Chaz is very much correct, in my opinion.

Whilst I do think Thomas shouldn't be shoehorned in every episode, I can understand if they want to do it with members of the "steam team". Even in the past, unless the episode focused almost entirely on the Narrow Gauge Engines, there was almost always a member of the steam team present to at least say a line or two. I can't immediately remember an episode which focused solely on secondary characters without a single member of the steam team present. I'm assuming it's very likely that there's a handful, but the fact that they probably didn't happen too much to begin with, is my point.

Finally, can we please state our opinions without so much hostility? I'm sensing a bit of it around at the moment and I think it's not going to do any good. I believe we should state our opinions in a calm manner, that promotes good discussion. The comments section on a lot of YouTube videos is a great example of why it's mutually beneficial to all parties involved to "keep a cool head" when stating an opinion. As I'm sure you're all well aware. So how about we all try to stay a bit calmer and bring up our opinions in...less overtly hostile ways?

Just my thoughts,

~Alex

Quote from: douglas on October 24, 2016, 08:42:32 PM
Also, no more Diesel clones, please. They're a waste of time and release slots that could go to other characters.

They're cheaper to produce for Bachmann, and can turn around a nice profit for them, I wouldn't exactly call them a waste of time.

Also, I recommended using the "modify" button for you posts, it can stop double posting and makes the topic appear more neat.

Quote from: Titanic5972 on October 06, 2016, 02:56:58 PM
Why do they need to redesign the tankers?

They don't need to, as such...but considering Bachmann has already updated a few tankers and the Red Mail Coach...I wouldn't exactly say it's unlikely...plus that way, at least all their wagons would match the CGI series, I could understand the logic behind updating the tankers...not saying that it's an "absolute must", just that I understand the logic behind it.

Quote from: Chaz on October 24, 2016, 09:12:55 PM
The only reason why I can imagine that they are taking more time with Rheneas than they did with Skarloey last year is so they have a larger quantity in their warehouse so more people can have the model when it comes out.  Skarloey clearly sold better than Bachmann had thought last Christmas since the model kept selling out constantly from their warehouse/online shops whenever a new shipment of models arrived.  I imagine they wanted to avoid that with Rheneas so that more people can get him at the same time without having to wait for the next shipment.

That's not the first time I've heard that theory, and I believe it's completely logically sound, so if I were a betting man, I'd have my money on that theory. I think you hit the nail on the head there, Chaz.

I would state my predictions for next year...but I think I've made them clear enough already...and I wish not to drone on and on like a broken record. I do have a piece of advice to all members, though. When posting here, please be reasonable to each other, and especially with the opinions of others (the latter point has drastically improved recently, thankfully), and please by realistic with your predictions made, after all, Bachmann isn't Learning Curve, they can't make too many products in the same year, they also probably won't make characters for the sake of merchandising. Then again...I was wrong on that last point in regards to Rosie...and some of this year's other products...so who knows?

Just my two cents.

~Alex

Considering this has happened to other products in the past (ie. Skarloey), and the fact that they still have Salty listed as "Out Of Stock", even though he was officially discontinued...I'd say it's just a glitch that Bachmann may not have noticed, or something of the sort. Nothing I would panic over though.

~Alex

Getting this topic back on track (yes, that terrible pun was intentional).

One thing I would like to say, on the topic of Large Scale Thomas, is how impressed I am that Bachmann had the (quite frankly) brilliant idea to raise the bottom of Thomas's rear and front buffer beams, in order to accommodate couplings. I think I even read somewhere a while ago that (as a result of the aforementioned bufferbeam changes) Thomas's front and rear buffers are now level, something which his TV Series model (and now CGI render) hasn't had since...season 2...I think.

It may mean a little detail accuracy, in the form of the bufferbeam height, is sacrificed, but the operation value is increased a lot. Fans of the HO range have complained about the lack of a front coupling on the HO Thomas, Percy, and James models for years, so I still think his large scale model is quite impressive in that regard. In fact, all the Large Scale models I've seen from Bachmann have been quite impressive, but James, Thomas and Percy are especially so, when compared to their HO models, maybe it's time for an update of them?

~Alex

Quote from: HLC Railroad on July 08, 2016, 10:09:45 AM
More specifically would a Thomas trackmaster face fit on the Bachmann Thomas? If not then what faces would fit specifically on the Bachmann Thomas? After all it's only him, James and Percy who need a face swap and they're redoing James soon anyways.

Trackmaster faces won't fit Thomas, Percy, or James, a Hornby face or a wooden railway face will fit Thomas though, as will a De Agostini one. Hornby Percy's face will fit Bachmann Percy. James's De Agostini will fit him.

