Some of the ranges in this report were written up ahead of the Toy Fair as a few manufacturers supplied us with their information earlier than usual.
The information given is purely personal and compiled to the best of my knowledge. This year the Train Hall had moved once again - there appeared to be more space but quite a few of the manufacturers had disappeared this year. My report deals purely with the ranges which WINCO supplies. The only other manufacturer I had talks with was a Company called Ladeguter which supplies high quality wagon loads and I am tempted to bring some of these in to see how they go. I have also not mentioned RailTOP because certain issues within the group have arisen and until resolved little new will appear from them.
ACME: another manufacturer who seems to be expanding quite rapidly with lots of interesting variants on existing models and a few completely new ones.
The ETR 500 EMU is nearing completion. The whole set is made up of 70001 - 4 units, 70002 - 3 additional central units and 70011 Restaurant coach. Another new locomotive is 60065/66 and 67 FS Diesel D342 - the different codes denoting different Epoches. There are two BR 185's in "Railion" liveries (these should be with us late February) as will 60057 "Hector Rail" Class 241 and Cisalpino Re 484 Code 60050. The same loco will also be available in a set with some coaches under code 70007. The Class 185.5 will be available in "CrossRail" black, "CrossRail" white and BLS liveries.
Also new are two sets of 3 coaches which make up the FS "Palatino" EuroNight set which travels between Rome and Paris.
The ACME catalogue is 80-pages thick and shows all available stock items and new variants. We hope to have a number of copies in stock shortly.
BRAWA: this year is the 60th anniversary of BRAWA which has led to a 60-page New Items brochure. We have a few in stock but their weight necessitates 5 x 2nd Class stamps for them to be sent out please.
Highlights in HO are - Prussian S9 4-4-2 Tender Loco. The same type as a BR14 of the DRG + loads of wagons and coaches, predominantly early German. Apart from these locomotives everything else looks like repaints / different running numbers.
In N Gauge again new issues of existing locos and TALENT DMU's alongwith an assortment of older German wagons and coaches. The only exception being one SWISS 3 x Refrigerated Wagon Set in Epoche IV - code 67100.
Basically the whole 60-pages are dedicated to locomotives and rolling stock except for two different length Roller Test Beds which would be ideal to show off exhibits in display situations. Remarkably there are no new "G" scale items this year.
BEMO: as far as BEMO are concerned there are 43 new items. Some of these having already been announced in their Autumn 2007 News leaflet. By the time you receive this report hopefully all Bemo Club members and other interested parties will have received a copy of the 2008 New Items leaflet although we should have some spares for anyone else who requires one. The Order form sent out with the leaflet does not have any approximate prices this year. At the time of printing we had not sorted out our pricing structure for 2008 but we now have a rough idea on some of the prices so if you need to know before ordering please give Yvonne a ring.
Some of the BEMO highlights in HOm are -
RhB: METAL COLLECTION 1277121 Ge 2/4 no. 161 in brown (with the usual "cut off" date) / METAL COLLECTION 1277132 Ge 2/4 no. 162 in orange (which will go into the standard programme / 1259139 Ge 4/4 III 649 "HCB" / 7243112 Be 4/4 no. 512 EMU (with "cut off" date). This set is also available as 7243121 with Be 4/4 no. 511 which again will go into the standard programme. There is also an additional coach to lengthen this set. Also shown is 1258101 Ge 4/4 II in "login" livery and another 4/4 II with round headlights - 1258137 "Ilanz". We have 3 new Railcars - ABDe 4/4 no. 38 in red 1268138* and 1268129* Xe 4/4 9922 Works Unit (*these two railcars are basically the same item in different liveries). ABe 4/4 no. 51 "Poschiavo" 1269113 is also available in the "Unesco" livery.
There are numerous coaches and wagons for the RhB including a 2-axle Refrigerated Wagon in "Bundner Bergkase" livery, some Bogie Flats with "Cargo Domino" containers / "Giezendanner" Tanks and "Post" containers. Also some new style Talbot Hopper Wagons will be available in RhB / FO / MOB and BRUNIG liveries. The MOB has a new Ge 4/4 no. 802 in "Menuhin Festival" Livery - 1259333 and for the BRUNIG a Deh 120 008 in red livery 1246438 alongwith some new Centre-door coaches.
As already mentioned all these items are shown in the leaflet - if you haven't got a copy please send in 2 x 2nd Class stamps to help with postage.
