Thomas & Friends in 2017

[Artfull Dodger]

Diesel and Mavis were so common place in many of the early years of the Thomas series, that might explain thier sales being better.  I was just thinking if the models were offered in both Thomas form and as a normal, say class 08 shunting diesel, it might boost sales overall to the level they need to see.  I do not think the overall interest in large scale has really gone down that much, more like the prices have gone up, leading to less overall spending volume wise.  That and being a election year here in the states with much left in the wind for atleast another few months, has kept many I know here in the states keeping thier money in thier wallet/bank account for now.   Lots of uneasyness right now and trains are being put on the back burner even more than before.   Mike

[Plow_Bender]

I was actually surprised that Plow Bender didn't bring up Diesel in his post since he'd be a no-brainer in the range with a simple tooling with recolors to follow.  However, he did bring up that large scale diesels from Bachmann aren't really strong sellers which does make sense, even though Mavis could still be pulled off if bothered.

I actually thought of bringing up Diesel, Chaz, but personally I feel Diesel (at least how the large scale model would be) just wouldn't have enough positives going for it.  Going back to when the HO Diesel was released, there was a lot of negative responses mainly just because of the CGI face.  I'm willing to bet money the same could be expected for the large scale model (if it was announced), even though we're all aware that large scale models are in the CGI theme.  In the end there's always going to be a bunch of ungrateful pricks complaining about it...

Even though Diesel's tooling could be reused for Arry and Bert, I'm not sure if this can really be considered an advantage.  As you and sean1994rail mentioned, Arry and Bert were not good sellers in the HO range, and considering diesels in general aren't good sellers in large scale, I think that pretty much pulls the plug on Arry and Bert happening.  Other companies (can't mention names because this is Bachmann forum) have tried Arry and Bert just because their tooling was there from Diesel, and they just don't have enough sales.

I still say that Bill and Ben would be a good choice if Bachmann wants to make multiple models in large scale using a single tooling.  Rolling stock such as the mail car, the red coaches, and troublesome truck #3 are also good options.  Speaking of troublesome trucks though, it just crossed my mind that Bachmann could honestly do something simple as just releasing troublesome trucks with different faces.  As we all know, you can never have too many troublesome trucks.  Perhaps this is a topic worth looking into?

-Rusty

[UPTODAY]

HI EVERYONE!!!!!!!!BACHMANNS CATALOG LISTINGS SHOW THE RED COACHES AS SOLD OUT!!SHOULD WE WORRY ABOUT THIS???
UPTODAY

[WilsonProductions2]

^ Well the Red Branchline Coaches were only released last year and I personally believe they are good sellers, so I would be suprised if they have been discontinued already. I wouldn't have thought they would be discontinued yet. We will find out if they have been discontinued, when the 2017 Catalogue gets released. I wouldn't worry about it yet, if I were you Steve.

[Plow_Bender]

HI EVERYONE!!!!!!!!BACHMANNS CATALOG LISTINGS SHOW THE RED COACHES AS SOLD OUT!!SHOULD WE WORRY ABOUT THIS???
UPTODAY

^ Well the Red Branchline Coaches were only released last year and I personally believe they are good sellers, so I would be suprised if they have been discontinued already. I wouldn't have thought they would be discontinued yet. We will find out if they have been discontinued, when the 2017 Catalogue gets released. I wouldn't worry about it yet, if I were you Steve.

*facedesk*  I'll try to be as nice as possible when I say this, but the both of you need to take a few calm me down tablets...

If you're intelligent, you will notice that on the rolling stock page under "Bestsellers" that the red roach is #3 on the list right behind the mail car and troublesome truck #1.  As I have stated before in earlier posts, the red coaches are a hot seller and most likely people will buy more than 1 red coach.

The red coaches were and still are a hot seller in HO, and they would definitely move well in large scale.  Chances are some people would even consider buying multiple red coaches instead of just buying a red coach and a red break coach.

If the red coaches are a hot seller, it should be no surprise that they are currently sold out.  Like the Bachmann Skarloey (which is constantly sold out), it's a possibility that there may be a supply and demand issue with the red coach.  Now if the coaches had been completely removed from the web store, then there's a reason to worry that they may have been discontinued.  Since they are not, there's no reason to think they are, and there's no reason we have to wait till the 2017 catalog gets released to confirm this.

