Would it be too soon to hope that Paxton's face tooling gets revised now that they found a way to change the eye mech for Sidney? Paxton feels like the one outlier now in terms of the Class 08s in the range.

With Diesel 10 finally announced, the next priorities for new toolings in HO Scale are Harvey, Whiff, Hiro and Norman. The number one priority for engine repaints is Splatter and Dodge. Harvey and Whiff are the last engines for HO Scale who appeared in both model and CGI.

For N Scale, as Diesel, Paxton, LBSC Thomas and Origin James arrive in stock later this year, and Henry soon gets shown fully painted, the number one priority is Edward, without question. Rolling stock we need the most are the logoless coal wagon, red coaches, gray van, and most of all, the BR 20-Ton Brake Van. Shame the LMS Brake Van got cancelled. By popular demand, Bachmann could announce the logoless coal wagon in the catalog.

The 2027 catalog has to announce a new Narrow Gauge engine, be it Luke, or a repaint like Smudger or Proteus.

The next engine for Large Scale could be Sidney, Mainland Diesel, Origin James, or Stanley. The former two have HO Scale models coming soon. Stanley would be a good choice for Large Scale, since he'd reuse Thomas' chassis like his HO Scale model did. Could we get Large Scale Stanley announced in the 2027 catalog?

Thomas and Percy being updated might cause a lot of changes

Thomas Christmas set
Thomas Annie Clarabel set
Thomas quarry set
Sound Thomas
LBSC Thomas
DCC Thomas
DCC Percy

These products will be affected some might be retired .

It's possible they will keep the old Thomas in sets .
Get rid of sound Thomas

And have updated DCC Thomas Percy and LBSC Thomas as 2027 catalog announcements for HO scale

I would have no qualms with Thomas and Percy being updated and replaced in all of these sets, to be honest. If anything, I might just have to double or even triple dip on the Christmas and DCC sets! I would also welcome an updated LBSC Thomas. My wallet aches thinking about it.


If Bachmann wanted to go the extra mile, they could introduce unique expressions in sets, like Hornby did for the Great Discovery set.

Hornby's Great Discovery Thomas set features Thomas with his astonished face.

Anyway, the next wave of loaded wagons in HO Scale should have the ore load, which is still exclusive to the Deluxe Thomas set, and especially with the new Thomas coming, it's only a matter of time before that set gets discontinued. So, they need to start selling separate wagons that have the ore load, so we don't have to pay hundreds of dollars just to get the set specifically for the ore loads. It can't be exclusive to the set for too much longer.

By popular demand, the 2027 catalog must announce the logoless coal wagon in N Scale. Definitely something Bachmann must consider, along with N Scale brake vans. Once N Scale gets Edward, the next engine should be Duck, along with Oliver, Donald and Douglas, Mavis, Spencer, or even Stanley for recycling Thomas' chassis. Mavis can also recycle Thomas' chassis like Toby did, and she can be the first diesel in the N Scale range that isn't a Class 08. Once we get Duck, Donald and Douglas can recycle his chassis. The Scottish twins would be based on their CGI renders, and would look even better than their HO counterparts.

Regarding the next newly-tooled engine for HO Scale, we'd all be good if it was Harvey, Whiff, Norman, or Hiro. Diesel 10 being announced is proof that Harvey is also possible in HO Scale, and his crane isn't as complicated as the claw on Diesel 10. For Harvey, the crane just needs to swivel 360 degrees, and the hook can come up and down by turning the cogwheel. It also helps that his crane arm does not raise or lower. Norman would complete the trio of diesels introduced in Day of the Diesels, plus his tooling can be used again for Dennis, which model series fans would appreciate more. Two characters for one tooling. Whiff would have clear plastic lenses for his glasses, and his front wheels would have to be powered. Adding Whiff to HO Scale would mean introducing a new trash bag load for a waste wagon. Can also make the recycling troublesome truck from Wooden Railway. Hiro can be the next tender engine after Flying Scotsman, using Rebecca's wheels, but configured differently. His patchwork livery is a potential repaint.

Possible engine repaints of existing toolings for HO Scale include Splatter, Dodge, Fernando, Green Salty, Blue Bill and Ben, Chocolate Covered Percy, and Scrap Oliver. Engine repaints for Narrow Gauge include Smudger and Proteus. Might be better to do Chocolate Covered Percy after his updated model gets released. The first time Percy gets a paint variant would be appealing to model series fans. Same for Scrap Oliver. Right now, since we are getting Diesel 10, we need Splatter and Dodge as the next engine repaints, and are a big possibility for the 2027 catalog. As long as there are Class 08 characters to chose from, Bachmann will continue to make them.

