Thomas & Friends in 2017

[Captain Crutch]

I think it should be DCC ready like a plug and play type of deal. That way the rest of the characters don't get left in the dust. It's also been proven that you can DCC fit it and keep the eyes. Other than that I totally agree, I just wish they would stick with the (better) classic series than the new CGI series. I'll like it either way but id rather it be classic. But an updated face for them all, color fixes, and maybe some more accurately sized bits would be a great choice. I love this range I just haven't gotten Percy, James or Thomas yet mainly because of how out of place they feel with the others. These are the main characters and to see that they're representing this line if for sure like to see them improved. I feel like fixing the main 3 would bring many more people to this line. Hopefully Bachmann does this.

[TrainFan97]

Most of Percy's problems are tooling issues. Coal bunker too high, with no rear windows. No front coupler. Bad face. I don't know if Bachmann will ever fix Percy. A tooling change is much more difficult than a color fix.

[Chaz]

I think the only revisions I could see in the foreseeable future are new faces and updated paintwork.  New motors would be nice, but I'm not getting my hopes high on that one, even though James in particular could really benefit from one.  I think DCC is going to be exclusive to large scale only from Bachmann, but it shouldn't be too difficult to add decoders to the HO models if you need to.

[TrainFan97]

For narrow gauge, I think Peter Sam would be the most likely.

For HO scale, I did mention Paxton, Daisy, or Stanley being possible, but now that Sidney has been appearing more, I think he could be possible too.

It would also be cool to see Spencer with metallic silver paintwork, and better speed.

If we get another engine with analog sound, I think it should be Diesel. Instead of whistle and chuff, it would be his horn and other diesel sounds. Percy might be too small.

[Captain Crutch]

Stanley is unlikely as he hasn't been seen since before the cgi series started. Daisy just came back and hasn't been in a single episode yet as of her return (She will soon though) and she never had much of a roll when she still was in the series. Paxton though is likely as we only have a few diesels and Paxton's been making a name for himself lately. I definitely do like your analog Diesel idea though. Seems likely (in a way) aswell. I doubt they'll do anything to spencer seeing as he hasn't had a decent roll in the series since Hero of the Rails.

As for narrow gauge I'm pretty sure Sir Handle would be around the same time as Peter Sam. It just seems logical in my opinion. I agree though that Percy's issue is tooling, unfortunately I doubt Bachmann would fix it as they'd be making a whole new engine and people are still buying this one. But hey James is in the works so maybe.

[TrainFan97]

I didn't expect Rosie to be announced this year. She hasn't had a speaking role since Season 16, and she's being made. Strange isn't it?

I really hope Bachmann does make Paxton soon. Since Blue Mountain Mystery, he has been in high demand. As for Sidney, he just recently had his own episode, and he's finally starting to appear more. Since they're both Diesel recolors, it's possible Sidney might get announced at the same time, but not certain.

Even in the classic series, Daisy didn't really have that much screen time. I wouldn't expect BoCo unless he makes his grand return. It's possible BoCo might return soon, but there's no actual proof of it happening yet.

There was a time Stepney was in demand, but it died down since he still has yet to appear in full CGI.

It would be cool to see Sir Handel and Peter Sam get announced at the same time, but I doubt that. As usual, we may only get one.

[Captain Crutch]

I think they added Rosie just to add another female to the line up. Which I guess would help Daisy's case to become a model. I can also see that most likely Stuart and Falcon... I mean Sir Hamdle and Peter Sam, wouldn't be released together, just that it would be amazing if they did. I really wish they'd bring back Duke to the series so we could have a Bachmann Model. I'd make one myself but I'm not good at these sort of things and you'd definitely be able to tell it's homemade. So for the meantime we just have to wait. Can't wait to see what we get next year, hope it's good.

[TrainFan97]

I just hope Bachmann doesn't make Philip. He's an annoying loud-mouth.

Characters like Porter and Timothy are also possible. They had some interesting roles, and they're likeable characters.

The problem with Norman is that he still has yet to have a decent role. Even Sidney is finally starting to shine. I just hope Norman gets character development soon. I don't know if I see Den and Dart being made, since they seem unlikely.

