Given that Bachmann is willing to go into Railway Series rolling stock, first with the China Clay Wagon and now the Ffarquhar Quarry Wagon, maybe they would be more willing to recolor Donald and Douglas into Blue Donald and Blue Douglas.

Its good to see that Bachmann is releasing the 20-ton Brake Van from the canceled Anniversary set. I would hope that they would also release more variants of it like the gray livery that was previously intended for the brakevan from the anniversary set, so that way they we have more options than just a variant of the Spiteful Brakevan.

With the upcoming 77410 Milk Tank and 77422 Fuel Tank being based on the CGI series designs of the tankers, something I really appreciate Bachmann doing is releasing them as separate items than the already existing 77048 Tidmouth Milk Tank and 77039 Sodor Fuel Tank, which have the Model Series design of the Tankers. That way, both the Model Series and CGI Series versions of the Milk Tanker and the Fuel Tanker are available at the same time, so modelers can choose which versions they prefer: Model, CGI or Both!

Another idea for Rolling Stock I would like to see in the future would be Blue Gordon's Special Composite Coach and Gordon's Special Brake Coach, repainted from 76034 Gordon's Express Composite Coach and the 76035 Gordon's Express Brake Coach, with the corridors on both ends so that they can fit seamlessly into already existing Bachmann Gordon's Express. I know it is not screen accurate, but I would prefer that they match up. I will even admit that I prefer the Corridors on Bachmann and Hornby Thomas Express Coaches.

Something else I would hope that Bachmann do is update their 76044 Annie and 76055 Clarabel to rectify their gray chassis with a correct black chassis, like the UK Annie and Clarabel have. As well as update the gray lamps irons, dummy coupling hooks, and tender chassis on their Henry, Gordon, and Toby to the correct black. They have already done this with the Thomas, James, and Percy, with Percy recently now also having a his incorrect gray coal bunker updated to the correct black color as well.

In regards to the new paint schemes and variants, some repaints and variants I would love to see Bachmann do would be Blue Donald, Blue Douglas, and Green Bulgy.

In addition, somethings Bachmann could also bring out would be Splatter and Dodge. Splatter and Dodge could just re-use and re-paint the 'Arry and Bert chassis and shell, and given that Splatter and Dodge always appear together with the same faces, they would just need to make a single new face sculpt for both engines.

Speaking of the Flying Kipper, anyone else like to use the Live Lobster Refrigerated van in their Flying Kipper trains?

Quote from: Awesometrain77 on July 30, 2025, 11:51:06 AM

Quote from: harrison05 on July 27, 2025, 09:42:57 PM

Quote from: Zorran202 on July 27, 2025, 12:52:49 PMI find it ironic that even the Flying Scotsman Tenders that did show up in Season 3 had the correct lining on it, but not the CGI render. I'd imagine that if they do correct the lining on the tenders, then overall it'll be a perfect model of the T&F Flying Scotsman.

Also his model tenders had the correct wheel configuration on the tenders, I still don't know why they didn't just give the tenders 4 wheels in cgi...

To be honest, yeah . I wonder if they would also change that to have Spencer's tender, be reused . 
I'm sure they could get away with this as sir Handel had extra detailing so modifying Scotsman wouldn't be too far off .

I would like for Bachmann Flying Scotsmans Tenders to have 8 wheels as well, and they do have the Spencer tender to use as at least a basis to start with.

I have also have had a thought that I wanted to bring up that could make both sides happy.

If Bachmann ultimately decides to make Flying Scotsman screen accurate in CGI with the 6-wheeled tenders, maybe something they could also do would be to modify the Spencer Tender into 8-wheeled Flying Scotsmans Tenders, and then release them as separate products meant to supplement the Bachmann Flying Scotsman. Call them something along the lines "Flying Scotsman Tender 1" and "Flying Scotsman Tender 2." The 6-wheeled CGI Tenders would then come with the Flying Scotsman Model, making it screen accurate to the CGI series, but there would also be Model series accurate 8-wheeled tenders available for purchase for those who want to go the extra mile. This would also give Bachmann an additional set of 2 more products they could sell, and the 8-wheel tenders might also appeal to non-Thomas Modelers who would want an 8 wheeled tender for without having to buy a whole engine.

I don't know if this would be a good idea, but I wanted to at least put this on the table.

