I wouldn't mind if they would sell the wagons separately as it would make up for the set, as I just want those instead of the whole set considering that they weren't gonna change that much.

Quote from: DustyMarie53! on August 11, 2025, 08:26:04 PMThey also specifically confirmed it would reuse Gordon's chassis for both the the engine and the tender. Not sure how I feel about this. But it worked for Stanley so I'll hold any judgement until wee sit

Are they gonna redo the siderods for Scotsman? I feel like the old rods look really outdated. Maybe this might encourage modelers to use them for Gordon like with Stanley using Thomas' chassis.

I wasn't expecting they would make Scotsman as I think some of the staff said that they only gonna make another tender engine depending on how Rebecca sells (and the fact this is a two tender engine), but I guess the sales on her may've convinced Bachmann.

Looking at the date, I think makes sense as 2026 would mark the 10th anniversary of the Great Race which is where Scostman was introduced. I'm thinking they may reused Spencer's chassis as the Behind the Scenes page says that was what the animators used for Scotsman. So at least that can be less time consuming. I wonder if the smoke deflectors would be static or movable based on what happened in the special.

Okay, thanks for informing! I'll still buy him regardless.

I was looking at a site to buy some trains after getting an email that some points might vanish if I don't either use them or buy something, and saw this.



I know the 2025 catalog was released earlier this year and Harold wasn't removed, but this website states that he's discontinued. I'm not sure if Bachmann told them ahead of time or it's like with last year when we thought both the lighthouse and Sodor Diesel tankers were gonna be off for 2025, only they were just discounted (we were right about the lighthouses though).

My question is why Harold? I can see Jeremy as he only appeared a few times, but Harold was a character Bachmann had since the start of the line and unlike Jeremy, Harold had a lot of major roles.

Are Tidmouth Sheds gonna be restocked soon?

Quote from: DustyMarie53! on February 04, 2025, 07:14:44 PMI'm of two minds on this. On one hand, the face would be a really nice bonus. However, with the pipeline having so much to work on as is, I do worry delaying this pack just for the face would mean it missing the anniversary year window and thus feeling less special. Admittedly people will probably buy it anyway, me included, but it being tied with this year specifically I think will help its sales a lot.

On the bright side, if it's delayed for 2026, at least it'll be good for the anniversary of the second book as it'll be 80 years since Thomas' book.

Quote from: Luke22 on November 04, 2024, 01:11:23 AMI can see Norman being made, especially if they decide to reuse Rebecca's wheels AND seeing that they're cousins to each other being built from the same designer Bulleid..., more or less.

Not exactly, as Rebecca's wheels were reused from Hiro and are larger, and Norman's are definitionally Bulleid wheels and I think smaller.

I don't mind buying Connor, but I wonder if that leads into making Caitlin as the two go together.

I'm impressed that they got him finished quickly compare to Rebecca! Can't wait for him very soon. I'm only worried on how he'll be on Thomas' chassis after hearing stuff about it.

One thing I don't get is Doug's reasoning of cross appeal. Most fans stated that it's likely because Duncan isn't accurate to the real basis, which I get that part. But we got Rusty, who unlike the other 4 engines, is based more on his model just with extra vents. Whereas the first four are a hybrid on the models and real basis.

Since it's 15 years since the CGI era started, I think Bachmann could have a crack at one of the Nitrogen era character that not too many like as the hatred for the era has died down  (and they are starting to do Sidney next).

Dash and Bash wouldn't be too hard, but the problem isn't so much the reception on Misty Island, but rather because of Ferdinand. Because I heard from the grapevine that Bachmann likely won't do another tender engine unless Rebecca  sells well, and that preorders for her aren't that high compare to Beau (who keep in mind, is a retool). And while Dash and Bash do sell fine together without Ferdinand, I still think it wouldn't be complete without all three.

Belle is a mid range tank engine with water cannons, though unlike Harvey or Diesel 10, they don't need a lot of detailing as they don't have a lot of complicated parts. Though like with Dash and Bash, the only thing holding Belle back is that she's paired with Flynn, who might be a complicated character Bachmann would have to deal with. Granted, they had done road vehicles on rails, but the thing about Flynn is that he goes on both road and rails. Another factor is that he has a small trailer, which we don't know if that classifies as a tender engine or not.

I think Beau is the exception as Bachmann already had the tooling for the US (and it resembles the engine a bit) and the fact he only appeared in one story. The problem is that like what Dusty said; the toolings for Arthur and Murdoch are a bit detailed and I rather have them look more like how they are in the show.

The only items that are taken out this year are the lobster vans, the McColl figure and the Brendam Bay Conflat. The McColl one is kinda surprising as he was the last large human figure made and the only one that is based on the CGI looks. Also the Brendam Bay Conflat as that was only released just the start of the 2020s, and one of the few that only lasted a few years. I'm gonna buy more of those before they're gone.

So with the recent store closures of Hattons UK and ModelTrainStuff, I wanna ask if you guys think the hobby is dying or not.

I never had much history with Hattons, but I bought from ModelTrainStuff for years until they made a lot of changes, such as adding taxes and when they closed their reward system late last month. Then I found out about their closures from instagram.

What do you guys think?