BEMO HOe: the only new items this year are 6 locomotives, 5 of which are METAL and only available as "finished" models. The only plastic one being a Heeresfeldbahn Diesel Kof 6003.
D & R: nothing new this year. D & R are still plodding along and gradually bringing up the range to nearing completion. There were some base moulds on show for the new BRUNIG Panoramic coaches. Once again price rises here.
FALLER: the highlight in HO this year is 130337 Nuremberg Historical Fire Station. 110095 is a small Station "Sonnefeld" and 130481 a modern Police Station. There is also a "Drive-in" Bank (130480) and a large building which is described as a Driving School (code 130412). Also a prefabricated House under construction (130308). FALLER have also gone into the Ready-built market with a number of models, one of which is 193229 a Sawmill together with 193339 "Aldi" Supermarket. Both of these models are come in N Gauge under numbers 252255 and 232204 respectively.
There are 3 new HO Fairground models - 140428 "Salto Mortale" Ride / 140444 "French Fries" Booth and 140445 "Fish Bar".
FLEISCHMANN: this was another one of the stands I didn't have time to visit as such although I managed to pick up a few brochures and had a general look around. The Fleischmann 2008 brochure is 58-pages but as far as I can make out most of the items shown (as with the other manufacturers) are mainly reliveries. Of interest to us in HO is 433901 an Re 4/4 II in "Crossrail" livery, 490501 Epoche I Colliery Train Set, 513281 / 513301 and 513401 SBB S-Bahn Driving Trailer and coaches with the Zurich red doors and 524101 a set of 3 x SBB Bogie Cargo "Crossrail" container wagons. In N Gauge - 737201 SBB Ae 6/6 in green, 73701 OBB Class 1010 Electric, 775301 new S-Bahn Loco, 738501 Class 485 in SBB "Crossrail" white markings and a 485 in BLS colours - 738601. The N scale S-Bahn coaches also come with the red doors. There are also a number of other wagons and coaches shown. The 2008 New Item leaflets should be available shortly. Please note - we can bring in any FLEISCHMANN items required using our pre-order scheme.
HERIS: again very little new from HERIS this year. They say they have so much still to come from previous years that they need to concentrate on making these. It looks as if some of their prices may fall a little as their tooling costs have gone down. Unfortunately the fall in the £ will cancel this out! One very nice new item is code 12204 a set of 4 Coaches in the "Euro-Express" (Ski Express) livery. There are also some more of the "CityNightLine" Double-deckers with running number and design variations.
HAG: no new items as such this year. The GTW 2/6 moulds have now been made but the first castings have not arrived as yet. Quite a few locos have been revamped/reliveried including the Ae 6/6's, Re 6/6's,
Re 4/4's and Ae 4/7's. One of these has been reproduced with no pantographs purely as a Heating Unit under code 13 010 xx - it will be motorised. The 460's come in "Login" livery (28 211 xx) / "Euro 08" - the same as the ROCO model (28 212 xx) / "Thales" (28 215 xx) and "REKA Rail II" (28 216 xx). The old favourite BLS Ae 8/8 is being run with 4 motors in the normal BLS brown and also the latest BLS red colour schemes. The 450 Power unit comes with a new name - "Bonstetten" (30 014 xx). There is also a new BLS Driving Trailer in green/grey which has been modified from the previous BLS Driving Trailer and finally 3 new Type Sgs Container wagons - 73 013 "Galliker" / 73 015 "AMAG" and 72 107 "DHL".
HobbyTRADE: as from now on our HobbyTRADE will come direct from source rather than a distributor. There was one new locomotive shown - DSB Class MT152 Diesel in 3 guises. The MAK Diesels will come out in 4 new liveries (we still have some of the original liveries in stock). The HENSCHEL Diesels are also due for some new paint jobs.
HOBBYTRAIN: not much new here to report on but there are 3 new TAURUS locos in "Football" liveries for Germany, Holland and Spain plus a standard TAURUS in GySEV livery. Hobbytrain are also going to reproduce
the German "Donald Duck" 4-Car ET 403 in "Airport Express" and "DB Inter-City" liveries. There will also be a couple of Swiss Double-
container Wagons Type Sggnos in "Bertschi" and Swiss "Post" liveries.
KIBRI: from December 2007 this company changed ownership and it is possibly the only range which we stock that will not have a significant price increase. There is an 8-page New Items leaflet for 2008 but only 2 pages for HO kits and I am sure I have seen many of these items in previous KIBRI catalogues.
