N Scale Bachmann Thomas

[Cheeky_ULP]

Recently, I've taken the effort to acquire the Tomix Thomas range, and I have to say that it's one of my favorite Thomas ranges period. However, its availability is limited, especially for a younger audience. N scale has a large presence in the USA, and many N scalers love putting the Tomix Thomas items on their layout (as the range was easier to get until about 4 years ago). I think this is a hole in the market that Bachmann could easily fill.

One thing I think Bachmann should make an important note of if they go down this avenue though, is that the Tomix Thomas range is slightly overscale to N scale, similar to how the Large Scale Thomas is larger than Gauge 1. I think if Bachmann matched the scaling of this theoretical range to the Tomix range, they would have a range "steaming with synergy" for the US and Japanese market alike (who would definitely import the stuff, just as Americans have imported Hornby items, and British people Bachmann items). In a post shortly after this, I can post measurements of the range if people want to see what I mean.

Anyway, if Bachmann did jump into making N Scale Thomas items in the US, I think a small range similar to the Large Scale range could work. It could easily start with a simple set of items like...

Engines:
- Thomas
- Percy
Rolling Stock:
- Annie
- Clarabel
- Troublesome Truck 1
- Troublesome Truck 2

Which over the years, could extend to James, and possibly Emily, Toby, Rosie or Diesel. Rolling stock offerings could even expand to the vans and tankers, similar to the ones in the Large Scale range. Even a NW Brakevan or Spiteful Brakevan would make a great addition, and once Bachmann has those basic wagons out, they can easily milk the tooling for multiple decals and designs.

The main thing I think would be an obstacle though is pricing and resources, as Bachmann already has the HO/OO range going on, Large Scale, -and- a OO9 range that has just began a few years ago.

What do you guys think; a good idea, a bit too soon, something worthy for the future to consider, or even a bit farfetched?

[Rodimus Supreme]

I think it'd be possible. Would probably be something to consider later, instead of right now. Also, being a range smaller than HO/OO Scale, I'd hope they could do tender engines, unlike G Scale. If anything right now, I think Bachmann should focus on getting the license to sell their HO/OO Scale Thomas and Friends items in the UK first, now that Hornby has given that license up, and hopefully that income from new territories can help fund larger and newer releases for HO/OO Scale, and maybe G Scale.

[Chaz]

I've mentioned the idea of Bachmann acquiring the license for N scale Thomas models before, and I personally think it would be a wonderful idea, especially when Tomix is only selling their new range in Japan.

I think the range will more likely than not reach "Tomix size" as you mentioned earlier and it would be a good way to get the engines and stock from both ranges to at least be in the same size as each other. 

The range would in no doubt start with Thomas, Percy, and James.  I can easily see the range doing more characters from there as you mentioned before, but with some of the recent choices made by both Bachmann, or even Tomix's new range it does make me wonder what they will produce.  One of the biggest reasons I was for an N scale range was that size would not be an issue, unlike large scale, so Gordon and Henry would be a lot more possible, especially considering that Tomix made Henry in their old range and Gordon was announced too.  However, the new Tomix range only has Thomas, Percy and James so far and it seems like that, especially in the case of James, the models have been given new fly-wheel motors so they can navigate tight radiuses.  This isn't too much of a bad thing but it does make me wonder if the range is going to bother to bring back any of their larger additions like Henry or the mail car.  I personally hope that if Bachmann makes an N scale range themselves that they realize that demand for larger engines in N scale is definitely there, especially since Gordon still never got made by Tomix. 

I think the number of ranges Bachmann has for Thomas really should not be all that much of an issue, especially when considering that large scale, and even more recently the HO range has relied more on recolors for their lineups so it probably shouldn't be much, if any issue, with the other ranges. 

Personally I think an N scale range from Bachmann has a lot of potential and it would be a great way for Bachmann to increase their overall sales and encourage more people to get in the hobby of model trains.

[Cheeky_ULP]

Thinking on it more, I think if Bachmann did engines beyond Thomas and Percy, they could have an upper hand in the market by doing engines that aren't already on the market. James seems almost inevitable, but I think it'd be interesting if Bachmann skipped James and went right to an engine like Diesel or Gordon, as it's untapped potential. Many, many N scalers (especially in the Japanese fandom) kitbash Henry models into making Gordon, so the demand for Gordon is apparent.

[Chaz]

I think it's safe to say that James would be the third engine, regardless of the demand.  But maybe announcing Gordon alongside could work if they wanted to get him out sooner knowing that there is a market for an N scale Gordon, amongst other characters like Toby, Edward, Duck, etc.

