RUSTY ARRIVING AT DEALERS NOW!

[InsideTrack]

Narrow Gauge Rusty (Item No. 58603) has arrived and is being shipped to dealers. He also will be available through our web store soon.

Enjoy! 

Bachmann Trains

[Falcon the 2nd]

Hooray! I'm certain he'll be worth the wait and I hope to pick him up at some point later this year. 

[Chaz]

Hope Trainworld gets him soon!  I probably won't be able to share my thoughts until after next weekend if it arrives by then.  Either way, very exciting news!

[TTL]

Any updates on the NG coaches? Given they were supposed tos hip at the same time from what I've heard

[MoarCrossovers]

Any updates on the NG coaches? Given they were supposed tos hip at the same time from what I've heard

Later this month, perhaps?

[Chaz]

Those probably won't be out for a while since we still don't have pictures of those yet.

Trainworld called - Rusty will be shipping tomorrow.

[Angelob6660]

I'm waiting for Walthers for my order.

[Anthony P2]

Those probably won't be out for a while since we still don't have pictures of those yet.

Trainworld called - Rusty will be shipping tomorrow.

I got my call from TrainWorld today too. I preordered him yesterday hopping he'd be in stock soon but I didn't realize it would be this soon!

[JLK2707]

Cool!

[TerencetheTractor525]

Finally! Really looking forward to seeing people's thoughts on the model. And with all the changes that are happening to the characters on the show, I hope that Duncan's proportions will be fixed soon. Would love to see Bachmann make him, since Duncan and Rusty go together very nicely. Just desperately hope that the proportions match his basis, just like Rheneas and Skarloey.



Bottom line is that the model on the left would lead to the best sales, considering that it matches its original basis, the model in the middle would lead to reasonably good sales, as it matches the model that most Thomas fans remember, and the model on the right would lead to the worst sales, since no one is fond of the CGI model of Duncan. The proportions say it all.

[mulfred-100]

Regardless of what basis they use for Duncan he will be a welcome addition in my eyes. I think we should just take a moment to appreciate we are getting Rusty before we get too ahead of our selves with who will join him in the 2020 announcements. Plus we still have the coaches coming out at somepoint.

[JLK2707]

Cool!

[Chaz]

You all know the drill by this point, Rusty is here and as you expect, I plan on sharing my thoughts on this model. Let's see if this model holds up to the same quality as the Skarloey and Rheneas models do.  So let's jump into it.


Looking back on the 2017 announcements, they were not exactly mind blowing, and it didn't help that two of the announcements from that year ended up getting canceled a year later. Rusty seemed to be the one addition from last year's announcements that I was excited for and clearly so were a majority.  Unlike Paxton, Rusty was a little more of a surprise to me, but based on some of Mattel's marketing decisions, it kind of makes sense that they would go for characters that are more marketable rather than go for ones that are in numerical order, or even having frequent roles on the show.  It's basically the same case for Freddie despite not having appeared since the model era, but that's besides the point.  Either way Rusty works well as a marketable orange engine since he (unlike stupid Nia) actually has a personality and isn't a pathetic marketing stunt while promoting forced diversity.


And while Rusty is not a major character in the CGI series, or even that much of the seasons 9-12 narrow gauge episodes, I would argue that he had a lot more of a prominent role in the classic series. Dare I say, even more than the likes of Skarloey.  He was always the good role model for kids and if he wasn't having a lead role, he gave frequent supporting roles throughout the show, so I would argue that Rusty is especially a shoe-in with that considered as well having a simple tooling to work with.


The model itself on the other hand, while not bad by any means, is probably the weakest out of the three engines. It has nothing to do with the design choice itself, but more or less what it is naturally going to be compared to.  Skarloey and Rheneas both met and even exceeded my expectations going with accuracy to both the CG render and their Talyllyn counterparts.  Rusty on the other hand met my expectations, but didn't exceed them like the Skarloey and Rheneas models did.  Despite Bachmann taking measurements at the Talyllyn railway, before Rustys photo was revealed, I came into the model expecting the model to be based on its full CGI appearance. This is why Rusty met my expectations... But unlike the other two engines, didn't unfortunately exceed those expectations.


