Bachmann Thomas and Friends in 2016

[Chaz]

The problem I see with Henry's old shape isn't so much the tooling or design of the model, it's the major lack of appeal.   It wasn't even used for a full season of the show and the current design of Henry is far more iconic.  The sales are not there for the model either, from both younger and older fans.  Parents who would buy models for their kids wouldn't even know the difference between the two Henry's, nor would they really care.  Henry's old shape might win over some of the older fans, but it probably won't do anywhere near as much justice as one of the remaining classics like Stepney or Daisy.  Even Paxton would have better sales than Henry's old shape, and he would take a lot less effort on Bachmann's part to make, and would probably be cheaper too.  At the end of the day, Bachmann would much rather invest in making a character they haven't produced yet as the sales for them would be a lot more promising than one of their existing characters with a tooling change.  Even if they were to do a "limited edition" run of Henry's old shape, the amount of money and time that would go into production won't make up for the limited sales that would go for the model. 

It's not going to happen.

[Metal]

I couldn't really tell the difference until in recent years when I've realized it's just the firebox. Personally, I don't care much about Henry's Old Shape anyway. Even as a fan project, it's something I wouldn't really put my time in.

[Griffin (TheBlueSnowplow)]

How high of a chance do you think Oliver's and Toad's picture will be revealed in the Bachmann 2016 catalog?

Haven't they been delayed (along with G Scale Winston) until 2016 in favor of Skarloey? Wouldn't this mean they are going to be considered as part of the 2016 lineup? And techinacally, wouldn't this mean Bachmann has just now begun working on them? Food for thought...

[Chaz]

Haven't they been delayed (along with G Scale Winston) until 2016 in favor of Skarloey?

I wouldn't say that they were delayed "in favor" of Skarloey, I think Skarloey might have had higher priority than Oliver and Winston since the narrow gauge products was the new range that Bachmann had started to produce and wanted to start the range off strong but it might have taken the production team longer to produce all three of these models plus the various rolling stock in all three ranges.  They announced quite a lot last year so it doesn't entirely surprise me that not everything made it out in December.    

Wouldn't this mean they are going to be considered as part of the 2016 lineup? And techinacally, wouldn't this mean Bachmann has just now begun working on them? Food for thought...

I wouldn't consider them 2016 products, personally.  If they were announced in 2015 then I'd consider them part of the 2015 lineup despite possibly being labelled as "new" in the 2016 catalog which would probably be there to inform first-time buyers to let them know that new products will be available soon. 

Also Doug mentioned that they were working on Oliver and Winston when I talked to him at the NMRA last summer (August), but they were not quite ready for a display, let alone a release to the public.  So fortunately they did not "just now" start working on them if they were working on them before last August.  I think we will probably see them sometime in February in the catalog, if not that, then definitely around the spring.  

[TTTEfan1992]

I have a good feeling that the Bachmann Oliver is going to be extremely close to the Hornby Oliver except the Bachmann Oliver will have the cgi face, black running board, closed cab windows and cab, and not as much detail as the Hornby Oliver like not having as many rivets as the Hornby Oliver. What do you all think?

[Jacob Wilson]

I have a good feeling that the Bachmann Oliver is going to be extremely close to the Hornby Oliver except the Bachmann Oliver will have the cgi face, black running board, closed cab windows and cab, and not as much detail as the Hornby Oliver like not having as many rivets as the Hornby Oliver. What do you all think?

I agree actually. I can see Bachmann Oliver having the CGI face, although I would prefer the face from the model-era series. I am pretty sure the rivets that we have on Hornby Oliver will not be on Bachmann Oliver. Nor will the handrails on Bachmann Oliver will be there, like Hornby Oliver has, and what handrails will be on Bachmann Oliver will just be moulded.

[AJW98Productions]

Whilst I believe Bachmann Oliver would have moulded handrails as opposed to...non-moulded handrails (or is seperately moulded a better term?) we must be careful about what we say, as Chaz put it not all that long ago, and in better words than I can think of:

Technically, there is nothing wrong with talking about other ranges on the forum, but there are boundaries such as not comparing the two ranges or saying one range or model is better than the other.  This is generally not allowed here since this is an official Bachmann Trains forum and representatives from other ranges cannot speak for themselves here.  Same can also be said for putting down either range or calling Hornby something along the lines of "H company" or "red box company".  

