The Everything Thomas Topic

[TrainFan97]

I highly doubt Diesel 10 would get cancelled because after the Knapford Station cancellation, Bachmann made a promise to no longer announce products until they've received a final cost, and know for certain that's a product they can commit to. So no more announcing products, only to cancel them if determined to not be feasible, as it has happened several times in recent years. They had to break the trend.

[DCC Sodor]

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.

I agree with Chaz and others who have said the same, I would have much rather seen the blue open wagon and the original green coal car with load first. I know these may have Sodor branding on them but these were not seen in the show or in railway series illustrations and were purely based on trackmaster toys (someone please correct me if I am wrong) and while they may hold nostalgia for some, I think the plainer wagons like we got in HO would be a much better welcomed addition to the N scale range as well.

[TrainFan97]

Which is why by popular demand, the logoless green coal wagon must be announced for N Scale in the 2027 catalog.

[sodor_modelmonger]

I'm glad everyone is excited about the announcements - as they should be! It really seems that Mattel has loosened the grip slightly this year since we are getting many fan favorites and deep cut references, a change I think represents how they feel about the upcoming show too but I digress.

Hopefully I'm not repeating anyone here but I did want to share a few thoughts.

-Thomas/Percy Retoolings
I honestly thought these would never come so I am very pleasantly suprised! It will be so nice to have a CGI thomas that sits alongside stanley and ryan etc perfectly. As far as the body goes, I'm hopeful they will have half-open cabs (like stanley or ryan's), as well as front couplers. Parts of the chassis being reused does worry me though. In an ideal scenario - thomas reuses stanley's die cast motor bracket/gear train assembly (his current one is plastic) and please - edward wheels. I understand that it's cost effective to reuse parts from other releases, but I do not think thomas' wheels look amazing. Many modelers out there have swapped them for edward wheels, and I think these would look incredible on the rerelease. (Stanley shouldve used them as well imo). It would also be great to use stanley's square capped rods here. I would also hope that the ends of the axles are painted - this seems to happen sometimes but not always. Stanley's are, but ryan's and oliver's arent, and the bare silver sticks out terribly. Thomas and percy also use black insulators currently, so the wheel centers stand out like a sore thumb as is.

Percy is more of a challenge, I dont know if there are many existing parts he can reuse. The motor/geartrain assembly as is makes him incredibly difficult to take apart for servicing or repairs, but a new one would need to be tooled from the ground up. In an ideal world, his chassis block would be retooled as well - the model straddles a large square hunk of die cast that fills in space at the front and rear of ths undercarriage that should be empty. This may sound nitpicky but it really improves the look and proportions of the character, and the amazing detail work bachmann did on stanley's chassis gives me hope something more akin to the show would be made for percy. I do not believe there are currently better alternatives for his wheels in the range, and I dont see them being retooled for this release, but painting the bare axles/wheel centers and giving him new rods would be a huge improvement. Seeing how accurate and fine the slidebar assemblies have been on rebecca and the narrow gauge engines gives me hope that percy's could be redone in an amazing way too, but at this point we dont know how much of the old chassis he's reusing. Also-hopefully updated cgi lamps for both!

People seem to think james is next for updates and I do agree - especially in terms of his face and cab, but I personally would love to see annie and clarabel, the N scale ones are fantastic by comparison. Since scotsman is currently being worked on it could be a great excuse to redo the chunky gordon side rods and then rerelease gordon and henry with them too...

I'll try to keep the rest brief (oops)

-Diesel 10
Truly going to be an amazing release. The fact that the claw has any degree of posability is fine with me. The quality of the recent locomotive toolings doesnt have me worried for how he will turn out at all, the last handful have been great! I personally would hope for the lowered body seen in the model era without the gap below the face, as it might make him slightly more compatible with low tunnels and bridges, but the complete cg route is fine too.

-Chocolate Syrup Tanker
Neat- will nab

-Stone Trucks with loads
This is a neat idea because its ripped straight from the background trucks of the nitrogen era (specifically from Blue mountain mystery?) However the releases are a bit plain, i think something that would really make them 'must haves' would be to include some quarry dust weathering. Its hard to tell but i think thats the effect they are already going for since the red and brown seem to be very faded. As far as cgi trucks go in the range, it would also be nice to see more variety with cargo, there's so many different loads used in the show, i wouldve felt more compelled to buy if there was a red wagon with crates and a green wagon with rubbish or scrap, then you can have a grand time can swapping all the cargo pieces around.

-The v tippers
I'll be honest these dont really look like the ones in the show? Unless I am missing something, the BMM ones are alot longer overall with bigger hoppers. Perhaps these are based on real life prototypes but it is a slight let down.

