Large Scale Mavis de-confirmed?

[Falcon]

I'm an avid fan of Mavis and I would love to purchase a Large Scale model of her someday, but after contacting Bachmann via one of their emails, it would seem that there might not be a big chance of her getting a Large Scale model anytime soon.

I won't quote exactly what was said in the email, but they said that each new product partially depends on its affordability & how complex manufacturing is and they do not intend on releasing a Large Scale Mavis in the near future. I can understand where Bachmann is coming from in saying this and I'm fully aware that Diesel will be the next character in the lineup, but I am still a little disappointed to see that there won't be a Large Scale Mavis made in a long time. There's a possibility that they could change their minds about her later on, though I wouldn't see it happening too quickly.

On one hand, there are a few of reasons why she feels like a good candidate.
-Considering that she hasn't had any new merchandise in years, a Large Scale model could be a good comeback for Mavis in the Thomas merchandise market today. With how much trouble most of Mattel's toy lines are in right now, Bachmann is the perfect merchandise manufacturer for her.
-Because of her size and fan following, she seems more likely to appear than other characters in the lineup. She isn't as huge as Gordon & Henry and more people would be willing to see her than 'Arry & Bert.
-Emily is currently the only female Large Scale engine and Diesel is their only planned diesel engine as of this time, so having an engine that is both a female and a diesel would add some variety in the lineup.
-In my opinion, she would deem a solid engine to go with the pre-existing Large Scale Toby and she might be able to use Toby's same chassis too.

But on the other hand, there are some factors that could make Mavis less of a possibility as well.
-While other characters have appeared far less frequently than her, Mavis hasn't had as much speaking roles as other Large Scale characters in recent years. She's only had six speaking roles in the past five seasons (counting the current Season 21) and she hasn't spoken in a special since Blue Mountain Mystery.
-Mattel, the licensor of Thomas products, usually decides on what products Bachmann is able to make in the future. Since they've barely produced any new Mavis merchandise, it's unlikely Mattel would want to see her in Large Scale form.
-Since 'Arry and Bert have the exact same tooling as Diesel, they seem more likely to come after Diesel than Mavis does.
-Some users have also been claiming that the Large Scale format is dying - and for very good reasons. Bachmann and its competitors have not shown too much passion for the particular format since there has not been a lot of new releases in recent years. The Large Scale lineup also has a far steeper price than HO Scale products which could mean that sales are lower than that of HO Scale. And since Large Scale is more expensive to produce than HO Scale and it takes longer to manufacture, engines for the lineup need to be chosen pretty wisely.

I'd like to know what everyone else thinks. Do you hope that Mavis can be made as a Large Scale model someday? Do you believe the possibility of Mavis is uncertain? I personally feel that this character would be worth bringing up and discussing Mavis would not be as redundant as something like the "Redesigned James".

[Chaz]

The thing is Bachmann isn't allowed to reveal info on new products early.  I'm sure they are just now deciding what to announce in 2018 and probably don't want to confirm anything until the announcements are "officially" posted or when the catalog is up.  People have asked about Oliver before too and they have mentioned that there are no plans for him (and some people actually believed that from the "interview" posted a few years ago), then the following year Oliver and Toad were in the 2015 announcements.

You're not wrong on the complexity issue of Bachmann making products since there is a lot of communication between them and Hit/Mattel and what they believe what they should make and what would sell well and what won't.  There have been numerous times where requests from the forum have clearly made an impact on what gets announced, such as Duck, Bill and Ben, Donald and Douglas, and Oliver being introduced into the range.  Mattel having a final say on what gets announced could very well be a factor with why they haven't looked into Mavis in large scale since the pros seem to outweigh the cons (just like Daisy), but if Mattel doesn't see a character as marketable then chances are there won't be a lot of merchandise for said character.  Black trains, besides Diesel and Hiro, very rarely get merchandise nowadays for that reason alone which is a factor to why Mavis does not get any merchandise anymore, same with Donald and Douglas, thank goodness Bachmann made those three before Mattel stepped in...!

But on the whole, Bachmann does generally listen to fans input as proven by particular announcements and decisions in the past, even if a lot of the decisions do have to come from/be approved by Mattel.  I personally think Mavis in large scale is a missed opportunity and would have been easier to make than Diesel and would sell a lot better but since Diesel is the more iconic character who kids know so naturally that was who they went with and will probably pull off Arry and Bert next just like how Lionel did.  But if Bachmann could avoid taking the easy route and go the extra mile for better sales then Mavis is definitely the way to go.

[TrainandRockmusicfan97]

Did they say about possibly releasing Bill and Ben in Large Scale sometime in the near future?

