Deep breaths, Streak... calm yourself...  We're dealing with model trains not missals here governor...

Although I can't provide a reason that Mattel would push for these recolors (nor do I want to...), the point is that regardless they are the ones behind what Bachmann can and cannot do, and therefore everything has to meet their approval before anything gets announced.  I could probably elaborate a little more on this, but considering I feel I'm already wasting my time trying to explain what little I am, I'll leave it at that.

The only advantage Bachmann had over the tanker recolors was that the tooling for said models was already there.  I'll bet cash money Bachmann wouldn't be so reckless as to make 3 tanker recolors that wouldn't sell when clearly there was more demand for something like Red Coaches.  Even something like Fred Pelhay and/or Rickety for crying out loud would sell better than the 3 tanker recolors put together.   I'm sure many large scale collectors (myself included) would definitely be interested in buying both of those just for the sake of having more trucks.  Besides, you're the one who has hopes for them to have another go in HO, so why not Large Scale as well?

Furthermore, I highly doubt Bachmann would do something as childish as referring to the Wikia pages to get ideas, and then pick out some of the worst ones they could find.  As is they already have an entire forum dedicated to the discussion of fans stating what they would like to see added to the range, and yes Bachmann does in fact listen to what the fans want.  In addition to that, bringing up ideas like a Bubble Machine Car, Streamlined Gordon, and/or Racing Stripes Thomas is just ridiculous.  Mattel is already screwing things up as is, don't give them any ideas.

And lastly, this isn't the first time Mattel has pushed for mediocre additions like this, and regardless what you say/think, Mattel has influenced many things Bachmann has announced such as Rosie, the HO tankers from last year, the green mail car, and the lobster logo on the refrigerator car just to name a few.  I don't know why everything with you has to turn into an argument every time someone says something bad about Mattel or the franchise in general.  Just because you like rainbows and kittens doesn't mean the rest of us have to.  Check and mate... 

-Rusty

Quote from: Streak on January 14, 2019, 09:26:21 PM
Am I the only one who like the "crappy" rolling stock recolors. Idk why I just find them charming. I especially like the Toffee Tanker and I actually hope that's made in HO Scale. I can understand why others may not like them though.

From the way it appears, I'd have to say yes.  Ever since the announcements were made, no one was impressed with them, especially the large scale modelers who actually had hopes for something decent like a troublesome truck.  Like others have pointed out with the 2018 announcements, they were clearly more Mattel driven, which in turn left large scale with the short end of the stick and 3 tankers that no large scale collector even asked for.  Go back through the thread and I guarantee you won't find one positive thing about them.  Furthermore, ideas like this belong in the kiddie toy ranges, and should stay there.  Last time I checked, this is "Bachmann Trains", not "Fisher-Price Trackmaster"...

Quote from: Rodimus Supreme on January 16, 2019, 05:41:25 PM
Mega Facepalm. Geez, seriously? You can't be for real with this nonsensical and absolutely unrealistic list.

I'm honestly willing to bet money that he is Mr. Rodimus.  Like I said in my previous post, these long and unrealistic wish lists are just people setting themselves up for disappointment when the announcements are made.  On that topic though, and in reply to Mr. Griffin's post, I personally feel his list seems even more realistic than mine.  The only thing I have my doubts on is the D. Fusit Wagon considering the fact brakevans seem to be in high demand at the moment, but I wouldn't throw the idea out completely.  Narrow Gauge could get just about anything (be it engines or rolling stock) and people would be happy with it, just as long as we don't get something mediocre like an ice cream van or Victor/Milly in the meantime.

Still, when you take a look at what announcements have been the last few years, they're pretty much all over the place.  That being the case, it really makes it hard to predict just what could have a chance as things can go in any direction between announcements.  Everyone pretty much said Arry and Bert for 2018 in Large Scale were inevitable (thanks to Diesel in 2017), yet after Diesel go kicked out the back door, so did that idea as well.  The same could probably be said for seeing Peter Sam in the 2018 lineup, considering Rusty had not yet been released.  Personally with the cost of everything going up anymore and production runs being cut shorter, it really leaves many starting to face the reality that manufactures honestly want to see that something is in high demand before they dump their assets into what could potentially be a flop.

Quote from: Cheeky_ULP on January 14, 2019, 10:54:16 PM
They could announce a flatbed with a pile of dust as a load for all I care as long as we get Stepney or Daisy with it, in all honesty.

In response to TerrencetheTractor525, I whole heartily agree your post as well.  Like I said before, I think Bachmann should make resin buildings aimed more towards Narrow Gauge, as it would boost their sales compared to doing something like a workmen's hut for example.  One thing I did forgot to bring up in my previous post was that it would be nice to see some houses amongst the resin buildings line as well, similar to the ideas that Mr. TerrencetheTractor brought up in one of his posts.  Example below.



