Press Release just shared:
Thomas the Tank Engine™ is on the move! Model railroad manufacturers Bachmann Trains USA and Bachmann Europe are pleased to announce an expanded licensing agreement with Mattel through which Bachmann has been granted rights to distribute HO scale Thomas & Friends™ products in the United Kingdom and Ireland. As worldwide distributors of Thomas products, Bachmann's global network encompasses Canada, Mexico, and the United States in North American; Argentina, Brazil, and Chile in South America; most countries in Europe; several countries in the Middle East; and Australia, New Zealand, China, and Hong Kong. In addition to HO scale, Bachmann's Thomas & Friends™ products are offered in HO Narrow Gauge and Large Scale, with a new N scale line to be offered in early 2020. For retail purchases in the UK and Ireland, a full selection of Thomas & Friends™ electrically operated ready-to-run train sets and locomotives plus rolling stock, buildings, figures, and other accessories can be ordered now through the Bachmann USA web store, shop.bachmantrains.com. Additional retail availability in the UK and Ireland will be ready for rollout in 2020.
This means that if you live in the UK or Ireland, you can order NOW from our web store. The products will be available from retailers located in the UK and Ireland in 2020.
Well well well, looks like Bachmann did pick up that licensee that Hornby gave up after all! I hope this means a greater income for the Bachmann Thomas and Friends line, and hopefully a larger budget for new things that Bachmann may want to do!
;DWOW! ;D That is great!
This is excellent news! As others have already stated, hopefully the extra profit will lead to more exciting new products such as an HO Stepney and Narrow Gauge Sir Handel or Peter Sam (especially next year, as it is Thomas' 75th Anniversary).
This is fantastic news, but at the same time I feel it's a shame now that I own every available HO model from the Thomas line, not including the scenery items.
Very exciting news! Bachmann really did a great job this year on getting new licenses this year for both the N scale range and now having models available in the UK. These are really going to help Bachmann have strong sales after Hornby stepped down, and the new N scale range will really take off now that it will also be introduced in the UK!
Wow this is incredible news! Can't say I didn't see this coming but I didn't think it would happen so soon! Fantastic news for Bachmann!!
This is awesome! As everyone else has said, hopefully Bachmann makes a greater income, which leads to new models (I am hoping for Daisy or Stepney in ho) ;)
This is spectacular news to hear and I'm hopeful that Bachmann can earn a greater income as a result! It looks like 2020 is shaping up to be a solid year for Bachmann's Thomas products so far, with this and the N Scale line's introduction in mind. :)
Absolutely unexpected, but spells good fortune for the condition of the brand!
Now, one thing I wonder though, is that the resin buildings were discontinued because they didn't sell well. In the US, detailed resin buildings generally aren't as popular of a seller than say plastic buildings. In the UK however, both Bachmann UK and Hornby have their own lines of resin buildings. I wonder if Bachmann could test the waters of a limited run of the Thomas resin buildings in the UK, and see if they have a second chance. I think with a whole new market, it's worth a shot, and by starting with a limited run, would make risk minimal.
Quote from: Cheeky_ULP on April 17, 2019, 09:51:30 PM
Now, one thing I wonder though, is that the resin buildings were discontinued because they didn't sell well. In the US, detailed resin buildings generally aren't as popular of a seller than say plastic buildings. In the UK however, both Bachmann UK and Hornby have their own lines of resin buildings. I wonder if Bachmann could test the waters of a limited run of the Thomas resin buildings in the UK, and see if they have a second chance. I think with a whole new market, it's worth a shot, and by starting with a limited run, would make risk minimal.
That's a very good point. Resin buildings have typically done better in the UK, so I would be all for introducing a limited run of Thomas resin buildings to the UK too. To encourage sales, another idea would be to showcase the buildings along with some of the engines and rolling stock on a detailed model railway set, similar to what Hornby did:
(http://i65.tinypic.com/8ygs4l.jpg)
Not only would this make the buildings stand out more, but it would also give the impression that Thomas is a show of quality models, and not just basic merchandise of your generic computer animated show.
Quote from: TerencetheTractor525 on April 18, 2019, 01:32:44 AM
Quote from: Cheeky_ULP on April 17, 2019, 09:51:30 PM
Now, one thing I wonder though, is that the resin buildings were discontinued because they didn't sell well. In the US, detailed resin buildings generally aren't as popular of a seller than say plastic buildings. In the UK however, both Bachmann UK and Hornby have their own lines of resin buildings. I wonder if Bachmann could test the waters of a limited run of the Thomas resin buildings in the UK, and see if they have a second chance. I think with a whole new market, it's worth a shot, and by starting with a limited run, would make risk minimal.
That's a very good point. Resin buildings have typically done better in the UK, so I would be all for introducing a limited run of Thomas resin buildings to the UK too. To encourage sales, another idea would be to showcase the buildings along with some of the engines and rolling stock on a detailed model railway set, similar to what Hornby did:
(http://i65.tinypic.com/8ygs4l.jpg)
Not only would this make the buildings stand out more, but it would also give the impression that Thomas is a show of quality models, and not just basic merchandise of your generic computer animated show.
Great idea however I don't think Bachmann has the time or patience to make detailed sets to showcase buildings and models the way hornby however that is where us modellers and social media can come in handy obviously some of us showcase our sets and work. Nothing stopping bachmann getting permission off some users to show their work and credit them. Especially if the model is unmodified
They might rebrand the resin buildings under Bachmann Scenecraft in the UK. They might even add to the line. So far, the only discontinued building is the signal box.
Cool! :)
Thomas in the UK , great I'm from the other side of the 'pond' , lets hope we see N scale Sodor soon :)
Yeah! :)
Yeah! :)
Bachmann have officially unveiled the new range for the UK. The pre-production model of Thomas was shown off, showcasing the now thicker dummy coupling hooks(which is now painted black) and thicker lamp irons. The face itself didn't receive anything major sadly, but it has been ever so slightly improved with larger eyebrows. Internally is a more interesting story. The model itself is a far smoother runner than it's US version, and it's now DCC Ready, holding an 18 pin DCC socket.
https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/news/bachmann-launches-its-thomas-the-tank-range
Quote from: STL on January 22, 2020, 03:12:59 PM
Bachmann have officially unveiled the new range for the UK. The pre-production model of Thomas was shown off, showcasing the now thicker dummy coupling hooks(which is now painted black) and thicker lamp irons. The face itself didn't receive anything major sadly, but it has been ever so slightly improved with larger eyebrows. Internally is a more interesting story. The model itself is a far smoother runner than it's US version, and it's now DCC Ready, holding an 18 pin DCC socket.
https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/news/bachmann-launches-its-thomas-the-tank-range
I hope those are some upgrades that will be announced for the US versions as well at Toy Fair.