We're just under a week away from the final Trainworld stream for this year. Less than a week before Matt finally gives us the big reveal; the Flying Scotsman update, but there's no telling if it's good or bad.

It sounds like Flying Scotsman may be delayed. Not cancelled.

But there's still a chance it's good news. He can't be cancelled when he's already that far into production, given his face sample. We'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.

Signs are pointing that he isn't cancelled, since Duncan was delisted from Trainworld before the unfortunate announcement was made, while Flying Scotsman is still up.

What doesn't help is that they didn't even specify if the news was good or bad, but the tone and body language implied that it may not be good.

They showed a face sample a few months back, and he's still up for preorder on Trainworld, while still listed on Bachmann's webstore. Duncan was delisted from Trainworld right before his cancellation was announced.

It would be one heck of a curveball to throw, especially after a face sample had already been shown.

Flying Scotsman can't be cancelled. I mean, they literally showed a face sample a few months ago, and is a highly-anticipated model.

They should have given the answer straight-up. Now it's sparked a lot of worry, and it caused rumors that Flying Scotsman may be cancelled. Someone at Bachmann will have to come out and say for sure. They tried to avoid rumors, only to cause them by not sharing the clear answer.

So they're just going to keep us in suspense until the next month. Now I'm starting to panic. If it's bad news, he better not be cancelled, but delayed.

If the 2027 catalog does announce a new engine for N Scale, it will most likely be a repaint like Busy Bee James, or 'Arry and Bert. I'd love to be wrong if it is indeed a new tooling like Edward, Spencer or Duck. Maybe use of an existing chassis like Mavis or Stanley. If Bill and Ben were to be possible for N Scale, they'd most likely use a modified version of Percy's chassis.

N Scale rolling stock repaints that would be welcome are the logoless green coal wagon and gray van.

The 2027 catalog announcements will be revealed at the end of January. They haven't been finalized yet.

So the stream was actually earlier in the day. No new samples were shown, but hopefully, more exciting new samples will be shown in the final stream of the year next month. Fingers crossed one of them is the full painted sample of N Scale Henry. For now, they only had his tender shown. Another possibility for next month is the full unpainted sample of HO Scale Flying Scotsman. They've also been figuring out what to announce in the 2027 catalog. Catalog announcements are typically repaints, while mid-year announcements include new toolings. This may be different. One thing that was confirmed is announcements for all scales.

Anyway, what the stream did show were packaged samples of the HO Scale CGI fuel tanker and NW brake van, as well as the N Scale Mr. Jolly van and blue wagon. The latter two I don't think were already shown before. Still no packaged samples of N Scale Diesel, Paxton, LBSC Thomas or Origin James yet, but those could be shown next month. Same for packaged samples of HO Scale Sidney and Mainland Diesel.

Next month's stream should be much more exciting to wrap up the year.

I can say pretty much the exact same thing, but with some differences. I'll also say my top picks for all three scales, but in no particular order. Also including suggestions that aren't talked about much.

HO Scale, top four are most popular, but bottom four are rather niche picks:

-Harvey
-Whiff - Both he and Harvey are the last characters to appear in both model and CGI.
-Norman - We have Paxton and Sidney, would complete the trio, no ready-to-run model of his basis exists, plus Dennis is a potential repaint.
-Hiro - Fan favorite CGI character and should be the next tender engine. Wheels recycled from Rebecca, but configured differently.
The niche picks however...
-Timothy - Not brought up that much, but he's a small engine to go with Bill and Ben. Would be great with the China Clay wagon.
-Marion - Also not talked about, but with Diesel 10 on the cards, she could also be possible with a shovel that can swivel with limited movement. A prominent character to also go with Bill and Ben.
-Merlin - Could recycle Henry's chassis.
-Frankie - Could recycle Diesel's chassis, and American Diesel is a potential repaint.

Tooling repaints for HO Scale:

-Splatter and Dodge - To go with Diesel 10.
-Fernando - One of the last Class 08 repaints.
-Green Salty - Another use of Salty's tooling.
-Blue Bill and Ben - Another use of Bill and Ben's tooling.

N Scale:

-Edward - Last member of the original Steam Team.
-Spencer - Very popular choice, and must be the third big engine. Would then need the special coaches.
-Duck
-Oliver
-Donald and Douglas - They, along with Duck and Oliver, are beloved classic fan favorites. The Scottish twins can also recycle Duck's chassis.
-Stanley - Recent addition to HO Scale, but Thomas' chassis can be recycled for him.
-Mavis - Can also recycle Thomas' chassis, and could be the first diesel in that scale that isn't a Class 08.

Tooling repaints for N Scale:

-'Arry and Bert - Most likely next out of all Class 08 choices. Must have different faces, with Bert having more stubble, and 'Arry having little or none.
-Sidney
-Mainland Diesel - He and Sidney are about to release in HO Scale, but the tooling is also there for them in N Scale.
-Busy Bee James - Another use of James' tooling.

