Great suggestions- I especially want a Sodor VIP pack and the Brass Band. The brass band rode in the open blue carriage a few times in the series so it'd be great to pair them together.

Thank you, Yard Master. It is greatly appreciated. I'll be first in line to pre-order if you're able to bring it to market!

I know I've mentioned it before, but I really wish Bachmann would reconsider their cancellation of the Knapford reintroduction. I understand that Bachmann thought the price was unfair due to it being more expensive than the original kit, but only getting half of what you got before. However, the only alternative is eBay.

Listings for the Knapford kit are few and far between. Only a handful pop up each year. When you're able to find a listing, the price is absolutely outrageous. When newer collectors have no other options, they're stuck contemplating dropping a few hundred just so they can add this essential station to their layout.

The Tidmouth reintroduction is currently sold out, and the price of that kit is fairly proportionate to its original even though you're getting less (no turntable). In that scenario, you have to pay much MORE just to buy a separate sale turntable to complete the kit. Even with that mind, the Tidmouth reintroduction seems to be a success regardless.

There's a demand for Knapford. I was planning to order multiple when pre-orders went up, which unfortunately, never happened. The updated color scheme looked fantastic, and I was looking forward to adding the new figures to the platforms. Hopefully it'll be back one day.

Quote from: Chaz on September 28, 2026, 01:53:22 AMDid anyone else happen to receive a box with the Lilliput logo on it by mistake? Just to be clear, these coaches use completely new body shells and are not made from Lilliput tooling. However, two of my coaches came with boxes featuring the Lilliput logo, while the other coach came in a box with the correct Bachmann branding. I'm curious if this was just an isolated packaging error or if anyone else ran into the same thing.

I know TrainTsarFun on YouTube had one of his coaches arrive in the Lilliput packaging. Other photos I've seen on eBay all use the Bachmann packaging so I'm not sure what's going on there.

N scale Edward is a necessity for the range, but I fear Bachmann will really struggle with making it a reality. I believe it was said in a recent stream that their new N scale 4-6-0 came about because the 4-4-0 was proving to be too difficult.

Granted, the 4-4-0 was intended to have DCC and sound on board. Edward would not.

I'm sure Bachmann knows there would be massive disappointment from modelers if they didn't make Edward. I'm sure he'll be made one day, but I can't imagine it'll be easy.

Maybe a closed off cab to provide more space for the motor?

Now that retools aren't out of the question, I'd love to see these in OO as well. They look fantastic! I think Bachmann have gotten plenty of mileage out of the current OO express coaches to justify retiring them and replacing them with an accurate update.

As much as I wanted to like the reboot, this first half hour special has left me very conflicted. I agree that Bachmann has made the right call in primarily focusing on the CGI series for their future products, and I can't wait to see what is on the horizon from them.

For me, the CGI renaissance seasons were the most exciting for Thomas & Friends. It felt like anything was possible during that time. Even though it's sad that it was cut short, it's still my go-to whenever I want to watch Thomas.

So, as a palate cleanser, Season 18 it is tonight.

Which reminds me, I'd love a Bachmann Samson!

The painted bracing on the LS Tidmouth Milk tank looks great! Here's hoping the HO version will see a running change with that added on!

The new stone wagons announced at NMRA will have the newly tooled China clay load just recolored to resemble gray stone. I know Matt mentioned that it helps with cost if Bachmann can use a new tool across several products which absolutely makes sense.

With that in mind, I think it might a wise choice for Bachmann to finally start selling wagon loads as a separate-sale item. Of course continue to produce wagons that have loads, but additional loads that can be bought separately would help us fill out our empty wagons. Example: the FQC wagon won't be supplied with a load, so a separate sale "stone wagon load pack" would help with that.

I know I've seen this pitched before and it's a great idea. Stone, coal, ore etc. would all make for great separate sale wagon load packs.

After tonight's stream, it sounds like Thomas and Percy's chassis' will be mostly reuse. If it keeps costs down, I guess that's fine by me. The new bodies being designed around these ancient chassis' does bring up a few questions:

-Will Percy's shell remain a split design to fit around the current gearbox?

-Will the weight be improved? The plastic gearboxes make them much too lightweight.

-Will the siderods be retooled for Percy? I think Thomas should reuse the rods from Stanley as they're a perfect match. Hoping Bachmann keeps this in mind.

I think the siderods are a main concern at the moment. I really hope the old ones aren't carried over to the new models.

Besides that, Matt did allude to rear lining for Thomas and possible DCC capability for both so that's pretty neat.

I don't understand the desire to have the body lowered. I'd rather the model be as close to the CGI reference as possible provided by Mattel. I prefer the gap and don't see the reason to change it.

Thanks for bringing this up, Cheeky_ULP. There's so many concerns with the new Thomas and Percy that it's hard to address them all at once but this is a big one. I would hope that since the 2002 Thomas has separate whistles that the new one would do the same, but obviously that's not a guarantee. Separate whistles is the way to go.

In regards to the gap on Diesel 10:

I know I'm in the minority, but I prefer when Bachmann is as close as possible to whatever reference they're using for a model. In this case, Diesel 10's CGI model which has a gap between the body and chassis. I've seen a lot of people ask for this to be adjusted on the Bachmann model, but this "gap" version is well and truly the version seen in most of his appearances. Only in TATMR was it the "right" way.

I saw the same thing happen when Flying Scotsman was announced. People asked Bachmann to fix the tender lining and number of tender wheels- which Bachmann said they weren't going to because it went against the reference material from Mattel.

Personally, I hope the gap stays.

I actually think the 4 wheel coach needs to be updated. The one glaring issue for me is the axle boxes not being evenly spaced. The N scale Annie and Clarabel are practically perfect (besides the lack of guards compartment on Clarabel). An HO update made to the N scale standards would be great.

Quote from: DustyMarie53! on August 04, 2026, 02:21:30 PMI'm in agreement with Chaz. The coal car inclusions are bizarre especially since the sodor coal one was discontinued in HO this year, surely the generic green would be better?

Engines make sense, hope we see edward in winter.

Narrow gauge is the thing really throwing me for a loop. The lack of a new engine makes me wonder if they're waiting for the market to be better to drop right into Duncan. I wouldn't complain about this outcome but do want to see Luke

I'm on the edge of my seat for the next loco in narrow gauge. I'd assume they're just waiting to figure out their solution for their "best of both worlds" Duncan. I do hope we get Luke at some point as well as Victor. Victor is also a prime candidate for a repaint, but I don't know how many yellow NG engines Bachmann wants to put out there.

Of course I'd love Millie, but she's low on my list unless Bachmann brings out Stephen.