A few months ago, I wrote a detailed list of suggestions for Bachmann Trains to make in 2020. Sadly, I never received a follow-up email to the letter. I put lot of research into this letter, and figure it'd be fair to share it with people on social media. I even designed and suggested new product ideas, and various designs and details of said product ideas was included in the document. You can read the letter here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MVCBnSqbOlkVK1spfOzsEymHQeKNQKYe/view

Hello Bachmann Forum

In recent years, the Flat Car With Paint Drums has been discontinued, despite high demand. I feel like a thread should be in order to make the topic clear that there is definite fan interest in the product returning.

"Why is the Flat Bed so popular, anyway?" Bachmann themselves might ask. The answer is simple; it's a unique Thomas tooling for a wagon that's completely screen-accurate to the prop in the show. It's without a doubt one of the best items in the Bachmann Thomas range accuracy wise.

A recent incident I feel "paint out" the demand this item has, where it sold for a whopping 300 dollars:


To add, some Japanese fans have even made a Petition to bring it back:

And is still view-able here:
https://www.change.org/p/bachmann-trains-to-bring-back-bachmann-thomas-flat-car-with-paint-drums?recruiter=882148142&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_term=share_petition
However, with the Japanese part of the Thomas fandom being small, and having even less OO scale modellers, it has a modest 23 signatures. The eBay auction shows however, that there is a fair bit of a rabid fandom that wants to get their hands on more Flat Beds.

If Bachmann even considered something along the lines of a "Limited Run" of 1,000 units or so, I think they'd be sure to sell out. However, I think if Bachmann wants to make the item fresh, they should consider selling it with a new load. The CGI series already has a random assortment of flat bed loads Bachmann could consider, but I feel these loads aren't particularly "interesting."

I think some more interesting alternatives for new loadscould be as follow:

Henry's Log Cars:

While not a particularly interesting load on their own and to a non-Thomas fan, the log loads are iconic of the classic Thomas episodes a lot of older fans remember. They were seen a lot in Season 2, and became associated with Henry in later seasons due to his affinity for the forest, and would sometimes be seen pulling them. An idea I think that would sell better though is...

The Christmas Tree:

Throughout several Christmas episodes, Thomas transports a Christmas tree on the flat bed. As seen here, it stretches across the whole flatbed just fine, and is wrapped up in two red blankets for protection. Christmas themed trains also tend to be popular seller, and this would be a great item for a customer to buy in addition to the Bachmann Thomas Christmas Set. However, there is also a third, popularly demanded load for the Flat Bed...

The Chinese Dragon:

I feel like the Chinese Dragon has been popular and in demand for years now. I think the Chinese Dragon is definitely tied with the Christmas Tree in terms of marketability and potential profits, as both are unique loads that would stick out strongly to customers, and be favorable for a junior modellers layout.

Only thing for me personally is, there's two subtle difference between the Classic Chinese Dragon, and the HiT Era Chinese Dragon:

The HiT Era Chinese Dragon has a longer muzzle/nose, giving it a more dog-like shape. The pattern on the nose is also entirely different. Personally I would prefer the classic design for the head, and if Bachmann began the range in 2002 they would more than likely still have the Gullane/Britt era photo references (the same one you see above, and was used on the Thomas website back in the day, though companies like Bachmann would get access to the side and back references too), so if they really wanted to dig up the old photos, they probably could. I wouldn't be surprised if they went for the HiT version though, should they choose to make the Chinese Dragon.

Anyway, that's just my thoughts and observations on the Flat Bed With Paint Drums. I definitely would buy another pair if Bachmann decided to bring them back in the near future, and I think several people would agree, too.

Recently, I've taken the effort to acquire the Tomix Thomas range, and I have to say that it's one of my favorite Thomas ranges period. However, its availability is limited, especially for a younger audience. N scale has a large presence in the USA, and many N scalers love putting the Tomix Thomas items on their layout (as the range was easier to get until about 4 years ago). I think this is a hole in the market that Bachmann could easily fill.

