I really like some of these ideas, especially the ones that are tied to some classic Thomas episodes . The Chinese dragon would be epic. The refreshment Coach as well .


A signal piece would be very cool to see.

I thibk Havery well wagon and works unit coach.  Could be a very feasible substitute for a full on breakdown train in the line. Which is something that would be very expensive to produce, and I am not so sure that many parents would be willing to pay that much for a unpowered rolling stock.

A hopper wagon would be a cool release .

Diesel 10 is the ultimate villain and is ultra popular and with expensive products, such as flying Scotsman . I think they should definitely consider him.

A hopper wagon would be fun however I feel like if they did a hopper wagon this would honestly be a good opportunity to do  a model character in the form of Hector

One other suggestion, I have is a well wagon with the jet engine

One other suggestion for HO Scale is Timothy. Because the China Clay wagons would be perfect for him, and he can pull a whole line of them. Since no model of his basis exists, he can be popular to both Thomas and non-Thomas modelers. Another engine to work with Bill and Ben. He's also a smaller engine, and wouldn't be too hard to make. Blue Bill and Ben would be repaints, but Timothy would be a new tooling.

If Bill and Ben were to eventually get made in Large or N Scale, they most likely would have red wheels, as they'd be based on their CGI renders. They had black wheels in the model series. All three of Diesel's models (HO, Large and N Scale) have silver siderods, despite having been black since Season 6. If Large Scale ever gets a newly-tooled engine again, Bill and Ben would be the safest bet; two engines with one tooling. But if Large Scale gets anymore repaints of existing toolings, Bachmann can make Origin James, Sidney, 'Arry and Bert. We'll see how popular Mainland Diesel is in HO Scale.

The last Class 08 repaints for HO Scale are Splatter, Dodge and Fernando. With Sidney coming soon to HO Scale, he can also find his way into Large, or even N Scale at some point. If Sidney is a popular seller, Bachmann could possibly announce him in both Large and N Scales at the same time, so he can exist in all three scales, like Diesel and Paxton.

I would love for Bachmann to make Harvey, or Diesel 10 in HO Scale. Harvey would be simple, and his crane arm doesn't move up or down. The cogwheel can raise and lower his hook. A self-propelled rail crane would be unique for Bachmann. Diesel 10 would be the second larger diesel in HO Scale, and his claw would be a bit more complicated, but can be made manually operable. He would still have moving eyes, and only his rear bogie would be powered.

The next HO Scale engine could be anyone at this point. Whiff, Harvey, Diesel 10, Norman, Timothy, Hiro, you name it. Bachmann is known to surprise us at times. Harvey or Diesel 10 could be the next surprise announcement. We didn't think they'd be making Flying Scotsman.

Bachmann's Dreyfuss Hudson has recently been released, and I'm warming up to the idea of a potential Bachmann Connor. As far as I know, the nose on the Dreyfuss is a separate part so it wouldn't be difficult for Bachmann to replace it with a face. Every post or video I see of the new Dreyfuss, there's always at least one or two comments with the same suggestions, and I'm all for it.

On a similar note, something Bachmann can also consider is using or adapting their Bachmann Branchline Ivatt 2mt Tank Model for Arthur, their 9f Model for Murdoch, and their Class 40 diesel model for Class 40/Bowler. Given that Bachmann Branchline already makes these characters basis, it could be a good idea For Bachmann to consider using the Bachmann Branchline Models to make these characters. At the very least, the Branchline models could be used as a starting point to design more accurate models of Arthur, Murdoch, and CLass 40.

Bachmannn Conner would be crazy I don't even know if the character is  Popular  enough .

Conner would also mean his coaches which might be a new tooling .

Those toolings for those coaches would likely see his and the special coaches (Spencer's coaches ) but would be likely changed the name to not get them confused with the existing item

There are some other paint styles they could do like for another engine, but those would come out with the character I'd imagine .

Overall I see Conner being very pricy and I'd imagine the model of his basis with out DCC would cost around $320 .
The model would likely have to be a new tooling being way simpler .

Here is my amended prediction list for the NMRA convention in 2 months. With only Flying Scotsman and Henry being the only products without painted samples, this year could Bachmann's chance to make a comeback with better new projects. The backlog has cleared significantly which means that other scales will have products to introduce, rather than just HO. Feel free to some leave feedback as this will be the last post I'll make about the NMRA train show in August.

