That's good to know, and of course. My hope is still to see Stepney based completely on the model series, just as engines like Duck. Yet, seeing that Duck was the last time we got a Bachmann model that had measurements that were clearly based on the engine from the model series (not including resin buildings), I was not sure if Bachmann got rid of all the measurement references from that era. Thus, basing Stepney on the measurements of the real-life engine would be something to resort to in case the measurements from the show are no longer available. Would certainly prefer that over not seeing him made at all.

Speaking of the Bluebell Railway, I wonder if it would be possible if Bachmann could take measurements of the real-life Stepney locomotive, and make the HO model using those measurements, just as they did for the narrow gauge line through the Talyllyn Railway. It may be a good solution if specific measurements of the classic television series model are not available. Plus, Stepney is a real engine.

Also, for anyone who missed it, here is a video on the history of Stepney in real-life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGmpr52R2FY

The amount of attention the video has gotten is amazing, as it has only been out for about two months and already has over a thousand likes. Speaks for itself really .

I agree that it makes sense to start with a small batch for the UK instead of starting with the complete line all at once. Regarding the track expander pack, I could definitely see it getting announced in February for UK fans too. In my opinion, I don't think that it is a bad idea as it is a nice simple way to have young fans in the UK, who purchase the Thomas with Annie & Clarabel Starter Set, expand the set to a decent size using the same track system.

The Sir Handel models look wonderful! As always, I love the attention to detail!

Quote from: Rodimus Supreme on December 06, 2019, 11:49:11 AM

Quote from: Trainboy 48 on December 06, 2019, 06:28:16 AM
Well Cranky has a plastic chain so I don't see why can't they do the same to Harvey.

That's not what I said. It doesn't matter what it's made out of, an HO Scale model of Harvey would be too small for a business like Bachmann to make have a functional, raising and lowering hook and chain, either for costs purposes or because of functionality. It would just be attached to the arm and never raise or lower. Also, like Chaz said, his arm doesn't move up or down on the show or on his basis, thus he's be too tall for most people's layouts. To be honest, even though he has a real world basis that looks like that, I still wouldn't be surprised if the NMRA has a standard that blocks any model of that type of locomotive from being made.

Great point, once again, but I am not Chaz.

I thought that it would be nice to start a thread in which we can share our fan-made model series:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTyNxPzgyh1VQ6fXrhZJwCrehNDwyXwap

My series, titled "The Sodor Series", is based on the classic television series by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton that utilized models. I see it as a continuation from Season 7, as most avid fans agree that was the last season of the model era that was very enjoyable, as it did not fall on plots that were considerably basic. The Sodor Series has only seven episodes completed at the moment, many more are getting planned for the future. I want to sincerely thank Bachmann for producing such accurate Thomas models, as my series would have not been possible if it weren't for them . Hope to see other fan-made series utilizing the Bachmann Thomas line in this thread as well!

Great work to everyone! Really love seeing all the progress that has happened recently! While another semester of college is wrapping up, I am beginning to plan the next stages for the narrow gauge extension that I am in the process of making too. Here are some progress videos from the summer:

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwWF9QI98nI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laKArw7tHtg

Will certainly upload more updates once I am home .

I am still fairly confident that the narrow gauge carriages will be released by the end of the year. Let's remember that the HO Spiteful Brake Van did not arrive at the Bachmann Warehouse until the middle of December last year. Thus, considering that we are still in the beginning of the month, I could see the narrow gauge carriages arriving somewhere between the middle and end of the month as well.

I concur with Rodimus Supreme on this one. While I would be ecstatic if Bachmann announced an HO Harvey (much more than Ryan), I don't think that he would be feasible considering his detailed design. Plus, while comparing Harvey and Cranky, the main difference I see between the two is size. Because Cranky is much bigger than Harvey, it is much easier for Bachmann to include the functional crane arm. Harvey, on the other hand, is much smaller. Thus, the working chain, even if it was made by string, would be much more challenging to incorporate in Harvey. Furthermore, his crane arm is very tall, and cannot lower. As a result, running Harvey under bridges and through tunnels would be an issue. Frankly, I think that a breakdown train has a better shot at getting announced than him.

Even so, I am still hoping that Stepney has a shot at getting announced in February to celebrate the 75th Anniversary. The amount of people who have explicitly stated that they would like to see him made for various reasons is something to certainly take into account. Perhaps, we will get lucky! . Finally, I could still see Ryan getting made at some point. However, based on what the majority of fans have stated, it does not make sense for him to be announced before Stepney.

