Future suggestions/predictions thread

[BubbleBuddyFan]

I think Jack and the Pack in HO/OO Scale would be cool! Wellsworth Sheds and Vicarstown Sheds would be a marvelous idea!

[TrainFan97]

If Sidney can't happen in HO Scale because of the eye mechanism, he could be announced for N Scale and Large Scale instead. It's been several years since Paxton first came to HO Scale, and still no sign of Sidney on the cards for any scale. N Scale would especially be easy for him, since the eye mechanism isn't an issue. With that, Sidney could become the first character in N Scale that doesn't already exist in HO Scale. Hope he could be announced with N Scale Henry in the 2024 catalog. As for 'Arry and Bert in N Scale, they would need distinctive and malicious faces, so they'd sell better in N Scale than they did in HO Scale.

If HO Scale can't get much in the 2024 catalog, due to Rebecca and Stanley, recolors like a Mainland Diesel or two, or Fernando can be possible, using Diesel's tooling. They could get their first pieces of merchandise. Narrow Gauge has Sir Handel and Duncan, with the former having no significant update just yet. If Mattel lets Bachmann do model series characters again, especially for Narrow Gauge, Rheneas' tooling can be used for Smudger, while Sir Handel's can be used for Proteus.

[Kemptown Branch]

If Sidney can't happen in HO Scale because of the eye mechanism, he could be announced for N Scale and Large Scale instead. It's been several years since Paxton first came to HO Scale, and still no sign of Sidney on the cards for any scale. N Scale would especially be easy for him, since the eye mechanism isn't an issue. With that, Sidney could become the first character in N Scale that doesn't already exist in HO Scale. Hope he could be announced with N Scale Henry in the 2024 catalog. As for 'Arry and Bert in N Scale, they would need distinctive and malicious faces, so they'd sell better in N Scale than they did in HO Scale.

Honestly, I feel like it would probably be best for the line if they were able to knock out Edward and Henry before adding more Class 08 recolors, and even then, I'd hope for at least one side character who's more unique (like Duck or Mavis) before adding Sidney/Arry & Bert as well.

Thinking about it, the N scale range might be forming a bit of a pattern as well. It started out with 3 complex tooling locomotives (Thomas, Percy, & James) before landing on a simpler project (Toby). Next, they announced Emily & Gordon back to back in a surprisingly short time of 6 months, then announced a simpler tooling Class 08 with two character options (Diesel & Paxton). If the pattern could continue, we might see Henry, who already technically has a chassis design finished (since they'd likely reuse Gordon's), and Edward. Bachmann has seemed to be able to get N Scale stuff out pretty quickly so far (other than James, who had to contend with Covid and the shipping mishap), so assuming Diesel and Paxton are able to progress quickly as well, I think we could potentially see Edward and Henry both announced within the next year and a half. Afterwards, Bachmann could look into other side characters, such as Duck, Sidney, or Mavis.

Other than that, I think some plain(ish) freight rolling stock options would also help diversify the range. I'm genuinely surprised that we haven't seen a single non-troublesome variant of the 7-Plank Wagon tooling, so I'd suggest adding the Red Open Wagon and Green Open Wagon w/ Coal Load. Next, I'd hope that Bachmann could add the Milk Tanker and Tar Tanker, since they were the two tankers that have been in the show since Series 1 and have both been in the HO and Large Scale ranges. It would also be nice if we could get the Grey 12t Box Van that was just announced for HO as well, because that's a nice variant that was seen in the show, especially in the CGI era that the N Scale range is based on.

I think that Edward, Henry, and the rolling stock mentioned above could be pretty reasonable announcements for Bachmann to focus on in the N Scale range over the next 2 years or so, because we'd be able to get the rest of the Steam Team and some much needed freight stock out of it. What do you guys think?

