Dear Bachmann: Brake Van!

[Megatron359]

Sparks, I would like to point out, Thomas in the T.v. Series has the same height as Edward. Upgrading Thomas, percy and James is a Great idea and i thought i point out another deatail that was over looked or forgoting

[Cheeky_ULP]

I find heights harder to notice, but that's just me.

I hope Bachmann takes a gander at this thread. 

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

What's REALLY annoying about James having a closed cab is- well- look at the photo for him online and on the backs of the packages. Open cab.

[ThomasFan247]

Way to stick it to the Bach-Man! Seriously though, Bachmann should consider some of these updates and modifications thus adding detail and more realism to the television series it models. Sure, all these are great suggestions, and any one done would be a big step to achieving more realism... I'm not stating anything for sure or anything, but let's the Bach-man tell us his input... Good or bad.

You make good suggestions, Sparks.

Oh, ThomasFan247,
I like your new picture for your studio thing. It looks a bit more "at home" with the Thomas model and the forums general theme of light/regular blue.Joshua

Thanks 

[Cheeky_ULP]

I feel that this thread might of been just a bit too big for Bachmann to read.

I hope he sends us a reply soon...

[Guilford Guy]

Seeing no one else has come forth...
These are Children's toys. They are not going to spend THOUSANDS on retooling the molds just to satisfy a minority. The majority of those who own a Thomas set are between 6 and 10, and don't know, or don't care about the inaccuracies. Bachmann Industries cannot make any more money, only lose money by retooling the molds to satisfy a dozen people. Why don't you just correct this yourself?

[Cheeky_ULP]

Hornby did updates on their models several times, for the exact same market you consider not worth updating for. Consider the additional fact that the Bachmann engines are already hard enough to modify, and that the original three engines were approved under Gullance, and not HiT Entertainment. I actually have tried to do the corrections myself, but you can really go only so far before annoyance (not worth the fuss) comes in. The majority of the market is from 8 and older actually. No specific age limitation.

[Guilford Guy]

To my knowledge Hornby puts faces on its OO equipment, so when they update their OO equipment, so does the Thomas. Bachmann USA does not produce mainstream British Equipment. Bachmann equipment is intended for Children who will recognize the character, not rivet counters. Its not going to happen, I can tell you that much... They won't sell any more than they did before. Consumers will buy them because they want one, and they won't be any more popular after the retoolings, so the company would be LOOSING money.

[Cheeky_ULP]

I still say it'd be a gain, not a loss. Hornby does not update their Thomas locos when the base engine is updated. Their E2 Class models haven't been touched since the 80s, and ended when the model was reused as Thomas, which was updated regularly after. These are kids buying the models, but even as a kid at 5 or 6 I was well aware of the detail on a toy or model. If they wanted to, they could be just as lazy with their new models and make lower quality versions of Edward, Mavis, Spencer, etc. but it's apparent that for toy models, the Thomas range does have some decency. It's not like much would be lost, especially during the economic downtime, rather than spend more on new engines, just go about fixing up existing engines to the up to date standards. Once the new revisions would be done, the older versions would be discontinued.

Saw a Henry Chassis converted to an On30 USA model once. Don't think anyone would want to do a similar modification to Thomas, Percy or James (other engines in the range are smoother runners to note).

[Cheeky_ULP]

Dear The Bachmann, Bachmann Industries, or anyone:

I still stand to say these overhauls and changes to the range would do the business good. Most of the Thomas merchandise lines do this to their toys eventually (Wooden Railway and Hornby being prime examples), so why not Bachmann too?

So, by popular demand of members here, I'm up setting up suggestions for yet another piece from the Bachmann Thomas range, I give you...


The Brake Van

Here is a typical brake van used in the television series, Thomas and Friends. They're usually dark brown, or gray, possibly to show coming of age.


Now, here's the Bachmann Brake Van for the Thomas range. Its rather bland and unappealing. Basic errors include:
- The wheel chassis is different from any brake van I've ever seen.
- General nitpick: The body is just one big piece
- The entire brake van is just white with a black chassis. Bland


So, what can be done?
Well, lately, most if not all of the Bachmann Rolling Stock is just repaints from the Bachmann Branchlines (aka the UK) freight cars. So how about digging up one and use it for the Bachmann Thomas range. Lets look...

- This is a 20 Ton British Railways brake van in Bachmanns range. For Television Series fans, this is a good candidate for the Brake van. It has the recognizable design that we see in the TV series all the time, and simply has a more realistic appearance than the Bachmann Thomas brake van at the moment.

Now then, there's a second candidate, and it's a bit more technical, to say.

- This is another 20 Ton British Railways brake van in Bachmanns range. It's a bit chubbier, and none of these have ever appeared in the Television Series. So.. What makes them a good choice? Well it's actually the original books, the Railway Series, that make this type a perfect choice.

- Here is an illustration from the Book "Duck and the Diesel Engines," which shows the brake van in use. It's not an oddball either, these brake vans are practically the Sodor Railway (North Western Railway) standard:

- This is illustrations of The Spiteful Brake Van from the Book "The Twin Engines." He's just an example of a Sodor brake van, and even lives up to his villainous name when torturing Donald and Douglas. Not quite the same type of brake van as the Bachmann UK design, but still a short length brake van none the less.

So the conclusion is, either brake van is a good base for replacing the original. Either design would work, but if the shorter length one were chosen, would be a treat to many fans. As said though, both would work very well, so it's all up to Bachmann. Perhaps what people prefer below this post can make an influence too...

[shining time]

i agree with all of you  about the first three models  being  redone.

[Megatron359]

Sparks, You a Genius, Bachmann should also do the The Spiteful Brake Van as well

[shining time]

i agree with that make the spiteful brake van

[Cheeky_ULP]

I think its a splendid idea, but the Spiteful Brake Van just isn't that well known. In the TV series he was just recognized as a short lived annoying brake van.

If we want to compare him to Scruffy, he had a name to live up to in the series, and showed as a more symbolic conflict with Oliver.

[James The Red Engine]

Well, Scruffy was made even though Oliver blew him to pieces and he comitted suicide a few seasons later.  Am I right?