Future suggestions/predictions thread

[TerencetheTractor525]

Hey everyone. Apologies for not posting sooner, but I wanted to share my thoughts on the 2024 catalog and current status of the Bachmann Thomas line altogether.

Firstly, I concur with everyone who stated that it is completely understandable as to why there were not many new additions for the 2024 catalog, especially given last summer's massive NMRA product announcements, let alone several new toolings.

For the new additions, I am glad to see the Large Scale Thomas set back in the line, as I have seen many requests for this, and since large scale was the one scale that did not get any new announcement last summer. The slate wagon variants look very nice too. I am particularly fond of the tan one, reminding me of the tan weathering of the slate wagons from Season 5:
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/5/55/Snow33.png/revision/latest?cb=20180112195630

It is also great to see the final images of HO Beau and N Gordon in the catalog, and I look forward to seeing them arrive at retailers in the near future.

All in all, there is so much to look forward to, with over 10 new toolings under development now, including engines, rolling stock, and non rail accessories. The future is bright, and with the 80th anniversary around the corner, I can only imagine that Bachmann has even more exciting announcements planned for the summer and 2025.

[Chaz]

Probably one of my favorite kind of posts to do on the forum are the somewhat annual wishlists the N scale range. This is because the N scale range has come so far since its initial announcement five years ago back in February 2019.  We're at a point right now where they have doubled the number of engines Tomix released, have a decent variety of rolling stock to choose from, with no signs of slowing down either.  They made significant progress last year in terms of engines and especially rolling stock and my original wishlist has only been getting smaller since then!  Now that the 2024 catalog has come and gone, here is my up-to-date wishlist for the N scale Thomas range.  And even though we all know CGI will be used as a reference, I figured just for fun I will use model era pictures in honor of the television series's 40th anniversary this year in October. 

Engines:


Henry - It's so obvious it's not even worth going in depth over, but for the sake of consistency I'll go over it briefly.  Henry is undeniably the top request for the next engine in N scale, with his market shown from the Tomix model, shared motor and chassis as Gordon and his HO model remaining a consistent seller it's no contest.  I firmly believe Henry should be the next new engine we get announced in N scale at the NMRA this summer once they get Gordon released. 


Edward - A close second is Edward, a character who I feel would be a very appropriate choice for the following N scale engine either after or alongside Henry (if he doesn't get announced this summer), during the brand's 80th anniversary.  Another well established character with a lot of history and a strong following, Edward would feel like a very natural addition in N scale.  If Henry gets announced at the NMRA as a follow up to Gordon, then I think Edward would be a solid follow-up announcement to Emily once she is released.  Even if Henry isn't announced by the NMRA this summer already, I think both Henry and Edward would make a really great duo announcement for 2025 for the 80th anniversary.


Duck - After Henry and Edward, I think the most natural choice would go to Duck.  Duck has always been very popular with the older fan base, especially with Bachmann as his HO model continues to be a top seller many years after its release.  In the CGI series, Duck has always had a huge following too, even more than Oliver who you could argue is a shoe in because of Toad.  However, Duck has always been more iconic than Oliver, especially in the CGI series and the fact that Duck is even popular with the younger generation as well (as confirmed by a former student!) it's clear that after Henry and Edward, Duck rightfully deserves to be third in line before introducing Oliver to go along with Toad.  He would also be a perfect follow-up announcement to Diesel once he is considering their classic rivalry, and the HO line did the exact same thing which was appreciated by fans everywhere at the time.

It may seem like my engine list hasn't changed that much, but my honorable mention in the form of Diesel (plus Paxton) found its way into the range last year which is a definite plus.  My new honorable mention now would go to Mavis since she has such a simple design and easy chassis reuse Bachmann can work with.  Oliver would be a close second honorable mention to go along with Toad. 

Rolling stock on the other hand has gone down a lot more drastically on my wishlist.  Last year we got box vans, Henrietta, and Gordon's express coaches.  Pretty impressive all of these got announced last year if you ask me! 

