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Scalextric Planning 'Bond 22' Slot Car Racing Set

Rumoured to be set for release around November 2008

Hornby Confirms 'Quantum of Solace' Scalextric Racing Set

Planned for release around November 2008

Might force me to find where I've kept all my old track.

It's about time they've gotten into this. Carrera's been having all the fun.

Have some of their older Bond items, John?

I don't have any James Bond related slot-car stuff. I just have a whole bunch of track and other stuff from several years ago.

Now this is FANTASTIC news! I already know what I want for next Christmas!!

Ah, gotcha.

Hornby Confirms 'Quantum of Solace' Scalextric Racing Set

Planned for release around November 2008

Great to have this confirmed! Also, I wonder if we might get some Airfix models as well...

Looking forward to seeing this set when some pics are ultimately revealed.

What next?. "Quantum of Soreace" pile cream?.

Hornby confident in upcoming 'Quantum' Scalextric set

Model-maker Hornby warned today that product shipment delays will knock its profits below market expectations this year, but it still has high hopes for a James Bond-branded Scalextric set later in the year.

Shares in the company fell 10.2p, or 5%, to 192p on the warning. Hornby blamed delays in product shipments to its European subsidiaries from its manufacturing partners in the far east, which led to a shortfall in sales in Europe. This will cut profits to between £8.75m and £9m in the year to March 31, compared with previous forecasts of around £9.3m. The new lower projections are still higher than last year's profits of £7.7m.

The model maker now expects sales of £56m for the year, 19% ahead of last year.

Hornby has also seen some weakening in demand in the UK in recent weeks.

The group remains upbeat about the future, despite the worsening economic outlook. It expects strong sales from the Scalextric slot-car set branded for the next James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, to be launched in the autumn.

It is confident that the set, which will include a model of Bond's silver Aston Martin DBS, can repeat the popularity of its Lewis Hamilton products last year.

http://commanderbond.net/components/quickn...&item=46048 - The Guardian

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4473642a6026.html

James Bond, Indiana Jones and Lewis Hamilton are expected to help two of the world's top toymakers -- Hornby and Lego -- beat the global economic downturn in 2008, the companies said.

The chief executives of Hornby and Lego said they remained confident their companies and the industry would weather the economic crisis, which has left the United States on the brink of recession and Europe with dwindling growth.

"The feeling I get from Wall Street and from talking with analysts and my people, is that consumers will continue to buy despite the recession," Jorgen V. Knudstorp, head of Danish toymaker Lego, said in an interview in Brussels.

Hornby CEO Frank Martin said separately that despite "some consumer weakness" at the start of the year, the British toymaker was confident for 2008.

Hornby hopes to capitalise on producing replicas from the upcoming James Bond film and the "very exciting start" to the Formula One season signals another positive year for its Scalextric racing cars, Martin said.

"The emergence of (Formula One driver) Lewis Hamilton last year helped us a lot and I see Scalextric being very strong once again," he said.

"All our experience tells us that our industry is robust enough to deal with the problems in today's markets," Martin told Reuters on the margins of a meeting of the world's top toymakers.

Martin said his company, famous for producing model trains and collectable toys, was better placed than some other toymakers due to the appeal of its products to adults.

"Our loyal and committed collectors continue to buy and will continue to buy in the future," he said.

Lego, Europe's biggest toymaker, hopes the release of a new Indiana Jones film in May can bolster its challenge to Mattel and Hasbro -- the world's top two toymakers.

"We are rolling out a new Lego in tandem with the release of the film and from what we have seen so far from the rollout in the US, this will be a major success for us," Knudstorp said.

The Danish company, whose plastic bricks have entertained children and caused discomfort to unwary, barefoot parents since the early 1950s, in February posted a 5 percent rise in 2007 operating profit on the back of increasing sales. "In 2008, we see a continuation of last year and in particular we are confident in Lego City and Duplo brands. We are also very excited about our digital concept," Knudstorp said.

"There are two trends: operating platform, in which we still plan moving more manufacturing abroad, and demand -- how we can create demand in a stagnant industry."

Traditional toymakers such as Hornby and Lego have had to adapt quickly to rising global competition posed by videogames, the Internet and electronic gadgets.

Martin said his company would continue to develop its "digital" portfolio following the success of its computerised controls for Scalextric, while Knudstorp's company is developing a new online Lego Universe.

"This is one of the headlines for 2008. Based on the success of Second Life, we are really confident about this," Knudstorp said.