Seems to finally be that time again, I can't believe it's been so long since the first one.
Happy to keep this going....
Thomas will be coming down our track forever.
Nooooooo rip .
Well new threat and at a perfect time with Stanley nearing arrival and the NMRA in a few days .
I'm excited for NMRA and the description they have given is exciting.
Going to make a post recapping last New Model Monday again cause there was a shocking amount of Thomas News within it.
N Scale: Henry, Diesel, Paxton, LBSC Thomas, and Origins James are all in the design phase. They are hoping to be done by 2026. They didn't want to announce anything new at NMRA to add to this backlog just yet, they have ideas they are hoping will be able to announce in 2026.
G Scale: They are waiting for the right time to expand this lineup, given the skipped product codes I wouldn't be shocked if they considered it for this year, but the state of the world gave them pause. I could be wrong on that, but it's further proof they do have plans and are just waiting out the ideal time to drop.
Stanley: Is on the water, should be shipped out and released in about a month give or take.
Salty: Hoping to be done by 2026, they are still working on him as hard as they can.
Bulgy and Gunpowder Wagons: Same case as the N scale guys, in the design phase, hoping to be release by 2026.
Sir Hayden: Not Thomas but felt wrong not to include. Waiting on painted samples, hoping to release early 2026.
Open Carriage: Same as above
Thomas Anniversary Set: Repeated some of the things they said last Thomas Tuesday. Said they weren't opposed to maybe going back and doing this set at a later date, but not right now. A similar set might be announced in 2026 to fill the spot, but it won't be this. (Nor do I think that'd be required given this was always meant to be a single run item.) They also said they want to look into doing more retro items like it, most likely more rolling stock like the China Clay Wagon as they have implied that before.
NMRA Announcement: Repeated the announcement is for HO Scale, and implied there is only one but there is in fact a weird use of plural world sometimes. Could just be talking in general of the catalog, could be including British narrow gauge stuff, I could be overanalyzing it (Most likely outcome). Either way, they said the announcement would be "Unexpected" and "excite fans of most eras of tv Thomas"
Which is telling, but also vague enough to encourage tons of speculation. Only thing I think for sure is it isn't Trevor, BoCo, Scotsman, or Stepney. Use of tv Thomas rather than Thomas as a whole feel like it'd exclude the RWS, it's not like they are unaware of it after all.
I believe that is everything, hopefully cataloging this info here is useful
so the old thread just got deleted?
Yes. It seems to happen once it gets too big. The first topic was created in 2005 so it's been some time. This is I think the 4th or 5th iteration.
Just one announcement?
Looks like Bachmann added artwork for the N scale LBSC Thomas, Origin James, and the wagon repaints. A lot of the other newly announced products also seem to have pages on the webstore, but no artwork yet.
Prices also appear to have been updated, likely reflecting the tariffs. Probably the most notable change is Rebecca, which went from $299 in the 2025 catalog to $329 on the webstore... yikes.
Rebecca is nearly or pretty much $500 here in Australia...
Odd, I see many products have specific pages for most scales. Henry is noticeably absent on the N-scale section. Though I believe his price tag will be equivalent or relative to $219 (Gordon's current price tag). Can only hope for major progress on these upcoming models so that Bachmann can redeem themselves for next year
In terms of listings everything up to 2025 has a page now except N Scale Henry (probably earlier development than the other 4), Salty (development stalled, they are hoping to have him done by next year but might not be ready to recommit having a page on this website), Gunpowder wagons (development is far along apparently but might be waiting until the gondolas are out to drop the page), N scale Brakeven (nothing has been said on this front since announcement), and G scale LBSC Thomas. I think it's good sign everything else is account for, hoping this means they're confident in all these products dropping sometime next year
Quote from: travel_is_fun on July 13, 2025, 04:01:58 AMOdd, I see many products have specific pages for most scales. Henry is noticeably absent on the N-scale section. Though I believe his price tag will be equivalent or relative to $219 (Gordon's current price tag). Can only hope for major progress on these upcoming models so that Bachmann can redeem themselves for next year
I could see that, especially if they reuse the same motor and chassis from Gordon just like they did in HO.
What about Sir Handel? He just needs a box sample to be ready to ship out right?
Stanley is out !!!
This is so good to see .
I can't wait to see people getting this model .
The NMRA 2025 is this weekend and we will be getting the new HO announcements on Saturday
Same here Awesometrain77.
The narrow gauge items yet to release and knapford station are going to be the next items to release which are going to be out hopefully by Christmas.
Sir Handel seems to be like a fall 2025 release .
No mention of the 80th vans I'd assume Matt just forgotten those when mentioning the new stuff as we have painted samples . And the large scale DCC set which may be out but I am not sure .
If I were to guess .
We will see Sir Handel and the DCC set in the fall .
And right before Christmas in late November we will see the 80th vans, ng gonaldas , and maybe knapford but I could see that be more of a early 2026 item .
Sir Handel should definitely arrive in stock by the end of the year, along with the Narrow Gauge Gondolas, and DCC Sound-Fitted Thomas and Percy.
Within the next few streams, we will definitely see the first unpainted samples of the N Scale Express Coaches. No update on N Scale Diesel, Paxton or Henry yet. Same for HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel. Bachmann is doing everything they can to get Salty back out there after a seemingly endless wait. Soon, we should also see the first painted sample of the HO Scale Open Carriage, as well as the 80th Vans in packaging.
They managed to get the 80th Anniversary Vans a release for this fall, but the set unfortunately had to be cancelled, which was such a shame... I was so looking forward to it when it was announced.
The September stream should have an exciting reveal. Matt said there's something on the way, but did not specify what it is. There's only three streams left for this year.
Appearlty there is a surprise coming for the factory . I have no clue what this could be I'd imagine it's some new product tool . So maybe the express coaches or the gunpowder wagons .
I don't think knapford will be out before the end of the year . If anything I'd say early 2026 .
No updates on any of the other N scale products aside from the express coaches. I feel we will see them along side the open wagons and the LBSC Thomas and black James release in 2026
I hope we see Paxton and Diesel but that's hopeful thinking at this point they are super behind with n scale .
Henry we would be lucky see by 2027 .
Rather then Edward for 2026 what about Sidney . To have a new character but also not getting to ahead by having yet another class 08 .
G scale really only needs that set which I am pretty sure will either be out in the fall or if not I am sure that this time they are going to release it as the same time as DCC Thomas and Percy which have in been announced for FIVE YEARS WHERE ARE THEY. So is the G scale line dead what do you guys think? Will we ever get anything new tooled in it . Or do you think we're just gonna be seen repaints .Is black James the only chance we have a new engine . Paxton is number 49108 while LBSC Thomas is number 49111 which leaves three open slots . So who knows
Quote from: Awesometrain77 on August 12, 2025, 11:45:04 PMI hope we see Paxton and Diesel but that's hopeful thinking at this point they are super behind with n scale .
Henry we would be lucky see by 2027 .
Rather than Edward for 2026 what about Sidney . To have a new character but also not getting to ahead by having yet another class 08 .
I'd rather not see Bachmann introduce another engine repaint in N scale next year after announcing the LBSC Thomas and Origin James this year. I think once Bachmann makes progress on some of the previously announced engines, (hopefully before too long), they can finally introduce Edward in N scale in 2026. After Edward and Duck, I would personally be fine with Bachmann taking a breather and introducing another engine repaint in N scale, such as Sidney.
It's not likely that we'll get to see unpainted samples of N Scale Diesel/Paxton or Henry by the end of the year. We're to for sure see the unpainted N Scale Express Coaches, and the other unpainted sample could be the Narrow Gauge Gunpowder Wagon.
For finished products awaiting release, there's Sir Handel, Narrow Gauge Gondolas, HO Scale 80th Anniversary Vans, and DCC Sound-Fitted Thomas and Percy to look forward to by the end of the year.
Following the cancellation of the 80th Anniversary set, which many including myself were bummed out about, they do have ideas to make up for this, and we should hopefully see something good in the 2026 catalog. Flying Scotsman's recent announcement did get us in better spirits. Hope to see an unpainted sample around mid-2026.
So after watching their Thomas Tuesday video, it's interesting to note that they'll reuse Gordon's wheels to use on Flying Scotsman, just like how Stanley reuses Thomas's wheels. How fitting given that they're brothers, but at the same time, Gordon's chunky looking side rods look a little thick.... if it saves money to make it not too expensive, let's see how it turns out....!
Quote from: Luke22 on August 14, 2025, 10:44:00 PMSo after watching their Thomas Tuesday video, it's interesting to note that they'll reuse Gordon's wheels to use on Flying Scotsman, just like how Stanley reuses Thomas's wheels. How fitting given that they're brothers, but at the same time, Gordon's chunky looking side rods look a little thick.... if it saves money to make it not too expensive, let's see how it turns out....!
From my memory, I think Matt said that Gordon's chassis BLOCK was going to be used. The Wiki states that Scotsman's CGI model reuses Spencer's wheels but Gordon's pistons. If Bachmann did just that (Gordon's main engine chassis block and pistons mated to all of Spencer's wheels), the only real new tooling for the chassis that'd need to be done is to come up with new linkage/valve gear to accomodate this setup.
As the weeks have worn on, I have come around to Scotsman and will more than likely preorder once TrainWorld has the link at the ready.
The unpainted sample of the Narrow Gauge Gunpowder Wagon has just been teased on Bachmann's social media, and will be shown off in the September stream.
So the gunpowder van is the tale end of the large huge narrow gauge back log . It's crazy that this backlog is over . I hope development continues on the new products.
DCC Thomas and Percy may be released by the end of the year. Maybe along side the gonolas.
I think the reason the large scale DCC set is taking so long is because Bachmann wants to produce the decorders all at once so it's waiting for the HO scale DCC Thomas and Percy to be ready.
So it seems like
Sir Handel could be fall 2025
DCC items , NG gondolas, and 80th vans winter 2025
And then like knapford , salty ,n scale express coaches , and the gunpowder vans in spring 2026
Maybe we could see both LBSC Thomas and the N scale black James for a summer release alongside the China clay wagon and the CGI tankers which we know are somewhere in the design process.
It seems progress has started up to rise up again . I sorta am lowballing these so I would to see some of these products come sooner then that but I really don't know.
Quote from: Awesometrain77 on August 19, 2025, 10:46:32 PMSo it seems like
Sir Handel could be fall 2025
DCC items , NG gondolas, and 80th vans winter 2025
And then like knapford , salty ,n scale express coaches , and the gunpowder vans in spring 2026
A few things here. Matt said the next items that would be on the horizon after Sir Handel are the gondolas and Knapford. With that in mind I don't think we can say with confidence anything else will be released in Winter if even those he says they're shooting for next may be pushed back to 2026.
I also wouldn't expect to see Salty that soon. Per pretty recent they're still hard at work on him and even once they get the issue fixed, they still have to wait on box samples. Fall 2026 for him is more realistic I'd think. The open carriage has also had an unpainted sample longer than the gunpowder wagons and soon to be the express coaches though, so I'd expect to see that in Spring. the aforementioned two I'd also admittedly expect to be a bit later than Spring but if they can get it sped along even faster that'd be good to see
Pretty sure the 80th vans are still coming this year as they would've been canceled .
It's funny to think that they still have a lot of stuff to produce after they are done with the stuff that is the loop.
Like beyond Sir Handel ,the Gonaldos the gunpowder vans , The 80th vans , DCC Thomas and Percy , Salty , N scale express coaches , and the open coach .
There is still the CGI tankers , the troublesome van , Scottsman , the oil flatbed , China clay wagon , bulgy , Sidney , mainland diesel , LBSC Thomas in 2 scales , n scale black James , n scale open wagons , N scale Henry , and the n scale class 08s .
There is never a dull moment in this line for sure . There is always something that's far away from release , or expected to be shown off any day or expected to be released any day .
I'd say the item we are farthest from is definitely n scale Henry i'd hope that we would see it by 2026 but honestly, I feel like it's gonna be 2027 .
As of a few hours ago Mainland Diesel, Sidney, the anniversary vans, troublesome truck #7, and N scale Henry have gone up for preorder on Trainworld. I want to say they all already had pricing info on Bachmann's webstore so I imagine some of the other things that went up on here recently (mainly N scale stuff now) will go up for preorder shortly. My hope is that all this pricing already being finalized means we'll have a pretty quick turnaround for a lot of them to drop in Q2 and Q3 next year. Maybe that's a bit optimistic but that'd be nice.
Does anybody here agree with me when I say that Bachmann N Scale S.C. Ruffey just has rusty orange on him, which makes him a bit rusted?
Yeah I'd say so . He definitely looks like that in the episode if you rewatch it.
We have seen the sample of the gunpowder vans .
As the 3D print of Bulgy to make up for how long he was taking.
The N scale LMS brakevan got cancelled.
The amount of products that have gotten cancelled in the past 2 years is wild.
Henry is in process .
N scale class 08s are going on well .
The China clay wagon is going along well which is intresting to note .
More RWS wagons are a possibility .
The 80th vans should be out by the end of the year
DCC Thomas and Percy is late winter early spring
This month's big reveal was the unpainted sample of the Narrow Gauge Gunpowder Van. We also saw a 3D printed sample of Bulgy, which is very crude compared to what the final model is going to be, but gives us a good idea. The N Scale LMS Brake Van was cancelled, but they should announce more show-accurate brake vans in the near future. At least N Scale Diesel, Paxton and Henry are still very much in progress and should hopefully have something to show in the very near future.
Sir Handel was recently shown in the package and will arrive in stock sometime very soon. HO Scale DCC Sound-Fitted Thomas and Percy are gunning for late winter/early 2026.