One thing I think Bachmann should make an important note of if they go down this avenue though, is that the Tomix Thomas range is slightly overscale to N scale, similar to how the Large Scale Thomas is larger than Gauge 1. I think if Bachmann matched the scaling of this theoretical range to the Tomix range, they would have a range "steaming with synergy" for the US and Japanese market alike (who would definitely import the stuff, just as Americans have imported Hornby items, and British people Bachmann items). In a post shortly after this, I can post measurements of the range if people want to see what I mean.

Anyway, if Bachmann did jump into making N Scale Thomas items in the US, I think a small range similar to the Large Scale range could work. It could easily start with a simple set of items like...

Engines:
- Thomas
- Percy
Rolling Stock:
- Annie
- Clarabel
- Troublesome Truck 1
- Troublesome Truck 2

Which over the years, could extend to James, and possibly Emily, Toby, Rosie or Diesel. Rolling stock offerings could even expand to the vans and tankers, similar to the ones in the Large Scale range. Even a NW Brakevan or Spiteful Brakevan would make a great addition, and once Bachmann has those basic wagons out, they can easily milk the tooling for multiple decals and designs.

The main thing I think would be an obstacle though is pricing and resources, as Bachmann already has the HO/OO range going on, Large Scale, -and- a OO9 range that has just began a few years ago.

What do you guys think; a good idea, a bit too soon, something worthy for the future to consider, or even a bit farfetched?

For years, Hornby has always been the opposing competitor for OO Thomas range. Many internet debates and videos have been solely dedicated to comparing Bachmann and Hornbys products. Today however, it looks like this is the closing chapter on the Hornby Thomas range:
https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/news/thomas-and-friends-news-april18
The range I feel like, had already been long past its peak, but it's sad to see the popular "rival" of Bachmanns Thomas range to formally end. I felt like it would be worthy of a thread, at the least.

Now the question is, does Bachmann have plans with Mattel to expand their range to the UK? Bachmann already did hit the Australian market not too long ago, and British stores regularly import the Bachmann range in whatever odd way they can. Perhaps 2019 will be the beginning of a new future in a new market?

I almost put this in the 2019 thread, but I felt like the thread is growing to the point where it'd be lost in the thread. Anyway...

While there has been plenty of discussion lately in terms of what engine Bachmann should do in 2019, I don't think there's been a very detailed analysis on multiple options, their advantages and disadvantages over others, etc. So I felt I'd make a thread based on these thoughts. Now, these thoughts can extend to a Bachmann 2020 announcement as well, as sometimes it can take over a year to develop product.

To begin, Bachmanns 2018 announcements left a lot of fans disappointed. While there can be a number of factors going on internally to have led to the 2018 announcements, be they economical decisions, bigger announcements in the pipework but not ready to be announced, or other circumstances, we either way ended up with a much smaller set of announcements this year for Thomas. I think that's also why there's been such a burst of 2019 predictions and hopes lately, as said 2018 announcements left such a sour taste in a lot of fans. So, what -are- the viable, expected options fans are hoping for? Lets have a look.

I'll start with HO/OO engines:

For most of 2017, fans were hoping for Daisy the Diesel Railcar.

Lets look at some of the reasons fans have been rooting for her to be in the range:

• She's one of two engines fans have been rooting for that is from the Railway Series, as well as the model era TV series. While she wasn't used much in the model series, Daisy become a writers-favorite in the recent CGI episodes, where she's starred in seven episodes, and made cameos in others. To say she's familiar to older audiences and younger audiences a like is a bit of an understatement at this point.
• Daisy is a character who started in the books and show with next to nothing, and has been turned into a fan-favorite whose firing at her full storytelling potential in both humorous and yet good-valued stories, making her one of the best-written female characters on the show. This mainly reinforces the idea that she is a popular character in the show, and thus would have plenty of eager customers to buy her model.
• She has a very simple box shape that would be about as difficult as any other Bo-Bo diesel locomotive, with the addition of the usual Thomas eye mechanism internally. With a full body, she has plenty of room for said eye mechanism, as well as extra weight to make her body heavier.
• Daisy also has another, minor perk: With Oliver, fans were very divided on the way his CGI model looked in the show, compared to his model appearance, which led to disagreements over the Bachmann model when they used his CGI model. Daisy on the other hand, is generally agreed that her CGI model is a vast improvement over her model body. Her buffers no longer nearly reach the ground, making her look properly closer to her prototype. Her face is also now more unique, rather than looking like "BoCo in make-up."

