Bachmann Thomas & Friends in 2019

[Chaz]

Now that summer break has started I figured I would share my thoughts on what might happen next year in list form.  Seeing as how it's been a while since the 2018 announcements and I feel like the summer time in particular is a good time to get thoughts out.

HO:

Stepney - If we get an engine next year in HO, Stepney in my eyes is the best choice.  He may not be in full CGI yet, but with a number of recent additions tying in nicely with Stepney, including Rusty, Stepney feels like a very natural addition to the range.  Because he is a small tank engine with a color contrast I can also see Mattel being on board with this as well, and he would be a very popular seller as the Hornby model has proved both during its release and re-release.  He's honestly the only tank engine Bachmann could make that would sell really well too, moreso than Stanley, Charlie, and especially Nia.  See my post on Stepney.

My actual expectation for an HO engine though at this point is either no new engine in HO and instead just announcing rolling stock and possibly some resin buildings.   Or maybe getting engines with DCC and sound in HO too.


Troublesome Truck #6 - Hoping it's the single vent van (ice cream wagon) tooling with another classic facial expression.  Though I wouldn't mind if they went with a tanker either.  Just as long as it's not the one from Journey Beyond Sodor...

But if Bachmann wants to throw a curveball for a new troublesome truck...


Honestly if we got the Spiteful brake van of all things I really don't see what's stopping Bachmann from stopping them from doing a season 1 troublesome truck?  All Bachmann has to do is repaint a truck and make eyes and mouth decals for a face as opposed to making a faceplate.  It's cost effective, nostalgic, and guaranteed to be a strong seller. 


The Chinese Dragon - Personally, I think the the flat car itself would be a welcome addition back to the range but I would prefer that they change the load.  I feel like the Chinese Dragon in particular would work since it's a bright and colorful kid-friendly load that younger fans would like while older fans would appreciate the nostalgia behind it.  I could see both Bachmann and Mattel giving it the green flag.

I also think Bachmann needs to tone it down with the futile rolling stock recolors.  Even though they are suggestions from Mattel, no one is buying them and I feel like they only take up space if no one is buying them.  Quality not Quantity.

Plastic building:



Coal hopper - Just like how we got two new accurate water towers it would be nice if we got a new coal hopper for the very same reason.  It would be a very simple design too.  I can see them going for the design seen in the Adventure Begins onward, but if Bachmann wanted to go for a simple design, as well as one that people would buy more than one of, then the one used in seasons 2-3 would be a much wiser choice.

Resin buildings (if we get any):


Narrow gauge engine sheds - This would be the most ideal building choice for narrow gauge, especially to those who need them for their own layout.


Ffarquhar station - An iconic location in the series, especially since its return in the Adventure Begins.  Although, the CG design is more likely, I feel like the classic design would sell better and would be easier and cheaper for Bachmann to make.



The fuel depot - Such a simple and basic design and would go great for the diesel models Bachmann has made.  It would be a little abnormal, much like the black loch folly, but again it would be a really simple design to make.  Plus for those with industrial buildings on layouts already, these would make nice add-on additions to go with them (shown in the second image).  I could see it happening.


Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Factory - This is one I can easily see happening, thanks to our good friends at Mattel.  A kid-friendly location that was introduced in the classic series, seems like something they would do.

Narrow gauge:


Peter Sam - Unlike Duncan, or pretty much any other narrow gauge engine besides Sir Handel, I think Peter Sam has the most potential to be made next.  He also offers a nice color contrast and has one of the best designs both on the show and basis wise.  Hard to go wrong with him.  See my post on Peter Sam.


Brake vans (blue, red, and brown) - Brake vans are pretty much essential for the narrow gauge line and it's the only rolling stock in narrow gauge that has a real urgency regarding rolling stock demand.  Any other rolling stock choices for narrow gauge should be kept a lower priority.  See my post on narrow gauge brake vans.

Large scale:
DCC and sound James, Toby, and Emily - Honestly, this needs to happen.  I think Bachmann's safest bet would be to announce these last three engines to go along with the Thomas and Percy locomotives with DCC and sound.  Plus people I've talked to have mentioned issues they have had with the module and have had a difficult time either getting the module/decoder installed, or finding the right speaker for the models that isn't a ridiculously expensive price.

