For many many years the Hornby OO Gauge Train Set has been somewhere near the top of Boys, Dads and Grandads Christmas & Birthday lists. It’s fallen in and out of favour several times, but in recent years the massive improvements in both design and production technology have seen the quality of Model Trains improve in leaps and bounds. Throughout these advances, one company has always stayed at the very top, and that’s Hornby.

Hornby Premier R1073 Orient Express Digital Train Set... The Ultimate Train Set!

So today we thought we’d take a look at Hornby’s current range of sets and knock up a list of its Top 10 Best Selling Train Sets for 2011. With Christmas fast approaching it’s worth remembering that Hornby & Scalextric products often end up in perilously short supply, the closer we get to the big day. So if you’re thinking of buying your child, husband, father or grandfather and brand spanking new Train Set for Christmas, then it may well be worth getting in there quick!

The recent introduction of DCC Control systems has of course brought about the release of Hornby Digital Train Sets of which you simply can’t beat the Hornby Premier R1073 Orient Express Digital Train Set. For those on a tighter budget though, why not take a look at the Hornby R1125 Somerset Belle 00 Gauge Digital (DCC) Train Set which comes in at a far more affordable price of around £125.

If you prefer the traditional route of an analogue controller and have an inkling that your brain may fry if you try and get your grey matter around a Digital Train Set first thing on Christmas morning, then look no further than the superb Hornby R1072 Flying Scotsman 00 Gauge Train Set Hornby’s best selling OO gauge train set of all time.

Check out the full Top 10 Train sets below!

Top 10 Hornby Train Sets for Christmas 2011

1. Hornby Premier R1073 00 Gauge Digital (DCC) British Pullman Venice Simplon Orient Express Train Set
2. Hornby R1126 Mixed Freight 00 Gauge Digital (DCC) Train Set
3. Hornby R1097 East Coast Pullman 00 Gauge Digital (DCC) Train Set
4. Hornby Virgin Trains R1134 Virgin Trains Pendolino 00 Gauge Train Set
5. Hornby R1125 Somerset Belle 00 Gauge Digital (DCC) Train Set
6. Hornby R1121 Devon Flyer 00 Gauge Train Set
7. Hornby R1071 Eurostar 00 Gauge Train Set
8. Hornby R1072 Flying Scotsman 00 Gauge Train Set
9. Hornby R1070 Goods Master Diesel Freight 00 Gauge Train Set
10. Hornby R1094 The Royal Scot 00 Gauge Train Set

Maverick Strada DC Evo Drift RC Car

Looking to buy an RC car for yourself of kids for Christmas? Well we thought it was about time we put together a definitive Top 10 Best Selling RC cars for Christmas 2011, with the help of those kind fellas over at ModelSport UK, Ebay and RC Know How. We’ve compiled a top 10 list of the best selling Electric RC Cars (both on and off road) based on the models that have sold the best and received the best reviews over the past 3 months!

If you’re new to RC Cars, Racing radio controlled cars was a massive hobby back in the 1980′s but in recent years it’s seen a huge resurgence with lots of new blood coming into the hobby and many of the old well known manufacturers releasing new versions of their original cars from back in the 70′s and 80′s. There’s also been a rapid increase in the number of new, high spec models coming onto the market which have completely changed the landscape of RC racing and bashing (bashing is the term given to using RC cars for recreation rather than serious racing).

The arrival of Brushless motors and new Lithium (LiPo and LiFe) batteries, Radio Controlled Cars will now run faster and for longer periods, meaning top speeds of 60mph+ are easily achievable, in some cases straight out of the box!

Right, that’s enough waffle! Lets take a look at the Top 10 Best Selling RC Cars for Christmas 2011. It’s looking like Drifting is the number 1 favourite activity among RC fans with the Maverick Strada DC Evo taking pole position. Budget off road bashing follows a close second with that old favourite the Ansmann Macnum Kit, and at £47 it’s pretty easy to understand why. That old RC Stalwart, Tamiya secures its place at number 4 with the 2011 re-release of the Sand Rover based on its newer DT02 chassis. A great car for taking to the beach in the summer, that’s for sure!

Brushless RC Cars make an appearance midway with the Speed Passion RS2 Brushless Stadium Truck budget basher and the FTX Vantage Brushless 4×4 Buggy taking the spots for most popular off road vehicles, offering good top speeds at a mid-range price.

HPI then make another entry (HPI also distribute the #1 car, the Maverick Strada) with their rather tasty Camaro Drift RC Car followed by Traxxas’ legendary Ken Block Gymkhana Ford Fiesta XL2, an outstanding car on all levels.