~Alex

No one said it's funny, and there sure isn't any reason to be upset about Lady, calm down. Everyone's entitled to what they want. But I couldn't personally say that I see a Lady model coming out in HO, mainly due to her lack of a large following, and also her lack of appearances. As a character that only briefly appeared in one special, and barely had any screen time as a sentient character in another special, I view a model of her being made as unlikely. Not to mention both specials she appeared in were not very popular, with most people who like either special attributing their thoughts on the specials to nostalgia.
For example:

Personally I don't think Calling All Engines was a good special, in fact, it's probably one of - if not - my least favourite specials in the whole series. As for Thomas and the Magic RailRoad, I don't think it's a good film, it's nothing amazing, and a bit of a mess as a movie, but I loved it a child, I even cared for the human characters despite having not even having any exposure to the "Shining Time" series, prior to viewing. I can still watch Thomas and the Magic RailRoad, I can still enjoy it, but if I threw away my nostalgic attachment, I'd probably have no more attachment to it than Calling All Engines.

As for Henry's "old shape", it's a similar story, major lack of appearances, overall lack of appeal, and another glaring fault I'll touch on soon.
Let's kick things off by briefly summarising his appearances: the first half of Season One, and the classic "nameboards" shots, as his "new shape" never had a "nameboard" shot. That is literally it in terms of the TV Series, which we know Bachmann caters to fans of, but even The Adventure Begins, ignored Henry's "old shape", and as it hasn't been seen since season 1, it just lacks any kind of major appeal with younger audiences. And as for the older audiences, I must say, I think there's going to be few people who will go and spend money on Henry's "old shape" when most would already have the new one to begin with, I mean, some certainly would, but not enough to generate profit.

But the final reason why Henry's "old shape" won't happen, can be summed up in two words: tooling cost.
Henry is a large tender engine, as we all know, and given his large size, even if it reuses the same chassis as his current model, it would still cost a lot for Bachmann to produce, and then combined with the lack of appeal, means it would be hard to generate any kind of sturdy profit from. Meaning that, in the eyes of the company, it's a bad choice.

Whilst I'm sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news, it doesn't mean I dislike Lady or Henry's "old shape". I actually quite like Henry's "old shape", almost as much, if not as much, as as his "new shape". I just don't think it'll realistically happen, same can be said for Lady. Don't presume your the only one who likes Lady or Henry's "old shape", and it's certainly nothing to get upset over. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I just don't think they would realistically be made. I think it would be quite a poor business choice on Bachmann's end, to say the least.

There is of course, hope for those who are willing to go the metaphorical "extra mile" though. I've seen custom models of Henry's "old shape" kitbashed from his new current Bachmann tooling, and I've seen Lady models constructed from parts of Bachmann's Percy, Bill/Ben models, the ERTL model of Lady, and her Bandai Tecs model too. If you really want those 2 models that badly, those are your best choices. Because as it currently stands, I believe Bachmann recognises how silly of a business move it would be to release either Lady or Henry's "old shape", because of the reasons I stated above. But as I said, there is hope for those who'll go that "extra mile" and are willing to make their own models.

~Alex

Quote from: JLK2707 on May 02, 2016, 12:56:31 AM
Also, would a trackmaster lady face just fit on a Bachmann locomotive?

It'd depend on the locomotive, but I'd assume it would. As for Sidney and Paxton, no clue.

Quote from: mrrailroad on June 29, 2016, 09:08:22 PM
I would love to see an HO scale Lady.

This probably belongs in another topic, maybe the 2017 thread or something. I'm not going into why I don't see Lady happening, that would hijack this thread from its purpose, but everyone's got their wishes I guess. Personally I don't see Lady happening, but that's me, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

~Alex

JLK2707, I would only imagine Paxton or Daisy happening next year, not both. And I don't think Daisy has had enough recent screen time just yet to justify a model of her. I consider Paxton the far more likely candidate, plus he has the benefit of being a recolour of Diesel with a new face. As for Narrow Gauge, I see Peter Sam as having a greater chance as Sir Handel, that's merely my opinion though.

Like Chaz, I only see one of those Large Scale rolling stock options happening in the same year, I also agree on the points he made about Salty and the express coaches.

I just wish I'd beaten Sparks to the punchline there, I have to admit, that joke did amuse me quite a bit.

As someone who doesn't collect LS, but a fan of Bachmann's range, I think Edward, Henrietta and the Red Coaches are the best choices for new rolling stock...or at least the ones I'd like to see most. Maybe not all in the next year, but those are the ones I definitely would like to see in the range.

That's just me though, I recognise my opinions don't represent that of the whole community, nor the most financially viable options for Bachmann. Anyway, beggers can't be choosers in the end, I suppose. It's still fun to speculate though

~Alex

Quote from: JLK2707 on June 13, 2016, 03:09:50 AM
Thanks for correcting me, but what I meant about Henry just being a GNR C1 4-4-2 originally was due to what awdry intended for him to be.