However some worth noting are - 9388 "Grassbrun" Station / 8824 Post Office / 9767 "St Marien" Church. Also three Alpine type buildings - 8825 Chalet "Bachtaler" / 8826 House "Moosgruber" and 8827 Hotel "Baren". There are 8 new items in the N section, most of which I would classify as Town buildings.
KISS: this Company was not at the Toy Fair this year although some of their existing products were on display on the Massoth stand.
KLEIN Modellbahn: again not present this year, but they are back up and running. We have just had a delivery in from them and are in the process of sorting out our 2008 price list. It looks as if KLEIN Modellbahn have curtailed quite a lot of their range but that is understandable considering their move etc.
LS: there is a 90-page new catalogue but unfortunately it is dated 2009! Therefore I don't think there is much point in listing all that is shown. All I can suggest is that you get a catalogue and pre-order to ensure supplies.
One thing to mention here is that the Swiss xxxxxxxxx are on route and hopefully we will also have some catalogues soon.
LILIPUT: again a few new items and a few repaints. In HO - 110502 DB Class 05 4-6-4 Tender Loco, 132542 DB E44 Electric (Ep. III), 132540 the same model but DRG Epoche II. 329960 is a Gotthardbahn Coach to compliment last year's set of coaches. 221750 and 221751 are SBB Type L7 wagons in grey and brown respectively. There is also another BLS 2-unit Car Transporter Wagon (240077). 236001 is a set of 4 x DB Weed-killing Wagons and to match in with this set is 236491 a Track Cleaning Wagon. For the SBB another 6 x Beer Wagon set - code 240155 and a 2 Wagon set no. 240150 for the Swiss "BELL" Meat Transport Company. Finally in HO there is a Special set to mark Bachmann's and Kader's (Manufacturer) anniversaries. In HOe - 3 new OBB coaches, one of which is a Baggage Van and 371115 another of the Zillertalbahn Coaches - B13 "Mayrhofen".
L G B: they seem to have picked up where they left off last year which is not surprising considering the turmoil they have had over the last 12 months.
There is a new 2008 leaflet which is more or less the same as 2007. It includes a nice RuKB Mallet Loco with or without sound. Code 21423 is the RhB Ge 4/4 III with "Unesco" livery and the old faithfull Ge 4/4 II appears as no. 625 "Kublis". Some of the RhB coaches get the updated "Graubunden" livery. Also shown is 31523 an RhB old-style Bogie Coach. The latter matches the LGB Club Model (which I still haven't received!!). Also shown is the latest "GEX" Restaurant Coach and a Cement Wagon in 2 variants. There is also a super little Feldbahn Steam Loco which could appear anywhere.
I am not sure about the SBB 481, DB Class 101, VT 642 and OBB Desiro as these are obviously standard gauge - still we will see.
The LGB range has now moved to a MARKLIN factory in Hungary which is being extended Production should start soon with some track. As to when the locos come out is anyone's guess?
MARKLIN HO / I: MARKLIN seemed to have the largest stand at the show this year. They also had a 160-page New Items brochure but days before the show they cancelled all direct accounts and appointed a completely new distributor for their range in the UK. Due to the confusion this caused we now have a brochure for 2008 but no prices. My inkling is that WINCO will no longer stock any MARKLIN in HO or Gauge 1 (although we will be happy to order in any individual items using our pre-order scheme). I have been told that our trade prices will now be on par with the German retailers but as there are no prices available as yet we have nothing to compare or check with. There was also an interesting situation on the stand whereby on show were certain models in both MARKLIN and TRIX which we had been told previously were sold out and would no longer be available. Perhaps they were just trying to pad out their stand - who knows?
MARKLIN Z: we will continue to keep stocks of Z and bring in any Z items to order. At present (see above) we have no prices for this year.
Some of the MARKLIN Z highlights - 82285 set 2 x "Hoyer" Container Wagons, 82623 set 2 x "Nescafe" Hoppers, German Class 185 in "HOYER" livery (88493), 88192 SBB CARGO Class 484 Electric, 81881 Euro Thurbo (subsidiary of SBB) "Allgau Express" Set in "ALEX" livery.
MEHANO: this year they have come up with their biggest catalogue ever and loads of new items.
