Figure I might as well give a small update as well. Built and finished Peter Sam last year using the Fourdees Era 2 Talyllyn Tattoo shell running on the Peter Sam chassis, with ongoing plans developing a hackworth eccentric kit to complement it .

Yeah but with things like the museum coaches, they were LBSCR 4 wheelers anyway. Every bogie coach in the range is an LMS coach, quite far off from a GWR slip, even the ones in the show.
Old Coaches I could see, being a quick recolor variant.

As far as new toolings from here on out go for the main range, it's anyone's guess really. While personally, even as a RWS modeler, I wouldn't mind seeing Timothy or Norman, if only due to the former's potential with his outside framed design and the fact that Norman's basis is only available as a very rare brass kit. Hell, I wouldn't mind Stanley for similar purposes.
I can't see Hiro being made, the cost would likely be VERY high.

Quote from: Rodimus Supreme on February 07, 2021, 10:50:59 PM

Quote from: TrainFan97 on February 07, 2021, 09:30:08 PMPeople are still pushing for Stepney in HO Scale, and Bachmann has acknowledged his demand, but what if he never DOES get made?

Also, this. If Bachmann knows Mattel won't let them make anything that didn't appear in CGI, then why look into him, or even get our hopes up by saying they're looking into him? I think that rule is a lie.

Because A) It shows that they are listening to the community, even if it won't get made B) Shuts people up, at least a little bit and C) refer back to A and B, just because they say they'll pass it on to the development team, doesn't mean anything will come of it?! This isn't hard to understand

Quote from: Rodimus Supreme on February 07, 2021, 10:44:00 PM

Quote from: Plow_Bender on February 07, 2021, 08:52:29 PM
I definitely agree that Sir Handel is the best choice for the next Narrow Gauge announcement.  Like Chaz already mentioned, he offers contrast to what we have in the range already and fills the number gap between Rheneas and Peter Sam.  I can also say I'm for the idea of Bachmann reusing the model to make Falcon, as it does seem like this would be a great piece of nostalgia for those who want to model their layouts after the Mid Sodor Railway.  I do wonder if Bachmann would consider this though as a nameplate change seems very minor, but at the same time it's so simple to do.  Regardless, I think Sir Handel should definitely take priority for the NMRA or 2022 announcements.  Same for the wagons as well.

Now I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes by saying this, but I do think we need to take a few steps back on the whole Smudger topic.  Considering people were literally on this the day of announcements, I think it just shows ignorance.  Yes yellow Rheneas wasn't something anyone asked for, but it makes sense why he was announced over a new engine like Sir Handel or even a recolor like Smudger.  What people don't seem to understand is that significance also plays a factor into a character getting announced.  Stepney is another example people have been knocking down the door to see get a model in HO, but he honestly doesn't have any significance because he is not a character from the CGI era.  If it's true that Mattel doesn't want Bachmann investing into characters that aren't CGI based, then it's pretty clear Stepney isn't going to happen.

Smudger on the other hand has even less significance than Stepney.  He only had a small appearance back in Season 4, and because of that his character is very much forgettable.  He hasn't even received any merchandise in the last 10 years, so clearly Mattel doesn't see him as a marketable character either.  I understand people think he has a chance from Bachmann just because his tooling is already there with Rheneas, but this same argument can be made with characters like Splatter and Dodge.  Bachmann has the tooling there from Diesel, but those characters are not going to happen because they hold no significance today.  The same thing applies to Smudger being made from Rheneas.  Bachmann still has to make a new face tooling, which they would already be doing for something like Sir Handel anyway...

Again, I don't want to sound like I'm putting down those who are asking for Smudger, but if someone wants to get upset with me for being realistic, then so be it.  There certainly seemed like far more demand for Sir Handel back in 2020, and Smudger was hardly mentioned.  Now we suddenly have people who would rather step back and see another minor recolor get announced, rather than a new tooling/character.  These sort of discussions aren't necessarily a bad thing, but when people constantly want to discuss items that clearly don't have a chance of being made rather than something that would actually be considered, that's how we end up with announcements that no one wants...

-Rusty

Yellow Rheneas has no relevance whatsoever. Even Mattel doesn't give a crap about Yellow Rheneas.

People are saying that since Bachmann is making a recolor, they should've went with Smudger, which now makes him more desirable since recolors are now happening. And everyone is still saying they want Sir Handel. Both are being suggested to cover all the bases. It's right there in front of everyone's faces that people are saying "If were getting a recolor, it should be Smudger. If we're getting a new tooling, it should be Sir Handel".

