Original subtitles

In 1901, Frank Hornby founded a company that would go on to become

one of the world's biggest model making and toy empires.

It has brought joy to millions, with names such as Hornby Railways,

Scalextric and Airfix.

Now, for the first time in its 118 year history,

the company has granted our cameras exclusive access

during what is set to be its most important year yet.

Hornby's lost £30 million in the last five years,

which is an astronomical amount of money.

In a bid to save their beloved brands,

they've reemployed a seasoned company veteran - Simon Kohler.

It isn't a toy industry, it's not the grocery industry,

it's a hobby model industry.

So far, Simon's overseen the development

of the innovative Vent Van with Twin Track Sound...

The cat.

CAT MEOWS

..and the launch of the 1/24th scale F6F Hellcat.

Absolutely spectacular.

Beautiful kit. Beautiful kit.

But, now, things are about to get a bit fractious...

You can borrow my airspace, if you like.

No, no, you can borrow mine.

..as the model train rivalries kick off.

I don't see why you're doing this. This is spiteful.

No, it's not. Yes, it is.

Hello, and welcome back, viewers. Or merely welcome,

if you somehow missed part one

of this compelling two-part documentary.

On tonight's final episode, there is toy train espionage

as the company prepares for the launch of its 2019 range.

Please be warned that the following film shows scenes

of slightly cross senior model railway company executives

and viewer discretion is advised.

Right. On with the show.

And, once again, you join us at a critical moment.

Head of audio research, Ken is the man

responsible for putting the realistic chuffing sounds

into the company's model locomotives.

To achieve this, Ken first has to capture a realistic chuffing sound.

Today, Ken is working incognito.

He's not capturing any old train,

he's after a specific locomotive.

One that is part of a highly classified launch

the company is planning

that will lead to the fight I keep banging on about.

The basic idea today is to try and get a recording

of what I call the chuff sequence -

and the deceleration sounds on the Terrier.

Ken's secret assignment is immediately in danger

of being not so secret,

as the platform is swarming with members of the public.

We don't want to give all of our secrets away regarding sound...

..and what we're doing,

and what might be coming at some point in the future.

But luckily for Ken,

the public here are all waiting for the NSB Type 21C locomotive,

called the Norwegian.

This is not the train Ken has been tasked with recording.

The forums are really rife with this sort of thing,

so we just deny everything.

With the Norwegian and the public soon departing,

Ken now has the platform all to himself...

..as the target of his covert mission hisses into view.

This is the Terrier. This is what we came for.

The Terrier was a popular commuter steam locomotive

operating routes across the south-east of England.

Its name comes from its diminutive size and fast acceleration

and, apparently, if you listen closely enough,

you can hear a bark amidst its chuff.

You don't often get a chance to get this close, which is nice.

It's fascinating, all the different sounds coming from different places.

Let the audio sequencing begin.

WHISTLE BLOWS

UPBEAT MUSIC

Luckily for Ken, this jaunty music was added in the edit

and won't affect his recording of the Terrier's chuffing sounds.

MUSIC: End of The Line by The Travelling Wilburys

# Well, it's all right Riding around in the breeze

# Well, it's all right If you live the life you please

# Well, it's all right Everything'll work out fine

# Well, it's all right

# We're going to the end of the line. #

I think we have everything we need.

Well, we've got the acceleration and deceleration sounds,

and lots of coasting sounds,

which are really useful.

Plus there was a few spot sounds and a really good guard's whistle.

As the one-to-one scale Terrier disappears in a puff of steam,

Ken slips away unnoticed,

back to his top-secret research lab,

where today's recordings will be reduced to 1/76 scale

and added to his collection of audible railway delights -

which is also the name of Ken's prog rock band.

HE GIGGLES Come on, my son.

HE HUMS A TUNE

Tuesday morning,

and head of archives, Peter, is positively buoyant.

Into the main factory now,

which is unfortunately empty.

We come down here and this is if anyone wants to, you know...

..ugh, hang themselves.

Well, that didn't last long.

Down this end was all the moulding machines.

Moulding 24 hours a day.

Peter has taken a break from running the company's visitor centre

to give our cameraman a tour of the empty building in Margate

that once housed all of the company's employees.

Before the factory was moved to China

and the head office to Sandwich.

It was, it was.

Here we are, look.

This was all the...

Where the accounts were.

Peter is unlikely to win the Tour Guide Of The Year Award

any time soon.

No, I think this was where the salespeople had an office here.

Profitability.

Automated sales.

Very sad when you see it.

All this lovely space here, just doing nothing.

After 52 years at the company,

Peter just wants things back the way they were in their heyday -

starting with their spiritual home of Margate.

When it first started, over 2,000 people worked here...

..in this company. 2,000!

Well, it has all gone from here.

But if they come back here, it would all come back.

It would all come back.

Luckily for Peter, his wishes may be about to come true...

..as over at the company's new HQ in Sandwich,

CEO Lyndon Davies has a big announcement.

We have now formally entered into discussions

for us to move back to the Margate site.

