OFFICIAL 2016 THOMAS & FRIENDS ANNOUNCEMENT

[Jacob Wilson]

^^ Above 2 Replies - @Reply #28 By mully: I didn't think the Refrigerator Car is going to be one those. What you are talking about is a Utility Wagon which is the same as the Red and Green Mail Wagon's. These are not refrigerated, so it can't be a Utility Wagon.

The standard Cattle Wagon (77030) was discontinued a few year's ago. The only Cattle Wagon that Bachmann have in production is Troublesome Truck #3. I doubt this will get discontinued, as it part of the Troublesome Truck's!

^ Above 1 Reply - @Reply #29 By AJW98Productions: No, I do not count Murdoch, Arthur or Rosie as main characters. I do think though that calling Rosie a 'minor character' is a bit harsh though. She is something on a level more then minor. I call a minor character as Murdoch and Arthur, as well as Molly and Neville.

I would say Rosie has been released due to the look of her of being quite different ad interesting with her livery. She will have a pen place on my layout though, and she is very welcome onto my Island of Sodor. I welcomed her to it, the minute I saw this thread last night!

I think we where all expecting Rheneas this year, as he is the 'Percy' of the Skarloey Railway. Next year, I think we are going to get Sir Handel.

I certainly hope we get Coaches and Brake Van's next year. I am excited for the Slate Wagon's as they are monument to the Narrow Gauge Railway, but I am still disappointed there are no Coaches or Brake Van's.

All I hope is that the Salt Wagon, is an exact re-release of the 77034 Salt Wagon. I am defiantly getting this before it gets discontinued, as I got none of the previous release, sadly.

I think the GWR Cattle Wagon will be the same as the 77030 Cattle Wagon, just with a 'GW' graphic on the sides. It has clearly been released for Duck, Oliver and Toad.

I cannot comment much of what the Refrigerator Car is. I want to see what the prototype image is, then I will decide if I will buy it or not.

[AJW98Productions]

No, I do not count Murdoch, Arthur or Rosie as main characters. I do think though that calling Rosie a 'minor character' is a bit harsh though. She is something on a level more then minor. I call a minor character as Murdoch and Arthur, as well as Molly and Neville.

There really isn't much of a level between main and minor though, and considering her amount of appearances throughout the show's entire run, I'd say she's on the level of a minor character, especially since a bulk of those appearances were either as a background character or a character with limited dialogue, honestly, outside of the "core characters" and with some very limited exceptions, the other characters are comparatively quite minor, I'd say Rosie is on the level of a minor character as well, she may have more appearances to her name than the likes of Arthur and Murdoch, but when it comes to the stories she actually has an overall importance to, and was not just a background character for, she's about on par with Murdoch and Arthur really. But this has strayed from the idea of the actual announcements.

Back On Topic: I enjoy the anticipation that comes with every new release, especially with some of the announcements released this year, as there seems to be more room for speculation when compared to other years, for example: this year's Refrigerator Van vs. last year's Green Mail Coach, don't know about the rest of you but I found the title Green Mail Coach left little to the imagination. This year's Refrigerator Van seems to leave a little more to the imagination, as I don't even know what tooling to expect it to be. I do like Mully's idea though, that the Refigerator Van may look like the vans seen here: http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/thomas-and-friends-cgi-series/images/b/b4/CalmDownCaitlin56.png/revision/latest?cb=20140517071217

~Alex

[Jacob Wilson]

^ Above 1 Reply - @Reply #31 By AJW98Productions: I count Rosie as in-between a main and minor character.

The link to the picture you posted there Alex is the Cream Utility Wagon. Hornby released this back in 2006. I understand it that a Refrigerator Wagon and a Utility Wagon are two different things. I doubt this Live Lobsters Refrigerator Wagon will be a Utility Wagon.

UPDATE: I have found this on Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator_car. This is probably what will be used for the Refrigerator Wagon, with a Live Lobsters logo on the sides.

I am not sure why Bachmann are releasing it though. I have seen that type of Wagon on the TV Series, or a train of lobsters before.

[mully]

Here are my predictions on how the new line will look.
Rosie
I believe that they will model her from her season 18 look as seen below, with her lamp and a tail lamp behind.

I think she will be a nice addition to the range, yes she hasn't had many speaking roles but she is a good engine for a layout, will look nice in a yard as seen here or pulling the red coaches.

