The Everything Thomas Topic

[DustyMarie53!]

Been offline here for a bit, crazy last few months graduating college, about to move in with my partner and having way too much Thomas and Bachmann models to pack.

In terms of NMRA I'm admittedly thrown for a bit of a loop engine wise for HO scale. I'm sure we'll get one but the hint given I think rules out the 3 I'm most expecting right now (Nia, Hiro, and Whiff). I have a weird gut feeling about Diesel 10 or Harvey, this might be there time. Likewise no real rolling stock predictions, but I'd like to see works unit coaches make there way to the line.

In terms of narrow gauge, I'm going with Luke. Matt said don't expect Duncan anytime soon only 2 or 3 streams ago and I doubt that has changed, and Luke has general basis appeal. No real rolling stock predictions, but I'd like to see van 5 and the open coaches that are only in one frame of BMM.

N scale is not my main scale but I'm in agreement on Edward being the most likely. Mail cars would be a nice rolling stock as they are the most iconic one still missing from the line.

G scale we'll probably get an image for that mysterious Christmas Thomas finally, but we have 3 pieces of rolling stock in the pipeline so I'm unsure if we'll see anything else until next year. A new engine would be nice though. I'd love a Rosie personally, my partner has really gotten into that scale recently so the more the merrier.

Overall, I really don't know what to expect this year, and that's really exciting. Looking forward to the weekend.

[TrainFan97]

Tomorrow's the day we get to see the mid-year announcements. On the first day of August. Just one more day until the NMRA brochure is up. Already discussed my thoughts and predictions in the other thread.

[jlkhalaf2707]

I wonder why no Toffee Tanker....

[Chaz]

https://shop.bachmanntrains.com/documents/2026NMRA.pdf

Well, Matt wasn't kidding when he said these announcements would come out of nowhere; wow!

Imagine my shock when the first thing I saw was the new Thomas and Percy models. The original versions have been around for over two decades and were long overdue for a complete redesign. Fans have been asking for updated models for well over a decade, so it's fantastic to finally see them happen. Never did I expect them to be announced alongside the other reveal, which I'll get to in a moment, but Bachmann truly surprised everyone with this lineup.

Diesel 10 is, in my opinion, one of the craziest announcements Bachmann has ever made—and I mean that in the best way possible. Despite not appearing much in recent years, he's remained one of the franchise's most iconic characters, largely because of Magic Railroad and his continued popularity throughout the CGI era. Although he had reportedly been turned down a few times before, it's great to see Bachmann finally bringing him to the range. I'm especially curious to see how they're going to handle "Pinchy" and how it will function on the model. That alone is going to be a major talking point for quite some time.

If I'm being honest, I'm actually more excited for Diesel 10 than Flying Scotsman. It'll be a day-one purchase for me; something I didn't expect to say about an HO release for quite a while. I also think this gives Harvey a much stronger chance of happening in the future. Diesel 10 is an absolute winner and will likely become one of the best-selling models in the Bachmann Thomas range, right alongside the original Steam Team and other fan favorites like Duck, Diesel, Oliver, and Daisy.

Moving on to the rolling stock, I absolutely love the new stone wagons. The varied color palette gives each one its own identity without looking overly bright or out of place. I can easily see fans buying these by the handful to build long stone trains.

The chocolate syrup tanker is one of those repaints that I could personally take or leave. I think the toffee tanker would have made more sense first, but I certainly wouldn't rule it out for the future.

I'm not surprised that we aren't getting a new narrow gauge engine this year, but I am glad to see more rolling stock. The tippers were one of the most obvious choices, and I have little doubt we'll eventually see Talyllyn Railway versions as well, especially considering the gondolas have just received their real-life liveries. That said, I would have preferred the tan brake van, although I have a feeling it's probably not far behind.

Ironically, the announcements I'm least excited about are the N scale releases, since usually it's been the exact opposite.

I completely understand why there isn't a new engine announcement yet. We still have five engines in development, and Henry has only recently reached the engineering sample stage. I have no issue with that, and I'm confident we'll see another new engine announcement next year.

The red express coaches were an obvious choice and are easily one of the highlights of the lineup. They're probably my favorite N scale announcement in this lineup, and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up a set when they're released.