We source our MEHANO from two European outlets. The German one is more reliable for supplies / back orders but also more expensive than our other source. This year I have placed orders with both outlets to make sure that specific models we need for stock do arrive but there will be quite a price variation on possibly the same type of loco depending on the source. I know what I mean even if you don't follow my drift!! It all boils down to the fact we will continue to source MEHANO for any items you may require.
Some new items are - 5 door versions of the Class 66, 4 variants of the Belgian 4-Car DMU C41, the new VOSSLOH 333.3, VOSSLOH G1206 (the shorter version of the G1700) and variants of the ALSTOM 475000 Class.
NAROBAHN / TI-HO: during the course of this year we will split the ranges. We will continue to market the HOe range under "NAROBAHN" but will revert back to the "TI-HO" brand name for the HO scale. Using the word "NAROBAHN" for HO has caused confusion with some people.
Werner was not at Nuremberg this year but keep watching our Newsletters / Website / "Continental Modeller" for new releases as they come along.
PIKO: I am only going to cover the Hobby Range although we can supply any PIKO, including the G scale if you so wish.
There are a vast amount of new liveries on all Hobby Ranges - the 101 Class Electric comes as 59440 DB-AG and 59441 DB "China Airlines". The Class 185 comes in as 57477 "CrossRail" white and the G1700 Diesel appears as 59401 SBB "Infra", 59402 "MWB", 59403 "OHE", 59404 "HGK", 59405 "GKB", 59460 PKO and 96126 SNCF. There are 4 versions of the HERCULES Diesel - 57589 "OHE", 57590 "Thuringen", 57591 "Arriva" and 57592 "RTS" and 2 new versions of the Bombardier TRAXX loco - one advertising "TRAXX" - 57532 and the other "Metronome" - 57531. Finally there is also to be a new 2-car NS "Hondekop" EMU in yellow/blue (57522).
One wagon worth mentioning in their standard production line is 54842 an SBB Flat with 2 x SBB Containers.
PREISER: there is a lot of deviation this year by a lot of manufacturers and PREISER have come up with a building kit of a Police Station (code 19000) which comes complete with Police Officers and accessories.
As far as figures go there are not many new releases in HO for this year but some of those shown include - 10317 set of 11 Seated Passengers, 10649 "Pavement Artist's" scene / 10556 Children and 2 sets of Churchgoers 10560 and 10559 (the latter appear to be going to a funeral). Also there are 10568 Carpet Layers / 10569 "At the Hairdressers" / 10575 Nordic Walking / 10576 "Crane" scene and 13005 a "Super Set" of 60 Sports & Leisure figures.
Once again there are loads of single figures including a considerable number of Zoo animals. Finally there are 6 new packs of N figures and also 5 sets of LGB figures but unfortunately none as interesting as the MERTEN Pole Dancers!!
ROCO: the ROCO New Items booklet is 124 pages thick and includes a ridiculous amount of new / revived / reliveried items. We have the booklets available but sheer weight and size dictates we need 8 x 2nd Class stamps to help towards postage please, unless you want a copy sent out with your order paid by credit / debit card. Please note the recommended Euro prices shown in the New Items booklet do not include VAT as it varies from country to country. These are shown as guide prices only.
Just a few new items to wet your appetite (leaving out most of the Starter sets) -
HOe: 31023 Digital Steam Start Set /33220 Class 1099 Mariazell Electric Loco / 33262 OBB Class 399 Steam Loco and 34592 a Pair of Semi-Open Flat Wagons. Also 4 new DR Wagons and all the "old faithfull" Industrial Wagons released under new numbers.
HO: starting off with Switzerland - 62396 SBB 460 in "UEFA 2008" livery/
63150 ICN Railcar Set (no delivery date on this one) / 63878 Ae 6/6 "Graubunden" in green / 62401 Ae 3/6 in green / 63897 De 4/4 Baggage Loco/
62504 BR185 Angel Train in BLS CARGO livery / 63886 BLS Ae 4/4 - brown / 66012 Set 3 x Cement Silo Wagons / 66564 Double-Bogie Flat Car with 2 x "Post" containers / 66604 2 x HUPAC Wagons with "Schoni" containers and 66683 2-axle Flat with Saurer "Post" Bus load
Austria - 62243 BBO Class Rh 93 Steam Loco with giesel chimney / 62271 BBO Class 52 Steam Loco / 62446 OBB Class 1670 Electric in green (Epoche IV) / 62487 Class 1216 Electric in "Europa" livery plus 3 x red/cream Centre-door Bogie Coaches in Epoche IV/V and some nice wagons.