Another idea I thought of was maybe Bachmann could look into some of the narrow gauge stations as well, considering they would again be smaller structures aimed towards the Narrow Gauge range.  I know someone did bring up the Sodor Manor (which I'm all for BTW) and I can also say I wouldn't mind seeing the other surrounding structures as well.  Still the Workman's Cottage is on the top of my must get list if it gets announced.  Does anyone else have any idea's for other small structures Bachmann could introduce for Narrow Gauge/HO for 2019?

-Rusty

Given that the 2019 announcements are only weeks away, I feel it's time to get my list of predictions/wishes/ideas that Mattel honestly doesn't care about out of the way.  So here is what I think could make great additions to the ranges in 2019.

HO:

Red Rosie:

She honestly seems inevitable in my opinion, and considering how minimal announcements have been and how the budget for a new engine tooling just isn't there, it only adds to her probability.  There's really not much more to say on this topic, so I'll leave it at that.

Original Thomas and Original James:

If we're going to start doing engine recolors, then I think we should be focusing our attention to recolors that will actually sell.  The Adventure Begins has proven to be a big success (unlike BWBA) and since then Thomas in his LBSC livery and James in his red and black paint scheme have been asked for among fans.  If Bachmann wants engine recolors, this is the way to go.  If they still want to do Red Rosie alongside Thomas and James, then so be it, but either way these models should be in the lineup as well and take priority.  Maybe while Bachmann is at it they could update the faces, but that's wishful thinking in my opinion.  I personally would rather see an Original Thomas in Large Scale (considering that's the scale I run), but HO could benefit from this addition as well.  Maybe in the future Large Scale could obtain this addition as well.  In all, the tooling is there, and all it takes is a change of paint.  These personally would sell better than Red Rosie, as I'm sure those who wanted her in that livery have already done the modification themselves, and the only ones who would buy her at this point are the ones that haven't already.  Original Thomas and Original James please.

Red Express Coaches:
Considering the fact that many people were happy to see Gordon's Express Coaches make a comeback after years of having no express coaches in the range at all, I feel that bringing back the red ones should be on Bachmann's To Do List as well.  There has been a demand for these additions to be brought back, and introducing them the following year that the green ones were announced makes sense.  Given the demand for express coaches right now, it's a guarantee that these additions would sell, and sell well at that.  I think the only issue I could see with the request to bring these back would be the possibility that Bachmann may consider the green ones to be enough, and therefore would rather focus their attention towards Narrow Gauge as a top priority.

Flat Car w/ Paint Drums (or other load):
This is another piece of rolling stock people have been asking to return, but more so just the flatbed itself.  In the last 10 years, the model has been becoming harder to find, not only physically, but at a reasonable price as well.  It's pretty clear the demand for it is there, and many modelers would be grateful to see this make a comeback instead of having to pay upwards of $500+ on eBay.  Personally I think that if Bachmann wanted to they could easily just mold the current paint drums in black plastic, therefore making them oil drums without the need for additional painting/decaling.  Or if Bachmann just wanted to take the easy route, they could just bring back the flatbed and nothing else.  It's a simple addition because as I said before, what people are really after is just the flatbed itself.

Troublesome Truck #6:

This is another piece or rolling stock I've seen in popular demand.  I don't however see Bachmann doing something such as a troublesome tanker from Toad Stands By, as chances are that they would more likely go with the new CGI tankers considering that is what Mattel would push for.  Personally I think Bachmann should look into making their next troublesome truck a box van, similar to what I've mentioned for Large Scale, but I'll get to that shortly.  When also considering they're into van recolors with the addition of the Great Western Van and the Fruits and Vegetables Van, I think just simply taking a brown van and putting a face on it would suffice.  Hector is out of the question simply because of his large size resulting in potential chances for high production costs and an RRP.  In addition to that, when was the last time Bachmann did a new rolling stock tooling in HO?

Resin Buildings:

I think resin buildings not only have a demand, but they would be far cheaper to produce than engines and comparable in price to rolling stock.  However, this doesn't apply to structures similar to Maithwaite Station or Brendam Warehouse.  What Bachmann should focus on are smaller structures like the Storage Shed.  I'm thinking more along the lines of structures such as the Narrow Gauge Engine Shed or the Ruined Castle.  One structure that sticks in mind and that I would kill to see, is the Workman's Cottage from the episode Bulldog.  Don't ask me why, but this is by far one of the most unique little structures and somewhat cute.  Wouldn't mind purchasing this little piece of real-estate for myself.  Another thing that should be noted is that resin buildings aimed towards Narrow Gauge could potentially have an increased number of sales compared to something like a Signal Gantry.  From a realistic standpoint, smaller structures seem wayyyyyyy more probable than something like the Steamworks or the Sodor Shipping Company.