So going forward, here are the next pieces of rolling stock I would like to see next:


Brake vans -  Like Henry, this is such an obvious pick.  I love the Toad model, but as I've said before the 12 ton brake van is far more iconic and would look a lot better behind goods trains pulled by several other characters in the show.  They can go for various different liveries like the NW livery like in large scale or brown and gray in the model series or even purple in CGI.  They can even introduce a spiteful brake van model either right after or alongside a standard brake van as an added bonus.  Either way, there's a lot they can do with this tooling and it's well worth the investment on Bachmann's end. 


Red coaches - Just like the brake van, these are another very obvious choice.  They are easy models to make and were hot sellers in HO and large scale - I have zero doubt the same will happen in N scale.  They've been pulled by several other characters in the show, including characters that are either currently available or high in demand for the future.  I think these make a pretty close second top request behind brake vans. 


Coal wagon with load (and other repaints) -  I think more likely than not, Bachmann will most likely introduce more repaints in N scale either in the summer or next year.  While the repaint I'm personally the most hopeful for is the coal wagon with load, I wouldn't mind seeing other wagon repaints or even some of the other box vans receiving repaints as well.  I wouldn't even mind Hannah in N scale since we are already getting Henrietta in N scale too.  Even if one or two repaints were announced alongside a brake van, I personally don't see the harm in that.  If they do though, let's start with the simpler repaints first like the coal wagon with load and the red/blue open wagons like in HO and large scale before we move onto the more gimmicky repaints with various decals printed on.

Honorable mentions go to the mail car and a new tanker mold.  The mail car has always been a popular seller in HO and offers several repaint options as well, however I put this one lower than the rest since I feel that brake vans and the red coaches are a much higher priority.  The new tanker mold meanwhile is something I really want Bachmann to consider at some point much later in the future since I, and many other fans, would prefer the more screen accurate tooling like what was used for the large scale range and even HO/OO.  There's a reason why the N scale tankers don't sell nearly as well in my local hobby shops compared to the rest of the stock and  it's not hard to see why.  I think revisiting the tankers with a new tooling in mind would be a much better option for Bachmann rather than to repaint the Farish tankers again, especially considering there are several repaint options out there.  Even if they go for new liveries that weren't introduced previously like milk, tar and even toffee with a new/improved mold I wouldn't even be opposed to that either. 

And despite my talk of my list going down slightly, I think it's time to talk about non-rail characters for N scale.  This is something that's been brought up occasionally by fans, and with the HO line announcing more as of last year, I figured why not.  So here are the ones I think Bachmann should start with:



Bertie - There is absolutely no doubt that Bertie should be one of the very first additions in this category.  He has always been a popular character and made frequent appearances since season 1.  He's got a great simplistic design to work with, and I have zero doubt Bachmann will be able to pull him off nicely in N scale. 



Harold - Harold has always been a huge icon of the Thomas brand and franchise.  A popular character since his debut with regular appearances, I would say both he and Bertie would make welcome additions if announced alongside each other together in N scale like in HO (and Bachmann Europe).  Harold would also feel like a very natural addition if Bachmann were to include non-rail characters in N scale too.

My honorable mention goes to Cranky, even though he's more of a scenery item they can add to the range; which I feel warrants a post on its own.  But having Cranky -an iconic staple in the show- in N scale would go over very well for the many fans who are collecting N scale, including a former student and his dad, in addition to several other young hobbyists who are just getting into the hobby.  I'd mention other characters like Terence too, but I don't want to go too overboard non-rail characters quite yet, so I'll wrap it up here.  Let me know any additional thoughts below.

[JacobSK]

Great suggestions here, Chaz! Adding Henry to the range will also complete the original Tomix quartet alongside Thomas, Percy and James. Edward and Duck are also strong suggestions. Mavis' issue is that she did not appear much in CGI following her episode with Den and Dart. Oliver has appeared more consistently, so that's the second reason I'd choose him over Mavis, the first being that his sidekick Toad is already out there.

