Saw the recent announcement that Salty is actually gonna be released next year, also with the tail lamp removed due to the fans expressing dissatisfaction about how it looks, especially when one of the James models has this too.....

I recall at one point (around when the "new" Knapford Station got canceled) that IF they were able to determine the costs of making the product was feasible or not, especially down to being able to reuse components like the chassis from Gordon/Spencer for example, they'd promise to announce AFTER everything was finalized and set in stone. To hear them be uncertain about the future of a character we've been looking forward to seeing feels like a betrayal IF it ends up being a Duncan 2.0 situation.

Idk, we'll see how it goes.... If anything, if this announcement is great news that he isn't cancelled and during December, well then it'll be a Christmas miracle lol

Quote from: TrainFan97 on August 14, 2026, 08:30:19 PMHopefully the new Thomas and Percy will be DCC ready. Hope it's possible the same can also be applied to Diesel 10, and all future models in HO Scale, just like how it is in the UK. DCC ready Thomas models shall become stateside. Diesel 10 will most likely still be analog DC.

If we were to get HO Scale Annie and Clarabel to look like their CGI renders, Bachmann can then release an updated HO Scale Thomas set. The first set to use the new Thomas. If they were to release DCC Sound variants of the new Thomas and Percy, they can be released in a set together with Annie and Clarabel, and two Troublesome Trucks; a DCC Sound set.

It would be good to know IF the motors are also counted as the chassis, meaning if that's the case, they could reuse the chassis + motor housing the DCC sounds to make this definitely a possible cost-cutting measure just like the upcoming new models.

Don't worry, I know you didn't mean that.

I remember seeing that post of the 2002 Thomas next to a modern 2023 Ryan and yeah Thomas looked so out of place... Can't wait to see the updated version of Thomas finally synergizing well with the newly released characters.

Matt did mention at one point that if needed, the chassis of Thomas and Percy could be modified a notch, i.e. using the side-rods from Stanley's wheels to Thomas' wheels to be up-to-date/close to the CGI models. I'd imagine they'd also match the synergy of their Large Scale and N Scale model for Thomas at least.

Quote from: harrison05 on August 13, 2026, 09:08:13 PMWill Percy still have counterweights is the question I wanna know?

Based on Matt saying that re-using their chassis will be a cost-saving measure, yes he will keep his counterweights. Granted it's too early to say anything else until then, but just going by what he said is a possibility that'll have them save the chassis of the OG models.

Quote from: TrainFan97 on August 11, 2026, 08:48:58 PMBachmann may have to discontinue the Graham Farish N Scale tankers once they announce show-accurate ones, with the proper tooling. They did a similar thing with the Narrow Gauge vans once we got show-accurate ones. They can do the same with the N Scale tankers. Everyone will be happy once N Scale finally gets show-accurate tankers, so they can be made in a much wider variety. Other new-tooled rolling stock for N Scale we need to increase variety include the mail car, cattle wagon, salt wagon, and of course, brake vans.

The 2027 catalog should at least announce the logoless green coal wagon and gray van. Logoless rolling stock tends to sell better. And for HO Scale, separate wagons with ore loads. Troublesome Truck #8 can be a coal wagon.

I wouldn't be surprised if they at some point consider announcing the "NW" Brake van, as well as the Spiteful Brake Van since so far the latter is released in both HO & Large scale, why not in N scale to round things off, as well as giving a standard brake van that isn't Toad... Heck probably even using the upcoming 20 Ton Brake Van that'll be released later on in HO scale is another one to consider to make this logical.

I'd imagine for Troublesome Truck #8 would either be the Oil Tanker or the standard Open Wagon with the same face on the 12 Ton van, maybe modified differently expression-wise...

So it's confirmed by Matt on the live-stream earlier today that both Thomas and Percy will reuse the chassis present on their old models to keep the costs down, unless if there's some modifications to be made, like maybe reusing Stanley's side-rods since it's more closer to the CGI Thomas model we know of...

After seeing the live stream earlier today, I'm glad they're considering the "gap" issue that's been plaguing Diesel 10 and also since it works in their favor to ensure that it's fitted onto the chassis, making it like the "model" hybrid of sorts, fans can rest easy that they're keeping that in mind.