Narrow Gauge:

Peter Sam:

From what I've seen, Peter Sam defiantly has the most demand right now.  Duncan did hold close second for a while, but after Rusty was finally revealed, many people got a scare and fear Duncan could very well end up in his CGI render.  That being the case, Peter Sam has been the most talked about and most requested for the next narrow gauge engine in the upcoming announcements.  Although announcements for Narrow Gauge have been minimal, I think many would be happy even if just Peter Sam alone made it into the announcements this year.  Considering the narrow gauge coaches are yet to be in stock, it also leads some to question if Bachmann would bother with rolling stock at this point anyways.

Brakevan(s):

I think these would be a winning formula for Bachmann, and they could easily make more than just one.  This is another addition that people have been asking for and also hoping to see alongside Peter Sam at that.  When also considering the plentiful amount of rolling stock we have in the range already, a brakevan is much needed at this time.  Going back to the topic of making more than 1, they could easily do 3 different colors of brakevans.  Red and Blue to go along with the coaches, and brown to go along with the slate trucks and/or vans.  This is similar to what they did with the 3 variations of slate trucks, only a color change would be a lot more pronounced than a road number.  At the end of the day, Bachmann would have 3 new pieces of rolling stock for the cost of 1.

V-Tippers:

I'm not sure how much demand there is for these, but I'm sure they would be a welcome addition to the range nonetheless.   When also considering the emphasis on mining for the Skarloey Railway, this only adds to the appeal of these wagons.  Maybe if Bachmann wanted to, they could also make 2 or more variations of these trucks as well, therefore spreading out the cost of production that much more.  I personally think these would be great additions and would fit in well with the already existing slate trucks in the range.  In addition to that, modelers would be sure to add these to their quarry layouts.

Large Scale:

Mavis:

Regardless what some people say, Diesel is not going to make a comeback in terms of Large Scale announcements, and that being the case, Bachmann would be better off putting their time and money into a more popular character anyways.  If they're going to do another engine in Large Scale (and a diesel at that) Mavis is the way to go.  Mavis has proved her popularity by being the best selling diesel in the range, while characters like Arry, Bert, Salty, etc have had minimal sales, leading to their demise.  This is the exact opposite with Mavis as her sales have remained consistent ever since she was released.  A Large Scale model could fair the same way, and it would be nice to have her to go along with Toby.  In addition to that, trams are very popular among garden railroads, and Mavis with her similar tram-like design would fit in perfectly.  I personally would buy a model of her for my garden railroad, as her design and livery would fit in excellently, especially once she's been given some stone trucks to pull.  Something that should also be noted is that Mavis could easily reuse Toby's chassis, which if far simpler than the complexity of Diesel's side rod configuration.  Still, there's no guarantee that Mavis wouldn't face the same production cost and RRP issues Diesel faced, which leads me to keep my hopes for her at a minimum.

The Red Coaches:

It's really a question of why hasn't Bachmann considered doing these already when the tooling for them is practically there?  It's pretty simple just to alter the existing Annie/Clarabel tooling and recolor them.  When also considering chances of getting some express coaches for James are nil, the Red Coaches would be the next best thing.  Like I've mentioned before, people aren't just going to go out and buy 1 of each of these either.  In reality, most people would probably buy 2-3 coaches and 1 brake coach, similar to what the HO scale boys have done.  In all the Red Coaches should be in the 2019 announcements, as really they are in demand and can be produced without having to make a new tooling from scratch.

Troublesome Truck #3:

As I stated earlier with the HO Troublesome Truck #6, a simple brown van with a face would suffice for this addition as well.  Personally the fact Bachmann hasn't jumped on this simple addition sooner is a mystery, as clearly they were able to pull this off with the Spiteful Brakevan.  I know for a fact, many would have rather seen another troublesome truck for Large Scale, rather than a Chocolate Syrup Tanker.  While we're on the topic of tankers (and I've mentioned this before as well), Bachmann could just make the next troublesome truck be a tanker with a face on it.  This would not only offer another troublesome truck to the range, but would also bring back the discontinued Oil Tanker to Large Scale as well.  This way, those who missed out on it before can have another chance at this addition without having to play hunt the trucks with Mavis.

Henrietta:

I pretty much have my doubts on Henrietta (as I do on a lot of Large Scale ideas at this point), but I'm bringing her up for a good reason.  The last time Bachmann ever announced a new tooling for the range was back in 2015 when we got Winston and the Ice Cream Van, so surely after 4 years Bachmann can fudge out a new tooling?  Last year's announcements with the tanker recolors were just pitiful, and after that Bachmann is clearly treading on thin ice with Large Scale modelers.  Even if they just did Henrietta, this 1 piece of rolling stock could make up for the 3 mediocre pieces we were served up for 2018.  I'd even welcome the idea of Bachmann reusing the tooling for Hannah, if it means we can at least get Henrietta after such a long waiting period.  As it stands now, it's been 5 years since Toby was announced, and still Henrietta is MIA.