Definitely in 100% agreement about the red coaches and original green coal wagon. The red coaches will be great for James and Percy to pull. In addition to the coal wagon, I'd personally also like to see the red and blue open wagons join the range. On the subject of brake vans, I think Bachmann could get away with them being track cleaning like in HO, and not necessarily market them as Thomas products. They're colorful and are generic rolling stock that don't need a face to sell. Same liveries as the HO counterparts, too.

Bertie and Harold would also be fun additions. Both were staples of the show all 24 seasons and appeared consistently. Cranky might be  a bit of a stretch due to his size and being delicate at such a small scale.

Either way, solid suggestions, and couldn't have come up with better ones myself!

[Mulfred100]

I fully agree with Chaz. The only other alternative I'd throw in that I'd like to see in N Scale in the near future is a Cattle wagon. There's alot of possibility for what's next in N Scale and given how well the range has evolved from the first models of Thomas and Percy to the latest two (Emily and Gordon) I'm sure that Henry, Edward, Duck or whoever will be brilliant too. The only other engine I'd throw in the mix would be Spencer as he's been a pretty constant feature since season 7 and I can see Bachmann making him at some point. The future is incredibly bright for this range.

[N Scale Sudrian]

The way myself and the modellers in my circle see it, it's easier to sort new locos for N Scale 'Thomas' into tiers of priority rather than a hard numbered ranking... Mostly because the demand for Henry and Edward is so suffocating that it is more or less impossible to talk about any other characters without the proviso of "after Henry and Edward, of course"...

Tier 1 would be Henry and Edward, naturally... They're the final two classic main characters... Both are very popular and frequently requested... Henry specifically has the benefit of sharing a common driving wheels and motion with Gordon, which means that the only requirements to create him are to make a new loco shell, tender, and front wheelset to surround the main chassis... Edward would almost entirely be new tooling (albeit likely using the same wheel pattern as Thomas, James, and Toby) but his development cost would be easily justified by how popular he would be upon release...

Tier 2 and below are more subjective and nebulous... I think these would be a combination of popular secondary loco characters from the HO Scale 'Thomas' line and general popular requests for the N Scale 'Thomas' line specifically... At time of writing, I would put four characters into this category; Duck, Spencer, Mavis, and Oliver... Duck and Oliver fit the bill for both criteria... Mavis has been getting a lot of support for N Scale (including from myself)... and Spencer is rather popular in HO Scale despite that model's shortcomings, so I believe he'll make the jump sooner rather than later...

Tier 3 is every other engine that is currently released in the HO Scale 'Thomas' line. Rosie, Donald and Douglas, Daisy, Ryan, Bill and Ben, and Salty... Salty may be cheating slightly since his reintroduction isn't on the market yet... But he is in the catalog, so I count him among these regardless, ha ha... Not much to say about them, I believe all of them will come to pass in due time...

Tier 4 are the characters that are either extremely new or currently discontinued without a plan to be reintroduce... Beau, Rebecca, Stanley, and Iron 'Arry and Iron Bert... The only characters I can see 'jumping the line' as it were are the Iron Diesels for being based on Paxton and Diesel, or Rebecca solely because she is a main character in the legacy 'Thomas' series... Beau is complicated by Bachmann's Old-Time 4-4-0 being a discontinued tooling, and in all honestly would be better off using an updated model as a base... Meanwhile Stanley feels too recent of an announcement to consider placing any higher... That said in a year or two, he and Rebecca would likely move up to Tier 3 once their HO Scale models make it to market, and their places will be taken by whatever new loco characters are announced...

Rolling Stock is a lot less interesting to make a priority tiering for in the same way, since most of it is just a laundry list of essentials... More 7-Plank Open Wagons, more versions of the Tank Cars, Cattle Vans, the Spiteful Brake Van (or other BR 20 Ton Brake Van recolors, if possible), Red Coaches, Toby's Museum Coaches, Red Express Coaches, et cetera... I may have missed it if somebody has posted it, but I feel the Mail Cars would be a good pick for the line as well. It's another piece that was present in TOMIX's 'Thomas' line that isn't currently represented in Bachmann's N Scale line, and comes in at least three colors... Red, Green, and even Live Lobsters if they want to have some fun...