# Hallelujah Hallelujah

# Hallelujah

# Hallelujah

# Hallelujah... #

OK, that wasn't the huge reaction we were hoping for

for this documentary but, in a company like this,

revolution comes at 1/76 scale.

I don't know all the reasons for moving out of Margate,

all I know is the site's OK.

We have a history there

and I believe it will provide a beating heart for the company.

And to reinforce Margate as the company's beating heart,

they are using the visitor centre there

to launch the forthcoming 2019 range to the retailers.

For a company that hasn't posted a profit in seven years,

this range needs to be a belter.

This is to show that, "We're in the game, guys."

You know, we may have had a couple of sticky years,

but we are definitely in the game.

This is showing to the consumer, "We're listening.

"You've asked for certain items, you've got them in the range."

So the products that you're seeing will have a strong market sale,

and that's what it's all about.

I want to sell lots of these new items,

I want to get the profits up.

The forthcoming range is top secret

and brand manager Montana is giving nothing away.

It's completely hush-hush.

It's our secret project.

There has been a little bit of nervousness.

We had a slight disaster.

There were 21 2019 items which accidentally were uploaded

to our website due to restriction errors,

so myself and the online marketing manager

worked together to get them down straight away.

The reason Montana and the team are so paranoid

is they're about to introduce a locomotive into their 2019 range

that's going to send shock waves through the world of model trains.

And here it is.

Simon and head of development Ed

have received, from the factory in China,

the first parts of a brand-new locomotive.

Well, this is going to be a Terrier. This is a Terrier.

This is all the parts to make different variants on the Terriers.

The Terrier is a mainstay of the company's range,

but Simon has spent over £100,000 on new tooling

to produce a new version of the loco, rather than a reissue.

And he's brought production forward by several months.

Now, what's happened is a competitor of ours

has announced that they are going to produce a Terrier.

Well, you know, it's...

It's a Hornby product.

And we feel we can certainly get to the market before they do.

With the track laid for a race to the shop shelves,

Simon is keen to keep his plans hidden from his rival.

One of the things we've done is to say,

"Right, all this is kept under wraps."

That's why we're discussing these in a closed room.

The first break for cover of the Terrier

will be on the 7th of January,

when we first start previewing with our customers.

The competitor in question

is a retailer named Rails Of Sheffield, in Sheffield.

They sell everything to do with model railways,

and are run by lifetime model rail enthusiast John.

I think we're all right, you know, obviously with that last delivery.

Well, we've actually got one coming in, haven't we?

It hasn't landed yet.

Going right back to the 1970s,

my dad rented one shop up the road,

number 35, and he used to open Tuesday and Thursday evening,

6:30pm until 8pm. And Saturday 10-5.

And then all the rest of the time it was shut.

And then when I left school when I was 16, I said to my dad,

"I fancy opening the shop full-time. What do you think?"

He said, "Well, you can have a go at it."

And the rest is history, so to speak.

Have we got a new Coronation out yet?

Right, that's looking promising. HE LAUGHS

And this is the latest item to arrive from Hornby,

The Queen Elizabeth.

Rails are a huge player in the modelling world,

with a turnover last year of six million pounds.

They're one of Hornby's biggest accounts,

spending around a million pounds on their products every year.

It really is eye candy.

But in recent years,

John became frustrated with Hornby's lack of new models

and so, in a pre-emptive strike,

went into partnership with one of Hornby's manufacturing rivals,

Dapol, to produce their own trains,

including a new version of... Yes, you guessed it...

One project that we've announced, which is the Terriers,

which was a previous Hornby locomotive...

..that was something that Hornby produced 20, 30 years ago

and it's just so dated.

We thought, you know, if this was put to market

in an all-singing, all-dancing modern version...

You've only got to look at how many Hornby's sold of it

over the years. I mean, every year they do a Terrier in the range

and it's sold out every year.

A new version of it will be a good seller.

John is blissfully unaware

that Simon Kohler is also currently making a new version of the Terrier,

which he plans to launch before John's is ready.

The Terrier fight is just one of many battles Simon is fighting

in his attempts to turn the company around.

He's also trying to bolster some of the other brands in the group -

like their slot cars.

Invented in 1957, in its heyday, Scalextric

topped the Christmas bestseller list almost ten years in a row.

But today, like the model train and plane sides of the business,

it's lost its groove.

With Hornby recording losses of around £10 million last year,

Simon has very little money

to revive the fortunes of Scalextric.

Undeterred, he is producing their new advert

on the tightest of budgets.

I mean, I understand John Lewis spend a million pounds

on their TV commercials.

Our budget is so much more smaller.

But I think, with the team we've got,

we can get something probably just as dramatic -

but maybe not quite so fancy.

To keep costs down even more,

the advert is being made only with in-house staff,

including Mike, the in-house videographer,

and also Mike, no relation.

There's a lot depending on this.

The retailers, they are relying on us to promote Scalextric...

..and, arguably, one of the best ways to do it is on the TV.