James, Emily, and Toby w/ DCC Sound:
These 3 additions honestly make the most sense in my opinion.  The models and the sound module are already there, so all Bachmann has to invest in is the cost of production to add the DCC Sound to the models.  Although the consumer could do this themselves, the cost and time to do the instillation (especially to all 5 existing models) is far more than just going out and buying them premade from the manufacture.  I've seen this play out with the existing Thomas and Percy models, and is why I'm hoping James, Emily, and Toby can one day come with DCC Sound on board as well.  Considering Large Scale announcements the last several years have been minimal and underwhelming, and when also considering Large Scale seems to be coming to an end, I think if Bachmann at least made these models and called it quits at that, the range would end on a positive note.

So before I conclude this post, the last thing to go over would be the probability of requested additions making it into the announcements.  Personally, as much as people would like to see a new engine character in both HO and Large Scale, chances of that happening are slim to none, regardless how you want to slice it.  Recolors or reintroductions seem to be the average additions to the announcements each year, which should be taken into consideration.  Narrow Gauge is the only range I have hope for at this point, and although announcements haven't been overwhelming, the range has been going steady the last few years compared to HO and Large Scale, which have been on a downhill decline. 

At the end of the day, these long and unrealistic wish lists are just people setting themselves up for disappointment when the announcements are made.  I think it's time we start thinking realistically about what Bachmann will do, instead of acting like a bunch of selfish kids saying "give me, give me, give me" every time announcements come around.  I too have hopes for certain additions to make it into the Thomas & Friends range, but at the same time I'm not going to anticipate the announcements like a kid on Christmas Eve.  As I said in a previous post, it's best to keep expectations low and not get hopes too high.

-Rusty

A very nice look into the HO Spiteful Brakevan, Chaz.  Bachmann really pulled off a nice model, and the face is what sealed the deal with this model, no doubt about that.  This is definitely a piece of rolling stock I'd be interested in getting if I were into the HO range.  Since I'm not, I went ahead and ordered the large scale model (along with the Great Western Van), but this was back in November and yet I still don't have either of them.  Both are currently on backorder and the retailer I purchased them from said mid December.  Now they say they have no idea when they will be shipped and this makes absolutely no sense as both models are in stock on Bachmann, so what's the hold up?

Anyways, although I'm not into HO, I'd still recommend the Spiteful Brakevan after seeing your post.  Definitely a model that does not disappoint, and is a nice change compared to what Bachmann served us up back in 2005.  They've certainly come a long way since then, and I too can agree that even with the downhill decline of the Thomas & Friends franchise itself, at least Bachmann continues to make gems like this to keep up with what the older fans want to see.  Maybe in 2019 we can also expect to see some new additions to help put the breaks on HOn30 as well.

-Rusty

Quote from: Griffin on December 26, 2018, 06:44:04 PM
Delighted to say that I received a large scale James for Christmas despite phasing out of Bachmann a little while ago... it is truly a stunning model, let me tell you guys that photos online do not do it justice, I have never been more impressed with a Thomas product in my entire life...

I beg to differ... 



-Rusty

Quote from: Chaz on December 27, 2018, 10:28:21 PM
If Bachmann pulled off slate wagons with different road numbers from Talyllyn and even made something as obscure for older fans like the spiteful brake van, I honestly would not put it past Bachmann to announce Stuart and Falcon alongside Peter Sam and Sir Handel respectively.

The only thing that has me questioning this idea goes back to a previous topic we discussed before.  Would Peter Sam and Sir Handel as Stuart and Falcon actually be a worthwhile addition to the range, or would this be going down the same road as the old shape Henry topic?  I say this because when people were asking about getting Henry in his old shape, it was shot down with reason's being the short amount of time Henry had his old shape and how minor the changes would be.  Other than a change of nameplates (and in the case of Peter Sam his funnel), the differences would be minor, which to some may not justify going out and buying another of (to some) the exact same model.  I know a few people stated that when Grumpy Diesel was released, they didn't see any reason in going out and buying an entirely new model, just for the luxury of having a somewhat better face.

I kind of feel like Stuart and Falcon kind of face the same predicament when it comes to being announced.  In the end I kind of feel like Bachmann themselves would look at it from the standpoint of if people want a Start and/or Falcon, they could easily just swap out a funnel and make new nameplates themselves.  I don't know, that's just my thoughts on the subject and maybe someone else can shed some light on that theory as well.

-Rusty

Well I've been meaning to make this post for a while now, and finally I got around to getting photos.  I'm classifying everything you see as motive power considering not everything here is a locomotive.  I may go ahead and make a post showing all my rolling stock, but that's for another day.


