Quote from: TrainFan97 on October 20, 2026, 09:54:16 PMWe're forced to wait until after Halloween before Matt finally spills the beans. He wanted to avoid rumors and speculation, but did the exact opposite. That ended up making some of us fear that Flying Scotsman was cancelled. It would be a big betrayal if it's true.

Dude, he was streaming live, and wasn't even the one who brought it up. It aint that deep. Just be patient.

Honestly, just wait and see guys. They said they didn't want to spark any rumors. Unfortunately when your livestreaming you don't really consider if what you say will cause any impact and I genuinely think Matt and Tyler didn't mean to cause any distress.
I personally don't think it's canceled, since he's still up on trainworld and he got a face reveal. (Duncan got dropped off of trainworld before a cancelation announcement was made.)  I don't really want to speculate further to add to the gossip.
I know we overthink alot so I know it's gonna be tough to wait, but for now just be patient for an answer.

In fact, if I were to give and rank my top 5 characters to be produced in all three scales it would go something like this:

HO scale

1. Harvey - Last classic and CGI character that needs to be made
2. Hiro - Popular and stays relevant in the show.
3. Whiff - last of 2 MODEL and CGI character that need to be made, plus his basis being unavailable in HO/OO
4. Norman - again, his basis being unavailable in HO/OO
5. Stepney - Classic and much beloved fan favorite that is also small and affordable
 
N scale

1. Edward - Last member of the steam team to be made
2. Spencer - Very popular
3. Duck
4. Oliver
5. Donald and Douglas
Same reasoning for the last three, classic and much beloved fan favorites. (plus it would be cool to see Donald and Douglas' CGI renders made)

Large Scale

1. Edward - Last (More Feasible) member of the steam team to be made
2. Bill and Ben - Classic characters that are small and more affordable and can reuse Percy's chassis
3. Daisy - Large, but simple bogied diesel engine to make
4 and 5. Henry and Gordon - same reason for both, would be the natural next picks but they're larger designs cause uncertainty

Quote from: TrainFan97 on September 29, 2026, 05:14:18 PMWe may not be that far off from Sidney, Mainland Diesel and Stanley existing in all three scales. I doubt N Scale would get Sidney or Mainland Diesel just yet, as the next Class 08 repaints for that scale will most likely be 'Arry and Bert. Daisy is also a popular choice for N Scale, if we can't get Edward yet for technical reasons. Could Daisy even be possible for Large Scale as well? Since Bachmann has been making larger diesels for Large Scale outside the Thomas line. Bachmann could make Large Scale Daisy, as a larger diesel in that scale for the Thomas line. It took 13 years since Toby for him to finally get Henrietta. The last newly-tooled engine for Large Scale was Diesel. Daisy could be the first large diesel with bogies in all three scales. Diesel 10 is the second one for HO Scale, and was only recently announced.

For a sense of size, Daisy is about twice as long as Thomas.

Ooooh... Daisy for large scale would be insane and I would definitely buy her. Edward would still be my top choice though. Bill and Ben could also be very fun if you consider them using the Percy chassis. Gordon and Henry would still be very much desired, though still unlikely considering they're more complex designs.

However, I will say that support for Large Scale is niche and it's still hard to imagine what the future is like for it, considering we haven't had a new tooling since Diesel and Paxton which was over five years ago. I imagine it's because it's still more niche and is very pricey, and how the unpredictable tariff situation, as well as shipping and the fact that they just take up more space on store shelves. I don't think it's ending any time soon, given that we got the new Thomas set and keep getting various repaints.

I just don't know when or if we will ever get another new tooled engine.

Hello Everyone, a few years ago I posted concepts of ideas for future HO scale figure packs, and thought i'd spark some interest in it again. My Ideas were as follows

Classic Characters - A well round pack of much beloved classic characters with a good variety of human designs

- The Vicar of Sodor
- Jem Cole
- The Refreshment lady
- Nancy the guard's daughter
- Mrs. Kindly
- Cryil the Fogman

People in Charge - Characters who are essential for the running of operations on sodor, as well as homages to thomas's roots.

