Bachmann Thomas & Friends in 2019

[Chaz]

Nevermind new products for 2019, will Bachmann have a 2019 range at all?

I emailed Doug Blaine last night just to be sure, all is good with Bachmann including future plans for all three ranges.

[Angelob6660]

Good to heard.
I wasn't worried about the Bachmann Thomas range. I believe it's extremely strong.

[TrainFan97]

At least the Bachmann Thomas range is safe.

The fact that Mattel is axing more Thomas merchandise lines is proof they're admitting that they can't make good quality Thomas toys. Wood was such a flop, it died off in less than a year. Now, they're axing Adventures. The reason why Thomas toys have been having pitiful sales is because Mattel can't make good quality Thomas toys that are actually worth the price. Even the target audience (toddlers) hated Wood.

Bachmann has pretty much the only good Thomas merchandise left. Bachmann models are QUALITY over quantity, and take a lot of effort to make. They can't just make new models overnight. They actually have effort and quality, which is something the toy lines haven't had recently. I'm glad the Bachmann Thomas line is safe.

With how lackluster the recent special, and the current season have been, I'm concerned about the show getting cancelled. When Thomas and the Magic Railroad came, it was a box office bomb, then the show started to go downhill, with Sharon Miller taking over with the most horrible writing you can think of, until 2013 when Andrew Brenner became head writer, then Thomas was actually watchable again, while still having some serious flaws. The Great Race, in my opinion, was when the show started going back downhill, then Journey Beyond Sodor introduced "bouncing". Now, we have Edward and Henry controversially removed from the Steam Team in favor of Nia and Rebecca, shorter episodes, unnecessary fantasies, and no more third-person narrative. 8 episodes were cut from Season 21 because of these changes.

[Cheeky_ULP]

The recent results of a two day long Twitter poll:

I'd say Stepney and Daisy seem about equally in demand, so either or I think would be a very strong choice for 2019.

Sir Handel and Peter Sam on the other hand, I feel like have equal opportunities and reasons to be the next OO9 engine made, though ThomasTankMerch's reveal of the Sir Handel prop I feel definitely put him in the publics favor. I'm sure now lots of people want their own models of Sir Handel!

[Chaz]

I did the same for a modeling group on Facebook and the results I got were very different from yours.

Stepney and Peter Sam both had a solid lead in my HO and narrow gauge polls respectively.  I think both Stepney and Daisy for HO and Sir Handel and Peter Sam are both valid choices for each respective range.

(Not posting pictures since Facebook reveals pictures of people who voted).

[Cheeky_ULP]

The magical world of MS Paint will fix your problem

[Angelob6660]

I watched Thomas and the Magic Railroad in theaters in 2000. I was 14 at the time I was very excited to watch it. While watching the movie I was getting disappointed. I didn't like the voices, the engines moving around without their employees, no passengers. Alex Baldwin was okay but I wanted George Carlin since they bought back Didi Conn.
When season 5 started I started to lose interest. Alex was alright narrator but the stories were okay.

Impressive voting list on the Facebook.

[TrainFan97]

All Mattel really did with this series revamp is fix what isn't broken.

[JLK2707]

Yeah. Also, does anybody think that Bachmann will do the recolours of Edward, Henry and James as shown in Big World! Big Adventures!?

[Captain Crutch]

No I don't think they would do that, especially since they're not named. They'd probably do the mainland diesels before they even tried that, mainly because I remember at least one being named. I can't remember any recolored former steam team members getting names, but maybe I'm wrong. As well, none of them would sell well because people don't really care about them and they wouldn't sell. Paxton exists because he has a character and a name.

[TerencetheTractor525]

I agree with HLC Railroad. The sales would just not be there, especially as it is something from Big World! Big Adventures!

Although I already made a post regarding what most fans would like to see in a nutshell for 2019 just a week ago, I thought that it would interesting to post different paths from a broader perspective that I could see Bachmann take for the HO engine, largely because of the unpopular announcement of Grumpy Diesel this year and the disappointment I and many others are feeling with the season 22 episodes.