This does not mean that the model is bad by any means, Rusty naturally had some big shoes to fill and after the previous engines in the range, and while it didn't quite make that high of a cut, that doesn't mean that Rusty is a bad model.  In fact, what we did get out of Rusty, I do appreciate. This CG render looks miles better than the large scale model used in seasons 5 through 12, and I especially appreciate the amount of detail put on to Rustys body as well as the accurate chassis.  And when you put him alongside Skarloey and Rheneas models, he actually fits along right beside the other engines, despite his size (which we will talk about in a minute). I could make the exact same argument for literally the rest of the other original narrow gauge engines that have appeared in CGI so far too (except for Duncan).


So again, is the Rusty model incredible? No, but it's definitely a good model all the same and definitely a solid pass in my book.  And just like the case with the Oliver model, they hit the nail with a hammer with the CGI render, and it meets the appropriate expectations that fans should expect. And like Oliver, I'm going to review the Rusty model for what it is, rather than what I would have wanted it to be.  So all things considered, the Rusty model really does have the right amount of charm like the rest of the models in the range.


Oh yeah, let's talk about the face.  All the traits of the CG render found its way into the model. I know not everybody is on board with Rusty's face, but it really does meet the right amount of accuracy for the character. Rusty has had large face for years, ever since season five, and they are not going to change that anytime soon.  It's certainly not oversized either like Paxton so Rusty is a definite improvement in that regard.


The only genuine flaw I see in the model, is the design for Rustys cab.  Skarloey and Rheneas have open cabs, allowing room for modelers to fit in a crew. Rusty does not, and this is something that I thought Bachmann could have easily incorporated into this model, until it came in the mail today. As you can probably tell from earlier photos, this was likely due to Rusty's small size compared to Skarloey and Rheneas and they had to hide his motor.  The size is even accurate to a real midlander and his CG tender as well so I can't say I blame Bachmann for going this route.  So an odd choice? Sure.  Worth holding against Bachmann over? Not necessarily and certainly not a deal-breaker by any means.  


Overall, I say aesthetically the Rusty model looks great, and regardless of design choice, Bachmann did a really great job with this model and a great addition to go alongside Skarloey and Rheneas.


How does the model run? Just like the last two, Rusty was a very smooth runner.  Granted it wasn't really a heavy model, but the way how this model ran, he basically glided along the mine track at the club layout with absolutely no issues.  I'd even argue he ran better than Skarloey while running over switches on the layout too.  He also ran a lot faster than Skarloey and Rheneas while on lower voltage too.


It managed to pull some of my slate wagons and probably could have pulled a lot more rolling stock in the process.  It probably can't pull as much as Skarloey and Rheneas because of his weight and size, but really anyone who is running narrow gauge, especially a Rusty model, probably wouldn't be giving him a whole lot of rolling stock anyways.  I say Rusty definitely meets reasonable expectations here as well.


So, what are my final thoughts on this model overall? Personally, while it isn't as impressive as the other two, it's still a very good model and is definitely a welcome addition to my collection of narrow gauge engines. Thank you very much Bachmann for finally bringing out this model of Rusty and I look forward to seeing the narrow gauge coaches and hopefully some new announcements for narrow gauge next year.  


Any chance we can have some brake vans for the narrow gauge range next Bachmann?  Something tells me we could use some right now...

[TerencetheTractor525]

Always a pleasure reading your thoughts, Chaz. Very happy to officially see that Rusty is a lighter shade of orange than Rheneas. Yet, I'm surprised to see how small Rusty is compared to Rheneas and Skarloey. However, as you stated, it is probably because Bachmann was trying to go for the size of his basis in real life while keeping the shapes and proportions of the CGI model. Nevertheless, I plan to get this model for Christmas as it still met my expectations. Can't wait to see the narrow gauge coaches next.

[Angelob6660]

Excellent review on Rusty, Chaz.

I'm still waiting for my order to be confirmed and shipped out. Hopefully I'll get that email shortly this week I'm hoping.