TT5
I have a few ideas how I want this too look. I hope like this

or this (Jacob)

however I think it will probably be modelled after the cgi series like this


Great Western cattle wagon
Very simple either they will give it a classic look which I kinda what they have now or possibly this


Salt wagon
Exactly the same as the one we had maybe with a logo on the side.

Refrigeration van with lobsters
Only thing that makes sense based on the show is a utility wagon like this. Seen many times attached to the flying kipper and I does sort of make sense in my head or it could be like the vent van behind the utility wagon. That's my ideas


Rheneas
Much like I think with Rosie he will be modelled off his CGI model from season 18 as I know Bachmann use the most up to date information they have on the models


Slate trucks
Probably the same truck with different loads or different colours/weathering the trucks them selves I hope will be based on the slate trucks used in the classic and CGI series like ones seen pulled by luke here


Large scale

Obviously Thomas and Percy will look the same just more updated I guess. the box vans probably the same tooling as the ice cream van with different logos on them like fruit and explosives.

[Thomasfan39]

Does anyone know when they will put the products on the online store?

[Jacob Wilson]

^^ Above 2 Replies - @Reply #33 By mully: No, I hope Bachmann do not fit Rosie with that lamp above her face and smokebox, in front of her funnel. Rosie does not look good with it. She looks better without the lamp and that is how I want Bachmann's Rosie to be.

Nice touch about adding my name there in brackets for the Troublesome Truck Tanker! I hope either Troublesome Truck #5 is the Tanker or the Closed Van. I don't want it to be another Open Wagon, as we already have three of those!

^ Above 1 Reply - @Reply #34 By Thomasfan39: Hopefully soon, with prototype images!

[DinoNTrains]

@mully: With all due respect, I'm frankly guessing that TT#5 will be an open wagon, mostly because of how common they are in the show, and that we haven't seen a Troublesome Truck that wasn't an open wagon since Season 7, I think. But please, don't get me wrong, I would love to see a vent van or a tanker be used for TT#5. After all, Bachmann does pull lots of surprises on us

[Chaz]

I see some problems in this thread already, and it hasn't even been up for 24 hours.  One of them is how one user in particular feels that he has to reply obsessively to every single post on this thread making this thread already go up to its third page...

The other and the more important issue in hand is the lack of understanding since some people on this forum can't understand why I along with some other users are not thrilled with Rosie's announcement in the range.  Just as I would have expected it seems that Rosie got a very mixed response, albeit mostly negative from what I've heard.  This plays a part with how little demand she had for her at the time compared to some of the other characters.  Don't get me wrong, she actually had some kind of demand compared to some of the other products in this years announcements, particularly the large scale range this year.  I'm also not against the idea of Bachmann moving onto newer characters either, I think characters like Hiro, Porter, Paxton, and even Timothy to be good ideas worth discussing in the future.  It just seems very odd for me and plenty of other fans Bachmann would pick her over someone like Paxton who not only had a stronger demand but he was also a repaint of the Diesel tooling which would make him a lot easier and cheaper to make than Rosie.  I feel that the more likely reason that Bachmann did this is because Mattel insisted that they start on newer characters and aiming for one who has a color contrast obviously came to mind for this.  Some of the other announcements have Mattel's name written all over them too, the lobster car in particular.  But Bachmann are at the very least doing something that will make older fans happy which is Rheneas and some slate wagons.  So I can't say that this years announcements was a total loss, but the faults that are there are extremely glaring which is why I still stand by my viewpoint that this years announcements fall flat for me.  But that's just my opinion, until I see the HO stock which I have a feeling will all be repaints from Mainline.

Putting someone like Rosie who clearly is one of Hits marketing tools in the toy department into model train production is a very risky gamble as it is, and I hope that sales would be decent for their sake.  Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt that people will buy this model, there's enough people who stated that here already.  But long term, this really doesn't look like a model I can see sticking around on the shelves once the model is out for very long.  The younger generation of fans who seem to appreciate Rosie are mostly girls which is a smaller number compared to boys.  Ultimately, Bachmann has to find some way to appeal to the younger generation in one way or another but I feel like this really wasn't the best way to do so, but again, that's just my opinion.  

Not going to give any further thoughts until I see the 2016 catalog.

[Griffin (TheBlueSnowplow)]

Nothing...at all...for the resin line? 

[TheJJ]

I see some problems in this thread already, and it hasn't even been up for 24 hours.  One of them is how one user in particular feels that he has to reply obsessively to every single post on this thread making this thread already go up to its third page...  