Personally I could see it going like this if it really came down to it:

Year 1: Thomas and Percy
Year 2: James
Year 3: Gordon and Henry (since they share the same chassis and finding a Tomix Henry is pretty hard to come by, (I would know since I'm looking for another one)).
Year 4: Emily
Year 5: Toby

I think any other characters like Edward or Diesel would really depend on how the range would do at that point.

[really called Thomas]

If Bachmann go into N scale, and they were easily available in the UK, then I would buy the lot and sell my HO collection in a heartbeat!

[Chaz]

Thinking on it a little bit, I had a crazy thought if we get an N scale range.





Both the HO and Large scale James models (including the updated HO James) both have their faults like the HO model having an inaccurate face and incorrect smokebox, while the large scale James has gray wheels.  Seeing as how the faults are completely different from one another, I would be genuinely curious to see Bachmann pull off an N scale James and I would hope that if done right, with the large scale design and black wheels like the new HO James, we could probably get a really accurate James model with no odd paint errors.

Just a little thought I had, hopefully we can hear more thoughts on an N scale range in general since I really feel it would take off in sales from Bachmann like how the large scale range did when it first started.

[Streak]

Thought I'd finally come onto this thread and share my thoughts on this Bachmann N Scale idea.

Chuffing Genius!

The HOn30 range with the narrow guage engines shows that Bachmann can make highly detailed and marketable small models. I mean just look at how much bank Skarloey and Rheneas made.

The reason I've been slow to post my predictions for the Large Scale range in 2019 is because honestly... I think the large scale range is nearing it's end. There's just not a whole lot they could do. They could finally make Diesel but who knows? The only other engines I could see them making in that range are the Class 08s, Bill & Ben, Philip, and Rosie (maybe Duck, Edward, and Nia but they're a bit on the big side.). They would never make anything bigger than Emily, so Gordon, Henry, and Rebecca are off the table. And they're running out of rolling stock recolors as well.

A N Scale range on the other hand has so much potential! They could make almost any character from Thomas and Friends in this range: small, tall, wide, or narrow. As long as it's in the budget. Real talk, they could make ALL the engines currently in the HO range as well as Nia, Rebecca, Daisy, Stanley, Philip, Sidney, Ryan, Scotsman, Merlin, Samson, Stepney, and more! Now I'm not expecting these models to all come out at one time as N Scale can be very expensive. Here's what I think the base roster of N Scale Thomas engines might be.

Engines:

Thomas
Percy
James

Rolling Stock:

Annie
Clarabel
Troublesome Trucks 1 and 2
Red Branchline Coach
Red Branchline Brake Coach

That's what I think they could do with the first year and then overtime they can add the rest of the Steam Team, the classic bunch, Nia, Rebecca, and so on.

To rap this all up, I have to say that an N Scale Thomas range by Bachmann would be amazing. I really hope this thread takes off so one day this becomes a reality. That's it from me. Peace.

[Rodimus Supreme]

Thought I'd finally come onto this thread and share my thoughts on this Bachmann N Scale idea.

Chuffing Genius!

The HOn30 range with the narrow guage engines shows that Bachmann can make highly detailed and marketable small models. I mean just look at how much bank Skarloey and Rheneas made.

The reason I've been slow to post my predictions for the Large Scale range in 2019 is because honestly... I think the large scale range is nearing it's end. There's just not a whole lot they could do. They could finally make Diesel but who knows? The only other engines I could see them making in that range are the Class 08s, Bill & Ben, Philip, and Rosie (maybe Duck, Edward, and Nia but they're a bit on the big side.). They would never make anything bigger than Emily, so Gordon, Henry, and Rebecca are off the table. And they're running out of rolling stock recolors as well.

A N Scale range on the other hand has so much potential! They could make almost any character from Thomas and Friends in this range: small, tall, wide, or narrow. As long as it's in the budget. Real talk, they could make ALL the engines currently in the HO range as well as Nia, Rebecca, Daisy, Stanley, Philip, Sidney, Ryan, Scotsman, Merlin, Samson, Stepney, and more! Now I'm not expecting these models to all come out at one time as N Scale can be very expensive. Here's what I think the base roster of N Scale Thomas engines might be.

Engines:

Thomas
Percy
James

Rolling Stock:

Annie
Clarabel
Troublesome Trucks 1 and 2
Red Branchline Coach
Red Branchline Brake Coach

That's what I think they could do with the first year and then overtime they can add the rest of the Steam Team, the classic bunch, Nia, Rebecca, and so on.