There's only two streams left for 2025. One of them should definitely show the unpainted samples of the N Scale Express Coaches. It's crazy how many products have been getting cancelled lately. We can only hope Duncan eventually gets a second chance.
Bachmann Thomas & Friends Star Ratings
(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/902017696235937854/1412958333807235183/AD4D7F93-A22A-494B-8AC8-DAD39C2736C9.jpg?ex=68ba2f7e&is=68b8ddfe&hm=70d7819aef19992aa33f2976e7024bc894b6b0842600f8c8c73a2a60019027b2&=&format=webp&width=1720&height=1290)
Hello everyone,
I've been collecting the Bachmann Thomas & Friends range for a long time and I've recently done star ratings for the HO/OO & HOn30/OO9 locomotives that have are in the range. Everything that is rated his is out of 5 stars and they are locomotives that I've purchased and I think it would be a fun idea to rate the models I've bought. If you have any questions on the star ratings, I've be glad to answer any questions.
Thomas 2.5
Percy 2.25
James 3.5
Henry 3.5
Gordon 3.5
Toby 3.75
Spencer 4.75
Emily 4.75
Edward 5
Mavis 4.5
Salty 4.5
Bill 4.5
Ben 4.5
Donald 4.75
Douglas 4.75
Diesel 4.75
Duck 4
Sound-Chipped Thomas 3
Arry 4.75
Bert 4.75
Celebration Thomas 3
Oliver 4
Rosie 4
Paxton 4
Grumpy Diesel: 4.75
Red Rosie 4.5
LBSC Thomas 3.5
Busy Bee James 3.5
Origin James 3.75
Daisy 4
Ryan 5
Beau 2.75
Rebecca 5
Stanley 5
Narrow Gauge:
Skarloey 5
Rheneas 5
Rusty 4
Peter Sam 5
Yellow Rheneas 5
Hey, does anyone know if the figures from the Railway Personnel packs can fit inside of the Narrow Gauge Engines' cabs? Thanks!
Quote from: Kemptown Branch on October 05, 2025, 03:20:20 PMHey, does anyone know if the figures from the Railway Personnel packs can fit inside of the Narrow Gauge Engines' cabs? Thanks!
Unfortunately not, I've tried. All the HO Thomas figures are slightly overscaled.
Quote from: GordonPacific04 on October 05, 2025, 04:51:18 PMQuote from: Kemptown Branch on October 05, 2025, 03:20:20 PMHey, does anyone know if the figures from the Railway Personnel packs can fit inside of the Narrow Gauge Engines' cabs? Thanks!
Unfortunately not, I've tried. All the HO Thomas figures are slightly overscaled.
Sadly, that is the case. I've had the figure packs for a while and have been meaning to get a review up, but life has unfortunately been a little hectic on my end, and I haven't had the time to get around to it. Hopefully, I'll be able to sometime this month.
Quote from: GordonPacific04 on October 05, 2025, 04:51:18 PMQuote from: Kemptown Branch on October 05, 2025, 03:20:20 PMHey, does anyone know if the figures from the Railway Personnel packs can fit inside of the Narrow Gauge Engines' cabs? Thanks!
Unfortunately not, I've tried. All the HO Thomas figures are slightly overscaled.
Thanks!
This month's reveal was the painted sample of the HO Scale Open Carriage, which is now the next thing to join the list of products with painted samples awaiting release.
There's a few other samples that unfortunately didn't make it in time for this stream, but will be seen next month for sure. They must be the N Scale Express Coaches.
Sidney and Mainland Diesel are still very much in progress, and we should see them in early 2026.
I looked at the stream for this evening.
Glad that the open carriage is fully done just and this was one of the products doug was involved with before he retired.
and I'm glad to know that there's progress on sidney and the mainland diesel. (though I've mentioned I'm just hoping they're going to have the faces improved to how they should look like unlike how they did paxton that's just what I'm really hoping for).
and of course I am glad they're adding the flying scotsman to the line. (been busy with life where I've not been active that much). yes it's disappointing the 80th anniversary set was canceled. but doing the flying Scotsman makes up for the canceled set. and also the atticapation for the release of sir handel is coming close.(still am hoping for duncan for 2026).
so it was a nice stream to see what progress has been done. look forward to see what comes next.
Is there still no release date set for Sir Handel?
Quote from: harrison05 on October 10, 2025, 02:20:54 AMIs there still no release date set for Sir Handel?
He is currently scheduled to arrive in November.
Sir Handel is November has me wondering if the late 2025 releases will be
The DCC set
The 80th vans
Sir Handel
Narrow gauge gonalas
Interesting to see the progress on the class 08s glad to see everything has started up again product development wise .
November I definitely see the samples being shown at the trainworld Thomas event
Hello everyone,
Based on Trainworld's special livestream tomorrow, it might be the last Thomas Tuesday for this year (assuming a December stream isn't planned). I look forward to seeing the new prototypes of products that we haven't seen from previous livestreams. Based on the promises of the event, it gives me hope that Bachmann is making an attempt to push out these long overdue products to the shelves. Along with custom made models, it could bring some light before the year comes to a close. It's surprising how close we are to the end of the year. Just wanted to keep the the forum up and running
So it seems sir Handel has been delayed yet again .
On the bright side the 80th vans should be out by Christmas .
The gunpowder vans painted have been shown off as well .
Alongside the new tankers.
I expecting the express coaches however I feel Bachman is trying to get the narrow gauge backlog finished up . But I imagine we will see them by early 2026 .
Salty the class 08s troublesome truck 7 china clay wagon flat wagon with fuel loads flying Scotsman and knapford are some products in HO we don't have much info about . I wonder what will be the focus next .
Although I wasn't able to attend the event at Trainland, I saw pictures and caught some of the stream earlier and it looked like a lot of fun!
Naturally, I'm most excited for Sir Handel, and I'm thrilled he'll be arriving early next year. The gunpowder vans turned out great too; I might have to grab one (or maybe two) of the D. Fusit ones.
Right behind Sir Handel, I'm especially looking forward to the DCC and sound Thomas and Percy models. These have been nearly five years in the making, but I'm so glad they're finally set to release by the end of the year. I've wanted DCC versions of Thomas and Percy for a long time, and I can't wait to run them at train shows when the time comes. It's always a pain to run only analog on our modular setup (especially when I want to have multiple engines moving at once to make it feel alive), so I'm glad this will be resolved by our next show in January!
It's great to see the tankers finished and the 80th anniversary vans making it out in time for the end of the year. Hopefully, these releases open the door to more new HO and OO9 rolling stock announcements in the next catalog. Possibly even a chance for Duncan to be reconsidered too, (though I'm not holding my breath just yet).
I'm a little bummed the N scale Gordon's express coaches didn't make it this time, but hopefully we'll see those soon, along with updates on other previously announced N scale products. I'm doubtful we'll get a new N scale engine announcement in 2026 with so much still in development, but maybe things will change by the NMRA. Fingers crossed for Edward or Duck! I'm sure we will at least get some more N scale rolling stock if nothing else.
OK, so it seems the DCC Thomas and Percy are arriving before the end of the year. Glad to see this happen
So I think the late 2025 shipment will be DCC Thomas DCC Percy classic logo van 1945 van and maybe the large scale DCC set.
Sir Handel seems to be early 2026 .If I were to guess the gondolas will come out around the same time .
We don't know for sure about the tankers and the open coach possibly the same time as Sir Handel but I honestly could see be into late spring 2026 .
The gunpowder wagons are nice and we are missing the tan one . Which I feel we will see very soon . I feel these will be spring or summer 2026 .
Now as for products that are still upcoming Here is the following status for some of them And my guesses for when we can see them come out .
Sidney and Mainland diesel are going along well and we will see samples of them in early 2026 (maybe they will release Q4 2026 )
Salty needs a quieter motor before release (maybe he will be out in fall or summer 2026 )
Flying Scotsman flyer says late 2026 but these flyers are not right most of the time (I would honestly say mid 2027)
China clay wagon confirmed to be in development however load is a new tool however this could be in any stage (I will guess the end of quarter 3 or quarter 4 of 2026 )
Flat wagon with a diesel load I don't remember if we got an update on this I think it was mentioned on a Thomas Tuesday (I could see this come out as early as summer 2026 or as late as early 2027 )
Troublesome Truck 7 apparently some design ideas have been going into this and how the face will work being fit on it but aside from that no real update (I could see this in quarter 2 or quarter 3 2027 )
Bulgy we have actually seen a 3-D printed sample of him ( I could see him come out Summer or Fall 2026)
Sir Handel is out this is sooner then I thought .
The 80th vans and DCC Thomas and Percy are said to be out by the end of the years so we will see them in the next few weeks . No update on the the DCC set but I assume it will be out very soon .
The DCC set and the narrow gauge gonalas could be the start of 2026
Into spring I think the Open coach, the new tankers , and the narrow gauge gunpowder vans will come out around then.
It's nice to see Sir Handel out now, he looks stunning one of the all time greats.
Although given the 2026 initial release window he had I am a little surprised.
The only other products with a 2025 release window were the anniversary vans and they are currently nowhere to be seen, I wonder what's going on there.
Addendum: On this weeks new model Monday confirmed there was a delayed container shipment and they should be arriving within the next few weeks.
With 24 days until 2026 I wonder if they're gonna be out in time.
Hey everyone,
So far it's just been a few eBay shops but DCC Thomas, DCC Percy, the anniversary vans, and the narrow gauge gondolas have now all begun their release. Glad Bachmann were able to get another large project drop out before the end of the year.
Believe only things we have samples for fully painted not released yet are the cgi milk tanker, updated tar tanker (funnily finally got myself my hands on an original this week), the open carriage, and the G scale set, unless that's released and I've completely missed it.
Hopefully after Salty comes out next year (I hope) we can slowly gets some updates on N Scale Diesel and Paxton.
I really hope Bachmann re-introduce Iron 'Arry and Iron Bert to the line. I would definitely buy it. I think they should consider some facial changes for the 2, so they do not look completely identical but they would be a welcome addition for me. ;D
After contemplating for a bit, I caved and purchased Sir Handel. Normally I wait until Amazon releases him on there, BUT he's more expensive than he should be, so I got him somewhere else.... hopefully he'll arrive before Christmas 😅
Does anyone know when the Red Express Composite coach will be back in stock?
Quote from: Zorran202 on December 18, 2025, 11:01:15 PMAfter contemplating for a bit, I caved and purchased Sir Handel. Normally I wait until Amazon releases him on there, BUT he's more expensive than he should be, so I got him somewhere else.... hopefully he'll arrive before Christmas 😅
Got my model, despite it getting it before Christmas like I anticipated... I was gonna post it after I got it, but I ended up being busy due to the upcoming Christmas rush, as well as came down with a cold and I ended up having to take care of recovering from it... something was floating around that's for dang sure... -_-
Anyways, I enjoyed the fact that Sir Handel got a model that's even more detailed than his CGI model...! I'm Happy that he's finally released... Normally I usually wait until the following year to be able to get the models on Amazon, BUT seeing how absurdly expensive he was getting, I opted to go to eBay for this guy, and in a way, he was well worth the trouble...! Separately fitted parts, dark blue paint, and now there's no blank spot in the middle of the numbering lineup. Now we just need Duncan in the future, and then we'll go from there!
Now that it's the New Year, it's time to look forward to the 2026 catalog drop sometime very soon.
With the first Thomas Tuesday stream of 2026 coming, we should see some exciting new samples of upcoming products. One of them that was teased was the first unpainted sample of Bulgy. We can hope there's more, like the N Scale Express Coaches. We should also get updates on HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel, with samples being shown sometime this year. Will we finally see the first unpainted sample of N Scale Diesel/Paxton? We're bound to get an update, along with one on N Scale Henry. This year for sure, the wait should finally be over for Salty's return to HO Scale.
Some products with painted samples that are awaiting release include the HO Scale Open Carriage and the Narrow Gauge Gunpowder Wagons. We might also see images of N Scale LBSC Thomas and Origin James in the catalog.
Pardon my double post, but I just saw the stream. Matt Stern showed off the first unpainted samples of Bulgy and the N Scale Express Coaches. Within a few months, they should have painted samples shown. Flying Scotsman is just about to enter the development phase, and they're about to have the design ready, so sometime this year, we should see the first unpainted sample of Flying Scotsman. Still don't know if the coupling between the two tenders will be a hook-and-loop or a drawbar. The 2026 catalog will drop by the end of this month.
Not Thomas products, but Sir Haydn and the Ffestiniog Railway High-Side Wagons are fully painted.
The N Scale Express Coaches are based on Season 2, but will have the CGI paint scheme. Other paint schemes are definitely possible, like the red stripe. The Express Coaches change a lot throughout the show. Looking forward to seeing how they look fully painted in the near future.
Of course there's more to show, but Matt wants to save that for next month. We may see teasers for it on social media in the coming weeks. The HO Scale CGI Milk Tanker and the reintroduced Tar Tanker are also awaiting release. For now, we at least have Bulgy and the N Scale Express Coaches as the next products in the unpainted stage.
I meant to write about my thoughts on the stream video yesterday. I can say that out of the new product samples shown I'm the most excited for bulgy.
now I already said i just collect the engines and rolling stock. bulgy is probably going to be the one vehicle I buy. I was impressed about the handrail being metal. so I'm definitely going to get him when he's released.
now I just hope they show samples of sidney and the mainland diesel. I'm just pretty excited to see them released. (even though I've mentioned I hope the faces on them would improve to how paxton turned out. I thought of buying paxton since I joined my local ho club. we have a thomas layout for the kids and we have a model of paxton. and looking at him i guess the face isn't too bad looking when see in person than watching video reviews. so I would like to buy all three of them).
and now I'm just anticipating when salty is finally released. it's been almost four years since they announced he would return to the line. I can't believe it's been that long. so I hope he's released soon.
and of course I am curious to see when the flying scotsman is released. (I'm just waiting to see about the price and the how they do the tenders).
now I just hope they do duncan again as I've been saying and hoping repeatedly. but we'll just see.
