Bachmann Thomas & Friends Summer 2021 NMRA Predictions

[Chaz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bif748mK9ek

Looks like the user Trains Tsar Fun got around to uploading a video showing off all the sounds that Bachmann included for their DCC/sound system including the characters made in HO.

With Bachmann adding DCC and sound to their HO Thomas and Percy models, hopefully they can add DCC and sound to some of their other characters since the whistle/chuff sounds for the characters are available and Bachmann does have models of Gordon, Henry, Edward and Spencer in HO.  If their DCC/sound line in HO proves to be as popular as I hope they are I will happily look into some of these and replace my current analog ones as I feel it's a great way to show Thomas fans how great it is to own models with DCC and sound.

[MrNormalDraws]

At least in terms of what might be off the market next year, my bets are gonna be on the analog sounds Thomas as he's been in the market longer than original Rosie (I'm hoping they're keeping her as I prefer that livery over the recent one and that she was just in the market for less than 5 years. Plus Bachmann still has both Happy and Grumpy Diesels). But the main factor is that with the DCC stuff coming out, Bachmann would make more than likely to push that out as they only made Thomas in that range. Another factor I feel like that would be out of the market is that I see that they haven't updated the packaging with the CGI one (though I might be wrong about that as I don't see that much listings that show the box).

[clrp5150]

Yeah, the deal with the Analog Sound Thomas is interesting. I would expect them to either discontinue him or make other engines with analog sound a couple years after release, but neither of those things have happened. I would bet on his discontinuation soon though with the release of the DCC Sound Thomas. I would expect one of the Rosie's to get kicked off the market in the next 3 years or so, depending on which one makes more profit, same with the two Diesels. As for rolling stock, any truck/wagon that was made before 2015 or so that doesn't have a face is likely to get discontinued soon. I'm just surprised that the cream tanker was discontinued before the raspberry syrup one, as, to my knowledge, the raspberry syrup one only appeared in one episode, while the cream one appeared in many New series and Miller era episodes.

[Armada Starscream]

An idea if they reintroduce the Tar Tanker, instead of it being just a generic re-release, maybe they could update it's livery, as is the case with Gordon's Express Coaches

The Tar Tankers have reappeared in the series with the words TAR on the front and back of the tanker, as well as on the sides:

https://ttte.fandom.com/wiki/Tar_Tankers?file=CGITarWagon.png

They have actually appeared this way briefly way back in Dirty Objects/James in a Mess for one shot, right before James has his crash.

https://ttte.fandom.com/wiki/Tar_Tankers/Gallery?file=DirtyObjects28.png

A great opportunity for an update that fits both the CGI series and the Classic series at the same time!

Not sure if the image links will work...

[BGM Reviews]

I have given this a lot of thought, I'm still not 100% sure what to think we could get next, but here are my predictions for the NMRA.  I'll be sticking with HO since that's usually all they've announced at NMRA.

-Sidney: I see Sidney being a very likely candidate for the next locomotive since we'll be getting two new toolings in HO scale, even though we've gotten three new repaints in the last two years.

-Rolling Stock: I would like to see some of the different vans and tankers that have been in Large Scale but not HO like the explosives van and toffee tanker.

My hope for the future is that we get Stepney and BoCo, then we would be very close to having all the standard gauge characters seen from seasons 1-4 in HO scale.   If I had to pick another CGI character I would really like to see Hiro, even though he would probably be the first HO scale engine to break the $200 price point.

[Cheeky_ULP]

The only thing I'm really expecting and or hoping to see at NRMA that'll be "new" is a painted sample of Daisy, that'll be enough for me to sleep at night

[Large Scale Champion]

Here's hoping for any further to be announced at all in Large Scale... so grateful for Diesel and Paxton but we always want more!!!!

[TrainFan97]

Hiro may be a fan favorite, but we can't forget how expensive he would be to produce and sell. He would be much more expensive than Spencer because of his sheer size alone.

Earlier on, I did bring up a list of other possible CGI characters for HO Scale. Porter would be best for if/when Salty gets reintroduced. The list got narrowed down to Timothy and Norman.

Timothy because he's had a few starring roles, would go great with Bill and Ben, and no model of his basis exists. Timothy would be the first oil-burning steam engine in Bachmann's Thomas line. He's not gimmicky in design like Marion is.

Norman because neither Bachmann UK nor Hornby has ever made a model of his basis, and Norman could be a popular seller for that reason alone. Even though Norman never had an episode dedicated to him, and almost no merchandise, he has a unique red-orange livery that stands out. Norman would be popular among modellers who would turn him into his basis. Norman had quite the potential as a character; a friendly diesel who has problems with breaking down, but Mattel just treated him as a background character who rarely spoke. The way Mattel treated Norman is no better than how they treated Edward and Henry. Unlike the latter two, which had been long-established and beloved since the beginning of the franchise, Norman never had a chance to shine at all, and he's from 2011, when the CGI series was new. It's amazing the CGI series went on this long without giving Norman an episode.

