Bachmann Stanley Thread

[RailwayRoundhouse]

Thought I'd make something for us to all share our thoughts on the silver tank engine. I'm personally really happy that Stanley's being made. I love The Great Discovery, the introduction and lore of Great Waterton and Stanley was also a nice addition too. While he may not have done much since his debut, I still think he's a solid character and I feel Bachmann will definitely do him justice. What do you all think?

[TrainFan97]

I feel that Bachmann announced Stanley because he was a request for many years. He has a unique white livery, played a major role in a special, and the fact that he appeared in both model and CGI. It's been six years since we got Rosie, and only now was Stanley finally announced. Another thing is that Bachmann can easily recycle Thomas' chassis for Stanley; just paint the wheels red. Just the body shell would be completely different. Recycling Thomas' chassis would be the most cost-effective way to get Stanley out there, just like how they used Oliver's wheels for Ryan. For Ryan's case, they added two extra drive wheels, and painted them to match his livery. Would be neat if Stanley had an open cab, but he probably won't if they have to hide the motor there.

[N Scale Sudrian]

I don't think they can fully recycle the HO/OO 'Thomas' chassis for Stanley. That chassis is far from correct to Thomas' appearance in the 'CGI' series, and Stanley has different enough wheel spacing that he would need a whole new chassis. Depending on how correctly sized they are, I could see Oliver's drivers used for Stanley like they were with Ryan, but given they lack the correct counterweights it would probably be best for Bachmann to just make a new wheel pattern.

I believe CGI Thomas and Stanley share the same wheel pattern, so perhaps Large Scale and N Scale can reuse the Thomas wheels if he were to ever migrate to those scales. But a new chassis would definitely be required in either scale. I'm sure he would be much appreciated as a newcomer to either scale, though.

(Tangentially on the subject of 'shared chassis'; Having further inspected the N Scale Toby model, it's only the wheels that are borrowed from Thomas. the chassis block is fully new and I believe the side rods are new in order to accommodate Toby's shorter wheelbase. Incidentally the die-cast block seems a bit too tall and wide in certain places to perfectly accommodate a future Mavis, but the only thing I think would need changing is that block's shape, the general sizing and wheelbase are otherwise good.)

But anyway, glad to see Stanley finally brought into the fold. At last, that old Hornby "Stanley's Shed" resin building will finally have a function, ha ha!

[Armada Starscream]

This is why Bachmann is one of my favorite Thomas merchandise ranges. They LISTEN to the Thomas Fans, and treat us with a level of respect that we rarely get. They have disregarded the All Engines GO reboot. They are willing to take fan suggestions, such as the Toby Museum Coaches and this new upcoming Stanley. They team up with Trainworld and Thomas Fans to give us Thomas Tuesdays, which allows Thomas Fans to show their detailed layouts and customizations, to show that Thomas isn't just for kids.

Thank you Bachmann! I am looking forward to Stanley!

[TrainFan97]

So it seems that Stanley's tooling will be 100% new, including the chassis, since his wheels aren't exactly like Thomas' despite being the same configuration.

At least Bachmann is actually willing to listen to the fans, and they continue to stray away from the infamous reboot known as All Engines Go. They're pretty much the only Thomas merchandise left that's actually good. Stanley was a popular request that's finally on the cards, and he's appeared in both model AND CGI.

But for some reason, Mattel is okay with Bachmann making model series rolling stock, but not engines, which really doesn't make sense. It's what's holding Bachmann back from making Stepney, BoCo or Duke. Bachmann knows how much we want Stepney, but Mattel just won't let them do it. Diesel was the first HO Scale model to have a CGI face, and that was before Mattel took over, while Duck was the last HO Scale model to be based on the model series.

[Mulfred100]

One thing I'm wondering is if Stanley will come with Lampiorns and lamps as per his appearances post season 19 or without as per his original CGI render. Personally I'm on Board with both but I feel like without the lamp iorns and lamps will please model series fans more

[JLK2707]

Yeah! A Bachmann Stanley is just so cool!