ANDY: Playing with Lego Trains (particularly the Metroliner).

RICHARD: The smell of the Christmas tree. It was a wooden one that once belonged to my grandparents.

JASON: Christmas? What? We go for Chinese food.

BILL: Setting up the tree with my dad.

ANDY: Particularly as you’re the office Scrooge.

RICHARD: That’s true. I need to dig out my ‘Bah Humbug’ hat at some point. But let’s face it: while 2021 has been better than 2020, it’s still been a pretty dismal 12 months. And, as December 25th gets closer, the news from the 12in:1ft scale world doesn’t seem get any better.

What, we therefore asked ourselves, can Rapido Trains UK do to bring a little sparkle to Christmas 2021?

ANDY: How about opening the order book for our The Titfield Thunderbolt models?

RICHARD: Good call! So, that’s what we’ve done! Scroll down to take a look.

It's a fairly short festive newsletter but there is some other stuff to look at too. Including:

You can now order our The Titfield Thunderbolt train packs!

The Titfield Thunderbolt: order now!

We weren’t joking earlier: you can now order our signature The Titfield Thunderbolt train packs.

Click on the relevant link below and you’ll be able to secure your own 1:76 scale slice of the classic Ealing Comedy.

There are two packs available to buy:

SKU922001 The Titfield Thunderbolt Deluxe Pack. This pack contains sound-fitted Thunderbolt (complete with era-specific details), 'Loriot Y’ plus Dan’s House, ‘Toad’ No. W68740, scale figures and commemorative booklet. RRP: £399.95

SKU922002 The Titfield Thunderbolt Pack. This pack contains DCC-ready/silent Thunderbolt (complete with era-specific details), ‘Loriot Y’ plus Dan’s House and ‘Toad’ No. W68740. RRP: £299.95

Here is a 3D render taken from the final CAD files for Lion/Thunderbolt, the ‘Loriot Y’ and the ‘Toad’. All three models are with the tooling shop now and we expect to see samples in the spring.

Judging by the feedback we’ve received, these train packs look set to be popular so we recommend that you get your order (or orders!) in quick. Remember that you can order direct here or from your local Rapido Trains stockist.

ANDY: The Titfield Thunderbolt. It's always on at Christmas!

RICHARD: Any James Bond film... except Moonraker!

JASON: The Family Man. Really. Watch it and you'll want to move to New Jersey.

BILL: A Christmas Carol - The original with Alistair Simm

A 3D render of 1930 Condition Lion. This is one of two versions of the classic Liverpool & Manchester Railway 0-4-2 that we're producing.

Not only as we taking orders for Thunderbolt but you can also get your order in for Lion too!

We’re producing the famous Liverpool & Manchester Railway 0-4-2 in two versions: one is as it starred in the LMR’s centenary celebrations in 1930 (after its rebuild at Crewe Works) and then in its 1980s condition. These have some period specific details that will not be found on Thunderbolt.

All versions feature die-cast metal and injection moulded plastic construction, a high quality motor and mechanism, NEM coupler pockets as well as being able to couple to 'historic' coaches from other manufacturers. Sound-fitted models will feature an ESU LokSound decoder and silent models will feature a Next18 decoder socket.

A colourised image of 1930 Condition Lion to show you what the LNWR green/Indian red livery will look like.

Lion (1930 Condition) features enclosed tender spring boxes, no pressure gauge and comes in LNWR green and Indian red livery. There are two versions:

SKU913001, DCC Ready/Silent; RRP: £179.95

SKU913501, DCC/Sound-fitted; RRP: £279.95

A 3D render showing 1980 Condition Lion. See if you can spot all the differences...

Lion (1980 Condition) features open tender spring boxes, firebox mounted pressure gauge, fireman’s toolbox, separately supplied loco and tender safety chains. It comes in Ruston green and black livery.

There are two versions:

SKU913002, DCC Ready/Silent; RRP: £179.95

SKU913502, DCC Sound-fitted; RRP: £279.95

Don’t delay: get your order for Lion in today.

This is the livery that is most familiar to most people: dark green splashers and black frames. The 1838 locomotive is now one of the star attractions at the Museum of Liverpool.

We’re also delighted to announce that we’re also able to start taking orders for the non-Titfield versions of our ‘Loriot Y’ machinery truck. The GWR built just two of these unusual looking vehicles to Diagram G39, No. 41989 in 1937 and No. 41990 in 1939.

Our model features injection moulded and die-cast construction with separately fitted detail parts, metal bearings for smooth running, NEM coupler pockets and additional tie-down points to reflect key periods in these vehicles’ careers.

There are three to choose from:

RRP for all versions is £39.95.

We hope to be able open the order book for non-Titfield versions of our Dia. AA20 'Toad' brakevan early in the new year.

Preserved 'Loriot Y' No. 41990 at a distinctly damp Severn Valley Railway. It's part of the GWR 813 Preservation Fund's extensive collection of historic vehicles.

Want to win a huge amount of money off Rapido products? And help shape our business? Then you need to enter the Rapido Great Model Railway Survey.

Here’s a question for you: how many railway modellers are there in the UK? Or what’s the split between those who use DCC and those who stick with analogue control?

They’re almost rhetorical questions for the simple answer is: no one knows. That’s right. In a hobby like ours without a central, over-arching organisation, there’s no one to organise such data. You can find all manner of classic car ownership stats from the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs but there’s nowhere to tell you, for example, how big the British ‘N’ gauge market is compared to ‘OO’ or whether the diesel era is more popular than steam.

