https://twitter.com/trainworld/status/1722723396969017647?s=46&t=P-yyOHfS2jVlFTUMzHYGLg
With Trainworld posting Sir Handel up for preorder, I figured now was as good of a time to make a new thread exclusive to Sir Handel where fans can discuss updates on this highly anticipated model.
Anyone else excited to finally preorder Sir Handel?
VERY excited to do so indeed! I recently acquired Skarloey and Rheneas (with Peter Sam on order as we speak) and they are honestly some of the very best Bachmann has to offer. Sir Handel's stories and overall character were always enjoyable to watch and the prospect of owning what undoubtedly will be another banger model and finally finishing off the "Four Little Engines" group is something I'm genuinely looking forward to!
We finally have a little update on Sir Handel. No unpainted prototype yet, but preorders are available, including a price. Sounds like progress is finally happening on Sir Handel.
Bumping up this thread in light of what was just teased on Bachmann's social media post today! :D
About time! After a seemingly endless wait, the unpainted sample of Sir Handel was FINALLY teased! However, it's not a perfect one, which isn't ready for primetime yet, so it won't be shown in the August Trainworld stream. At least they got a sample in, but there's obviously some flaws on it that need to be tweaked, so what they got is not the final mold. Hope we'll get a better look in the September stream. For now, we only see the back half of him. After Stanley's unpainted sample and the fully painted samples of the HO Scale figures, I knew Sir Handel's unpainted sample would be next. He's finally on the way!
It's just like when they got a painted sample of Rebecca's tender in February, Rebecca's painted sample wasn't ready for primetime until April, and shown in the May Trainworld stream.
Now that we know Sir Handel is in the unpainted stage, the next things we have to look forward to being teased are the unpainted Narrow Gauge Gondola, Open Carriage, and fully painted Sir Topham Hatt's Car, along with the fully painted Narrow Gauge High-Side Wagons. May be a while before we hear anything on N Scale Diesel/Paxton or the Express Coaches. They're still working on Bulgy's design. We know it's going to be a while before we hear anything on Duncan or the Gunpowder Wagons.
I'm a little late into posting in this thread but I am really happy with how Sir Handel is coming along so far. I'm especially happy that they're adding additional details that were not present on the CGI model, the brake pipes in particular. It gives me a little hope for Duncan now, so I'm open to seeing how he will turn out.
Anyway can't wait for the fully painted sample for Sir Handel. It's nice seeing progress made on a lot of the previously announced narrow gauge projects.
Cool! I am so going to preorder Sir Handel! :)
Just posting these because no one posted the pics of Sir Handel yet.
https://x.com/thomasmerchnews/status/1860383066134577228/photo/1
The new pictures I've seen posted of Sir Handel really, really impressed me. They really nailed some of the extra details that the CGI render did not have such as the additional brake pipes, the additional rivet detail, and the raised bunker panels. This model has all the right cross appeal for not only OO9 modelers but Thomas fans who also love and know the character and his design. I have absolutely no doubt that Bachmann will eventually reuse this model to make a Sir Haydn model in the future to go along with Talyllyn. They really went all out with this model and it's easy to see why it will take over three years for this model to be released. I say that this model will definitely be worth the wait once we see him fully painted and ready to go.
I'm very impressed with how Sir Handel is looking. Can't wait to see a fully painted Sample. I think potentially he could easily become the best in the NG range so far. With the the extra detailing is honestly wouldn't be surprised if he jumps up the que of engines and we get Sir Hayden alot sooner then we expected, it definitely feels like Bachmann have added those extra details with that in mind, which I totally wouldn't be against. Talyllyn seems to be proving quite popular so far, so adding another engine into the fleet will probably be announced in 2025/26.
Looking at the image of Sir Handel, it makes me wonder: is his cab also die-cast metal? I ask this because when comparing to Skarloey's prototype model (the differences on his model are easier to pinpoint), makes me wonder if #3 cab is also die-cast or just also plastic. Hard to tell when the silver looks so similar to the boiler...
Sir Handel is still not painted yet, but his tooling can definitely be used to make Sir Haydn in the near future to join the Talyllyn range. Sir Handel's model was definitely made with Sir Haydn in mind. Hopefully Bachmann can also use his tooling to make Proteus. It would be nice if Bachmann uses Rheneas' tooling to make Smudger as well, but Dolgoch is bound to be announced in 2025. It's too bad Duncan had to be cancelled because his CGI render strayed way too far away from Douglas, and there are no other characters that would use his tooling, so it would be one and done. That doesn't mean he'll never be made. Rusty was possible because his tooling was much simpler than Duncan's would've been.