I honestly don't see them adding any rolling stock for large scale next year.  If you want Henrietta or any new rolling stock toolings, you might have to make your own at this point.  Same could also be said for making your own custom models of other engines, like Edward or Mavis.  At a push, I could see them doing the red coaches, but I think that's the best Bachmann can do with the large scale range.  They would definitely sell better than any of the rolling stock that Bachmann has announced in large scale in over five years, as the HO models have proved before.  It would also see passenger stock that isn't limited to just Thomas and Emily.

Here's hoping 2019 is the year Bachmann can turn things around.

[TerencetheTractor525]

As usual, I enjoyed reading your post very much Chaz, and it's especially nice to see some new resin building ideas.

I find the fuel depot especially unique, as it would give Bachmann more of a purpose for announcing Diesel Co. Fuel Tanker this year. Is it the two green towers that you are referring to?

Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Factory is another distinctive idea. The only thing that I could see stopping Bachmann from making it is its large size.



Since you mentioned kid-friendly locations, two other ideas that I could Mattel approving are some carnival stalls...





as well as the bandstand. I could see these going wonderfully with the Chinese Dragon too.

[Chaz]

Yep the green towers are what I am mainly referring to.

Those I think would make nice small resin buildings too.  And again, they are also kid-friendly and also have nostalgia.  I could actually see these look really nice on your layout in particular, actually!

[TrainCollector]

Here's my wish list for 2019

HO scale
Diesel 10(I don't care what people say, he CAN be made Bachmann just has to find a way around it.)
Explosives Van
Troublesome Truck 6
James' Composite Coach
James' brake coach

HO narrow Gauge
Peter Sam
Sir Handle
Brake Van
Box van

Resin Buildings
Farquhar Station
Narrow Gauge shed

Large Scale
I've lost hope for any engines but for rolling stock....
Troublesome Truck 3

[Rodimus Supreme]

For me, I'd be interested to see:

HO Scale Locomotives:
-Daisy or Stepney. Daisy is more likely, but Stepney would be great too.

HO Scale Rolling Stock:
-Troublesome Truck 6. Either a van repainted brown with a face, or a tanker repainted black with a face. A solid black tanker with no
 logos or words would also be good for customizers to just pop the face off and weather it and boom, generic Thomas and Friends
 Tankers!
-Dark Brown Utility Wagon. Perfect for early Model Series fans!
-Flatbed with Removable _____ Load. Would be the Flat Car With Paint Drums tooling. Not sure what type of load I prefer, but oil
drums, pipes, logs, crates, or something covered with a tarp would be good.

HOn30 Narrow Gauge Locomotives:
-Peter Sam or Sir Handel. Not too picky about which one first, but definitely one of them next.

HOn30 Narrow Gauge Rolling Stock:
-Brown Brake Van. For freight trains, of course!
-Red Brake Van. For the Red Coaches, obviously!
-Blue Brake Van. For the Blue Coaches, of course!
-Tanker or Flatbed car. If anything else, these would be my choices. Whether D. Fusit Gunpowder Tankers or some other design, a
 tanker would be cool for Narrow Gauge, and flat beds would be good for making utility trains for Rusty to pull around your layout
 as though he's helping to fix old and broken tracks!

HO Scale Resing Buildings (if Bachmann brought them back):
-Farquhar Station. Iconic to the Classic Model Series, and has now returned in the CGI series. Perfect for any modeler!
-Station Platform. This could be done as a small plastic kit instead, but I'm basically thinking about the platform that sits on the
 other side of the tracks opposite Maithwaite Station. Done right, it could be used with any other station Bachmann makes or has
 made in this line as an extension!
-Covered Shed. Mainly thinking about the small open shed that sits next to Tidmouth Sheds. That design has been used around
 Sodor, so there's several different things you can do with it!
-Coal Bunker. Seen all over the Island of Sodor, these would be great, small, little additions to the scenery that fulfill a great
 purpose. And would be nice to see Bachmann complement these later on with newly designed Coal Towers too!!!
-If anything else, I'd add some Great Waterton shops. Then perhaps over the next several years Bachmann could release the Great
 Waterton Station and the other buildings seen in Great Waterton? Now that Hornby gave up the HO/OO license for the UK,
 Bachmann has so much of an open chance to do so many new things, and sell in many new places!!