I never saw proof that Mattel are forcing Bachmann to only do characters that appeared in CGI. And why would Mattel have approved of The Spiteful Brakevan or, to a lesser extent, Toby's Museum Coaches, in that case? They may be repaints of rolling stock, one with a newly tooled face, but Mattel didn't create those. And it's very clear at this point that Mattel flat out hates anything and everything they didn't make. It wouldn't surprise me if they make Bachmann do that, but I never saw proof of this claim.

It's ludicrous and absurd to say that making a character people would have wanted anyway is less realistic than making a recolor of an existing character no one wanted.

None of this makes any sense, it just seems more like excuses made from misunderstanding what people are saying.

Dude, you do know when it comes to rolling stock? Mattel REALLY don't care, it's why in the NG range the TR slate wagons Bachmann tooled for the range can and are sold in 3 packs under the UK branch's 009 range. Mattel only cares when it comes to engines, that's why things like the spiteful brakevan and the museum coaches get through and get made.

Quote from: Plow_Bender on February 07, 2021, 08:52:29 PM
I definitely agree that Sir Handel is the best choice for the next Narrow Gauge announcement.  Like Chaz already mentioned, he offers contrast to what we have in the range already and fills the number gap between Rheneas and Peter Sam.  I can also say I'm for the idea of Bachmann reusing the model to make Falcon, as it does seem like this would be a great piece of nostalgia for those who want to model their layouts after the Mid Sodor Railway.  I do wonder if Bachmann would consider this though as a nameplate change seems very minor, but at the same time it's so simple to do.  Regardless, I think Sir Handel should definitely take priority for the NMRA or 2022 announcements.  Same for the wagons as well.

Now I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes by saying this, but I do think we need to take a few steps back on the whole Smudger topic.  Considering people were literally on this the day of announcements, I think it just shows ignorance.  Yes yellow Rheneas wasn't something anyone asked for, but it makes sense why he was announced over a new engine like Sir Handel or even a recolor like Smudger.  What people don't seem to understand is that significance also plays a factor into a character getting announced.  Stepney is another example people have been knocking down the door to see get a model in HO, but he honestly doesn't have any significance because he is not a character from the CGI era.  If it's true that Mattel doesn't want Bachmann investing into characters that aren't CGI based, then it's pretty clear Stepney isn't going to happen.

Smudger on the other hand has even less significance than Stepney.  He only had a small appearance back in Season 4, and because of that his character is very much forgettable.  He hasn't even received any merchandise in the last 10 years, so clearly Mattel doesn't see him as a marketable character either.  I understand people think he has a chance from Bachmann just because his tooling is already there with Rheneas, but this same argument can be made with characters like Splatter and Dodge.  Bachmann has the tooling there from Diesel, but those characters are not going to happen because they hold no significance today.  The same thing applies to Smudger being made from Rheneas.  Bachmann still has to make a new face tooling, which they would already be doing for something like Sir Handel anyway...

Again, I don't want to sound like I'm putting down those who are asking for Smudger, but if someone wants to get upset with me for being realistic, then so be it.  There certainly seemed like far more demand for Sir Handel back in 2020, and Smudger was hardly mentioned.  Now we suddenly have people who would rather step back and see another minor recolor get announced, rather than a new tooling/character.  These sort of discussions aren't necessarily a bad thing, but when people constantly want to discuss items that clearly don't have a chance of being made rather than something that would actually be considered, that's how we end up with announcements that no one wants...

-Rusty

OH MY CHRIST, FINALLY. Someone else who gets it.

Quote from: Chaz on February 06, 2021, 12:29:51 AM
So as usual, I have plans to carry out my thoughts on what Bachmann should introduce with full-on in-depth posts and I wanted to start with narrow gauge first before moving on to the other ranges.  Best way to start this off is by talking about the top narrow gauge engine request, Sir Handel.


So, why should Bachmann introduce Sir Handel as the next narrow gauge engine?  Well to make the first point simple it comes right down to his design.  Out of all the narrow gauge engines that are in CGI that Bachmann hasn't announced yet, Sir Handel has the best design, proportion and detail wise.  In addition, he offers a nice dark blue color contrast compared to the rest of the other engines in the range, in addition to filling the infamous gap between the first 5 narrow gauge engines (being #3).