So, what if there's some reason Daisy ends up being a nonviable option? Well, there has been the Option B fans have been clamoring for lately, Stepney the Bluebell Engine:

At first, Stepney seems to be a bit off a choice to be suddenly bringing up, but recent discussions have brought up many points in his favor:

• Stepney is a fan-favorite engine, who like Daisy, has his origins in the Railway Series, and Model Series, with no current CGI appearance. To many fans, Stepney is now considered a character that fortunately has yet to be "tainted." He's gone, but far from forgotten.
• Stepney has a unique color that would make him stand out in the crowd of Bachmann Thomas engines.
• Stepney is a proven seller. How? Hornby made Stepney many years ago, and due to his unique color, as well as general popularity of his basis (the A1 Terrier), has been a hot seller. The Hornby Stepney was so popular that he was given another production run in 2012 after years of being discontinued.
• British Thomas fans importing the Bachmann models to the UK is very common nowadays through online vendors, despite Bachmann themselves not selling the range in the UK. They would be ecstatic to have a Stepney model back on the market.
• As mentioned before, Stepney has not had a CGI appearance yet, and he's the last engine from the model era that has a fair chance of being considered for a Bachmann model. If Bachmann made a model of Stepney, he'd be praised as a "final hurrah" and tribute to the model era, which so many of Bachmanns older fans (aka the ones with wallets) grew up with and have nostalgia for.
• Stepney is a small tank engine who would not need a large amount of resources. Bachmann already made Oliver before with a small body, so making Stepney should prove to be an easy task for them.

I honestly think at this point, Stepney would not be any sort of financial risk. If anything, I believe making Stepney would be a good financial choice, but also a good PR choice to regain trust and faith in the Bachmann Thomas fans to those who feel underwhelmed by the 2018 announcements.

Now lets address the elephants in the room: Rebecca and Nia.

These are two new engines Mattel has brought in the show to take Henry and Edwards place in the franchise, as a way to add diversity and a more even gender balance. The problem fans have been having with this is these are two new, unproven characters that the fans as-of-yet have no reason to like. The show already had engines like Rosie and Ashima for diverse gender equality, but were instead "shunted" to the side for new, marketable faces.

Their debut movie, Big World, Big Adventures will not even be out until the fall, but fans have become quickly concerned by the aggressive manner they are being marketed into merchandise as news as the next "hip, hop and modern" Thomas engines. This already should tell Bachmann that there is not a market currently for these two engines, and even if there's the odd chance of it being there, said market is uncertain and unstable. It'd be an awkward gamble that I feel like the resources could be better spent on engines that are certain to sell.

Among the two engines, Nia (the orange engine) has the "stronger" chance. She's a tank engine, but she does have a large argument against her.

• She's a large tank engine, so more resources would be required to make her.
• She has a lot of details, as well as a complicated paintwork that would make even Stepney blush.
• Her side rods are quite complex, far more so than even Rosie, or any other engine brought into the range in the last few years

To add...

• Model trains are a hobby that's practically -founded- on nostalgia and childhood wonder (just take note how a lot of people will model rail lines that are close to their home, or ones they grew up nearby and saw a lot). Nia (and Rebecca) don't fit this label at all; she's purely an instrument of marketing, and the fans have been smelling this a mile away. Whether she'll end up well-written in due time has yet to be told, but as it stands, she's not exactly a hot topic right now.

Some might point fingers to Paxton, but even Paxton wasn't conceived in such a way. He was meant to be background filler for one DVD special, but through the writing crew guided by Andrew Brenner, gave him a unique personality that made a new character have a lovable personality that felt.. well, Awdry-esque. Paxton felt like a character that would've came right out the Railway Series, and that's what won fans hearts. Paxton also skirted by fairly easy despite being a CGI character, as he's a repaint of the Diesel tooling.

