Going to add the remainder of the items in the pipeline bar what was on Thomas Tuesday this week as a follow up to my last post here, just for a reference point for myself and anyone else who may find it useful.

Sir Handel is now the only item with an unpainted sample, and also the only item with a sample right now without an early 2025 release date. We also know DCC Thomas and Percy are "making good progress" but hard to say where they are beyond that. Exactly when the stuff will drop that was said to drop in early 2025 is hard to gauge as well, my best guess is in the post above but it's still ultimately a best guess.

Some of the existing announcements are stuff that are simply prexisting models recolored. The LMS brakevan in N (reused from Farish), the tar tanker, and the diesel flatbed are all existing tools, just redecod. So, the release of them should hopefully be rather quick. Which I imagine was deliberate for the NMRA 2024 and 2024 as a whole. Get some other rolling stock out in all scales where there were holds in production with new molds. Slate trucks in narrow gauge, some simpler wagons for HO, and Hannah and the brakevan for N. Push something easier out while development on other stuff is worked on in the background, a smart move in my opinion.

Then there are items that are primarily reused but have one small thing that'll be changed. Sidney and Mainland Diesel fall here, they only need a new face presumably. The China Clay wagon also falls here because the load is said to be new via New Model Monday. Salty also falls here, but he's a little more complicated. He likely needs a new mechanism based on the comment of what parts of the mold have degraded. He's still on indefinite hold, but my hope is he is the priority for HO development for most of next year to get that highly demanded character out for the market.

Everything else is primarily new. This includes the open carriage blue, the gondolas, the gunpowder wagons, N Paxton, N Diesel, N Henry, Bulgy, and the N express coaches. All of these bar Henry have prices and are up for preorder, so if nothing else price from the factory for manufacturing has been decided for most of these. Also worth noting some of these (the 08's and narrow gauge wagons) will have multiple products delivered from one mold, so that'll help clear up the pipeline even more once all are finished. They did a pretty good job getting a large chunk of the backlog done, and here's hoping that can continue into 2025. Now that the high side wagons are mostly finalized, imagine work is starting on the Gondolas. Same with the NMRA 2023 N announcements now that everything prior to that is about to be released. Same with Bulgy now that the car is done, and so on.

Going to end this off on a question, what is everyone most excited for from the remaining items yet to release? Stanley is definitely the big one for me, but the open carriage, figures, and Bulgy are ones I am also very excited for.

I don't think there's been a release date confirmed for the Gondolas and Stanley yet but if I were to guess would be early Spring Human figures and G scale set will likely be sometime before that since they are already in package and Doug made it clear he wants the human figures out ASAP. Not really sure where the TR coaches will fall, might drop separately like Talyllyn herself.

2025 is already looking bright in terms of new releases for the line, last year before this big November (and potential December, may also be pushed back to January) drop we only had Beau and the museum coaches. We're already on track to beat that. Can't wait to see what people do with all of these releases. The human figures especially are going to help bring this world alive.

Also, really can't wait to see Sir Handel. Already have friends who are big fans of the character and are debating caving on the narrow-gauge line for him. He is going to be a huge hit I can already feel it. I saw Sir Hayden in person this summer and this Sir Handel model looks nearly dead on while also being so faithful to the character. Is it too early to say I think he is the best of the line? I cannot wait to see him fully painted

Think you're just missing the china clay wagon and TR coaches if you want to count those for the shown category. The coaches are already confirmed for early next year.

Everything on the air shipment has arrived with Bachmann today. Trainworld will have them at the latest next week.  As a refresher this is Emily in N, her coaches, N Gordon, N Henrietta, the 12 ton vans, Rebecca, and the Topham car. 
 
The slate trucks, Emily set, and Hannah are set to arrive in stock around post-Christmas, between new years, may potentially be pushed back to 2025 but will be very early.

Human figure packs are in box, Doug is unsure when they'll release. Early 2025 at some point. Really cool to see all of these in box products right now. They all look so good.

Also shown off is painted Stanley. Literally perfect I have no notes. He is so good love how the paint finish comes off on camera.  That's it for Thomas Tuesday Bachmann wise.  However, the guest Knowah does some really awesome stuff. I got to see some of their stuff in person in January. They are so much like the show highly recommend going to see them at a train show if you are ever able to.