All we have is anecdotal evidence which, for a manufacturer like Rapido Trains UK, means that there’s always a certain amount of ‘gut feel’ to any new product launch, no matter how much canvassing you might have done beforehand.

So that’s why we’ve devised the Rapido Great Model Railway Survey.

ANDY: Winter Wonderland

RICHARD: Mistress for Christmas by AC/DC

JASON: Happy Xmas/War Is Over by John & Yoko/The Plastic Ono Band

BILL: Carol of the Bells by Marillion

This is not a survey asking for ideas for new models. No, it’s a survey about you, the model buying public; it’s about what you like and dislike; what you buy and how you buy; what you’re interested in and what you could be interested in.

We know what Christmas is like. For all the wonder and excitement it brings, there are times when you just need five minutes to yourself. Particularly if you need to let the Christmas dinner settle!

What better way to spend those few minutes than by helping us to make informed choices about what models we produce? The survey is online (you can find it here) and all the questions have simple multiple-choice answers so it won’t tax the brain too much.

And because it’s Christmas, we’ll want to give you something for your trouble. If you complete the survey, you’ll be entered into a draw to win one of three Rapido trains UK vouchers. The winner will receive a £100 voucher for a single purchase on our website and there are two runner up prizes of £75 and £50 vouchers.

If that’s enticed you, please click here to take part in the survey.

Look at this: 'N' gauge Type BD and Type A containers! These look as though they're going to be very smart little models.

As it’s only been a week or so since our last newsletter, there’s not a lot more to report from the factories. But here is a first look at the 'Conflat P', another peek at the Gunpowder Vans as well as production samples of the APT-E.

It might not look like much but here are key 'Conflat P' components. Hopefully we'll be able to show you a completed wagon in the not too distant future.

The factory is still hard at work making Gunpowder Vans. Here's the RCH pattern GPV finished in BR bauxite as ex-LMS No. M701058 (902002).

There's only one train with a schnozz like this! Yes, it's the APT-E! Here's a production sample of new batch. ESU are expected to supply decoders to the factory within days and so we're hopeful that the new models should ship shortly.

Here's a reminder of the fabulous detail you get on the APT-E. All the banks of computing equipment light up! The packaging for this fresh run of APT-Es is awesome... but was too big to fit inside out little photographic studio.

ANDY: Pigs in blankets

RICHARD: Mince pies

JASON: Cabbage rolls

BILL: Beef Wellington

By Richard

Christmas and model railways go hand in hand like, well, a pig in a blanket or cream over a warm mince pie. Mmm…

I received my first train set (a Hornby Midnight Freight set with Class 58) in 1987 and, ever since then, there’s usually been a model locomotive under the tree. Yes, you can buy a new locomotive at any time of the year but there’s something magical about seeing the tell-tale, brightly wrapped oblong box nestling at the foot of a Christmas tree.

ANDY: A boiled egg making machine!.

RICHARD: A Ford Motorsport rally jacket. It was very, very warm!

JASON: Hasbro AT-AT Walker, hands down. Though it was for Chanukah, mind...

BILL: A home-brew kit!

Our North American colleagues often mock what appears to be a British attitude to hang on to older models. If a particular locomotive comes out that renders an older version redundant, the older model is disposed of. But we Brits tend to hang on to our models.

I’m a hoarder. I have boxes of older models that haven’t run in years which have been superseded by much newer and more detailed models. But I’m loathe to get rid of them because they were Christmas presents. All of them, no matter how old or how clunky the detail, all have sentimental attachment.

There’s the Hornby Class 06 that was the first new locomotive to complement my Class 58. There’s my namesake old Hornby ‘King’ (No. 6027 King Richard I). One year I discovered where my parents stashed the presents and the fleeting glimpse of lined BR green convinced me that I was getting Flying Scotsman as No. 60103; imagine my surprise when it turned out to be No. 70000 Britannia.

More recently, there’s been everything from Bachmann Ivatt ‘4MTs’ to ‘OO9’ Lynton & Barnstaple locomotives from Heljan. The former satisfies my M&GN interests whereas I’d been dreaming of ready-to-run Lynton & Barnstaple models for decades so I had to have one. Or five...

ANDY: Table Presents. Don’t ask... it’s an in-law family thing.

RICHARD: Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a few rounds of the Downton Abbey game.

JASON: We drive around to see the Christmas lights and decorations, even though we don't celebrate Christmas!

BILL: Celebrating Christmas with the family on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day.

Christmas always seems the perfect time to do some modelling. If you’ve been frugal with your holiday time, you can have a couple of weeks at home with nothing to do. After all, it’s cold outside and the evenings are long and dark. What better way is there to fill the time than to make something? (Especially in the company of a glass of something medicinal!)

Don't be like me. I always approach the Christmas holiday with ‘ooh, maybe I could build a small micro layout’. I’ve finished work with ambitious plans to model Manez Quarry on Alderney or something Lynton & Barnstaple inspired. But time seems to slip through the fingers and before you know it, it’s early January and time to head back to work.

We'd love to see your Christmas modelling efforts - please share them with us on our Facebook page!

Click here or on the above image for a heart-warming Christmas tail (see what we did there?!)

It's not often that we plug someone else's videos but we couldn't resist sharing this one from the Talyllyn Railway. Who doesn't love a cute dog and narrow gauge steam?! Enjoy!

Don't forget that there'll be some more Rapido video wackiness in 2022. Watch this space!

All that remains to is to thank you for your support in 2021 and to wish you and yours a happy and peaceful festive period.

We look forward to you joining us for more fun model railway frolics in 2022.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year everyone!