Rosie, I feel like won her way into the range due to her unique color, and popularity for being an established female character whose representation in the range was deserved through perseverance.

Meanwhile, I feel like Rebecca (the yellow engine) can be almost instantly ruled out.

• She's a large tender engine, who we have not seen an engine of her size in the range since Spencer, who was made about 10 or so years ago.

If it came to the point where Bachmann wanted to and could make a large tender engine, let me use this as a way to segway into the third engine I think -does- have a chance, Hiro the Japanese Engine:


The possibility of Hiro relies entirely on Bachmann considering Rebecca, keep in mind. What does Hiro have over Rebecca? Well, a lot actually.

• Hiro is a diverse engine, he'd be the first engine in the Bachmann range that would appeal to a minority.
• Nia is African, but she is still a newcomer to the franchise. Hiro meanwhile, has been in the franchise for years, is well-established into Sodor, and is one of the few CGI characters that older fans like, in a similar vein to Paxton.
• On that note, fans like Hiro because his character sticks very well to the foundations of the franchise. He's all about saving old engines from scrap, and making them into new engines. His character embodies old wisdom as well as preservation of the past, and protection and respect of ones elders.
• He's based off the Japanse D51, which is one of the most iconic locomotives in Japan, a country that is another strong importer of the Bachmann Thomas range, and way more numerous in population than the UK.
• Japan also has a strong connection to trains in their culture. Thomas & Friends has a unique style that clicked very well with Japanese audiences, and was such a strong-selling brand in Japan that they have been getting special, exclusive merchandise there since its arrival in the 90s, and continues to this day.

So if Bachmann is willing to do a large tender engine, why not pick one with a certified, well received history in the franchise, -and- one that can check off the diversity card in a positive way? If you go big Bachmann, go Hiro.

So, that covers the three main engines that have been on my mind lately. Now, there's many, many more engines Bachmann could be making, but lets address them for a second, and why I think they should be skipped.

These general points can pretty much be applied to all of these characters: Charlie, Stafford, Scruff, Stanley, Phillip, Sidney, Norman, Den, Dart, Porter, Timothy, Ryan, Gator, Marion, Hurricane, Frankie and Whiff, among others I may have forgotten.

• These are all minor characters who have had varying levels of being well received, but have not made the big impact that characters like Hiro and Paxton did
• With all of these characters debuting in the late model era or CGI episodes, they don't have a strong nostalgia factor going for them just yet
• They have fun designs and prototypes, true, but that alone isn't going to sell a model (as much as I'd like an RTR model of Norman and Hurricanes basis)

To put it simple, they are characters who have their fans, but not enough to where I'd say they would be a hot seller. I'd say skip any of these engines for the next few years, and don't even give them a second thought for the time being.

Anyway, those are my main thoughts for now in terms of what engines Bachmann can make for the future. Let me know what you guys think. One idea I've had is starting up a survey and having it spread around on social media to help gain momentum in favor of engines like Stepney and Daisy. I think all of this is worthy of a topic in its own right.

https://www.apnews.com/959be78e3149440abdf06707e4fb916d/New-characters-give-'Thomas-&-Friends'-a-jolt-of-girl-power

So in case you haven't heard, Mattel is going to begin a drastic revamp of the Thomas and Friends brand. This raises the question of what's going to happen to the Bachmann Thomas range? Let's make one thing clear; it's probably not going to be cancelled, so we can rule that out. What I'm talking about however, is the direction that the Bachmann range will go:

Will Mattel force Bachmann to make newer products to appeal to this rebranding, or will Mattel allow Bachmann to be loyal to a fanbase that they already know will buy their products, and knows that said fanbase consists of older fans who want certain products?

