Model Railway Forum

It's increasingly difficult to buy any manufactured product that has provenance you could say was local.

Two old cases in point.

Some 40 yrs ago I was showing my Dad my new FIAT. He said he was supporting British manufacturing by buying a Ford. When his Fiesta was delivered, in big red letters on a sticker under the bonnet it had.... Made in Spain. That Fiat had been made in Italy, my next car, another FIAT and the same model as my old one had been made in Poland.

Some 30 years ago I worked with a woman who's husband had been held by the Japanese in the Second World War. He'd been through hell and, being an electrician of some note, on his return in 1945 got a job with Phillips, a Dutch firm heavily present in the UK market, designing radios. His wife proudly told us, on many, many occasions, that they wouldn't buy anything Japanese. Except that she didn't know that almost all of the transistors in use at the time were made in Japan.

These days things are made of components made in many different countries and assembled elsewhere, buying something with close to zero miles is very, very difficult.

The Polish made Fiats were made by Sherpa if I recall and they are much better quality then Italian made Fiats. The production went back to Italy with the newer Fiat (The Panda) because the Italian people wanted to have them made in Italy, so their government made a grant available as an incentive to do so as far as I recall.

Steve M wrote: ↑Thu Jan 03, 2019 9:29 am

Walkingthedog wrote: ↑Thu Jan 03, 2019 9:21 am Cost at least a third more I reckon.

Most thoroughly German engineered Bosch goods are made in Turkey.

I think Dapol is made in Wales.

When Hornby first moved Scalextric production to China, the cars halved on price.

Turkey’s record on human rights is nothing to shout about either - but can any nation honestly say they are completely whiter than white? (Sorry forum rules breach - politics)

Dapol are certainly repaired on the Welsh Borders.

Valid point, and for that matter just think about how working class were treated in this country. When railways came to London hundreds of families were evicted from their homes which were pulled down for profit. They got nothing but a place on a pavement somewhere, and the mill workers, mine workers, and many others were treated so badly they ended up in work houses to die. The world is a changing place which evolves over time I can remember when Britain used to be a world leading manufacturing nation. Almost everything had Made in Great Britain on it. When I was in my teens in the 60s we had full employment/ Now look at us, all we have are health centres and Supermarkets. ect: Thats life......John

Won’t be long, just going down the shed to cut my wrists. What a lot of doom and gloom merchants. Hells bells.

Life is awful he says sitting in his warm house watching TV, typing on his iPad after having a long walk in Windsor Great Park and looking forward to dinner.

Im also loosing the will to live reading this rubbish

Just get on with your building to take your mind off it Brian.

Well its given me a laugh. I thought I might chuck the "B" word into the pot but don't want to get a ban threat again

Yes it is a load of b.....oh that b word.

I reacon that Britain can easily become a manufacturing country again... It just need the right conditions.

I am with you MG. Yes we may well become a great nation again. But we have lost it for the time being I think..
............John Last comment removed.