- Ms. Jenny
- Sir Robert Norramby
- Mr. Fergus Duncan
- The Thin Clergyman (Rev. W. Awdry)
- The Fat Clergyman (Teddy Boston)

V.I.P's - a variety of more classic Characters with high prestige and followings.

- The Mayor of Sodor
- Alicia Botti
- The Duke of Boxford
- The Duchess of Boxford
- Lord Callan
- Mr. Bubbles

Sodor Brass Band - Self explanatory, a group of band players who have appeared all across the series.

- Bandleader
- tuba player
- drummer
- trombone player
- cymbals player
- trumpeter

sorry if the image is low quality, better quality on my instagram - https://www.instagram.com/p/DAT7gxKvMx8/?hl=en

The Figure packs are not only good for bachmann thomas, but they fit well for other toy ranges like wooden railway or trackmaster, even the new 2026 merch, they're pretty cheap to boot. I'm not sure how much bachmann wants to make new packs at the moment, but these Character picks I feel has a good variety and would please all fans. Let me know whatcha think!

I know I'm late to the party on this, but I'll post my thoughts anyway.

I'm absolutely thrilled that Thomas and Percy are getting retooled! Even though I'm late the decisions have already been made, I do hope they aren't afraid to go all out on these models. If I know anything about thomas fans it's that they extremely detail oriented. So things like thomas having a proper smokebox saddle, his wheels having the correct number of spokes, etc, is something people really pay attention to, and lets not forget that we're basically going to have buy the models of the same characters again. Now I have no doubt that these retools will be an improvement regardless given the quality of bachmann's recent models, but I really want these models to have as little need for modifications as possible for hardcore fans.

Details I would personally like to see is open cabs and windows, and Thomas having his red bunker lining as seen in season 19-24.
(these might've already been confirmed via trainworld streams, sorry not up to date)

James is obviously on everyone's radar for the next retool if they are going down this route. Paxton's face being updated is something i've seen get brought up and I'm all for that too. Gordon and Henry would please alot of fans too, especially seeing the quality of their N scale models. Unlikely, but I personally would love to see Spencer be redone, his body shape is really disproportionate to the show. Would love to see his silver paint too!

I was just looking on the Trainworld website, and they apparently have listed a Large Scale Christmas themed Thomas with a removable snowplow.

https://www.trainworld.com/bachmann-91412-g-thomas-the-tank-engine-christmas-w-removeable-snowplow.html

Quite the shadow drop announcement, but it's one I welcome nonetheless if it's a real thing! (if any admin or someone wants to weigh in on that, cause it's not on the official bachmann website)

Ever Since the Christmas Thomas set and the Snowplough were discontinued, I've always wanted a snow clearing Large scale Thomas, so this is a pretty good move on Bachmann's end. I assumed the large scale line was on death's doormat in the current economy, so It's good to see that there is still an spark in the Large Scale line, from both Bachmann and Consumers.

I am also down with resin buildings making a return. But taking critical approach, my biggest concern would definitely be the cost, especially in the current economy. (Even if I would buy them out of consumer loyalty regardless.) Also the Scene Scapes Resin buildings were all discontinued in 2023 and Bachmann has not produced any Resin Buildings since, so I assumed that resin buildings were dead in the water for the US market, as typically buildings are a one and done buy, and take up way more space and don't have as much demand as Engines and Rolling stock. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the resin buildings for the Thomas range. But I can't help but see the line between what us fans want and what is realistically feasible and profitable from a business perspective. However, the internet has gained much more exposure to the bachmann thomas range especially with Bachmann now taking more reception from what the fans want thanks to the Bachmann forums and the Thomas Tuesday livestreams. With the resurgence of demand for the resin buildings from older fans, and an increase of several new fans who never got the chance to obtain these buildings, I don't think it is completely off the table, it just has to be approached right.