Personally, I feel that Bachmann should "wrap up" any loose ends of classic characters before moving on to newer characters. Off the top of my head, I'm mainly thinking of engines like Daisy, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, and Duncan (all of whom are characters who are in CGI now). At this point, I wouldn't really count on or expect engines like Duke, Boco, or Stepney. If Bachmann could clear those classic characters out the way, I think the future of the ranges engines would be fairly open-game. The fans of the Bachmann Thomas range would also be much more tolerant of new engines being made if the classic characters are made first, I feel.

Another thing to consider is how well is this risky experiment Mattels doing going to be? Unlike Wood, Adventures and other toy ranges who can spit out any new character with relative ease, Bachmann has to carefully consider the long-term success of their Thomas engines, due to how complicated and how much resources it takes to make an engine.

On the note of rolling stock:

The future of rolling stock is harder to say, as it seems now we're getting much more creative ideas with the freight cars (Sodor Salt, Lobsters, Farmer McColls cattle car etc.). Toolings also seem to be more open-ended as Bachmann seems to be extending the library of wagons to the Branchlines range (Toad, McColls cattle car). There are a few select wagons I would like to see Bachmann make though, such as the Works Unit, the long bogied open wagons (seen mainly in Nitrogen episodes and the classic series like Henry's Forest), and a re-release of the Flatbed. Updating the Brake Van to resemble its Large Scale NW counterpart would be fun too. OO9 wise, I think most fans would be happy to see the blue/cream Skarloey Railway coaches be made.

We know the admins of the Bachmann Forum read our posts closely and consider seriously what we say, so I think this is a good time for the Bachmann fans to speak up at a time when the franchise is about to go through some serious changes.

I don't think a Thomas model revision is going to happen for a long time, personally. There's not much of a financially beneficial reason for Bachmann to do one. However, once again, this is just a fantasy and points I'm wanting to share about how Bachmann -could potentially- revise Thomas.

Recently, I stumbled upon the Twitter page of Thomas_Lab ( https://twitter.com/thomas_lab/media ), who is a Japanese Thomas modeller. They have done some fantastic custom models, as well as modifications to their Bachmann Thomas models. It was on further investigation that something was.. slightly different about his Thomas model. The conclusion is interesting, and a small detail I don't think the forum has ever picked up on before:



I've circled other areas in different colors, but my point of interest first and foremost is the red and brown circles.

• Red: This is Thomas' front. On the Bachmann HO model, it is quite fat.  You can see there is a lot of space above and below Thomas' buffers. On Thomas_Labs model, he has sanded down Thomas' front to be thinner, which is actually in-line with the thin-ness of the Large Scale Thomas' front (and TV series Thomas). Now, then...


• Brown: This is the curve on Thomas' front. On the HO scale model, the curve is a bit sharper and deeper than it is on the Large Scale model. The HO model is actually more accurate to the TV series, but since the Large Scale model has a shorter front and a less prominent front curve, it allows for the Large Scale model to have a front coupler.
  

With these two Red and Brown points combined, it could very well be possible to give a future Bachmann Thomas revision a front hook/loop coupler as well.

Now lets look at the more commonly known and popular modifications Thomas fans do to their Bachmann models already:

• 
  Yellow: The HO scale lantern is chubby, simplistic, almost like a marshmellow. Most fans tend to find lanterns from other toy ranges to replace the Bachmann one. Might be something to consider.
• 
  Green: On the HO scale Thomas, the space between his splasher and side tank is filled in. This isn't the case on the Large Scale model. One of the oldest Bachmann Thomas tricks has been to  re-paint that space black, to simulate a space.
• 
  Pink: A minor detail I don't see addressed as often. Thomas' footplate shrunk in size about Season 3, and has stayed that way since. Somehow the Season 1-2 design got onto the Bachmann model.
• 
  Orange: Thomas' boiler bands for some reason purge out like tumors on the HO scale model. The Large scale model does something similar, but due to the scale difference, it's much less noticable. It would be nice if Thomas could have a flat boiler with red stripes, just like Edward.
• 
  Purple: Misc. details. An open cab and cab windows is always a nice touch, but it's not a necessity. The whistle tooling on the Large Scale model is also more accurate to the TV series Thomas, while the HO scale one looks less defined.
• 
  Blue: This one is a no brainer. If any changes come to the Bachmann Thomas model, I can see this one happening. The HO scale face is based off promo artwork from the early 2000s, and looks outdated compared to the newer CGI model on the Large Scale Thomas.

