OFFICIAL 2017 THOMAS & FRIENDS NEW PRODUCTS ANNOUNCEMENT!

[TrainFan97]

As cool as a Bachmann Diesel 10 sounds, it's REALLY hard to expect him. How would Bachmann do Pinchy? Same goes for Harvey's crane. IF they ever made Diesel 10 or Harvey, they should just omit their eye mechanisms, and just give them a moveable claw or crane.

Diesel 10 is the only character introduced in Thomas and the Magic Railroad to be rendered in CGI.

[AJW98Productions]

Okay, I can't access this site from my home wifi anymore for some reason, so I've got to use my mobile phone's data or wifi at places like my university. So I guess I'm late to giving my thoughts, but oh well. Now, let's begin:
3, 2, 1, Go!
HO Scale:
Paxton:
Well, to be honest considering that Oliver and Rosie have yet to be released, I didn't expect to see an engine announced in HO this year. But Paxton I think was a sensible choice, and I felt he was the most obvious candidate for the next HO engine. Overall, I think this was a safe, but sensible choice. Certainly will appeal to older and newer fans, and whilst the tooling won't be identical to Diesel's, it'll be highly similar - which makes it an economic decision for Bachmann all around I think. As I said, a safe, but sensible choice.

The Great Western, and Sodor Fruit & Vegetable Co. Ventilated Vans:
I didn't expect to see these two make the transition over to the HO range so soon, but I find that they are...good choices. I don't really know what to say about these, other than that I think these were also safe choices, if these are recolours of the Ice Cream Van too - like they were in Large Scale- which I expect they will be. Not sure what else to say in all honesty. A safe choice again, but again, one that makes sense. I imagine they'll be decent sellers - particularly the Great Western variant. I'm hoping we'll see the Explosives Van make the transition next year.

McColl's Cattle Wagon:
I honestly expected a recolour of an existing Cattle Wagon for this one too. So I was pleased to see that it's going to be a new tooling. I think, and hope it'll be a good seller, I like the design and want to see this new tooling succeed.

Narrow Gauge:
Rusty: Well, I'd like to see the smaller styled Season 4 face - but let's be honest, that's not going to happen. I feel Rusty was chosen because he's a more simple tooling than the likes of Sir Handel or Peter Sam. I've heard a few people bring up colour contrast - but given Skarloey is a Crimson-red colour, and Rheneas is fairly orange, I can't really say Rusty provides much contrast with these two characters, in my eyes. More of a conformity actually. As I said, I imagine he was released for his simpler tooling above all else. Whilst I may have expected Sir Handel or Peter Sam, that doesn't mean I think Rusty is a bad choice. Just a surprise, but by no means a disappointment.

Large Scale:
Diesel:
I would've preferred to have seen Edward or Duck, but I don't think Diesel is a bad choice, I'm surprised at the generally lukewarm reception to Diesel from fans, but then again, it's been several years since the LS range got a new engine, and I don't collect LS, so I probably don't completely understand the frustrations of those that do. I find the idea of Gordon or Henry being released in LS at some point in the future to be extremely unlikely. But I think Diesel was a sensible choice, and definitely an economic one, as there are so many Class 08's in the series that recolours become rather easy. I also quite like the illustration used, and hope it's indicative that the Diesel model (when made) will be included with a sinister looking face - considering that's what the illustration has. It may be questionable if he will have a sinister face or not, but hey, a guy can dream, right?

Spiteful Brake Van:
This was...probably the biggest surprise of this year for me. But I don't think it's a bad idea by any means. I'm quite glad it's being released, to be honest. I like the design from the illustration shown, especially considering it appears to be in more of an RWS style - I really like that. I hope this turns out to be a good seller, and I hope it transfers over to HO next year, but for the meantime...

Overall thoughts:
I like both Large Scale announcements, and whilst I understand that some people may be disappointed in them - I do quite like both announcements, and hope they succeed.

I was hoping for (at least) a brown brakevan in the Narrow Gauge range, but oh well, Rheneas still isn't out yet, and Rusty is a good announcement, one that I do enjoy - I hope for a brakevan next year, along with Peter Sam - then after this, I'd like to see some coaches in the range, but this may be a little while in the future. Whilst I'm slightly disappointed there's no piece of new rolling stock, it doesn't overly bother me - I hope next year brings more to the table for the Narrow Gauge, but for now, I think it's fine.

The HO announcements all seemed...predictable...and even if I didn't expect a new engine this year, Paxton seemed like the most likely candidate for quite some time, so I'm not too surprised by this happening. Both vans seem like sensible options, and I don't feel there's too much to say there.

I agree with most people's consensus thus far that this year's range is definitely quality over quantity, but I would like to make an addition to that argument. This year's range feels very much like Bachmann wanted to play it safe. I feel like all the announcements in each range (in one way or another) are very safe ones - sensible yes, but also very safe. Granted, there's nothing wrong with that, and even the items in announcement that surprised me the most (Rusty, Paxton and the Spiteful Brakevan), all felt like safe choices. Sensible, yes - but definitely safe...and even the surprises aren't too...surprising I guess.

Overall, I think this year's range is a good one. I look forward to next year's, and think that this is certainly an improvement over last year's range - but that's just my opinion. I look forward to seeing all the finished products.

~Alex

[thomasj219]

OH MY GOD!! That website with the faces is unbelievable! Has anyone else seen this??

[TTTEfan1992]

No. What are you talking about?

[donaldthescottishtwin]

No. What are you talking about?

He's talking about Shapeways.

[Titanic5972]

Do you have a link?

[AJW98Productions]

It was literally in the post at the bottom of the last page, but here it is again:
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/seansstuff?s=0#more-products

I also must agree however, that the faces there are amazing. I'm surprised more people in the fandom don't know about it, in all honesty.

~Alex

[donaldthescottishtwin]

Shame they don't have a happy Thomas face or any Percy faces, either way I'm going to use their James face on my Bachmann model.

[TerencetheTractor525]

Glad I could be of service . The seller started this about a year ago and I think that he is still adding new faces to the list. These faces are high quality. My favorite is the large troublesome truck face which is displayed on the second page. Also, there was a happy Thomas face, but it got taken off the list for some reason. 

[Anthony P2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_nLc9Zn1EY

*waits for comments about Rheneas*

[Captain Crutch]

Do the eyes line up with the moving eye mechanism if I were to cut them out?

[Titanic5972]

They look great.

[donaldthescottishtwin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_nLc9Zn1EY

*waits for comments about Rheneas*

Yeah didn't even get a close up shot so this is useless.

Do the eyes line up with the moving eye mechanism if I were to cut them out?

Yes they do.

[Anthony P2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_nLc9Zn1EY

*waits for comments about Rheneas*

Yeah didn't even get a close up shot so this is useless.

oh I know! I'm just waiting to see all the "Why couldn't they get a closer picture?!" comments!

[Danielv18]

When will the official 2018 Thomas and Friends new product announcement come out? Earlier than Feb 2018? Thanks!