[Chaz]

I definitely agree on the general consensus that Henry and Edward would make the most sense to be announced next. I also think Duck would make a pretty solid addition following Henry and Edward, since he has an established rivalry with Diesel and had made somewhat consistent appearances in the CGI series as far as returning characters from the Brenner era are concerned.  His HO model was an extremely popular request before he was announced and has remained a top seller in HO ever since it was released back in 2013, 10 years ago (anyone else feel old yet? ).  He's also my favorite character and I personally am most interested in getting engines 1-8 plus Diesel in N scale due to my nostalgia or growing up with the five Ringo tapes when I was a kid. Though, I may get Emily and Paxton depending on how they turn out once fully painted.


Based on the engines that are being worked on now, I'm betting Henry will likely be announced once Gordon is finished, Edward after Emily is finished and lastly Duck after Diesel and Paxton are finished.  It would make a really solid lineup of characters if these three are considered to be introduced next in N. I'm sure this will take at least another 2 or so years from now but once Bachmann announces those three, I'm pretty much an open book as far as whatever other engines Bachmann would like to introduce after that.


As for rolling stock, I think once Toad and Emily's coaches are released (since they are both fully painted), I could see brake vans (the standard 20t brake van and the spiteful brake van) and the red coaches most likely joining the range after that.  I do agree though that open wagon recolors would make solid additions, the green coal wagon with load and the red open wagon would make perfect additions and I would love to see the gray van find its way in the lineup of N scale box vans.  As for the tankers, I think Bachmann still needs to make a new tanker tooling over the Graham farish ones, but while doing so they can announce a new lineup of three tankers including milk, and tar being two of them.  The third can be something random for fun like the toffee tanker or even the raspberry syrup tanker if they wish, just as long as we get milk and tar first, especially since those two are in the CGI series.

[TrainFan97]

It would be most wise that once Gordon and Emily are out of the way, Henry and Edward will get announced for N Scale. Once Diesel and Paxton are out of the way, Duck should get announced for N Scale, since he had a rivalry with Diesel in one of the earliest seasons of the show. It's already been a decade since Duck's HO Scale model hit the market, and has consistently been a popular seller since then. He was also the last engine in the HO Scale range to be based on the model series. In N Scale, Duck will be based on his CGI render, but no big deal. With Toad coming soon, Oliver shouldn't be too far off from N Scale, as he too was a popular seller in HO Scale. Since Oliver was based on his CGI render, Bachmann can easily just scale down his HO Scale tooling to work in N Scale.

The best next choices for N Scale engines are Henry, Edward, Duck and Oliver, apart from Diesel recolors like Sidney, 'Arry and Bert. For N Scale rolling stock, I'd be most happy with a generic or Spiteful Brake Van, Red Open Wagon, Coal Wagon w/ Load, Red Coaches, and a Gray Box Van.

[N Scale Sudrian]

As for the tankers, I think Bachmann still needs to make a new tanker tooling over the Graham farish ones, but while doing so they can announce a new lineup of three tankers including milk, and tar being two of them.  The third can be something random for fun like the toffee tanker or even the raspberry syrup tanker if they wish, just as long as we get milk and tar first, especially since those two are in the CGI series.

I can't say I agree with wanting a new tool for the N Scale Tank Cars. I think the 'Thomas'-style Tank Car tool that Bachmann's been using in HO and Large Scale is quite ugly, if I'm being honest. The molded-in wiring looks tacky and makes the logos printed on the wagon's side look bumpy and unnatural. The Large Scale version in particular looks awful with how it simplifies the chassis detail in order to have commonality with the Large Scale Open Wagons and Box Vans... In contrast, the Graham Farish 12-ton Tankers are beautifully detailed on account of being real scale models. Say what you will about the lack of the wiring, I'd rather it not be present at all than mar the entire look of the model by having them extruding from the body. I don't think pricing is a good justification to switch either, it likely wouldn't be that much cheaper and what we have now isn't that far off from most of the wagons of the range to begin with. And that's before considering it'd be a visual downgrade, but I think I've made my view clear regarding that, ha ha. I do definitely agree with the desire for Tar and Milk Tanks in N, though. I think it would be nice to see a new color debut in N Scale alongside them. (Something red, perhaps? Please?)