A lot of what I have in my collection is from either Bachmann's Spectrum or Big Haulers line.  Quite a few of the Spectrum pieces I have were discontinued years ago, which makes me happy that I got them when I did.  Truth be told, quite a few of the pieces in my large scale collection have been discontinued.  As you can tell, I also have quite a few of Bachmann's Thomas models, with Thomas and Percy having DCC sound on board.  There's also a few models in my collection from Lionel and LGB.  The 2 models I'm most proud to have are Bachmann's C-19 and Two-Truck Climax, as they are both models that cost well over a grand, but thanks to a retailer I know out in Las Vegas, I was able to get them for a good price way below retail.  I'd say Emily would be my favorite out of the Thomas line, as I feel the size and detail on the model is what impresses me the most.

This is in no way where my collection stops however, as I do have plans to try and snatch up Bachmann's 45 Ton Switcher from their Spectrum line, but that's yet another model that will require hunting around as it has also long since been discontinued.  Toby is also on my must get list, but I'm waiting till the 2019 announcements with hopes that he will be updated with DCC sound, along with James and Emily.  I am looking into other Bachmann large scale locomotives in the future, but I'm still sure how much further I can expand my collection.

-Rusty

Although I'm not into HO, I'd say that even if I was, I'd probably be like Mr. angelob6660 and pass on these as well.  It still leaves me a little curious as to where the Spiteful Brakevan is considering both he and the tankers were expected to start shipping back in October, but of course this time has came and gone and he is currently MIA.  This is disappointing considering both he and the Express Coaches were really the only HO announcements everyone was interested in, and it's a shame that he has not started shipping yet.

At this rate, I'm also on board with Chaz and have pretty much come to the conclusion we won't be seeing Rusty in time for Christmas.  It is disappointing considering December would have been the perfect time for him to be released, but once again we see that things seem to be slower for Bachmann than they have been in previous years.  I don't know, I guess on a positive note at least we've got the 2019 announcements to look forward to in another 2 months (give or take).

-Rusty

Quote from: sean1994rail on December 12, 2018, 05:04:49 PM
HO

Engines

Sidney
Reintroduced Salty
Stanley
Hiro
Charlie
Stepney
Daisy

Quote from: Chaz on December 13, 2018, 12:14:57 AM
The price for Salty has finally gone up on eBay as of late, but nothing drastic compared to the express coaches or flat car with paint drums.  I'm sure if the price continues from there and if he became a lot harder to find, I think Salty can eventually find his way back into the range.  

It's actually quite surprising when you look at Salty's timeline from when he was announced by Bachmann right up to his cancelation.  Truth be told, Salty probably did better than Arry/Bert, but came no where close to Mavis in terms of sales. However, seeing as in quite a few cases Salty is going for well over $100 even for a used model, it leaves me a little confused.  What I can't understand is why Salty's sales were almost as bad as Coca-Cola on their first year, yet since his cancelation Salty and his set have commanded prices as if they were Hayley Williams' autograph.  The question is, where was all this demand for Salty back when he was still available?

Interestingly enough, my hobby shop still has the Salty set in stock, but the owner is a cheapskate and likes to get every penny he can, so the set has been overpriced for some time now.  However, after seeing prices on eBay, it really has me looking at the price my hobby shop wants, and at that rate it now seems like a good deal, but that's after it sat there for over 5 years.  Might be tempted to pick that up now...  I guess the question to be asked at this point is how well would Salty do if he was brought back, and would it really be worth while for Bachmann to do so or would history just repeat itself?  

-Rusty

Well, I should have been in bed hours ago, but I figured since I'm still up, I'll drop some photos for you all of the show I'm participating in this weekend.  I'm setting up with Allegheny Plateau Division and running my Large Scale trains for the Victorian Christmas celebration.  I spent Thursday evening setting things up and working on the track, but did have to sort out running electric and finish cleaning this evening.  Once all that was out of the way, things went pretty smoothly the rest of the evening.  Overall things were pretty good and the kids (as well as the adults) really enjoyed watching the trains run.  I did however almost have a heart attack tonight after an unsupervised child tried jumping over one of my Spectrum trains, but I guess in situations like this you just have to assume the risk and be aware that in the end something may get broken.  I'm just not too wild on having to replace parts on discontinued models though.


Tomorrow morning I'm meeting up with Division 11 again for breakfast, and then heading down town to get things setup for tomorrows show.  I need to take care of some track cleaning again in the morning and sort out trains for tomorrows running sessions.  If any of you may be in the area the next couple days, feel free to drop by and see me.  Bring me a bag of peanut butter cups and I might just let you run some trains as well.  Details about the show can be found on Division 11's website if you're interested.

-Rusty

Well, as promised I'm going to show you my completed Victoria model.  In all I'm quite happy with how she turned out and I'm pretty sure this has to be the best attempt at a Victoria model to date.  I'm not trying to sound like I'm bragging or anything, but this is after all an actual kitbash and not just a repainted Annie/Clarabel.  I will say however that the model does have a few things I would have liked to have turned out better than they did, but l'll get to that here shortly.  In the meantime though, here she is!