Hopefully at this NMRA, Sidney finally gets announced for HO Scale. He's the last major Class 08 character Bachmann has yet to make in HO Scale.

[plas man]

I have recently started to model Thomas in HO/00 as living in the UK

and familiar with Bachmann N and Ho scale split gears - are these still

common in the Thomas range of engine's ?

[MrNormalDraws]

If Bachmann does another Class 08 retool, the only contenders left are Sidney, Splodge (Splatter and Dodge) and the diesels that appeared since "The Great Race". I'll explain whatever pros and cons that each of the engines might have.

Sidney
Now I think he would be a good one as he's more recent recent and like with Paxton became more utilized after his debut. Plus if he is made, Sidney would be the first blue character Bachmann made since 2008. The only issue I do is how are Bachmann gonna handle his face? Unlike most of the other Class 08s where they have rectangular faces, Sidney's face on the top is curved and I'm kinda worried how they would handle it considering how Paxton was badly made. The only way they can fix this is that they would go back with the body and rework it (I saw in the recent livestream they fixed Paxton's face for G Scale, so makes me wonder if they would do the same for later versions of the HO/OO version?) to fit with Sidney's structure. But that's even if they would have the money to do that.

Splodge
With Arry and Bert off the market, I think putting Splatter and Dodge would be another way on trying to sell the ladder-less Class 08 tooling. There are few pros for this one. For 1, they have different colors and their names are painted contrast to Arry and Bert where they're just the same with no way to differentiate. Plus because they never appeared in the CGI series, another benefit is that Bachmann could try giving the two different faces (similar to how they did with Bill and Ben back in 2010) as they haven't done this with model series characters for a while. If they do, they can try 2-3 of the faces.




Now there's a lot of drawbacks some might have with these (and I would play devil's advocate for these cons).
The first thing is that they only appeared in one story. But if you look at Bachmann's backlog, they had quite a bit of characters that are still in the market that only had 1-2 appearances (Jeremy, S.C. Ruffey, Spiteful Brake Van) and a lot of people wanted Bachmann to do Smudger as he was retooled from Rheneas. You can argue that both wagons and Smudger are Awdry characters, but Jeremy isn't so you can't argue with that. But the elephant in the room is because of the story they are in, which is Magic Railroad. For those unaware, it was one of the biggest flops that a lot of fans say that caused the show to go downhill. Now whenever or not you want to argue that the movie shouldn't been made, the point is that it's still part of the show's history and we can't go back and change. However, there are still fans who still like the movie no matter which cut we have (Me being one of those). Plus, if Bachmann can't do Diesel 10, at least they can try out those two.

The Mainland Diesels
I think these ones will be the least likely to be made (unless Mattel forces). While they have very cool color schemes, the main issue with them is that they don't have names aside from a few and the fact that the faces are slight retweaks of Diesel's and Paxton's. Nonetheless Bachmann would just use the coloring as claim it as a repaint of Diesel, but even then I feel like that would be too cheap for them. I understand we are still in a pandemic, but I feel like the repaints are starting to be a lazy way to get around. Plus because of the recent reception of Troublesome Truck 6, I don't know if Bachmann would risk trying to do that and that is most likely we won't get any new engines from the BWBA era. As much as I like to see Bachmann try out Rebecca and Nia, I doubt they would tackle them due to the one tweet they made over a year and from looking at their track record, at least in HO/OO they only do characters after a certain amount of years (eg Paxton was in the show 2011 and Bachmann made him in 2018, Ryan was in 2015 and Bachmann announced him 2021). I know they did Winston for G Scale three years after he was made, but I think they may've contributed to why that range is failing between that year to now.

[DinoNTrains]

I've always wanted Bachmann to make Splodge, and I had hoped they'd consider doing so since last was TATMR's 20th anniversary.

And if Splatter and Dodge were made, I could see faces 1 and/or 4 being used to help differentiate them (like Bill and Ben, as you mentioned).

[Metal]

I think after Sidney, I'm personally done with the Class 08s.

[Mulfred100]

Personally I'm pretty much done with Class 08s now. If Sidney ever gets released I'd pick him up but I'm not dying to own him. And I wouldn't even think about buying Splatter and Dodge as I have zero interest in them

[Armada Starscream]

I would be fine with Splatter and Dodge. I would personally love to have them for my headcanon where they work with Mavis at Anopa Quarry instead of 'Arry and Bert.

All they would have to make new would be the faces, as they already have the ladder-less body. Works well if they need to release some new models on short notice.

[Angelob6660]

I'm basically done with the Class 08 locomotive. After they re-released Diesel with a angry impression.
I like Sidney and Paxton but I'm not getting them. It's the same with Arry and Bert.