Happy new years everyone!
After watching the Thomas Tuesday stream on Wednesday (Korea's timezone is 14 hours ahead of EST), I would like to share my thoughts.
- I was most impressed to see the unpainted samples of Gordon's express coaches. Glad to learn that it'll be based on season 2 with the CGI livery (I don't mind that part). I wonder if they'll announce the red express coaches at some point in the future. Towards the end, Matt mentioned that he has more painted samples saved for next month (Don't know if Bachmann will update the images on the catalog before the next stream). Hopefully Henry, Diesel, or Paxton. We'll find out once we enter February.
- Bulgy looks great, though the price is a bit off-putting.
- I think that most, if not all of the remaining HO products could release by the end of the year, including Salty (Surprised that Salty hasn't been cancelled after being reintroduced 4 years ago, time flies).
- Interesting to see the painted samples of Sir Haydn.
- Now that almost every narrow gauge item has released, I hope Bachmann considers reintroducing Duncan.
- Good to know that the catalog will be out before late January. I wonder if they'll add products originally planned for the NMRA announcement last year. This time, it has to be the year Bachmann adds N-scale Edward with a new item number like #58901 along with a couple newly tooled rolling stock.
It gives me hope that '26 will get more announcements than the previous year.
Looks like it will be two more weeks before the catalog drops.
Quote from: TrainFan97 on January 16, 2026, 10:08:30 PMLooks like it will be two more weeks before the catalog drops.
*One week ;)
It'll be up during the Amherst show next weekend on the 24th.
So the 2026 catalog will be up next Friday the 23rd, as it's typically up on Fridays.
Already less than a week before we see what exciting new products will be announced, once the PDF file is available.
Quote from: TrainFan97 on January 17, 2026, 07:14:12 PMSo the 2026 catalog will be up next Friday the 23rd, as it's typically up on Fridays.
Already less than a week before we see what exciting new products will be announced, once the PDF file is available.
As I mentioned in my last post, it's going to be posted Saturday the 24th, not Friday. Bachmann's mentioned this in their recent livestreams and Yard Master also confirmed it in another thread this morning:
https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,40182.msg289147.html#msg289147
Quote from: Yard Master on January 20, 2026, 09:11:56 AMHi Jim,
The digital version of the catalog will be posted to our website this Saturday, January 24th. Print copies will be available for purchase in February.
Won't be too much longer either way.
I didn't know that meant it was being uploaded on Saturday instead of Friday, since we're more used to it being uploaded on a Friday. That one year, it was so late, it was uploaded on a Monday at the end of February.
So it's four more days we have to wait then. Won't be until the very end of this week when it's up. THEN we'll see what exciting products we have to look forward to.
As of this year, product announcements will now happen four times a year, but it's not guaranteed a Thomas product will appear in all of them. I'm guessing the next announcement after this one will be in May. Other Thomas products are possible for the other quarterly announcements, but no promise for all of them.
On a side note, Bachmann's Facebook has shown higher quality images of Bulgy and the N Scale Express Coaches, which are currently in the unpainted stage, and will have painted samples in the coming months. Might see their painted samples within the next few streams. In a few weeks, we might see an upcoming N Scale engine or two in the February stream that's also in the unpainted stage.
This is it. Tomorrow is the day the yearly catalog goes up. Once the PDF file is available, we'll get to see what new products we can look forward to.
Regarding currently announced products, those with painted samples awaiting release are the HO Scale Open Carriage, CGI Milk Tanker, reintroduced Tar Tanker, and the Narrow Gauge Gunpowder Wagons. Products currently shown in the unpainted stage are Bulgy and the N Scale Express Coaches. Products that haven't had samples shown yet include HO Scale Flying Scotsman, Sidney, Mainland Diesel, China Clay Wagon, Diesel Fuel Drum Flatbed, N Scale Diesel, Paxton, Henry, LBSC Thomas, Origin James, Red Open Wagon and Sodor Scrap Wagon. Like I said, we may see unpainted samples of one or two of those upcoming N Scale engines in the February stream, as teased by Matt Stern. Images of N Scale LBSC Thomas and Origin James might be shown in the catalog.
As for the reintroduction of HO Scale Salty, this year should really be it.
Not terribly exciting announcements, to be totally honest, but with everything going on right now, it's understandable.
The highlight for me, easily, is the NW brake van for HO. That was probably the one thing I was especially excited for in the 80th anniversary set, and I'm so glad that at least is making it out as its own release. The Ffarquhar company wagon is also fun; definitely getting both of these. I don't have too much of an opinion on the CGI fuel tank, other than that it was a pretty obvious choice after the milk tank announcement.
Shockingly, the announcements I'm least excited for are in N scale. I don't mind the stock itself, and I had a feeling they'd be repaints. The blue open wagon is fine, and I'm glad to see Mr. Jolly's van in N scale as well, the latter I'll be picking up for sure. Still no BR brake van, but it is what it is, I guess. Hopefully that gets announced this summer along with the coal wagon with load.
Large scale getting some form of love is always welcome. The milk tank reintroduction and the fun fair vans will, I'm sure, make people who model in G scale happy to at least get something.
I love the blue Talyllyn announcement, as well as the gunpowder van repaints. I am a little disappointed that the Thomas narrow gauge line didn't get anything new this year, considering all we're waiting on are the gunpowder vans, and those are already finished. Hopefully that changes at the NMRA this summer, which generally seems to be when the more exciting announcements happen. So here's hoping we get some new engine announcements then.
Apart from the lack of narrow gauge announcements on the Thomas side, I'd say this is a pretty solid lineup rolling-stock-wise. Gordon's coaches look gorgeous in the picture I saw from Christian this morning, and I like how the N scale LBSC Thomas and Origin James models look too. They skipped the tail lamp decal on James and only added the red lining, which I'm really glad they did. I'll be passing on both of these, since I am only collecting model era characters only in N but maybe I'll pick up Origin James at a much later point since the tail lamp decal is not included. But the N scale express coaches I am buying day 1 and I'm even tempted to get the flat car with diesel fuel loads too.
Either way, can't wait to see and hear more updates on these announcements and more later this year.
I'm in a weird spot with the announcements especially in HO.
The FQC trucks are cool to see, but knowing wagon yard has already made them and in two colors I feel less excited for it than I should probably be. If it was a more unique color like the goldish yellow from the books I might be more on board, although if this does well maybe that'll come later. (and who knows, if it gets into N it could boost Mavis's chances as well.)
The brakevan is neat, but a little weird it is just RWS spiteful, number and all. It's still neat but I almost would have rather a more generic one to army build better.
I don't really have any thoughts on CGI fuel wagon, it makes sense especially with the new chassis but I don't particularly love this design.
The diesel fuel wagon annoys me, as the stamps aren't made to fully wrap the text so there is some letter cutoff, and the barrels are inaccurate. Expected but not particularly thrilled with that unfortunately. Hope that can be tweaked between sample and final.
The painted express coaches look amazing, and the additional wagon recolors are nice to see. Although a tiny nitpick is the van being in the middle of the sequence of open wagons, not sure why these are segmented like that, maybe the van wasn't the original plan? The two engines look nice, hoping for updates on the new molds soon
G scale getting love is nice, 2 new wagons and a reintroduction is really appreciated. Although the tanker is labelled as Tidmouth, wonder what design we'll get in the final.
Blue Talyllyn very happy about, rode behind her and she's a beautiful loco, will be picking up for sure. Matt alluded to potentially doing Hayden's current livery on stream as well and that is something I'd love to see. The gunpowder wagons are really neat as well.
Overall, I'm not disappointed but some of these announcements aren't as cool as they probably are for other people. Although it makes sense to keep things light while they continue to catch up, look forward to the next announcements.
I see that the digital version of the catalog is up, but I can't access it. Can somebody post images of the new products they announced please?
Just checked the catalog.
Discontinuations this round seem to be Raspberry syrup tanker, the sodor coal co. wagon, G scale tar tanker, slate truck #178, and the old peco open wagon (no real surprise.)
Interestingly, Knapford isn't in the catalog. I hope this is an oversight and it wasn't cancelled.
Definitely one of the weaker catalog announcements, especially with nothing new for Narrow Gauge, even though the Gunpowder Wagons are the only products for that range we're currently waiting on. Guess we'll have to wait until summer before they announce any new Narrow Gauge engine. Disappointing...
No new engines were announced. Rolling stock only.
HO Scale is getting a new 20-Ton Brake Van, CGI Fuel Tanker and the Ffarquhar Quarry Wagon, N Scale is getting the Blue Open Wagon and Mr. Jolly Van, and Large Scale is getting the Funfair Vans, along with the reintroduced Milk Tanker. Regarding engines, HO Scale at least has Sidney, Mainland Diesel and Flying Scotsman to look forward to. N Scale has Diesel, Paxton, Henry, LBSC Thomas and Origin James. The latter two still have their HO models illustrated in the catalog, but those who went to the event must have seen the actual samples, which haven't been shown online yet. Guess those are the products that Matt teased in the stream earlier this month... The tail lamp on Origin James being a decal ruins it. Could've been molded and separately fitted like on HO Red Rosie. There could still be hope that unpainted samples of N Scale Diesel/Paxton or Henry get shown soon... Still hope for the February stream, or March.
Not Thomas products, but Blue Talyllyn was announced with Ffestiniog Railway Gunpowder Wagons.
At least HO and N Scale still have engines coming, but the lack of anything new for Narrow Gauge is what really made it disappointing when there's almost not a backlog for it at all, with the only new Narrow Gauge announcements being for the Talyllyn line. May not be until summer before we get more exciting announcements. Wasn't there supposed to be a product celebrating 80 years of Thomas as a character, or was it the Ffarquhar Quarry Wagon?
I finally saw the images of the catalog. I will definitely get some Ffarquhar Quarry Wagons 'cause they'll look great with my Mavis model. I wish they included a rock load. But then again, if they're empty, I can have them carry other stuff besides rocks since rocks aren't the only things mined at the quarry.
Well today bachmann has released the catalog for 2026.
I checked it out and there's some products I'm hyped up for.
the first is the new Ffarquhar Quarry wagons. (I've been hoping they would do rolling stock for mavis since we're still waiting for the china clay wagons for bill and ben. so I'm definitely going to pick up a few of these upcoming wagons).
than there's also the 20 ton breakvan. (it's just so nice that a piece of the rolling stock from the 80th anniversary set is having a release and it's also refreshing they added another break van into the line since toad and the spiteful breakvan were the only ones available and not any other's so it's great to have a third breakvan). also with the 20 ton breakvan added to the line I got a feeling they might do bradford. (I'm really hoping for that and I'm still crossing the fingers that they'll do samson cause we need samson to go along with bradford).
than they announced the cgi fuel tanker. (probably was expected since they're doing the cgi milk tanker). I think i may pass on the cgi fuel tanker. (I got the classic sodor fuel tanker that one is just better looking to me i thought of buying three more of the classic sodor fuel tanker as a consist for diesel. but I'm going to think real hard about that).
than there's some disappointment I've seen they discontinued the sodor coal co. wagon with the coal load. (I was going to buy a bunch of these as a coal train consist maybe I may just buy one). I mean they might of been the same as the original wagon with the coal load. i thought the green on the sodor coal co. one had a nicer shade of green. (at least the sodor scrap co. wagon is still available i may buy a few of those. though I'm not going to get the mining wagon i thought I would maybe for mavis. but no since they're coming out with the Ffarquhar Quarry wagons I'll do those one's instead).
really disappointed there was no announcements for the narrow guage line. though they've discounted the slate wagon no. 178 leaving the 136 as the only one with the numbers still available. along with the three new ones in different colors. they've also discounted the open wagon that was one of the first pieces of rolling stock when bachmann started to do the narrow gauge engines. (I'm not disappointed with that one being discontinued as I feel the other rolling stock that would follow is a lot better. plus I felt like that wagon didn't fit for the narrow gauge engines anyway).
though they at least got images of the upcoming gunpowder wagons. the d. fusit one i think is the best one of the bunch. (the other ones are nice looking it's just the d. fusit one is going to be the big seller).
I was disappointed that I had hoped they would re-anounce duncan but no. I'm hoping he get re-anounced in the mid year announcements or latter on. we'll just see.
and seeing the n scale line I've seen they announced the mr. jollys chocolate factory van that's a nice pick. and the blue open wagon. (that one was in the ho line for a long while until they discontinued it).
so bachmann has announced some nice products. I'm looking forward to the Ffarquhar Quarry wagons the most along with the 20 ton breakvan. still waiting to see the other products they've announced for the last few years will be released down the road. (there's so many items to buy). hope to see what the nmra announcements are latter this year.
Saw the new catalog after I came home! The only things they ended in terms of HO/OO are the Raspberry Tanker and the Sodor Coaling Wagon. I bought the 4 CGI ones, and glad I decided to get them just in case. I thought more were off the market due to a lot of items being out of stock. I kinda panic bought a few items that were out of stock on the Bachmann site, but it doesn't matter. Better safe than sorry. Though I need to buy some of the coal wagons. I'm surprised they are being out of stock compared to the original green ones. I guess it shows some people prefer the logoless wagons at times.
Quote from: DustyMarie53! on January 24, 2026, 02:18:11 PMJust checked the catalog.
Discontinuations this round seem to be Raspberry syrup tanker, the sodor coal co. wagon, G scale tar tanker, slate truck #178, and the old peco open wagon (no real surprise.)
Interestingly, Knapford isn't in the catalog. I hope this is an oversight and it wasn't cancelled.