Alright then, now that I've mentally scarred you all, let's get serious. 

Before I show you guys the actual completed Victoria, I just want to explain what all I did since I made my last post.  I mentioned before that Victoria was pretty much ready for paint, which was the next thing I took care of.  I used a base coat of blue which I felt came close to Victoria's color, if not an exact match.  Overall it took about 3 coats of paint to cover the model completely and to my satisfaction.  The white along the windows was added next, which had me worried the whole time I was applying it as the blue kept showing though along the edges.  I dare say this is what happens when you use name brand and generic paint on the same project.  In the end though, the paint came out perfectly, and although I was tempted to apply a clear coat over the model, I left well enough alone.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I did go ahead and give the roof another coat of satin black and it looked much better afterwards.

While the paint on the coach was drying, I turned my attention to the frame.  I started by building what I believe are steps under the model, which were made from styrene and copper wire.  I also took the time to drill holes in the bottom of the frame to accept the steps when I went to install them.  Due to the fact that the steps are positioned over where the screws are to hold the carriage to the frame, I wouldn't be able to reinstall them until after I had moved into the final assembly stage.  I did think about going ahead and just adding the steps to the frame and putting the model back together with epoxy, but that plan has backfired on me once before, so I decided not to risk it with this project.

Since everything was done in terms of design for the frame, I went ahead and painted it with the same satin black that I used for roof.  The steps were also painted to match.  The buffers were actually painted when I first started on Victoria, which is why they've never been seen up until this post.  Basically I painted the red parts satin black, and the buffers themselves were painted silver.  After all the paint had dried on the coach portion of the model, I took the time to paint the handrails and door handles with a silver paint maker which I found to be very effective.

With all the painting taken care of, I moved on to assembling the model.  I started by reinstalling the buffers which were slid into place and glued back in from behind.  I then put the coach back on the frame, and installed the screws that came out.  Lastly was the steps underneath, which were simply slid into the holes I drilled earlier.  Only 3 of the 5 rods hold the steps on, as the two middle rods go up into the holes where the screws are.  In the case that I ever have to take the model apart again (which I doubt I will), I was careful and used the tiniest bit of superglue to hold the steps in place.  There's also a small drop of glue on each side of the axle boxes.

The windows were a little tedious to install as I had to carefully test fit them and remove paint wherever necessary.  The was however not unexpected, as I knew how tightly they were on the coach when I first took them off, and my heavy layering of the white paint only added  to the issue.  Careful scraping of the paint with an X-Acto knife managed to solve this little dilemma and the windows snapped in easily after that.  I used a little bit of superglue at the top to hold the windows in place as the original plastic tabs which held them before broke during disassembly.

Lastly was the face, which is a mix of printed stickers for the eyes and electrical tape for the eyebrows and mouth.  This is in a way similar to how I did the face with my Season 1 Troublesome Truck project, only this time I didn't use masking tape.  The eyes turned out just as I wanted them too, but the eyebrows needed another go as the first ones were just awful.  The mouth was by far the most challenging, and while I'm not going to embarrass myself and say how many attempts it took to get right, I will say I'm very happy with my final attempt.

Now is time for the official reveal of the completed model.  Here she is!


Before and After:

Victoria with my new DCC Sound Equiped Thomas and Percy models:

Victoria in comparison with my Season 1 truck:


Overall I think Victoria turned out almost perfect, but I do have a few nagging issues about her.  The first thing I will say is that technically, Victoria should have 5 doors, and not 4, but she still keeps the total of 12 windows all together.  The windows are however supposed to run the length of the carriage without the 3 large gaps in between, and although I was tempted to paint these area's black to compensate the issue, this would result in Victoria having more windows than she really should.  Really the only way to correct these issues would have been to just build the model from scratch rather than substituting something else as a basis.  As I said before though, I was basing my model off the Clive Spong illustrations, and those too don't match up accurately with Victoria's basis either. 

So at the end of the day, I personally feel like Victoria turned out to be a really nice model considering she's just a kitbashed Clarabel coach with many handmade parts added on.  The overall colors and shape is right, and the face is pretty close which in the end leaves me content.  I'll also say that I'm really looking forward to displaying her at the upcoming train show here next weekend.  I'm pretty sure I'll get a lot of questions and comments about her, and considering I don't have Toby at this time, I'll probably run her with Percy instead.  Anyways, let me know what you all think about this kitbash and maybe I can look into another large scale project now that Victoria is finished.

-Rusty

Well, since things have been pretty quiet lately, I figure I'll go ahead and show you all the current progress on my large scale Victoria.  The last time I showed any progress on her, the coach itself was in primer, as was the roof which still needed more sanding and the top bits added to it.  Since then, the project has basically sat on my workbench collecting dust, but I recently started work on her again.

