The new picture(s) of Oliver and Toad are from the Bachmann Facebook page and have been up since Feb 1. They were fro a train show in Amherst. There are other pictures if anyone wants to take a gander.

Honestly, I don't think that the slate wagons are lazy at all. From a business major's perspective and a modeler's perspective, this was a fantastic move on Bachmannn's part! They have one tooled mold for 3 products. That's like killing 3 birds with one stone! Plus, they're modeled after real wagons on the Tayllyn Railway and we get slate loads! After all, these are the wagons that the TV series slate trucks are based off of! a little bit different looking in the TV series, but they share the same basis! Remember the coal car w/ load and the flat car w/ paint drums? Those were the only two times we actually got loads with a wagon from Bachmann! Also, has anybody else noticed the metal wheels? The other rolling stock has lower quality plastic wheels. Let's not forget about the price too! They're about half the price of the other rolling stock! The low price means that they are cheaper to produce! It's only a matter of time until Bachmann can produce these wagons with faces on them so the models will become even more profitable! These are going to be a pretty good seller! Not to mention the modelers who want a R2R slate wagonn for they're 009 scale model railway who will buy a few at a time! So we get more accurate rolling stock that comes with a slate load and metal wheels at the lower price of the other rolling stock! I'll take 20!

i just received my model of Wilbert too! it is one beautiful model! It's also my first DJM model, and will most certainly not be my last!

Oh wow! Looks like he sold out again! He's selling a lot better than I thought!! Well, I knew he was going to sell well but not at this scale!!

Quote from: TrainMan2001 on July 21, 2016, 04:11:03 PM
Fairly certain that he said it was confirmed by a writer via email.

Oh well in that case it must be true!  
So where is the email? Who was it from? Who was the email to? Where did the email surface? on Twitter? Where is the link to prove that this info is correct?

You're not getting what i'm trying to say. How do I, as well as everyone else, know where he's getting this info from? For all I know, he could be just saying that. I could easily say something similar.

It was confirmed in an email from a writer that Bear will be introduced in the next special.**
**He's not. it's just an example. Please DO NOT start this as a rumor.
See how easy that was?

It's hard to believe something without a source supplied for people to confirm that a rumor turns out to be a fact. People might be a little skeptical when believing something when a reliable source is not present to back up the info. it hasn't surfaced yet on the Wiki or SiF, both of which are reliable sources. All that need to be supplied is a link just so everyone can say "Oh ok. He seems to be right about the new character." Only reason why Bradford wasn't a rumor is because it practically appeared everywhere and was confirmed. I'm not trying to pick a fight. I'm just trying to help JD417 so that people don't think he's starting rumors by not supplying a link to a source and to prove a point that you can't always believe everything you hear or see on the internet.

Quote from: JD417 on July 21, 2016, 01:39:01 AM
Fairly certain a a Welsh brakevan doesn't look like Henrietta.

Well, the only character so far that is going to be introduced is said brakevan. Sometimes people confuse names of things by mistake (like calling a brakevan a coach). In addition, there was no citation on where this "Hannah" information has come from. I checked SiF and the Wiki and could find no info about the new character. Some people love to spread rumors to create drama in the fan base. Sometimes, people don't always find out news immediately if their not on all social media sites. This info could have been made up by someone wanting attention, it could have been from a picture or tweet on Twitter, a comments section on YouTube or Facebook...the list goes on. I'm not accusing you of spreading a rumor, I'm just helping you by saying to add a link or a picture of some sort to where you get this info from.It's just for future reference to avoid people from thinking your spreading rumors.  

new coach character? are you talking about Bradford the Brakevan?

So I ordered Skarloey back in March of this year and have been waiting for him to come off of back order ever since. Well, today he came!!!!!!   I can't even begin to tell you how extremely pleased I am with this model!! For his size, there is a lot of detail even so that there are details I've never even noticed before! And he runs great! I ran him in well and even got him to go at a semi-realistic speed! I had ordered some 009 scale track as well as a wagon from PECO's 009 range, and had ordered the blue SR van with Skarloey! Everything looks great together! I'm just so happy with my purchases and can't wait to get Rheneas, slate trucks, and practically everything else! This was defiantly worth the wait! I'm not just saying this but he's possibly the best model in the Thomas range by Bachmann! thanks for producing an amazing model!

shhh! they can't know that we've found a loophole in the system! 

unless there was a mix up with "giesel" and "diesel." 

I ordered my Skarloey back in the beginning of March and I must have missed out on the first run of the model because I'm still waiting for the second round to come in. I also ordered track from Hattons back then too but now I have track and no engine! Haha but I found Skarloey for an amazing price on a through a model shop I don't normally use so there wa no way I was going to cancel my order! Anyway, in my humble opinion, Hattons has the best prices for track. I purchased Peco 009 track. It looks great for a more NG feel instead of using N gauge track.

Well, technically speaking, they've been in the process of making him since last year (not sure the exact date). There are a lot of factors that could be involved with the delay. maybe there was something wrong with the prototype? Maybe there was an issue with making one or more of his parts? Who knows? I'm just happy he's being made!   Haha I guess you could say hes's "the Last Train for Christmas"...of 2016, that is!

I do have to say, I saw a picture recently of an engine of Ashima's basis and it's paint design was eccentric like hers. Pretty good move on Mattel's part if you ask me! An engine like that is sure to sell well! 

I don't think it will be permanent. it's just a gimmick to sell more toys.

Its actually not bad. The springs don't put a lot of force on the doors to remove any paint or details. I haven't had any issues.