OFFICIAL 2018 ANNOUNCEMENTS

[Chaz]

In regards to the narrow gauge carriages, just out of curiosity, is it confirmed that the CGI carriages used #4's tooling? Or, is it just an assumption? I'm aware that the Thomas Wikia states that they appear to be based off of #4. However, is it actually a fact?

The coach being #4's tooling is my assumption personally since it would be a simple recolor from there.  I can almost gaurentee you that it's not going to be Peco tooling since they are presented in a similar way how the slate wagons were in 2016.  Doug Blaine generously confirmed with me via email that he was one of the representatives who went to Talyllyn to get measurements on the engines and stock there.  If they go with two different coach toolings then I would be overjoyed, but if they went the more simple route and killed two birds with one stone like how they did with the slate wagons and used just one tooling for both then I would be pretty happy.  Still planning on buying at least four of both either way...

[TerencetheTractor525]

Thanks for letting me know Chaz. I apologize if I came across a little too abrasive. I just want to do the best I can to help the Bachmann Thomas and UK ranges by giving them suggestions that would lead to the best outcomes for both fans and overall sales.

[Chaz]

Nah you didn't come off as abrasive at all on my end, don't worry about that.  I'm sure the coaches will be huge hits when they come out!

[TerencetheTractor525]

Agreed  .

[Cheeky_ULP]

If they turn out to be PECO GVT coaches though, I won't imagine many people flocking to them.

[sodorlad]

Bach-Man, Inside track,

Can we have an official statement on the cancellation of Diesel in large scale, please?

Thank you

[Chaz]

To those of you who wanted confirmation I emailed Doug Blaine and he officially confirmed with me via email that large scale Diesel and McColls cattle wagon have been cancelled for the time being.  Grumpy Diesel also had nothing to do with large scale Diesel's cancellation.

[Cheeky_ULP]

I'd love to be a fly on the wall to hear the reasoning behind that.

[Griffin (TheBlueSnowplow)]

Wow. "For the time being"? What sort of sense does that make? LS collectors have had enough trouble with new models already and then Bachmann goes and pulls a move like this? Crazy how the Thomas range as a whole is being treated atm. I don't claim to know everything about what goes on behind-the-scenes with Mattel, production delays, etc. but I do think it's ridiculous that there is not more communication between buyer and seller.

On that note: (in no way is this a knock against you Chaz) why on Earth did Bachmann only reveal this info through a private email? Are they thinking that we somehow won't notice or that it doesn't deserve to be publicly addressed? Jesse even created a whole separate thread which a Bachmann employee could've easily responded to. Just seems to me like something is going on that the GP doesn't know about, and Bachmann certainly isn't sharing. Hopefully this isn't coming across as rude, just words from a frustrated customer.

[Plow_Bender]

Wow. "For the time being"? What sort of sense does that make? LS collectors have had enough trouble with new models already and then Bachmann goes and pulls a move like this? Crazy how the Thomas range as a whole is being treated atm. I don't claim to know everything about what goes on behind-the-scenes with Mattel, production delays, etc. but I do think it's ridiculous that there is not more communication between buyer and seller.

On that note: (in no way is this a knock against you Chaz) why on Earth did Bachmann only reveal this info through a private email? Are they thinking that we somehow won't notice or that it doesn't deserve to be publicly addressed? Jesse even created a whole separate thread which a Bachmann employee could've easily responded to. Just seems to me like something is going on that the GP doesn't know about, and Bachmann certainly isn't sharing. Hopefully this isn't coming across as rude, just words from a frustrated customer.

As I said in a previous post, Bachmann may have stepped back on Diesel considering the minimal number of sales diesels in large scale have had over the years, and it's a possibility that after having second thoughts, Diesel wasn't a risk the company wanted to take, at least not at this time.  Also, I wouldn't really say that Bachmann only reveal Diesel's cancelation through a private email, as the model clearly wasn't in the 2018 catalogue.  It's a simple matter of putting two and two together to figure that out.  In addition to that, bashing the Bachmann Company isn't going to change things.

What I feel most of you are failing to understand is that it's not just large scale, but the whole hobby across the spectrum is down.  As I've found out over the years, large scale is niche market of a niche market.  Model railroading in general is a niche of the overall hobby market and large scale is a niche of that.  When you look at sales within the last 10 years, numbers have gone down not just for large scale, but for model railroading all together.  The big issue is that model railroaders are dying off and not being replaced.  Then you've got a generation these days that want instant gratification, of which model railroading is not.  Throw in the kids who would rather spend countless hours sitting on the couch playing on their tablet or game stations and the hobby is basically struck down with the overriding question: "What is so interesting about model trains?".