The most recent changes I've made is adding the bits on top of the roof (I was told they were oil canisters for the lights inside), and given it a coat of satin black paint.  I think it will need another coat just because the first one doesn't appear to have gone on evenly.  This is where I ran into a snag, as one illustration of Victoria showed her with 4 of these, another showed her with 5.  I wasn't really sure what to do in this case, so I just decided to go ahead and use what I'm calling the "After Restoration Illustration" of Victoria as my main reference.



Another thing I did was go ahead and start scribing boards into the front and back of the coach.  This was a complete nail biter as my biggest fear was that the X-Acto knife would slip or the straightedge would move, therefore making the boards uneven and possibly cutting into the carriage where I didn't want to cut.  Thankfully everything went according to planned, and the board detail on both the front and rear came out damn near perfect.  Needless to say, it looked even more impressive after a coat of primer.



I also cut pieces of styrene out and glued them to the front of the coach for the steps.  I also had to make sure my measurements here were correct, as when I go to add the eyes, there should be just enough room under the steps for them.  Since I was out of brass rod, I turned to using copper wire for the handrails, which at first I thought would be a pain in the neck to shape, but they actually turned out perfectly.



Overall Victoria is ready for paint, once I manage to find a color that resembles here shade of blue.  The frame of the coach also requires what I believe to be a step running the length of the carriage, and I just got the styrene in today to do that.  As I said in my last post, I figured Victoria may end up being a hybrid, and that has proven correct.  After comparing the Clive Spong illustrations and also referring to Victoria's basis, neither match up accurately, so I'm loosely basing her off both and hoping it works.  In the end she may not be 100% accurate, but at least I can say I'm not like a majority of the modelers out there simply repainting and Annie/Clarabel and calling it a day.

I'm really hoping to have Victoria finished here in the next couple weeks, as I am going to be attending a show at the end of the month with my large scale trains and would like to bring her along to display as well.  I had planned to take Victoria to a show I wanted to attend last year around this time, but I was informed by the woman in charge that the show was for members only, so that's part of why Victoria has sat unfinished for almost a year now.  Feel free to tell me what you think of this project so far, and I'll be sure to post another update after the model is finished.

-Rusty

Quote from: Rodimus Supreme on August 23, 2018, 01:26:50 AM
Woah! I'm surprised to see Lionel do anything new in their O Scale Thomas and Friends line at all! Interesting. Not too bad looking, but still has those weird proportions that Lionel Thomas model all have, and black roofs instead of white. I notice that they didn't design one of those coaches to be a brake coach. Both of them are composite coaches. That's an odd thing to do. Also, it says that S.C.Ruffey is new. I thought they had already done S.C.Ruffey before? Or have they not and this is the first time they are doing him?

I'll be honest and say that I too don't care for a lot of what Lionel puts out anymore (at least in terms of T&F items), but I also agree that it's not fair to be criticizing them on what is of course the "Bachmann" forum.  Like Chaz even pointed out, the image was intended as a reference and therefore I would like to give my thoughts on the red coaches in large scale as well.  It's also worth noting that the roofs are actually correct as they went from black to white somewhere around the CGI era.

So that aside now, Chaz does make quite a few good points as Large Scale could definitely use this simple addition.  What I don't understand is why Bachmann hasn't taken a stab at this yet considering the tooling is practically already there with Annie/Clarabel/Emily's Coaches.  I'll second the fact that red coaches would be a "far" better addition to the range than 3 mediocre tanker recolors that literally no one even asked for much less wanted.  Like I keep saying, large scale really does need some help for 2019 and I think Bachmann really needs to take a look at how bad the announcements have been for the range the last few years and look for ways to improve it.

Bachmann has so many existing toolings they could be using to their advantage, but unfortunately they aren't.  They could easily do things like James, Emily, and Toby with DCC sound, Red Coaches, Troublesome Truck #3 (or even #4 and #5), or even an LBSC Thomas.  People have been hounding for a couple years now for TT#3 in large scale, but instead we got the Spiteful Breakvan.  Now I'm not saying this addition was bad, but in my opinion it should have been released in the HO range first.  To be fair, I think that a TT#3 (being a simple van or tanker with a face), would have made more sense rather than taking the original brakevan and slapping a face on it.  Give credit where credit it due I guess.

Although I pretty much lost all hope for Henrietta getting announced for large scale, Bachmann hasn't done a new tooling for the range since Winston and the Ice Cream Van, and Diesel would have been the exception had he not ended up being canceled.  So since everything over the last few years has been nothing more than just recolors, maybe they could get away with making a new tooling for 2019?  Like Chaz mentioned in his post, if they want toolings they can use for recolors, then just use Henrietta to make Hannah.  I'm pretty sure even Hannah would sell better than a Chocolate Syrup Tanker.