Now, I'm no toy designer. I don't know the ins and outs of how design choices are considered for factory production. These are just details I've noticed as a consumer, and still hope will be put into consideration one day.

Let me know what you guys think.

There he is!

Also, we now have the information that Skarloey "performs best on 11.25" radius curves or greater."

In the new Sodor's Legend of the Lost Legend trailer, we saw the CGI debut of the Railway Series characters Mike, Rex and Bert. They are the first Railway Series engines to appear in the show in over 20 years. This raises the possibility now that other engines will appear in the show too.

The question is, if standard gauge engines appear in the show, would they have a chance to be made by Bachmann being considered "classic engines," or would they be considered "new engines" not worth risking?

Personally, I think if characters like Bear or Wilbert find their way into the show, they should at least be considered. I'd put their priority higher than "new" CGI characters like Paxton and Hiro. I also think it would depend on who appears in the foreseeable future. Right now this is just speculation until Season 19 debuts.



What do you think?

The official promo images are now out on the Bachmann Products page.

Lately I have been putting matt varnish on my Thomas engines and some wagons. I figured I would share their changes here to show what a difference it makes. I'll post more as I varnish more:

The forums been quiet lately (until recently), so I think it'd be a good idea to bring up a hot topic on the forums.

This post isn't really about the possibility of if the Skarloey Railway would be made by Bachmann, or what scale they would be in. This is just a post for fun to think about what kind of items they could make, if they ever did find a way to make the Skarloey Railway work.

I think first off, the range would be handled in a similar manner the Thomas range was first handled, as well as Chuggington. Basically, three engines to kick things off, and then some rolling stock.

Engines:



There's no doubt that Skarleoy and Rheneas would go first, being the original engines of the railway. I think the bigger question is who the third engine would be.



They could easily go in numberical order with Sir Handel...


...go with Peter Sam or Duncan for color contrast...


Or go with Rusty for an easier third tooling.

After the main 6 engines, I think engines like Duke, Victor, Millie, and Luke would depend on how well the range does.

Rolling Stock:

The Slate truck is one of the most common pieces of rolling stock on the Skarloey Railway, so I imagine it would definitely be included. Maybe even with a slate load.


The blue passenger coaches have been in the show for a long time, and they're a bright color that can be appealing on a layout. The livery also dates back to the Railway Series. I imagine a coach would be picked as a piece of rolling stock without a doubt.


The gunpowder wagon was only in Season 4, but nonetheless it has a soft spot with the fan base. "D.Fusit" has always gotten a bit of a chuckle out of those who have noticed.


Can't have a train without a caboose!

There are other wagons, but for now I just wanted to narrow it down to a "core" set of what could be introduced to a hypothetical Narrow Gauge range. There's not a whole lot more wagons though, maybe 10 unique pieces of rolling stock at most.

What would you guys like to see? What would you do differently?

Time for another absurd theory from yours truly.

So far, the CGI team at Arc has brought back Duck, Bill, Ben and Jack to the show. Rumors going around about an episode called "Gone Fishing" say that Harvey will be returning as well. It feels like with Season 18 looming on the horizon (some sites are saying Spring 2014), that BoCo is bound to return soon. This got me thinking, how hard would it be to make BoCo? For awhile, nobody knew Duck was going to be in CGI, so his Bachmann model came as a surprise.

- His body is essentially one big mold, which means it's less demanding on the assembly line
- His body also has lots of room for a powerful, heavy chassis

With these points considered, it seems like BoCo would be a really easy engine to do that would guarantee the approval of Bachmanns faithful fans.

Thoughts on this? Would you buy a Bachmann BoCo?

It's common knowledge that the Bachmann Thomas range has a lot of wagons that use toolings from the Mainline range, which Bachmann has the rights to. I browsed through Bachmanns selection of Mainline toolings to use, and have come to a startling conclusion: They're almost out of wagons to introduce to the Thomas range (unless Bachmann started making custom wagon toolings again based on Thomas themed stock).