HOn30 Narrow Gauge Resin Buildings (If Bachmann brought them back):
-Narrow Gauge Engine Shed: For me, I'd prefer the shed seen in Season 4 where all the Narrow Gauge engines rested, the one that
 sits right next to part of the Standard Gauge Main Line.
-Narrow Gauge Water Tower. Those engines gotta get water to, ya know!
-Narrow Gauge Coal Bunker. Would also be great, much needed additions to your Narrow Gauge line, as these little engines need
 coal too!!

If they do plastic kits again, then the Station Platform I mentioned earlier would be great!

G Scale Locomotives:
-I'd prefer Edward, but since it looks like they won't ever do him or any non-tank engine or bigger diesel ever again, I'd say either
 Bill and Ben, or Duck. Both would be good base's for customizers, as I don't think their respective basis' are available in G Scale?
 And Duck would be an extremely great seller in any scale, TBH.

G Scale Rolling Stock:
-Red Branch Line Coaches. Pretty obvious why: Easy retool of Annie and Clarabel, several G Scale engines that are already available
 pull them around on the show, gives more options than just Annie and Clarabel or Emily's Coaches, and are just fan favorites!
 Wonder if Bachmann would consider giving them white roofs like in the Model Series? Would be a nice little difference compared to
 the HO Scale versions!
-Troublesome Truck 3. Long overdue. Could be pretty much anything, but a tanker or box van would be preferable.
-Don't know if Bachmann has any existing toolings to bring over from the Bachmann UK line of products to use as Express Coaches
 (or even Red Express Coaches, AKA, Henry's/James' Coaches), but if they do, it might be nice to see them do so. More than likely
 not next year, but it would be a pleasant surprise! And utilizing toolings they already have I imagine would help keep the cost of
 production low?

This list isn't necessarily everything I want to see all next year or expect to see all in one year's releases, just the things I think could be likely. We could get some of these, but not all of them at once. Anyone want to chime in their thoughts on this list?

[Chaz]

I think most of the ideas that you listed are pretty solid choices. I don't think we will get more than one narrow gauge engine though. Probably just one a year considering their track record.  Same with rolling stock quantity.  In terms of HO, I can definitely see the flat car and a new load (which I mentioned earlier too).  I'm surprised a utility van hasn't been considered yet, especially since they would most likely paint the mail car brown.

The resin building suggestions all sound pretty likely, but I don't think they will do separate buildings for different ranges, rather than just announce new additions for the resin line as a whole.  One addition or two for narrow gauge definitely could find its way in the lineup though like the Trackside Station.

Probably the only thing I don't see happening is a new engine in large scale. I know that sounds pessimistic, but considering that Diesel got canceled for that range, I am really not sure if we will get a new engine at all anytime soon.   It wouldn't surprise me if Toby turned out to be the last engine to join the range.  At best I can see the rest of the engines coming out with DCC and sound, and maybe bring in a Thomas sound set.  Aside from that, as well as some rolling stock, I really don't see much else going for large scale at this point.

[Rodimus Supreme]

Yeah, I tried being optimistic for the G Scale line. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the G Scale line just dies out in the not-too-distant future. If that were to happen, maybe it would be at a time when Bachmann would be able to get a hold of the O Scale Thomas and Friends license?

[MeganekkoFury1126]

Now that summer break has started I figured I would share my thoughts on what might happen next year in list form.  Seeing as how it's been a while since the 2018 announcements and I feel like the summer time in particular is a good time to get thoughts out.