I have some thoughts from Christian's stream that I wanted to share here regarding two product suggestions.

Firstly, I was the one who mentioned Norman in the stream chat, and he actually said something interesting I had never considered. When I was considering Norman, I was always considering the fact he could be reused for Dennis. However, Christian made the point people may but two Norman's to make Dennis out of the gate. Something I'd never really thought of before, and it's true. That could easily boost his sales. I was already pretty big on Norman being sooner rather than later, but that just gave me more justification for him.

On to the resin buildings. On New Model Monday they actually discussed the resin buildings potentially coming back. Their response was very much "Not in the cards right now, but we wouldn't be opposed to it and may look into it."  I loved Christian's suggestions regarding the resin line. I think bringing the signal box back is a must. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the signal box was the first one removed from the catalog, which at least to me suggests it sold out from the final resin batch first. (Typically it would mean the opposite, but IIRC the resin line had stopped production all together and remaining items in the catalog were left over stock). It's definitely very popular. Maithwaite is also a good choice, however, I much prefer the method Mulfred suggested for selling the stations. That's how Hornby used to do it and I think it would boost sales across the line. Say if Ffarquhar got announced, selling the platform separate from the main building would allow consumers to buy the second platform that is seen in the CGI Series. Let people build it how they want it rather than only offering it as the building and a single platform. The retaining wall Christian mentioned is also a very smart pick.

I have a bit of an out their suggestion for the resin line that's been in my brain since that livestream, and once again will be curious on everyone's thoughts once again. I don't think it should necessarily be in the immediate relaunch; I think the ones Christian suggested are the perfect candidates, but I still wanted to throw it a bone.

Toby's Shed


Now, a pretty iconic location in its own right. It's where one of the most popular characters lives, and has been in the series for many years. However. I wanted to suggest a wider appeal reason in favor of it.

In CGI they actually made the same asset for Toby's shed twice. There were some differences, but they are miniscule. This is actually the same way for the Iron Twins and Diesel if anyone was curious, they are actually completely different remade assets, not modified from Diesel. (Paxton and Sidney may be the same way but I'm not as sure on that front)

The second Toby's shed is used at McColl's farm .


Now, some differences for it exist as shown in this image. But you could still plop Toby's shed as is down on a layout and still use it as this farm shed. If they wanted to go for complete accuracy customer could mod it themselves, or Bachmann could include accessories but that may be a harder sell. In the model series these buildings are the exact same however, so it'd really come down to the preference of the modeler. The building is also reused for a few other things in the model series, Elizabeth's shed comes to immediate mind. There may be other examples as well I'm forgetting.  My ultimate point is this shed could have multiple uses. And therefore, could have wider appeal. Fans may either buy multiples to plop permanently on layouts, or even if they buy only one it could be used for a variety of set building purposes. I think it would prove a popular destination, especially if they specifically marketed it as Toby's shed because that association may help it even further.

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Quote from: Mulfred100 on November 14, 2024, 03:15:34 AMI'm sorry but it sounds like your friend isn't asking the right questions.  It too me sounds like they asked "are you making Henry because you have Gordon's Chassis?" And not "will Henry share the same Chassis as Gordon?" Or "will Henry reuse Gordon's Chassis?" I mean what exactly was the question they asked? Because it does sound to me based on what you wrote that was "are you making Henry because you have Gordon's Chassis?"

However based on the CGI Orthos, the history of the model series and how Bachmann made the HO there's 0 reasons why Bachmann won't reuse it again for N Scale for not only a cost effective production but also keeping consistent with the show. Why spend extra money on producing a new chassis tooling when you already have the perfect one in your arsenal?

Arguing about it just sows seeds of doubt and isn't helpful.

For clarification, as I'm acting as my friend's surrogate because he doesn't particularly like to use this forum anymore, the exact question (or rather questions) asked were "Will Henry reuse Gordon's chassis?" followed up by "Was he chosen because it would be easier to reuse the chassis" You're actually pretty right on the money, but he was careful with his questions for that reason to get the best universal answer.  He may have also asked more to clarify further those are just the exact ones he forwarded to me, among other things.

Answer given by the rep: We chose Henry because he was a popular character, no design work has been looked into yet (to his knowledge). Whether we will reuse the chassis or not will come down to looking at the cgi references to see if they can be. If Gordon's chassis are deemed not accurate enough, they will just make a new one.