If we are tying ourselves down to the Small, Recognizable, and versatile for general model railway use, I would love to see ones like the Signal box, trackside station, and black loch folly return.

I pretty much agree with everything Terence said, so I don't have much to add, but I'll advocate for a few of my top picks.

Narrow Gauge Engine shed -



OO9 is a prime market to strike for resin buildings. Been wanting one of these for a while, The Granite Rheneas sheds would be my top pick, but any of the skarloey sheds or depot sheds would be welcome as well.

Ffarquhar -
 


I know we're going with smaller buildings, but Ffarquhar station is one of, if not THE most Iconic thomas station. It was used in the classic series intro, and has remained relevant in CGI ever since it's return in The Adventure begins. Every fan would be over the moon if this got announced, and is one I can see selling very well.

An Idea I have is going the Hornby route and sell the station and platforms separately. I used to be hate the idea of this, trust me I know most of you will raise an eyebrow at this. But cost wise, say you already have usable platforms, so you just buy the station. Or if you need more Thomas platforms then you can buy more of those. You want both, than just buy both as if they were one. Maybe unrealistic, but just a thought.

Haunted Mine -



This is actually an Idea I've grown to love, it's a very industrial piece of architecture that I feel could work for any layout.

This will be a thread I can definitely see myself coming back to, and adding new ideas, but these would be my top picks. Don't want to dilute the water with too much.

Here's a question I'll ask and leave you all with, as I feel everyone's answers are important to this topic.
What exactly is the appeal of the Resin buildings, and what advantage do they have over a simple plastic or card kit?

I will also say the prototype (which was photoshopped) looked better and didn't have these problems.



Might be a dumb comparison, but If the green Talyllyn model was able to get a different color sample then I'd like to see it happen here as well.

I'm not gonna lie, I really don't like the font they used for the new flat wagon with diesel fuel load. It looks too cartoony and looks nothing like it did in season 8.



In the show it used a more hard edged font, like you would see on industrial wagons in real life.



I didn't expect it to bother me this much, and I really don't know why they chose the comic sans esc font on the final design, but I would strongly advocate to have it changed. I know realistically production is already too far ahead for it, but if enough people push for it (which I'm sure they'll be alot), anything could be possible. Just my thoughts.

Quote from: GordonPacific04 on July 24, 2025, 06:05:32 PMSo something I would really like to advocate for is having straight lining for the corridor tenders like in real life.

For some odd reason the lining on the CGI render of Scotsman has indented lining as if it were for a fowler tender (like Gordon's), which weirdly enough was a problem that started with the Ertl and Hornby Thomas models so I don't know why that was. Bottom line is I would vastly prefer straight lining on the corridor tenders.

This is something I probably wouldn't even be mentioning, however the newly released 2025 motorized Flying Scotsman actually corrected the lining to be straight, so if it's possible there, I'd like to see it on the Bachmann model.

Another thing I want to advocate for is having corridor tender lining as shown as shown on the new 2025 motorized toy, as I feel most fans prefer that and is more accurate to real life. To reiterate, I wouldn't even be bringing this up if the new motorized toy didn't graciously do it, so if it's possible there, I would LOVE to see it on the new Bachmann model.

These are suggestions that I know realistically may not happen, (again, don't know how far along into production Scotsman is), but would be nice to see and would definitely please the majority.

Overall I am still very excited for the new release of Bachmann Flying Scotsman and will be purchasing him as soon as he comes out! Thank you again Bachmann for this lovely announcement! I'm sure it will please alot of fans!

Quote from: GordonPacific04 on August 12, 2025, 07:31:45 PMSo a couple things confirmed about Flying Scotsman in today's Thomas Tuesday stream.

- Will be Reusing Gordon's chassis
- Body and tenders will be new toolings
- Matt said he would ideally like to have the standard hook and loop couplers between the tenders, but will ultimately come down to what's most cost effective.
- Will look like how he did in CGI, so the tenders will have 6 wheels

In my opinion, don't care too much about having 6 wheels on the tenders, though I do hope we'll have the standard hook and loop couplers between the tenders. I'm a bit bummed that he'll be using Gordon's chassis, as the siderods are too thick and it's a bit underscale. I would have preferred he use Spencer's chassis because it counters all of those points, but maybe the giant eye mech had something to do with it. It is what it is though.