Then you have the cost of model railroading which has gone completely out of control.  Manufacturers these days have been shrinking production runs and this is a contributor to the price increase, but as a result to fewer numbers of models produced.  The more models you produce, the more you can spread out the cost of tooling, thus keep the cost per item low.  It wasn't such a big deal in yesteryears when you only had a few manufactures releasing products, but these days everyone has the option to chose between dozens of manufactures and/or scales.  Put simply, why produce models that won't sell?

Many have said that the 2nd-hand market is also a big contributor to the low number of sales for new products as well.  Modelers have a lot to chose from and at better prices.  Some people are also selling off new-in-box items from collections that the original owners never even ran. These put a spanner in the works on the sale of new products from the manufacturers, and they sell for much lower prices. You've also got the younger generation coming into the hobby who are much more tech savvy, and can navigate sales in a digital world.

These days there's not a lot of new stuff being made by any of the large scale manufactures.  Piko and LGB are the only ones I've seen (aside from Bachmann) having new products announced every year, which don't include just repaints.  Other manufactures like Accurcraft are producing new stuff as well, but their locomotives aren't mass-produced.  Then you have Aristo-Craft which went under years back and is no more.  Even though we've lost a couple of manufacturers, and several of the larger distributors, those remaining are cautious about how much they invest. I've only been into large scale for going on 8 years now and in that time I've seen this play out.

There are also those that say HO is more popular and that's why is sells better than large scale, but this is more of an opinion rather than fact.  You've got some people out there who feel you get more bang for your buck by going to a smaller scale, and in most cases it depends on the individual.  Large scale isn't really something for the younger generation because of its high cost.  True I started out young when I got into it, but that's because I had a good paying job and I do my homework when shopping around.  Large scale is more of a scale for the wealthy dentist or the retired carpenter rather than little Timmy Sullivan in the 8th grade.  Still if you're young and you can afford it, nothing beats having a large scale railroad in your front yard.

As I've said before, it's not just the Thomas & Friends line that is suffering this fait.  The last several years I've watched Bachmann discontinue many products from their large scale range.  Last year we lost only Thomas in that range, but the Spectrum and Big Haulers line lost a few locomotives and a handful of rolling stock.  I was disappointed to see for 2018 the same thing, but Bachmann also discontinued several train sets and have begun thinning out the C-19's.  Even the iconic Bachmann Ten-Wheelers have yet again been discontinued.  I'll also say that although Bachmann hasn't come out and said it, the 1:20.3 line is dead.

So to wrap things up, Diesel's cancelation may be a disappointment and/or a surprise to many, but is (believe it or not) understandable in my books.  It may not be what people wanted to happen, but everyone needs to understand the position that Bachmann themselves is in at the moment when it comes to large scale.  That's my thoughts and my perspective on the hobby as a whole and where I believe it is headed.  If others want to provide their thoughts on where things are going, feel free to do so.  The pendulum may eventually start swinging back to where manufacturers feel safe bringing new stuff to market again, but till then it's a waiting game.

-Rusty

[TrainFan97]

Hopefully, we'll get Paxton's final image soon.

[Sodor Perfection]

I'm gonna wait until Grumpy Diesel is released and buy a grumpy face plate or loco shell (with face plate) from the spares department.

[Chaz]

I definitely agree with Plow Bender that the large scale market is as niche of a market as they get.  The narrow gauge range is a lot more of a niche market too but the range is still fairly new and there is a lot more going for it in terms of engines and stock.  Meanwhile for large scale, many people would argue that it's a miracle that engine wise, the range went beyond Thomas, Percy, and James.  Granted Toby is a simple box-like shape and tram engines are extremely popular in garden railroads.  Emily on the other hand was a lot more of a risky gamble since she is such a large engine with a high price point.  Clearly it paid off as she is easily one of the best sellers in the range with all the conversions done to her basis.  She's also the most detailed model in the range too.

The range had a great start and clearly exceeded expectations, but Diesel's cancellation is a pretty huge red flag for the range.  At best I can see the range adding James, Toby, and Emily with DCC and sound already installed in the models like Thomas and Percy and at an absolute push the red coaches for rolling stock.  At worst I would expect more futile rolling stock recolors like we have been getting the last few years, or simply nothing at all.  Either way, while I see a more optimistic future for narrow gauge and some light on the HO range, I think it's clear that the large scale range does not have much going for it anymore.

[DucktheGWREngine08]

Wow. "For the time being"? What sort of sense does that make? LS collectors have had enough trouble with new models already and then Bachmann goes and pulls a move like this? Crazy how the Thomas range as a whole is being treated atm. I don't claim to know everything about what goes on behind-the-scenes with Mattel, production delays, etc. but I do think it's ridiculous that there is not more communication between buyer and seller.

On that note: (in no way is this a knock against you Chaz) why on Earth did Bachmann only reveal this info through a private email? Are they thinking that we somehow won't notice or that it doesn't deserve to be publicly addressed? Jesse even created a whole separate thread which a Bachmann employee could've easily responded to. Just seems to me like something is going on that the GP doesn't know about, and Bachmann certainly isn't sharing. Hopefully this isn't coming across as rude, just words from a frustrated customer.

