World's Greatest Hobby Expo

[blueengine024]

Did anyone else go to the World's Greatest Hobby Expo this weekend?

[seanrail]

No I have not. However, if anyone has, have they seen Arry, Bert, Jeremy, Troublesome Truck #4 or the sound fitted Thomas on display at the Thomas section of the Bachmann stand?

[Cheeky_ULP]

I went to the Worlds Greatest Hobby show in Houston last week, but not the one this week. Not much to report on upcoming releases, but I did meet the Bach Man and Yardmaster! We had a good conversation about the range and how it pans out. I also attended a DCC seminar before I left. I've thought about it, but it may not be something I'll tackle until I get a bit more experienced.

Of course, this being the Thomas section, I should show the Thomas layout first.


Dunno what happened to Douglas.




Diesel had some scuffs too.








There were occasional moments where the engines derailed (surprised Thomas didn't fall right off the layout).




I really liked the On30 layout.






This was their O gauge layout with the circus train going through it.


This was another highlight of my visit; a vendor was showing off a modular layout system that hooks up almost instantly.


There were plenty of other layouts I visited as well. HO, N and Z were pretty popular scales from what I saw.


This was a popular place for people to sit back. It was a Garden Railroad set on the floor with chairs sitting around it.


Tobys barely been out a few weeks and he's already selling like hotcakes.


They also had a vendor nearby selling some Bachmann products, including Thomas items, for insane deals. It was pretty much how the engines and wagons were priced around 2008-2010.

But then there were some more amusing deals.


I also noticed the newer Troublesome Trucks are a slightly color of grey, with a darker contrast.


And of course, I didn't leave empty handed.

[blueengine024]

I left with a new Toby and Percy!  and Henrietta. I looked at the Large Scale section, they didn't have LS Toby on display though.

[Chaz]

The photos Sparks took are very nice, always fun watching the Sodor layout in action.  Though it's odd seeing Douglas and Diesel without a buffer, either moving the models around is a pain or the kids just can't get their hands off the models.  I've seen the older Sodor layout as well as the current one in shows before too, it's always fun watching the layouts up close as well as looking at the product displays too.  

Shame there were no product updates, but I am sure that we will find out more about their status once the catalog is released in less than a month.  

[Zorran202]

The suspense is killing me!!! My best bet is that they might (and this is a BIG might) release it alongside the other announced models for the HO range, maybe like they did with D&D + Diesel, at least within the year for sure. I mean, I think I remember seeing something like that happen since D&D were pushed back a year from the 2010 announcements, so "maybe" they'll do it like that... My only hope is that we get some form of confirmation sooner or later about Arry and Bert + TT#4, seeing that the twins would be recycled from Diesel's model with some modifications.....

That looks like you guys had a great time over there!! How massive did the LS models feel like? I'd imagine it'd be utterly different in comparison to their midget counterparts! lol XD

[seanrail]

I know, Zorran202. we have not even known which wagon tooling is being used for Troublesome Truck 4.

Dear Yardmaster, which wagon tooling is being used for Troublesome Truck 4?

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