Oh those pesky facts...

-Rusty

[WilsonProductions2]

^ I was calm when I posted that comment, Rusty . I find that Steve mostly posts his comment's in capital letters, which probably makes it what he saying, sound not calm.

Anyway, I am not worried if the Red Branchline Coaches have been discontinued as I have them anyway, in my collection. I was just mentioning a suggestion to Steve, what could have happened. Most people do probably buy more than one of the Composite Coaches, as these are what makes a longer train. I have two and one Brake Coach which gives me a train of three coaches, which was exactly what I wanted. I find generally with any set of coaches, that the Composite Coach sells out more than the Brake Coach, as what I have already mentioned, this makes up the longer train.

[UPTODAY]

RUSTY,Thanks for the info!!!!

UPTODAY
Seems to me that Backmann could use the term "on backorder" instead of sold out.

[Chaz]

I actually thought of bringing up Diesel, Chaz, but personally I feel Diesel (at least how the large scale model would be) just wouldn't have enough positives going for it.  Going back to when the HO Diesel was released, there was a lot of negative responses mainly just because of the CGI face.  I'm willing to bet money the same could be expected for the large scale model (if it was announced), even though we're all aware that large scale models are in the CGI theme.  In the end there's always going to be a bunch of ungrateful pricks complaining about it...

The funny thing is, Diesel actually was a bestseller at one point, so despite the response to his CGI face, the people who complained about the model still went ahead and bought it anyways.  I wouldn't put it past the fandom to do the exact same thing with Oliver too.   I do agree that in terms of sales though he probably wouldn't do that well, same with Arry and Bert.  Mavis seems to be the only diesel that I could see doing well in large scale.

[thomasj219]

I personally would love a large scale mavis.

[sean1994rail]

I actually thought of bringing up Diesel, Chaz, but personally I feel Diesel (at least how the large scale model would be) just wouldn't have enough positives going for it.  Going back to when the HO Diesel was released, there was a lot of negative responses mainly just because of the CGI face.  I'm willing to bet money the same could be expected for the large scale model (if it was announced), even though we're all aware that large scale models are in the CGI theme.  In the end there's always going to be a bunch of ungrateful pricks complaining about it...

The funny thing is, Diesel actually was a bestseller at one point, so despite the response to his CGI face, the people who complained about the model still went ahead and bought it anyways.  I wouldn't put it past the fandom to do the exact same thing with Oliver too.   I do agree that in terms of sales though he probably wouldn't do that well, same with Arry and Bert.  Mavis seems to be the only diesel that I could see doing well in large scale.

what about G Scale Salty?

[Plow_Bender]

what about G Scale Salty?

G scale Salty is an unlikely candidate for the same reason his HO model was discontinued.  Despite all the positives the model had, for some reason Salty just wasn't a good seller.  Still (at least as far as I'm aware), the Salty's Dockside Delivery set #00696 is available, but everything in that set (with the exception of the Raspberry Syrup Tanker) is exclusive to that set.  Therefore, people would be more tempted to buy it, even if they're just after Salty, the rolling stock, or maybe even the conductor figure.  And before anyone brings up that the set is sold out and probably discontinued, how about we just wait till the 2017 catalog comes out before we jump to conclusions?

In terms of a G scale model though, it doesn't appear that Salty would fare much better.  Aside from the new tooling, Salty would also more than likely require a new chassis.  Considering the overall shape of the model, the tooling for the shell itself would be relatively simple, but the chassis would probably be a different story.  From what little I've gathered (just by taking apart the large scale models), the motor is pretty much the only reused component.  Almost everything else is entirely designed specifically for each individual model, which leaves the same to be said for Salty's chassis as well.  In the end, the production costs just wouldn't be worth it for Bachmann to even be bothered.

I personally would love a large scale mavis.

I agree with you there, Mr. thomasj219.  I think large scale Mavis in 2017 might be a good topic for me to revisit.  As for everyone else, stay tuned for a more in depth post about that later this week.

-Rusty

[donaldthescottishtwin]

Still waiting for large scale Edward.

