Last I heard Duck will be out in April, which isn't terribly far away.  I hope they stick to that date, it'll be the first time an engine arrives before the holidays or sometime in the fall.  Whatever errors there are on the preproduction photo, I'm sure they will all be taken care of before the actual model itself comes out.

I love the face choice too, it's a classic face that works perfectly for Duck.  The funnel is the stovepipe one used from the recent series, but I don't mind it.  The model looks like Duck, and that's all that matters in the end.  

Bachmann's done it again.  Fans ask for quality products, and they get quality products in return.  The Bachmann Duck is model is a prime example of this.  I'm glad I preordered my model early, and I'm looking forward to the day he comes out.  

Thank you Bachmann for listening to the fans, it's appreciated by each and every one of them.

EDIT: In case anyone was curious, the face Bachmann used for Duck was actually used in Season 7 shown here:

My original predictions list still remains the same but with the somewhat hype going on about revisions here is what I think we would most likely get if revisions really were going to happen anytime soon:
Duck - Already confirmed to be out in 2013
Red coaches - These have been in demand for quite some time, if we get no engines I certainly hope we get some decent rolling stock this year.  The red coaches would hit the nail with the hammer on that note for many fans!
Trevor - Same reasons as I noted in my earlier post.
Set of signals - I know this sounds a bit random, but I'm kinda surprised Bachmann actually hasn't made signals for their Thomas range, apart from the signal gantry but I don't feel like that really counts since it's a plasticville repaint and it's discontinued...  
Revisions - If I had to take a guess at what would be revised it would be along the lines of Thomas, Percy, and James.  Just a few repaints to make them look more accurate and new faces to represent their current looks for the CGI series.

Large scale remains the same as I posted earlier just because I don't see how HO revisions would affect the progress of that range.

I met with Doug Blaine about 8 months ago when he was in town with the Bach-man at World's Greatest Hobby on tour, very nice man!  So is the Bach-man, did you talk to him as well?

I'm very anxious to see the large scale brake van, you'll have to keep us posted on the video.

Fingers crossed on the James update!  It's also understandable about why you want to keep things secret with what they told you earlier too.  If we really do get revisions, plus some rolling stock like the red coaches and Trevor for next year I'll be perfectly fine with that.  Plus with the Duck model most likely coming out in 2013 it's just more of a reason to look forward to next year.

Glad to see you had fun at the ihobby show!

Duck actually played some big roles in some season 6 episodes such as Scaredy Engines and Twin Trouble.  Plus he played some other big roles despite having one line and/or not speaking such as Edward the Really Useful Engine and his one-liner and role in Toby Had a Little Lamb, if you really want to get technical.  Despite not having any episodes to himself, he was a pretty regular character throughout season 5 and 6.  He definetely got short-changed in season 7, but this could make up for Oliver doing next to nothing in season 6 since he got his own episode and played a huge role in Emily's New Coaches but that's just my own personal guess.

I personally can't understand why it would take Bachmann so long to make Duck though.  It took Bachmann less than a year to put together Bill, Ben, and even Diesel.  All three have more complicated designs when compared Duck's design.  Plus Duck has the exact same chassis as Donald and Douglas so that especially holds my question as to why it's taking so long for the model to be out this year, let alone a photo.

Regardless, I'm sure the model will be worth the wait. 

Quote from: thomasj219 on September 06, 2012, 02:34:09 PM
Great list, what are your thoughts on the Red Coaches?

Considering the lack of rolling stock we've been getting recently, I can imagine Bachmann doing Toad with Oliver along with one piece of rolling stock that'd be easy for Bachmann to manage.  Something like the log car or a new troublesome truck would be ideal in this case.  I personally found the log car more likely in that case, as awesome as a new troublesome truck sounds.

Personally I'd love it if they did the red coaches, but I think Bachmann could see Oliver and Toad as a higher priority compared to them at the moment.  That being said I'd love to be proven wrong and I think they'd be a more logical choice to come out with Oliver, Toad, and Trevor since they are all popular in demand. 

I definetely think that out of all those three Toad has the best chance, especially since Oliver seems to have a great chance of happening next year.  As many would say, they are the most logical pair to come out after additions like Duck, Donald and Douglas, and even SC Ruffey.  

Personally in terms of new tooling, I think it'd be wise for Bachmann to make the red coaches.  They've been in demand for quite some time now and appear quite often in the television series.  Despite new tooling being more expensive I can tell they would be fantastic sellers.

Personally I'd be more than happy if Oliver, the red coaches, Toad, and even Trevor were the only additions for next year's range.  Maybe even a flat car with a log load can happen too.  They can simply use the same flat car they use for the paint drum load and just make a log load from there.  It would be a nice replacement for the flat car with paint drums, plus the logs are more iconic to the series than the paint drums are.

Edit - I'd like to throw out there that the mainline brake van actually looks a lot more like the one in the television series in comparison to the one we currently have in the lineup.


