Dear Bachmann: Duck the Great Western Engine - Improved!

[The Chaz Storm]

Hello all!  As soon as this thread will be posted I will delete the older Duck and Trevor thread.  This is the letter I have mailed to Bachmann, notice the changes and/or improvements I have made to this.  A lot more professional, and was aimed for the marketing in the Bachmann industries.  I am doing this for redemption over the other thread, and simply for the sake of more recognition for what loyal Bachmann Thomas and Friends modelers want in their collection.  

Here we go:


Dear Bachmann Trains:

I am aware that Bachmann will be announcing new products for the Thomas and Friends range in February 2011 during the Toy Fair.  The following is a message that I posted on the "Ask the Bach-man forum" regarding a character named Duck the Great Western Engine.  This is an engine that many Thomas and Friends modelers, myself included, would love to see released next year for Bachmann's HO Thomas and Friends line.  I had emailed this message to someone at Bachmann back in February 2010, shortly after Bachmann had announced their 2010 range of announcements, and I was told that Duck was "on the product radar" for next year in 2011.  A model of Duck has been wanted for years by many fans, and as explained in this letter, we sincerely hope that we can see Duck make it onto next year's Thomas and Friends range.  With the fact that production of Donald and Douglas models has been delayed until 2011, I find this to be a perfect time to add Duck into the Thomas and Friends HO range.  

Duck first arriving to work on Sir Topham Hatt's Railway in 'Duck Takes Charge'
I have been a modeler of HO scale as well as a member of the 'Ask the Bach-man' board for many years.  I own a decent number of Hornby Thomas models, but I prefer Bachmann for their superior accuracy to the television series of Thomas and Friends.  As I particularly collect classic series characters only, I own a significant number of Thomas and Friends Bachmann models.  I just recently purchased the Bill and Ben models, and I plan on ordering the Donald and Douglas models upon their release next year.  If Bachmann announces other classic characters like Duck, then I would certainly add that to my collection, as I am sure many other fans would do.  
I first joined the forum and started discussing Bachmann Thomas and Friends almost six years ago.  A lot has changed over the years, however some have remained the same.  As you may know, around that time, Gordon and Henry were in production.  The top three engines who people wanted to see were:
1. Edward
2. Toby
3. Duck
Before Bachmann made announcements for the 2010 Toy Fair, we wanted to see:
1. Duck
2. Donald and Douglas
3. Diesel
I am VERY happy with the fact we are getting four classic characters this year from Bachmann!  I applaud Bachmann for announcing these characters!  Four engines in one year is the most we have ever gotten in one shot!  Older fans like me are very excited about this, however this leads me to my main point...what about Duck?
In terms of the TV series, Duck made countless appearances in the early years of the show, appearing in classic stories such as All At Sea, Twin Trouble, Donald's Duck, and many more!  Along with that, Duck has had many other starring roles and appearances in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends DVDs and VHS tapes, titles includePercy's Ghostly Trick and other stories, James and the Red Balloon and other stories, and Thomas Comes to Breakfast and other stories.
Duck has been wanted by many fans for YEARS!  I remember meeting the Bach-man in person at a model train show years ago, and he told me which engines he personally wanted to see produced, and Duck was one of them!  Of course, it's not solely up to the Bach-man to make that decision, but I am sure he would love to see Bachmann come out with Duck, along with many of my fellow Thomas fans.  I, along with many of these people, have grown bored with the Hornby model.  We are still waiting anxiously for a Bachmann Duck ...and with your help, hopefully we can change that! g

Here is our favorite Great Western Engine in the episode 'Duck Takes Charge'.
Here are the reasons why Bachmann should make Duck for their HO Thomas and Friends range.  
Duck is a popular character with both the older and the newer fans of Thomas.  Like Donald and Douglas, Duck was introduced to the television show in its heyday in the mid 1980's, and like any classic series character, fans would undoubtedly be happy with this sort of addition to Bachmann's growing range.  Newer Thomas and Friends characters may sell well in the range, but the older characters of the show are in higher demand and will have a better chance of selling more than the newer ones, as older fans of the show are a significant demographic to which these products are sold.  Evidence of this can be seen in many places, including on the 'Ask the Bach-man' forum, other Thomas and Friends forums, and YouTube.  Duck in particular has been on top of many of our wishlists.  The older generation of fans is the one who usually purchase Bachmann Thomas and Friends items for both HO and Large scale, and this should be taken into account when considering new releases.  