So, you've got to give them a good TV commercial so people can see it,

they get excited by it, and they go out and buy it.

Action.

So, yeah. No pressure, really.

No pressure.

HE SIGHS

The money saving isn't just reserved for the crew.

Why pay for an actor when Martin... Action.

..the brand manager is available?

I want a bit more drama with the cars.

You know, when you squeeze,

I want you to squeeze as if you mean it, you know?

As if your life depends on it.

Right, you ready?

Camera's rolling. Fog.

Cars.

Ugh. Cars.

They're currently trying to capture two cars in flight

as they make the ultimate jump in the climactic final.

Oh, its...

So, do you think that was the shot? I'm hoping.

A bit more car.

I've got a lot of black space. Yeah.

Capturing this crucial shot might sound simple enough...

..but when you're shooting a 1/32nd scale model

travelling at 320 scale mph, in slow motion at 200 frames per second,

anything more than an eighth of a second out

and your shot is worthless.

Oh, there's only one of them.

Step-by-step, we get there -

and we will get there, and we will get that money shot.

I know we will.

Fog. And cars.

See, that one, I can cut and stitch.

Stitch it. Yeah? That's cool.

Hello, mate. How you doing, you all right? Yeah, yeah.

Now, I know you're all very keen to see the advert itself

but unfortunately this is the BBC and adverts are not allowed.

However, there is nothing in the rules that prevents us

from watching Simon watching the advert.

ROCK MUSIC PLAYS FROM ADVERT

OK.

Right. Erm..

..I don't think we need that. Yeah?

I think you could shave probably a second off that. Yeah.

It wants to be, "Wham! Bang! Bang!"

To save even more money,

Simon decides against paying the tens of thousands of pounds

to put the advert on TV,

and instead releases it online,

hopefully to appeal to a younger audience.

Providing we can get over in,

sort of, 20 seconds,

the excitement and the drama of what Scalextric is all about,

then we've done it.

And the slot car revitalisation doesn't stop there.

They've also invested in their newest employee, Caitlin,

who's moving into her new flat

ahead of her first day at the company.

I'd offer you one, but I think I'd have to unpack the kettle first.

Go on up. OK. Sounds good. Thank you.

Migrating from her parents' home in Somerset,

this is a big move for her, and for the company,

because Caitlin will become the first female product designer

in Hornby's 118 year history.

Eh, could I have that in here, please?

That's brilliant. Thank you.

The Airfix was probably my first link with Hornby

because I used to make Airfix models with my grandpa.

This is the first-ever Spitfire that I made.

As you can see, the propeller is kind of broken,

and the glass is a little bit fogged up.

I've sort of come full circle in a way,

from making this as a really small child

to now being in the place where these are designed.

That's amazing.

Fresh out of university,

Caitlin has just landed her dream job.

When you explain, "Oh, I'm moving away", everyone's like,

"Oh, what are you doing?" And I'm like,

"Oh, I'm designing Scalextric cars." And they're like, "What?"

And I'm like, "Yeah, I know, it's really cool."

Yeah, I did. And I think my brother and I raced them

till they pretty much fell apart.

We'd have tournaments and it would normally end in an argument

because somebody had won and somebody had lost -

but it was just so much fun.

I mean, it's an adventure, and that's really exciting, so...

..I think I'm more excited than nervous.

Whilst Scalextric makes up a quarter of the company's overall business,

the biggest part of the group remains model trains.

And that is Simon's focus today

on a cold November morning in Birmingham.

This is the Warley Model Railway Exhibition,

which is an annual exhibition

held by the Warley Model Railway Club.

And they've done this for over 50 years.

Warley is the largest model train show in the country.

It attracts the great and the good of the model rail industry,

all the major manufacturers and retailers.

So, with a brand-new range launching in just over a month's time,

it's essential that Simon maintains a very visible presence here.

One of the nice things about this industry

is you have people like that gentleman there.

That gentleman, Trevor Morgan, who I've known all my Hornby life,

wonderful man...

..and that's what this business is.

It's full of really nice people.

But as Simon approaches the company's stand,

the warmth of the brotherhood of the train enthusiasts

is interrupted by Rails Of Sheffield.

I'm just thinking I'm not happy with those signs

that are backing onto our stand.

The fact he's got a dirty, great, big sign, hanging sign,

which is great, I would have thought that would have been enough -

but obviously it isn't.

And I think it's just basically taking the mickey.

And I am going to go and see the organisers,

and I am going to ask them now to take them down.

With thousands of model-train-mad punters

eagerly queueing to get into the main hall...

..Simon doesn't have much time.

I can't do anything.

Because there is nothing in our rules and regulations

that says they can't do that.

They're not above four metres.

Our structural engineer has signed them off

cos I asked him to have a look at it.

The lady from the NEC is happy with it.

So, from our point of view, I can't see what we can do about it.

I'd say it's just rude.

I know it is. I agree with you. I agree with you.

All right. Thanks, Paul, anyway.

We'll have a good show. OK. We'll have a good show.

John. Hey. Morning. All right? Morning.