[TrainFan97]

Did they say about possibly releasing Bill and Ben in Large Scale sometime in the near future?

They can't reveal info like that early.

[Falcon]

The thing is Bachmann isn't allowed to reveal info on new products early.  I'm sure they are just now deciding what to announce in 2018 and probably don't want to confirm anything until the announcements are "officially" posted or when the catalog is up.  People have asked about Oliver before too and they have mentioned that there are no plans for him (and some people actually believed that from the "interview" posted a few years ago), then the following year Oliver and Toad were in the 2015 announcements.

You're not wrong on the complexity issue of Bachmann making products since there is a lot of communication between them and Hit/Mattel and what they believe what they should make and what would sell well and what won't.  There have been numerous times where requests from the forum have clearly made an impact on what gets announced, such as Duck, Bill and Ben, Donald and Douglas, and Oliver being introduced into the range.  Mattel having a final say on what gets announced could very well be a factor with why they haven't looked into Mavis in large scale since the pros seem to outweigh the cons (just like Daisy), but if Mattel doesn't see a character as marketable then chances are there won't be a lot of merchandise for said character.  Black trains, besides Diesel and Hiro, very rarely get merchandise nowadays for that reason alone which is a factor to why Mavis does not get any merchandise anymore, same with Donald and Douglas, thank goodness Bachmann made those three before Mattel stepped in...!

But on the whole, Bachmann does generally listen to fans input as proven by particular announcements and decisions in the past, even if a lot of the decisions do have to come from/be approved by Mattel.  I personally think Mavis in large scale is a missed opportunity and would have been easier to make than Diesel and would sell a lot better but since Diesel is the more iconic character who kids know so naturally that was who they went with and will probably pull off Arry and Bert next just like how Lionel did.  But if Bachmann could avoid taking the easy route and go the extra mile for better sales then Mavis is definitely the way to go.

Thank you very much the reply. I can see many good points brought up in it, especially with Bachmann listening closely to fans. Seeing it made me feel much better. I had no idea that this particular scenario happened before, but then again, I've taken a rather long break from Bachmann's Thomas range, so being unaware is bound to happen.

I suppose Mattel considers Diesel to be the most marketable black train, which explains why he still gets new merchandise. Part of me hopes Hiro will get an HO Scale model someday.

Until Mavis does arrive in the lineup, Percy might be my first Large Scale model that I buy. Even though I can't afford any Large Scale products for the time being, I have a pretty good feeling about Percy.

[Falcon]

Did they say about possibly releasing Bill and Ben in Large Scale sometime in the near future?

With Chaz's reply in mind, we now know that Bachmann cannot give any early info on future products at all. Despite this, they do keep a close eye out for fan suggestions all the time and I can tell that fans are beginning to love the idea of Large Scale Bill & Ben models, so there's a chance they'll come. We just need to wait very patiently, especially since Large Scale models take a while to create.

[TrainFan97]

Sounds like Bill and Ben are starting to get a demand for Large Scale. I don't collect Large Scale, but I think having the tank engine twins would be a great idea. With Bill and Ben, Bachmann can easily get two engines out there with just one tooling, with both engines having the exact same livery, and faces. The only difference would be their nameplates.

[Falcon]

Sounds like Bill and Ben are starting to get a demand for Large Scale. I don't collect Large Scale, but I think having the tank engine twins would be a great idea. With Bill and Ben, Bachmann can easily get two engines out there with just one tooling, with both engines having the exact same livery, and faces. The only difference would be their nameplates.

Certainly sounds like Bill and Ben are becoming popular for Large Scale fans. If I ever get into the Large Scale lineup, I'd love to get Ben.

Still hope that Mavis is released someday. I do appreciate the twins, but not as much as Mavis. She shouldn't be too hard to handle, especially if she's reusing Toby's chassis.

[TrainandRockmusicfan97]

Since Bill and Ben are becoming pretty popular with Large Scale fans despite not having been released or even announced yet, I guess they'll release them before they release Mavis......

[Falcon]

Since Bill and Ben are becoming pretty popular with Large Scale fans despite not having been released or even announced yet, I guess they'll release them before they release Mavis......

Seems reasonable. I myself like Bill & Ben as well and I can wait a little longer for Mavis.

[TrainandRockmusicfan97]

Maybe they'll be the next Large Scale engines after Diesel. You never know.....

[Falcon]

Maybe they'll be the next Large Scale engines after Diesel. You never know.....

I certainly hope so. They and Mavis would both have a far bigger chance of selling as Large Scale engines than 'Arry & Bert...