[JD417]

Considering the year is coming to an end, I thought i'd finally put my wish list for next year in

HO Scale

Troublesome Truck #6. Personally I'd like to see them utilize the Ice Cream Wagon for this, and seeing how they like to do obscure colours, bar #5, I'm going to guess it'll be a dark red.

Water Tanker. Let's be honest, Bachmann loves an easy recolour, and the Water Tankers are as easy as they get, an entirely blue tanker body, with nothing else. Plus, the Water Tankers have made it to the merchandise lines several times, albeit not accurate to the show, but they do exist elsewhere in the merchandise realm.

Paxton. Off of the easy recolours, Paxton seems to be the most likely candidate for HO scale, as everyone else has said at one point, he's popular, and the tooling is right there for them to use, just a new faceplate is needed to be made.

The supposed updated James, no explanation needed for that one.

If they really do plan on doing updates to models, then I definitely see them redoing the Brake Van.
Let's be honest, the Thomas Brake Van is pretty bland. Bachmann really showed what they could do with a little creative freedom, just look at the Large Scale one. I honestly see them redoing the HO Scale one to be a bit more visually appealing, such as just a shrunken down version of the LS one. Or maybe something new entirely, who knows. But something should really be done with it.


Large Scale

Edward. The steam engine everyone wants for Large Scale. He'd be the last medium sized engine that would be even likely at this point. Any other explanation I'm sure has been said already, but I'll just recap: He's smaller than James and Emily, and bigger than the rest of the characters already available, so no pushing the size would be necessary, like how Emily was done. It would add a different wheel arrangement to the group of characters, but they could still reuse parts, such as James'/Thomas' Driving wheels, and James' bogie wheel, and even James' tender chassis if need be. And as we saw with Winston, they're not afraid to push out two characters with the same colour (James and Winston), so Thomas and Edward sharing the same contrast shouldn't be a bother.

Mail Car. The Mail car would be the first (Thomas styled) bogied rolling stock piece to make it into Large Scale. The option is clearly there, as the engine who mainly delivers the mail, Percy, has been in the range for over half a decade, and now he's come out with a second, specialized model. There are several vans in the show that can be replicated into large scale: there's a white one with red lining, (not the Live Lobsters van), a light blue one with white lining, plain ol' brown, and I'm sure more that I can't think of off the top of my head. But then there's also the option to make bachmann-customized versions of the mail car, such as the HO scale Green or Live Lobsters one.


HO Narrow Gauge

Sir Handel. The number 3 narrow gauge engine would be appropriate to follow Rheneas, as so far the range has been going in order of the engine's number. But unfortunately I can't really think of any other reason that's valid at this point to push Sir Handel's chances, other than his number, as the show hasn't utilized him almost at all recently.

Brake Vans. We've gotten to the point where we have a total of 6 "different" trucks, and nothing to cap them off at the end of the train. I see them releasing them a Red, Blue and Brown version. Hopefully with the same little tail lamp Skarloey has.


Other

Figure wise, I'd really like to see a Sir Robert Norramby, and he's become a character who's very well loved, and has a rather larger role in the series, more than some engines, as it seems. Looking at you, Rosie

Sir Topham Hatt's Car. It's not a character, but he's had it the entire series, and he uses it just as much as Winston, and look who got a model.

This is a dream of mine, but I've been talking about this with my family and friends for some time, one thing I would absolutely love to have is a Large Scale Bertie that's remote controlled. That would open up for a ton more play for kids, and it would make anyone who's a fan of Thomas go "I NEED THIS". I mean, who wouldn't want to be able to run out to their driveway and drive Bertie around? I'd be satisfied with a normal Bertie for LS as well, then I could just do it myself, but that would really kind of open up to another market if they did it.


I know what's the most unrealistic thing in there, but it is my wish list.

[Epiclafiteau]

For 2017, my wishlist is

HO:
-Color Corrected James (also hoping for a CGI styled face)
-Rosie (Even though she was announced, we are all hoping she is released soon. Therefore, she can be on my wishlist once she is available)
-Paxton (friendly and helpful character who would be great to have, easy recolor of Diesel/Arry/Bert)
-Sidney (same as above)
-Stafford (would be quite easy to make as he is small and short, but would be a very nice character to have)
-Charlie (while he may not be the best character, he has an interesting basis that would look very splendid)

N Scale:
-Sir Handel
I have a feeling that Bachmann is simply doing one narrow gauge engine per year so I'd just go with Sir Handel for 2017 or maybe even 2018 as he is the next engine in line, going by number order, after Rheneas.