And here's one idea for this line I'm sure no one else has brought up: The Small Railway Engines.

Think about it. They could also release Small Railway content and have it tie into the HO scale standard gauge engines. Correct me if I'm wrong but N Scale engines would basically be minimum gauge when put next to HO scale. Maybe it's a little bit off but it's close enough, right? If they made Arlesdale Railway content, it would most likely be:

Engines:

Mike
Rex
Bert

Rolling Stock:

Arlesdale Ballast Hopper Truck
Arlesdale Open Coach
Arlesdale Covered Coach

To rap this all up, I have to say that an N Scale Thomas range by Bachmann would be amazing. I really hope this thread takes off so one day this becomes a reality. That's it from me. Peace.

A: Bachmann already announced a Large Scale Diesel, and they cancelled him. If they're going to cancel a model that more than likely would've sold, that tells me they are practically dead in the water, and thus the other Class 08 recolors will definitely not happen.

B: The Narrow Gauge Engines for the Bachmann Thomas and Friends line are N Scale (N/009/HON30 are basically the same scale). The Arlesdale Railway Engines would be Z Scale, which is minuscule, and thus will probably not happen.

[Streak]

A: Bachmann already announced a Large Scale Diesel, and they cancelled him. If they're going to cancel a model that more than likely would've sold, that tells me they are practically dead in the water, and thus the other Class 08 recolors will definitely not happen.

B: The Narrow Gauge Engines for the Bachmann Thomas and Friends line are N Scale (N/009/HON30 are basically the same scale). The Arlesdale Railway Engines would be Z Scale, which is minuscule, and thus will probably not happen.

I still think it's possible for Bachmann to reconsider their cancelation of Large Scale Diesel but this is the N Scale thread so I'd rather not go into that.

[Rodimus Supreme]

A: Bachmann already announced a Large Scale Diesel, and they cancelled him. If they're going to cancel a model that more than likely would've sold, that tells me they are practically dead in the water, and thus the other Class 08 recolors will definitely not happen.

B: The Narrow Gauge Engines for the Bachmann Thomas and Friends line are N Scale (N/009/HON30 are basically the same scale). The Arlesdale Railway Engines would be Z Scale, which is minuscule, and thus will probably not happen.

I still think it's possible for Bachmann to reconsider their cancelation of Large Scale Diesel but this is the N Scale thread so I'd rather not go into that.

N Scale is smaller to HOn30 scale (if you've seen Bachmann Skarloey and Tomix Thomas next to each other) so Small Railway Engines still work. Small Railway Engines aren't that smaller than the Narrow Gauge engines (and even if I'm wrong, I'd rather have them too big than to not have them at all)

Actually Miniature Gauge engines would definitely be too small for N Scale, despite the minute differences between N and HON30 Scale. They'd still have to be Z scale. And even if Bachmann did those characters in N Scale, it wouldn't go over well, as having them be the completely wrong scale in general wouldn't work for a hobby about scale.

[Cheeky_ULP]

If they're the wrong scale, then I don't see the point

[Chaz]

There is no market for miniature gauge modeling and Bachmann Trains does not supply any Z scale track, there is really no point in them investing in an incredibly niche market for the small railway.

I also think we should stay on topic since the purpose of this thread is discussing a matter of if Bachmann acquires the license to sell and produce N scale models instead of getting mad at people for disagreeing with you on the idea of the small railway engines.

[Streak]

There is no market for miniature gauge modeling and Bachmann Trains does not supply any Z scale track, there is really no point in them investing in an incredibly niche market for the small railway.

I also think we should stay on topic since the purpose of this thread is discussing a matter of if Bachmann acquires the license to sell and produce N scale models instead of getting mad at people for disagreeing with you on the idea of the small railway engines.

Sigh... Ok maybe I got a little too heated there. I'm sorry. I just thought it would be a good idea and I guess I got overhyped. Thinking about it now after I've cooled down, I don't think it would be good to have the miniature engines in N Scale. I'll edit my original post as such. I still think that N Scale Thomas engines by Bachmann would be a great idea though and I'm open to hearing any more ideas about that.

[Angelob6660]

If Bachmann does decide.
I could see Edward being made after Gordon and Henry. After they did Thomas, Percy, and James. Perhaps after that than Toby and Mavis.

Rolling stock hopefully in a two or three pack. Can be some
Cattle Wagon
Brake Van
Tank wagons
Troublesome Trucks
Box van/salt van combo
Gordon/James' express coaches