The coal wagons, however, are a hard pass for me. I had a feeling the Sodor Coal Co.  wagon would come first, but introducing both that and the mining wagon before the original coal wagon with a load is disappointing. The original version has been requested far more often, especially since it actually appeared in the television series, so it's frustrating that we have to wait even longer for it. That said, the blue open wagon announced this year came exactly one year after the Sodor Scrap Co. wagon, so hopefully that means the original coal wagon is still on Bachmann's radar.

The FunFair vans will undoubtedly look great when they're finished, but they're not a priority for me. Personally, I would have preferred the gray vent van, though I hope that's still a possibility for the future.

Perhaps the most predictable announcement of the entire lineup was the N scale Tidmouth Sheds. Ever since the N scale Roundhouse was announced two years ago, this seemed inevitable. While I don't currently plan on purchasing the Tidmouth Sheds, I'm genuinely happy to see the N scale range expanding beyond engines and rolling stock with its first structure. I'd love to see more structures added in the future, such as Cranky, the plastic water towers, and perhaps even resin buildings if we're lucky. It's definitely a step in the right direction, and I'm all for it.

And... the award for the most poorly aged forum post I've ever made goes to...

I don't collect large scale, but mark my words, but the moment they announce Henrietta I will start collecting G scale and look into joining a local club.

Ohhhh boy...

In all seriousness, I'm really happy that Henrietta is finally coming to the Large Scale range. Much like the new Thomas and Percy models, this is something fans have wanted for well over a decade, and it's an incredibly welcome addition. At the same time, it's obvious why this tooling is happening, with Hannah being announced alongside her. It reinforces the idea that Bachmann is more willing to invest in new tooling when it can be reused for multiple products. Honestly, I'm perfectly fine with that if it means the Large Scale range continues to grow. I'm genuinely looking forward to starting my collection.

Overall, I'm excited about the vast majority of these announcements, and I think most of them will be very well received once they're released. I'm looking forward to seeing future updates on all of these projects and, hopefully, even more announcements down the road. Quite a few of these will be day-one purchases for me.

Before I do that, though, I'd like to ask for a moment of silence for my wallet, because it looks like I'll be starting a Large Scale collection sooner rather than later.

[TerencetheTractor525]

An outstanding batch of announcements! Never in a million years did I think we would be seeing newly-tooled HO Thomas & Percy models, but here we are. Very happy to see that they will be based on the earlier CGI bodies that look more like the model era props everyone remembers, instead of those modified designs from the late CGI era. I will absolutely be purchasing these. Just need to add model era faces, and they'll be perfect!

Diesel 10 is, by far, the most exciting announcement! I don't think I have been this excited for a Bachmann Thomas announcement since Stanley was announced back in 2023. He's classic, the second bogied diesel in the line after Daisy, and I look forward to seeing how Bachmann tackles his claw. I sincerely hope this means that Harvey will be possible for the future as well now, but that'll be a conversation for the future!

I am in full support of the HO rolling stock choices this time around as well. The stone wagons are nice additions, and it's great to see them expanding the selection as far as wagons with loads are concerned. As a model era modeler, the green variant is my favorite for sure, reminding me of Thomas's new trucks from the ninth season. Hopefully, it will only be a matter of time before we see the darker blue paint scheme, matching James's new trucks. The chocolate syrup tanker is nice to finally see as well, as I know a few people who were interested in seeing this paint scheme make it to HO. Perhaps the toffee tanker will be announced next year?

For HO Narrow Gauge, tippers were certainly expected to happen at some point, following the trend of stock that can be produced for both the Thomas and real-life lines, but welcome additions nevertheless! Hoping to see them reopen the doors to Duncan at some point too, but we'll see!

The N scale announcements, on the other hand, are hit and miss. Absolutely terrific to see the red express coaches announced, but as far as the wagon choices, I'm not fully convinced that the Sodor coal co. wagon and mining wagon variants were the right choices. I would have rather seen the original coal wagon with load announced first, along with a well overdue classic BR brake van, but still happy to see the line expanding nonetheless.

Finally, it is terrific to see more love going to large scale, and this time with new toolings. Henrietta and Hannah are excellent choices, and I look forward to seeing how they turn out at this scale.

All in all, a phenomenal batch of product announcements! This is, without a doubt, the best product announcement we've had since 2023, and the Bachmann Thomas spark has yet again been ignited in me. Thank you to all who made this possible!