[TerencetheTractor525]

It is always a pleasure to read your suggestion posts, Chaz, and the model era pics were a nice touch. Altogether, I completely agree with all the engine, rolling stock, and non rail suggestions.

Henry is no-doubt who I am also hoping to see announced next in N scale for all the same reasons stated above. I think that him alongside some open wagon recolors (the coal wagon with load, blue wagon, and red wagon), and the iconic brake van would be very nice to see for the next product announcement specifically. Edward, Duck, and Oliver are definitely logical additions too. As far as non-rail characters are concerned, I concur that Bertie would be a good start, followed by Harold or Terence.

It's hard to believe that the N scale line was already announced five years ago. I recall having mixed feelings about how well the line would do, with HO in the main driver's seat. However, I was very happy to be proven wrong, as the line has continuously sold well. Furthermore, with Gordon almost released, the the best days still seem to be ahead.

[TrainFan97]

This NMRA could finally be the time they announce N Scale Henry. He won't completely be a new tooling since he would just recycle Gordon's chassis minus the trailing wheels. Just a new tender, face and body shell. I've stated that the best recolors for the 2025 catalog would be N Scale LBSC Thomas and Origin James, but would be nice if we can get Edward, all of which would be fitting for the 80th Anniversary. Unlike the former two, Edward would 100% be a new tooling, unless they can just scale down his HO Scale tooling to work in N Scale, since it was near-perfect.

For N Scale rolling stock, we desperately need non-troublesome variants of the open wagons, including the green Coal Wagon with Load, Blue Open Wagon and Red Open Wagon. Other very welcome additions would be the Mail Car (great for Percy), Red Coaches, and 20-ton Brake Vans. Red Express Coaches would also be great. Hannah could easily be made using Henrietta's tooling, and she could be the first rolling stock in N Scale that doesn't already exist in HO Scale.

Other great choices for N Scale engines that would be very much welcome include Mavis, since she would recycle Toby's chassis, Duck because of his past rivalry with Diesel, and Oliver because we have Toad. Even Spencer would be a great choice because he, like Henry, can also recycle Gordon's chassis, with his tender being completely different (box-shaped), different trailing wheel design, and a streamlined body shape. Adding Spencer would mean they'd also have to make Special Coaches for N Scale as well. Unlike HO Scale, the Special Coaches can actually have a brake variant in N Scale.

I'd also like Ryan and Daisy, who are the most recent additions to HO Scale, but characters like them I don't see getting announced in N Scale for a while, since they were too recent for HO Scale. Stanley and Rebecca are still upcoming for HO Scale. 'Arry and Bert are discontinued in HO Scale, but could easily be made in N Scale once they have Diesel's tooling ready. Sidney has yet to be made in any scale, but with Diesel's tooling, he could be the first engine in N Scale who doesn't already exist in HO Scale.

If we start getting non-rail characters in N Scale, we could get Bertie and Harold.

[Chaz]

Thanks everyone for the strong feedback!  I'm glad everyone seems to be on the same page when it comes to the engine choices and the non-rail characters too.  Undeniably, I think those the five I mentioned earlier (and possibly Spencer) are easily the more popular requests that I have seen, hence why I mentioned them.  I agree that there's a lot more of an urgency for Henry and Edward due to their classic main character stance, in addition to Duck and Oliver to an extent because of Toad's release.  That being said, there are a few things I want to respond to in particular. 

Regarding the brake vans, as I mentioned earlier, there are different livery options out there Bachmann could use for the N scale range, or even HO if they really wanted to.  I think introducing a set of brake vans in a new tooling and various liveries would be the best way to go.  Seeing as how Bachmann has shifted for more industrial colors like gray and brown, I would like to see these find their way to the N scale brake vans once they are announced.  If there's any new rolling stock tooling that we get announced this year, I hope this will be the one.  Track-cleaning stock wouldn't be a bad idea of usage of the brake van tooling either.