Is there anything you can do? It's, like, our airspace, anyway.

Your airspace, but not facing out.

Not facing that way.

You can buy my airspace, if you'd like.

No, no, you can buy mine, if you'd like,

cos I'm promoting your product. We're not on your airspace.

You know, if you had said it yesterday, before they'd gone up,

I'd have considered it,

but there's no way I'm messing about taking them down now...

All right. ..I'm sorry. OK. You know?

No hard feelings. No, of course not. Have a good show.

We'll see you later, anyway.

Oh, dear.

John is looking after his own interests.

He's not done this by accident.

He knows that, as people walk in, they see the Hornby sign

and, above it, they will see all his products.

But trust me, I will never forget this.

I'm not going to let it spoil the event.

It's just tedious.

You can bring the freight...the vans into the yard.

Go.

While Hornby remain the biggest model train manufacturer

in the country, they are not alone.

The conference centre is full of their rivals,

such as Dapol, Bachmann and Peco all vying for the customers' cash.

Well, that's not bad. Excellent.

Right, I'll just get your receipt.

And let's not forget the latest entry

in the model manufacturing world,

John and his soon to be launched Terrier.

It's our first test shot out of the tooling in China...

..for our forthcoming Terrier release.

We were hoping to have a bit more than that to show people,

but at least it shows the progress we've made.

So it's coming out first quarter of next year.

So we're very excited about it.

Having lost this morning's battle of the banners,

Simon, like an acutely sensitive bloodhound,

is keen to sniff out the progress of John's Terrier.

What I've seen is just a couple of samples

but nothing more than that.

So, I mean, what does that tell me?

It tells me they're certainly not as advanced

with the Terrier as we are.

Even though Simon's Terrier is clearly ahead of John's,

he's not going to tell him his plans until it's unveiled

in Margate, in five weeks' time.

Was that in the back of my mind this morning?

I must admit, it did cross my mind

and it would be a lie if I said it didn't.

If he was that upset with me asking him to take down the signs,

how upset might he be

when he realises that he's got competition with the Terrier?

So, we shall see.

We shall see.

But these model rail rivalries are a million miles...

Well, 217 miles.

..away from the suburbs of Kent,

where Caitlin is preparing for her first day of work.

I'd just like it to be exciting

and for me to be able to make a real impact.

As the company's first-ever female product designer,

this is a historic moment...

Morning. It's my first day.

I'm working for Scalextric. Right.

Darren Knight. Darren Knight. Lovely. Could I get you to sign in.

Morning. How are you doing? I'm good. Welcome.

Welcome to Hornby. Thank you.

..and the company has rolled out the red carpet.

This is yours. We did give it a quick wipe down

so it should be fairly clean.

With her desk sterilised, Caitlin can spend the morning

trying to get logged on to the company e-mail,

whilst taking the online safety in the workplace tutorial.

After that, she will move on to designing a new car,

working with head of development - Darren.

Your next project will be something called the Chevrolet Camaro IROC.

OK. They are like NASCAR...classic NASCAR stock-car racing.

This is a really good one to kind of get you into it.

Definitely. Yeah.

The key thing is getting the key dimensions right, so...

..you know, making sure the height of the magnet

from the top of the rails is standardised because...

I'm sure, like me, you could listen to Darren all day,

but time pushes on, and Caitlin is taken to the test track.

I got to have a go at, like, each of the different types

of Scalextric, to familiarise myself with the brand.

When designing a new 1/32nd scale car,

accuracy, track clearance,

weight distribution and structural integrity are all crucial factors.

And so, if one's heavier, it's less likely to fly off,

so I'm just checking to see if there is a difference.

If everyone's initiation into the workplace was this much fun,

the world would simply be a better place.

But now, it's time for some proper work,

designing the NASCAR inspired model.

It's good. I'm really excited now.

I can't wait to start making stuff and designing stuff.

This is a world of millimetres,

as a full-sized race car

is reduced to 1/32 scale.

It's called a skeleton model, so it's like the first thing you do

where you put all the surfaces in

and, from that, you build the rest of the car.

There's so many bits of detail

and everything has to be properly constructed,

the tolerances and stuff have to be right

so that all the parts actually fit together.

It's really fun, it's really good.

I can't think of a better job, to be honest.

I want to go to Hamleys when mine comes out

and see it on the shelf and just be like, "Yeah, that was me."

The BBC would like to point out

that there are other toy shops available

and, in the interest of balance, we would like to point out

that there are other broadcasters you can watch.

It's less than a month till the launch of Hornby's new range,

which will include the new version of the Terrier loco.

Simon has received the prototype from the factory in China

but there's a big mistake.

Do you want to come and have a chat about this...?

Terrier? Yeah. Want to do it now? Yeah, let's do it now.

Well, actually, it's a very small mistake,

but it's a big problem for Simon and head of development Ed.

Did you leave that dirty on your way home? Yes!

God, it's like being married.

THEY LAUGH

OK, what's the situation?