[Zorran202]

Well dang, didn't expect to see Diesel 10 finally announced for the lineup! I'm curious as to their reasoning for finally releasing this character after so long, which I'd imagine had to do with the height restriction thing that was a factor, but if anyone asks Matt about this, I'm curious about why this was made possible now...!

For the Large Scale model releases, we finally got Henrietta for Toby to pull after all this time (and Hannah as an added bonus as the reason why Henrietta probably got greenlit). It'll be fun to see Hannah being pulled by like Percy for example as a similar coach to Henrietta. I'm honestly surprised that it took them that long to release Henrietta to be with Toby, but better late than never I guess.

The major surprise next to HO Diesel 10 is the fact after all this time, the retooling for Thomas and Percy (no James though sadly) finally got greenlit and finally will get updates that will match the Large Scale and N Scale lines...! While I'm buggered that it was a missed opportunity from 4 years ago for their 20th Anniversary, at least we'll get these in time for Bachmann's 25th Anniversary. I wonder if James will get the same treatment or that the tank engines would be cheaper to make without the tender as the factor, we'll see...!

Small observation: I think releasing the 3 versions from the Narrow Gauge lines finally influenced the HO line that we got 3 different versions of the stone trucks in green, red, and brown (which doesn't look brown to me because it's more of a light brown/coffee color).

[Mulfred]

So thats a very strong batch of announcements.

I'll start with N Scale first then Large then HO

I'm extremely happy we are getting the Red express coaches. I think the first thing I did when we saw the Green express coaches was recolour the green to red and said to people "now we need these" I can't wait to see a rake of these behind Henry or James on people's layouts.
The fun fair vans are also a welcome edition. I knew it was only a matter of time before they reached the N Scale line. Same with the coal and mining wagons. hopefully next year Bachmann release the standard green truck with coal
Lastly for N Scale Tidmouth sheds, another welcome edition to the range.

Now Large scale surprised the heck out of me. Finally Henrietta and Hannah. They have been very long over due. Everyone has wanted a large scale Henrietta since Toby was announced way back in 2013. 13 years later he gets to reunite with his faithful coach. This also now only leaves the HO range for Hannah... just saying something to think about.

Now HO which I have alot to talk about. Firstly I LOVE the new stone trucks. I certainly was not expecting them going into this announcement but by far my favourite HO items. Sticking with Rolling stock is very nice too see the Chocolate tanker too. someone did mention why not the toffee tanker too but that uses a different tooling in the show and probably wiser to stay clear then make an inaccurate version where everyone moans about laziness and reusing existing tooling
Thomas and Percy are Finally getting updated which is brilliant too see. I'm sure both will look fantastic and probably will lead to a redo of LBSC Thomas down the line possibly, I am also wondering how Bachmann will handle the transition if there is one from old Thomas and Percy to new Thomas and Percy, also wondering of the UK range will pick them up.
We also got the Tipper wagons for NG which I know was highly requested so its nice too see them being added.
Lastly Diesel 10. Which I'm happy for everyone who is excited for him. I personally won't be buying him but I hope he brings people joy and Bachmann hit it out of the park.
Brilliant announcements all round and lots to look forward to

[jlkhalaf2707]

Great, but I am just wondering why no toffee tanker wagon in HO Scale, nor a 20 ton brake van for N scale....

[Awesometrain77]

Oh my goodness this is the best NMRA announcement in a long time .

Updated Thomas and Percy - they are actually doing them I kind of predicted that when they did them it would be at the same time as they usually announce stuff with both of them at the same
Time . I predict we will samples of Thomas before Percy . And that Thomas we might see come out in late 2027 . With a rescaled g scale body on the Stanley wheels.

Percy I predict might come out later around 2028. We still don't know if the updated LBSC Thomas sound Thomas or the DCC Thomas and Percy will happen .

Diesel 10 - since I joined the forums in 2023 I have wanted this character . I hope we comes out soon but imagine we will come out in fall 2028 . I am hoping his claw will be possible . And he will be under $300 . I think we might see a modified Daisy chasis be used
For him which is fine . We need a large mainline freight diesel . After him and flying Scotsman . I am fine with them doing Nia or who ever . I expect it to be a long time . I have a fear tho that this character will get cancelled .

Stone wagon - a logical step I did not see coming . I imagine these will come out around next summer .

Chocolate syrup tanker - I am expecting to see this come out next spring 2027 . Not much to say .