As I said in a previous post, Bachmann may have stepped back on Diesel considering the minimal number of sales diesels in large scale have had over the years, and it's a possibility that after having second thoughts, Diesel wasn't a risk the company wanted to take, at least not at this time.  Also, I wouldn't really say that Bachmann only reveal Diesel's cancelation through a private email, as the model clearly wasn't in the 2018 catalogue.  It's a simple matter of putting two and two together to figure that out.  In addition to that, bashing the Bachmann Company isn't going to change things.

What I feel most of you are failing to understand is that it's not just large scale, but the whole hobby across the spectrum is down.  As I've found out over the years, large scale is niche market of a niche market.  Model railroading in general is a niche of the overall hobby market and large scale is a niche of that.  When you look at sales within the last 10 years, numbers have gone down not just for large scale, but for model railroading all together.  The big issue is that model railroaders are dying off and not being replaced.  Then you've got a generation these days that want instant gratification, of which model railroading is not.  Throw in the kids who would rather spend countless hours sitting on the couch playing on their tablet or game stations and the hobby is basically struck down with the overriding question: "What is so interesting about model trains?".

Then you have the cost of model railroading which has gone completely out of control.  Manufacturers these days have been shrinking production runs and this is a contributor to the price increase, but as a result to fewer numbers of models produced.  The more models you produce, the more you can spread out the cost of tooling, thus keep the cost per item low.  It wasn't such a big deal in yesteryears when you only had a few manufactures releasing products, but these days everyone has the option to chose between dozens of manufactures and/or scales.  Put simply, why produce models that won't sell?

Many have said that the 2nd-hand market is also a big contributor to the low number of sales for new products as well.  Modelers have a lot to chose from and at better prices.  Some people are also selling off new-in-box items from collections that the original owners never even ran. These put a spanner in the works on the sale of new products from the manufacturers, and they sell for much lower prices. You've also got the younger generation coming into the hobby who are much more tech savvy, and can navigate sales in a digital world.

These days there's not a lot of new stuff being made by any of the large scale manufactures.  Piko and LGB are the only ones I've seen (aside from Bachmann) having new products announced every year, which don't include just repaints.  Other manufactures like Accurcraft are producing new stuff as well, but their locomotives aren't mass-produced.  Then you have Aristo-Craft which went under years back and is no more.  Even though we've lost a couple of manufacturers, and several of the larger distributors, those remaining are cautious about how much they invest. I've only been into large scale for going on 8 years now and in that time I've seen this play out.

There are also those that say HO is more popular and that's why is sells better than large scale, but this is more of an opinion rather than fact.  You've got some people out there who feel you get more bang for your buck by going to a smaller scale, and in most cases it depends on the individual.  Large scale isn't really something for the younger generation because of its high cost.  True I started out young when I got into it, but that's because I had a good paying job and I do my homework when shopping around.  Large scale is more of a scale for the wealthy dentist or the retired carpenter rather than little Timmy Sullivan in the 8th grade.  Still if you're young and you can afford it, nothing beats having a large scale railroad in your front yard.

As I've said before, it's not just the Thomas & Friends line that is suffering this fait.  The last several years I've watched Bachmann discontinue many products from their large scale range.  Last year we lost only Thomas in that range, but the Spectrum and Big Haulers line lost a few locomotives and a handful of rolling stock.  I was disappointed to see for 2018 the same thing, but Bachmann also discontinued several train sets and have begun thinning out the C-19's.  Even the iconic Bachmann Ten-Wheelers have yet again been discontinued.  I'll also say that although Bachmann hasn't come out and said it, the 1:20.3 line is dead.

So to wrap things up, Diesel's cancelation may be a disappointment and/or a surprise to many, but is (believe it or not) understandable in my books.  It may not be what people wanted to happen, but everyone needs to understand the position that Bachmann themselves is in at the moment when it comes to large scale.  That's my thoughts and my perspective on the hobby as a whole and where I believe it is headed.  If others want to provide their thoughts on where things are going, feel free to do so.  The pendulum may eventually start swinging back to where manufacturers feel safe bringing new stuff to market again, but till then it's a waiting game.

-Rusty

Not everyone in the current generation or the one I'm part of want instant gratification, so using the generation card is kinda wrongful in my opinion, but I'm actually okay with the narrow gauge announcements this year being the coaches so I'm not disaapointed about this year.

[Griffin (TheBlueSnowplow)]

I agree with your feedback wholly, Plow Bender. I didn't want to come across as petty or whiny, but I guess I kind of did. Hopefully the message I was trying to convey is still present though.

On another note, Bachmann Paxton's (final?) product image has been uploaded to Bachmann's Instagram page. Thoughts?