The dome's tapering inwards and the pipe's parallel.

Yes, it is. No, 30. Yeah, yeah.

He seems to have put one degree draft on, which isn't a lot.

There's actually 17 thou of an inch on one side over a whole inch.

17 thou of an inch.

In the world of miniature trains, that's massive.

That extra little bit of taper really notices.

Do you know, if it got picked up...

Which it will do. Which it will do.

Somebody is going to get the old micrometre out,

and I know where, probably somewhere in Sheffield. Yeah.

And... Ah! This is going to be in the range forever and a day.

I don't want to make something that we know is wrong.

This wonky dome won't do.

The designs will now have to be sent back to China to be altered.

Do you think we will get decorated samples?

They're still saying decorated samples by the end of December.

We keep our fingers crossed.

Simon is in the middle of a great train race

with his rivals, Rails of Sheffield,

who are bringing out their own Terrier.

This setback could affect the company's chances

of getting their Terrier out first.

But Simon's clear, their train has to be correct

to the 17th thou of an inch.

In a nondescript warehouse,

somewhere in the south-east of England...

Well, Ramsgate.

..a covert project is under way.

You want to bring these trees forward

so you've got bigger trees here,

so when you look back there, the castle doesn't look out of scale.

We can see straight away, the castle looks like it's in the distance

when you stand here. That's the whole idea of it.

Simon has commissioned Tony,

a model train layout professional,

to make them a Harry Potter layout,

which Simon will use to announce their tie-in with Warner Brothers.

We don't know what it's going to look like.

We never, ever do on any layout we make.

So, if people say to me, can you send me a visual

or can you send me a computer image?

We don't work like that, because we don't know.

We know what the customer wants,

we know what we want to do,

and we just...

..design as we're going along.

I didn't know how that was going to come out.

Do you want to know how we made the castle?

We bought it.

HE LAUGHS

But it didn't look like that.

The castle itself...

..see, again, it's about there.

That's the castle.

All this blending the castle in is what we've done ourselves.

You've got to get the height,

you've got to work out where the track's going to go,

how the bridge's going to go, how your scenic's going to go.

You've got to make it as light as possible,

although this is very, very heavy.

If this wasn't built properly,

the coach would carry on going one way or the other

because there's a gradient.

Push it slightly, it stops.

Again, through the forest, it stops.

If it wasn't done properly...

..it wouldn't stop.

You know the car...? Have you seen the film

where you've got the little blue car chasing the train?

So I'm going to get a little rod and the car is going to be like so.

And it's over the viaduct.

So I'll probably put the car in about there, something like that.

You have the car chasing the train.

Just a little scene. It'll look quite good, I think.

Our important job is for you to look at a layout and say, "Wow."

Because, once you've got the wow factor, everything else sells.

I'm saying "wow" now, and I've built it!

This layout really does need to wow people

as it will be the centrepiece of Hornby's 2019 range launch

in less than a week's time.

And over in Margate,

preparation for the launch is at a frenzy.

HE SINGS TO HIMSELF

This is my life, Hornby.

I've worked here 52 years,

wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

You always get someone come round,

like a director or something,

and they're always saying, "You've missed a bit there", but...

..if they do, I shall just say,

"Well, if you think you can do better...

"..do it yourself."

HE GIGGLES

Yes, I was stripping them out four years ago.

Because, obviously, you know, we'd all moved on.

So I had to empty all the cabinets,

get all the models in there transferred to...

..Sandwich. So, now, it's all come back around again,

and we're all happy and back here.

Can't wish for a better life, can you?

And I get paid.

HE GRUNTS

And I'm out the wife's hair all day...

..which is absolutely marvellous.

Right, we're going to put this one in the cabinet now.

No, never.

The only way they'll get rid of me is...

..going out in a coffin.

Lovely.

The launch of the new range, for the retailers,

is a critical test of how Simon's first year

back at the company has gone.

Monday is...it's incredibly important.

This is, if you like, the first...our first full year.

OUR first full year.

And until you get the actual people buying the product from us,

ie the retailers,

it's... You know, you've always got that slight element of caution.

What will happen on Monday is that, behind you,

people arrive, have a cup of tea and a coffee and all the rest of it,

and then they'll be brought through...

..into this area.

Now, this area will give a snapshot

of the sort of things that they will be seeing.

Simon's hoping that one model in particular

will grab the retailer's attention.

Under here, we have our secret surprise...

..and if I just give you a sneak peek...

..this is the Terrier.

This is the locomotive we've kept under wraps...

..and very, very few people know about it.

The fully dressed samples of the Terrier have arrived from China,

making the launch of the range the perfect arena

for Simon to unleash his dog of war.

Truth is that there's a competitor out there

who is planning to steal that model from under our nose.

You can't let that happen. It's our model.

So it's important that we have ours out first.

From drawing stage, to tooling stage,

to production, we'll have achieved that in probably nine months,

which is a bit of a record.

Our Terrier has to be the best Terrier.

You know? We want to be top dog, as it were.

That is business. That is business.