In terms of other Rolling Stock, I've voiced support before for the Red/Blue/Green+Coal Open Wagons before, and still feel they'd be good to have since we currently only have Troublesome varieties of 7-Planks. The Spiteful Brake Van would also be nice to see in the lineup, too. I know most would rather have plain faceless brakes, but 'Break Van' is one of my favorite stories from the 'Thomas' mythos, so having that old grump in N Scale would be a treat for me, ha ha. Last rolling stock idea for now, but I think the Flatbeds with Crates from HO would be good to adapt for N, if only because the smaller crates could have some cross-play appeal as props for an HO/OO layout. The HO Scale crates are cartoonishly huge, but an N Scale crate could be a reasonable facsimile of a specially shipped crate or package. Just a bit of food for thought...

In the case of locos, Duck would be a nice character to have. I've made my thoughts on who I want most besides Edward and Henry clear (Mavis, ha ha) but I will happily accept him, Donald and Douglas, or Oliver. Spencer and Rosie would be nice as well, especially if they make Rosie in the red livery specifically. (I don't mind the pink, but given the red is the 'current' look for the character it would make more sense to use that. Perhaps the pink could be a later release in the same vein as LBSC Thomas or Black James?) I could make an argument for basically every character already in HO to deserve a spot in the N Scale lineup, as well as for the likely suspects for the next additions to HO, like Nia, Hiro, or Sidney. Rebecca and a potential Nia would round out the main case (especially fitting given N's all-'CGI' aesthetic), Daisy and Ryan are fun characters to have on a layout... Salty and Stanley are nice industrial-feeling picks... Even 'Arry and Bert could be given another shake here if discontinued items like the non-Thomas starter sets and the Ice Cream Box Van are fair game. The only characters I see having difficulty are Bill, Ben, and Beau... With the former two the only real issue is whether or not they can be motorized at that size. Perhaps by the time they're up for consideration, it can be done! Beau more or less relies on Bachmann bringing back their N Scale American-style 4-4-0, either as-is or via a retooling. I'd appreciate a new tool that's less clunky than the old 70s model, and hopefully the upcoming 19th Century 4-6-0 is an indicator Bachmann is willing to bring back some old-time-era steam power to N Scale...? In either case, N Scale is very exciting right now.

...Only just occurred that this is a very long post and only the first chunk is a response to what you were saying. Sorry Chaz!

[Chaz]

No worries N Scale Sudrian, posts (regardless of length) for suggestions and ideas are what this thread is all about, no need to apologize! 

In response to the tankers, the main reason why I'm indifferent to them using the graham farish tooling with the tankers comes down to two things, the first being the size of the tankers compared to other stock and engines since the tankers on the show are roughly around the same size as the wagons and vans on the show.  The other is the additional nozzle that's placed at the back of the tanker, which isn't present on the tankers in the show always made the tankers look a little off in comparison.  I do also find it baffling that this was the only time they used the graham farish tooling for the tankers, so I'm not sure if that was meant to be a one-off or not.  It's even more baffling when you consider they made a new tooling for Toad the brake van of all things in N scale with no immediate plans for Oliver to come out.  A welcome addition for sure, but definitely random on the surface.  I do agree with you though on the wiring details, I own a graham farish tanker myself and I appreciate the detail on that model itself.  The only major reason why I still bring them up on occasion is that Bachmann has gone back and made new box vans for the narrow gauge range, granted they're just the brake vans with the guard compartments removed which is I'm sure a factor with why they did that, but still a nice improvement all the same.   

I also agree on the flatbed with crates with the crates being smaller than the HO ones, I'd buy those in a heartbeat.  It'd be interesting to see if they would go for the same crate decals in HO or if they try to go for something that's exclusive to N scale too.  Also thanks for reminding me of Mavis, that's actually one I forgot to mention earlier and I would probably pick up a model of her as well since I always liked her design.  Still a little bummed she hasn't been announced in large scale, but hopefully she won't be overlooked in N scale in the future.