Duck returning to the sheds after a hard day's work from the episode 'Diesel's Devious Deed'.
Now profitable reasons for why Duck should be made (Bachmann please read this and consider it):
1. As Donald and Douglas are already set to be released, keep in mind that Duck also uses a 0-6-0 chassis, and would therefore not require a new one to be produced.
2. Even though Hornby was the first to make Thomas characters such as Edward, Toby, Bill and Ben, Bachmann was still able to manufacture superior models that sold successfully.  I feel Bachmann will continue their success with their own Duck model.  
3. You have already made Sodor engines 1 (Thomas), 2 (Edward), 3 (Henry), 4 (Gordon), 5 (James), 6 (Percy), 7 (Toby), and currently working on 9 and 10 (Donald and Douglas).  So why not add Duck, who happens to be Sodor engine #8?
I highly recommend that you make Duck for 2011 for your HO Thomas and Friends range.  You will not let us Thomas and Friends fans, old and new alike, down if we see Duck next year.  It is a great opportunity for Bachmann to save money with tooling, so why not start where you are with Donald and Douglas, and make plans for Duck next year!  
One last side note regarding the possibility of Duck being added into the HO Thomas and Friends range.  If you choose to produce a model of this character, I have some a few face suggestions that would look wonderful on the model:

 or  

or even

These faces are the best looking ones on Duck the Great Western Engine, and they will satisfy Thomas and Friends modelers a whole lot more than a CGI face.  
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.  I look forward to hearing back from you, and I am always looking forward to hearing news about new products.  Take care and have a wonderful day!

Best Regards,              
Charlie (Last name censored)

[Cheeky_ULP]

Now I'll agree this is a quality face!

[TheJJ]

Those (in my opinion) are great reasons why they should model Duck.
1) I think if any this face had the best chance. (the photo from "Duck Takes Charge")
2) But this is my favorite choice. ("photo from "Bowled Out")
Side Note:
Bowled Out is my favorite episode. 

[ClearwtaerMK2]

       

This is the face that bachmann should do!

[TheJJ]

Right about now I feel Duck has a great chance for 2011. I mean he has been in demand for what like 3 years now?

[ClearwtaerMK2]

Try 4 years.

[TheJJ]

Really!?!  I'm not criticizing HiT but they really should see this product would sell really well so why not give Bachmann the approval? 

[MetaDude27]

Hey, great job on the letter!  I sure hope Bachmann takes it into account.  I am also a big fan of Duck and I really hope he is announced for release.  Thanks for speaking up for the fans!

[JD417]

im not kidding when i say this but in my dream last night i saw on youtube a video of the announcements for 2011 and what was in there was Donald Douglas Duck Diesel and the red coaches and i saw all off them with an interview with a person from bachmann but still in there boxes and what i saw was so realistic and the camera zoomed in to look at them and i saw the faces the moving eyes, the hooks everything it was so amazing and at that second where i saw duck (for he was last to be shown) i woke up jumped off my bed and ran downstairs looking to watch the video "again" and when i couldnt find it i relized i dremt the whole thing and i thought to myself "d@mn"

[TheJJ]

Dude I had a dream too!!! And I saw a finished Duck. Man I hope these are signs of things to come.  And I saw Butch. (that yellow and blue tow truck)

[The Chaz Storm]

Right about now I feel Duck has a great chance for 2011. I mean he has been in demand for what like 3 years now?

Try 4 years.

Actually....try 6.   I was on the board back in 2005 as I stated in the letter, and I know for a fact Duck was on top three with Edward and Toby back then.

[MetaDude27]

Really?  You'd think Bachmann would've released an engine that's been in demand for that long by now.  Well, they've released every single other classic main character.  Duck's the only one left (besides possibly Oliver).  If they don't announce Duck by at least 2012, I doubt they ever will...    Let's hope he's announced this year.

[TheJJ]

It's the logical thing to release it but if they don't (which I hope they do) they better wow us with the other characters they announce.

[DinoNTrains]

Now I'll agree this is a quality face!

Agreed

[branmas]

Now I'll agree this is a quality face!

Agreed

agreed