With the 2019 range launch fast approaching,

Simon is already looking at potential problems

he needs to tackle in the years ahead.

Which is why he finds himself in the streets of trendy East London.

It's a really noisy part of town, isn't it?

God. I couldn't live around here.

Worried that his customers are not getting any younger,

that's the polite way of saying they're dying off,

he needs to attract today's screen-obsessed youngsters

to the world of model trains and planes.

You know, I'm a virgin when it comes to virtual reality,

but it sounds fascinating, and it's obviously worth a visit.

Hello, Simon. Ben! What a great pleasure to meet you.

How are you doing? Welcome to East London. Yeah, lovely.

Want to follow me? It's noisy around here, isn't it?

Yeah, it is a bit. Yeah.

This young man is Ben, who runs a virtual reality, or VR, company.

So...is this your first time doing VR? Yes.

You will be gentle.

BEN LAUGHS

Yes, come on through. All right.

Just pop this on and we'll see how...

How does that feel? Oh, yeah. OK.

Tighten that up. How's that?

Yeah, oh... And so here are your controllers.

SIMON LAUGHS

Grab those. Yeah.

Good God.

Blimey.

Virtual reality is now a reality.

Its global market last year was worth nearly 20 billion pounds.

By 2022, it's expected to rise to 140 billion...

Hellfire.

..and Simon wants a piece of that action.

Now, grab that orb and pull the trigger.

So you've gone through a portal.

Oh, I have, haven't I?

BEN LAUGHS

Hello.

You can actually reach down and stroke the dog.

Can I?

Dog.

For the older viewer, ie everyone watching this programme,

virtual reality is an interactive computer-generated experience,

taking place within a simulated environment.

And now, bend down and pick up one of those sticks. Yeah.

And you can throw that towards the dog and it will go and chase it.

Well, I don't want to throw it over the cliff,

I've only just met him.

THEY LAUGH

Oh, yeah.

It's absolutely amazing.

Simon's certainly having fun

but he's not convinced how virtual reality

and the very real reality of model train collecting can come together.

I'm of the age where you hand your money over

and you get something back.

Something tangible. Something you can actually put on the shelf.

Oh, how clever.

I work on the principle of KISS - Keep It Simple, Simon.

Ah.

Welcome back.

Gosh.

THEY LAUGH

Well, I never.

But when Ben shows him the possible VR market for his models,

Simon sees the potential.

I presume I could, in essence, build...

..an Airfix kit in virtual reality.

Yes, you could. Yeah.

And then climb in the cockpit.

That's right, yeah. But not just that, you can bring in characters,

you can bring in storylines.

More track, more buildings, more cars, more scenery. Yeah, OK.

And you will start collecting sets,

and you will own those sets, and they will be yours forever.

Yes, yeah. Same principal...

For the age groups that we deal with,

you know, I think they still like something tangible,

something they can touch.

But there are others, you know, coming into the market,

and they think differently.

We need to be looking that way.

We really do, and I think it's exciting.

But the future will have to wait.

The 2019 range is ready. Words no longer matter.

The success or failure of Simon and the company

now rest on how many orders are placed.

The Harry Potter layer takes centre stage

alongside the covered up show stopper - the Terrier.

We now need to get the retailers in to place their orders,

and then that will give us a good idea...

..that what we've done,

what we've put down, what we've predicted will be right.

The retailers arrive.

Including Richard from Hatton's in Liverpool,

the countries biggest model shop.

Right, so that's a brand-new tooling?

Brand-new tooling.

If the name sounds familiar, here's why.

In the last episode, Simon watched on

as two model rail enthusiasts

had their heads turned by Hatton's Class 66 loco...

Just looking at your 66.

Yeah, yeah. When's that due? March. March. OK.

..which Hatton's had manufactured themselves,

making them direct competitors of Hornby.

I have to keep my eye on anybody who makes model railway models,

locomotives, coaches, or wagons. Anybody.

True to his word, Simon kept his eye on them,

and has rushed out his own range of Class 66s,

at an off-peak price compared with Hatton's.

Now, out there at the moment it's £75.

So, your customers who probably can't afford

the 160 odd pounds plus of a 66, your 66,

can actually have something for less than £100.

A sound loco for under £100.

But after years of you guys not being able to produce

much in any volume,

why have you chosen to make an item that I'm manufacturing?

Well, your...

It's... In some respect it is chalk and cheese.

Your pricing at an artificially low level.

It is a low level, because that's being an honest figure.

So it seems almost like that you're doing it out of spite,

to be quite honest. No, not at all. Absolutely not.

Seriously, absolutely not. Known you long enough...

Of all the different products you could produce.

No, because... You've got loads of products in your tooling suite,

and you've chosen to do this. But this...

You've made this concerted...

You've made a decision to rival our product.

You haven't really produced anything

in any decent quantity for ten years.

I've patiently sat there and eventually been forced

into manufacturing myself.

I don't see why you're doing this.

I don't see why you're attacking your best customers.

We're not attacking. Honestly, it's not attacking.