[N Scale Sudrian]

I believe the second protrusion on the top of the GraFar Tank Car is supposed to be a vent, so that air can escape the tank while its being filled. Tank Cars in real life will have these, though I'm not sure why the 'Thomas' show's Tank Cars lack them... I understand not liking the size of the tool, it's a matter personal taste. Personally, I always found the HO/OO 'Thomas' Tank Car to be a bit small compared to the range's other wagons. So when these proper-scale Tank Cars had the same size dynamic, I assumed it was correct, so it's never bothered me particularly.

I think the reason for using the Graham Farish tool was mostly a measure of convenience. It was announced alongside James in 2020, and there weren't any proper samples of the 2019 N Scale debut lineup at that point, so rather than add yet another new tooling onto their plate they opted to go with one that was already done. And I'd say that did work out in their favor since they managed to get those Tank Cars onto the market more or less alongside the 2019 announcements. I suppose that's another good reason to not switch to a new tool now, it'd complicate the lineup to abandon the tool in favor of a new one that might not have all the same liveries as the first one! I rather like the Water and Oil Tanks, and don't much care for the Fuel Tank, but Fuel feels most likely to get 'first dibs' out of those three liveries if they ever do a new tool... There's more reasons to keep the GraFar tool around than there is to change it, from my perspective.

Honestly I'm not sure either why they didn't opt to use the Graham Farish 'Toad' for their Toad, they really didn't need to re-invent the wheel with that one... Best I can think of is that in general, 2022 was a turning point for the N Scale 'Thomas' range. Everything announced from 2019 to the 2022 catalog had been very 'safe' and 'minimal' for the sake of testing the waters of a new market, and ever since 2022 NMRA they've started splashing out and making more brave moves to expand the line now that they know the water's safe. I suppose in that since, Toad being a new tool could be their version of a power play! Shocking the world by showing off what they're able and willing to do in N Scale 'Thomas'! ...I suppose there may be some other reason such as the GraFar tooling not being available for the 'Toad', but I like the theatrics of my theory better, ha ha!

[TRAINSROCK!]

Here's my top four picks I want bachmann to do (hope they give these a announcement in the new year or the next mid year announcements).


Duke (really want them to do him most of all since they've now done all 6 of the original narrow gauge engines I'd just want them to do duke to finish the group despite the mandate).
The slip coaches (to go along with duck and just to add more coaches to the line).
And of course both Samson and Bradford (again Samson and Bradford are my most wanted products after Samson and the fireworks).

Also I had a honorable mention
Stepeny
And D261
Now since there may not be a chance for these two to come in the range due to the mandate I'd like to see these three made if the mandate ends. (I was thinking stepeny and d261 as they both were done in the hornby range and both were made in the take n play range with the original magnets before the new magnets came in and i think that's what ended the range).

those are probably the most I'd like to see come in the range one day.

[TrainFan97]

Hopefully, if this mandate ever ends, Bachmann eventually will give us Stepney, BoCo and Duke. Class 40 is another good choice for a model series character, and another larger diesel, since he was also made by Hornby. Bachmann could do the Beau move and recycle their UK Class 40 tooling, though he wouldn't have moving eyes.

[Armada Starscream]

Hopefully, if this mandate ever ends, Bachmann eventually will give us Stepney, BoCo and Duke. Class 40 is another good choice for a model series character, and another larger diesel, since he was also made by Hornby. Bachmann could do the Beau move and recycle their UK Class 40 tooling, though he wouldn't have moving eyes.

If they do reuse the UK tooling for Class 40 like they did with Beau, and it would be nice if they do, I would hope they also do the same with Arthur and Murdoch as well.  It would make sense, given that they are quite popular characters, as well as taking advantage of Hornby Murdoch's rarity to introduce their own version of Murdoch at a much cheaper price than the $2000 Hornby Murdoch's on Ebay usually go for.

