Bachmann Thomas & Friends in 2020

[Plow_Bender]

What if, to save costs, Bachmann decides to make Smudger next year?

Barely anyone will buy it though? Just a waste of time making a character who appeared in just one episode.

Plus we don't really know if he was a real locomotive or someone that Duke made up.

I don't know if I should be putting fuel on this fire or not, but I'm going to go along with it either way.  Mr. Moar brings up a good point with Bachmann making Smudger to save on costs, as the overall tooling is already there only requiring the addition of a new face tooling, which apparently isn't that big of a problem as we've seen with characters such as Grumpy Diesel and Paxton back in 2018.  You also have Mr. Zekeism saying Smudger isn't worth producing as he only appeared once, but keep in mind the Spiteful Brakevan only appeared in one episode, yet he manged to find his way into the Bachmann range.  I think this alone shows that Bachmann isn't afraid to produce classic characters from yesteryears, but again (and I know I'm going to get flak for saying this) their decisions have to be approved by Mattel first.  Lastly is Mr. angelo making the statement Smudger may not even be a real engine, but the simple fact he was seen in Season 4 is enough cause for a model to be made.

Personally I think if Bachmann wanted to continue on the trend of doing recolors, a yellow Rheneas from Blue Mountain Mystery would be a better option than Smudger in my opinion, but that's just my thoughts.  An Original Thomas and Original James from the Adventure Begins would also be a nice option for engine recolors, but I'm kind of getting off topic now.  Anyways that's just thoughts on the Smudger topic and if anyone want's to contribute to what I've said, feel free to do so.



-Rusty

[Cheeky_ULP]

They can do 1000 recolored engines for all I care as long as they bring out actual new engines every now and again. Rosie was our last one and that was.. 2016? I'm sure the fans would gladly still clamor for Daisy or Stepney if they felt there was a margin of hope.

[Zekeism]

They can do 1000 recolored engines for all I care as long as they bring out actual new engines every now and again. Rosie was our last one and that was.. 2016? I'm sure the fans would gladly still clamor for Daisy or Stepney if they felt there was a margin of hope.

We got Paxton, who came out last year.

[Chaz]

At this point, if we get any new toolings, I think they will probably go to narrow gauge and the N scale range since those ranges need a lot more attention.  Even then I don't expect anything drastic next year beyond Sir Handel/Peter Sam and some narrow gauge brake vans and an N scale James with some tankers.

[Cheeky_ULP]

They can do 1000 recolored engines for all I care as long as they bring out actual new engines every now and again. Rosie was our last one and that was.. 2016? I'm sure the fans would gladly still clamor for Daisy or Stepney if they felt there was a margin of hope.

We got Paxton, who came out last year.

Is Paxton a new tooling? No. He's a repaint of the Diesel tooling.

[TerencetheTractor525]

Personally, I would love to see a Bachmann Smudger, but since he is an quite unknown, perhaps releasing him as a limited edition product would feasible.

https://ttte.fandom.com/wiki/Smudger

Honestly, this is something that they should have done this year for the narrow gauge line instead of announcing absolutely nothing.

[Cheeky_ULP]

I think a rolling stock character like the Spiteful Brakevan is easier to justify making into the range, when it's only a few small plastic parts. Rheneas on the other hand is mostly metal and some plastic parts, especially the chassis. It'd cost a lot more to manufacture, and they would have to be confident that there's a market for a repainted engine like that. The Spiteful Brakevan on the other hand is less of a liability due to its minimal resources.

[TerencetheTractor525]

That's fair. Yet, that's why I also stated that they could maybe announce Smudger as a limited edition product. Specifically, a limited run of 1000 Smudgers may be possible, making it a product specifically for avid fans like us.

[Angelob6660]

I wouldn't mind having Smudger if they made Duke first.

I forgot that Rheneas was painted yellow since I seen that movie in three years.

[Cheeky_ULP]

That's fair. Yet, that's why I also stated that they could maybe announce Smudger as a limited edition product. Specifically, a limited run of 1000 Smudgers may be possible, making it a product specifically for avid fans like us.

They'd be lucky if 50 people bought a Smudger. I feel like if there was a stronger demand for him, more people would be repainting their Rheneas models by now. Spiteful Brakevan on the other hand had a nice handful of customs being made prior to his announcement.

[TerencetheTractor525]

https://twitter.com/ElsbridgeP/status/1105066420793008128

https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,32140.msg257681.html#msg257681

https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,30612.msg256217.html#msg256217

I'm pasted some links above to show that there is in fact many people who have modelled Smudger. And from looking at the feedback they have received, it seems that there is a demand for him.