You're putting these out at a much lower margin

than you normally would do out of spite.

No. This is spiteful. No, it's not.

Yes, it is.

Well, I didn't quite expect that reaction.

Shall we move on?

I don't believe it is in direct conflict at all,

there's obviously a bit of conflict there.

Our job is to get this company back on its feet,

and make a profit.

It's a shame he's taken it the way he did.

I could've thrown at him, "Well, you know, you're a retailer,

"and you're treading on our ground.

"I mean, we produced a 66 before you did.

"You know, you've wandered into our arena."

And the half price Class 66s

were just phase one of Simon's plans to beat his rivals.

On here...

SIMON CLEARS THROAT

..Terrier. RICHARD LAUGHS

That laugh from Richard

is because he now knows that Simon has gone after his mate -

John from Rails Of Sheffield, in Sheffield, as well.

Cos Rails of Sheffield have invested a lot of money in this.

Erm... Unfortunately, I can't help that.

That was part of our plan.

It is one of our staple products. Yeah.

And you can't afford to let it go... No. ..really.

With the cat being chased out of the bag by Simon's Terrier...

..the Hornby range, which went live online when the launch opened,

can now be seen in the farthest corners of the globe.

And Sheffield.

Good morning.

They're doing 66s and Terriers now.

That isn't a coincidence.

You know, I think it's a spoiler

for people coming along and trying to compete with them.

Pointed. I'm a little bit disappointed in Simon,

cos I think he could've made a phone call at some point,

or I've seen him face-to-face as well,

but I've heard nothing.

It's a bit like... A bit poisonous, really. Erm...

Incidentally, ours will be better.

If you want corned beef, Hornby.

If you want filet steak, Rails.

John will be able to make his feelings known to Simon in person,

when he visits Margate to view the range himself.

But it's not all industrial intrigue and arguments at Hornby.

Today is a big day for Caitlin,

as a special package has arrived

for her from the factory in China.

So, this is the briefing of my car, the prototype.

Hopefully it all fits together

and works on the track.

I think there is a level of nervousness

because I've never done this before,

but at the same time, it's just sort of pure excitement now

for this car that I've designed. It's amazing.

She takes the parts to Don,

head of prototype realisation,

or something like that.

Hello. So, here...

It's his job to put the pieces together and see if they fit.

What I'll do, I'll build it up,

and then if I've got any thoughts on tightness or anything like that,

of certain fits, I'll come to see you directly anyway.

That would be awesome, thank you. Looks nice. Thank you.

Yeah, no, it looks good to me. Looks good to me so far.

Thank you. All right, cheers.

First impressions are good.

Usually, anybody who's new to designing Scalextric products,

they will...not have the experience necessary,

but certainly Caitlin's got...

Seems to have hit the ground running there.

So, it looks like we've got light lenses to go in there,

which are nice. All Caitlin can do now is wait

while her destiny rests in Don's workshop.

I think the nerves won't be fully gone until it's built

and I've tested it.

But hopefully it'll go together.

But Don has spotted a problem.

Caitlin's missized the hole in the wheel for the axles.

So the diameter of that is, as you see, 2.3 mil roughly.

But we've got a hole in the wheel there

to take the axle of 2.6 or something.

So it's a bit oversized.

He storms over to give Caitlin a public dressing down.

Hello. Hello. Pardon me.

You might want to check your design... OK.

..for the fit of the wheels to the axles. OK.

Um. Oh, yeah, mine's 2.78.

Yeah, that's it. OK, so it's half a mil out.

Yeah. OK.

Easily rectified. Definitely, thanks for...

That's all right. ..letting me know.

That's all right. I can fix that. That's why we do it.

That's Caitlin told.

Time for Don to fix the one tenth of a millimetre error.

So there's your...

MUMBLES: ..su-chassis.

Oh, sweet.

The prototype "su-chassis" is ready to be tested.

Oh, that's so cool.

I'm very pleased that this part works.

It has the correct amount of, like, attraction to the track,

and that the guide blade can rotate freely

so that it can corner properly and everything.

It's really important to get all of these things right.

With the chassis running as smoothly as Don's favourite Barry White LP,

he can retreat to his workshop to put the rest of the car together.

Then Scalextric's first-ever model designed by a woman

will be complete.

Super satisfying now to be like, "This is my car."

But it still needs to be painted and have the stickers attached,

but let's not ruin a historic moment by being churlish.

Good morning. Hi.

How are you doing?

Good. Good.

John from Rails of Sheffield has come down to Margate

from Sheffield to check out the new 2019 range.

More importantly, to have a go at Simon

for bringing out a Terrier ahead of his own.

Cue awkward handshakes.

Well, luckily it didn't happen.

Hey, Simon. All right? All right. I think so. I think so.

They told me to take more tablets.

All right, yeah. Good to see you.

John has brought some muscle with him, in case things kick off.

Right, Terriers then. Yeah, yeah. How many do you want?

Terriers. That would have been nice to communicate on that one,

wouldn't it?