HO:

Stepney - If we get an engine next year in HO, Stepney in my eyes is the best choice.  He may not be in full CGI yet, but with a number of recent additions tying in nicely with Stepney, including Rusty, Stepney feels like a very natural addition to the range.  Because he is a small tank engine with a color contrast I can also see Mattel being on board with this as well, and he would be a very popular seller as the Hornby model has proved both during its release and re-release.  He's honestly the only tank engine Bachmann could make that would sell really well too, moreso than Stanley, Charlie, and especially Nia.  See my post on Stepney.

My actual expectation for an HO engine though at this point is either no new engine in HO and instead just announcing rolling stock and possibly some resin buildings.   Or maybe getting engines with DCC and sound in HO too.


Troublesome Truck #6 - Hoping it's the single vent van (ice cream wagon) tooling with another classic facial expression.  Though I wouldn't mind if they went with a tanker either.  Just as long as it's not the one from Journey Beyond Sodor...

But if Bachmann wants to throw a curveball for a new troublesome truck...


Honestly if we got the Spiteful brake van of all things I really don't see what's stopping Bachmann from stopping them from doing a season 1 troublesome truck?  All Bachmann has to do is repaint a truck and make eyes and mouth decals for a face as opposed to making a faceplate.  It's cost effective, nostalgic, and guaranteed to be a strong seller.  


The Chinese Dragon - Personally, I think the the flat car itself would be a welcome addition back to the range but I would prefer that they change the load.  I feel like the Chinese Dragon in particular would work since it's a bright and colorful kid-friendly load that younger fans would like while older fans would appreciate the nostalgia behind it.  I could see both Bachmann and Mattel giving it the green flag.

I also think Bachmann needs to tone it down with the futile rolling stock recolors.  Even though they are suggestions from Mattel, no one is buying them and I feel like they only take up space if no one is buying them.  Quality not Quantity.

Plastic building:



Coal hopper - Just like how we got two new accurate water towers it would be nice if we got a new coal hopper for the very same reason.  It would be a very simple design too.  I can see them going for the design seen in the Adventure Begins onward, but if Bachmann wanted to go for a simple design, as well as one that people would buy more than one of, then the one used in seasons 2-3 would be a much wiser choice.

Resin buildings (if we get any):


Narrow gauge engine sheds - This would be the most ideal building choice for narrow gauge, especially to those who need them for their own layout.


Ffarquhar station - An iconic location in the series, especially since its return in the Adventure Begins.  Although, the CG design is more likely, I feel like the classic design would sell better and would be easier and cheaper for Bachmann to make.



The fuel depot - Such a simple and basic design and would go great for the diesel models Bachmann has made.  It would be a little abnormal, much like the black loch folly, but again it would be a really simple design to make.  Plus for those with industrial buildings on layouts already, these would make nice add-on additions to go with them (shown in the second image).  I could see it happening.


Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Factory - This is one I can easily see happening, thanks to our good friends at Mattel.  A kid-friendly location that was introduced in the classic series, seems like something they would do.

Narrow gauge:


Peter Sam - Unlike Duncan, or pretty much any other narrow gauge engine besides Sir Handel, I think Peter Sam has the most potential to be made next.  He also offers a nice color contrast and has one of the best designs both on the show and basis wise.  Hard to go wrong with him.  See my post on Peter Sam.


Brake vans (blue, red, and brown) - Brake vans are pretty much essential for the narrow gauge line and it's the only rolling stock in narrow gauge that has a real urgency regarding rolling stock demand.  Any other rolling stock choices for narrow gauge should be kept a lower priority.  See my post on narrow gauge brake vans.

...

Here's hoping 2019 is the year Bachmann can turn things around.

Pretty much all of these ideas are great, and ones I can easily get behind, Chaz. The Chinese Dragon and Ffarquhar station in particular.



I still have hope for Ryan being made into the line, considering the product line right now is moving more towards characters that are in the current series, but still are small enough to not be too expensive to engineer and produce. Since Ryan has appeared in a large amount of episodes in season 20/21, has a colorful, unique paint scheme, and has been well received by both new and old fans alike (unlike Rosie) since Lost Treasure, I say the new engine in the HO line should be him, and I'd be more than happy to purchase one of him.