Whilst I don't think we have any kind of huge issues here yet, I believe that caution should be taken as to what we say on this kind of topic. But again, I don't think we have any issues here yet.

Anywayyy moving...slightly more on topic here, here are some more of my...semi-educated guesses about this year's range. I think I'll just put out some thoughts here for HO and G scale, as these ranges I'm the least sure of what to expect next (please note these are just my opinions, and are not indicative of everyone else's).
HO Gauge:
All I really see is at best maybe a freight wagon of some kind, as Oliver and Toad are already delayed to this year anyway, I guess they could maybe throw in an engine like Paxton but I'm not entirely sure of what to expect, if much at all.
G Gauge:
Since Winston has also been pushed back, at best all I see is another wagon being added to the range, but all I think we'll really get is Winston and nothing else.
...And the range I am probably still the most excited for...
Narrow Gauge:
I expect Rheneas as the next engine, and as a lot of people (myself included) have gone over why Rheneas will probably come next in the line, I won't dawdle too long on this point here.

If there's one thing I expect more than anything else in the range however, it's a humble brakevan of course.
Preferably the brown one, as it has been seen in both model, and CGI form, considering the stock that's currently on Bachmann's range, the brown Brakevan seems the most likely, being the only colour of Brakevan seen in the CGI and model series (see below), and it is also perfectly tailored to Bachmann's existing Narrow Gauge rolling stock, having been used so extensively on freight trains all throughout the show's runtime, and having even been used along side the Green and White Coaches in earlier seasons (see "A Bad Day For Sir Handel"), however of all the coaches, I consider those the least likely to appear in Bachmann's range, or at least, the ones that if they were released, would probably be released last, but more on that later. Anyway, tangent over, here are images of the Model era and CGI era Brown Brakevans:



Or alternatively perhaps we'd get the Blue Brakevan and the Red Brakevan from the classic series to fit with colours/colors of the Blue Box Van and Red Box Van respectively.

Anyway, whilst I'd like to see some coaches in next year's range, I don't think the Slate Trucks would be entirely out of place, the ones from the classic series in particular being very iconic. Having been so extensively used throughout the entire model era of Thomas and Friends, plus they look more unique than the current Open Wagon in the Narrow Gauge line I'd say, as Open Wagons like that did appear in standard gauge, but the Slate Trucks were always unique to the Narrow Gauge Railway. So it's not hard to see why they have a fair chance of being produced along side the brown Brakevan.
As a side note; I doubt we'd see them with faces, as the last time I recall seeing the slate trucks fitted with faces was all the way back in season 5, so maybe they'd look somewhat like their season 5 counterparts below (just with no faces)...

Maybe with/without slate loads...I mean, I am just one person, but I think that could be something and also if I'm wrong here feel free to correct me, but aren't the slate trucks seen throughout the classic series a little overscaled next to their basis?

But if I had to be honest for what I wanted to see most next year, I would have the Brown Brakevan above on my "wishlist" but I'd also have another kind of Brakevan on there...and some matching coaches of course, so without further ado, I present to you...

Duke pulling Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima, and Beatrice...oh wait...these are the TV Series Blue and White Coaches...
On a more serious note though, I'd say that of all the Narrow Gauge Coaches, not only are these (in my opinion) the most iconic, but also just my personal favourites really, so I'm probably heavily biased but nevertheless I feel they do have a lot of potential, being so extensively used throughout Season 4. I mean, I'm fairly sure almost every single Narrow Gauge Engine from the model era has pulled them at some point (with the only possible "Model Era" exceptions I can think of being Smudger and Bertram, both of whom were both only seen in one episode and never again).
Also given if Rheneas does come out next year, then we'll have a set of Blue and White Coaches and a Blue Brakevan, which in my opinion are the coaches which suit Skarloey and Rheneas best, as the colour contrast really does look quite nice with them.
They've been there right from the start, and have seen events such as Peter Sam leaving behind the refreshment lady, the events of Gallant Old Engine (a character defining moment for Rheneas and an episode that gave Duncan some character developement too), they also saw the events of "You Can't Win", they were there when Duncan needed to stop on the middle of a lake to gain steam and were also there when Duncan stalled on a Viaduct...and that's all in the space of just a few episodes of one season.