I saw that they're bringing back the Milk Tanker for G Scale, but it says Tidmouth yet it uses the CGI logo. Did they ever called that tanker "Tidmouth" when it was in the market years ago?
Quote from: MrNormalDraws on January 24, 2026, 08:23:34 PMI'm surprised they are being out of stock compared to the original green ones. I guess it shows some people prefer the logoless wagons at times.
The original coal wagon with load continues to sell really well. Christian mentioned to me the other day that it continues to sell out at Trainworld, and they're often ordering more stock. I imagine this is because these are based on actual wagons used in the show, unlike the "Sodor Coal Co." wagons. Based on that and other locations I've seen, I'm not at all surprised the Sodor Coal Co. wagon was discontinued. Hopefully Bachmann takes this into consideration when adding coal wagons in N scale, since the original coal wagon has been a pretty popular request for repaints and will inevitably mirror the same sales the HO model has seen for almost two decades.
I was kinda worried that the flatbeds with the logs are going to be off market as they haven't been in stock for months (same with Tidmouth Sheds) and with the oil drums coming, I thought they would do that. But thankfully it wasn't, even though I'm not a fan of the logs.
I'm surprised they're doing the CGI Fuel tankers as well, so I wonder if Bachmann plans to keep both the original and CGI ones together?
I agree with some, that this is shocking. All but one of the new products announced feel underwhelming as they comprise of repaints. But, I'll let it slide due to the complexities of the world. Besides that, the catalog feels exactly what we saw from last year's catalog with few differences. Flying Scotsman's inclusion and the prices of '24-'25 products such as Henry.
On the positive side, it's great to see Gordon's express coaches painted weeks after the reveal of the same products.
I'm sure that the NMRA convention in August will not be HO only like last year. There's a chance that Bachmann will shine later this year with newly tooled items. We may at last witness the release of Salty after what feels like a student about to graduate from high school. (Time flies)
I apologize for sounding negative, but I needed to share my reflection of these announcements. Many in the forum have mentioned about this year being a catch-up year for Bachmann, how many consecutive years has it been?
I can understand HO and N Scale not having any new engine announcements, as they both have several on the backburner, but Narrow Gauge? There's almost no backlog for that one. The NMRA for sure should announce more products for Narrow Gauge, including an engine. Most likely Luke. Guess N Scale Edward or Duck won't get announced until we start seeing more N Scale samples awaiting release.
Apparently, those at the event got to see N Scale LBSC Thomas and Origin James, and even the fully painted samples of the Express Coaches, this soon after the unpainted samples were shown off, but there are no photos of them online anywhere. I wasn't there, so I didn't get to see them.
I guess the reason why it's taking so long for samples of HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel is because they had to actually fix the eye mechanism so their faces would look perfect, unlike Paxton. I know part of the reason is because they're trying to perfect Salty's reintroduction.
With the exclusion of Knapford Station from this catalog after just being announced at NMRA, I am worried if maybe they've quietly cancelled its reintroduction. Very disappointing if so. I really hope the Yard Master can clear this up for us.
I want the Chocolate syrup tanker wagon and the toffee tanker wagon just in HO and N.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the Amherst Train Show for the first time, and of course, one of the first goals was to head over to the Bachmann booth to converse with some familiar faces and check out the new 2026 catalog. With a fresh mind, here are my overall thoughts.
Beginning with the positives, it is good to see another announcement in Large Scale. The funfair vans offer new paint schemes that will continue to brighten garden railroads featuring the Thomas line, and they are memorable pieces from the show. The reintroduction of the milk tanker is nice as well. I reckon the paint scheme will match the HO version, with brown framing.
The other positive is the classic model era blue wagon announced in N scale. This is a favorite of mine, that has unfortunately been discontinued in HO. Mr. Jolly's Van is also a decent choice, but not one I expected at this time. And given the coal wagon with load and BR brake van have been the most popular requests for N scale rolling stock, I hope those will be announced next.
To be honest, I think the HO announcements were the weakest this time, not because of the fact that there is no newly tooled engine announced or new tooling in general, but because of the choices for recolors. I know many were anticipating the brake van from the canceled set, so I'm all for that. However, for the other two, I think a well wagon reintroduction, green china clay wagon, or Gordon's special coaches would have been more eclectic, and hence enticing amongst fans. That being stated, I'm sure there are fans who will purchase these.
The biggest disappointment is that Knapford Station is officially cancelled, due to the high RRP. To be blunt, I do find it somewhat strange that Rebecca, a controversial new computer generated character who is not a top seller received the green light as a product with expensive RRP, while arguably the most iconic station did not. Moreover, I know the engines and rolling stock generally sell better than the buildings, but the range has really felt empty with a lack of buildings in it. Even small, popular buildings such as an oil depot, coal hopper, or round water tower reintroduction, would fill that void, all of which would not be too expensive as well as work in resin or plastic.
All in all, not the most convincing announcement, but not bad either. As always, very grateful for the new announcements and optimistic for the road that lies ahead.
Quote from: TerencetheTractor525 on January 25, 2026, 09:37:51 AMYesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the Amherst Train Show for the first time, and of course, one of the first goals was to head over to the Bachmann booth to converse with some familiar faces and check out the new 2026 catalog. With a fresh mind, here are my overall thoughts.
Beginning with the positives, it is good to see another announcement in Large Scale. The funfair vans offer new paint schemes that will continue to brighten garden railroads featuring the Thomas line, and they are memorable pieces from the show. The reintroduction of the milk tanker is nice as well. I reckon the paint scheme will match the HO version, with brown framing.
The other positive is the classic model era blue wagon announced in N scale. This is a favorite of mine, that has unfortunately been discontinued in HO. Mr. Jolly's Van is also a decent choice, but not one I expected at this time. And given the coal wagon with load and BR brake van have been the most popular requests for N scale rolling stock, I hope those will be announced next.
To be honest, I think the HO announcements were the weakest this time, not because of the fact that there is no newly tooled engine announced or new tooling in general, but because of the choices for recolors. I know many were anticipating the brake van from the canceled set, so I'm all for that. However, for the other two, I think a well wagon reintroduction, green china clay wagon, or Gordon's special coaches would have been more eclectic, and hence enticing amongst fans. That being stated, I'm sure there are fans who will purchase these.
The biggest disappointment is that Knapford Station is officially cancelled, due to the high RRP. To be blunt, I do find it somewhat strange that Rebecca, a controversial new computer generated character who is not a top seller received the green light as a product with expensive RRP, while arguably the most iconic station did not. Moreover, I know the engines and rolling stock generally sell better than the buildings, but the range has really felt empty with a lack of buildings in it. Even small, popular buildings such as an oil depot, coal hopper, or round water tower reintroduction, would fill that void, all of which would not be too expensive as well as work in resin or plastic.
All in all, not the most convincing announcement, but not bad either. As always, very grateful for the new announcements and optimistic for the road that lies ahead.
I generally agree. Not every year has to have a bunch of new groundbreaking announcements, so I'm cool with bachmann having a catch-up year.
Knapford station getting canceled is a big loss in my opinion, as I know several fans were anticipating it's reintroduction.
I do like the new Ffarquhar Quarry cars, love that they're doing RWS inspired rolling stock now. The other two don't excite me as much. I agree that I want the well wagon to return and would LOVE to see Gordon's Special coaches.
Quote from: TerencetheTractor525 on January 25, 2026, 09:37:51 AMThe biggest disappointment is that Knapford Station is officially cancelled, due to the high RRP. To be blunt, I do find it somewhat strange that Rebecca, a controversial new computer generated character who is not a top seller received the green light as a product with expensive RRP, while arguably the most iconic station did not. Moreover, I know the engines and rolling stock generally sell better than the buildings, but the range has really felt empty with a lack of buildings in it. Even small, popular buildings such as an oil depot, coal hopper, or round water tower reintroduction, would fill that void, all of which would not be too expensive as well as work in resin or plastic.
Oh, that was canceled? I was kinda hoping to get it as I actually like the colors on that version of Knapford instead of the original bright red colors. I guess I'll hold onto my old ones for the time being.
Okay so a bit to take in here are my thoughts before I read everyone else's
New items
So the Thomas 80th thing is the brakevan . I saw this coming but I had my doubts as it is not 100% a repaint .
The fuel tanker is one I should have seen coming but I thought they would do the cream tanker but regardless they are doing the CGI fuel tanker which may be out at the same time was the Milk and Tar . Honestly a good pick overall
The Ffaquarr quarry wagon is a good pick that I sorta saw coming but did not think we would see it so soon . I also thought it had happened it would have had the quarry stone load . But it did not .
The blue open wagon I did not see coming and I honestly thought the only reason why they did not announce more open wagons in N scale was because they wanted to do the ones with the coal load but I got proven wrong as they just announced more this year that don't have the load . The blue wagon is retired in HO so it was a shocker but nice to see none the less .
Mr Jolly's chocolate wagon I did not expect to see but I am not surprised it happened . It is a good seller in HO scale and I'd imagine it will sell well.
The fact we got more large scale stuff is crazy .
The funfair vans are cool to see . I am not shocked they did them .Id imagine these will sell well .
The milk tanker coming back was a shock.
Okay as for the retired products .
Tar tanker is one that I am shocked lasted so long in G scale but it is gone. The Peco NG wagon took a long time to be finally retired but it is gone now.
The raspberry tanker is retired which honestly again I am shocked it lasted this long . But I wish they retired the diesel co tanker instead of it .
The sodor co wagon was a shocker but I could care less for it .
Nothing major was lost but something huge was cancelled .
Knapford being cancelled is such a let down . Please Bachmann if your gonna announce something actually commit to making it . This is the fourth time this has happened in the past three years and honestly, I'm getting sick of it .
Very disappointed to hear that Knapford has been cancelled. It's becoming a very bad habit of Bachmann's to announce a highly anticipated item only to cancel it a few months later.
Bachmann, please stop announcing new items unless you are 100% certain they'll be arriving to market. It is very tiring to constantly get our hopes up and then get let down shortly after. You are damaging your customers' faith.
Quote from: RailsByRick on January 25, 2026, 04:15:27 PMVery disappointed to hear that Knapford has been cancelled. It's becoming a very bad habit of Bachmann's to announce a highly anticipated item only to cancel it a few months later.
Bachmann, please stop announcing new items unless you are 100% certain they'll be arriving to market. It is very tiring to constantly get our hopes up and then get let down shortly after. You are damaging your customers' faith.
Indeed.
I was about to post something similar - I am ok with a quiet year of announcements to allow the backlog to clear; I don't want another Duncan situation whereby everyone gets excited just for it to be cancelled due to technical issues. Do the R&D, make sure a product is feasible, commit to manufacture, then announce it. I would rather wait 6 months for something that is certainly going to happen, than 2 years for a nope!
Given that Bachmann is willing to go into Railway Series rolling stock, first with the China Clay Wagon and now the Ffarquhar Quarry Wagon, maybe they would be more willing to recolor Donald and Douglas into Blue Donald and Blue Douglas.
Its good to see that Bachmann is releasing the 20-ton Brake Van from the canceled Anniversary set. I would hope that they would also release more variants of it like the gray livery that was previously intended for the brakevan from the anniversary set, so that way they we have more options than just a variant of the Spiteful Brakevan.
With the upcoming 77410 Milk Tank and 77422 Fuel Tank being based on the CGI series designs of the tankers, something I really appreciate Bachmann doing is releasing them as separate items than the already existing 77048 Tidmouth Milk Tank and 77039 Sodor Fuel Tank, which have the Model Series design of the Tankers. That way, both the Model Series and CGI Series versions of the Milk Tanker and the Fuel Tanker are available at the same time, so modelers can choose which versions they prefer: Model, CGI or Both!
Another idea for Rolling Stock I would like to see in the future would be Blue Gordon's Special Composite Coach and Gordon's Special Brake Coach, repainted from 76034 Gordon's Express Composite Coach and the 76035 Gordon's Express Brake Coach, with the corridors on both ends so that they can fit seamlessly into already existing Bachmann Gordon's Express. I know it is not screen accurate, but I would prefer that they match up. I will even admit that I prefer the Corridors on Bachmann and Hornby Thomas Express Coaches.
Something else I would hope that Bachmann do is update their 76044 Annie and 76055 Clarabel to rectify their gray chassis with a correct black chassis, like the UK Annie and Clarabel have. As well as update the gray lamps irons, dummy coupling hooks, and tender chassis on their Henry, Gordon, and Toby to the correct black. They have already done this with the Thomas, James, and Percy, with Percy recently now also having a his incorrect gray coal bunker updated to the correct black color as well.
Products getting cancelled is really starting to become an issue for Bachmann. It's not making the company look good. Instead of announcing products, getting everyone hyped up for them, just for them to be cancelled, maybe it's better they don't announce it unless they are CERTAIN it will be out. Better that something doesn't get announced for several months, and have it released, than to wait a year or two for it to be cancelled.
Many are really disappointed that the Knapford Station reintroduction was cancelled, yet they still got Rebecca out there, despite having such a high price.
On the more positive side, it may only be a few more months before they have an unpainted sample of Flying Scotsman to show. Don't know if he'll be out by the end of this year though.
So the 20-Ton Brake Van from the cancelled 80th Anniversary set is what celebrates 80 years of Thomas as a character, and is being released as a separate product. Would've liked to have seen the dark gray van or the orange wagon with coal load as well. Maybe they'll get separate releases at some point.
Quote from: RailsByRick on January 25, 2026, 04:15:27 PMVery disappointed to hear that Knapford has been cancelled. It's becoming a very bad habit of Bachmann's to announce a highly anticipated item only to cancel it a few months later.
Bachmann, please stop announcing new items unless you are 100% certain they'll be arriving to market. It is very tiring to constantly get our hopes up and then get let down shortly after. You are damaging your customers' faith.