Keeping up the rear we have the only crawler to make it into the Top 10, the Losi Micro Crawler, a superb miniature crawler which would be great for crawling over those Brussel Sprouts everyone refuses to eat at the Christmas dinner table. Finally we have yet another entry from HPI with the Maverick MT Evo RTR Monster truck, a fantastic entry level RC monster truck that comes ready built and ready to run!

Check out all the models in detail below:

Top 10 Best Selling RC Cars for Christmas 2011

1. Maverick Strada DC Evo RTR Drift RC Car
2. Ansmann Racing Macnum 1/10th Scale Truggy Kit
3. Tamiya 58500 Sand Rover DT-02 RC Buggy
4. Ansmann Racing Mad Rat 1/10th RC Buggy Kit
5. Speed Passion RS2 Brushless Stadium Truck
6. FTX Vantage 1/10 4WD Brushless Buggy RTR
7. HPI Sprint 2 Drift 2.4GHz 2010 Camaro RTR
8. Traxxas 1/16 Ken Block Gymkhana Fiesta XL2.5 RTR
9. Losi Micro Rock Crawler RTR (Black)
10. Maverick Strada MT Evo RTR Monster Truck

Anyone Fancy A Cappuccino?

Everyone loves a coffee in the morning right? Well in this current financial climate, popping down to your favourite coffee shop every time you fancy a cup is getting a bit expensive, so we thought we’d take a look at the options for brewing the perfect Espresso or Cappuccino at home or in the office from scratch.

There’s hundreds maybe even thousands of coffee machines on the market at present, but how do you go about sorting the wheat from the chaff? Well our main criteria for the Top 10 Espresso & Cappuccino Machines was that they should make a “proper” cup, not a cup of processed coffee like the Nespresso or Dolce Gusto machines do, as they’re normally full of hydrogenated what-nots and other additives… We wanted a true cup of coffee, made with nothing more than real coffee, water & milk.

So how do the machines fair? If you’re looking for Cappuccinos on a budget, you can’t go wrong with any of the budget DeLonghi sub £100 coffee machines. All make a really nice cup and have separate milk frothers to enable you to make a true Cappuccino in just a few minutes. For those with a bit of a bigger budget, why not splash out on the Gaggia Brera Fully Automatic Bean to Cup Espresso Coffee Machine which takes you on the ultimate Coffee & Caffeine journey, as its name suggests, from Bean To Cup.

Check out our Top 10 Espresso & Cappuccino Machines below…

1. Gaggia Classic RI8161 Coffee Machine with Professional Filter Holder, Stainless Steel Body
2. De'Longhi EC270 15-Bar Pump Espresso Machine
3. Andrew James Espresso & Cappuccino Coffee Maker Machine - 15 Bar Italian Pump - Stunning Stainless Steel Housing
4. De'Longhi EC330S 15-Bar Pump Espresso Maker
5. Gaggia Brera Fully Automatic Bean to Cup Espresso Coffee Machine
6. De'Longhi Magnifica ESAM04.350.S Rapid Cappuccino One Touch Milk Solution Bean To Cup Machine
7. Gaggia Espresso Cubika Plus RI8151/60 Coffee Machine, Black
8. Cuisinart EM200U Espresso Coffee Maker Chrome
9. De'Longhi Prima Donna ESAM6620 15-Bar Fully Automatic Bean to Cup Espresso/Cappuccino Machine, Stainless Steel
10. Francis Francis X7 Coffee Machine in Red

Lego City Advent Calendar - updated for 2011

Christmas is fast approaching again and it’s time to sort out an advent calendar for the kids again. This year Lego Advent Calendars are once again taking the top spot in our Top 10 based on customer reviews, securing no less than 3 spots in the top 10! Playmobil Advent Calendars are fighting hard though this year occupying a whopping 4 positions on our 2011 list for the big countdown to Santa.

One of our favourite though is the reusable Christmas Cottage advent calendar which as the name suggests can be used year in, year out, and filled with your own choice of treats for your little ones; toys, money, sweets, whatever you prefer.

Check out our Top 10 Advent Calendars for Christmas 2011 below…

1. LEGO City Advent Calendar
2. Playmobil - 4161 Advent Calendar Post Office
3. LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar
4. Playmobil - 4155 Advent Calendar "Christmas in the Forest"
5. Playmobil Advent Calendar Dinosaur Expedition
6. Hello Kitty Advent Calendar
7. Advent Calendar - Christmas Cottage - a special 3D re-useable Christmas Advent with drawers to fill
8. Playmobil - 4160 Advent Calendar "Dragon's Land"
9. Lego Kingdoms Advent Calendar 7952
10. Littlest Pet Shop Christmas Advent Calendar