Anyway, it may not be until the January Trainworld stream at the earliest when we finally do see Sir Handel fully painted. If not, then the 2025 catalog should have his image, unless it suddenly shows up on the Bachmann webstore.
For sir Handel being as sir Hayden there is a lot of ideas for that being
Sir Hayden in TR green
Sir Hayden in TR red
Corris railway #10
Also side note if making Duncan out of plastic would keep the price down they should do that .
Quote from: Awesometrain77 on November 25, 2024, 10:31:30 PMFor sir Handel being as sir Hayden there is a lot of ideas for that being
Sir Hayden in TR green
Sir Hayden in TR red
Corris railway #10
Also side note if making Duncan out of plastic would keep the price down they should do that .
What about a Yellow Sir Haydn that could be good for Proteus customs?
Sir Handel looks amazing! Glad to see that they're making serious headway. With all the little details of Sir Hadyn present, in addition to the fact Bachmann can clearly use the tooling/casting for that loco, it also makes Sir Handel well worth the 3 year wait. Itching to see the painted sample!
With that in mind, I think Rheneas, Peter Sam and Rusty can all be reused in some fashion to make Dolgoch, Edward Thomas and Midlander, but all with some minor retoolings. Rheneas and Peter Sam would both need new die cast casting for their smokeboxes to accommodate more accurate funnels, while Rusty's radiator will need to be replaced altogether for Midlander. I think it can work that way.
Sorry for the slight detour, onto Sir Handel! Expectations are high for his release!
Sir Handel being based more on Sir Haydn than his CGI model is a win-win in my book; hardcore Thomas fans are not alienated by the real life designs of the engines, and then regular OO9 modelers will have an authentic model to work off of for Sir Haydn.
Doug Blaine, we are still waiting for sir Handel and Duncan. Even Samuel Clarke in England.
Quote from: Gotoit756 on December 14, 2024, 08:47:18 AMDoug Blaine, we are still waiting for sir Handel and Duncan. Even Samuel Clarke in England.
Looks like someone didn't get the memo that Duncan was cancelled. Sir Handel's painted sample is bound to be shown in the January stream.
It was nice to finally see Sir Handel fully painted, but there were some paint issues, so the sample shown was not final. His official image may not be in the 2025 catalog, but I could be wrong. He should arrive in stock sometime this year, along with the DCC Sound-Fitted Thomas and Percy.
the DCC sound fitted Thomas and Percy works with DC did I hear him correctly?
Quote from: Coaltronn on January 09, 2025, 10:17:33 AMthe DCC sound fitted Thomas and Percy works with DC did I hear him correctly?
Yes, like all of our DCC locomotives, the DCC Sound on Board Thomas and Percy have dual-mode decoders and will work on DC layouts.
It was great seeing the official image of Sir Handel posted in addition to extra pictures taken of the model on Bachmann's Facebook page. I'm excited to get mine the day it's released!
Sir Handel is just cool! :)
I just realized, Sir Handel has brake pipes on him...! That wasn't a feature on the previous 4 released characters....! That's pretty awesome and surprising that he's gotten brake pipes on his model, unless if it's based on Sir Haydn which would make sense if that's the case....
https://www.facebook.com/Bachmanntrains/posts/pfbid06uYuMyipzmC392DbBYEbnYkPPF2gzFZsUPzivMRLQSbSmFZBQPun9WZgWJyUbCPZl
Also those pictures of Sir Handel look AMAZING!!! I hope I can get my hands on him this year if not the next...!