Considering the amount of products Bachmann has cancelled in the Thomas range's entire 20+ year history can be counted with one's fingers, combined with all the outstandingly high quality products they've been outputting lately such as Ryan, Daisy, Stanley and Sir Handel, I think they're doing pretty decent in terms of customer satisfaction. Bachmann is a business, and sometimes things just don't line up the way they hope they would for a product. Things have been especially volatile in terms of manufacturing and exporting this decade so far. A lot of it is simply beyond Bachmann's control.
I honestly thought the cancellation of Duncan back in Oct '24 was a one-off. But, it is slowly becoming frequent as the months go on. Learning that Knapford station will not happen did come as a surprise even though the Bachmann webpage still has it listed. I do share the same feelings that it is never a good idea to announce items without committing to it. This make me concerned about future new toolings not materializing due to these factors. If it becomes a habit, then it begins to alienate certain consumers. To this day, I still find it hard to understand the reasons for releasing Rebecca, a product with a $300 msrp. I think the new timeline of releasing products will happen 3 years following its announcement, rather than the 24-27 months from past releases.
I'm trying to stay positive upon these revelations, but I cannot become numb to the bad news. Let us hope the implementation of quarterly announcements put some of our disappointment to rest by a degree. :'(
Update 1/31: The listing of Knapford Station has been removed.
Hi everyone,
We want to apologize for the cancellation of Knapford Station and other items- it's just as disappointing to us as it is to the fans.
In trying to keep up the rate of new product announcements and releases from years past, our engineering team and factory were not able to keep pace and over the past few years, the length of time for them to study a project and submit a tooling cost and retail price increased. Compounded by tariffs and the general state of the economy, when we did receive costs, they came back higher than expected.
To elaborate more on Knapford Station: We made the new version half the size and half the number of parts as the first release with the goal of reducing the price. The cost we were given by the factory was higher than the last time we sold it, for a kit that was half the size- It wouldn't be economically feasible for us, nor would it be fair to the consumer to raise the price that much.
We think that this year the production delays have stabilized, and that we will be able to get costs much faster than we have the last 2-3 years. And we are no longer going to announce products until we receive a final cost from the factory, so that we are not announcing projects only to cancel them when they are not feasible.
Quote from: Yard Master on January 27, 2026, 09:59:24 AMHi everyone,
We want to apologize for the cancellation of Knapford Station and other items- it's just as disappointing to us as it is to the fans.
In trying to keep up the rate of new product announcements and releases from years past, our engineering team and factory were not able to keep pace and over the past few years, the length of time for them to study a project and submit a tooling cost and retail price increased. Compounded by tariffs and the general state of the economy, when we did receive costs, they came back higher than expected.
To elaborate more on Knapford Station: We made the new version half the size and half the number of parts as the first release with the goal of reducing the price. The cost we were given by the factory was higher than the last time we sold it, for a kit that was half the size- It wouldn't be economically feasible for us, nor would it be fair to the consumer to raise the price that much.
We think that this year the production delays have stabilized, and that we will be able to get costs much faster than we have the last 2-3 years. And we are no longer going to announce products until we receive a final cost from the factory, so that we are not announcing projects only to cancel them when they are not feasible.
Good to know for future reference. Now we know why the Knapford Station reintroduction was cancelled. Being half the size, it was actually going to cost more than it did before, which just simply was not economical. We've had several products being cancelled over the past few years, so to prevent this from happening again, it's best that you're no longer going to announce products unless it's
certain they will be out.
The days of product cancellations will now be in the past. That way, we no longer have to worry about being hyped for a product, only for it to be cancelled.
They gave us such a bombshell of an announcement with Flying Scotsman back in July that I'm not really disappointed with this year's catalog, at least in the HO scale range. As Bachmann have eluded to, this allows the team to catch up on previous announcements, and we're all more than aware of the turbulent economic times we're currently living in. I'm happy to see that the 20 ton brakevan tooling from the cancelled 80th anniversary set is still getting a separate release as I've been wanting a new brakevan for sometime. It's also nice to see the introduction of FQC wagons as well. I do however find it interesting that the blue wagon got announced in N scale when its HO counterpart hasn't been active for sometime.
Overall though, I'm content with this year's catalog.
I appreciate Bachmann taking the time to publicly acknowledge the concern surrounding Knapford, as well as explaining in detail what happened during production and how they plan to avoid the recent pattern moving forward. Considering that all the new and upcoming products, (besides Flying Scotsman), have prices listed, it does check out that Bachmann is including prices first before publicly announcing said products. Hopefully, Flying Scotsman will have his price listed soon too.
With this new direction of no longer announcing products unless it's certain that they will be out, waiting times between announcement and release could also be reduced. Bachmann tends to announce products much too early, long before they even know the cost before going into production, so we end up waiting years for them to be released, with some being cancelled. It literally took five years for DCC Sound Thomas and Percy to be released in HO Scale.
The biggest cancellations that disappointed me were Duncan, and the 80th Anniversary set. Thankfully, that's not going to happen anymore going forward. No more announcing a product unless it's guaranteed to be coming, that it's economically feasible to get into production. Many bullets will be dodged. No more being disappointed that a certain product isn't coming. As of right now, the only announcements will be products that will be released. Avoiding more cancellations in future.
Quote from: Yard Master on January 27, 2026, 09:59:24 AMHi everyone,
We want to apologize for the cancellation of Knapford Station and other items- it's just as disappointing to us as it is to the fans.
In trying to keep up the rate of new product announcements and releases from years past, our engineering team and factory were not able to keep pace and over the past few years, the length of time for them to study a project and submit a tooling cost and retail price increased. Compounded by tariffs and the general state of the economy, when we did receive costs, they came back higher than expected.
To elaborate more on Knapford Station: We made the new version half the size and half the number of parts as the first release with the goal of reducing the price. The cost we were given by the factory was higher than the last time we sold it, for a kit that was half the size- It wouldn't be economically feasible for us, nor would it be fair to the consumer to raise the price that much.
We think that this year the production delays have stabilized, and that we will be able to get costs much faster than we have the last 2-3 years. And we are no longer going to announce products until we receive a final cost from the factory, so that we are not announcing projects only to cancel them when they are not feasible.
I'm very glad that you are going to break this habit on announcing certain products, only to be canceled at the last minute. I can understand Duncan, but after the 80th set and Knapford kits canceled, I was starting to lose hope. But at least you guys will promise to not announce anything until you are very sure it'll be something you'll commit to.
I welcome the response Bachmann has made to address the issues regarding productivity and canceled items. Had a feeling that's the reason for implementing the quarterly announcements to ensure that future cancellations will be avoided. Glad to learn the prices will be paired along with the item so that consumers will have an idea of the cost before any potential problems arise. Lastly, I'm happy that the delays in production has improved to ensure that they release in a timely manner. There's a chance that Flying Scotman's price will appear at some point within the next 6 months.
I think the reason Bachmann hasn't announced Luke yet is because they're not ready to announce him yet, that they need to see if his tooling is feasible first, in order to avoid another situation like Duncan. So there won't be a repeat of what happened with Duncan, with all of us looking forward to him, only for Duncan to get cancelled, especially over a year after being announced.
We most likely won't see Duncan back on the cards until after Douglas finishes overhaul. That way, Bachmann could actually make Duncan based on Douglas, instead of his CGI render like originally planned. Rusty was based off his CGI render, which is very different from how Midlander is now. Because Rusty was smaller and simpler, so he was more doable. He's unfortunately too small for an open cab for crew to fit inside.
I personally am in no hurry for Luke anyway. Not that he's a bad character, Id just rather see them complete the original lineup first.
The CGI series is being revived, but with one notable difference being the colored irises, which carried over from All Engines Go.
The 2026 reboot appears to have actually been made with the older fans in mind, unlike All Engines Go, which wasn't, and it completely alienated older fans. So far, it's been much better-received. At least it actually looks like Thomas. Maybe there's a chance characters like Stepney or BoCo could return in the reboot. If they do, and Bachmann eventually makes them, it would be strongly advised the models wouldn't have colored irises, so that they wouldn't look so out of place compared to what we have. After all, the N Scale models didn't have the additional rivet details, and Emily didn't have her number 12.
I was looking up mainline OO coaches since some of the toolings were used for Bachmann's Thomas line and I came across this Mainline LMS Parcels Van on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/116960135744?_skw=LMS+period+1+parcels+OO+mainline&epid=6070524958&itmmeta=01KGE1HXM2TWEG6W8GWYMBM6T1&hash=item1b3b5e0a40:g:F5QAAeSwRpBpVzGw&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA4O7PUuNWmJ%2B%2BUShgI9tQz%2Fp5ygWtdIdcLvkdgyeZ7w1opFIDeTfddutBYE8d%2FllE67VqhVBSf4RLl10DmBxdMVse4AWDrmG8%2FxZaC2%2BcezK6y2K69RYOEBFQT7zNCQNPq%2FDcJwT8zGcPYkxhowyIZX6eFKnY8slJQ15SS8GrP%2F4%2FZ7i2cu8iVq7eHHCfXLzNngfnPevaD1ge5IRFYYfpAf1%2B5rie5yhcBJ20im4GRf2%2Fzu6fYGKxlXcrfRrpE3PK9FTDL%2FBcvYKxqoaN5ltmETyJaUndDQogfPD85IZMgiLb%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR47ax8GDZw
Does anybody who owns this know if this is the same length as the Bachmann Express Coaches in the Thomas line? I'm curious cause I want to know before I buy it.
This month's Trainworld stream has been postponed to next Thursday. Something must have happened.
But they did show the first real image of the fully painted N Scale Express Coaches. Should certainly be available by the end of the year.
As soon as Trainworld added Flying Scotsman, did anyone notice a sudden price hike for a number of items for preorder? Diesel and Paxton's price increased twice from $99.99->$119.99->$129.99. Similarly, Origin James and Henry had a $10 hike. I understand that tariffs are still an issue today, but markets fluctuate frequently due to various economic problems. It does concern me how expensive Edward would cost since he's a new tooling with most of elements already available for him to initiate development.
Fortunately, it's likely trainworld will honor the original price tag once the product becomes available. Also, the express coaches look fantastic. Looks like Gordon won't be waiting for too long.
Let's hope that the postponement of Thomas Tuesday could bring other great news for products in development.
I was just looking on the Trainworld website, and they apparently have listed a Large Scale Christmas themed Thomas with a removable snowplow.
https://www.trainworld.com/bachmann-91412-g-thomas-the-tank-engine-christmas-w-removeable-snowplow.html
Quite the shadow drop announcement, but it's one I welcome nonetheless if it's a real thing! (if any admin or someone wants to weigh in on that, cause it's not on the official bachmann website)
Ever Since the Christmas Thomas set and the Snowplough were discontinued, I've always wanted a snow clearing Large scale Thomas, so this is a pretty good move on Bachmann's end. I assumed the large scale line was on death's doormat in the current economy, so It's good to see that there is still an spark in the Large Scale line, from both Bachmann and Consumers.
Noticing this is explicitly the product code after LBSC Thomas which is interesting. That seems to suggest this is at least something, Trainworld exclusive perhaps? Something change with the delayed train set?
I'm not into the Large Scale stuff, but assuming this isn't an error of some sort, it's nice to see the G scale Christmas Thomas making a return. Judging by the item name, maybe they're selling the Christmas themed Thomas that was in the original set separately?
Next Thursday's stream will most likely have Matt showing off the fully painted N Scale Express Coaches, and possibly N Scale LBSC Thomas and Origin James. Not sure if we can expect the unpainted samples of Diesel, Paxton or Henry just yet. Might be in a few months before we see the first unpainted sample of HO Scale Flying Scotsman, and Bulgy fully painted. Why Flying Scotsman is so expensive could largely be because he has two tenders. I'm hoping we'll soon also see the first samples of HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel. Just one of those two costs about as much as I paid for both 'Arry and Bert in 2014. I remember the days when one small engine costed $60. Now we're paying twice as much as we did for models over a decade ago.
Loved the reveal of N scale Diesel and Paxton on the stream today; easily the highlight for me by a long shot. Definitely can't wait for Henry once his sample is done, which, as hinted, shouldn't be too much longer now.
Hope to see an exciting N scale engine announcement at NMRA this summer too. Either Edward to finish off the original main cast, or Duck to be added alongside his old rival, Diesel, would be very fitting choices.
Today's stream was great. lots of good things to come down the line. probably the highlight for me was the update for sidney and the mainland diesel. hearing the news that bachmann will change sidney to have the correct face and showing the sample of his face has me really more excited than ever. the fact bachmann heard the criticism of how paxton turned out and that they took the extra time to give sidney the proper face is really good. I think theybmay do the same with the mainland diesel. I never thought I'd be excited for repaints of the class 08 shunter tooling. but it's great they're doing the proper face this time. really can't wait to see how sidney and the mainland diesel turnout after more samples arrive.
At last, we finally got to see the first unpainted samples of N Scale Diesel and Paxton, and shouldn't be much longer before their painted samples arrive. We did get an update on N Scale Henry, and he's finishing the design phase, so it won't be too much longer before we see his first unpainted sample. We also saw a face sample of HO Scale Sidney, showing he has a perfectly-proportioned face, unlike Paxton's HO Scale model, which had a disproportionate face. It won't be too much longer before we see the first samples of HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel within a few streams. Paxton's unpainted N Scale sample didn't have stepladders, but they'll be there on the final model. Maybe we can get 'Arry and Bert in N Scale too, which are discontinued in HO Scale.