Oh okay, I see. Sorry, my mistake then.

I feel this has drifted very far off course for the 2017 predictions...so here is a little guess at what next year's Narrow Gauge range could contain:

The ubiquitous brown Brakevan. To date, this is the only breakevan to have appeared in the CGI and model eras of the Television Series of Thomas and Friends respectively. Fans have been requesting this item since the range first opened, and it makes sense, as after the Slate Wagons are released, there will be plenty of freight stock in the Narrow Gauge range, but still no brakevan at the tail end of that train to complete it. I'm assuming Skarloey Railway stock isn't vacuum braked either, so without a brakevan, it's only a matter of time before an accident happens!

The dan dubbed "Talyllyn Coaches"...okay, I'll be honest, with all the freight stock we have in the range, it'd be fantastic to see some coaches. Whilst these coaches aren't my personal favourite from the Television Series, I consider them the most likely, with the Narrow Gauge Coaches from the Classic series having last appeared in Seasons 10 and 12...and considering that Season 20 is going to air this year...I think it's probably been too long since we've last seen the older coach liveries for one to make an appearance in the range. My only concern is that their CGI renders appear overscaled in both width and height, and even the TTTEWikia mentions this about them, and it's usually a very reliable source of information.

Granted, if I saw any of the Narrow Gauge Coaches from the model era appear, I'd be ecstatic...particularly if it was the Blue and White ones...with a Blue Brake van to match...I know it's unlikely, but they will likely sell like hotcakes among fans of the model era especially, and on top of that...they bear a strong resemblance resemblance to Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima, and Beatrice from the Railway Series...which means any fans who model to be accurate to the Railway Series could use them if Bachmann released them, albeit slightly modified, to gain a very Railway Series-esque look

So for now...I think I may just leave this image here:


~Alex

Quote from: JLK2707 on June 13, 2016, 12:43:27 AM
Okay, but thanks for the reply sparks. Also, did you know that Henry was originally a GNR C1 4-4-2 locomotive before his rebuild?

He was a prototype for the Gresley A1 class actually, a mix of the GNR C1 and LNER A1...Awdry's original drawings depicted him as a GNR C1 though, just none of the artists of the RWS, nor did the TV Series depict that. The whole reason for Henry's rebuild in the RWS was to give him a prototype that actually existed. The GNR C1/A1 prototype Henry was depicted as in the RWS and the early TV Series never existed.

Quote from: JLK2707 on June 13, 2016, 12:43:27 AM
I wonder why they would not enjoy suggestions which are unsolicited?

Imagine all the suggestions and spam they'd get...as a large company, it's fairly easy to imagine why.

Quote from: JLK2707 on June 13, 2016, 12:43:27 AM
I mean this with absolutely no offence whatsoever, but they are obviously quite closed minded about the ventilated vans that they are using. Do you think they are closed minded or is it most likely just the animation budget and how much they can spend doing stuff?

I don't think they are close minded, I would attribute it to the animation budget, more than anything else, and the time taken to create a 3D render of each van...

~Alex

Quote from: Sparks on June 12, 2016, 03:24:55 AM
No they will not do a LNER B12 character. You can blame this on Simon Martins famous British Railway Catalogue Stories illustrated by Dean Walker featuring Stephen the Holden B12 locomotive.

I'd say if Mattel really wanted to they could, but I think that because of Simon Martin's "The British Railway Series" (of which I am a fan), it'd be difficult to introduce a Holden B12 to the series. No one would want engines from the two franchises getting mixed up after all, least of all from a competitor anyway. So there's that going against an LNER B12.

Quote from: JLK2707 on June 12, 2016, 05:45:08 AM
What makes you think Mattel know that sparks?

One would think that because of the popularity of the British Railway Series, and it's status as a competitor in terms of books, I think Mattel would be well aware. As for Alfred the terrorist B12 engine, well...from a company perspective...they'd certainly want to keep tabs on what has and hasn't been popular in the community, gotta appeal to your community after all, and due to the huge popularity that "Sodor: The Dark Times" had, I think it'd be hard not for any company that is highly vigilant of our community to have not stumbled upon it.

However, as for a GNER C1 "Atalantic" (large boiler version) other than perhaps it having almost too strong of a resemblance to a smaller verion of Gordon/Flying Scotsman, I don't see too much reason why they would avoid it...but I think that, given the nature of the Thomas franchise, we might be more likely to see a slightly more obscure class of engine any time soon than a GNER C1. Just my opinion though, I could be totally wrong.

~Alex

Henry MKI has no real life prototype. The explanation given for Henry MKI's existence (canonically) is that he was a "one-off" experimental design by Sir Nigel Gresley, a prototype to the Gresley A1 class. Largely based upon parts that would make it to the final Gresley A1 class, he was also made relying heavily on parts that were used by Henry A. Ivatt's GNR class C1 (large boiler) 4-4-2 "Atlantic" locomotives.

