Future Thomas & Friends product suggestions and predictions

[TrainFan97]

If anyone needs a new chassis in HO Scale, it's Toby. He would run a lot better if he actually had side rods like his N Scale model. The body itself may not be that flawed.

[jlkhalaf2707]

I hate to burst people's bubbles, but what if Duncan never ends up happening? Also, they don't need to discontinue the current HO scale Henrietta, they just need to add a face to her. Also, if Toby ends up getting the spark arrestor in the reboot, along with being painted chocolate and blue, that would be nice. Same with blue Donald and Douglas.

[Zorran202]

I hate to burst people's bubbles, but what if Duncan never ends up happening? Also, they don't need to discontinue the current HO scale Henrietta, they just need to add a face to her. Also, if Toby ends up getting the spark arrestor in the reboot, along with being painted chocolate and blue, that would be nice. Same with blue Donald and Douglas.

I mean Diesel for Large Scale was initially canceled, but then brought back into the range, alongside Paxton. Never say never. And hey, if they ever pull a Beau where they just make it based off of the basis, as well as Sir Handel where they based him more off of Sir Haydn, nothing is impossible.

[TrainFan97]

If we finally get another Narrow Gauge engine announced in the 2027 catalog, it will most likely be Luke, or Smudger. At least Bachmann has the tooling for the latter. I'd be okay with Smudger if we can't get Luke. He'd be the first engine in the Narrow Gauge line to have a model series face.

I mentioned in the Splatter and Dodge/Fernando thread that if Bachmann does make Splatter and Dodge, they could see if it's possible to modify the front end tooling to where there's no wiring connecting the headlamps to make the front ends simpler, which can also be applied to 'Arry and Bert if they get reintroduced. Though I feel Splatter and Dodge could get announced for HO Scale, while 'Arry and Bert would most likely get announced for N Scale before Bachmann considers reintroducing them to HO Scale. N Scale needs new toolings like Edward and Duck, and the highest priority for an engine repaint in N Scale can be 'Arry and Bert, with the modified front ends, no stepladders, and different faces with 'Arry having little or no stubble. N Scale can also get Busy Bee James at some point; just not yet.

The most likely engines for Large Scale are Sidney, Mainland Diesel, Origin James, Stanley, or at a stretch, Edward, if Bachmann is finally ready.

The N Scale rolling stock we need most is the logoless green coal wagon, plus a brake van or two, and for me personally, an HO Scale rolling stock we need is a separate wagon with an ore load.

There is little hope BoCo would ever get made unless he returns in the reboot. I hear Stepney is finally returning.

[TEHNewClearwaterFeatures]

Gordon and Henry are LONG overdue for their large scale models.

[Luke22]

I'd say the only thing that's holding LS Gordon/Henry from being made are the costs to make them. After all, I don't think anyone would be willing to shell out an expensive amount that's probably close to Emily, if not more than her RRP being sold....

IF they were to introduce any new engines for the LS range, realistically it would have to be either a repaint like turning James into "Origins James" or a rebuild like 'Arry and Bert, Sidney, or the Mainland Diesel... I mean we haven't seen anyone new aside from a repaint of Thomas' LBSC livery... However, IF they're also bold enough to make a new engine from scratch, Edward, Stanley, Mavis, Salty, or small engines like Bill & Ben that'll make it worth it to build two engines for the price of one.

[TEHNewClearwaterFeatures]

Well then...How about an HO Nia?

[Cheeky_ULP]

I know Mattel would love for Bachmann to make Nia, and has probably been actively pushing for them to do so. However, I think a lot of fans were upset as it is that Rebecca got made before Hiro. If Bachmann did Nia before Hiro too, there would certainly be even more dissatisfaction among the fans.

I think she will eventually be inevitable, but there's plenty of more popular and better selling characters they could choose before her.

[Awesometrain77]

Since Bachmann is planning to release Henrietta and Hannah for G Scale, I feel like Bachmann could discontinue the original Henrietta for the HO/OO version and replace it with the face version alongside her sister. And considering Bachmann is redoing Thomas and Percy, I wouldn't mind they do the same for Henrietta. Though I'm not sure if it'll be good if there's some fans that prefer the faceless one over the face.

I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled a Spiteful Brakevan, where they retired the old grey brake van for the new one.

