Yeah, he's just making an observation. How is that rude?

I'm so shocked and excited by these new announcements! Can't wait for Daisy and Peter Sam! The rolling stock is kinda eh but the Troublesome Tanker could be good and it's nice to see the plank wagon return.

I'm wondering what the announcements in February of 2020 are gonna be, if they're gonna do any at all.

Well, not everyone makes customs. Not everyone who collects Bachmann Thomas are serious hardcore modelers. Some just want things like Red Rosie, Nia, and Rebecca because they just like those characters and they want those as models. Smudger or Yellow Rheneas would be cool. Considering how Red Rosie's practically done, it's clear that some of these recolors are very easy for Bachmann to make. There really isn't that much harm in them. I do hope they continue making new molded characters (maybe recolors alongside new molds) but right now I'm fine with it.

I'm glad that these are different from the originals. That yellow stripe makes all the difference.

I created a thread similar to this a while back talking about HO Scale Figures for human characters.

https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,35242.0.html

It is a pretty cool idea and it's cool to see that other people have though of the same thing.

Quote from: rjmets41 on February 25, 2019, 08:25:47 PM
I just listened to an interview with Lionel's head of traditional scale product, which includes the Thomas and Friends line. Now although Lionel does more "toy-like" models than Bachmann's more realistic models, she claims that Mattel and they have a great relationship. She added that Mattel has given them suggestions on what to make but did not exactly tell them what to make. Last point here, they are also looking to expand the line past the four main characters now.

Don't assume that everything is Mattel's fault. There are more factors that go into producing Thomas and Friends models than just what Mattel says and its unfair to both Bachmann and Mattel to say such things.

Dude, I made this exact argument a month ago. I didn't know what the heck I was talking about and I got blasted as a result. Just backtrack while you still can. These guys know so much more about this sort of thing than either of us do.

They could maybe bring Salty back. He's a well liked classic character who's still prominent in the current show and would be absolutely necessary to bring back if they ever decide to make Porter in HO Scale. But maybe you should wait on Arry and Bert there. They JUST got discontinued and kind of for good reasons. They're barely relevant at all in the current show and weren't even that popular in the classic series. Maybe they'll come back someday but if Bachmann should bring back anyone it should be Salty.

It doesn't help that (from what I've heard on Twitter) they're forcing  certain places that used to sell Thomas toys and DVDS to not sell them anymore.

How do they expect to make money if they don't even sell anything? Plz can Hasbro just buy the franchise or Mattel as a whole already?

Yeah true. we have been a little bit too over the top with saying what Bachmann could do with this range. We have no idea the price or if it's even gonna take off. I guess personally I've just been hyped up by the prospect of this new range that I may have speculated some pretty crazy things. I still stand by my 2020 predictions but I recognize that I shouldn't get so hyped for something either years and years away or something that may not even happen at all. 

Quote from: steakandcake on February 21, 2019, 07:31:15 PM
I wouldn't say that we will NEVER get another new mold in HO. Maybe since next year is the 75th anniversary, we'll get a nice surprise. (Even though I'm only expecting Original Thomas.) I actually predicted that 'Arry and Bert would get discontinued this year. Not surprised really. I'm really excited for the new Flat Car and open wagons. We haven't gotten an open wagon since Troublesome Truck #4 (FIVE YEARS AGO).

Yeah, saying we'll NEVER getting another new mold in HO is a little extreme. I'm sure someday we'll be able to get more from HO Scale but just right now it just wasn't the right time.

Makes sense for Arry and Bert to get the axe. I would be upset since I haven't gotten them yet but considering as I'm thinking of switching over to the N Scale range, I'm fine with them getting discontinued (I'm just hoping they'll be made in the N Scale range eventually)

I'm fine with most of the HO rolling stock. The Flat Car is cool, Gordon's Coaches will be great, the Coal Co. Wagon and the Scrap Co. Wagon look nice, but honestly I'm not on board with the Mining Wagon. That just looks dumb honestly. Still, it's better than nothing at all. Also, Red Rosie looks cool. Glad she'll have her lamp.

Hopefully we'll see all 4 ranges get new announcements next year but who knows.