Something that may help in regards to the mandate: Maybe they could market and release a CGI series character and a Model series character side-by-side. That way, they could meet the mandate as well as appeal to the older fans. I don't know if that would be possible, but I at least wanted to get the suggestion out there.

[Chaz]

So this was something I purely decided to do for fun, but also out of curiosity since I've been noticing fans bring up which narrow gauge engine they want to see following Duncan.  Since Bachmann have now announced every member of the original Skarloey Railway who found their way in CGI, it begs the question which one is going to be the next big demand.  I personally would love to see Duke as I'm sure an overwhelming amount of many other Thomas fans would as well, but with how Mattel has been preventing Bachmann from doing model era only engines like Stepney and BoCo, I have a feeling the same logic will be applied for narrow gauge for now.  Which is a real shame, given Duke's massive following from both Thomas fans as well as the OO9 modeling community.

However, there are still some narrow gauge engine choices left that I want to discuss. I asked another fan, Bluebells5529, on Twitter to make a poll while I made a poll in a Thomas modeling group on Facebook asking which of the remaining three narrow gauge engines in CGI should be introduced next. So, I want to discuss the results on here starting from the top request to the least. 

Before I begin, I really want to emphasize that I don't think another narrow gauge engine announcement will happen for sometime, now that we have two engines in production with little to no updates on both of them.  Again, this is purely just for fun and not much else.  Anyways, here are the results:





While the numbers are different, the results are exactly the same as far as which one has the more popular demand following them.  It's quite clear which one is the most liked out of the remaining three and which one should probably be skipped or saved for last. So, let's talk about Luke.

Luke undeniably won first place in both of the polls. This to me makes the most sense, since unlike Victor and Millie, Luke is actually a member of the Skarloey Railway in the CGI series. But more importantly, with all of the Blue Mountain Quarry rolling stock and themes that Bachmann has provided since the launch of the range in 2015, Luke would feel like a very natural addition to the range.  He also doesn't require another character he is associated with or even another location to have his presence in the range make sense like how Victor or Millie would. The one major thing that would probably be a problem with Luke would be the design of his chassis, particularly his siderods.  It would make the Luke model a little more difficult to produce and probably a little more expensive than some of the other engines.  But, I don't think this would rule Luke out entirely since I think Bachmann can still pull it off, it just might mean he may be a little more of a delicate model in the range.  Seeing as how the range is usually selling well with adult collectors who take better care of these models and don't run these models on the floor like a toy, I can't imagine it would affect that particular audience all that much anyway. 

Second place goes to Victor. The Victor talk I have been seeing lately is what really started to initiate this idea of a poll for me, as Victor was not talked about all that much when the narrow gauge range started or even as more characters kept getting introduced.  That being said, Victor has always been a very consistent character with the brand in the CGI series and is easily one of the most iconic non-steam team characters in the brand. He definitely has the most simple design to work with compared to Luke and Millie, but I do think he would look a little too tall as well as too long to fit in with the rest of the narrow gauge lineup.  He also would need other additions to make his addition in the range make sense like Kevin or a simplistic attempt at a Steamworks similar to how Bachmann made Tidmouth and Knapford.  Either way, Victor has quite the following and appeal going for him.  I would personally be fine with Victor and I think he would go great along with Hiro if Bachmann were to consider him in HO in the future as both of them were introduced in the first full CGI production, Hero of the Rails.

And lastly, the character who barely got any votes, (literally only one vote on the Facebook poll), is Millie.  I can easily see why Millie is the last out of the remaining three narrow gauge engines because in addition to being an out of place announcement without additions like Stephen and Glynn, Millie is nowhere near as iconic as Victor or Luke.  The only reason I could see Millie happen next would be a push from Mattel to introduce a female narrow gauge engine since she is literally the only female narrow gauge engine in the whole show, otherwise I don't really see any other reason Bachmann would go out of their way to make Millie.  I'm personally not against the idea of Millie being made and I think there would be some fun OO9 mods and projects that would come from her design, particularly with her chassis.  However, the numbers are showing that the demand and following for Millie just isn't there, and it makes perfect sense to save Millie for last out of the remaining three narrow gauge engines in CGI, if Bachmann even decides that it's worth pursuing.