Seeing Scotsman in the 2026 catalog made me want to stir the pot with this thread again.

Pretty much agree with everything I said here back in August. Not sure how far along production is, but I do want to strongly advocate for Scotsman using Spencer's Chassis and not Gordon's, as proportionally it's better and the chunky side rods are a bit of an eyesore.

Quote from: TerencetheTractor525 on January 25, 2026, 09:37:51 AMYesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the Amherst Train Show for the first time, and of course, one of the first goals was to head over to the Bachmann booth to converse with some familiar faces and check out the new 2026 catalog. With a fresh mind, here are my overall thoughts.

Beginning with the positives, it is good to see another announcement in Large Scale. The funfair vans offer new paint schemes that will continue to brighten garden railroads featuring the Thomas line, and they are memorable pieces from the show. The reintroduction of the milk tanker is nice as well. I reckon the paint scheme will match the HO version, with brown framing.

The other positive is the classic model era blue wagon announced in N scale. This is a favorite of mine, that has unfortunately been discontinued in HO. Mr. Jolly's Van is also a decent choice, but not one I expected at this time. And given the coal wagon with load and BR brake van have been the most popular requests for N scale rolling stock, I hope those will be announced next.

To be honest, I think the HO announcements were the weakest this time, not because of the fact that there is no newly tooled engine announced or new tooling in general, but because of the choices for recolors. I know many were anticipating the brake van from the canceled set, so I'm all for that. However, for the other two, I think a well wagon reintroduction, green china clay wagon, or Gordon's special coaches would have been more eclectic, and hence enticing amongst fans. That being stated, I'm sure there are fans who will purchase these.

The biggest disappointment is that Knapford Station is officially cancelled, due to the high RRP. To be blunt, I do find it somewhat strange that Rebecca, a controversial new computer generated character who is not a top seller received the green light as a product with expensive RRP, while arguably the most iconic station did not. Moreover, I know the engines and rolling stock generally sell better than the buildings, but the range has really felt empty with a lack of buildings in it. Even small, popular buildings such as an oil depot, coal hopper, or round water tower reintroduction, would fill that void, all of which would not be too expensive as well as work in resin or plastic.

All in all, not the most convincing announcement, but not bad either. As always, very grateful for the new announcements and optimistic for the road that lies ahead.

I generally agree. Not every year has to have a bunch of new groundbreaking announcements, so I'm cool with bachmann having a catch-up year.

Knapford station getting canceled is a big loss in my opinion, as I know several fans were anticipating it's reintroduction.

I do like the new Ffarquhar Quarry cars, love that they're doing RWS inspired rolling stock now. The other two don't excite me as much. I agree that I want the well wagon to return and would LOVE to see Gordon's Special coaches.

Quote from: Kemptown Branch on October 05, 2025, 03:20:20 PMHey, does anyone know if the figures from the Railway Personnel packs can fit inside of the Narrow Gauge Engines' cabs? Thanks!

Unfortunately not, I've tried. All the HO Thomas figures are slightly overscaled.

So a couple things confirmed about Flying Scotsman in today's Thomas Tuesday stream.

- Will be Reusing Gordon's chassis
- Body and tenders will be new toolings
- Matt said he would ideally like to have the standard hook and loop couplers between the tenders, but will ultimately come down to what's most cost effective.
- Will look like how he did in CGI, so the tenders will have 6 wheels

In my opinion, don't care too much about having 6 wheels on the tenders, though I do hope we'll have the standard hook and loop couplers between the tenders. I'm a bit bummed that he'll be using Gordon's chassis, as the siderods are too thick and it's a bit underscale. I would have preferred he use Spencer's chassis because it counters all of those points, but maybe the giant eye mech had something to do with it. It is what it is though.