Boy, Sir Handel looks like if Nitrogen Studios went to the Talyllyn Railway again and redid their design of Sir Haydn just like when they went there to do measurements for the Blue Mountain Mystery special...! It makes me wonder if this is a testing ground for Bachmann to add the detailing not present from the 2012 CGI models of the narrow gauge characters (and to an extent, hopefully this'll mean if Duncan gets green-lit if a solution to find the balance between TV series model and Douglas' model can be made, just like Large Scale Diesel being uncanceled too)... If that's the case, I definitely appreciate the fact they went above and beyond to make Sir Handel as extra special as he is now...!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/406425509485?_skw=bachmann+sir+handel&itmmeta=01KB390RBV5JY1NZZCF290N6MQ&hash=item5ea0d91e6d:g:eRsAAeSwuylpJ3DK&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1cAKe6njU7cLDH5K2aSgIQgCrN3jTGx%2B6gIHoJOBVHWpoVHSCCLoBk2%2BDk6pkPPBtBYF6GwTMLSYTJpJdf4tESJmZ58ulQYUBZ6xv2pKy35zmfUEd3hRU6Rh9f2ucB6NyTWP0RzzmnyGIekr0Rtct3LmX%2FNJfWanS2ECTI8ZWn6VNuMcqPMHuY%2F1nXIZFhBjY2oIPnmBT1Irg3TuRnbACUbWX%2BANh3B9rBXwP7%2BKZ0C9aS4IE7baj3QAVLnsdeg3ys%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4iGg-nYZg
Well, I'd say the model of Sir Handel seems to be available on eBay! Not sure about anywhere else, but that's what I just saw today....!
It's nice that sir handel is finally released after almost four years since he was announced.
he looks great from the images. bachmann did another great job.
I definitely like to buy him eventually along with most of the recent rolling stock for the narrow guage line.
(all three of the new slate wagons in the different paint schemes. and the one of each of the high side wagons. I'm kind of thinking the red and green ones. as there were more of those than there were of the brown ones though i may add the brown ones).
still hope the gondolas and the gunpowder wagons come soon. and as always I hope they say they'll do duncan again in 2026 or the following year. (maybe I shouldn't hold my breath for that it's just out of all the recent canceled items duncan was the one I was the most disappointed with). but we'll just see.
Quote from: TRAINSROCK! on December 02, 2025, 01:44:56 AMI hope they say they'll do duncan again in 2026 or the following year. (maybe I shouldn't hold my breath for that it's just out of all the recent canceled items duncan was the one I was the most disappointed with). but we'll just see.
I reckon Duncan won't happen until Douglas's overhaul is done.
Evidence?
We don't have a date decided to restart development on Duncan, or if we'll be able to do so. If or when it happens, we'll make sure to let everyone know with an official announcement.
Thank you for the update! It sucks that Duncan couldn't be made initially due to his CGI model being very far off the mark, but I'm curious to see how he'd be made IF greenlit... ala Beau mixing both CGI and real-life elements intact, we shall see...
ANYWAYS before we end up derailing from the topic here: I could be living under a rock, but if Sir Handel is now released, where could I find him in person instead of online? Like is he distributed throughout the physical model hobby shops too?
Quote from: Zorran202 on December 03, 2025, 01:41:50 PMANYWAYS before we end up derailing from the topic here: I could be living under a rock, but if Sir Handel is now released, where could I find him in person instead of online? Like is he distributed throughout the physical model hobby shops too?
I'm unsure about any shops directly but I know he was at the Greenberg train show, so any U.S. Local shop very well me be getting him in shortly. U.K should be getting him similarly within a week or two.
Hope this is helpful
Quote from: JLK2707 on December 03, 2025, 05:20:17 AMEvidence?
What is there no evidence, I was saying a theory I have...
I think that it's more of a logical deduction; if Douglas is still out of service and basically in pieces, then it isn't exactly in the ideal condition to be measured, scanned or photographed for any model train company that would have interest in making a model of Douglas. Not much to add to that discussion until it returns to service.
Does anyone know when she is due to return?
Quote from: harrison05 on December 06, 2025, 06:42:35 PMDoes anyone know when she is due to return?
Current estimate is 2027/2028. So it's a while off yet
(https://i.gyazo.com/6ee5ed4804cf6f12bfcaba13d540115c.jpg)
Well, the model I've been eagerly anticipating for years has finally arrived, and here are my thoughts on Bachmann's Sir Handel.
(https://i.gyazo.com/thumb/4032/797834c81c0c441ae462f31b0a8a7fd5-heic.jpg)
Ten years ago today, Skarloey was released. I still remember the excitement when he was first announced in early 2015. It came out of nowhere and immediately felt like the start of a bright future for narrow gauge modeling. Now, a decade later, we welcome the fifth member of the lineup. Each release, excluding Rusty, has shown clear improvement as the range continues to grow. Skarloey felt like the beginning of something special, giving way for engines such as Rheneas and Peter Sam to follow. Sir Handel, however, doesn't just follow. He exceeds every expectation.
(https://i.gyazo.com/23ea363b326062a410b29ae4ca94c4a8.jpg)
This is, without question, the best model to come from the range so far. It surpasses nearly everything Bachmann has produced across scales. I hardly know where to begin. We are at an all-time high here, and it is genuinely impressive how well Bachmann executed Sir Handel.