If any off-rail characters were to get the retool treatment, we could get Bertie, Terence, Harold, or even Cranky updated to look much more accurate to the CGI series. Bertie especially needs it so he won't look so weird next to Bulgy. Terence would have a CGI face, and would not need that snowplough that's difficult to remove. Cranky can have a CGI face that actually has his cleft chin. One crane we haven't got before that I think is possible is Big Mickey, who can actually get his first ever real piece of merchandise.

If any engines get announced for HO Scale in the 2027 catalog, it would most likely be repaints, since the earliest I can expect the next new tooling being announced is next NMRA. Narrow Gauge and N Scale should definitely have new engines announced in the catalog.

I would not be surprised if Bachmann announced Fernando, but I can see him being the weakest seller of the Class 08s. He didn't leave much of an impression on the fandom, compared to the Mainland Diesel, whose disgruntled attitude proved to be entertaining to where people wanted to see more of him and his co-workers. I think Splatter and Dodge would sell like hotcakes, and would be the perfect compliment pieces to Diesel 10.

I agree with Bertie; I forgot all about his Bachmann model. Updating his face and headlights would be a big glow-up.




I was talking about this with some friends, and they mentioned an idea I think has been brought up here before, but would still be a good idea: A second shot at Arry & Bert. I feel the biggest reason Arry and Bert sold poorly was because their faces were too identical, giving little incentive for people to buy both models. If people aren't buying both twins, then they probably aren't buying just one twin, either.



Trackmaster is a good example of what the difference is. Each one has their own expression, making them more fun to pair together. Even Lionel gave them unique faces!

In terms of what faces they would have, it's hard to say. Arry and Bert did not have very many speaking roles in the CGI era, so we don't see them do expressions that would make for "fun" unique faces on a model.




Meanwhile, their smug and grim expressions in the model era are much more bold and distinctive:



And there's a lot to choose from, too:




But I can see why Bachmann would want to stick with CGI faces if they want to keep things consistent with the current direction of the range. Either way, I think this would be something very economical for Bachmann to think about if they consider rereleasing Arry and Bert. After all, Grumpy Diesel was very popular!

2 and 3 are my favourite faces here. It was nice to see a peace treaty between the steamies and diesels in Calling All Engines.

Regarding the next Class 08 repaints in HO Scale, it may seem like Bachmann would announce Fernando before Splatter and Dodge because of the fact that Fernando is actually from the CGI series, while Splatter and Dodge only made one appearance in the model series. Bachmann strongly prefers to stick with engines that appeared in the CGI series in order to have good relations with Mattel. Splatter and Dodge would be the perfect models to compliment Diesel 10, and I'm hoping it's possible we can still get them before Fernando. If he gets announced over Splatter and Dodge, then demand for them will really skyrocket. With Sidney and Mainland Diesel hitting store shelves in early 2027, all that's left are Fernando, Splatter and Dodge, and then we'd have basically all the Class 08 characters from the show. Fernando may be the weakest seller of the Class 08s and may sell as bad, if not worse than 'Arry and Bert, while Splatter and Dodge would be much more popular sellers and people would be buying two engines and not just one. Splatter and Dodge will give Bachmann a lot more money than Fernando.

Some people would like 'Arry and Bert to get reintroduced to HO Scale, but they sold poorly because it was too difficult to tell them apart. We may see 'Arry and Bert announced for N Scale, but they should have different faces to tell them apart better, and 'Arry needs far less stubble.

On another topic, once Percy's retooled model is out, HO Scale can get Chocolate Covered Percy, and what no one else mentioned before, Ghost Percy, from Percy's Ghostly Trick, where he's covered in lime. Two possible paint variants for Percy that he never got before, since his original model was so bad. Chocolate Covered Percy would be great with the Mr. Jolly Van, Chocolate Syrup Tanker, and other sweets rolling stock, while Ghost Percy would be the first Halloween model for the Thomas range. Both would be appealing to model series fans. After all, we did get Busy Bee James, which was an engine repaint based on the model series. Another possible repaint for N Scale, but not a high priority at this time.

EDIT: New thread for the Splatter, Dodge and Fernando discussion:
https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,40399.new.html#new

With Henrietta and Hannah now coming to G Scale, I think it'd be great to see them come to HO. Obviously Henrietta already has an HO model, but I'd love an updated version with a face. It'd be strange to have HO Scale be the odd one out as far as Hannah and an updated Henrietta goes. I could definitely see them being announced in the next year or so.

I predict Bachmann will retool HO James & Edward so they match their CGI counterparts. While they're at it, they will especially produce Nia in HO scale. All three will definitely ship in 2028, especially Nia since that year will mark the 10th anniversary of Big World Big Adventures.