Anyway, polls do a great job at telling us numbers but they don't seem to show as much when it comes to letting voters share their reasons for their choices, so I'll leave the rest of this discussion open for you guys.  Which narrow gauge engine left from the CGI series do you want to see introduced next?  Do you think there's still potential for any of these characters or do you think Bachmann should quit while they are ahead and focus more on the other Thomas ranges like HO, N and/or possibly large scale?  Or should Bachmann even bite the bullet and try to convince Mattel to introduce Duke anyway since it's very clearly the next narrow gauge engine that a lot of fans would love to see next despite the CGI mandate?  Either way, let me know your thoughts.

[Mulfred100]

I definitely think Bachmann should continue the 009 range. There's a few different ways the range can go now that the main 6 are announced in my opinion.
Option 1 is obviously Duke which could lead to Bertram and Smudger as then its just a simple repaint of Duke's model and Rheneas.
Option 2 as previously mentioned CGI Luke, Victor and Millie which I think the demand for Millie would increase if Bachmann ever did Stephen or Glynn. Luke already has the established core 6 who he shares the screen with and Victor lives at the steam works so endless potential there, I could even see Kevin being introduced if Victor ever is. Personally out of the 3 Millie is my Favourite.
Option 3 is the Hit Era characters, Freddie, Mighty Mac, Proteus, all three are still pretty marketable and I think I could see at least Freddie being made.
While I do understand that focusing on other ranges is good, but I feel like HO and N are doing great if anything its 009 that always seem to be further down in the priorities which is a bit of a shame

[TRAINSROCK!]

I had recently thought of some more ideas of rolling stock for the narrow gauge line. (Some I already said and some I had thought of recently).

the green open air coaches (already mentioned those)
more of the break vans in the brown and grey paint (already mentioned those)
more of the box vans in the same color as the break vans just mentioned (again these new box vans are really nice) again mentioned those already
another slate wagon with slate (this one numbered 136 I looked at the Wikipedia page for the talyllyn railway equipment and bachmann has done the slate wagons numbered 101 164 and 178 so they should do the one numbered 136 to the slate wagons)
Some flatbeds (the one example I got is the one used to carry the headmaster's organ in faulty whistles)
the well wagon (the one used in the runaway elephant also add the elephant statue)
the narrow gauge crane with a flatbed (the one peter Sam was pushing in peter Sam and the refreshment lady)
and the side dump wagons (the ones used to dump stones out)

this was just some suggestions I thought of lately since bachmann has done the 6 narrow gauge engines I think they can add some more rolling stock to the line and these are a lot I thought.

Also more of the narrow gauge engines real life counterpart locomotives (since they're soon coming out with the real locomotive skarloey's based off I think they should do the rest of them).

so hopefully they do these one day.

[Awesometrain77]

Oooh I live a bunch of these ideas . Reusing the existing British molds has been done since day for rolling stock . But I think doing it for engines could get a lot of characters get made faster.

However D261 is very unlikely considering that he only appeared once.

What if Bachmann reused Gordon and Spencer's tenders with serval mods to make flying Scotsman .

Also what about making the ulfstead castle characters to go along with the coach they announced earlier .

Rerelease the well wagon with a jet engine load and replace the logs on the flatbed with a Chinese dragon mold . These are both iconic episodes of the show and the dragon will go in with the fun fair vans .

Also on the topic why not update the graphics on the live lobster to topham circus to fit in .

Maybe in the upcoming years 2024 and after we can see some more troublesome trucks .
Mainly a van a troublesome van would be cool if Bachmann does I hope they give it the iconic face as seen in toad stands by and haunted Henry.