Path A: Classic Characters
With two different polls showing that Stepney and Daisy are the most sought after, there's no doubt that they would have the strongest sales and truly wow fans.

Path B: Newer Characters
The only two newer characters that I could see Bachmann making with decent sales are Ryan and Stanley. Both consist of unique color schemes and designs. I would not mind seeing either one get made.

Path C: Existing Engine with Unique Facial Expression
If it really comes down to this, I could Bachmann announcing Thomas, Percy, or Toby with a new facial expression.



The face that I would be interested in is a Tired Percy, but only if it matches the one from the model series as shown above.

The ultimate questions we always have to ask ourselves are:
1. Is there a high demand for the suggested product?
2. If so, would the cost of the new tooling of the suggested product be reasonable?

As long as the answers to those two questions are yes, then well... .

[Cheeky_ULP]

I feel like the boat has long since passed for Bachmann to invest in the novelty of change-able faces for Thomas engines. The newer CGI faces aren't nearly as expressive as the model era faces, and aren't as iconic of the stop motion/live action model train medium.

Course, I would like the idea of Bachmann experimenting with "Limited Run" models of characters and rolling stock that would be under a "Classic" or "Nostalgia" label, and deliberately be made to look like the model series content, or even freight cars from the Railway Series illustrations (such as Sodor China Clay and Ffarquhuar Quarry Company).

[Chaz]

I would honestly bet on Bachmann sooner releasing Rosie in her red livery before doing another engine with a different facial expression.

Though if Bachmann wants to do a limited recolor done right I would vouch for a green Thomas and black James as shown in the Advenure Begins:





Seeing as how they only appeared in one special, they would probably have to do a limited run in order for them to be profitable.  The good news though, if they do this, is that not only would these be recolors and therefore not expensive to make, but The Adventure Begins is popular with both the older and newer generation of Thomas fans, thus would make these all the more appealing.  Even I would buy them both!

[Rodimus Supreme]

I feel like the boat has long since passed for Bachmann to invest in the novelty of change-able faces for Thomas engines. The newer CGI faces aren't nearly as expressive as the model era faces, and aren't as iconic of the stop motion/live action model train medium.

Course, I would like the idea of Bachmann experimenting with "Limited Run" models of characters and rolling stock that would be under a "Classic" or "Nostalgia" label, and deliberately be made to look like the model series content, or even freight cars from the Railway Series illustrations (such as Sodor China Clay and Ffarquhuar Quarry Company).

Bachmann could do that anyway, considering they are doing random tanker recolors that have never been seen on the show.

[TerencetheTractor525]

I feel like the boat has long since passed for Bachmann to invest in the novelty of change-able faces for Thomas engines. The newer CGI faces aren't nearly as expressive as the model era faces, and aren't as iconic of the stop motion/live action model train medium.

Course, I would like the idea of Bachmann experimenting with "Limited Run" models of characters and rolling stock that would be under a "Classic" or "Nostalgia" label, and deliberately be made to look like the model series content, or even freight cars from the Railway Series illustrations (such as Sodor China Clay and Ffarquhuar Quarry Company).

I see your point, but what makes the model era faces more expensive to make? As for "Limited Run" models of classic products, that would be fascinating. Maybe a 2-car pack consisting of Thomas with his season 1 face and a season 1 troublesome truck would be doable.

I would honestly bet on Bachmann sooner releasing Rosie in her red livery before doing another engine with a different facial expression.

Though if Bachmann wants to do a limited recolor done right I would vouch for a green Thomas and black James as shown in the Advenure Begins:





Seeing as how they only appeared in one special, they would probably have to do a limited run in order for them to be profitable.  The good news though, if they do this, is that not only would these be recolors and therefore not expensive to make, but The Adventure Begins is popular with both the older and newer generation of Thomas fans, thus would make these all the more appealing.  Even I would buy them both!

I've thought about a LBSC Thomas and Black James, but I feel like those would be better to announce for 2020, Thomas' 75th Anniversary, and a limited run would definitely make sense. This makes me wonder why Celebration Thomas was not a limited run.