RUSTY ARRIVING AT DEALERS NOW!

[Anthony P2]

I received my Rusty model on Monday as well. I posted a few pics on Twitter (link below) but have not gotten around to sharing my thoughts on Rusty. Chaz really hit the nail on the head with his review of Rusty. I feel basically the same way. I think Bachmann were trying to keep Rusty inline with Midlander. I posted comparison pictures of Midlander to Tallyllyn and Sir Haydn along with Bachmann Skarloey and Rusty comparison.

Out of the box, my initial thought was "wow he's a legit nugget." Rusty is by far the smallest model I've ever owned! He was a lot smaller than I thought which made me appreciate the inner mechanism and the amount of detail incorporated on the body shell. I ran Rusty around the small oval of 009 PECO track I have. He ran very well straight out of the box. Then i picked him up to take a gander at the details. Upon observation I noticed both of his axels were geared so i took a peek at the parts diagram. Not only did I find that both axels actually are geared but our little friend also has a flywheel! I didn't think he would! That would explain the smooth running.

So over all, even though size "may" be an issue, i think he's a very nice model! I say "may" because we're not 100% sure about sizing. I'm very pleased with Rusty! If you look past sizing, I think Rusty is definitely a must have for anyone's Skarloey railway on any Thomas layout, or even just a 009 layout. It's nice to see a R2R 009 diesel loco available for a decent price. I think Rusty was less than $100 with shipping. He's a great runner, he has great details, and is great value for a 009 loco! Granted, the Bachmann Thomas NG locomotives aren't DCC ready like many other 009 models, but are still pretty good value in my book to get started with 009!

If you want to see some pictures I've taken, the link to my posts on twitter are below!

https://mobile.twitter.com/TonyPont12/status/1125516982412042241

[Griffin (TheBlueSnowplow)]

Anthony! I mentioned this to you on Twitter, but even though Rusty is based on Mainlander, he seems to be dreadfully out of scale with Skarloey and Rheneas, so much so that if I was collecting the NG line I would probably just purchase the chassis and design a 3-D print for the body, given how simplistic the shape is. I mean...




(I lined them up and got the sizes as accurately as I could, probably not 100% accurate but I couldn't find a single shot from the show that showed them together)



I would love if someone (Chaz???) could take a more centered head-on shot comparison of Skarloey and Rusty (and Rheneas and Rusty, since I can make another comparison shot using the head-on promos fairly easily), maybe even on a white background, but for the time being this photo from AnthonyP2 should show how completely inaccurate the scaling is.

Somewhat disappointing, especially after such a long wait. But I suppose that he is based on his real life counterpart.

[Chaz]

I probably will not be able to take another picture until next week, since I am leaving for a trip this weekend.  Here's another pic I did take at the club:



His size is a lot smaller than it should be and it is strange that it is the same size as Midlander would be yet it still carries the same size as midlander to the other TR engines.



His CG render is small too, almost the same size as Duncan's but the Bachmann model is a lot smaller.  If the model was slightly larger, closer to the CGI size, then I'm sure the cab being blocked off would have been a non-issue.  It's odd that Bachmann this route with Rusty and didn't go the full mile with either the CG render or the midlander design.  If anything it makes Rusty more of a hybrid model which makes the design choice Bachmann went with all the more questionable.

Personally though, I am still pretty happy overall with the model and I am glad that I got it. It does make me wonder what they will do with Duncan though if he ever gets announced. Are they going to go with the same sort of hybrid deal like they did with Rusty? Here's hoping we don't find that one out sooner as I think a lot more people in general would rather have Peter Sam made next.

[TerencetheTractor525]

A hybrid model of Duncan would probably be the proportions of the model series Duncan with a CGI face, just like the model in the middle of the pic above. If they went this route, then I would not mind it if Duncan gets announced next.

[mulfred-100]

Well I had planned on uploading my rusty review and thoughts ect but the seller I have ordered him off has refused my custom. Failed to tell me this as well until I rang up so I am furious. In the mean time I am loving the review and photos I have seen so far. I think he is a great little model. Not as good as skarloey and rheneas but they obviously are incredible models and hard to top but will be a welcome addition to my narrow gauge engines. I think it's safe to say either Duncan or peter sam are the front runners for 2020.

[Anthony P2]

Anthony! I mentioned this to you on Twitter, but even though Rusty is based on Mainlander, he seems to be dreadfully out of scale with Skarloey and Rheneas, so much so that if I was collecting the NG line I would probably just purchase the chassis and design a 3-D print for the body, given how simplistic the shape is. I mean...




(I lined them up and got the sizes as accurately as I could, probably not 100% accurate but I couldn't find a single shot from the show that showed them together)



I would love if someone (Chaz???) could take a more centered head-on shot comparison of Skarloey and Rusty (and Rheneas and Rusty, since I can make another comparison shot using the head-on promos fairly easily), maybe even on a white background, but for the time being this photo from AnthonyP2 should show how completely inaccurate the scaling is.

Somewhat disappointing, especially after such a long wait. But I suppose that he is based on his real life counterpart.