We were also shown the fully painted N Scale Express Coaches, but we saw those on Facebook last week, and those will be available by the end of the year, alongside the Narrow Gauge Gunpowder Wagons, HO Scale Open Carriage, CGI Milk and Tar tankers. We weren't shown N Scale LBSC Thomas or Origin James, but those too should be available by the end of the year.
Within a few streams, we should see Bulgy's painted sample, along with the fully painted samples of N Scale Diesel and Paxton, HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel samples, and the first unpainted samples of N Scale Henry, and HO Scale Flying Scotsman. We're starting to get more exciting reveals. With the N Scale backlog finally starting to clear, maybe this NMRA will finally be the time for Bachmann to announce N Scale Edward or Duck.
With the new Thomas series on the horizon, I wonder if Bachmann would make anything from it. There is bound to be new characters, and it would be interesting to see Bachmann handle them. Would they be 1-to-1 with their models, or maybe be redesigned slightly to fit the more "classic" look that Bachmann aims for? I do doubt Bachmann would update their models to align with the new series, since that would be a lot of effort, and Mattel still does seem to be using the classic CGI Thomas (Such as in Wonders of Sodor).
Just some thoughts I had, interested to see anyone else's perspective on this.
At least we know why Bachmann just chooses to do CGI engines because kids who watch the show are more familiar with them.
Sort of old news, but TrainWorld has a listing for an unannounced Bachmann Thomas item: Large Scale Christmas Thomas w/ Snowplow (91412). If the Yard Master could provide some more info on this, that'd be greatly appreciated!
Quote from: NWRLevi on February 26, 2026, 11:35:32 AMWith the new Thomas series on the horizon, I wonder if Bachmann would make anything from it. There is bound to be new characters, and it would be interesting to see Bachmann handle them. Would they be 1-to-1 with their models, or maybe be redesigned slightly to fit the more "classic" look that Bachmann aims for? I do doubt Bachmann would update their models to align with the new series, since that would be a lot of effort, and Mattel still does seem to be using the classic CGI Thomas (Such as in Wonders of Sodor).
Just some thoughts I had, interested to see anyone else's perspective on this.
I imagine they're going to stick to CG and model era designs for existing characters in the line. I wouldn't mind seeing them do any new characters that may be introduced in the new series though.
For some reason, Bachmann decided to skip doing a Trainworld stream in March this year. We'll for sure get a stream in April, next Tuesday at the earliest. February's was late.
Things will start getting more exciting. We're possibly going to see the first unpainted samples of N Scale Henry and HO Scale Flying Scotsman, along with Bulgy's painted sample. We still haven't been shown the samples of N Scale LBSC Thomas and Origin James. Might be another month or two before we see the painted samples of N Scale Diesel and Paxton, along with HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel. It really shouldn't be much longer for those samples to come in.
Quote from: TrainFan97 on March 31, 2026, 04:45:33 PMFor some reason, Bachmann decided to skip doing a Trainworld stream in March this year. We'll for sure get a stream in April, next Tuesday at the earliest. February's was late.
Things will start getting more exciting. We're possibly going to see the first unpainted samples of N Scale Henry and HO Scale Flying Scotsman, along with Bulgy's painted sample. We still haven't been shown the samples of N Scale LBSC Thomas and Origin James. Might be another month or two before we see the painted samples of N Scale Diesel and Paxton, along with HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel. It really shouldn't be much longer for those samples to come in.
We have been shown LBSC Thomas and origin James. They were at the Toy fair. Photos have been online for well over a month now and trainworld put out this reel https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWjgp33kica/?igsh=b3VxNHk3Y2kzdWN4 (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWjgp33kica/?igsh=b3VxNHk3Y2kzdWN4)
I wasn't aware of that. It shows the samples of N Scale LBSC Thomas, Origin James, the red open wagon and the Sodor Scrap wagon. Those are more products with painted samples that are awaiting release. It also showed the painted N Scale Express Coaches, but those were the only ones that were actually shown in a stream.
Honestly, I think we might see the fuel tanker .
Possibly some packaged samples of some
Products like n scale LBSC Thomas .
I think we still need to see Sidney assembled and bulgy painted so I feel we will see those this or next month .
I feel we will see the N scale black James and LBSC Thomas hopefully soon along side the express coaches . And maybe the open coach . Release this spring . I feel like they won't put the tankers into production until the fuel tanker is ready.
Maybe the tankers and the N scale 7 plank trucks in the summer or early fall.
And G scale LBSC Thomas and Bulgy into the fall as well .
With Salty and the N scale and HO scale class 08s releasing at the end of the year .
I feel like that's what we will see this year . Release wise .
I think we will see the painted samples for things like LBSC G scale Thomas which could be soon . I'd imagine we'll see N scale and HO scale class 08s painted by the end of the summer . And maybe see the unpainted TT7 or SCC wagon . But I don't see anything that is a new tool that we have yet to see come out this year. So I don't expect Scotsman coming out till spring 2027 at the earliest . Same with Henry . I feel like since both will be reusing chasis we might see there body before there tender I could imagine seeing a sample of Scottsman with out a tender in the summer . And then later on we get a full reveal or something they could do is split them up . Reveal the water tender on Facebook , the body on Thomas Tuesday , and the coal tender at the NMRA 2026 .
Sorry if this has already asked and answered, but is the Flatbed With Oil Drums still coming out? Can't remember hearing any updates on it and I'm really looking forward to picking up some.
Quote from: RailwayRoundhouse on April 05, 2026, 06:04:44 PMSorry if this has already asked and answered, but is the Flatbed With Oil Drums still coming out? Can't remember hearing any updates on it and I'm really looking forward to picking up some.
It is currently scheduled to arrive this fall.
Might want to tune into Thomas Tuesday tomorrow:
Troublesome Truck #7 and the China clay wagon will be revealed, along with packaged samples of the gunpowder vans, so there's a lot to look forward to tomorrow (and possibly even more).
On tonight's stream, we were shown packaged samples of the Narrow Gauge gunpowder wagons, CGI milk and tar tankers, and the open carriage. We were then shown the China Clay Wagon and the unpainted sample of Troublesome Truck #7. We were also given updates, with N Scale Henry already in the tooling phase, and his unpainted sample should come in a few months. HO Scale Flying Scotsman is a little bit behind that, but getting there. Sidney and Mainland Diesel are also coming along, and should have something to show most likely this summer.
Shouldn't be too much longer before we get shown the fully painted samples of Bulgy, N Scale Diesel and Paxton.
Oh wow so this stream was a mixed bag glad to know the gunpowder vans are coming soon . Salty in 2027 is a long time .
The TT 7
Oh boy I wish I could say I am happy . But no . First off I would get it if Bachmann only had the international ones references . But they did not they could have made a model face and it would have been the same process according to Matt they had to make it from scratch. Man it's a shame but oh well . I feel like it's gonna be a troublesome truck 6 situation . Ideally I wanted this van to have a model series face . I get that Bachmann is trying to make good standing with Mattel but for a troublesome van I feel like it could have had a more expressive face like the one seen in haunted Henry
I saw the new reveals on the Thomas Tuesday stream. The one product I can't wait for is the China Clay Truck. If I get a couple, they'll look great with my models of Bill and Ben. The load has the same type of tooling like the coal load, but with a different looking appearance. I didn't expect the load to look brownish instead of white like china clay normally is. However, I did read that china clay can turn brown if exposed to impurities. Since I may be getting multiple china clay wagons, I made paint one of the china clay loads white.
I enjoyed yesterday's stream showing the upcoming projects.
glad that the china clay wagons were shown off I'm definitely going to buy a few of them. (I don't know how many I'd buy i think they turned out really good). and glad that the tar tanker is seeing a release by summer. (as I said I at least want to buy four of them as I once said there were always four in a consist).
still don't know about buying the upcoming new milk tanker. Just think I'd ratherstick with the tidmoth milk tanker. Just on the fence with that one. same with the upcoming fuel tanker
and of course I'm really hyped for troublesome truck 7. (it looks really good). I honestly think the 12 to van is the best new rolling stock bachmann has done in a long while. (I own now four of the grey one's and I love them i thought of buying more but that's a bit overkill I just love those vans).
and matt said that they may do more troublesome trucks. (as I said in the old future predictions post that I hoped they'd do the troublesome oil tanker from journey beyond sodor as the 8th one but we'll see).
so all in all I enjoyed yesterday's video really excited for all these new products for releasing later down the road. hope they share more on other projects they're still doing.
Forgive me if these questions have been answered, but I have a few questions for the Yard Master.
- What are n-scale LSBC Thomas and Origin James' projected release dates?
- And will the NMRA brochure in August have more Thomas announcements in other scales besides HO? (I don't want a repeat of last year's where only HO scale were announced.)
Quote from: travel_is_fun on April 19, 2026, 05:43:30 AMForgive me if these questions have been answered, but I have a few questions for the Yard Master.
- What are n-scale LSBC Thomas and Origin James' projected release dates?
- And will the NMRA brochure in August have more Thomas announcements in other scales besides HO? (I don't want a repeat of last year's where only HO scale were announced.)
N scale LBSC Thomas is currently scheduled to arrive in October; we don't have an arrival month for Origin James yet, but we expect it to be before the end of the year.
The mid-year announcements have not been finalized yet, we'll make sure to share when we have updates.
So it seems the next releases look like
Spring / Summer - Gunpowder vans , Tankers , open coach
Fall - N LBSC Thomas , Flatbed with oil drums , and maybe the N scale express coaches .
Winter - China clay wagon , Bulgy , black James , N scale Paxton , N scale Diesel , N scale 7 planks , Sidney , Mainland Diesel
Early 2027- Satly , troublesome truck 7
https://www.amazon.com/Bachmann-Trains-Thomas-FriendsTM-Carriage/dp/B0GFQ7HHLQ/ref=sr_1_151?crid=1KGQE95LKYTW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ClpaENMaEsF7kAhp1T2rXXewoZ9DsHSNzVrnfVCxpo77TOic1WZ9hlM-CEXPrsruT93d2-P2VF8d_1Fm6oC2Ux6fLsyURNT-xAVAaCnneNo.24se71Ich-BH4wk5t57ftlziiBfFgcMGvaukIFFC5eY&dib_tag=se&keywords=bachmann+thomas&qid=1777582802&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011&rnid=2470954011&rps=1&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-151&xpid=NxQB-QgvIsK22
SOOOOOO I'm sure nobody will be insane enough to get this for the price, but just in case, $400 for a model that hasn't been released is insane... Whoever listed that must've been on some special coal... 😅
So the highlights of the stream are the N Scale LBSC Thomas, Origin James, red open wagon and Sodor Scrap wagon, which were shown on stream for the first time, but were shown before elsewhere. Thankfully, Origin James doesn't have the painted lamp like the HO Scale model did. One thing that wasn't shown before was the Large Scale LBSC Thomas. Still no full sample of N Scale Henry just yet, but we were shown a face sample for him. There should be a full unpainted sample of N Scale Henry sometime this summer. He's been prioritized over HO Scale Flying Scotsman.
Any day now, they will have samples for HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel. There will only be one face for Mainland Diesel for now, but if the model sells well enough, they might look into doing more face variants, like Ulli. I'd like to see Fernando, whose face can also be used for a Mainland Diesel variant. The China Clay wagon might possibly get a green variant. Personally, I'd like a new mining wagon with an ore load. 2027 should be the absolute last delay for Salty's reintroduction. The wait has been endless.
Other samples we can expect to be shown within the next few months include the painted samples of Troublesome Truck #7, Bulgy, N Scale Diesel and Paxton.
This thread has been quiet for the past couple weeks, but Bachmann's Facebook had just shown the first painted sample of Troublesome Truck #7. Now the next painted product awaiting release.
I checked out the post and troublesome truck 7 looks incredible. I just can't believe they got it painted after showing the unpainted one.
I definitely am going to add this one to the other troublesome trucks I own. (now I guess we wait to see who they'll pick as the 8th one).
I've mentioned so many times for the journey beyond sodor oil tanker. (but if they decide to go with a different one i would go with the ventilated van since they have the tooling for that one but we'll just see).
it's just really exciting to see the troublesome truck line expand this far to no. 7. we'll just what the next one's will be in the future.
Loved the sample of Troublesome Truck 7, would add that to my collection soon!
I'm a lot more excited for the N scale Henry face sample shown in the previous stream. Hopefully, a full unpainted sample will be ready for the summer.
Troublesome Truck #7 does look nice, though; an obvious improvement over truck 6. Might pick that up too. Hopefully, Bachmann takes the coal wagon suggestion I made earlier into consideration for a troublesome truck #8.
I think we all knew troublesome truck number seven was going to be the van . But troublesome truck 8 could really be anything .
We have a lot of painted items awaiting release . Mainly from the 2025 catalog .
Meanwhile items from the 2022 catalog and 2023 catalog have still yet to be released .
Regardless, there is not much in terms of class 08 samples which I am wondering about right now . I do think we will see them soon but if we don't get samples
Soon I am unsure if they will come out 2026.
Bulgy's painted sample has just been teased on Facebook. Will be shown in full in the June Trainworld Stream.
Other possibilities include painted samples of N Scale Diesel and Paxton, or samples of HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel. Might be a bit later before they have the full unpainted sample of N Scale Henry.
I saw photos of the recent livestream on Facebook. The thing they showed off that got me excited for is that the load for the China Clay Wagon has been updated with the proper color.
Very excited for the N scale Diesel! He will be a day one purchase for sure. I'm not too sure if I'm going to get Paxton too; I'll have to see how the range does in the coming years and who else they announce in the future.
Bulgy looks all right. He's the only character who actually benefited from the extra details that were hastily added to the characters in Season 23 (particularly the rivets). I already own a Bandai TECS Bulgy with some appropriate modifications, so I may stick with that one, but this could be a nice alternative for those who don't have a Bulgy model on their layout.
