Sort of old news, but TrainWorld has a listing for an unannounced Bachmann Thomas item: Large Scale Christmas Thomas w/ Snowplow (91412). If the Yard Master could provide some more info on this, that'd be greatly appreciated!

Very disappointed to hear that Knapford has been cancelled. It's becoming a very bad habit of Bachmann's to announce a highly anticipated item only to cancel it a few months later.

Bachmann, please stop announcing new items unless you are 100% certain they'll be arriving to market. It is very tiring to constantly get our hopes up and then get let down shortly after. You are damaging your customers' faith.

With the exclusion of Knapford Station from this catalog after just being announced at NMRA, I am worried if maybe they've quietly cancelled its reintroduction. Very disappointing if so. I really hope the Yard Master can clear this up for us.

So, I'm a bit confused about Scotsman's render. We've never seen this photo before, and he clearly has a smaller face. Does anyone have any info on this seemingly updated CGI model? Personally, I prefer the larger face. I think it might've overlapped the diameter of the smokebox in the show, but if the face was made to be the same diameter as the smokebox for the HO model, I'd be happy.

Regardless, the mystery of the new render intrigues me.

After looking at the photos of the Doug figure that Chaz has shared (see "Farewell Doug" thread) it looks like these will be oversized for OO, and certainly way out of scale for HO. I placed a OO scale figure from Bachmann Branchline in the cab of my Gordon, and the figure's head can just barely poke out from the bottom of the side window. In Chaz's photo, the Doug figure can be seen through the window from about the chest up.

Now, in the "Railway Personnel" pack (the one which Doug is included) there are three taller figures, one of which is "Doug". I have a theory that they were intentionally made much taller to look more appropriate in the engine's cabs- most notably Gordon and Henry, as a standard OO figure looks too small in the cab.

Hopefully Chaz can confirm this and elaborate more if he'd like.

We have yet to see samples for the express coaches in N scale. Hopefully in the next Thomas Tuesday stream or in the coming months they will be shown off.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I'd prefer if they were accurate to their CGI models to go with the very accurate CGI engines in the N scale line. If they're going to base the range on CGI, then I'd want them to go all in.

I'm glad Bachmann is open to discussion about changing the face for the 80th set. I really hope they're able to as it would absolutely put it over the top. Hopefully it will then influence them to create more newly tooled faces for the older models that need it.

Let him run in for a half hour in each direction just in case it is a breaking in thing. I believe all the locos you mentioned have the same motor, so they should be running at the same speed. I know that's the case for my copies of these models.

If it doesn't improve after complete breaking in, you can contact Bachmann directly and they'll help you get it repaired or replaced. Hope this helps.

I know we all want an N Scale Edward. Recently I've been thinking over the logistics of how exactly Bachmann would be able to tackle a model with such a short wheelbase in N scale.

The N Scale Thomas engines released so far have small motors that still take up most of the length of the model, and as such, have the front axle be the driven axle. Of course, Edward's driving wheels are very close together, and reside towards his cab. This means the usual approach of having an axle in the front be connected to the motor is out of the question.

Could Bachmann flip the motor around and re-wire it appropriately so that the worm drive is facing the cab? Another issue with this is potentially making the front too heavy, when in reality, you want most of the weight over the driving wheels.

I'm not sure how they'll approach it, but I certainly hope Bachmann doesn't just skip on Edward entirely, and I hope they'll do his model justice.

I've been enjoying the N Scale line as of late, and I've had some thoughts for some new, cost-effective items that Bachmann could consider. All of these suggestions use toolings/partial toolings that Bachmann has already produced.

Thomas/Thomas Chassis

-LBSC Thomas: a simple Thomas repaint, and one that I'm hoping will be announced for the 80th Anniversary.

-Mavis: This one has been suggested before, but would only require a newly tooled shell to go over the Thomas/Toby chassis.

-Stanley: Maybe not right now, but depending on how well he sells in HO Scale, this would be another simple partial tooling for the shell to go onto the Thomas chassis.

James

-Origins James: This would be another simple repaint, and would complement a potential LBSC Thomas. My only request is that the running board is the proper shade of gray, and Bachmann, please do not add the printed lamp on the tender. It looks very cheap and tacky.

12 Ton Van

-Gray Van: See HO version for reference. A generic gray van with no lettering would be great to build up long goods trains as seen in the CGI series.

-Fun Fair Vans: Maybe not a high priority at the moment, but these would be a fun addition.

Tank Wagon

-TAR Tanker: The HO Scale version is being reintroduced with updated CGI inspired graphics. I'm sure this would be a huge hit in N scale as well.

-Milk Tanker: I'm honestly surprised this wasn't one of the first tankers released.

Gordon's Chassis

-Spencer: One of the best aspects of N Scale not having moving eyes is how versatile a single chassis tooling can be. This one may need some tweaking to work for Spencer, but I'm sure it could be done.

N Scale Roundhouse

-Tidmouth Sheds: This one is a no-brainer. I'm sure it'll be announced before too long.

Let me know your thoughts! This line is fantastic and I want to see it continue to grow.

It's no surprise that the Bachmann Thomas models have poor mechanisms. I constantly see disappointed people whose new Thomas model has a burnt out motor after little use. I've recently had an Origins James come to a complete stop with an awful burning smell (sent back to Bachmann for repair/replacement). I've even considered not collecting the line anymore due to the fact that the mechanisms are that poor.

Have you had any bad experiences with burnt out motors? Is there a way to prolong the life of the Thomas & Friends models? I'd love to hear your experiences in this thread.

I haven't seen anyone else talking about the recent hi-res images of the figures, so I guess I'll break the ice.

I don't think they look very good at all. I think they look pretty bad. It's such a shame because the sculpts are very detailed, but the paint is so sloppy that it ruins them. I especially can't stand how they attempted to paint the faces. Capsule Plarail managed to do figures much better, and they understood that it's better to not paint eyes and mouths at this scale. It's almost laughable how poorly these turned out.

I really hope the final product is vastly improved because I'm currently regretting my pre-order.

Quote from: Cheeky_ULP on August 03, 2024, 11:37:54 AMIf there's one thing they need to do before they begin manufacturing, is switch out the Thomas wheels for Edward wheels. Nearly every Thomas custom they've shown on streams has done this, as Thomas modellers tend to agree that the Edward tooling wheel looks more accurate to the Marklin BR55 wheels they're based on.

I agree the wheels need to be changed. Bachmann does accept some feedback to a certain extent. What is the best way to communicate to Bachmann that the wheels should be changed to Edward's?

It's so good to finally see some painted samples of the figures. Hopefully it won't be too long of a wait now. I am curious to see if these will be true OO Scale, or if they'll be slightly larger than a OO figure.

As for future figures, I'd love a pack of "Sodor's VIPs." This would include the Duke and Duchess of Boxford, Sir Robert Norramby, the Mayor, Reverend Awdry, and maybe Alicia Botti.

A pack of dock workers and a pack of quarry workers would be great too.

I'd really like a figure of Sailor John. I think a pack of with him and Skiff would be really neat. Bachmann could easily use the tooling for Skiff to repaint him in his "Railboat Tours" livery and pack him with a Sailor Joe figure later on.

Unfortunately I'd say it's very unlikely- even though I would absolutely love if they did. Bachmann refuse to update the faces on their earlier models even though fans have been crying out for an upgrade for years. Henrietta in HO is already checked off Bachmann's list, and I don't see them investing precious tooling dollars into an update.

But Bachmann, please prove me wrong.