(https://i.gyazo.com/thumb/4032/84a3563d152997b8d444a84f258589ae-heic.jpg)
Right away, the proportions stand out beautifully. They capture his real-world basis more accurately than the CGI render, for reasons we found out earlier this year with Bachmann's Sir Haydn announcement! No matter how you look at it though, the Bachmann Sir Handel model represents the character incredibly well.
(https://i.gyazo.com/thumb/4032/92953dbb2f13687662e37467064725cc-heic.jpg)
The detailing is superb, from the rivets to the separately fitted whistle and brake pipes at both ends. Even though those pipes were not present in the CGI version, their inclusion enhances the model in a very positive way. If any engine deserved that extra attention, it was Sir Handel.
(https://i.gyazo.com/thumb/4032/77dafee6d715d8e166755a5306f67b2f-heic.jpg)
The cab design is strong as well. It does not share the same amount of blockage as Peter Sam, nor does it have closed off windows like Skarloey/Talyllyn. Yet Bachmann still managed to add traction to the trailing wheels (or "steamroller wheels"), allowing it to increase traction and improves overall running performance.
(https://i.gyazo.com/thumb/4032/2e48b9f3c0d9e08af56b5d54241ec602-heic.jpg)
The livery is beautiful. The shade of blue is spot-on, and the painted details such as the handrails and nameplate elevate the model visually.
(https://i.gyazo.com/thumb/4032/bd794f01cb61025f6a93fc60b5999906-heic.jpg)
The face is excellent too, perfectly capturing his CGI appearance. For those who prefer the classic model-era expression, replacing the face should be a simple and accessible modification.
(https://i.gyazo.com/thumb/4032/e3d3aca8a5bcc7741840d9688aaafbba-heic.jpg)
As for performance, Sir Handel is appropriately smooth. His "steamroller" wheels provide excellent traction through curves and steeper grades, and he handles any sort of consist with with ease. This was something Bachmann did with their Peter Sam model, and I'm glad they continued this with Sir Handel.
(https://i.gyazo.com/thumb/4032/bd7a34d6ba15875a6aa17dccd9326fb1-heic.jpg)
He performs just as well in reverse and over switches, which speaks to the quality of the wheels and motor. This is an engine that will not derail easily, even if he would prefer to not work with trucks...
(https://i.gyazo.com/thumb/4032/456a5f163fd68f8525062efe22a67715-heic.jpg)
The word "perfect" is not one I use lightly, whether for models or anything outside of the hobby. The Bachmann Sir Handel though, in my very honest opinion is just that: perfect. That should emphasize just how exceptional this release truly is. There is not a single flaw I can point to. It may be the best model Bachmann has created, not only in narrow gauge but across every scale in the Thomas ranges. It is remarkable to realize that ten years have passed since Skarloey, and now we have a nearly full and well-rounded fleet to enjoy.
(https://i.gyazo.com/thumb/4032/241e4e736542eea8d437754233667c08-heic.jpg)
I hope Duncan returns in production someday. But even if he does not, I have complete confidence that future additions will continue to meet this standard of excellence. Thank you, Bachmann, for delivering something this special. Sir Handel was worth every moment of the wait, and I look forward to whatever comes next.
A review on the figure packs are coming soon, I promise!
Great review, Chaz! Sir Handel definitely sounds like he's a clear winner in the range. It's been essentially four years since he was announced, and from your review, it sounds like he was worth the long wait. What also is incredible was how he managed to arrive just in time for the holiday season!
On a different note: You've also got a great collection as well. My favorite picture is definitely the one with the three Mid Sodor fleet!
All in all, Sir Handel is definitely an engine that a lot of people are excited about, and it's easy to see why. It's a celebration; Sir Handel is finally out!
Hey everyone, I filmed a review of Sir Handel that I uploaded on YouTube. Here's a link to it:
Overall, I think Sir Handel is an excellent model, and I'm really glad he was finally able to be released! He has a great amount of detail and runs extremely well. I'm excited to see where the Narrow Gauge range can go from here!
(https://share.icloud.com/photos/0a2WSlxgIevn72WLwBUVwtRbQ)
Very nice review, Kempton! I like how you mentioned some of the other specific details, like the handrails being different on both sides. I'll admit I didn't catch that in my earlier review; Good eye! I loved the running session, and it's great seeing where we are with the narrow gauge line currently. Great job!