Well, I mean the point is,

it's always been part of our range.

It was all part of the plan... Yes, but... ..before I even left.

No, before I even left. But after you've left...

And then when I came back, I said,

"Look, we've got to do the Terrier..."

Why go head-to-head with one of your biggest retailers?

No, because... And Hatton's... Well, because... ..with a 66.

Can you say, hand on heart, because I'm pretty sure you can't,

that you've not done the Terriers and the Class 66s in the range

as a spoiler for Rails Of Sheffield and Hatton's Of Liverpool?

Because I don't believe you.

That ain't coincidence.

Eh, no. It's a spoiler. No, it's not. It's a spoiler, come on.

All right, I had conversation yesterday... I don't feel the love.

I feel that, you know, even though we spend

lots of lots of money with you.. I... ..I'm not feeling the love.

Can I tell you? We're in business, not to upset anybody... Yeah.

..we're in business to sell product.

And we want to sell as much as we can.

The Terrier isn't a spoiler,

the Terrier is what we call a loco that carries on giving.

I couldn't let it go, it had to happen. You know?

That's business, isn't it? Will you, will you...?

I have to protect it.

Will you be sad if yours gets bad reviews and ours gets good reviews?

Would you be remorseful?

I'll be really...I would really be miffed with our engineers.

Would you cry in your soup? Would I cry in my soup?

I might have to go home and kick the dogs.

To be clear, no dogs or animals of any kind

were kicked in the making of this programme.

Can we start building bridges again?

As far as I'm concerned... No. Yes? Yes.

..there are... No bridges have fallen.

Oh, dear.

We'll see. It's always going to be a sore point for me, Simon.

All right, well...

So, how are you going to redeem yourself?

Well, we've got...

We'll skip that question.

Skip that question. I'm moving on.

You know? I've moved on. Good, good.

With the tension lifting, time to resolve this as gentlemen,

with one more round of insults and threats.

So, if you were going to Hogwarts today, it was your first day,

and they're deciding which house you were in,

would you be in Slytherin, do you think?

THEY LAUGH

See, have you got fire insurance in your place?

THEY LAUGH

Good, excellent.

HE SIGHS

That was good, wasn't it?

Yeah? Went well.

Went very well.

It's a solid range.

It will please the many rather than the few.

At the end of the day, he's a businessman,

and you know, you don't cut your nose off to spite your face.

And you know, the man is sharp enough to realise that.

That's part of the game, you know?

It's ping-pong. Bat and ball. It's fine.

Don't have nightmares. Never, never. Never, John.

Thanks ever so much for coming. Yeah, thank you.

Appreciate it. I really do appreciate it.

We'll talk more in the future. Yeah, no, no. We will. And I'll...

We'll keep the dialogue going.

Yeah, we will. It's not a problem. OK.

Thanks, and best to your good lady.

We're not the sort of people to just lay down and think,

"Oh, well", you know? "Oh, yes, Simon's is going to be great,

"and we should've never tried to do a model to compete with yours."

Thank you. Thanks. Bye-bye. Bye.

One or two of the things that were going to cost us a bit more money,

well, we're going ahead with now. You know?

It's like, well, it's going to cost us a bit more,

we'll make a bit less, but ours will be better,

and people will be like,

"Wow. Didn't see that coming."

So, we're going to teach him a lesson.

What time is it now?

But after all the posturing and threats of arson,

how did the range actually go down with the retailers?

This is the real test of Simon's first year back with the company.

He spent 25 last year and he spent 45 today.

And to be honest,

they've gone away with probably double to what they expected.

It's measured up very well, I think.

You've got six figures there, and you've got top-end five figures.

Over the course of the two weeks,

orders were double that of the 2018 range,

and the biggest orders of all,

Hatton's from Liverpool, and Rails Of Sheffield.

In Sheffield.

The success of the range means part one of Simon and Lyndon's plan

to turn the company around by increasing sales is on track.

Good. Right.

Phase two is to bring their running costs down,

so they're finally moving back to their historic

and much cheaper HQ in Margate.

It's not one person, it's not individuals, it's a team.

When you've got a solid team, nothing's impossible.

We've all got a common goal,

and that common goal is to put Hornby back on top.

The company's end of year sales figures are yet to be released,

but, after a loss last year of around 10 million pounds,

they're unlikely to turn a profit this year.

But, for Simon, that dream is getting closer.

What it means to me is...

Ugh. I get too emotional.

When Lyndon says, "Simon, we've done it."

I'll probably burst into tears.

To see it going in the right direction...

..it's a fantastically satisfying feeling.

But it hasn't finished, so you can't sit back and say,

"Cool, that was good."

You know? It's not the end of the film.

I'm afraid it is actually, Simon,

and it could still be the end of the company that defined my childhood.

I mean, Simon may have won the battle

of the Terrier and the Class 66,

but what if Hatton's and Rails of Sheffield in Sheffield,

launch a counterattack?

And if that sounds like the premise for an exciting and compelling

second series, then please sign my petition.

Go to...

Goodnight.