I'm sure Bachmann will announce Duncan eventually. Considering it took Bachmann almost three years to announce Sir Handel after Peter Sam, I would imagine we will get a Duncan announcement once Bachmann makes significant progress on Sir Handel first. Apart from last year, narrow gauge announcements have been typically very minimal with 1-2 announcements a year since it seemed clear Bachmann really did not want to overdo it with too many announcements for such a niche market. It also doesn't help that there are not too many options left that Bachmann hasn't announced yet in terms of new engines, especially with Mattel's CGI mandate. Last year though was an anomly as Bachmann managed to announce one new locomotive tooling (Sir Handel), two new wagon toolings and a slate wagon with a new road number, which is a lot considering their track record. It's also worth noting, though technically not part of the Thomas range, they also announced Talyllyn models last year in OO9 too. Granted these are just repaints of the Bachmann Skarloey with the face replaced with a new smokebox door, (not sure why we still don't have any updates on those yet), but it still adds to the high pile of OO9 products we are currently waiting on. Taking all of that into consideration, it's clear Bachmann really went above and beyond for OO9 last year! Though, if the 2023 catalog announcements are anything to go off of, it's clear Bachmann really needs to take a breather before announcing anymore major projects for the time being, especially for OO9.
Going back to Duncan, I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I think the very earliest we would see a Bachmann Duncan announcement would be during next years NMRA show. Even that though would really depend on progress on Sir Handel and several other projects first. If Duncan is still not announced by then, then I think the more likely option would be in 2025 during the brand's 80th anniversary. 2025 would also be the 10th anniversary of the narrow gauge line's announcement, and what a better way to celebrate that anniversary than to introduce the sixth and final member of the original Skarloey Railway, (in CGI), in their OO9 range. Kind of poetic, if you ask me.
Either way, I think it's really a matter of when Bachmann will announce Duncan, as opposed to "if". It probably won't happen in the immediate future, but I'm sure it will happen in good time.
Going back to Duncan, I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I think the very earliest we would see a Bachmann Duncan announcement would be during next years NMRA show. Even that though would really depend on progress on Sir Handel and several other projects first. If Duncan is still not announced by then, then I think the more likely option would be in 2025 during the brand's 80th anniversary. 2025 would also be the 10th anniversary of the narrow gauge line's announcement, and what a better way to celebrate that anniversary than to introduce the sixth and final member of the original Skarloey Railway, (in CGI), in their OO9 range. Kind of poetic, if you ask me.
Either way, I think it's really a matter of when Bachmann will announce Duncan, as opposed to "if". It probably won't happen in the immediate future, but I'm sure it will happen in good time.