I just had a thought on a potential design method Bachmann could use to make Duck's Slip Coaches faces.

https://ttte.fandom.com/wiki/Slip_Coaches_(T%26F)

Maybe they could design a single Slip Coach body, as all 3 Slip Coaches are mostly the same in the TV Series with only the faces being different. When they design the Slip Coach, they would make it so that the front of the coach has a special slot that can only be accessed when the model is disassembled. Bachmann could then design 3x interchangeable plates that they could slip in to that special slot when the model is assembled, with each plate having a different Slip Coach face. That way, when assembling potentially Slip Coach 1, Slip Coach 2, and Slip Coach 3, they would just need to mass-produce a single coach body and the three face plates, and just slip each face into the slot on the front of the coach, rather than designing and assembling a whole coach for each face.

Maybe this could save them some money and make Duck's 3 Slip Coaches easier to mass-produce. I don't know if this is plausible or makes sense, but I wanted to put the idea out there and see.

Quote from: Cheeky_ULP on June 26, 2025, 11:43:14 PMIt's a hypothetical though, not sure how practical it would actually be. I do agree though that the quality of the range has gone up tremendously in recent years, that it only makes sense fans want the original trio to be higher quality now too. I don't think the demand will go quiet anytime soon.

I also agree that repaints and gimmicky products could help absorb costs that would go into redesigns. The Mainland Diesels could certainly help with that, as well as a new Henrietta. Maybe even a "classic" Arry and Bert limited run, some BWBA Class 08s, or Splatter and Dodge. The "Thomas" class 08 tooling has a lot of mileage.

Indeed. And if they do Splatter and Dodge, they would only need to make 1 new face for both of them, as whenever they are onscreen together, Splatter and Dodge both use identical faces as each other.

Other repaints that Bachmann could do would be Blue Donald and Blue Douglas.

And a revision on a piece of rolling stock I would like to see would be updating their Bachmann Toad model with the correct hook-and-loop style couplings, so that way he would work seamlessly with the Bachmann Thomas HO/OO range, as well as other ranges like Hornby. I am not sure if retooling Toad is doable, but I wanted to at least mention it.

Seems solid to me.

As mentioned, the wheels should also be painted black.

In addition, maybe they could put the black lining and painted lamp on the tender, to match up with the red lining and painted lamp on the  Origins James Model.

Hello,

I have noticed that there is a bit of a divide into whether a potential Gordon's Special Coach and Gordon's Special Brake Coach should be a recolor of the Gordon's Express Coaches or the Spencer Special Coaches. Some, including myself, would prefer them to recolor the Express Coaches and Brake Coaches, so that they have the corridors on the front and back, and can seamlessly fit in with the already existing Express Coaches, as well as being able to have a potential Gordon's Special Brake Coach. Others prefer them to recolor the Spencer Special Coaches, because they do not have the corridor and would appear more screen accurate.

I have just thought of a way to appeal to both sides of the argument, and I wanted to suggest it:

Recolor all 3 Coach Models into Gordon's Special Coaches.

That way, they would appeal to both sides. If people want screen accuracy, they could buy the Spencer Coach recolor. If people want them to fit in, they could buy the Express Coaches recolor. And if people can't decide, they could potentially buy both! It would give Bachmann 3 new products that just need to be recolored, not just one or two. Maybe the ones made out of the Spencer coaches can be 'Gordon's Special Coach' and the ones based on both Express Coaches be 'Gordon's Special Express Coach' and 'Gordon's Special Express Brake Coach.'

I suspect this is not going to happen and may not be a viable idea, but I just wanted to put the idea on the table rather than keep it to myself, see if anyone wants to do anything with it. It is ultimately up to Bachmann if they want to use the idea or not.

Thank you for your time.

I would also love to see Emily updated with her number 12. I would love to see Judy and Jerome as well.

I am hoping that if they do Gordon's Special Coaches, that they will have both a Gordon's Special Composite Coach and a Gordon's Special Brake Coach. I also hope they have the corridors on the ends like the current Gordon's Express Coaches: This may not be screen accurate, but I would like them to be able to fit in seamlessly with the already existing express coaches.

For recolors, given that I they are willing to look at Railway Series products like the Sodor China Clay Wagons, I would hope that they would be willing to look into Blue Donald and Douglas.

Another few points for Green Salty would be that his real life basis, BR 2991, actually wore a similar livery in real life at one point. Maybe Thomas modelers might want to use or modify a Green Salty into a pre-Sodor Salty. Or maybe Green Salty could appeal to non-Thomas modelers as well, who want to modify a potential Green Salty into the real 2991 or another BR Class 07 diesel. Just wanted to put those potential reasons out on the table.

If they decide to do the CGI Fuel Tanker, I would hope that they would leave the regular model series Sodor Fuel Tanker in the line, like they are doing with both the model series Tidmouth Milk Tanker and the upcoming CGI series Milk Tank. I really LOVE that they while they are introducing the CGI artwork for the Milk Tank, they are also keeping the model artwork for the Tidmouth Milk Tanker available as well. That way, modelers can choose which version of the Milk Tankers they prefer, be it Model Series, CGI Series, or both!