Germany - 62210 DB Class 24 (Epoche III) /62270 DB Class 52 (Epoche III)/
62840 DB Class 221 Diesel / 62010 DB Transrapid 09 (again no date on this one) / 62432 DB-AG Class 189 "Railion" Electric and numerous wagons and coaches.
Italy - 62563 & 62568 FS E656 Electric's in "XMPR" and green/grey livery respectively and 62870 FS D343 Diesel with rounded front
Quite a few completely new locomotives for SPAIN although here in the UK there doesn't appear to be much of a following.
FRANCE - 62610 SNCF BB 900 Electric (Epoche IV) in green / 62469 SNCF
BB 22200 Electric in "FRET" livery & 62472 2D2 9100 Electric
HOLLAND - 62580 Dutch 1100 Electric in grey & yellow / 63140 Dutch 4-unit Railcar Set (Epoche III) / 66006 "RailPro" Twin Ballast Wagon Set / 66678 "RailPro" Container Wagon also some Belgian EUROFIMA coaches.
DENMARK - 62261 DSB 2-8-2 Steam Tender Loco (Epoche III) & 62852 DSB NOHAB Diesel
NORWAY - 63875 & 63877 E.16's in "CargoNet" livery / 63876 E.16 in standard NSB livery and 63503 EL.18 (SBB 460) Electric
There is also a small section covering Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Swedish and Finish outlines.
RIETZE: my fault here! The Train Hall moved again this year and Rietze moved elsewhere which meant although I passed their stand a couple of times I never actually had the chance to call in so please keep an eye on our website or Newsletters for new releases as they appear.
TRIX: a ridiculous 190-page New Items leaflet with very little new in it! TRIX appear to have recalled some of their previous items and re-run them, either exactly the same or with a colour variant. Some items worth a mention in N Gauge -
11610 the OBB CAT Airport Train (Loco and 3 x Double-deck Coaches) with 15920 being an additional Coach for this set. Also for the OBB 12169 Class 1012.002 and 12170 1012.23. In Swiss the red 460 reappears under code 12167 and also the EuroCity Panoramic Coach 15907 plus 15905 1st Class and 15906 2nd Class matching coaches. Also for the Swiss fans a BLS 485 (TRAXX) Electric loco and a pair of "Holcim" Bogie Cement Tankers (15648) and finally a Bogie Stake Wagon with wood load - 15647.
ViTRAINS: this company is now gradually expanding their range and concentrating on locomotives. The GTW 2/6 is much closer and the ALn 668 Railcars are receiving new liveries. ViTRAINS have now announced the ALn 772 Railcar and ALe 840's as well as some French BB16500's together with a FRET version. An interesting project is also some Belgian AM 54 Electric EMU's including a "Post" version. There are also to be some new Belgian Class 16 liveries. The only new item is a 8-bogie Stake Wagon Type Rs with FS, DB, RENFE, SNCF, CFL, SNCB and NS markings. We have a few 2008 ViTRAIN catalogues available @ £3.00. There will be more coming over shortly.
VOLLMER: they have now branched out with some 1 : 87 Die Cast cars. 21 versions are available in 2 liveries along with 3 German Police cars. The sample I have is not quite to Rietze's standards but they will be considerably cheaper so I suspect we will be giving them a go. Some of the cars which will be available include - Mini Cooper, AUDI A3, Porsche Boxer, MSW 120, VW Golf and MB A Class.
As for new HO kits, there are 20 shown and the pick of these are - 2412 "Silent Night" Chapel (this is the Chapel where the carol was composed). 3601 Treehouse, 3519 small Freight Station, 3805/6 and 7 - a series of Railway Men's Houses, 3777 "DHL/Post" Package Point. There are also a couple of Fast Food stands - 5139 Chicken and 5150 Bratwurst. 3602 is a Charcoal Works and 3605 a Dog Training School. For N Gauge modellers -
7570 Gate Keeper's Hut and 7755 Tree House.
There are also 12 Ready-built kits (FALLER are also doing this - let's hope they travel well?) in HO and 8 new packs of figures, one being Dog Trainers to go with 3605.
I hope that the above information may be of help and interest. Thank you for supporting WINCO and we hope to be of further service to you during 2008.
Peter Brett
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