The experiment was deemed a failure by Sir Nigel Gresley, and the prototype engine was sold off to at a cheap price to the only buyer available - The North Western Railway. The Fat Controller purchased Henry as he needed a large express engine and the North Western Railway didn't have a lot of money, so he bought the poor steaming Henry MKI. Henry MKI coped well enough for a time but his system never recovered from his stay in the tunnel, which took Welsh coal to improve until he was rebuilt into an LMS "Black Five" following an unfortunate collision one winter morning. But that's another story.

Also: as a side note, I read somewhere recently that the Rev. W. Awdry's original drawings did in fact, depict Henry completely as being a GNR C1 (large boiler) locomotive.

And of course, as I expect many members already know, William Middleton, and later, Reginald Payne, and later still, C. Reginald Dalby, didn't really follow that drawing well. In fact, Henry MKI was sometimes depicted as a 4-6-2 engine, sometimes as a 4-6-0, in early Railway Series stories. This inconsistency appalled Wilbert Awdry to no end, and it only got progressively worse with time. Wilbert Awdry would later go on to orchestrate the first Flying Kipper crash just to force C. Reginald Dalby to keep consistent to a single class of locomotive, thus preventing these "slip-up's" from occurring.

This page is very useful in learning about the illustartors: http://www.sodor-island.net/rsartists.html
And the TTTEWikia is a great place to learn if you want more information on Henry.

~Alex

Quote from: TTTEfan1992 on May 22, 2016, 01:07:34 PM
How could the Narrow Gauge Slate wagon w/ load be out of stock when it hasn't even been released yet? All the other products that have just been announced this year including the one that I just mentioned says "Coming Soon" next to them. Shouldn't the product that I just mentioned say "Coming Soon" just like the other products instead of it saying "Out of Stock"?

Maybe the first order of the production batch is already sold out to pre-orders, or maybe it's just a simple bug on the page, or an issue that hasn't been rectified.
A little while ago, not all that long actually, (a few weeks if memory serves me correctly) Skarloey's listing was completely removed on the online store, but Skarloey's listing is now back up in the online store.
Whatever the case may be, I don't think it's anything worth stressing over, I'm sure it's all okay, and that the slate wagons will be fantastic!
~Alex

Quote from: Original James on May 17, 2016, 06:08:43 PM
"Duck is Great Western and talks endlessly about it"

I fail to see the problem...

I don't see an issue with it, provided it isn't played up too much, and his other personality characteristics can at least be brought to the table, he's more than just "Great Western and proud of it" after all. That's my two cents though
~Alex

I honestly think Plow Bender's reasoning for a Large Scale Henrietta is fantastic, I don't even collect Large Scale and I would love to see Bachmann produce Henrietta in Large Scale. ClrwtrMK2, I would ask you to provide reasoning and such for your earlier statement, but it seems I've already been beaten to it.

To me, I think a Large Scale Henrietta would be a great idea, I like Plow Bender's logic, even if it is beginning to look less and less likely she will be made, I still think it'd be fantastic. As for 2017? I'd like to see Henrietta in Large Scale, and if an engine is to be made, I think Edward would be nice, or potentially the Red Coaches, I think they'd be very good sellers in Large Scale. However, I know not all of these would be released in one year, and even Edward isn't entirely likely at this point, but I still think he'd sell well and could be a good investment.

For Narrow Gauge, I think Peter Sam will follow up next, being one of the most popular Narrow Gauge engines currently and having had more starring roles to himself than Sir Handel recently, I think it's likely he would follow next. I think a Brown Brakevan is also in order for Narrow Gauge soon, they've been consistently seen in the TV series since season 4, and have been the only colour of Narrow Gauge Brakevan to extend an appearance into CGI. As for any other stock...well, if we are to see coaches, I imagine they'd be the fan dubbed "Talyllyn Coaches", CGI scaling and all. Whilst I'm not sure if we'd see these next year, I think we could, and whilst I prefer the Blue and White Coaches (and of course, a blue Brakevan to match them), from the Model Era, as they matched the railway series, I think their scaling looked the nicest, and they always just appealed to me the most. However, since they haven't been seen since Season 10, I recognise that this could just be a "pipe-dream". Either way, a Brakevan in the Narrow Gauge range is what I think is most overdue, shortly followed by some coaches.

For HO, I expect since we're still waiting for Oliver, I imagine that Rosie could easily be delayed, and that we may not see a new engine but if we do, I expect it'll be Paxton. As for HO stock, I honestly wouldn't know what to expect, I expect there'd be around 1 or 2 new wagons, but I wouldn't know what to expect at this point.

Whatever the case may be, that was just my quick "two-cents" on the topic of next year.

~Alex