-Hannah and Henrietta in G scale
Great to see the range finally get a new tooling! These will be very fun items to add figures to. I can only hope the HO henrietta gets an update so her and her sister can be released in the last range that doesnt have them.. Anyway will definitely pick up.

(Not really an N scale modeller and I think people have covered that already!)

[jlkhalaf2707]

I hope next year we see the toffee tanker wagon and Hannah in HO scale, along with Large Scale origins James, Edward, Edward in N scale, the TAR and milk tanker wagons, the spiteful brake van and a normal BR 20 Ton brake van in N scale as well. I also hope we see Splatter and Dodge in HO scale. I also hope in narrow gauge we get Smudger. You can always buy more than one tanker wagon and customise it. Won't be official, but it serves.

[TrainFan97]

This month's stream is once again on a Thursday. Matt will go over all the new announcements.

It may not be for another stream or two before we get shown the fully painted sample of N Scale Henry, or the first unpainted sample of HO Scale Flying Scotsman. It won't be too much longer before we get shown packaged samples of N Scale Diesel, Paxton, LBSC Thomas, Origin James, the express coaches and open wagons. as well as the HO Scale China Clay wagon and Troublesome Truck #7. Not forgetting Large Scale LBSC Thomas.

Matt can give an honest explanation about the claw on Diesel 10 and how it will work, and hopefully his body can be lowered to hide the gap beneath his face. Maybe explain the possibility of Splatter and Dodge joining him too. I know some will be asking about Lady. Diesel 10 was the only character to originate from Thomas and the Magic Railroad to appear in the CGI series, while Splatter and Dodge got shafted from two specials, which squandered their chances of returning.

[TRAINSROCK!]

Hello everyone I've not written for awhile on the fourm (life stuff always in the way). I know I'm really late after a week since bachmann made the announcements one week ago. I thought i'd share my thoughts on what was announced. (just felt overwhelmed with all the excitement from the announcements).

first is the retooling of both thomas and percy. this is a joy that bachmann has finally listened to everyone about updating the older models that started the line 24 years ago. (hard to believe next year is 25 years since they started doing the line).

this is a great welcome edition that there updating two of the three engines that started the line. (I do think james might be the next one they do since I think the line has gotten better with the models that would follow compared to the first three though i don'tknow if they'll retire the old models in favor for the new designs but we'll just see).

I know I've seen everyone suggestion on some of the others models for a redesign (I would say gordon and henry I've seen everyone say more. I think toby and edward are perfectly fine as they are). I hope this may be a sign that they may do emily with the no. 12 on the tender.

rolling stock well I'm happy they announced a product that I made in the old suggestion post for future models last year.

the wagons with the stone load. (they're using the tooling from the china clay wagon so this is great they're doing more wagons with loads). though I'm torn how many I might buy (they'll go great with mavis though i don't know why they didn't do the stone load with the ffarquhar quarry wagon they announced earlier this year but this is still a great edition with more wagons with loads).

and they're doing a chocolate syrup tanker for ho. this one a piece of rolling stock in the g scale line so it's nice they're doing a piece of rolling stock from the g scale line to the ho line. (I'll ponder about this one)

for the narrow gauge line well I'm happy they announced the tipper wagons.(nice that the line is growing with more rolling stock). was hoping again they would announce duncan for the 100th time but no. okay i may sound annoying about duncan I just really want them to do him again to complete the core skarloey railway roster.

for n scale I like that they added the red express coaches (I actually like these more than the green ones the red ones just look nicer). I do plan to eventually buy the ho ones just wanted those a lot.

and they're adding both the fun fair vans into the line. (I did change my mind on those when they did the 12 ton vans for ho I had no intention to buy the fun fair vans I just only bought the christmas and the grey ones but I'm changing my mind that I may get the fun fair ones maybe just a bit of different rolling stock).

and I know there's a lot of disappointment that they did the sodor coal co. and mining wagons instead of the regular coal wagon. (they may do the regular coal wagon the next one).

I think out of the two I changed my mind on the mining wagon. (I decided to get a few of the ho mining wagon and the scrap co wagon in ho as i don't know if they'll discontinue them like they did the coal co wagon earlier this year). i think both are more uniquely different from the coal co. wagon since the latter one is the regular coal wagon with lettering on it. (i thought i'd buy the coal co. wagon before it disappeared off the shelf but no I now decided to get the mining and scrap wagons instead I think they were probably the better wagons they did when they were released 7 years ago). but that's my opinion.

and nice that they included tidmoth sheds as a welcome edition to the line. (was hoping they would announce a new engine but probably in 27 as Henry is still being worked on i think Edward might be the next one they announce) but as always we'll see.

for g scale I'm happy they're finally doing henrietta for g scale. she'll go great with Toby that everyone has been asking bachmann for years. (and yes they're doing hannha though i prefer henrietta). I'm also happy they're doing henrietta with the face for g scale like they did her in the n scale line. I just hope they do her with the face for ho than I definitely would buy toby.

and the big one everyone's excited about diesel 10. I never did expect bachmann to do diesel 10 since he's been requested so much over the years. but they're finally doing him. (though like the flying scotsman i don't know how much he's going to cost and how they'll do his claw). I know he's still in the talks if designs but I'll just wait to see when he's released.

when bachmann said they were going to do someone we didn't expect i was thinking originally they were finally going to do stepney. (since he was just announced as a toy in the new meatel collection and possibly maybe returning in the show but maybe they may finally do him as I always say we'll see).

