Launching a new model railway scale in the UK is a rare event. The last time I remember it happening was for T gauge. So, the appearance of TT:120 as a RTR scale is certainly worth a look.
I should mention that I have a bit of background knowledge. I've known, and even occasionally worked with Simon, for many years. The idea he wanted to bring back TT was no surprise. I prodded him a few times in the years before it actually happened, to see if I could get a reaction, and he'd never admit anything. But we knew it was coming.
The book covers a lot of the details behind the attempts to get the scale off the ground, and the trials and tribulations once the project had been given the green light by management. Some of these I learned about subsequently, others were new to me. Hardly surprising, this was a top-secret project.
With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that the launch was a success. TT:120 has attracted a mostly new audience of social media-savvy people. People who make a lot of noise! In this respect, the parts of the book covering Simon having to be schooled in modern advertising by Montanna are quite fun. I remember him telling me many years ago that "likes" didn't pay the bills!
Towards the end, there is mention of problems people had with the track. Apparently, when handed a new piece, Simon automatically twists it to release any tensions built up in the moulding process - a new idea to me, and to everyone else it seems, as this became a real issue for the company. This is the downside of the social media world, people rush to claim hardship, because bad news sells, and generates plenty of hits on their channel.
The book is an easy read - Take it to a sunlounger and you'll finish it in a single session, and enjoy it. There is a lot of background here, and to my knowledge, very little edited out. I suspect that a couple of bits may have been toned down slightly, but that's to be expected. I bet there were occasions in meetings where the language wouldn't have been suitable for a family audience!
Well worth a read if you can get your paws on a copy. I'm told the first run has sold out, so we better hope for a second.
1 comment:
There's a copy sat a few feet away, I just need to find time to read it. I'm not really interested in TT120 but I am interested in how and why Hornby decided to launch a new scale.
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