I am all for seeing Stepney, BoCo, and Duke return. However, while making CGI models of them, I really hope that the licencor studies the models from the model era of the show carefully, especially in Stepney's case. The last thing that I would want to see is a CGI Stepney with odd proportions, just like Oliver and Duncan. This is why it would be wonderful if Duck's situation happened again with Stepney, which is to announce Stepney before his CGI model is revealed.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/5/58/BowledOut4.png/revision/latest?cb=20180905190252

After all, I would really love to see a classic series face on Stepney. That would certainly make the model extra special for avid fans .

The 75th Anniversary is a time to glorify great figures of Thomas' past, and I don't think that there would be anything more special to announce than Stepney. For the younger audience who may not be familiar with Stepney, they could always find out who he is through the web using the Thomas Wiki, YouTube, etc. Besides, we should remember that most kids who are very young would generally not own every Bachmann Thomas engine to begin with due to their expense. The avid fans are the ones who buy every quality engine that gets made. Thus, why not switch things up a bit and announce an classic engine that would not only be wonderful to see for the 75th Anniversary, but also be an extremely great seller, as classic engines like Duck proved to us. After all, based on every poll throughout social media, Stepney has had more of a following than Ryan. Plus, due to his smaller and simpler design, he would be less expensive to make. The reasoning is self explanatory if you ask me .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGmpr52R2FY

Would highly recommend giving this a watch, especially the Bachmann Team! 

I still firmly believe that there is not anything else Bachmann could announce next February that would receive as much hype as an HO Stepney.

#HOStepneytheBluebellEnginefor2020

Let's make the 75th Anniversary the best it can be!

From looking at the images of the new N scale products again, I am decently happy with how these are turning out so far. Am a little disappointed that Thomas & Percy have CGI faces, but I guess that is to be expected these days  . Nevertheless, I may begin to collect this new line too, but it would be nice to get Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel through a starter set rather than individually.

https://www.licensing.biz/2019/09/24/mattel-readies-for-thomas-friends-75th-with-new-partner-line-up/

Found this online, and I thought that I should share it with the forum, especially since it involves the Bachmann Team. After reading this, it is nice to see that the licencor is thinking about the 75th Anniversary and has some special things planned for us fans . The last paragraph excites me the most: "Our goal this coming special 75th anniversary year is to introduce new highly accessible and memorable consumer products through our increased partnership activity. A number of specialized product and retail executions will be launched to help give added meaning to the experience Thomas & Friends delivers to the consumer in its celebratory year". Really hoping that this means that nostalgic characters will get made (a Bachmann HO Scale Stepney in particular ). Can't wait to see what everyone else's thoughts are!

Quote from: AnAverageThomasFan on September 19, 2019, 04:35:59 PM
Honestly I would like to see stepney, but Ryan personally makes more sense to me. I don't think that bachmann would make any characters that aren't relevant in the show anymore. Because once you look at the lineup, all the characters bachmann has released over the years are still relevant in the show. (The only possible exception would be BoCo because they could just use Daisy's chassis). But characters like Stepney, Arther, or Murdoch are nostalgic but a bit more obscure. The statement that "fans want him" isn't a good enough reason in my books. But hey, I'd love to be wrong.

While I do still think that Stepney would be the best choice for 2020 to celebrate the 75th Anniversary, I do see where you are coming from. It's great to see that you would like to see Stepney too though!

As for Boco, after seeing that Daisy is going to have moving eyes, I definitely agree that Bachmann should consider making Boco at some point. Bachmann must have put a high amount of thought on how to incorporate a moving eye mechanism within a long, bogied diesel, and I don't think that it would make sense to put in all that effort into constructing this new moving eye mechanism just for Daisy.

https://ttte.fandom.com/wiki/BoCo

Boco would also provide contrast to the range. He would not only be one of two bogied diesels in the range, but he would also be the only bogied diesel that is meant to pull long freight trains. Seriously, what kid would not want to see a long diesel with a face pull a long freight train? However, that's all I will state about Boco as this thread is really not about him  .

Ultimately, I would be very happy if Stepney or Boco got announced next year. However, given the amount of people who stated that they would like to see Stepney, I still think that he would be the supreme choice.