So bachmann did some great announcements from the nmra convention. hope to see how these products turn out down the road. and hope to for more exciting products in 2027. thank you bachmann for these announcements.

[Zorran202]

It boggles my mind that we finally got some characters that have some factors that probably would've been impossible back then...: The Flying Scotsman with the extra tender to deal with packaging-wise and Diesel 10 with Pinchy (the claw) that if too tall can end up running into a bridge or tunnel not tall enough for it. It makes me appreciative to see them go above and beyond! If they do the same with Harvey, then we got the trifecta for the HO Range...!

[TrainFan97]

Other characters thought to be impossible for HO Scale include Winston and Flynn. Though Bachmann UK makes Wickham Trolleys, which Winston is based on one. Flynn has the ability to switch between rail and road wheels. Bachmann might just make Flynn's road wheels into rail wheels, like their maintenance-of-way vehicles. Both characters would be marketed as "Motive Power". Belle has water cannons, which wouldn't be very difficult to incorporate.

We're getting Flying Scotsman who has a second tender, Diesel 10 who has a claw, and maybe next, we can have Harvey, who has a crane.

We'll see what samples of previously-announced products will be shown in the stream tonight. Might be N Scale Henry fully painted. Might be Flying Scotsman's unpainted sample. We'll wait and see.

[Zorran202]

Other characters thought to be impossible for HO Scale include Winston and Flynn. Though Bachmann UK makes Wickham Trolleys, which Winston is based on one. Flynn has the ability to switch between rail and road wheels. Bachmann might just make Flynn's road wheels into rail wheels, like their maintenance-of-way vehicles. Both characters would be marketed as "Motive Power". Belle has water cannons, which wouldn't be very difficult to incorporate.

We're getting Flying Scotsman who has a second tender, Diesel 10 who has a claw, and maybe next, we can have Harvey, who has a crane.

We'll see what samples of previously-announced products will be shown in the stream tonight. Might be N Scale Henry fully painted. Might be Flying Scotsman's unpainted sample. We'll wait and see.

I'd say for Winston, it's not impossible since he was given a Large Scale, probably without the eye mechanism to not make it expensive... Flynn and Belle, I'd say while it could be interesting to see them, they're not a "fan favorite priority" in that regard, probably after all the requested characters be made in who knows how long into the future....

It's also great to see Bachmann take into consideration regarding Diesel 10's beloved Pinchy, which makes sense since the other factor to think about is the "8+" age range to ensure that no small parts will be a choking hazard...! Can't wait to see the model in another 2-3 year's time to see the final, finished model being released later on...!

[TrainFan97]

I didn't say Belle and Flynn were fan favorites by any means, since we have other highly-requested characters like Whiff, Harvey, Norman and Hiro. I knew Winston had a Large Scale model, but if he was possible in HO Scale, he would not have an eye mechanism.

Anyway, the stream showed a few samples. They already have an unpainted sample of N Scale Tidmouth Sheds, and they might release an expansion pack later on so it can have more berths. We also were shown a sample of the HO Scale NW Brake Van, which was from the cancelled 80th Anniversary set. Then we were shown the face sample for HO Scale Flying Scotsman. We got to see something regarding Flying Scotsman, and it won't be much longer before we get shown the first full unpainted sample of him. Same for the fully painted sample of N Scale Henry. Both should be shown in the next stream or two.

The new HO Scale Thomas and Percy will have the same chassis as before, but can have some modifications. It's to cut down on cost and reduce the wait time. They won't look so weird next to Ryan and Stanley. Thomas will also have the red lining behind his bunker. The 8+ age range plays a factor regarding the claw on Diesel 10. It's not certain whether or not the claw will pinch, but the concern is small parts being a choking hazard. The good news is that he will not have the gap beneath his face, and will be properly fitted to his chassis.

There wasn't an N Scale engine announcement because this was a catch-up year for N Scale. At least we have Diesel, Paxton, LBSC Thomas and Origin James arriving in stock by the end of the year, with Henry soon to be shown fully painted. The 2027 catalog should for sure have Edward announced for N Scale. He's the top-requested character for N Scale, along with Duck and Oliver.