On the other hand, if they do turn Henrietta into her CGI counterpart, synergy-wise, she'd look odd next to the model series Toby, so an update to him would be a must IMO (and hopefully considered to be retooled or at least updated with a new face)...

I see this happening .
Tbh have the catalog announcements for HO being the updates with Updated DCC models maybe with lights announced , and a new LBSC Thomas . And Henrietta and Hannah. Would really balance it  it out.

For narrow gauge I honestly see Smudger.

Going forward I see the 2026 effecting the announcements for example characters in the 2026 that appear in aeg or the old show and even during the model era of the old show could have a huge chance.

Whiff might be a way better option then Havery .

Whiff Nia Hiro have been suggested for a while and I think whiff is likey to be on the cards for 2027 .nia could happen tho . Charlie as well

Ashima and Yong bao would be extremely complex but they have been confirmed . 

Also with Rosie's boasted role I could see her happening in other scales .

We also have BoCo trademarked by Mattel as I think he could be in the range due to that . 

Now Stepney also has been shown to be in this show . Timothy Scruff as well .


As for narrow gauge I'd say Smudger as all he'd require would be a new face
And paint .

I love the idea of coaches with faces for narrow gauge .


Now I am wondering where the toffee tanker is in HO scale .

Trevor I could totally see happen now . As he was in the same category where I did not know if Bachmann would think they would be worth tooling that large scale Henrietta is in

G scale Rosie in both red and pink would be a pretty cool announcement

Edward I am still wondering weather he will happen . Edward I could see along side a new tool of rolling stock . Which will probably be the branchline coaches. But I would like to see the mail cars . Maybe another character in N scale

[harrison05]

Now that Diesel 10 is finally happening, Bachmann have wanted to do Harvey for so long so I reckon he will be next HO engine.

[TrainFan97]

The next newly-tooled engine for HO Scale has to be Whiff, Harvey, Hiro, or Norman, as characters like that would be better-received than Nia. We may not get Nia until we get the other characters first that people have actually been asking for, since Rebecca wasn't very well-received after being chosen over Hiro. Norman's tooling can be used again for Dennis, while Hiro can also be made in his patchwork livery. If HO Scale gets another tender engine (apart from retooled James) it has to be Hiro. Some have been asking for Charlie, and his tooling can be used for Billy, another model series repaint similar to Dennis. Both Billy and Dennis only had one episode dedicated to them, but the toolings would be there once Charlie and Norman get made.

Potential HO Scale repaints of existing toolings include Splatter, Dodge, Fernando, Green Salty, Blue Bill and Ben. Chocolate Covered and Ghost Percy for the retooled model.

If Narrow Gauge can't get Luke, then Smudger is the way to go. Just repaint Rheneas' tooling with a different face. For repaints of existing Narrow Gauge rolling stock, we should get tan and gray brake vans and box vans. We can also get coaches with faces. I can see Smudger happening before Proteus, who'd be a repaint of Sir Handel's tooling.

With the N Scale backlog clearing up fast, we absolutely need a newly-tooled engine or two in the 2027 catalog. We for sure MUST get Edward, and maybe even Duck. Toad was introduced very early on for N Scale, but we should eventually get Oliver to reunite with his brake van. Duck and Oliver are top sellers in HO Scale, and will certainly be the same for N Scale too. Duck will most likely be made before Oliver, plus his chassis would be recycled for N Scale Donald and Douglas. Edward, Spencer, Mavis, Salty, Duck, Oliver, Donald and Douglas would all be welcomed with open arms. After Henry, the third big engine for N Scale must be Spencer. Edward and the Scottish twins are medium-sized engines, while Duck and Oliver would be tank engines. Mavis and Salty are great choices for diesels that aren't Class 08s.