So tonight's reveals were the updated China Clay load for the wagon, along with the fully painted samples of Bulgy, N Scale Diesel and Paxton. I will definitely pick up N Scale Diesel, but may or may not get Paxton right away. As for N scale Henry, there's last minute changes being made for him, but we should see his first unpainted sample by August. HO Scale Flying Scotsman is coming along, and should be revealed by the end of the year. We may actually see samples of HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel in the July stream, as those will be there any day. Looks like the next reveal will be HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel. HO Scale Salty will be returning in 2027 with no further delays.
Duncan hasn't been forgotten, but when Bachmann does revisit Duncan, they will try to make him based on Douglas, so that Douglas could be made from his tooling to make it worth it; appealing to both Thomas and non-Thomas fans.
Maybe at some point, Bulgy could also be made in his green livery, as a mobile vegetable stand. Then we'd have two versions available. As Bulgy would say, "Down with railways!"
Though I missed the stream, I was impressed to finally see n-scale Diesel's painted example. I'm not certain about Paxton since he's a copy of Diesel with a different face and paint scheme. It appears all of the 2023 NMRA products have their models completed. To quote Matt, n-scale Henry's unpainted sample could be revealed at some point during the summer season after some minor fixes. Definitely excited to see Henry's model and possibly Edward and/or Duck's announcement for the NMRA train show in August. I include both as the backlog is being cleared for potential new projects.
My opinion of Bulgy is mixed due to the lack of interior design.
All of the painted samples from the stream looked great! I'm especially impressed with the N scale diesels, and the new color for the China clay load is a massive improvement. Also, it's great to hear that Duncan isn't fully off the table and that Bachmann is trying to figure out a way to bring him to market. Fingers crossed 🤞
Ohhhhh I'm down to getting Bulgy as another new road vehicle...!
Personally for me for Duncan, I'd very much prefer going for the real-life basis that's Douglas. I mean his CGI model is.........not so good..... Also, did they not remember that they also did Beau, who doesn't have his CGI model elements (buffer beam above his cowcatchers for example) and stuck to the stock model they had? I mean might as well at this point...
Bachmann's Facebook now has high quality images of N Scale Diesel and Paxton. After getting a better look, it appears that Diesel's side rods are chemically blackened, rather than silver like his HO and Large counterparts. It will also be like that for the eventual N Scale 'Arry and Bert models. Same for Paxton's red side rods also being used for the eventual N Scale Sidney. If we get N Scale 'Arry and Bert in the near future, Bert needs to have noticeably more stubble, so the two can easily be told apart. There's demand for them to come back in HO Scale.
We haven't seen Sidney's HO Scale model yet, or Mainland Diesel for that matter, but we will soon. If the samples have arrived already, maybe we'll see teasers for them before the July stream. If Sidney is a popular seller, he can also be made for Large and N Scales.
At this moment, N Scale Henry and HO Scale Flying Scotsman are the only previously announced models that haven't had unpainted samples shown yet. HO Sidney and Mainland Diesel may be shown fully painted. Hopefully by the August stream at the earliest, we see the unpainted sample for N Scale Henry, and it may be a bit later before the unpainted sample of HO Scale Flying Scotsman. We know they're both coming in 2027, while N Scale Diesel and Paxton will be in stock by the end of this year.
So the tankers and the gunpowder vans and the open coach have came out .
I expect the next products we will see are going to be the express coaches and G scale LBSC Thomas .
And in the winter LBSC Thomas and Black James Diesel and Paxton along side Bulgy. Possibly the n scale plank wagons, and the troublesome truck 7 .
I could see Sidney and mainland being delayed into early 2027 . Maybe even after satly . At this point in the year anything that is not painted I am unsure if they will release by the end of the year .Likely we Won't see any HO engine release this winter however 4 n scale engines are more then likely.
Though I'm not certain, I received an email from the Bachmann UK webpage after submitting an inquiry into n-scale Henry's release date. They responded with March/April 2027 as the current expected arrival time. It's possible that the arrival time might be later due to possible ongoing logistical issues.
In addition, only n-scale Henry and HO Flying scotsman are the only items that have yet had their "full" unpainted samples revealed. As Sidney and Mainland Diesel are due to have their models shown for the next Thomas Tuesday livestream, I have every reason to assume that repainted items will be presented over the coming months.
If all goes to plan, Bulgy, Origin James, LBSC Thomas (G & N scale), Diesel, Paxton, express coaches, troublesome truck #7 and others are expected to be on the shelves in time for the holidays. It seems like things are going in the right direction based on development progression.
Tbh Henry won't be out for a while
If feel Sidney and mainland diesel will prob be out by that point .
If anything I'd say this time next year or later is when I expect Henry .
Anyway aside from Henry and Scotsman I'd like to see updates on large scale rolling stock. And the new brakevan for HO scale .
Hoping for a sample on that brakevan before the end of the year .
The unpainted sample of N Scale Henry has been teased, and will be shown in the Thomas Thursday stream on July 9th.
Maybe we'll see HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel as well. There's still a chance for that.
It's crazy we finally have Henry . I honestly expect
To see Sidney and the mainland diesel painted at the NMRA 2026 which is on July 27th .
And then maybe we could see those up close on the Aug Thomas Tuesday which I think we might just packaged bulgy or something and it will mainly just be a recap of the show
As for September this is when I expect so see a lot of packaged stuff . And possibly flying Scottsman . Tho I feel they could do his water tender coal tender and body at separate times building up to a painted test of all three in December or January .
I am sure we will see painted Henry and packaged samples before the year end .
Along side that I feel like the fuel tanker will be shown off in December . With the brakevan shown off in 2027 . And the n scale and g scale other products shown off around the period of Oct - March
It's great to hear that n-scale Henry will finally have his unpainted sample presented for the next Thomas Thursday. Much earlier than expected, but a welcomed development. Hopefully his painted sample could be shown before the year ends. I still believe Mainland Diesel and Sidney will make an appearance in the stream to wrap up the remaining items from the 2024 announcements.
Something tells me that the next Thomas Tuesday livestream in August will be focused on the summer announcements, item packaging and possibly Flying Scotsman's unpainted model. Only time will tell when Bachmann has updates for this anticipated character.
I noticed that the nw brakevan and troublesome truck #7 have their listings on the Bachmann webpage which indicates a late 2026 release to coincide with the holidays.
Expected Releases for late '26
N
- Diesel
- Paxton
- Lbsc Thomas
- Origin James
- Red open wagon
- Scrap wagon
- Express coaches
Ho
- China clay load Car
- Diesel fuel load
- Troublesome truck 7
- Nw brake van
- Bulgy
G
- Lbsc thomas
As always, the Train World stream was a lot of fun!
Sidney and the Mainland Diesel both turned out great. I'm especially impressed by the face used for the Mainland Diesel and how it came out. I could easily see people buying multiples of these for a yard or industrial setup on their layouts.
The N scale Henry was the real highlight for me. It was obvious from the get-go that they were going to reuse the Gordon chassis, but it still turned out really well. I especially appreciate some of the details that were absent on the HO model, such as the correct tender height. Henry is easily going to be another major seller for the N scale range, and I'm looking forward to getting him on day one!
I'm pretty hopeful for the NMRA announcements too. It'll be exciting to see what gets announced by the end of the month.
Tonight's stream finally revealed HO Scale Mainland Diesel, along with Sidney, but the main event here was the unpainted reveal of N Scale Henry. He reuses Gordon's chassis, as expected, which is why the wheels are blue, but the final model will have green wheels. Sometime this fall, we'll get to see his painted sample. We'll all be looking forward to the painted reveal of N Scale Henry. Within the next few streams, we should then see the unpainted reveal of HO Scale Flying Scotsman.
Bachmann did a great job with Sidney, and Mainland Diesel has a cool face. If the latter is a popular seller, they can do some face variants, including Ulli and Fernando. It's going to be a while before either get considered for N Scale, but I can definitely see Sidney being made in Large Scale as well. We're getting the first ever piece of merchandise for the Mainland Diesels. The only Class 08 characters left for HO Scale are Fernando, along with Splatter and Dodge. Fernando could also get his first ever piece of merchandise.
We're getting some new announcements by the end of this month, and Matt implied that they're going to be ones we never thought we'd see. We'll find out, but Bachmann may be surprising us yet again.
By the end of the year, it's possible that we'll see Sidney and Mainland Diesel in packaging.
Last night's reveals were great! The two new 08s turned out really well, and I'm especially impressed with how well Bachmann was able to recreate the faces. I was pretty worried when Sidney was announced that his face would suffer from the existing eye mech spacing, but I was relieved to hear they modified the tooling to accommodate. Well done!
Matt's comments on the NMRA announcements has me intrigued, and it sounds like it'll be something none of us are expecting. I'm still really hoping for Diesel 10, but we'll find out soon enough. It could be anything at this point!
Regarding the NMRA announcements, I hope the Breakdown Train is announced.
Very happy to see Bachmann picked a "disgruntled" face for the Mainland Diesel. The disgruntled diesel from Journey Beyond Sodor is the most iconic of the Mainland bunch, no doubt because of his banter with James, and when Journey Beyond Sodor came out it was regarded as one of the funniest moments in the movie. I've already seen several people who would've otherwise had no interest in him suddenly want him now simply because it's such a unique and amusing face to use for a model. Bachmann made the right call with him.
At any given day, Bachmann has to post the final images of N Scale Diesel, Paxton, LBSC Thomas, Origin James, HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel, and Large Scale LBSC Thomas. Along with any rolling stock for those scales that are due for release soon. All upcoming products that have painted samples.
Soon, Bachmann's Facebook should show high quality images of HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel. I'll look forward to that.
After looking at the new HO Scale 08s more closely, I realized the front cab windows aren't painted. I double-checked the other 08s by Bachmann, and they are in fact painted on those models. This may be a small thing, but I hope it is corrected on the final models.
Quote from: RailsByRick on July 12, 2026, 02:11:09 PMAfter looking at the new HO Scale 08s more closely, I realized the front cab windows aren't painted. I double-checked the other 08s by Bachmann, and they are in fact painted on those models. This may be a small thing, but I hope it is corrected on the final models.
You're the first person to notice. It's also like that on N Scale Diesel and Paxton. Hope that can be fixed on their final models, and have those front cab windows painted. N Scale Diesel and Paxton, along with HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel should have painted front windows.
That is no good. It looks especially bad on Mainland Diesel in my opinion.
Yard Master, I hope you'll see this and address this before the models are released. Hopefully it was just an oversight.
The front cab windows not being painted silver is intentional. These windows are painted over/blanked out on both Sidney and the Mainland Diesels in the show.
(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/7/7c/BigWorld%21BigAdventures%2153.png)
(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/9/9e/DieselShunters1.png)
The more you know. My apologies for the confusion. I'm so used to the silver windows on the Bachmann 08s that it stood out to me as inaccurate. It looks like all the 08s in the CGI series have blanked out windows. Never noticed it until now. Thank you for clarifying!
Crazy they forgot the windows when designing them in the show .
I honestly really think they did a good job of these repaints .
So it wasn't an accident that all the new Class 08 models don't have silver front cab windows, as they're all painted over in the show. Even Diesel had his front cab windows blanked out. Though Paxton's HO and Large Scale models had silver front cab windows.
Though I don't understand why they got painted over in the show, as how is a driver supposed to see through them?
The CGI era has a lot of weird inconsistencies with paintjobs. It's funny how the Bachmann models highlighted them three times, too; first Toad only having letters and numbers on one side, then Paxton having a black buffer beam, and now this.
So the Bachmann webpage added images of HO Sidney and Mainland Diesel to their respective listings. They did the same for Bulgy a few weeks back. I wonder when the listing for n-scale Henry will be up and running as the NMRA announcements are coming in a week.
Quick question for the Yard Master:
- What are the current status of N-scale Mr Jolly's chocolate van and blue open wagon? Since they're repaints.
One more week before the NMRA brochure is up.
Bachmann should also post the images of N Scale LBSC Thomas, Origin James, Diesel and Paxton.
Since we're a week away from the NMRA announcements, does anyone have any final predictions?
My one hope is Diesel 10. I know Bachmann have stated before it'd be challenging for them, but I'm sure they could figure out a solution.
They're leaving a lot of money on the table by not producing him.
Here are my predictions for HO and N.
HO Locomotives
Nia- She would complete the Steam Team, and is ever relevant in the franchise. Would love to see it
Philip- Philip would add some variety to the line. He looks like nothing else, and is fairly small.
Wildcard: Porter- With Salty reentering the line, it would be amazing to have his partner.
Winning the lottery: Murdoch- Not a character who is particularly popular, however with Beau setting precedent for reused toolings, he could be produced with the older Bachmann 9F tooling and lack moving eyes. I think he would certainly be a surprise 😂
Rolling Stock
I am skeptical of a rolling stock announcement, but if I had to guess...
Dogfish Hoppers- As seen in the CGI series
HO Narrow Gauge
Duncan- I think they could re-announce him with either a more prototypical look, or with plastic construction
Luke- My other guess. He could have crossover with his prototype.
N Scale
Edward- Would complete the original Steam Team
Rosie- Can be made in two liveries
Wildcard: Rebecca- would look amazing in N Scale
Extra Wild Wildcard: Flying Scotsman- he could again reuse Gordon's chassis, and maybe in developing him for HO, some of that could make designing him in N scale easier.
For rolling stock I think they could announce Red Express coaches
Accessories
I think anything is possible, but my personal wishlist would be
Carly the Crane
Flynn (as a road vehicle, though maybe he could be made as a locomotive)
Ace
Jack
Or Kevin.
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.
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.
I wonder why no Toffee Tanker....
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...
Quote from: Chaz on June 15, 2026, 01:36:20 AMI 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.
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!