Large Scale:
-Edward (highly requested by many people, and would fit right in with the other engines in the range)
-Diesel (There are currently no diesels in the Large Scale range so Diesel would be a nice change)
-Henrietta (There's a LS Toby, but his faithful coach hasn't been made yet. Especially after gaining a face in more recent CGI seasons, having her made [hopefully with a face] to go along with Toby. If she is made with a face, maybe she could be rereleased with a face in HO scale seeing as recent releases from Bachmann are CGI-styled. (e.g. Diesel, Skarloey, Toad))

[ilovetrains323]

So its that time of year again..? I might as well give my predictions too  

HO:
Paxton: Mostly because he would be an easy one. As JLD417 said previously, He would be a simple recolor and new face. He seems popular enough with the older fans and kids alike so who would be a great seller.

Daisy: With her recent reintroduction in the show, Daisy has seemed to grow in popularity. She has 3 episodes to herself in Season 20 and she's another classic character to make older fans happy. I honestly think Bachmann could pull off a stunning rendition of her CGI counterpart as they did with Oliver.

HO Rolling Stock:

New/Reintroduced Express Coaches: This one seems like a no brainer. If you're going to sell the express engine. Sell the things that go with him..

TT#6: We've gotten open wagons, a cattle wagon and now a Salt van. I really think its time for something a bit different. As JLD mentioned. They could go with the Ice cream wagon for this and put a face on it. But as much as Id love that, Id like to see a black or white tanker with a small face on it like what was seen in the forth season episode "Toad Stands By."  But on the other hand, The vent van idea is great as well just as long as its not some silly color choice like bright yellow or hot pink..

Brake Van Another thing that JLD mentioned. It would be great if they redid or made a new brakevan. The one we have now just seem a bit awkward and strange. I would personally love to see a new version of the brake van that is more TV series actuate or something else that would be quite nice is the orange LMS Brakevan used in the CGI Series.

Large Scale

Edward Everyone wants him.. Enough said.  

Red Branchline Coaches These would be really nice to have. its pretty clear that Thomas and Emily aren't the only ones that pull coaches and if you look at almost any episode of the CGI series you can see that James pulls them all of the time. So it would be lovely to have them and i'm quite sure that would look great being pulled by James (or Edward)

Narrow Gauge

Sir Handel To be honest, The only thing Sir Handel has going for himself is that he is #3. But he would still be great to have him.

Peter Sam If they dont do Sir Handel, I think they would definitely do Peter Sam.  Peter Sam probably has the highest potential as of now as he has certainly done more the Sir Handel has in the last few years and I mean come on.. who else thinks that valve gear would look sexy as hell?

Coaches The Skarloey Railway doesn't just take goods, So it would be great if they made some coaches. Especially the ones seen in the CGI Series, You wouldn't have to change them at all if you wanted to use them as Talyllyn Railway ones.

Brake Vans JLD pretty much summed this whole part up.


Figures

I think it would be a good idea to make more people figures. I know first hand that people buy these not only for Bachmann things. They use them for Trackmaster,Wooden Railways,and Take n pl.. Sorry.. Thomas and Friends Adventures. I wouldn't mind WHO that made as long as they made some more people.

Road Vehicles

Butch Ever Since he was given the ability to talk, Butch has easily become my favorite road vehicle and I think he would look absolutely fantastic as a Bachmann model.

Trevor   If any of the road vehicles has the best potential at getting a model.. Its Trevor. With his recent return to the series I think Bachmann would be able to pull off a stunning model of Trevor's CGI render.

Resin Buildings

Ffarquhar Station If any station screams "Thomas and Friends" its Ffarquhar. From the very beginning Ffarquhar has been a very important part of Thomas history. So if they were to make more stations. I serenely hope its Ffarquhar.


So, Those are my predictions/hopes for 2017.. I know very little if anything on this list will be made but these are just MY hopes. Hope you enjoyed..