Quote from: JLK2707 on February 08, 2020, 06:52:06 PM
It's possible that they just could have.

They didn't because the Tomix and Bachmann model's are built to different scales.

Thanks! Were you BluebellModeller on Rmweb? If so, how is your project going?

Alright, so as you guys know, there is a thread for both Narrow Gauge and Large Scale modelling, but not necessarily one for HO/OO scale. Anyone can post here on their projects with their models... the idea is pretty much the same as the two mentioned threads. I know that some people have layouts or have done some modelling, so post away!

I'll start off. As you may have seen on the Everything Thomas Topic or RMWeb (if any of you read that), I have been working on making Thomas a lot more accurate to Series 1. I wasn't pleased with how the smokebox saddle had turned out, so I decided to make a new one that's actually to scale (not done yet). The good thing is that this will also allow me to open up the area between the splashers and tanks. I also solved my problem with sourcing 6mm eyes by rolling some out of milliput, and I began work on the cab detail. I would have done more, but I found out the hard way that I don't have suitable wire cutters, so I will need to get some. I also began work on the way the face will be held to the smokebox. I made a mock-up of the cab to show what the detail looks like through the window, and posed the majority of the project so far together to see what it looked like.







Painting the eyes is going to be a priority for my next work session.




Forgot to add a pic of the cab interior itself.
And here's a picture of the actual model's cab interior.
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Awesome! Looks like they finally got Thomas' wheels right!

Quote from: Rodimus Supreme on January 29, 2020, 12:05:48 PM
Mattel owns the brand, they control everything. If Bachmann was given free reign to do whatever they wanted with the rolling stock, we wouldn't be getting these lazy, mediocre/outright ugly repaints. I have no idea where you guys are getting that Mattel doesn't/can't tell Bachmann what to do with the rolling stock, but they can with the engines. 

I think what STL meant was that it doesn't matter if the rolling stock is made to prototype specs or not, but, since a locomotive's appearance/proportions (like Rusty) would change a lot going off of the prototype compared to the character, Mattel is more likely to ask Bachmann to make the locomotive based off of how the character looks in the show.

Quote from: Ronniethe14xxx on January 29, 2020, 03:28:10 PM

Quote from: Rodimus Supreme on January 29, 2020, 12:05:48 PM
Mattel owns the brand, they control everything. If Bachmann was given free reign to do whatever they wanted with the rolling stock, we wouldn't be getting these lazy, mediocre/outright ugly repaints. I have no idea where you guys are getting that Mattel doesn't/can't tell Bachmann what to do with the rolling stock, but they can with the engines.  

Pretty sure most of the repaints where Bachmann's decisions to get the most out of the molds and not Mattel's? Why would Mattel request things like the Water tanker, the scrap wagon, the logging flatbed, etc. Just doesn't make much sense really. Obviously Mattel does have some influence, but I don't think blaming them for the repaints, or at least most of them, is the right call.

A lot of the new recolors in the Bachmann line came after they showed up in Mattel's other ranges, so that's why a lot of us are sure Mattel makes those decisions.

Hey, can anyone tell me what Edward's wheel diameter (without flanges) is in mm? If not, could you say if the wheels are bigger or smaller than Thomas'?

Quote from: Ronniethe14xxx on January 17, 2020, 09:49:02 PM
Since we have to wait till July for the new catalog

The new catalog should still come out in February. Even if there are no new Thomas announcements, Bachmann has all of their regular lines and scales that they could announce stuff for.

Quote from: Rodimus Supreme on November 01, 2019, 09:02:17 PM
They look cool, but is it just me or are Annie and Clarabel a little...large?

They are, but that's how they are in the current show, so it's technically accurate, even though it's not ideal.

I really like your idea! It's got almost everything, except for mentioning the wheel size. Bachmann got that for the N Scale Thomas though, so if they were to do this, they'd likely get that correct. I'm not gonna lie, I'd totally buy that if Bachmann were to make it.

Quote from: STL on October 18, 2019, 09:14:14 PM
Probably to see what N scale they've actually scaled them to. The Tomix stuff is quite overscaled compared to normal UK N scale. Given what's been shown, it looks like Bachmann have smartly scaled them to the UK's N scale, especially given the range is due to release about the same time in the UK as the US.

I emailed Bachmann about the scaling when the prototype pictures were released. They said they made them to American N Scale (1:160), which seems to be correct due to Thomas's wheel size. Bachmann finally put the correct wheel size on, which seems to be around 49 inches in scaled up diameter, looking at various pictures of the series 1-3 Thomas alongside the wagons in the show. This was also really close to how my currently halted project revising Bachmann's OO Scale Thomas to Series 1 condition, with only slightly undersized replacement wheels (the Bachmann Thomas had the larger wheels from Thomas & the Magic Railroad). The wheels were changed back to original size after series 7, and retained to the CGI Series. The correct wheel diameter also happens to be very close to the USRA 0-6-0 wheel diameter (within 3/4th inches). Looking at the N Scale USRA 0-6-0, it seems to have the same wheel diameter (using the sleepers as reference) to the wheels put on the N Scale Thomas prototype. Sorry about the super long response.
-TrainMan2001

To add to what Terence said, Duck was announced and released before coming back to the series as well, and I a lot of people were excited when he was announced.

Peter Sam was announced during the summer.

Looking at various pictures, the track makes it look like the range will be smaller than the Tomix models.

Yes! I enjoyed reading your old layout thread (and your locomotive modifications), so I'm really excited to see how this progresses.

Quote from: TerencetheTractor525 on September 24, 2019, 03:37:39 PM
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!

The thing that caught my attention the most is that it said Bachmann and Mattel have a 2 year contract with each other from mid-2020 onwards. If that's true, that means Bachmann can hopefully announce and make new items at least for the duration of my mission. I had no idea if that was going to happen or not, but it definitely makes me more excited to see what Bachmann has in mind, especially for narrow gauge.