V tipper wagons - something I thought could happen but was unsure about . I almost was worried that the narrow gauge range would fall into the same problem that the g scale range fell into .

G scale tramway coaches - I am glad to see the first g scale tooling in several years . These two will be great behind Toby . We only need them with a face and seeing how we are getting updated Thomas and Percy that is a possibility at this point . I expect to see these two out either really soon let's say spring 2027 or in the long term let's say summer 2029. 

N scale red express - i'm actually surprised how soon these happened I was honestly gonna say next year. I expect to see these in summer 2027

Fun fair vans - these must have been super popular I expect these to come out at the same time as Mr.Jollys van . I feel we might see them in early 2027 .

Wagon with coal loads - I did not see these coming I guess they are trying expand the n scale catalog and product offering a lot . I feel we will see these pretty soon so imma say like late 2027 .

N scale sheds - glad to see this . Honestly don't know when but I feel we will get this in 2028 .

If we to create a order in when I think everything will come out .
1.N scale funfair vans
2.N scale express coaches
3.Choclate Sryup tanker
4.Stone wagons
5.Updated Thomas
6.Coal wagons
7.Updated Percy
8.Diesel 10
9.Tidmoth sheds
10.Hannah and Henrietta 

I honestly was expecting something in every scale, but I did not  how large it would be . I expect next year when they go to the quarterly system things to calm down . But 2026 has been a great year for the range with so much on the way .

[TrainFan97]

So HO Scale is finally getting Diesel 10, along with new toolings for Thomas and Percy. I didn't realize the latter two were actually getting new toolings until I got a good look at the fine print after looking at all the other announcements. Maybe James will get the same treatment. For rolling stock, HO Scale is also getting three different colors of stone wagons, plus the chocolate syrup tanker, which had been exclusive to Large Scale for years, until now.

No new Narrow Gauge engine just yet, but we are getting tipper wagons for it.

N Scale is also getting no new engine just yet, which is understandable with several shipping later this year (Diesel, Paxton, LBSC Thomas and Origin James) and Henry only recently entered the unpainted stage, but we are getting the red express coaches, but sadly, the Sodor Coal wagon and the mining wagon were chosen over the original logoless coal wagon. We're also getting the funfair vans, but the gray van would've been nice. Still desperately need a brake van in N Scale though... Hopefully, Edward for sure gets announced in the 2027 catalog. N Scale is also getting Tidmouth Sheds as the first structure for the range.

At long last, after 13 years since Toby, Large Scale finally gets Henrietta, along with Hannah. Bachmann decided it was finally time to give Toby his faithful coach. Realizing two characters can be made from the same tooling.

Anyway, Diesel 10 is one of the most exciting announcements Bachmann has made in recent years, and is the second larger diesel for the range since Daisy. We'll see how the claw will work. We know only his rear bogie will be powered to cut down on cost. Now that we're getting their boss, maybe we'll get Splatter and Dodge announced for HO Scale in the near future, especially since they can be made from an existing tooling. Maybe even Lady could happen, though she would require a new tooling, and she's not based on a real class of engine, though they did retroactively try to assign one to her. Lady would be a good tribute to the late Britt Allcroft. Maybe the next new tooling for HO Scale can be Harvey. Fans have requested so long for Thomas and Percy's HO Scale models to get updated with more accurate toolings, and now they're finally happening. Maybe the new Thomas will get LBSC and Celebration variants as well. If they did James, they would also need to release Busy Bee and Origin variants.

[[email protected]]

I saw the mid year announcements for the Thomas line. Diesel 10 was something I did not see coming, but is a glad welcome. I'm curious at how they're going to pull off the claw and wonder if it'll be articulated. It may have to be hand posed though. The new Thomas and Percy models with updated tooling is nice, though I won't get them for a while until my current models wear out.

The stone wagons are cool. They'll look great being pulled by Mavis. Judging by the looks of them, the stone loads look like gray versions of the load for the upcoming China Clay Wagon. It's nice to see Bachmann is putting more effort into releasing more rolling stock with loads. I was wondering if the chocolate syrup tanker from the G scale line would get downsized for the HO line. The chocolate syrup tanker will look cool being pulled alongside some of the other sweets related rolling stock like the chocolate factory van, the raspberry syrup tanker and cream tanker. Now all we need to see if Bachmann will release the Toffee Tanker. And they should make it have a thicker dome like in the show.