Sam,

Here's what I did.  The loco still runs well.  It's not as quiet as when new.  I use the 44-tonner to test trackwork and to display in the yard.

The gears are still working... so far.

Regards,

Jonathan

https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,34426.msg253468.html#msg253468

I agree that splodge makes sense and would easily be approved, but the thing is they actually require a fair amount of changes to the diesel tooling.

Like arry and bert (since they used the same models) splodge doesnt have the wiring connecting their headlamps at the front - arry and bert are erroneously molded with them in the bachmann lineup. Its not a huuge deal, but i do think without the complicated paint job of the hazard stripes camoflauging it, it would be alot more noticeable and clog up their comparatvely simple front ends.

Splodges faces are also much smaller than diesels/arrys/berts, and if any of you have every taken the physical face off of the model in person youll know that theres alot of relief molding to accept the faceplate, so its very noticeable if you replace the face with anything smaller. This is why paxton's faceplate has the green border infill attached to it, because his narrower face wouldve revealed the gaps (yes his face was also stretched to fit diesels eye mech- but this mainly changed the height of his eyes, his face is still slightly thinner than diesels, necessitating the green infill) However, this problem does seem to have been fixed with sidney and the mainland diesel, so it may be that each character actually has a slightly differently tooled body. I guess the question then is would splodge be considered good enough sellers to retool the body front again - or would they take the easier route of having a filled in area around the face like paxton. Because with two new diesels coming shortly, having 7 nearly identical shunters in the range may get a bit competative.

I'm glad everyone is excited about the announcements - as they should be! It really seems that Mattel has loosened the grip slightly this year since we are getting many fan favorites and deep cut references, a change I think represents how they feel about the upcoming show too but I digress.

Hopefully I'm not repeating anyone here but I did want to share a few thoughts.

-Thomas/Percy Retoolings
I honestly thought these would never come so I am very pleasantly suprised! It will be so nice to have a CGI thomas that sits alongside stanley and ryan etc perfectly. As far as the body goes, I'm hopeful they will have half-open cabs (like stanley or ryan's), as well as front couplers. Parts of the chassis being reused does worry me though. In an ideal scenario - thomas reuses stanley's die cast motor bracket/gear train assembly (his current one is plastic) and please - edward wheels. I understand that it's cost effective to reuse parts from other releases, but I do not think thomas' wheels look amazing. Many modelers out there have swapped them for edward wheels, and I think these would look incredible on the rerelease. (Stanley shouldve used them as well imo). It would also be great to use stanley's square capped rods here. I would also hope that the ends of the axles are painted - this seems to happen sometimes but not always. Stanley's are, but ryan's and oliver's arent, and the bare silver sticks out terribly. Thomas and percy also use black insulators currently, so the wheel centers stand out like a sore thumb as is.

Percy is more of a challenge, I dont know if there are many existing parts he can reuse. The motor/geartrain assembly as is makes him incredibly difficult to take apart for servicing or repairs, but a new one would need to be tooled from the ground up. In an ideal world, his chassis block would be retooled as well - the model straddles a large square hunk of die cast that fills in space at the front and rear of ths undercarriage that should be empty. This may sound nitpicky but it really improves the look and proportions of the character, and the amazing detail work bachmann did on stanley's chassis gives me hope something more akin to the show would be made for percy. I do not believe there are currently better alternatives for his wheels in the range, and I dont see them being retooled for this release, but painting the bare axles/wheel centers and giving him new rods would be a huge improvement. Seeing how accurate and fine the slidebar assemblies have been on rebecca and the narrow gauge engines gives me hope that percy's could be redone in an amazing way too, but at this point we dont know how much of the old chassis he's reusing. Also-hopefully updated cgi lamps for both!

People seem to think james is next for updates and I do agree - especially in terms of his face and cab, but I personally would love to see annie and clarabel, the N scale ones are fantastic by comparison. Since scotsman is currently being worked on it could be a great excuse to redo the chunky gordon side rods and then rerelease gordon and henry with them too...

I'll try to keep the rest brief (oops)

-Diesel 10
Truly going to be an amazing release. The fact that the claw has any degree of posability is fine with me. The quality of the recent locomotive toolings doesnt have me worried for how he will turn out at all, the last handful have been great! I personally would hope for the lowered body seen in the model era without the gap below the face, as it might make him slightly more compatible with low tunnels and bridges, but the complete cg route is fine too.

-Chocolate Syrup Tanker
Neat- will nab

-Stone Trucks with loads
This is a neat idea because its ripped straight from the background trucks of the nitrogen era (specifically from Blue mountain mystery?) However the releases are a bit plain, i think something that would really make them 'must haves' would be to include some quarry dust weathering. Its hard to tell but i think thats the effect they are already going for since the red and brown seem to be very faded. As far as cgi trucks go in the range, it would also be nice to see more variety with cargo, there's so many different loads used in the show, i wouldve felt more compelled to buy if there was a red wagon with crates and a green wagon with rubbish or scrap, then you can have a grand time can swapping all the cargo pieces around.