As a fan of season 3, I wouldn't mind a recreation of the three-tier trestle bridge with concrete piers in the building lineup, if that's possible. I can't imagine it would be too expensive to make the bridges in plastic, unless it would just be easier to customize them yourself.



Or perhaps one of these bare bone sheds in plastic? They appear quite often and can be used in multiple areas and scenarios.

[Plow_Bender]

So I've decided to make a post on 2019 Narrow Gauge announcements.  I've seen a few people touch on some of these ideas already and I'm going to do the same.  I'm also going to throw in a couple other ideas I feel may be beneficial for the range.  Considering Narrow Gauge seems to be the only range that hasn't been suffering from poor announcements the last few years, I feel it's the range we should be trying to focus our attention on at this time.

Let's start off with Peter Sam.  Over the course of the last couple years there's been a lot of demand for him, and although many of us were happy to see coaches in the 2018 announcements, the absence of Peter Sam was a little disappointing.  Still, given that Rusty was the only narrow gauge model we got for 2017 (and we're still waiting for...), it's very much understandable.  There is also hope that Rusty makes it out before the 2019 announcements, as I feel his absence is part of the reason Bachmann decided not to introduce an engine into the range for 2018.



Now Peter Sam actually presents quite a few positives if announced.  For starters, he is one of the more popular narrow gauge engines and has made a number of appearances in recent seasons.  From memory, he's also had several starring roles in every season that features the narrow gauge engines.  Even in recent seasons, Peter Sam still continues this trend whether he's got the lead role or just makes a number of cameos.

Peter Sam is also a model that people would potentially buy 2 or more of.  This is mainly because of modelers out there that are into making customs.  Some may want to make Stuart, which would mean changing out the funnel and nameplates.  You've also got the diehard fans who want Peter Sam from his memorable moment with the drain pipe as a substitute funnel.   Throw in your Railway Series fan boys and/or Talyllyn modelers, and you've got that many more potential sales for Peter Sam.  Put simply, the model is sure to sell out faster than a rainbow-print shirt at an LGBT festival.  I'm also willing to bet Peter Sam would be the best seller out of all the ranges since Rheneas came out.



Another thing Bachmann should consider for Narrow Gauge is a breakvan.  This was another addition that people have asked for and were hoping to see alongside Peter Sam.  A breakvan does present another advantage for Narrow Gauge, as it's a piece of rolling stock people would buy multiples of.  However, it's also a piece of rolling stock Bachmann "can make multiples of".  If Bachmann were to introduce a brakevan, it's tooling could be reused for 2 additional recolors just as they did with the slate trucks.  Therefore, Bachmann could introduce 3 new pieces of rolling stock for the cost of 1.  Couldn't be easier.



Another addition that Bachmann could possibly introduce into Narrow Gauge is the V tipper trucks.  I'm not really sure as to how much demand there is for these, but I'm sure they would be a nice piece of rolling stock to add to the range considering the emphasis on mining for the Skarloey Railway.  I think these would be great additions to go along with the slate trucks in the range already, and I'm sure modelers would love to have these for their quarry layouts.



To wrap things up, I think it would also be in Bachmann's best interest to discontinue the Peco stock and create their own van tooling.  Yes it was understandable to have the Peco wagons back when Skarloey was released (as they were the only rolling stock available), but now we have the slate trucks and the upcoming coaches.  That being said, I'm pretty sure Narrow Gauge could stay afloat with the current rolling stock it has now.  Furthermore, I don't think sales on the Peco wagons were that profitable to begin with, as many people I know just went straight to Peco for the stock.  Then again, the Peco stock may have already been discontinued and Bachmann is still trying to clear out the remaining inventory in the warehouse.



So in conclusion, Peter Sam, breakvan(s), V tipper trucks, and box vans seem like good ideas for 2019 announcements.  Mainly I just have hopes for Peter Sam and breakvans, but the other ideas I mentioned are welcome as well.  Considering Narrow Gauge announcements have been minimal the last couple years with either an engine or rolling stock getting announced, I think Peter Sam and 3 new brakevans would get a lot of people excited.  As I've said in previous posts, Narrow Gauge is the only range I have hope for at this point considering the downhill decline HO and Large Scale have been on for a number of years.  If anyone else would like to contribute to the idea's I've mentioned above, please do so.