That's just my thoughts on the matter though, but even then I still have that nagging feeling that large scale announcements in 2019 will probably be minimal.  Still, the announcements in general have been all over the place in recent years, so it's kind of hard to really predict what exactly will happen.  Still, fingers are crossed for the red coaches to make an appearance in 2019, but I'm not going to hold my breath either.

-Rusty

Quote from: thomasgleek444 on August 06, 2018, 08:28:02 PM
I just came here to post that same video XD since I am the one who recorded it lol

Really impressed with your work as well.  I've been wanting to hear the James, Emily, and Toby's sounds ever since I watched Bachmann's video on the DCC sound Thomas equipped engines.  What really impressed me was that Toby was actually given a bell as I was afraid he would have just been given a random whistle.  Considering not many people have done this modification (or at least done it and posted a video), it's nice to see someone has finally made this available to the public so we can see and/or hear the sounds offered.

Out of curiosity, how much did you have on average into installing DCC sound into each model?  I looked into prices on that myself, but I was looking at almost $150-$200 each, and that was just if I were to do it myself without paying my hobby shop to install everything.  I actually found it cheaper just to sell off my existing Thomas and Percy and put that money towards buying the DCC sound models instead.  I'm hoping Bachmann announces the other characters with DCC sound in 2019, but if they don't I'll probably end up installing it myself.

One last thing I'm curious about is if you have any plans on installing lights on your models?  I know the sound module does offer the option to do so and I think it would really make the models stand out that much more.  I know Chaz had this done with his HO models of Thomas, Percy, James, and Toby years back.  I'd probably be tempted to do the same with my Large Scale models when I get around to having DCC sound on them, but I'm not completely sure yet.  Anyways, thanks again for the video and keep up the good work.

-Rusty

You do have a few good points there Mr. DecadesofSun.  I'm still not on board with Bachmann hanging on to the Peco wagons however.  Just like Chaz pointed out in his post, the Peco wagons don't even resemble the rolling stock used on the show, and they're price is far more than a lot of modelers out there are willing to pay.  I personally feel the same way myself, and although I wouldn't mind having a few of the red vans, I still can't bring myself to pay $64 a piece for them.

The big reason the Thomas & Friends Peco stock is so expensive is because Bachmann has to give a portion of their profits to Peco because the wagon tooling's themselves belong to Peco.  I would be far more cost convenient for both Bachmann and the consumer if Bachmann were to make their own tooling for vans.  This is why the slate trucks were so cheap when they were announced.  If Bachmann made their own van tooling, they could easily keep cost down and the models would potentially sell better than what the range has now.

The Thomas & Friends Peco wagons cost $64 each, and when you could get the same wagons (different livery) from Peco for about $25-$30 (almost half that of Bachmann) it's simply no contest.  In addition to that, if you were to shop around online, you could pick up the Peco wagons themselves for under $20 each at best.  As I've mentioned before, a lot of people I know have simply gone to Peco for the stock, rather than paying double the price for the Bachmann models.  I've done the same thing myself and $25 seems a lot more reasonable.

Although I hate to say it, I honestly wouldn't count on the market value going down on the Thomas & Friends Peco stock, as the vans were originally $63 back in 2016, and within the last 2 years have gone up by a dollar.  Skarloey and Rheneas suffered the same fate as well after they went from $149 each in 2016 to $152 in 2018.  It's the same deal across the whole spectrum.  Now a price jump by a couple dollars may not bother some, but it's honestly a question of what would you be willing to pay in 5 or maybe even 10 years time?

This is however just my opinion on the matter, and it would be nice to hear other peoples thoughts on what they think about the Peco wagons as well.  I've certainly said what I feel would be most beneficial for Bachmann and the consumer, but in the end it's really up to Bachmann which route they want to take and if the budget is there to do whatever they have in mind to do.

I do agree on everything you've mentioned on the Peter Sam Vs. Duncan topic.  The big thing that would steer many away with Duncan is (as you've mentioned) his CGI render is terrible.  I'm definitely all for Bachmann announcing Peter Sam first in hopes that Duncan's render gets corrected in the meantime.  I could see both characters potentially getting announced before Sir Handel, as (far as I'm aware) Bachmann doesn't have measurements of Sir Hayden yet.  I wouldn't take it as the gospel, but there has been discussion that Sir Handel might not even happen considering the direction Bachmann's been going the last few years.  I myself still have hopes for Narrow Gauge though.

I honestly feel Peter Sam is the best choice for 2019, and Duncan for 2020 if his render gets corrected before then.  Like I said in my previous post, I would honestly be happy just to see Peter Sam and brakevans added to the range.  The only concerning issue at this point however is the wait on Rusty, who we still haven't at the least heard an update on.  If his released gets pushed back to 2019, next year's announcements may just end up being more rolling stock.  I'm not too worried on that however, as I'm still pretty confident he'll be out before Christmas.

-Rusty