Large Scale, including tooling repaints:

-Edward - Last feasible member of the original Steam Team.
-Bill and Ben - Small engines that only need one tooling.
-Rosie - Can be made in two different liveries.
-Stanley - Can recycle Thomas' chassis
-Daisy - Large but simple bogied diesel for this scale.
-Origin James - Tooling repaint of James we should've got.
-Sidney
-Mainland Diesel - He and Sidney are also very much possible in this scale and likely the next picks.

I pretty much gave up hope on characters like Stepney and BoCo, since they haven't appeared in the show for so long. I mentioned Splatter and Dodge, but at least their tooling is there.

We 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.

Well, we are getting retooled Thomas and Percy for HO Scale. A huge improvement over their original models. James getting a retool shouldn't be too far off.

With Gordon's express coaches finally existing in N Scale, Gordon's presence feels more complete. Took two years after Gordon himself hit store shelves. Other liveries are also possible, with the red express coaches already on the horizon for N Scale. If they really want to do a model series look, they can also make the black and white express coaches from Season 2, especially fitting for a Season 2 tooling. Another idea, but not seen in the show are ones with a blue stripe, as we sometimes do get repaints not seen in the show. I did mention the special coaches, which can be modified from the same tooling, and can be pulled by Spencer, whenever he's announced. One more that's from the show are Gordon's special coaches, which are highly requested for HO Scale.

Another interesting fact is that they're the first N Scale rolling stock to have bogies.

While we need the logoless green coal wagon and gray van in N Scale, another good choice for a logoless rolling stock is a BROWN 12-Ton van, for all three scales. It can also be used to create Henry's Flying Kipper train. The brown van we do have is the Mr. Jolly van, which is one with a logo. We can also use one without a logo. If they announce the explosives, Brendam Bay and Christmas wreath vans for N Scale, then we'd have all the vans with logos in that scale. I'd love to have N Scale Henry pulling a line of brown vans, as he pulls the Flying Kipper. The Brendam Bay van also works for that train.

N Scale rolling stock that require new toolings include the cattle wagon, salt wagon, mail car, show-accurate tankers, and BR 20-Ton brake van. All of which have potential repaints and can be used multiple times. If Bachmann announces N Scale rolling stock with new toolings, any of those options will be welcomed by everyone. Those toolings will be well worth the investment. The red coaches for N Scale would also be welcomed, and they too have potential repaints like Toby's museum coaches.

The next Large Scale engine could be Sidney, Mainland Diesel, Stanley, or Origin James. Sidney and Mainland Diesel are soon to be released for HO Scale, and Stanley can recycle Thomas' chassis, just like his HO Scale model. LBSC Thomas is soon to release in Large and N Scales, while Origin James is also soon to release in N Scale, but not announced for Large Scale yet.

If Bachmann isn't ready to bring Edward to N Scale yet for technical reasons, then other safe options to fall back on are Duck, Oliver and Spencer. Any of those would be more than welcome to join N Scale. We may even get Duck and Oliver announced together. Since Toad already exists in N Scale, the sooner we get Oliver, the better. Duck and Oliver are top sellers in HO Scale, and it will sure be like that for N Scale too.

There's technical concerns regarding Edward because he is a 4-4-0. James is a 2-6-0 and was more doable. Emily has a more complicated configuration with the small wheels in front of her big driving wheels also being powered, and she was still doable in N Scale. Bachmann may have to close off Edward's cab, which would be a small sacrifice to make his N Scale model work.

As for the N Scale special coaches, provided we get Spencer, we can also get a special brake coach, unlike HO Scale. They'd be made based on the model series design. Modified from the express coach tooling.

I got my N Scale express coaches earlier today. Three, with one of them being the brake coach. Now Gordon can finally do his favorite job. I also got two red open wagons and the Sodor Scrap wagon. I reckon the red express coaches are also not that far off. I should preorder those too once available, and have Henry pull them.

The October stream should for sure show the full painted sample of N Scale Henry. Very good chance we'll also be shown the packaged samples of N Scale Diesel, Paxton, LBSC Thomas and Origin James.

With this much backlog cleared up for N Scale, the 2027 catalog has to announce an engine. Please be Edward. Duck would also be welcome, along with Spencer. And if we get Spencer, we'd then need the special coaches for N Scale as well. He would make the most sense as the third big engine for N Scale, while Edward is a medium-sized engine, and Duck can be the next tank engine.

So I had it exchanged from Trainworld, and the same issue came up again. Tested it on other engines, but to no avail, then I swapped out the transformer, and THAT did the trick. Turned out it wasn't the model. It was a bad transformer all along. It tricked me. I never had an issue like that before. I wouldn't have guessed it before I sent it back. Now I sent an otherwise good model back for nothing, and I feel like an idiot.

My posts about the reboot got removed. Guess I was being a little too hard on it, and badmouthing the reboot too much wouldn't make Bachmann look good. I also have to refrain from throwing any shade at Mattel for the same reason.

To give some credit, it's the first time since Season 2 that we see orange branch line coaches that aren't Annie and Clarabel.