HO Scale
- Whiff
- Hiro
- Troublesome Truck 8
- Quarry Hoppers

Narrow Gauge
- Duncan
- V-Tipper Wagons
- Brown Brake Van

N Scale
- Edward
- Duck
- Mail Car (Red)
- LNER 20-Ton Brake Van

G Scale
- Origin James

Here's my official "list" (haven't done one of these in a while), of what I could see being announced between the rest of this year and 2027.  I think 2027 is most likely going to be the next "big year" for Bachmann and not another "catch-up year" as they've been focusing a lot more on progress on previously announced projects.  That being said, I'm pretty optimistic and I figured after some time here is my official new list post:


HO/OO scale:
Hiro
Whiff
'Arry and Bert reintroduction

All exactly the same as my previous posts, no reason to repeat my reasoning here.

HO/OO scale rolling stock
Troublesome truck #8 (coal wagon)
Slip coaches
Sodor mail car reintroduction
Classic oil tanker reintroduction
Utility van (repaints of the mail car tooling)

Truck 8 was explained earlier in another post.  I like how Bachmann is starting to cater to both model and cgi eras for rolling stock designs. It gives me a reasonable amount of hope that older rolling stock decals can finally make a big reintroduction.  I would especially love a return of the classic oil tanker.  The slip coaches feel like the next obvious new rolling stock tooling. They're an obscure piece of rolling stock in CGI that have been used pretty frequently.  If Bachmann went ahead with a new tooling for a blue open carriage of all things, I can totally see the slip coaches getting introduced soon.  Especially with Duck and Oliver still being top sellers.

Figure packs:
Sodor Celebrity pack
Brass band

I'm a little surprised they haven't announced any new figure packs yet, but again considering how far behind Bachmann is on previous projects, I can totally see why. I think they're only just going to announce two packs since last time they announced six for their first batch, which seems like a lot in one go.

Narrow gauge:
Duncan revival
Luke

While Duncan is self-explanatory, Luke is the only CGI narrow gauge engine I would have any interest in, as I never really felt one way or the other about Victor or Millie.

Narrow gauge rolling stock:
4-Plank wagons
Skarloey Railway carriage - blue
Skarloey Railway carriage - red
Tan brake van

"But Chaz, we already have blue and red narrow gauge carriages!"

We do, but hear me out...




I personally think it would be a very smart idea for Bachmann to look into adding more narrow gauge coaches but this time, adding faces to them. This seems like such an easy win-win for everyone involved. Bachmann would get a lot of sales on these from the older audience with only adding a faceplate to their blue carriage and repainting the red carriage in classic colors with a new faceplate.  Fans win because that's more classic rolling stock that would be appealing for both nostalgic and younger audiences who like the different facial expressions.  If Bachmann went ahead with the spiteful brake fan and something as niche as the D fusit gunpowder van, I can totally see them going this exact same route for narrow gauge coach repaints.  I'm surprised no one else has brought this up or at least hasn't recently.

The 4-plank wagons are the new narrow gauge rolling stock tooling I'd like to see them introduce the most. Tippers wouldn't be a bad idea either considering they have a real life Talyllyn repaint option Bachmann can look into.  The tan brake van is another obvious choice that needs no further explanation



N scale engines:
Edward
Duck

Absolutely no reason to go over these two again, they are both the most obvious and popular requests, it would be a misfire if Bachmann did not already have one of these planned for the next N scale engine announcement.

N scale rolling stock:
BR brake van/spiteful brake van
Coal wagon with load
Red coaches
Tidmouth milk tanker (new tooling and not a farish tanker repaint)
Tar tanker

All of these I have talked about before, and are pretty self-explanatory so no reason to go crazy in depth over these.

Large scale:
Christmas Thomas (leaked from earlier)

I didn't share my thoughts on this announcement just because we still don't know what the final design of this is going to look like, but I do think this does say something for the future of the large scale range in terms of engines. I think they're just going to stick with repaints going forward in large scale, and announcement choices like this seemed to further prove that.

Large scale rolling stock:
Henrietta and Hannah
Sodor Fuel tank

Seeing as the classic milk tank is getting an introduction in large scale, it only makes sense for the Sodor fuel tanker to get the same level of love here too.

As for Henrietta and Hannah, I think the same could largely be said for large scale rolling stock as it is for engines, with Bachmann likely focusing on repaints from this point forward. However, I believe Henrietta and Hannah are the one exception. Bachmann has already shown through the N scale range that the Henrietta tooling can be reused to create Hannah, making the pair an ideal candidate if they decide to pursue one final new tooling in large scale.

I don't collect large scale, but mark my words, but the moment they announce Henrietta I will start collecting G scale and look into joining a local club.

And... That's all on my end.