Ah yes I remember! I'm even thinking about doing the same, but i might just wind up getting another to make a more accurate Rusty that resembles Midlander more. I think the sizing doesn't bother me much because I'm not really modeling TV series accuracy. The new layout will be an Awdry inspired layout with faceless models being as accurate to their real life basis as much as I can. Like Thomas will most likely be the SCC 3D printed body shell on a Jinty chassis. I'll be modeling the Skarloey Railway too. I'll be adding details to the models and removing the faces from the Bachmann models. I was also thinking about keeping the 009 models as is and just getting another batch to transform into the models I'm aiming for. I'll be posting updates from time to time on progress of their new layout so keep an eye out! But anyway! Back to Rusty! I was wondering if i got a 3D printed shell to fit his chassis, would I be able to have an open cab? Hopefully he can because i want to avoid scratch building a chassis for him

UPDATE= PeterSamsFunnel on twitter posted this this morning: https://mobile.twitter.com/PeterSamsFunnel/status/1127231909174685696

[JLK2707]

Cool!:)

[Plow_Bender]

Definitely a long awaited model and it's good to see Rusty is finally in stock.  I will admit I was a little skeptical about the model when we first saw the product image, but after seeing photos others have posted and reading Chaz's extensive post on the model, I've pretty much forgot about the few issues I had with the model and appreciate it for what it is.  As others have pointed out already, Rusty didn't exceed expectations, but that the same time he did meet them.  Personally I don't see where the model is anything but another great addition to the range.

The only real issue I had with the model was that compared to Skarloey and/or Rheneas, it looked as if Bachmann had taken a shortcut with Rusty considering he didn't have an open cab.  I can see now where his size would have made it difficult to fit a motor into just the front portion of the body, and therefore I understand why the cab is not open.  The face in the product image was also kind of a nagging issue for me as it just didn't look right, but after seeing photos of the model that worry is gone too.  The face may or may not have been photoshopped just to get a product image out sooner, considering Rusty's product image was updated later on.  I have to say that I quite like the face on Rusty now, despite the big debate many others have about it.

On the topic of scaling, that's something I didn't realize was an issue until I saw comparisons of Rusty next to Skarloey and Rheneas.  I will admit when I first saw photos of the models side by side, I couldn't help but feel like Rusty looked smaller than he should.  Maybe he is a little smaller than his CGI counterpart, but still looks to be the same size as Midlander (which would make sense since that's where Bachmann got their measurements) so it doesn't seem that big of an issue.  I don't know, personally the size of Rusty is something that still doesn't take away from the overall appeal of the model in my books.

Considering how underwhelming announcements were in 2017 and the fact that only a portion of them actually made it to production, it's nice to see Bachmann has pulled off a gem such as Rusty.  Despite the few issues I had with the model at first, again I'm alright with the choices Bachmann made and look forward to adding Rusty to my Narrow Gauge collection, given that I can ever get the funds to start buying more model trains again.  In addition to that, the narrow gauge coaches are another thing to look forward to later this year. 

By the way Mr. JLK, you really need to quit it with the one word posts.  All you're doing is creating unnecessary clutter...

-Rusty

[JLK2707]

Okay, thanks for telling me. I was just wanting to know if the bachmann Toby would look good painted in chocolate and blue.

[Angelob6660]

I had to reorder my Rusty. I was really close of getting him. They (Walthers) had my order off backorder and placed On Hold for 5 days before canceling. In which I had to reorder him again until gets released in June. Maybe.

[JLK2707]

I am so just going to get a Rusty model too!:)

[mulfred-100]

My Rusty model has finally arrived

First impressions
I am very impressed with the detailing on this right down the r8vits and vent detailing. His small size really makes up in the detailing. Speaking of size this is the only slight fault I can see obviously made in scale of his real life counterpart rather then CGI or tv show models. Which makes life a bit difficult to modify his face. Obviously skarloey and rheneas are near enough close in size to swap their faces with their ertl models.

Scale wise he fits in rather well with skarloey and rheneas. One nice detail I'm glad bachmann didn't carry over from the HO range, the silver windows. I think his model looks so much better with his cab being blacked out rather then if bachmann made them sliver like arry, bert, paxton, salty ect.

Running
Rusty is a very smooth runner and quite fast compared to skarloey and rheneas. He is a bit jittery at slower speeds but that is more then likely my track as i have the same issue with skarloey and rheneas. Also I haven't tested how many trucks he can pull but really why would I want to. He only really needs 3 or 4 trucks or vans.

He is a very nice addition to the narrow gauge range. Here's hoping we get another addition in 2020. But for now we can all look forward to the narrow gauge coaches

[JLK2707]

Your Rusty model just looks excellent!

[sean1994rail]

Watched Duncan the Humbug today, along with the episode screenshots from the Thomas wiki, and from the shots with Skarloey, Rheneas and Rusty at the depot, Rusty does indeed seem to be smaller than Skarloey and Rheneas in the CGI Series. Maybe the size of the Bachmann Rusty is also accurate to his CGI render, not just his basis 'Midlander', after all IMO.

[JLK2707]

It is just so tv series accurate! Great model!:)