The next newly-tooled rolling stock for N Scale must be a brake van, which the line is seriously lacking. Other good choices of new rolling stock include the mail car, salt wagon, cattle wagon, special coaches (for Spencer), and retooled tankers. If anything needs to be retooled in N Scale, it's the tankers. Once Bachmann makes their own N Scale tanker tooling that's more accurate to the show, the Graham Farish ones can be discontinued. That was a cost-cutting measure to give N Scale more rolling stock when it was new. Once N Scale gets retooled tankers, we can get water, oil and fuel like before, but also a much wider variety including milk, tar, raspberry syrup, chocolate syrup and cream. The latter three would be for a sweets train. While we need the logoless green coal wagon for N Scale, we also need the logoless gray van. Other N Scale rolling stock to push for are brake vans and retooled tankers. The red coaches can be modified from the Annie and Clarabel tooling. We might see the Brendam Bay, Christmas wreath and explosives vans make their way to N Scale as well, for more vans with logos. The toffee tanker would require a new tooling, which could be why it hasn't been announced for HO Scale yet.

If Large Scale gets a newly-tooled engine, it could be Edward, Rosie, Stanley, Mavis, Salty, or Bill and Ben. Stanley would recycle Thomas' chassis. Gordon and Henry would be much too expensive to produce in that scale. Good choices for repaints include Origin James, Sidney and Mainland Diesel.

[DustyMarie53!]

Really interesting wording from this weeks new Model Monday, "Can't make any promises yet, but there are are couple other characters that are candidates for redesigns but it will take some time to have the capacity but we have had some disussions about that."

I assume James and Paxton are at least two of those, that could be it, but it seems they'll be a few years off yet before we see anything. Potential easier candidates as well are Spencer in his more modern color scheme or Emily with her number, which could either be running changes like James has had or outright separate sale products like red Rosie or Grumpy Diesel.

The wording specifically said characters and not engines, so i am hoping they may also be considering finally updating Annie, Clarabel, and Bertie at least to be more up to modern standards.

Henrietta with her face is also an obvious candidate now that she is in both other scales. Either way like they said it might be a while before we see anything else to this end, but I think this list is a pretty decent shout for the characters that could be at the top of their list and my personal most wanted redos. There's a few others that would be nice, like the Scottish Twins with proper smokeboxes, but I do think those are far far off and it's better to have a list like this.

[Chaz]

IF they were to introduce any new engines for the LS range, realistically it would have to be either a repaint like turning James into "Origins James" or a rebuild like 'Arry and Bert, Sidney, or the Mainland Diesel... I mean we haven't seen anyone new aside from a repaint of Thomas' LBSC livery...

I'm inclined to think that this is the direction the Large Scale line is going to go as well. Considering that any new tooling introduced in recent years, such as the box van and Diesel/Paxton, has been for something that can be reused for another character or piece of rolling stock, it's pretty clear that Bachmann isn't interested in creating entirely new tooling for something that can only represent one specific engine or piece of rolling stock. The recent introduction of Henrietta and Hannah further supports this.

That said, if we do get a new engine tooling in Large Scale, I'm inclined to think it will be Rosie. She's going to be a main character in the new reboot, she's a smaller engine with a nice color contrast, and, more importantly, Bachmann could reuse the tooling to introduce her in her pink livery either alongside her current red one or sometime further down the road. 

Since I plan to collect the range at some point, one engine I'd like to see is Mavis, since she'd be a new diesel that wouldn't just be an 08 repaint, and her chassis could potentially be reused from Toby's. However, I'm inclined to think that it's more than likely going to take a fully reusable tooling, rather than just a chassis that can be reused, for a new engine project to be greenlit. But I'd love to be proven wrong. Edward would be at the top of my personal wishlist, with Mavis being a close second, but sadly, I don't see him happening anytime soon. Again, I'd love to be proven wrong.

[TEHNewClearwaterFeatures]

It looks like Bachmann's Large Scale TTTE range is barley doing well these days...So much for Large Scale Gordon or Henry...

[TrainFan97]

Bachmann may have to discontinue the Graham Farish N Scale tankers once they announce show-accurate ones, with the proper tooling. They did a similar thing with the Narrow Gauge vans once we got show-accurate ones. They can do the same with the N Scale tankers. Everyone will be happy once N Scale finally gets show-accurate tankers, so they can be made in a much wider variety. Other new-tooled rolling stock for N Scale we need to increase variety include the mail car, cattle wagon, salt wagon, and of course, brake vans.

The 2027 catalog should at least announce the logoless green coal wagon and gray van. Logoless rolling stock tends to sell better. And for HO Scale, separate wagons with ore loads. Troublesome Truck #8 can be a coal wagon.