I agree that there have been many more Spiteful Brake Van customs, but I would argue that is only because he is one of the easiest customs to make. Smudger, on the other hand, requires much more attention in terms of color scheme, just like Red Rosie, which Bachmann always does a great job with. Also, in Bachmann's case, the challenge of announcing a new product is with new toolings, not fine paint scheme adjustments. Even take Gordon's coaches, which have just been changed with the addition of the yellow stripe. For many modellers who wanted to do that to the original models on their own, that addition of would be challenging to get just right. Thus, once again, announcing Smudger as a limited edition product would be a nice compromise. It would be targeting to serious Thomas fans, would not cost too much to make, considering that it would be a repaint of Rheneas and only a limited amount would be produced, and seems like something that the licencor would approve, since the Spiteful Brake Van was also approved. It would be much more exciting than announcing nothing like this year.

[Cheeky_ULP]

I'm well aware of those customs, and I feel the fact that you are reiterating that only about.. 3 have been made, only supports my point more. It would have to be a -very- limited run, and then that run would have to cost enough to warrant the manufacturing costs, as well as a small tooling for a new faceplate.

It's also why I'm surprised we got Red Rosie so soon; there were customs going around in the fandom, but they were small in numbers. Either Bachmann has strong confidence in Red Rosie, or it was a Mattel mandate.

[Chaz]

To me, red Rosie was inevitable for this year for more than just because the tooling was already there, but I think it might also come down to the fact that maybe the sales for Rosie were so minimal compared to Oliver or Skarloey and Rheneas that maybe they felt they could justify her tooling cost a little more by creating an alternative model for those who preferred her modern livery?  Bachmann does like going for characters that they know are going to sell well and Rosie wasn't that much of a hit compared to other releases.  She clearly had her fans, but never made it on the bestsellers list when it was still around.  I'm sure that the lavender model will probably find its way out of the range in the same way Arry and Bert did once the new supply of Rosie models that just arrived will sell out in the next couple of years so the red one would be the only option left. 

I'm sure Mattel wanted Bachmann to update her in red too, and something tells me if they made her red in the first place and pushed Rosie back another year like they did with Oliver and Rusty then her sales would have been slightly better than what they made out of the lavender one. 

Either way if Rosie clearly didn't win that many people over, that's definitely going to say something about how Nia and Rebecca models would do (no matter how much Mattel may push for them), which is one reason why I feel Bachmann are better off avoiding those two altogether if the sales aren't going to be there. 

[Ronniethe14xxx]

To me, red Rosie was inevitable for this year for more than just because the tooling was already there, but I think it might also come down to the fact that maybe the sales for Rosie were so minimal compared to Oliver or Skarloey and Rheneas that maybe they felt they could justify her tooling cost a little more by creating an alternative model for those who preferred her modern livery?  Bachmann does like going for characters that they know are going to sell well and Rosie wasn't that much of a hit compared to other releases.  She clearly had her fans, but never made it on the bestsellers list when it was still around.  I'm sure that the lavender model will probably find its way out of the range in the same way Arry and Bert did once the new supply of Rosie models that just arrived will sell out in the next couple of years so the red one would be the only option left. 

I'm sure Mattel wanted Bachmann to update her in red too, and something tells me if they made her red in the first place and pushed Rosie back another year like they did with Oliver and Rusty then her sales would have been slightly better than what they made out of the lavender one. 

Either way if Rosie clearly didn't win that many people over, that's definitely going to say something about how Nia and Rebecca models would do (no matter how much Mattel may push for them), which is one reason why I feel Bachmann are better off avoiding those two altogether if the sales aren't going to be there. 

I feel like people didn't buy Rosie because they were waiting for Red Rosie, and Nia and Rebecca wouldn't have that problem. Rebecca especially Rebecca as she is super popular with the fandom

[Cheeky_ULP]

To me, red Rosie was inevitable for this year for more than just because the tooling was already there, but I think it might also come down to the fact that maybe the sales for Rosie were so minimal compared to Oliver or Skarloey and Rheneas that maybe they felt they could justify her tooling cost a little more by creating an alternative model for those who preferred her modern livery?  Bachmann does like going for characters that they know are going to sell well and Rosie wasn't that much of a hit compared to other releases.  She clearly had her fans, but never made it on the bestsellers list when it was still around.  I'm sure that the lavender model will probably find its way out of the range in the same way Arry and Bert did once the new supply of Rosie models that just arrived will sell out in the next couple of years so the red one would be the only option left. 

I'm sure Mattel wanted Bachmann to update her in red too, and something tells me if they made her red in the first place and pushed Rosie back another year like they did with Oliver and Rusty then her sales would have been slightly better than what they made out of the lavender one. 

Either way if Rosie clearly didn't win that many people over, that's definitely going to say something about how Nia and Rebecca models would do (no matter how much Mattel may push for them), which is one reason why I feel Bachmann are better off avoiding those two altogether if the sales aren't going to be there. 

I feel like people didn't buy Rosie because they were waiting for Red Rosie, and Nia and Rebecca wouldn't have that problem. Rebecca especially Rebecca as she is super popular with the fandom

What are we calling super popular? Largely indifference, followed by ridicule of her shoehorned insertion, and then a select few fans going "Rebecca is my wife for life" on Twitter? Nia and Rebecca are absolutely not "popular" in a strong good way, especially compared to classics like Oliver, Rosie or Paxton.