall entire trains and locomotives without even leaving the platforms. And of course, Hornby could've even ventured into.... dare I say it?... broad gauge... But no, what we're all really after is more Beatles trains...

I will admit sam that the class 66s don't belong in the railways range, however I think you got quite unlucky with the livery - mines lovely and runs amazingly! Other than that, I really agree with you sam - what on earth was hornby thinking with brickpunk?! They've gone absolutely nuts. Yet another great video sam! I hope you're alive for the next video, or it's going to be a boring week!

In the strangest way the Steam Punk Hornby stuff will the the one to collect. It's always the 'train wrecks' that in time pull the big money with hardcore collectors, especially when it's new MIB. As for the Hornby Thomas line what I liked was the performance on track Vs the sluggish and lackluster Bachmann line. I know near the end there were all sorts of engine problems with the Hornby Thomas engines. A big hobby retailer in sydney had a flurry of them return with motor problems. It was right at the end of the licence time so it wasn't a case of doing a swap out. The only option was repair. I'm surprised you didn't include the Hornby Live Steam sets. I have a Mallard (blue) MIB 2004 era. Maybe your the perfect person to present all the faults with this system.

I am really excited for your next homemade locomotive is there is any update regarding next locomotive

Dunno if it's just me, but _Scoundrel Tractoid_ could be a decent name for a prog rock band!

SAM"S TAT DETECTION CHANNEL ! . . SAM: Rippin n Terrin' . . . YOU GO Guy !

Function 8 of wagon is signalbox levers being pulled or replaced. Siren sound you mentioned is AHB claxon

the hornby Edward as a model train is fantastic, as for looking like Edward from the TV show… ehh….

In Hornby's defense, the Thomas range was partially based on the characters RWS versions, but I still see what you mean.

I’ve got those stephensons rocket stamps on a first day cover :)

That wrap thing that Hornby did with their Class 66 they also did with their limited edition Drax Power biomass wagons. I certainly wasn't happy with it considering it too had air pockets over details and began pealing at the edges shorty after I unboxed them. Far from impressive considering they were priced at, if i remember rightly, around £80 each.

Funny thing Sam, Tony Wright master model loco builder who's layout, Little Bytham, is one of the best in the country, was very impressed with the Hornby A2/2's & the A2/3's 7 says he couldnt build a loco to match them. Now if you've seen Tony's loco builds that is some praise for Hornby indeed as his kit built loco's are just works of art.

What about Hornby’s best/worst loco - the Dog-a-Poodle-Choo-Choo?

I feel like it’s the old locos that are bring it back and “improve” it I also have the Hornby Thomas but one of its side rides have fallen off somehow

This was the first time I heard about beetle Thomas and I think a part of my soul was murdered brutally and lies dead on the floor. It was murdered by F8 of the van!

Hey Sam! It’s been a LONG time since I looked at this channel! I gotta lot of catching up to do lol

Congrats on 150k subs Sam I’m going to make a little video for you to congratulate you

I am surprised the Hush Hush did not make it to this list. I remember all the grief you had with it a few years ago. Such a disgrace!

2:05 it looks a lot like the Ertl Blue Bell and this logo might be perfect to make a custom E2 Bluebell

That last bit of the video was lol 🤣

Have you done any reviews on the latest Hornby A4 as I'm looking to get a A4 to replace my old one

I use the “steampunk” range for my younger nephews so they have something to run on my layout, mostly because their $30-36 on Amazon plus always on sale for $10 off

Hilarious! Well done, Sam - but I'm looking forward to the 10 BEST models video...

Oh, btw, the next live Sams Trains, I would like to see all these locos and wagons together as a single train. Just to see how far it gets before it fails, lol. If you wish to see this happen click the like comment button. Over 50 votes and Sam is to do it, right Sam, lol.

The old dicast push along Thomas range of the 1990s/early 2000s included a Thomas without a face in SECR livery! It would appear Hornby made it a OO electric model! Presumably the original Dicast version was supposed to be P Class 27 Primrose which did make an appearance in a Thomas book!

You need to do a top best and worst for bachhman as well

11:20 I got the Hornby GBRF grey livery class 66 and it’s honestly very good. No wraps in sight and mine was as heavy as a brick!

Is there going to be one for bachman heljan acurascale and other brands? Or just hornby

Hornby’s Thomas range could have been fine. Edward is often modelled from a Hornby 2p, Bill and Ben could have been made for Hornby’s many 0-4-0 mechanisms, and Emily should have been a new tool. At least it has its pearls, like Spencer, Gordon, and James, which all look miles better than Bachmann, or the television series models.

Not sure how I feel about putting the beetles on a model train. Anyway, always interesting to learn about these things. I'm more of a Bachmann, Tyco, and Walthers Train Line kind of guy, but Hornby sure is something huh?

Did anyone mention the Hornby R1149 Disney Toy Story 3 train set!! I think it tops anything you talk about in your interesting video, Sam.