Given Toad is a new mold in N scale even though he could have been reused from the graham farish tooling I'm not particularly sure where cheapness and ease falls for N scale. Since his exact reasons outlined were the existing tooling wasn't accurate enough. Now not a one to one example. Him being rolling stock was a cheaper new mold justification then a new mechanism, he's just the only example in N so far. Don't think we'll have an answer regarding Henry until reveal. Personally, betting on chassis reuse though, looking at the CGI ortho sheets they're the exact same after all.

Didn't particularly want this to become an argument. Was just responding to person saying "it will definitely be recycled" to say we shouldn't use that kind of hard statement when we don't know for sure. Not trying to cause an argument or doubt, just trying to keep this place as informative as possible with the info we do have.  Not everyone was at the NMRA show, so figured any clarifications from said show would be helpful.

Not entirely related but that rep was really nice, asked Streak if there were any items he wanted to see unprompted, and that list would be forwarded to the design team. Let him hold the new Hannah sample as well, think the first in hand pictures we got of her came from him. Really shows how much this company respects the fans and their voices.

Again, never said they wouldn't. The rep that talked with Streak Smeargle said that the chassis sharing did not factor into the announcement of Henry at all, just his popularity. Any potential design reuse or thought would come later when they looked at his cgi design. All I was trying to say is we shouldn't assume it will be reused until we see a sample or get official confirmation, which is what the user above did saying  "considering he's recycling Gordon's chassis without the trailing wheels" which has not been stated. Can't use the HO models as reference either because they're not CGI based. Could be different here for that reason. Personally, I suspect they'll still be reused anyway cause they're the same even in CGI, but let's not assume until any confirmation is given.

There is no confirmation Henry will reuse Gordon's chassis, in fact the Bachmann rep my friend talked to at the NMRA show in California outright said the chassis being reuseable is not something they had considered in terms of planning to make Henry. Doesn't mean it won't be, but best to not assume one way or the other until it's actually revealed. Time will tell and we still have two other engines to get through first. Their prices have been finalized for a while, so I am a little surprised we haven't seen the 08's yet. However, given they likely prioritized getting Gordon and Emily completed for this holiday season I guess it's not that surprising.

My biggest hope is to see the Open Carriage sample. It is I believe now the oldest product announced with no sample shown yet. DCC Thomas and Percy are older but since they're seemingly the same and have just hit a snag that's different. I have it and some of the humans figures on preorder and hope to be able to have them for next year.

Christian has already confirmed there will not be a Thomas Tuesday stream in December and will resume in January, would be neat if there is a New Model Monday but I think part of the reason Thomas Tuesday skips December is just because of how busy that season is, so idk if they'll do either personally. We should see this weeks stream announced today, or if not we'll see it was pushed back another week.

Makes sense, they're usually not accurate but thought this time could be different but that may have been a bit optimistic. I noticed some of the items on indefinite hold like the DCC engines, Salty, and a few of the narrow-gauge wagons don't have placeholder dates anymore. Kind of hope that becomes universal just because that feels more useful to the consumers then changing the placeholder dates every so often. Some also have placeholder dates up to December 2025 which is partially why I thought the 16th date may be more set in stone because it seemed the other placeholders were already moving over to next year, but that isn't universal it appears which was my fault for not checking everything. Either way we should see them soon. Fingers crossed for the end of the month. Looking forward to seeing stuff on layouts, especially the Hatt car and circus vans in consists. That's going to be a treat

Quote from: RailsByRick on November 11, 2024, 05:49:30 PMJust got my shipping notification from TrainWorld for my Talyllyn pre-order. They seem to have shipped to retailers before going up on Bachmann's own web store. Really hoping the new N Scale Thomas items are here soon. The November 16th release date that keeps being thrown around is most likely a placeholder.

