Large Scale Diesel

[JD417]

I'm only making this a separate topic because I want to ensure an admin reads it, as this is a big deal for the Thomas Range. (First time an engine has been announced and then canceled. Not counting Rickety and Fred.)

Simply put; Large Scale Diesel has been left out of the catalogue for 2018. What happened?
-Cancelled?
-Accidentally forgot to add him in? (Hey mistakes happen)
-Or did they literally finish a design, say nevermind, and then reuse the face file for the new "Grumpy Diesel"?

My bet is on the last one. Don't know why they would cancel it, it opened the possibility of a few more products to reuse a lot of parts. Maybe this time they could of thought ahead and designed the face pin slots more towards the center of the front so they could have literally recoloured him for Paxton/Sidney.
Dunno, but I'm pretty upset about how poorly the Large Scale Thomas range is being treated the past few years.

[Large Scale Champion]

I'm really hoping this is just an oversight!

Please Bachmann don't cancel it! We need Diesel!

[Chaz]

I've been doing some thinking and I feel like there are two valid reasons behind large scale Diesel being cancelled.  These are just my own personal thoughts, not the solid answer.

One reason I think is pricing.  Models have become a lot more expensive as production has gone through, but in HO I noticed that the Diesel model is pretty expensive compared to a lot of the other engines, including Emily.  Emily costs over 400 at retail and I have a feeling that Diesel probably would have cost a lot more than Emily which would be ridiculous for those collecting the range since aesthetically you would be getting more of your money's worth from a large tender engine like Emily rather than a small (yet highly detailed) diesel shunter like Diesel.

The other thing I couldn't help but notice is if you check out Bachmann's large scale department:
http://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=255&zenid=4u54mgudci1qnul4i4sb6p2b33

There are no diesels left in production on there anymore.  I remember hearing before from Plow Bender that sales for diesels in large scale are hit and miss and there are only two diesels that really did well in large scale for Bachmann while they still do well on steam engines, trolleys, and maintence vehicles/speeders (like Winston).  So that right there tells me that maybe they also didn't think Diesel would sell well because of the track record of diesels in large scale?

Either way, it's a shame that Diesel got cancelled because unlike the cattle wagon, people were pretty excited for Diesel.  I think at this point Bachmann is going to keep the range at the five engines they have plus Winston and call it a day from there while continuing to add rolling stock and other gimmicks like DCC and sound or possibly the Bachmann EZ app to their models.

[Toad139]

Either way, it's a shame that Diesel got cancelled because unlike the cattle wagon, people were pretty excited for Diesel.  

Speaking of the cattle wagon, do you have any idea as to why that was cancelled? I was personally looking forward to that wagon more than the vent vans, and I haven't heard to many people talking about it.  

[Chaz]

Honestly, I have no idea for that one.  The only thing that really stood out about that one was, based on the illustration in the catalog, it looked like it was going to use the Branchline tooling like Toad did.  I can't imagine pricing behind that one could have been all that expensive so I can't really put my finger on why that one got cancelled.

[Toad139]

it looked like it was going to use the Branchline tooling like Toad did.  

I figured it had to do with something like that. That's one of the reasons I was actually looking forward to it; it was something new and not just a repaint. The other wagons seem to be selling well though. I pretty sure they are already sold out at the moldel shop I typically go to. Didn't you say that it is "cancelled for the time being". Maybe they will release it in the future if the others do well.

[Chaz]

Again, I honestly don't know.  I would wait on that one or just buy Bachmann Branchline cattle wagons if you want a cattle wagon with a different tooling:

http://www.hattons.co.uk/107420/Bachmann_Branchline_37_716_Triple_Pack_of_8_Ton_Cattle_Wagons_in_BR_Bauxite_Weathered/StockDetail.aspx

Here's my personal recommendation.

[Toad139]

Yeah, I know you're speculating as well. I also just figured it had to do something with the Branchline tooling. Anyway, thanks for the link. 

[JLK2707]

I think it is a great idea to buy the bachmann branchline cattle wagons.

[Large Scale Champion]

This thread is a frustrating reflection on some of my concerns regards the Large Scale Thomas offerings,
Firstly how like with many Large Scale threads it's got hijacked into a discussion about HO topics and secondly I really wish Admin would wade in and give us hope, even if it was a general high level comment (e.g: Thanks for your concern, but we can confirm Bachmann have a license to produce Large Scale Thomas products until 2023.) at least that means investment of some kind?

Help us Admin-Wan Kenobi you're our only hope....

[Chaz]

The HO product in discussion was also something else that got cancelled so it's really not "off topic" if that was something else that got dropped but had no answer given either.