Just came in off a KZfaq short advertising Hornby’s gold-plated Scotsman models… All aboard the Hornby hate train, I guess 🤷🏻‍♂️

Awesome video today Sam I agree Bachmann do the Thomas range better then hornby

Ok sam been watching your channel since 2016 its how i learned my modeling basics Edward bill and emily deserve to be on this list but the whole rang was frankly good they made custom model for James and Percy also remember that They started thomas model production Decades before bachmann i mean they could have swichted but they also cartered to the railway series modeler so you cant knark the whole rang

At 4.21 + number 5 sounds like someone flushing an old fashioned toilet!😭

4:38 sounds like someones breathing in between the level crossing sound😂

You need to change the traction tyres on the 14xx. I had to change the traction tyres on my 14xx because it kept on stalling on the points. I agree about Edward, they should have used the 2P instead of the D49.

I feel an honourable mention section should feature the hornby kinematic couplings that do not work unless you use the hornby supplied close couplings

Bill & Ben are actually KITSON 0-4-0T dock shunters, both of which are actually on the preserved Bristol Docks railway. There's even a U-Tube video that features them in action.

The outro was so funny😂

On a more positive note, will you be reviewing the P2 Prince of Wales with steam generator? It looks like a step in the right direction. Cheers

Sam are you going to review the Accurascale Class 66 when its released?

2:11 Interestingly enough, ERTL made the same choice when producing their version of the engine for their Thomas line.

Don’t blame you for putting the Thomas and friends range in there . They do have the few gems Duck and Henry in particular were good ones as in the books they were based directly off existing engines and the designs work in that regard. Agree with the Edward remark the scale on that is just completely off.

Wasn’t the Thomas model just a retooling of their original umber brown E2? I guess the modified the original mouldings so extensively they couldn’t reproduce the original E2

This one oughta ruffle some feathers on the Interwebs... EDIT: I nominate for 11th place, (dis)honourable mention the GWR 72xx. For such a large tank engine it is astonishingly light and weak, what few separately-applied details it has are quite brittle, and it has the same faded, plasticky finish as the A2/2.

Is the Bachmann Thomas range HO instead of OO?

"They also supplied a small number of deformed mutant animals..." Whahahaha love it! I own a Thompson pacific and it is indeed a woefully constructed loco although I quite like the prototype really. Joachim

As someone who has most of my trains in LEGO, my response to Hornby doing knockoff LEGO is "...huh?"

I've always liked the Hornby Thomas range, I like looking at them as "Day out with Thomas" models where railways try to represent the characters with whatever engine is available. Does that make them good? No, but it gives them their own charm, and I will totally admit that I love the Horny Toby, because it just looks so dumb and silly. As for that steampunk range. ...Yikes.

I had no idea the Hornby Edward even existed. It would be more convincing if they'd use a class 33 diesel!

13:01 it looks like this little Thomas and his big brother are all dressed up for the Beatles concert

i believe that the only good hornby thomas product is James and maybe some rolling-stock, but thats because either the model casually resembles it, or because Awdry used a 3f for his own model of james, either way... they're neat collectables, but not great models...

I do kinda enjoy the steampunk range, it's so ridiculously over the top it becomes entertaining. Also, what about the Era 1 flat wagons?

Weirdest thing about the SECR E2 is that Hornby, back in the 70s/80s, did make one in LBSCR Umber. (although I think the model was actually slightly better, rather than the simplified Thomas mould) Only reason they did it, far as I can see, is to try and appeal to the Thomas crowd (as there was an episode where he rather strangely wore an "LBSCR Green" which...never existed), ironically failing. The steampunk stuff is dire for multiple reasons, and I quite like the steampunk aesthetic. If only Hornby had a good, small 0-4-0 chassis to work with....Oh they do! The L&Y Pug they nicked from Dapol. But no, they go with el-cheepo again, so even if you were buying the engines to rework yourself, the basis is abysmal.

9:14 I wonder why Hornby used the verson with the outside steam pipes, they did make a d49 with inside steam pipes. Very strange Sam ;) Cheers Jasper & Willow

The man singing badly is, I think, an auctioneer at a cattle auction.

Not as bad as the Loid Rodney I bought last year, there was nothing to connect the motor to the wheels to drive the loco. I did send you a picture of it to ask if you had any idea where I could get the part but never heard anything. Hornby have been trying for nearly a year to get the part in, so in other words, not a chance of getting it working. I think it's called a Cardon Shaft.

Well done!

When I saw the thumb nail, I thought 'here we go, Sam bashing Hornby again'. But, to be fair, you make a lot of good points. All 10 products / /ranges have clear quality issues and a lack of thought going into design and production. Whilst I don't have a layout and haven't since I was a kid, Hornby has a certain amount of sentimental attachment to it. They really need to do better at the mid/lower end of the product range.

Not to mention the Hornby Toby is so tall that he cannot go through sheds and tunnels I'm not getting him either despite the fact that he has moving side rods unlike his Bachman model

How about the 0-4-0 Thomas model? I had a Thomas the tank engine loco as a child with only 4 wheels! It was seemingly ripped from the Pocket Rocket body, i would LOVE to know the story of the 4 wheeled Thomas the Tank Engine model!