-The v tippers
I'll be honest these dont really look like the ones in the show? Unless I am missing something, the BMM ones are alot longer overall with bigger hoppers. Perhaps these are based on real life prototypes but it is a slight let down.

-Hannah and Henrietta in G scale
Great to see the range finally get a new tooling! These will be very fun items to add figures to. I can only hope the HO henrietta gets an update so her and her sister can be released in the last range that doesnt have them.. Anyway will definitely pick up.

(Not really an N scale modeller and I think people have covered that already!)

Quote from: TrainFan97 on August 05, 2026, 10:22:24 PMVery likely in the near future, Henrietta's HO Scale model will be updated to have a face, then Hannah will also finally exist in HO Scale, and while they're at it, they could also update Annie and Clarabel's HO Scale models to look like their CGI designs. Don't know if they'll retool Toby, but he could use a CGI face, and an updated chassis with side rods, something his Large Scale model lacked, but his N Scale model has.

I thought about bringing up the idea of Annie & Clarabel being updated, but I backed down on it because it would open up the can of worms if Bachmann would also need to update the other 4-wheel coach toolings, when nobody really has any issues with them. Their only noticeable flaw is the coaches should have a slight curve on their sides when the Bachmann models are flat. I feel like Annie and Clarabel are right on the middle of the fence in terms of if they should be retooled or not. I don't see people criticizing how they currently look, but I don't think anyone would have a problem if they got updated either.

There's definitely an economical line to draw on what's practical to retool and what isn't, and I think that's worth taking into consideration here if future predictions are going to be realistic.

Quote from: TEHNewClearwaterFeatures on August 05, 2026, 07:33:33 PMI know what you're all thinking..."Why does Edward even deserve to be retooled? His HO model is perfect the way it is." HELLOOOO!!!! Edward has to match his CGI counterpart!

The reason why people are pushing for James and not Edward is because the James model has a lot more evident flaws than Edward does, right down to the build quality and some of the more obvious design flaws, such as the lack of a front hook-and-loop coupler.

Edward is a pretty low to nonexistent priority for fans, not because of the face, but because of the build quality and overall representation of the character is a lot more accurate, regardless of the face being CGI or not.  When there are more glaring flaws with Thomas, Percy, and James compared to other characters like Edward (or even Gordon and Henry, for that matter), naturally, more people are going to lean toward those characters receiving revisions first.

Paxton is probably the only other engine besides James who could benefit from a revision at this time, and even then, it would really just be a matter of updating the eye mechanism and giving Paxton a new face.

My wishlist for Large Scale: Gordon, Henry, Edward, Spencer, Duck, Oliver, and Rosie.
My wishlist for HO Scale: Stepney, BoCo, Harvey, Splatter and Dodge, Murdoch, Arthur, Fergus, Norman, Den, Dart, Whiff, and Hiro.

Very likely in the near future, Henrietta's HO Scale model will be updated to have a face, then Hannah will also finally exist in HO Scale, and while they're at it, they could also update Annie and Clarabel's HO Scale models to look like their CGI designs. Don't know if they'll retool Toby, but he could use a CGI face, and an updated chassis with side rods, something his Large Scale model lacked, but his N Scale model has.

Since we're getting China Clay and stone loads in HO Scale, when will the ore loads be available outside the set?

At some point, N Scale should get Mavis, and she would be the first diesel in the N Scale range not to be a Class 08. Unlike her HO Scale model, Mavis' N Scale model would actually have side rods. Edward is the #1 priority for N Scale, but Mavis would also be welcomed with open arms. So would Duck, whose chassis can be used for Donald and Douglas. We really need N Scale Oliver to go with Toad, but it seems logical we'd get Duck first. If Bachmann wants to make another diesel in N Scale, but not with a Class 08 tooling, Mavis is the way to go. The next big engine for N Scale has to be Spencer. We'd all be happy if the next N Scale engines are Edward, Duck, Oliver, Donald and Douglas, Mavis and Spencer, with Edward being first. Repaints that can be saved for later include, but not limited to, Busy Bee James, Sidney, Mainland Diesel, 'Arry and Bert. Mavis and Stanley can recycle Thomas' chassis. If we were to get Salty in N Scale at some point, he'd require a new chassis with a different wheel design. In other words, Salty would 100% be newly-tooled. Another diesel that isn't a Class 08.

Once N Scale does get Spencer, we would then need Bachmann to make the special coaches in N Scale as well, and unlike the HO Scale model, N Scale can actually have a brake variant. The special coaches would be based on the model series, rather than CGI, just like the express coaches were.

I echo the sentiment that a Bachmann Henrietta revision would be very welcome. It would give them a chance to update the tooling to accommodate her face, and make Hannah too. I feel like that is going to be in the cards in the next few years.

If Flying Scotsman re-uses Gordon's chassis but with updated valve gear, I could see Bachmann killing two birds with one stone and giving him the updated valve gear too.

Since 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.