Also, whilst my point about them being Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima, and Beatrice was merely my attempt at humour, the simple fact of the matter is that these coaches do bear a strong resemblance to the coaches of the Railway Series. Which is part of what I think think helps them stay in the hearts and minds of long term fans, and fans of both the Railway Series and TV Series (like myself).
I can even see the Railway Series modelers in the community applying "1" and "3", along with "SR" decals to show which compartments represent first class, and which compartments represent third class and to of course show that the coaches are property of the Skarloey Railway.
To me at least (and maybe this is wishful thinking on my part) but if these coaches were released into the range, I see them being very popular.
...The only downside I can think of is that they were last seen in season 10, so I do worry a little about their appeal to younger fans. Even the Green and White Coaches, along with the Red and Yellow Coaches, whilst far less iconic did last appear in the slightly more recent Season 12, which is still a while ago now, so it does sow the seeds of doubt in my mind as to whether or not they could appear.

(To my knowledge, this is a deleted shot of all these classic coaches next to each other in "A Bad Day For Sir Handel")
Now, people may bring in the arguement of characters like S.C.Ruffey, and how he has not been seen since season 3 or 4 I think (?) but he was no more than a repaint and a new face mould for Bachmann, so an easy profit, but with these Narrow Gauge Coaches, each coach (Blue and White, Red and Yellow, Green and White) would be an entirely new tooling, and yes I did list the the Red and Yellow and Blue and White Coaches as different toolings, as they aren't actually identical, the photo above shows some minute differences between them, for example, it can't be seen in the above picture but, the Blue and White Coaches have more clearly visible...paneling...for lack of a better word, but, however, what is visible is that the body pieces of the Blue and White Coaches do not curve inwards just near the chassis like they do on the Red and Yellow coaches.
They even have entirely different basis', which can be seen on TTTEWikia:
http://ttte.wikia.com/wiki/Skarloey_Railway_Coaches

So that would mean my other most likely candidate for Coaches is the fan dubbed "Talyllyn Coaches"...

Whilst certainly not my personal favourites, I can see why Bachmann could release them, as they are (so far) the only coaches to have appeared on the Narrow Gauge Railway in CGI. Personally I think they look overscaled (and as for representations of the Talyllyn Railway's coaches, they are overscaled), but also the paint work to me just doesn't look as nice as the coaches from the model era. But I realise Bachmann must try their best to cater to all demographics, not just those with the exact same mindset as me. So realistically I'll probably be happy with whatever coaches Bachmann may introduce into the Narrow Gauge range.

But who knows? Maybe we'll get thrown a massive curve ball with something like the D.Fusit Gunpowder Wagon appearing (I mean it's unlikely, but you never know)...

So there's just a few of my thoughts on potential releases for next -I mean this year. Anyway, maybe I'm entirely wrong, it's impossible to know exactly what Bachmann will release next after all, "beggers can't be choosers" after all.
Anyway, until next time,
~Alex

[Jacob Wilson]

^ Above 1 Reply - @Reply #106 By AJW98Productions: I am not going to quote the Reply, before I get my head cut off by other Members!

That's a big post there Alex! It must have taken a long time to put together, but I do like it.

I hope we get four different coloured Brake Van's: A Red one, Blue one, Grey one and Brown one.

I also want the Narrow Gauge Red Coaches, then a Red Brake Van will sit well with the train.

I also want the Narrow Gauge Blue Coaches, then a Blue Brake Van will sit well with the train.

I also think the Slate Trucks will have a great potential release as well, and I would love the D.Fuisit Gunpowder Wagon's as well. Yes, they have not appeared much, but I would love to own them, and I think they would be popular if Bachman were to release them.

[AJW98Productions]

^ Above 1 Reply @ Reply #107 By AJW98Productions: I am not going to quote the Reply, before I get my head cut off by other Members!

That's a big post there Alex! It must have taken a long time to put together, but I do like it.

I hope we get four different coloured Brake Van's: A Red one, Blue one, Grey one and Brown one.

I also want the Narrow Gauge Red Coaches, then a Red Brake Van will sit well with the train.

I also want the Narrow Gauge Blue Coaches, then a Blue Brake Van will sit well with the train.

I also think the Slate Trucks will have a great potential release as well, and I would love the D.Fuisit Gunpowder Wagon's as well. Yes, they have not appeared much, but I would love to own them, and I think they would be popular if Bachman were to release them.