Remove the details at the front and back and the result would look much better. Personally, I think that if any Bachmann Thomas rolling stock needs any revisions anytime soon it should be the brake van.  I would love a new brake van and I'd definetely buy a few of them for my layout.  

Personally if I wanted to see an engine with Oliver for next year I would say Stepney.  He's another small tank engine who I think could hold some great potential for Bachmann.

I would be more than satisfied if next year in HO we had:
Oliver
Stepney
Toad
Trevor

_{Kudos if anyone sees what I did here}

Quote from: fighter4luv on March 06, 2012, 02:34:53 AM
I just want to see the main engines from seasons 1-4 all made.

So basically all that's left to be released (since Duck is already next) is:

1. Boco
2. Daisy
3. Oliver
4. Stepney

Then that's the main classic engines from all 4 seasons released. I would be a very happy Thomas & Friends fan.

If only...

The only ones who have a chance at this point are Oliver and Stepney.  Stepney has a much smaller chance then Oliver too, which is a shame because he is one of my favorite characters and I can picture Bachmann doing Stepney beautifully.  

As for Oliver, if he were to be announced next year (or the year after), it honestly wouldn't surprise me.  He would be the most logical character to follow up with recent additions.  It would really surprise me if Bachmann would do the likes of Bill, Ben, Donald, Douglas, and Duck in recent years but not Oliver.  Even if we should expect newer characters in the near future, I personally think that Oliver still has a lot of potential.

I forgot those last three, they weren't as recent.

Also, the tar tank never appeared in the CGI series, but I am referring to the one used in the classic series.

Both faces shown are what we will most likely get as they are iconic for Duck's character.  I'm leaning more towards the season 3 face shown just because Bachmann aims for toothy grins. 

I really don't see why some people actually think Duck will get a CGI face.  It'd REALLY surprise me if Bachmann wouldn't do this for Donald, Douglas, Ben, and Salty of all characters, but not Duck.  Hornby's model of Murdoch was given a model face too so what does that tell you?

Fred and Ricketty were cancelled more than anything else, not so much discontinued. 

Speaking of discontinued though, more rolling stock has been discontinued recently.  The well wagon, cattle wagon, and tar tank seemed to have been discontinued this year as they are absent in this year's catalog.  A shame, I really liked the well wagon, it was one of my favorite pieces of rolling stock in the Thomas and Friends range...

I have a layout to show, but it's not mine... it's the Bach-man's!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaAY5QuEylU

I met with him both days at World's greatest hobby on tour this weekend, these pictures and videos were taken on the second day.  As I promised him, I wanted to show each feature of the layout to admire the Bach-man's work and effort into this and more importantly show everyone just how amazing this layout really turned out.  Huge thanks to Jack for putting this video together for me.  

Bach-man, it was an honor to see you again.  Thanks for everything!

I have no doubt Duck will be based on his looks from season 6-7 following the Donald and Douglas models before it.  He will probably be the last character to follow this trend, IMO.

What surprises me is his price on walthers is 85 dollars which is the same price as Donald/Douglas and Diesel...   Time to rely on Model Train Stuff or Whole Sale Trains.

All sides in this case are completely legitamate and all mean well, but let me ask... is this really necessary?  I mean, we have Duck coming out this year.  We could have easily gotten Rosie or Arry and Bert instead this year, but instead Bachmann picked Duck.  This is proof that Bachmann really does listen to their fanbase and I honestly think that this is what really counts more then anything else.   Judging from the quality of Bachmann's recent models, I am sure we will be far from disappointed with this model.

We're all on the same team here, we wanted Duck for years, and we finally got him.  Lighten up everyone, and stay positive!

Duck will not be getting a CGI face, without a question.  He will be getting a classic face for the following reasons:

1. Duck's CGI face was only shown in season 12 which never aired in Asian countries (including Japan, China, etc.).  Bachmann models are made in China.  They will have a model face for Duck as a reference.
2. Duck has never appeared in full CGI, despite his season 12 face.  He is more throughly recognized with his model looks, including the face!  The only reason why Diesel had a CGI face was because he is already in CGI form and it matches his current representation on the show.  Don't believe me?  Look at the Bachmann Donald and Douglas models, and even the Ben model as they are prime examples of this.
3. Duck's CGI face is too small and lacks cheekbones.  It's extremely inaccurate and it'd also be too hard for Bachmann to model for the character.  
4. Duck is a character who is loved by the older fans of Thomas.  Bachmann recognizes this and how long fans have been waiting for Duck, so they'll want to make the model worth waiting for.  
5. Thomas fans would mope and complain on boards and fansites everywhere.  This happened with Diesel as well as some of the CGI rolling stock updates.  It would hurt the sales for Duck, which would make it a poor seller which I'm sure Bachmann wants to steer away from.  

My opinion, I can see the face shown in Bowled Out that was pointed out earlier on the Bachmann Duck.  It represents his character very nicely, and Bachmann generally aims for 'toothy' kinds of grins with most of their models.