What I did was look at the items that exist in Mainlines range, to see what can still be added to the Thomas range. I think this is about as good as it gets for what's left from Mainline. Feel free to browse around at Mainlines stock to see if there's other potential items I might have overlooked.


Toad the Brake Van

A classic character that's been high in demand, and would help pave the way to a Bachmann Oliver, much like Emilys Coaches came before Emily.






3 Plank Wagon

Appeared throughout Season 8, 9 and 10 infrequently. Could be accompanied with a pipe load.






Hopper Wagon
(Mainline has two hoppers, but I think the design pictured below matches the design in the show better, though not as long)

Appears regularly in newer CGI episodes.

http://www.horizonhobbytrains.com/products/g-emily-w-moving-eyes-BAC91404


.....Somewhat.  I'm surprised they went ahead and did this kind of promo image again with Emily.

(I'm gonna be labeled crazy for this one)

I've been pondering lately, and this is the result. While there already is a wish list thread (somewhere out there), I've made this its own topic since new topics usually get better attention and can keep the discussion about these engines.

I know it's been widely theorized Bachmann will make Arry and Bert, but personally, I've never cared much for the duo. They're not a classic character (minus one Season 5 role, but it's too different from who they're known as today), and are only really around as "stock" characters to make comments about the 'steamies.' Is there really anything interesting about these two?

Meanwhile, there's Norman, Sidney and Paxton.


Paxton and Sidney are a curious subject. We've seen next to nothing of Sidney yet, but Paxton already looks like he's going to have a significant role in Blue Mountain Mystery, and one that isn't just "Hey I'm a Diesel, I'm bad, I make fun of steam engines." He has me quite interested. I have a feeling the whole trio will have a role in this upcoming special.

Like Arry and Bert, Paxton and Sidney can be made from modifications to Diesels tooling. Both are individual characters with their own colors and unique faces, which I think that sets them apart from the likes of "twins" Arry and Bert, and Splatter and Dodge in a refreshing way.



Norman however, is who I have my main attention on. If Bachmann made Sidney and Paxton, without a doubt they'd make Norman. What does that mean though? It means a Ready to Run No. 11001. For those who don't know, it's a Bullied diesel shunting locomotive that eventually got scrapped, but survives in culture as Dennis from Season 9, and now Norman. This would mean we get a ready to run, cheap, affordable model of a piece of Bullied history. To add, this means if Dennis returns in the near future, then all Bachmann would have to do is repaint Norman, give him a new face, and voila, Dennis! Once again, two engines for the price of one.

Sadly, Norman hasn't been a huge player yet in any story, unfortunately. None of these diesel engines have had a role -quite- worthy to warrant a Bachmann model yet. I'm not sure what the circumstances were that got a Hornby Dart into existence, but if it means a RTR model of No. 11001 and unique Class 08s, I'm up for these engines to be made by Bachmann. Here's hopes that these new diesel engines get more roles in future episodes, to warrant an eventual release.

Judging by Dart though, it's hard to say if it was just the fact Hornby had a close enough tooling, or if HiTs marketing felt Dart could be a good seller. Then again, Spencer got a Bachmann model during a time when he only had 2-3 episode appearances in total. Another thing to notice is that engines that appear in CGI, even supposed "one offs," tend to appear a lot in cameos and minor roles in later episodes. CGI is changing the game of appearances in this show.

What do you guys think? Would you rather these guys after reading this, or Arry and Bert?

This thread isn't a wishlist, or a predictions thread. This is simply a list of all the potential rolling stock Bachmann can do. The reason I am making this list is while it's great we finally got Duck, I've noticed the HO range has been shaved down quite a bit ever since the introduction of the Large Scale range.