Quote from: TrainFan97 on February 21, 2019, 01:49:41 PM
Let's hope Bachmann's taking notes, so they can reuse things like chassis and molds to help build up the N Scale range faster. Gordon and Henry would share the same chassis, with Gordon having added trailing wheels. Mavis and Toby would also share the same chassis, with Mavis being a bit longer. Paxton can easily get released with Diesel. Diesel having a grumpy face on the first try, and Paxton having a more accurate face, since Bachmann doesn't have to worry about eye mechanisms in N Scale.

I heard that the HO versions of the Great Western Van, Fruit and Vegetable Van, and even the Water Tanker look inferior to their Large Scale counterparts, with the two vans using the Ventilated Van tooling, and the Water Tanker being in reversed colors from its Large Scale counterpart. Maybe Bachmann can fix those issues in the N Scale versions.

When James gets announced next year, some N Scale rolling stock that I'm hoping would also get announced in 2020 include the Red Coaches, which are something the range needs sooner rather than later. We could also get a Mail Car for Percy, S.C. Ruffey because nearly every Thomas merchandise line in existence has made him, and possibly a Brake Van to help complete a train. We'll get the Express Coaches when Gordon gets announced within a few years or so. When Bachmann gets to Spencer, they should also make the Special Coach. Emily would also need her coaches as well. As for Toby, N Scale Henrietta should be nowhere near as problematic as Large Scale. Maybe we can even get Hannah.

Yeah, hopefully they see this thread and take our ideas and suggestions into account when working with the N Scale range. Finding ways to squeeze out more than one engine a year would be very beneficial. I definitely hope when they eventually make Diesel, they'll give him the grumpy face right away. Similarly, I'm sure that when Rosie's made in N Scale, she'll be her current red instead of her old pink. And since the designs will probably be CGI based, Spencer will probably have sleek silver paint. Maybe even by the time they get around to Oliver, Jam Filled may fix his CGI model. Hopefully however the Express Coaches and Spencer's Special Coach will be inspired by the Model Series/HO Scale designs. I'd be fine with CGI style Annie, Clarabel, and Troublesome Trucks but the Express Coach CGI design isn't really that good.

I didn't even consider the possibility of recolor rolling stock like the GW Van or the Water Tanker in this range but I can definitely see them carrying over to N Scale. Sounds fine to me. The more rolling stock the merrier I say. However I hope they'll first release all the important rolling stock items before getting into recolors (except for ones like Red Express Coaches or Hannah).

Currently, these are my predictions for the N Scale line in 2020:

James
Edward (if a second engine is possible)
Mail Van
Red Coach and Red Brake Coach
S.C.Ruffey
Brake Van

As the year goes on, I'll change my predictions accordingly as new information is revealed about the line. To close this post off, I just wanted to say that I've been thinking of characters that can be made in N Scale and I can't really think of many they couldn't. One that they might have trouble with is Stephen considering how small he is. I do hope he is possible though considering they probably won't make him in HO Scale. What characters do you guys think Bachmann may be unable to make in N Scale?

Quote from: Falcon the 2nd on February 20, 2019, 11:35:01 AM
Releasing two engines that are capable of sharing a single chassis together is an ideal way to approach character creation. Gordon and Henry's HO models were both released in the same year, so I can see it likely happening again in the N Scale lineup. And if Mavis isn't the perfect partner to release alongside Toby, I pretty much don't know who is.

Exactly. Gordon and Henry being released together is a very strong possibility considering they share the same chassis. So is Toby and Mavis. The main argument going for Mavis in Large Scale is that she can reuse Toby's chassis/cowcatcher mold and that would apply to N Scale as well once Toby is eventually made. I have a strong feeling as well that if/when Diesel is released in N Scale, that it's a good move to release Paxton alongside him. They share almost all of the same molds and an N Scale Paxton would probably have a much better face than the HO one considering they won't have to worry about moving eyes.

Of course, if sets of twins are announced for the line (like Bill and Ben, Donald and Douglas, Arry and Bert), they'd both be released side by side obviously. But I also want to say that next year in 2020, there might be a slight possibility we could get a second engine announced alongside James (because let's be honest, the next N Scale engine's gonna be James). If that does happen, I'm calling Edward since both he and James go well together and are around the same size. Since the first three years of HO Scale had at least two new engines being released each, something similar to that could happen with N Scale. Who knows, if N Scale turns out to be easier for Bachmann to produce we could see two N Scale engines every year but I highly doubt that. Either way, the possibilities of this new line have me excited and I'm interested to see where Bachmann takes it.