Quote from: TrainFan97 on August 13, 2026, 03:54:20 PMOther characters thought to be impossible for HO Scale include Winston and Flynn. Though Bachmann UK makes Wickham Trolleys, which Winston is based on one. Flynn has the ability to switch between rail and road wheels. Bachmann might just make Flynn's road wheels into rail wheels, like their maintenance-of-way vehicles. Both characters would be marketed as "Motive Power". Belle has water cannons, which wouldn't be very difficult to incorporate.

We're getting Flying Scotsman who has a second tender, Diesel 10 who has a claw, and maybe next, we can have Harvey, who has a crane.

We'll see what samples of previously-announced products will be shown in the stream tonight. Might be N Scale Henry fully painted. Might be Flying Scotsman's unpainted sample. We'll wait and see.

I'd say for Winston, it's not impossible since he was given a Large Scale, probably without the eye mechanism to not make it expensive... Flynn and Belle, I'd say while it could be interesting to see them, they're not a "fan favorite priority" in that regard, probably after all the requested characters be made in who knows how long into the future....

It's also great to see Bachmann take into consideration regarding Diesel 10's beloved Pinchy, which makes sense since the other factor to think about is the "8+" age range to ensure that no small parts will be a choking hazard...! Can't wait to see the model in another 2-3 year's time to see the final, finished model being released later on...!

It boggles my mind that we finally got some characters that have some factors that probably would've been impossible back then...: The Flying Scotsman with the extra tender to deal with packaging-wise and Diesel 10 with Pinchy (the claw) that if too tall can end up running into a bridge or tunnel not tall enough for it. It makes me appreciative to see them go above and beyond! If they do the same with Harvey, then we got the trifecta for the HO Range...!

Quote from: JacobSK on July 28, 2026, 07:45:42 PMAs far as a new engine, I wouldn't mind Luke. My biggest issue is that he'll be too detailed to warrant a tooling. As we saw with Scotsman's announcement last year, anything is possible, though. You know what they say, "Never say never".

I wonder if his side rods would be complicated to make because compared to the other engines made so far, they've only got two total side rods connected to each other, but for Luke, he's got a bit more to make. ALSO and this is assuming they'll get to him, that they make "Peter Pan" (Luke's real-life basis) without the cab walls... I mean given that they decided to create a Sir Handel based on Sir Haydn (with the latter's details and not directly from the CGI series variant), I wouldn't be surprised if they went that route...

Quote from: [email protected] on August 08, 2026, 04:14:32 PMOne of my concerns is that, will the chassis of the new version of Thomas still work with the snow plough that comes with the holiday sets?

Thinking about that part because if they implement the new hook-n-loop couplers for the fronts of Thomas and Percy, I can see where the question stems from. IF they have the foresight to include an extra bit for the screws to tap into the updated running board, MAYBE it might be possible, but we shall see...

I thought I read somewhere that for Thomas and Percy that they were just gonna reuse their chassis to keep costs down(?).

I mean don't forget their Large Scale counterparts, because Percy in that line has counterweights to them. The N Scale Percy, not-so-much, but we'll see how things go...

Quote from: jlkhalaf2707 on August 08, 2026, 10:31:05 PMI hate to burst people's bubbles, but what if Duncan never ends up happening? Also, they don't need to discontinue the current HO scale Henrietta, they just need to add a face to her. Also, if Toby ends up getting the spark arrestor in the reboot, along with being painted chocolate and blue, that would be nice. Same with blue Donald and Douglas.

I mean Diesel for Large Scale was initially canceled, but then brought back into the range, alongside Paxton. Never say never. And hey, if they ever pull a Beau where they just make it based off of the basis, as well as Sir Handel where they based him more off of Sir Haydn, nothing is impossible.

Quote from: MrNormalDraws on August 05, 2026, 08:11:06 PMSince Bachmann is planning to release Henrietta and Hannah for G Scale, I feel like Bachmann could discontinue the original Henrietta for the HO/OO version and replace it with the face version alongside her sister. And considering Bachmann is redoing Thomas and Percy, I wouldn't mind they do the same for Henrietta. Though I'm not sure if it'll be good if there's some fans that prefer the faceless one over the face.

I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled a Spiteful Brakevan, where they retired the old grey brake van for the new one.

On the other hand, if they do turn Henrietta into her CGI counterpart, synergy-wise, she'd look odd next to the model series Toby, so an update to him would be a must IMO (and hopefully considered to be retooled or at least updated with a new face)...