1. Revisions of Thomas, Percy and James.



I'm not sure what's going on in HiT Entertainments marketing division, where they decide what Bachmann products are made next, but I sure hope someone at Bachmann has at least forwarded them the message that the current toolings of the "main three" HO Thomas locomotives toolings are outdated. This includes Thomas, Percy, and James. I think people find this to be a shame because the new models have amazing quality (the best of any Thomas merchandise produced, in my opinion) yet the most famous engines, and thus the most commonly bought, are poor representations of how decent the Bachmann Thomas range really is. I think it's time for Bachmann to bring their main three engines back from the ground up with the latest technology!

The best part about this is the problem is already halfway solved. The Large Scale range is a beautiful representation of who Thomas, Percy and James are. The tooling (which in this era, usually is first designed digitally if I recall correctly) already exists, so it would just need to be scaled down to the proper scale, have a new chassis designed, and make sure the buffers and height line up with Bachmanns other HO stock. A bit lengthy of things to do, but considering Bachmanns experience, I imagine this would be no problem for them.

This also opens the door for the main three engines to have their "CGI" looks in HO scale, which is something HiT seems to be strongly pushing towards in all of their Thomas ranges these days.

1a. This also applies to Annie and Clarabel!


2.  Charlie, Hiro Rosie, Stanley and or Whiff



I'm actually surprised none of these engines have been made yet. They have had a high amount of regular appearances in the TV series lately. They're all in CGI too, so any of these engines would go nicely with Bachmanns increasingly CGI rolling stock. Their frequent appearances will also be very familiar to kids, so that's a plus too. The reason I've categorized them all into one number is because they all pretty much have the same reasoning. The only real engines that stick out of that crowd are Charlie, Hiro and Whiff. Hiro starred in a special, and Charlie and Whiff both have had a few starring roles in new episodes (even more I think than Spencer did at the time of the release of his Bachmann model!). If this were a wishlist though, I'd be hoping for Stanley!

3. Arry and Bert.


I'm not gonna sit around and pretend that these two aren't a quick cash in just waiting to happen. Just remove Diesels ladders and a few other front details Arry and Bert don't have, repaint the bodies, and change the face. You got these guys made in easily just a few months prototype development time. It's so ridiculously easy to make these two that it almost seems inevitable to me. However, the question is if anybody is really demanding these two. I'd wager my money that not many are.

4. Plant/Scrap Wagons


Once an obscure wagon on the model era, only getting its big highlight in "Henrys Forest," CGI gave these interesting wagons a second lease on life, and now appear frequently in episodes. They've had a rising count of appearances (at the time of typing) in Season 16. They're now commonly filled with scrap, but ideally could be filled with anything if made in HO. A very unique freight car, and iconic of the Thomas and Friends franchise to frequent watchers.

5. Trevor and Butch


Trevor has been in high demand for a long time. It's almost a shocker that Trevor didn't come this year! Considering Harold and Berties current prices, I think Trevor and Butch would price nicely at $25. Both have already appeared in the CGI series, and while Butch has been getting regular appearances in the show, Trevor has been around much longer and is widely recognized as part of the franchise. In a way, he's the "Duck" of the roadway vehicles for Bachmann.


Closing thoughts for everyone else who frequents the Bachmann Thomas section:

- Take a strong notice at how I included nothing that's exclusive to the model era. Times are changing, and I have a feeling that Duck and the Ice Cream Wagon are the last of model era exclusives.

- There's a lot of other obscure things I could have went over, like the red coaches, varying hopper cars CGI has brought in, the new CGI brake vans, etc. but I'm a bit tired (notice how I hot linked from the wikia for now). Feel free to contribute your own potential items. Remember, this isn't a wishlist, nor is it predictions. This thread is just to give Bachmann popular items and possibilities to consider, since there's plenty of potential for the HO range. 

My Bachmann Donald model came with a lazy eye. Is there an easy fix to this, can a replacement face be sent, or should I send it to your warehouse for a replacement? I have some spare time in my schedule if I need to make a trip to the post office to send it.

Also, what becomes of models like these that are sent back to the warehouse? Seems a waste to have to discard a model that's only flaw is a lazy eye.

Thanks.

Does anyone have the measurements for Crankys base? If so, can someone post them? Thanks.

(It'd be nice to have his height as well)