Something else I hope Bachmann can do is modify their Bachmann Toad to have the correct hook-and-loop couplers, so it would work with Bachmann's HO/OO Thomas models seamlessly.

Quote from: RailsByRick on January 25, 2025, 11:24:35 PMIt's really cool how the Sodor China Clay wagon is RWS-inspired. Never thought I'd see the day where Bachmann started to pull directly from the pages the RWS. This could open the door for them to finally re-announce their cancelled Rickety and Fred Pelhay from several years ago.

And if they are making sets and rolling stock based on the Railway Series Books, maybe they could also repaint 58807 Donald and 58808 Douglas into Blue Donald and Blue Douglas. A lot of modelers already make Blue Donald and Douglas themselves, sometimes repainting Bachmann models, so it might be a smart idea for Bachmann to cash in on this opportunity.

If they did make Blue Donald and Blue Douglas, I would personally buy multiples of those items each. In part so I can juggles some of the bits around for fun. Like having versions of Blue Donald and Douglas shells over Black Donald and Douglas wheels.

Here's hoping.

Quote from: Cheeky_ULP on December 20, 2024, 06:04:01 PMIf there's any time for Mattel to be more lenient about the CGI mandate, it's the 80th anniversary. I feel like if they allow merchandise to be based on all sorts of different eras of Thomas throughout that year, then Bachmann should take advantage of the opportunity to knock out some characters or items that would otherwise usually be off the table.

Agreed. And maybe this could include some treats from the Railway Series as well. If Bachmann is allowed to branch out from the CGI mandate for the 80th Anniversay, maybe that can be used as a springboard to having the CGI mandate finally removed entirely!

Some of the suggestions that have been made include Railway Series Blue Donald and Blue Douglas, as they would just need to recolor their already existing Donald and Douglas models. Quite a lot of modelers make models of Blue Donald and Douglas, often repainting Bachmann Donald and Douglas themselves, so Bachmann might want to look into getting in on that themselves.

Given that there is a demand for 'Arry and Bert to return, if they do return, maybe Bachmann can also release Splatter and Dodge alongside and 'Arry and Bert rerelease. 'Arry, Bert, Splatter, and Dodge all share the same basis, the Class 08 without the front ladders that were already used for 'Arry and Bert. Bachmann would just need to recolor the shells of the items, and given that Splatter and Dodge are always shown with identical faces onscreen, all they would need to do is design a single face for both of them to use. Given that there is a demand for Diesel 10, and the fact that it is the 25th anniversary of Thomas and the Magic Railroad in 2025, that might be some good incentive for Bachmann.

Bachmann UK also has the LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T, BR Standard Class 9F, and the BR Class 40 Models. Considering that a lot of Bachmann's Thomas Rolling Stock are recolors of Bachmann UK Rolling stock, including the Express Coaches, the Cattle Wagons, and Ventilated Vans, maybe Bachmann could look into making Arthur, Murdoch, and The Diesel/Class 40. They could either recolor their existing models and put a face on them, like Beau, or maybe use the existing models as starting points to design more screen-accurate models of Arthur, Murdoch, and Class 40, so they don't have to design completely new models.

Has anyone repainted any Donald and Douglas into Blue Donald and Blue Douglas?

Quote from: DustyMarie53! on November 03, 2024, 04:12:26 PMI'd also really like to see Sonny but I can't particularly give him any strong reasoning beyond me wanting him because his basis and livery is cool.

I would also like to see Sonny as a Bachmann model.

One potential argument in favor of Sonny could be is that he was the last character made in CGI, and therefore does not have much merchandise of him. Bachmann could therefore be one of the few ranges that produces merchandise of Sonny.

Another argument in favor of Sonny is than while Sonny's basis, Bellerophon, is rather iconic with railway enthusiasts, there are not many models of it, although I think KRModels does a Bellerophon now. Bachmann Sonny could be used as a less expensive model for non-Thomas Modelers who want to convert a Bachmann Sonny into a either a Bellerophon or another Haydock Foundry well-tank engine.

Not exactly the strongest arguments in favor of Sonny, but I wanted to at least put them on the table.

Something I hope Bachmann will do would be update their USA HO Annie and Clarabel models so they have the black Chassis of their UK models. They have already updated a lot of their early models with the thicker lamp irons and dummy coupling hooks of the UK versions. Speaking of which, I hope they will also update the US HO Henry, Gordon, and Toby so they have black lamp irons and dummy coupling hooks instead of light gray.