I absolutely agree, I only put the top portion of the quote so it wouldn't run too long, but to say it straight out there, is absolutely NO need to reply to everyone's comments. Like I've said in the past if you really need to talk about it that badly carry it over into the DMs.

And I agree with Chaz again, I could easily see Mattel having a big part in this. There are SO many other choices they could have gone with, with that being said I'm sure it will be absolute quality like usual, but I will not be picking this model up. Now I'm not a large scale collector so I don't know if this is exciting news for that range or not, but they do seem to be getting a lot of rolling stock. Now Rehneas we all saw coming or at least hoped and I am definitely glad to see this being made. I'm a little disappointed coaches weren't announced, but at least slate trucks are coming! Hopefully Rheneas will actually release this year like Skarloey was able to release in 2015. If Rosie is pushed back to 2017 by no means will I care, because at least we are getting Oliver, Toad, and Rhenaes.
So when it comes to the 2016 announcements? I'm honestly more excited for the delayed 2015 announcements. (the only exception being Rheneas)

[BassTbone]

Guys, I hate to be the rain on your parade, but the large van from A Close Shave will not happen.  
One, its huge.  Tall as it is wide, it will violate the NMRA standards.  If you want it, go get the PECO O-16.5 kit and put a TT face on it.
Its most likely going to be the Salt Truck or a CGI troublesome truck.  

Also, Rosie was bound to come sooner or later.  She is one of the iconic female characters in Thomas, despite her lack of star roles.  She's made it onto ever toy line. She must be obviously selling well for the brand if she's put on merchandising lines again and again.  The only thing is the writers don't know how to utilize her. 

[Griffin (TheBlueSnowplow)]

My two cents: and before I begin, know that I am not demeaning Chaz at all, we are becoming good friends (I hope!  )  but I heartily disagree with his thoughts:

To say that Rosie being made rather than Stepney, Daisy, or the likes is a huge tragedy and makes the 2016 announcements fall flat is simply unfair. Sure, maybe Rosie wasn't everyone's first choice, but at the end of the day Bachmann is a COMPANY. They can't make Olivers and Ducks every year to satisfy the older fan's needs. They need to make smarter business choices that will benefit them and the Thomas brand as a whole, and unfortunately this means that sometimes our wants are not always met. This means that a pink, female-esque model made more sense to the range than a character kids won't even remember the name of. I think that Bachmann made all the extra rolling stock to try and say sorry for the lack of a more classic character (as my suspicion is they didn't have a choice) and expanding the narrow gauge range with not one, not two, but three new rolling stock options and the most requested engine. So instead of complaining, appreciate what we have for this year and know that Bachmann is trying, in more ways than one.

[mully]

That previous post is speculation lol i do clearly state it probably will be a cgi style truck. I for one am happy with this years releases. I feel there is something for every kind of fan. As for Rosie i will buy her. Yes might not be the most popular choice but i like her model. Can not wait too see the product images. Lastly i want to add that Bachmann put money and a lot of time and effort into these products. Can not just aim to please us older fans. 

[Chaz]

I hate to be rude James and mully, but both of you missed my point entirely.  I very clearly said in my post that there were other faults in the lineup alone that were glaring, it is not just Rosie alone that is what made the annoucements fall flat for me.  I will share later once I get a more clear idea of what's going on in the catalog, whenever that gets posted.

I also stated that I am not against newer characters being made either and I have a good idea why Rosie was picked, both of these I also explained in my post too.

That being said, I do agree that it's nice that we are getting so much rolling stock this year in HO.  It's rare we get more than 1-2 pieces of rolling stock per lineup.  But some I'm a little unsure of and others I think sound interesting but that will come down to how some of them turn out.  

You also mentioned another problem with this years range too, no resin buildings.  Hopefully just a mistake on the mods part for forgetting them.  But if not I can't get that upset considering how much they have done in recent years so a break from resin buildings isn't a bad thing when there is a good variety to choose from already in such a short amount of time.  

[BassTbone]

That previous post is speculation lol i do clearly state it probably will be a cgi style truck. I for one am happy with this years releases. I feel there is something for every kind of fan. As for Rosie i will buy her. Yes might not be the most popular choice but i like her model. Can not wait too see the product images. Lastly i want to add that Bachmann put money and a lot of time and effort into these products. Can not just aim to please us older fans. 

Mully, that wasn't a jab at you and I should have made it clear. 

It was for those hoping for it and how we get threads year after year stating why we should get it.