In addition to that, Sir Handel is also a safe character for Bachmann to make since recolored engines for narrow gauge are not out of the question based on Yellow Rheneas' announcement.  The best choice out there would be "Falcon" which would only be Sir Handel with a different nameplate.  They wouldn't even need to change the face either.  It would not only take less effort than Yellow Rheneas since the paintwork wouldn't need to be updated.  But odds are, more people would buy that than Yellow Rheneas, thus making Sir Handel's inclusion all the more welcome if Bachmann wants to make characters they can reuse toolings for.


Finally (and this really is more speculative), if there really is a "mandate" from Mattel that companies like Bachmann can't invest in new toolings of characters that aren't from the CGI era (which I can sort of see that also being a reason why Bachmann picked Ryan over Stepney (hopefully we can still see Stepney happen regardless)) then I would argue that Sir Handel should be the top priority for the next new engine tooling Bachmann should consider above all their other ranges.  Especially when their HO and N scale ranges both have two new engine toolings we are waiting on.  And while a lot of people are on the fence with Duncan and there's no real interest in any of the newer CGI styled narrow gauge engines, I think it goes without saying that Sir Handel really would be their safest and most well-received option for their next new engine tooling.  


Overall though I think it's suffice to say that once Bachmann is able to pull off a new narrow gauge engine, regardless if it's a new tooling or a recolor, no narrow gauge engine deserves the honor of being announced/made next than Sir Handel.  The demand and following for him is definitely there, and he easily one of the few remaining narrow gauge engines that has a wide all-around appeal.  If he's announced either at the NMRA, or even 2022, I think that it would make up the disappointment/lackluster response from Yellow Rheneas.


So now that I'm talking about Sir Handel, I wanted to talk about the next rolling stock suggestion for narrow gauge, a new open wagon.  


While Peco rolling stock recolors may have been a good idea at the time (minus the stupidly high prices), it's fair to say that after seeing how Bachmann's introducing new box vans while replacing the Peco ones respectively that Bachmann does the same with their open wagon.  


Clearly using new toolings would not only be a lot cheaper but these will sell a lot better long term, similar to that of the slate wagons and the coaches.  Especially with all the different recolor possibilities they could come up with.


The great thing about introducing these wagons is they can either be released with or without a load or be a great possibility for future recolors once a new tooling is invested in these.  Either way, combine this with the cheaper production and cost it would take to make these, I feel like this is almost a shoe-in to be added next in the narrow gauge range.


Anyway, what are everyone's thoughts on these suggestions?  Would you buy Sir Handel and also agree that no other narrow gauge engine should take priority over him?  Would you be interested in buying the new open wagons as well?

Let me know your thoughts and I'll talk about HO and N scale in future posts.

Indeed, and seriously guys, do you ACTUALLY expect them to make Smudger? Cause there's a long long list of reasons why they won't.

As someone who models RWS stuff and mainly is here for the NG and N stock, this is disappointing thus far. I'm hoping the Yellow Rheneas is just a quick recolor, which it is anyway, to tide over while they work on Sir Handel, which sort of adds up given they haven't tended to announce new NG engines until the previous one is out.
But really, who asked for Yellow Rheneas over any of the yet-unmade engines?
Also, no clue what the box vans could be or are based on, I suppose we'll find out when the catalog comes out and they use some show stock images.
Truth be told, hoping this isn't the entire thing and that they may have some more that won't be in the catalog this year, or that may have just not been leaked as unlikely as that is.

I do have some doubts ngl. Mainly as the UK's range is made for Next18 decoders, which haven't really made it here yet and don't have much if any support.

Quote from: cp5150 on January 27, 2021, 07:16:39 PM
Well, that stream was incredibly disappointing

I mean, we already knew about the dedicated stream for the TTTE ranges on the 18th next month. So no real updates or announcements was kinda expected, truth be told I was surprised there was even going to be a section, less so that it really only consisted of updates on stock we know and have seen already. I mean really, the most "important", for lack of a better word, information revealed in that regard was that the Thomas sets with the 75th branding on the box are limited and to pick them up quickly if you really want to have that sticker.
Of course, the reveal of the painted LS Diesel sample was a surprise and he looks good. That was definitely the stream highlight. And an update(ish) on the N scale James, the description of "development going well" makes me think that we may be a bit away from seeing an EP, so I'm not expecting much in that regard on the 18th.

Pics were posted back in like October, in one of the N scale threads. And yes, Bachmann's N range is smaller cause its scaled to UK N scale, the Tomix range is waaaay bigger.