-Rusty

[Chaz]

I feel like I would be a broken record at this point with my thoughts on the narrow gauge thoughts, so, I will keep them brief, in response to your post.

I completely agree that Peter Sam is the most logical choice for an engine for the narrow gauge range.  He would be a safe bet too, considering how accurate his render is, and fans would buy multiples of him.  I can easily see him selling better than Rusty, possibly even Rheneas.

Brake vans I think are really the only rolling stock that have a strong demand for narrow gauge.  Honestly, I'm surprised we don't have them announced already.

Tippers I think are almost a given, probably not something I would nearly appreciate as much as the slate wagons but they would seem like safe bets with their usage in Blue Mountain Quarry.

I am genuinely amazed that the vans are still in production considering how they aren't really accurate to what's on the show and how expensive they are.  Making new ones in a new tooling wouldn't be a horrible idea, and if anything would help increase sales for the range.  Personally, I'd prefer these over tippers.

[DecadesofSun]

Plow Bender, I'm inclined in agree with most of what you said, minus the idea that the company should discontinue one tooling in favor of another. I know lots of people (myself included) can't always afford the NG range except for once in a great while, so I'd rather see the company hold out for a few years with what they have to give more people a chance to catch up and let the market value go down.

That aside, the only other likely addition I can imagine coming anytime soon is Duncan. I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but right now the only locomotive characters I can imagine them adding straight after Rusty are Duncan or Peter Sam; Sir Handel, unfortunately, is looking to be the last of the lot. I'd throw Duncan in there because he's arguably more popular that PS, certainly has had more episodes written about him, and matches the current color pattern much better than Samwise does. Example:

>2015: Skarloey- red
>2017: Rheneas- vermillion
>2018/19: Rusty- orange
>2020/21: Duncan- yellow

If they introduce Sam first, which I honestly think will happen and I'd actually prefer (to allow Jam-Filled time to fix Duncan's crappy render), the rainbow effect they're going for goes out the window. It doesn't help that Bachmann made Rheneas a lighter shade of orange instead of scarlet vermillion either, but no one seems bothered by that. Either way it's going to come down to one of these two. If you want pros and cons between both, I'd outline it as follows:

Duncan:
-yellow color blends nicely with first three characters released, continues smooth color transition
-releasing 5 and 6 back to back allows a perfect gap for 3 and 4 to follow onto the line in a manner similar to the books (weird point, but still a point)
-Good way to get more kids involved in the range as he's got more popularity with his contrarian personality
-More stories written for him in every era of the show
However...
-CGI render looks awful, releasing him now would be the same as Bachmann Oliver received; couldn't be redone if JFE remakes the render

Peter Sam:
-Much more accurate design than Duncan currently has, would be ideal for conversions as long as they keep him as accurate as Skarloey was and don't short-change him like Rheneas has been
-Green contrasts the red-orange engines more than Duncan, but loses the color pattern
-Pushed quite a bit in marketing elsewhere, so still quite popular and likely to be pressed for by Mattel
However...
-Not expecting Sir Handel for several years means he'll have no classic partner until after Duncan is released

Take your pick, really.

[Plow_Bender]

You do have a few good points there Mr. DecadesofSun.  I'm still not on board with Bachmann hanging on to the Peco wagons however.  Just like Chaz pointed out in his post, the Peco wagons don't even resemble the rolling stock used on the show, and they're price is far more than a lot of modelers out there are willing to pay.  I personally feel the same way myself, and although I wouldn't mind having a few of the red vans, I still can't bring myself to pay $64 a piece for them.

The big reason the Thomas & Friends Peco stock is so expensive is because Bachmann has to give a portion of their profits to Peco because the wagon tooling's themselves belong to Peco.  I would be far more cost convenient for both Bachmann and the consumer if Bachmann were to make their own tooling for vans.  This is why the slate trucks were so cheap when they were announced.  If Bachmann made their own van tooling, they could easily keep cost down and the models would potentially sell better than what the range has now.