As the narrow gauge line grows, I'd probably expect Duncan to be the last of the main six. I could care less about characters like Freddie, or Mighty Mac, who haven't appeared since Season 12.

[donaldthescottishtwin]

Heaven forbid Bachmann makes Philip.

[Cheeky_ULP]

Bachmann hasn't made any new characters past Season 7 until Rosie, and that was this year.

Bachmanns HO range is already pretty bulky. It wouldn't surprise me if they stopped after Rosie, and instead used their resources towards expanding the Narrow Gauge range.

[TrainFan97]

As long as people still buy them, and it's still profitable, I doubt they'll stop.

[Chaz]

At the end of the day, it all comes down to what Mattel wants Bachmann to do with their three Thomas lines as well as whether or not Bachmann could afford the requested tooling(s).  Either way, I would hope Bachmann would at least do Paxton in HO before considering on skipping out on making a new engine altogether.

I don't disagree that the narrow gauge range could be expanded a lot more.  Large scale could also use an extra push too.

[JD417]

It may sound odd, but at this point I just want recolours/updates for the HO range right now, by that I mean, no more new 'Sodor Salt Van' types of releases. But I doubt Mattel would allow them to release nothing at all, as we all know Mattel is a very money hungry company, especially with the Thomas brand.
But, if they do get a year to just improve on things, I'd like to see:

-The much wanted updated of Thomas and Percy. Their faces, Percy's Bunker, etc.
-Henrietta gaining a face.
-Fix Diesel's side rods, either get them painted in all black, or add the white center, as he never had completely silver rods.
     -Off of that, correct the factory errors that have red buffer heads that are popping up more and more.


And if they are to start doing things that would better benefit them, I personally think two things would definitely be:

-Paxton, maybe even Sidney. (Easy recolours of characters that actually have a following. Looking at you Rosie.)
-Recolours that actually make sense (The Mail Vans in liveries seen in the show, not random like 'Live Lobsters', or plain green.)

And personally, if the much anticipated Glynn episode coming up features something from the past, such as a flashback to when he was working on the railway in his prime, I'd really hope James and Thomas may pop up in their previous liveries, and I'd love to think that it would be a big push to a Bachmann/Hornby Green Thomas or Black James release.
Also, being perfectly honest, as I've asked around, and it's obvious that people, including myself, would much rather an LBSC Green Thomas over that celebration one released last year.

[TrainFan97]

I have a feeling that updating Diesel with black side rods might get mixed reactions. Another update can be fixing the black buffer housings on Duck, or giving Bill and Ben red wheels.

I agree that the LBSC Thomas and black James would be much more interesting than the celebration Thomas. A paint change is much easier than a tooling change. Paxton and Sidney would both be welcome. At least all those recolors were actually in the show. I have never seen a "Sodor Salt" Wagon or a refrigerator car with live lobsters, which are just random.

If we get Troublesome Truck #6, I hope it could be a tanker, or a van. Oliver Owns Up was the only time we saw a utility wagon with a face, and Toad Stands By was the only episode to feature tankers with faces. The vans with faces are seen in Bradford the Brake Van.

[JD417]

Well the episode I mentioned in my previous post has come out on Amazon (As did the rest of them), and it didn't feature anything I said I'd hope was in there. (Black James, Green Thomas). You'd think I'd be disappointed. I'm not, as the episodes were flat out spectacular. I'm not going to describe the plot of the episodes in anyway, as I don't want to spoil anything, but I'm actually going to add on to my list with the changes I'd like to see to existing models.

-Donald and Douglas get their nameplates moved up.
-Diesel's side rods get a colour scheme, rather them be all plain metal. (Previously I said they should pick the white center, or make them all black.)
    -In the one and only appearance of Diesel of these new episodes (Where we can clearly see his wheels), there was this gem of an error: (http://i.imgur.com/o7hyy0Q.png)

Now like I said, that definitely seems to be an error, as only one of them have turned chrome, but until we see Diesel again, as far as we know, maybe the other two being black is actually the error. Either way I certainly prefer the Chrome centers with black rods. That really pops, as compared to the white centers with silver rods, and it most definitely stands out compared to everything being all completely black.