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).
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
Great, but I am just wondering why no toffee tanker wagon in HO Scale, nor a 20 ton brake van for N scale....
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 .
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.
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.
when I first saw the leaks I was like.. yeea Bachmann would never make D10 (mainly due to his size and pinchy) but the more I saw people talking about it online it started to make me feel like it was infact real and I could not be happier!!
I remember years ago roughly 10 or so years I really really wanted a bachmann Diesel 10 just cuz.. cmon.. ITS DIESEL 10! one of the coolest characters in the show who unfortunately didnt get as much screen time as the other engines but I'm just so happy that he's finally announced! defintely an engine I did not see coming at all. Now I can see why Matt said we're not gonna see him coming lol.
Ofc out of all this the one thing that will be on mine and many other fans minds is the inevitable.. *will pinchy be full moveable* honestly I'm personally not expecting it too because of how they would package it in etc etc but if it will be then that would just be so perfect.. Lastly as soon as I get him, I'm almost immediately gonna be putting a model series face on him cuz it's almost certain that he will come in his cgi form.
and about the other annoucements.
the colours of the trucks is different and the new loads is something fresh which I love to see! Hopefully in the future we'll have even more loads like boxes or pipes etc!
I'm getting closer and closer to start collecting the N gauge line because they just keep getting better and better and with Henry close approaching (whom is my favourite character) Im so tempted to get him.. and with the new N gauge stuff such as the sheds that would be a fine addition to N gauge thomas collectors for sure as well as the coaches!
Next I'm going to talk about G scale H&H.
I'm surprised that line is still getting work honestly as the last character/engine we got was Diesel and Paxton which was 5 years ago back in 2021 and the line's just got recolour after recolour ever since so it'll be very nice to see something brand new for the line!
Now last but not least ofc is the retooling.
Me personally? I'm more of a model series fan and I didnt really see anything wrong overall with how Thomas and Percy looked originally, ok maybe Thomas' side windows could look a bit more square and his buffer beam a bit thinner and face but thats about it and with Percy he does look a tad off but I cannot explain why. I dunno why I still like them? maybe its the nostalgia but again I dont really see much wrong with them. The new models are gonna be also based off their cgi counterparts most defintely so it'll be interesting to compare them to the originals! Two engines I think who would need an overhaul would be James and Henry, James mainly cuz of his size and Henry cuz of his tender height and overall engine length. But there is one small thing thats occured to me about the retooling.. aren't the cgi models supposed to be WAY smaller than their model series versions? If thats the case then I wonder if bachmann will also make them smaller which would leed to them looking tiny compared to the other engines or if bachmann will keep them the same size?
All in all I'm very very excited to see Scotsman, D10 and the retooled engines when their models are complete! tysm bachmann!
Needless to say, I'm ecstatic about these new announcements. I still can't believe most of these are happening! My number one wish for the past few years has been Diesel 10- especially after Doug mentioned that he's been on Bachmann's radar. It's still very surreal to me. Of course, as with most others, I'm curious about how Bachmann will handle doing the claw. I can't speak for everyone, but I would certainly pay more if Bachmann was willing to do a fully posable claw. This character means a lot to me, and I hope Bachmann can give it 110% effort to bring us the best possible model.
The Thomas and Percy retools are something that people have been asking for, but I honestly never thought it would happen. I'm so excited to have these two characters in HO made to the same standard as Bachmann's latest offerings. This opens so many doors to potential model retools in the future. Might be a pipe dream, but James, Gordon, and Henry could definitely use a retool. A concern of mine is the brochure only mentions a retool of the body shell and face, but doesn't mention the chassis. I really hope we'll get an updated chassis but we'll see. Also, please update LBSC Thomas with the new tooling!
The new HO open wagons are great! It's so nice they'll be coming with stone loads. These look like the faded open wagons from the CGI series so it'll be interesting to see how they achieve the faded look. Looking forward to getting a bunch of these!
G Scale Henrietta was very unexpected, but much needed! I'm thankful they didn't do her sooner because I personally prefer her with a face, so it all worked out in the end.
I don't have any strong opinions about the N Scale announcements, but it's nice to see the line expanding.
Overall, these announcements blew me away. It really feels like we're entering a new era for Bachmann Thomas. Thank you, Bachmann, for listening to the fans. Keep up the great work!
Sometime next year, we should see the first unpainted sample of Diesel 10, and he's the most anticipated model for HO Scale since Daisy. The second larger diesel in the range. Now that he's been announced, the only engines left for HO Scale that appeared in both model and CGI are Harvey and Whiff. Shouldn't be too much longer before we see Flying Scotsman's unpainted sample.
With Sidney and Mainland Diesel hitting store shelves early next year, the next pair of Class 08 shunters for HO Scale must be Splatter and Dodge to go with Diesel 10. The tooling already exists for Splatter and Dodge, and now that the boss has been announced, we need his two bumbling minions. They would have the same blackened metal siderods the discontinued 'Arry and Bert have, plus no stepladders. Splatter and Dodge are definitely a higher priority than Fernando, another potential Class 08 repaint.
The new HO Scale Thomas and Percy should have front couplers, and we may see partially open cabs like what Ryan and Stanley have.
Matt will discuss the NMRA announcements in the upcoming stream.
All right, the announcements are out. Here're my thoughts.
HO/OO:
First, we'll address the elephant in the room; I'm extremely pleased and excited for all new toolings of Thomas and Percy after 25 years! This has been requested since I believe Devious Diesel and Donald & Douglas came out all the way back in 2011. With the narrow gauge range and recent HO models like Ryan and Stanley (and Rebecca, even if she isn't one of my favorites), new toolings of the very first models are a more than welcome addition. Can't wait to see how they turn out!
Next up, Diesel 10. As soon as the preorder links, I'm doing what I need to do without flinching. He was my favorite thing about Magic Railroad, and with the director's cut being reconstructed and restored, his announcement is very timely. I think a reissue of 'Arry and Bert will go nicely alongside him, but that's just me.
Onto the rolling stock. The Chocolate Syrup tanker is...fine I guess. It'll go nicely with the Mr Jolly's van, if nothing else, I suppose. Meanwhile, the Stone trucks are something I've been thinking about lately, and I'm genuinely excited they're a reality now! I think they'll go very nicely with Toby, Mavis and especially (the new) Percy. I plan to pick up one of each, maybe two of the brown one. Since we have the red wagon being used for China CLay and especially, a plain green wagon for coal. I'll elaborate more on that one later...
I'm also surprised we're not getting a new engine in OO9, especially now that Sir Handel's out. The tipper wagons are fine, but nothing I'm interested in.
Even though I've said time and time again that Large Scale isn't my thing, I'm happy that after 13-14 years since his release, Toby is FINALLY getting Henrietta. She's been requested for a long time, and I can't wait to see how she turns out. Here lies Chaz's wallet...
Hannah is fine by me since they were able to reuse the tooling. I can also see Henrietta's tooling used for a Christmas coach, too. Much like N Scale.
Onto N Scale:
While I'm sad we didn't get a new engine announced, it's understandable, seeing as Bachmann should probably work on Diesel, Paxton and Henry.
The Red Express Coaches -- much like Henry, the engine they're most associated with -- were an inevitable, but welcome addition.
The funfair vans I'm sure will look great, but I hope the plain gray van happens, too.
Now onto the coal wagons. While I am happy that a coal load will be given to the 7 plank wagon, I'm sad that we're getting the more gimmicky/Trackmaster style Sodor Coal Co and Coal Mining variants rather than the plain green coal wagon. I'm pretty sure that one was a popular seller (despite being retired, for whatever reason) in Large Scale and I'm fairly certain still is a popular seller in HO/OO. It's baffling to me why it wasn't introduced first and then the two gimmicky ones later. The plain green coal wagon is popular because is not only looks natural, but it's also the kind of wagon one can buy multiples of. With the two gimmicky ones, people are only inclined to buy one and call it a day. Probably why more of those variants are consistently available to buy rather than the more popular one. I seriously hope that the plain green coal wagon happens in N scale because it'll look much more natural, selling in multiples. I can even see non-Thomas British N Scale modelers buying multiples. I hope Bachmann will seriously consider the plan green coal wagon for the reasons I stated. It appears I'm not alone, either.
And that's all from me! Looks like the positives definitely outweigh the negatives here in terms of the announcements and I can't wait for the day that these products physically hit the shelves.
I hate using a cliche, but Bachmann is always full of surprises. And for the best!
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.
Quote from: Chaz on August 01, 2026, 09:30:25 AMThe 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.
Which is why by popular demand, the logoless green coal wagon must be announced for N Scale in the 2027 catalog.
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!)
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.
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.
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.
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...!
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.
Quote from: TrainFan97 on August 13, 2026, 03:54:20 PMOther 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...!
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.
Don't worry, I know you didn't mean that.
I remember seeing that post of the 2002 Thomas next to a modern 2023 Ryan and yeah Thomas looked so out of place... Can't wait to see the updated version of Thomas finally synergizing well with the newly released characters.
Matt did mention at one point that if needed, the chassis of Thomas and Percy could be modified a notch, i.e. using the side-rods from Stanley's wheels to Thomas' wheels to be up-to-date/close to the CGI models. I'd imagine they'd also match the synergy of their Large Scale and N Scale model for Thomas at least.
So I don't know if anyone saw the trailer for the reboot special, but they dropped the trailer for the upcoming special!
Well dang, they dropped the ball on this one, and makes me thankful they're gonna stick with the CGI (with classics sprinkled in) era characters. Although weirdly enough, unless if my imagination is messing with me, James' front looks like Large Scale version of Bachmann, like take a look and see if I'm tripping...!
If BoCo returns in the reboot, it would mean that Bachmann can't ignore him anymore. Same for Stepney. Both engines can finally get HO Scale models. BoCo would most likely be made 100% based on his model series appearance, while Stepney could have a CGI face from his appearance in Season 12. Both engines would require new toolings, that's for certain. Even Duke could possibly return. BoCo might have a CGI-styled face; being Daisy's without the eyelashes and makeup. To make BoCo even more CGI-styled, he could have a modified version of Daisy's chassis, except his unpowered front bogie would have six wheels.
The CGI series is back, but very different from before. Some of the character designs are drastically different.
I think it would be best that if Bachmann makes any model era characters, they make them styled after the model era, and not try to imagine up their own CGI style faces. Most people interested in model era characters will want model era faces on the engines in question. The average, less-detail oriented consumer on the other hand, probably does not know the major differences between CGI and model era faces. Heck, CGI faces are vastly different in design depending on if they're a Nitrogen era character, Brenner era, or BWBA era.
As for the new reboot...
I'm glad Bachmann is deciding to stick to the CGI era style for now. There's a lot of things going on in the reboot I'm not a huge fan of, such as how toy-like the rolling stock is now, rather than being prototypical. That alone wouldn't jive with how Bachmann likes to make new rolling stock. Even Bruno looks like his AEG cartoon design but with more "detail", rather than based on an actual prototypical caboose.
I feel like I'll better articulate my thoughts as the days pass.
If characters like Stepney, BoCo and Duke do return in the reboot, hope for Bachmann making those characters will be restored. All three of them will most likely be made 100% based on their model series designs, including their faces. Whichever one gets made in HO Scale first would be the first engine made based on a model series design since Duck, with Duke as another engine for Narrow Gauge. BoCo was shafted from Season 22, but the reboot will be his chance. He can be the third larger diesel for the HO Scale range. For now, we got Diesel 10 coming. He was announced just recently.
If we get the mail car in N Scale, it has to be made like how we're familiar with. Not the reboot design. The toy-like rolling stock in the reboot is off-putting.
I haven't really talked too much about the new reboot, as it seems pretty clear that Mattel continues to rebrand Thomas into something that it isn't. This is now the third time in a row where they've felt the need to reinvent Thomas into something completely different from what the franchise traditionally was.
I feel like All Engines Go left a pretty sour taste in many fans' mouths, and any positive reception I've seen toward this new reboot seems to boil down to, "At least it's better than AEG." Had All Engines Go never happened, I can almost guarantee that the reaction to this reboot would be considerably more negative. Even compared to BWBA, this feels like a significant nosedive, particularly with some of the cartoony character and rolling stock designs and the child actors portraying some of the characters.
That being said, there is one thing I really do want to emphasize: I'm glad Bachmann has publicly stated that they aren't going to get involved with making new products from this reboot. Personally I think that's the best approach, otherwise, it would just be history repeating itself with Bachmann's short-lived Chuggington line.
I think the most likely outcome for this new show is that it lasts three or four seasons, much like BWBA and AEG, before Mattel pulls the plug and moves on to the next Thomas rebrand they make. If/when that happens, Bachmann may as well continue sticking with what has already been working rather than taking a shot in the dark on characters and designs whose appeal could ultimately be short-term rather than long-term.
As long as Bachmann continues prioritizing characters with long-term appeal, like Hiro and Whiff, a new HO James, and N scale models of Edward and Duck, while keeping the designs consistent, then that's really all I (as I'm sure many others), could ask for as a fan who's just as passionate about the hobby as I am about the Thomas brand as a whole.
Bachmann's Facebook just showed the Large Scale Tidmouth Milk tanker. It's the model series design. That, along with some other Large Scale rolling stock samples will be shown.
Don't know if we'll see the fully painted sample of N Scale Henry just yet. We have next month and November before we see the first full unpainted sample of HO Scale Flying Scotsman. Both that, and N Scale Henry fully painted should definitely be shown before the year is up. Won't be much longer before we see packaged samples of N Scale Diesel, Paxton, LBSC Thomas, Origin James, and some rolling stock like the express coaches and open wagons.
The painted bracing on the LS Tidmouth Milk tank looks great! Here's hoping the HO version will see a running change with that added on!