Quote from: TrainFan97 on February 20, 2019, 05:36:39 PM
I really hope we do eventually get the Explosives Van in HO Scale. I'd also like to see the Toffee and Chocolate Syrup Tankers get made in HO Scale someday. The HO Explosives Van is especially long overdue.

Me too. I absolutely love the Toffee Tanker and I really hope they make that in HO Scale along with the Chocolate Syrup Tanker and Explosives Van.

As for the Christmas set... eh. I mean it's cool they brought back the conflat (kinda) but I think it would've been much better if they had used the flatbed with a Christmas Tree load to call back to Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree. Seems like a missed opportunity to me.

Quote from: steakandcake on February 18, 2019, 09:35:50 PM
To be frank, I like the paint drums. Its a lot more colorful and vibrant than something like oil drums (even though oil drums would be a great load) I think I like the Paint Drum variant so much is because I really liked Calling All Engines as a kid, and still kinda do today (don't judge me) and the Flat Car with Paint Drums was exclusive to that special (to my knowledge. I also really love the almost 100% accurate mold for the Flat Car itself. I'm honestly surprised it's taken so long to rerelease the Flat Car with a new load. I just hope the new one with logs isn't green or has Sodor logos on it. I just want the original Flat Car in grey and that's it.

Shoot, I thought I was the only one. Calling All Engines is one of my favorite Thomas films but simply because of nostalgia reasons and since it was the first "real" Thomas movie to me. I know the movie was pretty dumb but I can't help but love it. Same goes for the original Flat Car with Paint Drums

However, I think it was a much better call for Bachmann to rerelease the Flat Car with a load like logs. Maybe someday they'll rerelease the original paint can version or maybe even one with a oil drums load (kinda like that S8 Percy episode) but right now the logs are perfectly fine. I just hope can eventually we get a varient with the Chinese Dragon or a Circus Flatbed if we ever get the Circus Train.

Quote from: TrainFan97 on February 16, 2019, 02:54:21 PM
@Streak, we don't want Bachmann to make Nia, Rebecca, or Philip in HO Scale, but I know you do have very unpopular opinions regarding the show's current direction. Given the fact that Nia and Rebecca are main characters now, they actually might get made eventually, if Bachmann has the budget to do so.

Now that Red Rosie is being made, all eyes for recolors will be on LBSC Thomas and/or Sidney for HO Scale. Two years after Paxton was announced, Sidney still remains pushed aside. If we can't get new toolings for budget reasons, then 2020 should be his year. Because of the 75th Anniversary, two recolors for HO Scale are not too out of the question. It can have one being Sidney, and the other being Green Thomas. If we can't get Sidney because of problems with his face, then another possibility would be Black James. Any of these three recolors, which include Sidney, Green Thomas, and Black James would all be welcomed with open arms. When we eventually do get Green Thomas and Black James, we can better recreate scenes from The Adventure Begins.

The Special edition for the 70th was Celebration Thomas. The special for the 75th should be HO Scale Green Thomas, with his LBSC livery. I'm sure that version of Thomas will sell better.

Rosie is the third engine in HO Scale to get a variation. The second was Diesel who got a Grumpy version. Thomas was the first, getting a sound-fitted model, then a Celebration version. James would have to be the fourth, being made in his black livery.

It's not even the fact that I'm neutral about the current show (while some changes I like, it does have very unnecessary and unwelcome changes like the shorter runtime), it's that I just genuinely like Philip, Nia, and Rebecca as characters. I can see why some people may not like Philip but most of the hate towards Nia and Rebecca I see is simply because they replaced Henry and Edward and not because they're actually "bad" characters. But this is not a discussion I want to get into, especially since this isn't the Everything Thomas thread.

I definitely think that unless the weird budget issues that Bachmann have been having are fixed sometime this year, it'll be safe to expect recolors like Green Thomas, Black James, and possibly Sidney. It would be great to get a new engine like Stepney, Daisy, Ryan, or Stanley but until Bachmann gets back on their feet, we shouldn't really expect much from the HO Scale line in 2020.