I'm hopeful that at the least we'll have an update on Daisy and Peter Sam, hopefully some final painted prototypes if not at the least the EPs. Same for the NG brakevans, hopefully get a look at what they'll actually look like at the least.
New announcement wise?
Not really sure, for the main range Ryan is a pretty likely choice for the next new tooled engine, has a lot going for him. Otherwise, maybe the red express coaches also being reintroduced, almost certainly some "new" rolling stock(either new variants or a new ex-Mainline tooling being introduced). And throwing Sidney out there cause cheap and easy reuse of the 08 tooling.
Now the narrow gauge range: As mentioned before, updates on Peter Sam and the brakevans are expected but otherwise? It's a bit up in the air. Now I hope and pray for Sir Handel but Bachmann don't tend to announce new NG engines until the previously announced one has been released, so we'll have to wait and see. Now i do think there'll likely be some sort of new NG rolling stock, what'll be i can't even begin to guess cause there's a wealth of options from both the show and the Talyllyn(+Corris).

Well to answer and clarify that, the old Tomix range is essentially in it's own N scale standard, it's just so big as you said.
Now the new range from Bachmann is comfortably scaled to British N scale standards, though Annie & Clarabel are a bit oversized. Thomas and Percy both scale with UK N scale stock, and if that wasn't enough, the upcoming tankers in the range are just Graham Farish ones with some of the extra detailing removed, and we've seen the range's tankers with Thomas & Percy and they scale with them.

The Bachmann rolling stock and, as has been said before, the entire range is in UK N scale, the Tomix stuff...isn't. Tomix's range was made to a much larger scale standard and it's pretty much in its own scale as a result.

Quote from: TerencetheTractor525 on October 27, 2020, 04:25:07 PM

Quote from: jbray on October 26, 2020, 01:06:11 PM

Quote from: TerencetheTractor525 on October 25, 2020, 04:16:12 PM
On a separate note, the auction for the Hornby Murdoch model just ended a few minutes. The final price is nearly 3,000 USD, plus shipping :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-Hornby-THOMAS-THE-TANK-AND-FRIENDS-R9684-MURDOCH-Locomotive-DCC-Ready/264904270320?hash=item3dad8661f0:g:nD0AAOSwZbhfjHTf

Talk about demand interest...

A sample size of one is not indicative of demand. Given that model railroading has an expense barrier, this seems like it is more indicative of a tiny subset of enthusiasts with enough money to spend whatever they like to complete their roster. 'Arry and Bert prove that when you get down to the level that only completionists are buying the product, it is no longer viable for the manufacturer to produce. Do you really think that Hornby would pull out of the Thomas market if it was making them money hand over fist? They weren't even making unique tooling for their locomotives and it wasn't enough money for them to continue.

At the end of the day, this is a case study of which we need multiple case studies to indicate larger demand.

It is fair to state that one sample size is not indicative of demand. I stand corrected there. However, at this point, with over twenty engines to choose from in the HO line, I do believe that every engine Bachmann considers for the future should be based on requests from older fans, as we are the ones who are interested in purchasing every engine.

It really says a lot when the last time we got an large engine with a complex side rod configuration was in 2006 (Spencer). That's why I brought up Murdoch, as Hiro (who has made more appearances) does not seem like a realistic option (as there is unfortunately no Bachmann UK basis for him), and it would be much too expensive to make one entirely from scratch these days.

Additionally, I am trying to speak out for fans who unfortunately missed out on purchasing a Hornby Murdoch, just as I was with Stepney. For years, fans have asked me through YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter where I purchased my Murdoch & Stepney models, and if I will ever sell them. When stating no, I feel sorry for them.

With the Thomas television series going through a major revamp, the new CGI characters are going to be considered as outdated characters in due time too. Daisy will not be out until 2021, after all, which means that the next HO engine with a new tooling will not be out before 2022 at the earliest; we will be well into the new revamp at that point.

With all of this stated, I do agree that the announcements for next February will most likely consist of existing toolings, due to the ongoing pandemic. In a perfect world, an HO Stepney would be announced, but the only new tooling that I really expect is an N Scale Toby. Hopefully, we will see some nice new HO rolling stock announced at the very least.

Thing is I doubt Bachmann would even go down the route Hornby used? Which is reusing existing tooling? And it's more a equal part fan demand and what will kids/their parents actually buy, bit of an exception to the NG range of course, and in part the character's presence. It's why Stepney is a very very unlikely to happen model truth be told, cause after Daisy was announced somehow the connection was made that fan demand was the major factor, and of course its A major factor but wouldn't say its the main. Cause like Daisy was not only brought back into the series, she got a lot of attention and episodes to her, so she also was hitting the presence aspect, which in turn is an influence on the kids who want Bachmann models.