Whilst I do want all those too (along with the Green and White Coaches, even though I consider them the least likely of the bunch), I was just putting out a few suggestions, because I don't think Bachmann could cover all that in one year. Personally if I had my choice, this year we'd see the Blue and White Coaches, Blue and Brown Brakevans, and Rheneas, but I realise that even that could be asking too much, and whilst that's what I want, it's not what everyone else wants...Bachmann does have to appeal to the largest possible demographic after all.

*EDIT* Yes that post did require a lot of time, but I figured a long post like that one would be useful for explaining out my thoughts

~Alex

[Jacob Wilson]

^ Above 1 Reply @ Reply #107 By AJW98Productions: I am not going to quote the Reply, before I get my head cut off by other Members!

That's a big post there Alex! It must have taken a long time to put together, but I do like it.

I hope we get four different coloured Brake Van's: A Red one, Blue one, Grey one and Brown one.

I also want the Narrow Gauge Red Coaches, then a Red Brake Van will sit well with the train.

I also want the Narrow Gauge Blue Coaches, then a Blue Brake Van will sit well with the train.

I also think the Slate Trucks will have a great potential release as well, and I would love the D.Fuisit Gunpowder Wagon's as well. Yes, they have not appeared much, but I would love to own them, and I think they would be popular if Bachman were to release them.

Whilst I do want all those too (along with the Green and White Coaches, even though I consider them the least likely of the bunch), I was just putting out a few suggestions, because I don't think Bachmann could cover all that in one year. Personally if I had my choice, this year we'd see the Blue and White Coaches, Blue and Brown Brakevans, and Rheneas, but I realise that even that could be asking too much, and whilst that's what I want, it's not what everyone else wants...Bachmann does have to appeal to the largest possible demographic after all.

*EDIT* Yes that post did require a lot of time, but I figured a long post is useful for explaining out my thoughts

~Alex

I do know that is not a hope at all of everything you mentioned there, but all that stuff would be great to own if Bachmann could that all released in the next 5 years or so.

It was nice to see your thoughts Alex and my thoughts to share with you and too other readers as well, is what I mentioned in that post I made that you have replied too (Reply #108).

[AJW98Productions]

If you had your personal pick then Jacob, which of the products you listed would you most like to see next year? (Keeping in mind that, of course, they can't release everything we want in a single year )

~Alex

[TTTEfan1992]

Why do we all have to be careful about what we say on here?

[Jacob Wilson]

If you had your personal pick then Jacob, which of the products you listed would you most like to see next year? (Keeping in mind that, of course, they can't release everything we want in a single year )

~Alex

The Red Coaches, Red Brake Van, Grey Brake Van and D.Fuist Gunpowder Wagon. I can't see more than four Rolling Stock products being released this year in the Narrow Gauge range.

Why do we all have to be careful about what we say on here?

Good question TTTEfan1992, but we just do, otherwise you post may get deleted by a moderator as it could be inappropriate and could offend other Members. At the day, this is an Official Forum by Bachmann Trains, so this in a way (In my mind), represents Bachmnn as company and manufacture, and anything posted by a Member on Forum could give Bachmann a bad name, so Members do need to cautious in what they post on the Forum.

[AJW98Productions]

Why do we all have to be careful about what we say on here?

Good question TTTEfan1992, but we just do, otherwise you post may get deleted by a moderator as it could be inappropriate and could offend other Members. At the day, this is an Official Forum by Bachmann Trains, so this in a way (In my mind), represents Bachmnn as company and manufacture, and anything posted by a Member on Forum could give Bachmann a bad name, so Members do need to cautious in what they post on the Forum.

I don't think I could've said that any better myself. Jacob, you hit the nail right on the head, with a sledgehammer
I don't think that's just in your mind though, I think that is a very valid and rational point

~Alex

[Jacob Wilson]

Why do we all have to be careful about what we say on here?

Good question TTTEfan1992, but we just do, otherwise you post may get deleted by a moderator as it could be inappropriate and could offend other Members. At the day, this is an Official Forum by Bachmann Trains, so this in a way (In my mind), represents Bachmnn as company and manufacture, and anything posted by a Member on Forum could give Bachmann a bad name, so Members do need to cautious in what they post on the Forum.

I don't think I could've said that any better myself. Jacob, you hit the nail right on the head, with a sledgehammer
I don't think that's just in your mind though, I think that is a very valid and rational point

~Alex

I really cannot see more than three or four pieces of Rolling Stock released this year in the Narrow Gauge range.

Did I get that right then Alex, of why we have to be careful of what we post as Members on the Bachmann Trains Forum?