The Thomas & Friends Peco wagons cost $64 each, and when you could get the same wagons (different livery) from Peco for about $25-$30 (almost half that of Bachmann) it's simply no contest.  In addition to that, if you were to shop around online, you could pick up the Peco wagons themselves for under $20 each at best.  As I've mentioned before, a lot of people I know have simply gone to Peco for the stock, rather than paying double the price for the Bachmann models.  I've done the same thing myself and $25 seems a lot more reasonable.

Although I hate to say it, I honestly wouldn't count on the market value going down on the Thomas & Friends Peco stock, as the vans were originally $63 back in 2016, and within the last 2 years have gone up by a dollar.  Skarloey and Rheneas suffered the same fate as well after they went from $149 each in 2016 to $152 in 2018.  It's the same deal across the whole spectrum.  Now a price jump by a couple dollars may not bother some, but it's honestly a question of what would you be willing to pay in 5 or maybe even 10 years time?

This is however just my opinion on the matter, and it would be nice to hear other peoples thoughts on what they think about the Peco wagons as well.  I've certainly said what I feel would be most beneficial for Bachmann and the consumer, but in the end it's really up to Bachmann which route they want to take and if the budget is there to do whatever they have in mind to do.

I do agree on everything you've mentioned on the Peter Sam Vs. Duncan topic.  The big thing that would steer many away with Duncan is (as you've mentioned) his CGI render is terrible.  I'm definitely all for Bachmann announcing Peter Sam first in hopes that Duncan's render gets corrected in the meantime.  I could see both characters potentially getting announced before Sir Handel, as (far as I'm aware) Bachmann doesn't have measurements of Sir Hayden yet.  I wouldn't take it as the gospel, but there has been discussion that Sir Handel might not even happen considering the direction Bachmann's been going the last few years.  I myself still have hopes for Narrow Gauge though.

I honestly feel Peter Sam is the best choice for 2019, and Duncan for 2020 if his render gets corrected before then.  Like I said in my previous post, I would honestly be happy just to see Peter Sam and brakevans added to the range.  The only concerning issue at this point however is the wait on Rusty, who we still haven't at the least heard an update on.  If his released gets pushed back to 2019, next year's announcements may just end up being more rolling stock.  I'm not too worried on that however, as I'm still pretty confident he'll be out before Christmas.

-Rusty

[Angelob6660]

I was thinking the same things as you guys mentioned.

I been planning on buying some Peco stock like the one box van and 2 sets of slate wagons.

I also agree on different versions of Peter Sam. I could see him with his original funnel and his special funnel. I also thought of Stuart and Falcon for fun for a what if route. Never even crossed my mind by drain pipe Peter Sam.

Sometimes I wonder about the raising cost of Thomas lately. These trains should be some what moderate cheap or expensive in the middle so a teenager or kid could buy.

[Chaz]

I do agree that if we really go by the color palette order Duncan would make the most sense, but I feel like the one issue that's been addressed with Duncan, being his CG render, is honestly a huge red flag.  After how Oliver turned out and even some of the design choices made on the Rheneas model, I think it's only inevitable they would go with the CG render for Duncan.  Same could be said for Rusty too.

The issue of Peter Sam being made without Sir Handel honestly wouldn't strike me nearly as much of an issue as Duncan's render.  If anything, I expect the demands for Sir Handel to go even higher after Peter Sam would get announced but I can't hold that against Bachmann making Peter Sam.  It wouldn't be anything new for Bachmann since they've left empty gaps before when announcing some characters before jumping into others who share a similar association to Sir Handel and Peter Sam like Donald and Douglas being announced before Duck and Oliver.

[Griffin (TheBlueSnowplow)]

All I'm going to say is- don't get your hopes up for 2019. We'll be lucky to get anything other than recolors.

That being said, Bachmann should look seriously at the prices that their discontinued flatcar is going for on eBay. They have a huge untapped market there similar to the express coaches.