This might be a wildcard like Winston. But I was thinking, one character that I believe would work well in LS rather than HO/OO scale.
Stephen
What do you think about a Large Scale Stephen?
I think that Stephen is unlikely because Bachmann shot themselves in the foot with the 1:22.5 scale for the range. The models are Gauge II (III for you Brits) but the wheel base is Gauge I. It makes the line top heavy but also makes models like Stephen an issue because his wheels are outside of his frame meaning they would have to make him specifically 1:32 scale which would make him more out of place in the line. If they hadn’t gone the 1:22.5 route I could see the possibility. That said:
Given that Stephenson's Rocket is one of the most popular locomotives in the general world of modelling. When Hornby brought back their OO/HO Stephenson's Rocket after a couple decades, it quickly sold out on pre-order, and they still release their model due to it's demand.
I think this ignores a reality of the finances in that the line has to be more global than that. The market is more than just the UK and plenty of modelers in the North American market don’t know or don’t care enough about Stephenson’s Rocket. The average modeler, in all scales, is bound to be working with a local, regional, or national line in mind. I would argue that from millennials on North Americans really only have exposure to the prototypes from Great Britain thanks to Thomas (and then Harry Potter). We can’t even get Hornby here without importing from a UK local retailer because the market is too niche. I think it’s true to say that the large scale line is propped up by the UK market and without it the line would be gone, but it’s equally true to say that the line is dependent on continued US sales in which this may be a product that only has value amongst the wealthiest of modelers buying for their children and not for the larger NA LS market. Which brings me to:
Seeing how the LS market in general aims for more quirky designs for family projects, children model rail events, etc. He would also serve as a very easy kitbash for LS modellers that want to convert into the real thing.
You’re not the first person to peddle this idea but I don’t understand it and I feel like maybe I’m missing something by being stateside but from my perspective the LS line isn’t quirky at all. Is it because of the exploding boxcar? That’s a remix of a very popular LGB item from their toy train line in the late 90s and Bachmann would have been stupid not to make an equivalent for their Thomas line, especially while LGB and then Marklin in ownership of LGB were facing financial troubles and were limiting their product lines to threadbare status. I know it’s an unpopular reality here, but the Thomas lines are marketed for children as a quasi-toy line. That’s a fact. They’re products from a children’s show and pretending that isn’t true just because there’s an active fan base of young (and older) adults who grew up with the books or shows doesn’t make it less true. The exploding boxcar is an ape of LGB’s popular kids line, the use of late model era freight specific box and tanker cars is an appeal to kids, and if Winston is part of that “quirkiness”, then it should be stated that he was probably made just because he’s both cheaper to make than a real locomotive and probably would be more expensive (or at least more relatively expensive) to make in smaller scales. He’s a compromise product at best to diversify the line at the lowest cost.
Am I missing some other piece of the line that makes it weird or quirky? I’m asking because I keep seeing it here and it seems out of place.
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