As for Mavis' lack of usage since season 19, I think that's a moot point since while her usage hasn't been as frequent as she used to be, she would be one of the easier choices for a new locomotive design.  The class 08 repaints do get tiring after a while, and I think Diesel and Paxton are just the right amount for the time being. Mavis would offer some nice diversity in terms of diesels in N scale, and would reuse the same motor and chassis as Toby which is a win-win of it's own.  That already puts Mavis a few steps above the likes of  other diesels in the range such as Salty or even Daisy, so I'm all for it.

Spencer on the other hand I think has a higher shot than most of us might give him credit for since he's had a better track record from Bachmann in terms of sales.  He was also introduced pretty early in HO (he came even got announced before Edward), so I wouldn't rule him out from being introduced soon too.  The only reason why I didn't mention him or the likes of Donald and Douglas or Daisy is because I feel like there is a lot more of an urgency to the characters I mentioned earlier.  I think the five engines I mentioned in my last post might make better candidates first based on the reasons I mentioned earlier, but I think it's worthy of an honorable mention too.  He definitely fits comfortably in a "tier 2" list as mentioned earlier, so there's that much going for him.

As for the cattle wagon, I'm all for it. Like Spencer though, I left that one out since there's some rolling stock additions I feel have a stronger sense of urgency like brake vans or the red coaches or even the mail car.  I think we will see demand for cattle wagons increase once Edward eventually gets introduced in N scale.

I wouldn't mind LBSC Thomas or Origin James in N scale either, but in my opinion I think it's a little too early for Bachmann to be considering those, especially considering Henry and Edward haven't been announced yet.  Maybe much later down the road once more characters get introduced.  Sidney meanwhile I think could work if they absolutely had to reuse the class 08 tooling anytime soon, but I feel like adding a third so soon after Diesel and Paxton is a little excessive.

[TrainFan97]

In short, the engines for N Scale that are in the highest urgency are Edward and Henry, and to a slightly lesser extent, Mavis, Duck, Oliver and Spencer. Edward and Henry have the absolute highest urgency because they would complete the original Steam Team N Scale. Both must be announced within the next 12 months, with Gordon and Emily arriving in stock this year, and Diesel is soon to start progress.

[Awesometrain77]

Tbh N scale roise would be nice to see

[TrainFan97]

With two different liveries, Rosie could also work good in N Scale, but she is not a high-priority like Edward, Henry, Duck and Oliver.

It's unlikely we ever will get N Scale Beau, unless Bachmann brings back the American 4-4-0 in a new tooling for N Scale, just like they did for HO Scale. Given how iconic the American 4-4-0 is, they need to bring back the N Scale one by completely retooling it, so it would look good.

I don't know if Bachmann will announce another newly-tooled engine for HO Scale this NMRA, considering they still don't have Rebecca out there yet, and they're soon to show Stanley unpainted since his 3D design is ready. The best choices for new toolings in HO Scale would be Nia, Whiff, Hiro, or Norman. Maybe even Winston can be made in HO Scale, since Bachmann UK makes Wickham Trollies, and that would give the Sir Topham Hatt figure something to ride on. For recolors, Sidney would make the most sense, and I personally would like to see Mainland Diesel #1 with the annoyed expression he had after James bumped into him, even though recolors like the Mainland Diesels and Green Salty are rather niche.

[Awesometrain77]

Bringing back arry and Bert would be cool and perfect for NRMA 2024

[Awesometrain77]

Thinking about diesel 10 if they put pinchy in found of his windows he could fit under  tunnels .

I think he could be perfect for 2025

2025 catalogue ideas
Diesel 10
Blue Annie and clarabel
Work unit coach
M 4 plank wagon
FFQ 4 plank wagon
SCC 4 plank wagon

[BobZ]

I have collected many of the HO T&F engines and rolling stock. I would like to see more on the locos brought out with decoders installed. I also have G Scale equipment and same goes for them. Would save me the time of doing it myself.

[BubbleBuddyFan]

I think Sam needs to be Second Limited Release after Beau is done at some point in the future. Topham Circus Train would be a great idea. Season's Greetings Express Coaches and Hot Cocoa Tank Wagon would be perfect for Christmas Traditions at some point in the future.