I'm unsure actually. The 16th is the date they set for all the items that are coming in the air drop shipment. But I don't recall if that date was already in place or not, do you happen to know? I've been using it as a reference point but if it's a prexisting placeholder I don't want to be spreading misinfo to other people. I thought it was a recent addition but has just occurred to me I'm not 100% sure. They'll most likely clarify on stream in 2 days

The stream is on Thursday, they already confirmed a stream via their twitter, and Christian clarified it will be this Thursday because of the PECO stream. Weirdly no Thomas Tuesday facebook post, when the streams are on Thursdays do they usually skip posting on there? I don't actually recall so I logged in to ask

Quote from: DustyMarie53! on November 08, 2024, 11:01:13 AMWith the express coaches I imagine part of it is still they haven't quite figured out how they're going to tackle them. They said they started the design phase but also in the same streams will say they haven't. Also, as of last update they still haven't figured out how they want to handle the body. I think that update was a bit ago so perhaps things have changed but have a feeling they might have prioritized the November batch + Hannah and the train set for the time being. I'd suspect an update to be given soonish but I'm not particularly shocked we have yet to see them yet with the design decisions they have to make.

Logging back in quickly to say the N express coaches only went up for preorder at the end of August (on the 31st exactly), which is when they get the estimates back from the factory and start actual production after that, so I'd expect to see an unpainted sample around the winter time probably. Personally really excited to see them. I don't personally collect N but I have friends that do so I'm always really happy for them when products get shown off. I will be buying Henrietta though. I have her other CGI toys, a shame there were only three before this but look forward to adding a fourth to my collection.

On their facebook Bachmann has also confirmed the TR coaches are shipping early next year for anyone here who is interested in those. Trainworld has also confirmed there will be a Thomas Tuesday this week so look forward to seeing some product updates

Quote from: Mulfred100 on November 08, 2024, 11:23:49 AMWell firstly I'm not being rude I'm simply stating its not even 2025 yet. As I said there's 16 weeks till the train show which alot can happen in that time in way of where products are, how close they are to releasing and so on. And I'll be honest you do come across blunt and confrontational every time I reply to you. Like the other day that whole high horse act with Nia which simply could have been "well she's a core character to the show. I for one would like to see her" and leave it at that. It turns into a big mission statement of you vs the entire fourm which isn't the case at all. We all have our favourites who we want to see in the range and we all share an equally valuable opinion.

And I am sorry if this is harsh and I truly don't mean it to be but think about the world outside and what's currently happening. I know this is meant to be an escape but honestly arguing over catalogues or what will release when is very silly in the grand scheme of it all. Don't try to think too far ahead. We all know the patterns by now and as I say no one is currently saying "well I want this and this and this announced in the 2025 catalogue and this and this in the NMRA"

You're right. I need to take a step back. Just took a drive and am a lot calmer now then this morning. Part of my bluntness especially recently is feeling the need to argue and talk on here because I have a lot on my plate I won't delve into here. I'm trying to think super far ahead because when I get stressed that's what I do. And I'll still probably do that just in a notes app instead of here. I wasn't trying to come off as to tell people stop requesting things, but it came off that way I'm realizing on reflection. Even then I have been dismissive of others' ideas before, what did me saying Porter isn't likely to be soon add when you also said that in your original post for example, I was just talking to talk at that point and clogging the board up.

In regard to Nia specifically. I do have a very much "me vs the world" mentality with her because, I've been on here since 2019 and back then even the prospect of suggesting her and Rebecca was shut down aggressively. But it's not like that anymore, and Mulfred your message highlighted that for me really well, regarding Nia I mean. I think that was a really good point about giving attention to less important characters given she is a very likely candidate for a new model and was well phrased. I'll try to not be us vs them with her in future simply because it's not like that anymore. Thank you for pointing that out, I will work on it.

I'm probably going to log out for the time being, and only get active when there's big news like a Thomas tuesday comment regarding characters, or new reveal like the UK stuff. I realize I've been using this more of a crutch then actually being helpful with commentary at present. And at this point, even if unintentional, resulting in negativity and I'd rather that not be my impact on here, and your honesty got that through, so once again I do appreciate it. I did need to hear it. Take care

With the express coaches I imagine part of it is still they haven't quite figured out how they're going to tackle them. They said they started the design phase but also in the same streams will say they haven't. Also, as of last update they still haven't figured out how they want to handle the body. I think that update was a bit ago so perhaps things have changed but have a feeling they might have prioritized the November batch + Hannah and the train set for the time being. I'd suspect an update to be given soonish but I'm not particularly shocked we have yet to see them yet with the design decisions they have to make.