Extremely Impressed with how Stanley came out!

Hello Everyone, kept trying to post this to the forum but the picture wouldn't load for some reason. Anyway, Here are some concepts for some possible future HO human figure packs!

Instagram Link -https://www.instagram.com/p/DAT7gxKvMx8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Here's the picture in case it loads somehow on y'alls end.
You cannot view this attachment.

Not gonna lie, after hearing the explanation I totally understand and respect the decision to cancel it. Costs were too high, there were too many people to please, and the real life factor just wasn't gonna be there. It's disappointing, but not the end of the world.

Here's the weirdest thing with Rebecca:

I'm not sure how much The Reboot influences the Bachmann range, but Rebecca hasn't been in the reboot, so she hasn't appeared in the show since 2020.

Hiro, actually has appeared in the reboot.

I'm not saying I want them to make things purely based off the influence of the reboot, I just think it's a really weird choice, especially when Doug said on a livestream that characters like Stepney would be shadowed by newer characters like Rebecca due to relevancy, and Rebecca hasn't been relevant since the BWBA era, it just seems like an excuse for what seems like a Mattel push. I'm not saying that's fact, but it's personally what I believe.

Here is My Bachmann Wish list

This List is in Terms of what's actually feasible by Bachmann, so while I would Love to see Stepney, Boco, or the classic Breakdown train, they all probably would be shadowed by modern stuff. It's not to say they're Impossible, I just think including them here would be a little redundant.

I should also point out that this is a wish list, and not a prediction list for 2023.

Harvey

Harvey is a character I have Been Pushing for since last year. He is considered a "Classic series" Character, and has appeared in the CGI series. His design may be hard to work around, Especially if the crane arm will have some sort of functionality, but I feel Bachmann can make anything work. (I would also recommend getting rid of the Moving Eye Mechanism)

Diesel 10

Again Diesel 10 has appeared in both the model era and the CGI era. He is a very marketable character that always sells well in any range. Again, the claw might bring some Issues, However I just want it to be
pose-able. 

Whiff

Whiff is a Character I would want to see not only because I think he's a fun character, but his Basis has never been produced in HO/OO scale.

Hiro

Hiro is one of the best CGI characters ever, and by Bachmann producing Rebecca soon, that proves that bachmann is capable of doing more large tender engines. Hiro is also still relavent in the reboot surprisingly, And I would pay $200 for Hiro over Rebecca any day.

Merlin

This may be a Questionable Choice. But I love Merlin's character and basis. He's also a very moderate size tender engine, with a simple design that I feel makes him easy to produce.

Moving on to rolling stock,

Rocky

Rocky is a Character that I am surprised has not been talked about more. In Fact, I'm surprised Bachmann hasn't tried to produce a break down crane of any sort yet. Rocky has not only appeared in both era's of the show, but he has an appealing color scheme, and would sell very well. 

The Works Unit Coach

This would be a fun piece of rolling stock to add, and also could come in green and orange.

Tar Tanker Reintroduction (Troublesome truck #7)

I think lots of people were disappointed with Troublesome Truck #6 being based on the BWBA movie. However, as Bachmann shown with Troublesome Truck #5 and the spiteful breakvan, they are still willing to do rolling stock with classic era faces. Not only would I want to see the Tar Tankers reintroduced, They could also kill two birds in one stone by making it a troublesome tanker. Not only that, the tar tankers have been seen in the CGI series with a face.

Flat car or open Wagon With Pipes

I do think a Flat car with pipes is more likely (as on the one used for the logging car), however I also thought that the open wagons with pipes (as seen in Edward Strikes Out) would also work quite nicely. (would also go good with Rocky)

1-Plank wagon with Sir Topham Hatt's car

Sir Topham Hatt's car is a good Idea on it's own, however I think to Sweeten the deal it should be on a One plank wagon, a reference to Thomas and the Runaway Car, or Charlie and Eddie.

Trevor

Similarly, Can't go Wrong with Trevor.

Now for Large Scale, there's only one thing I want.

Large Scale Edward

Bachmann Haven't done many Characters for G scale, obviously for price reasons. However, Edward is a similar size to James, and is a classic character. He is the last thing Large scale Truly needs.

Sir Handel is all I ask. Thank you.

 Very interesting Question, as I would honestly be fine with both.

Boco is a classic character, the thing keeping him back is that he's only appeared in the model series, however many people will probably still argue that that doesn't mean he's not a possibility.

Diesel 10 is just plain cool looking. He's appeared in the CGI series and is very marketable. (although I won't be happy about the CGI face, but that's a topic for another thread).

Definitely would've preferred to see Stepney, however I am very Happy with Ryan as he is one of the best CGI characters.

The museum coaches I initially wasn't all to thrilled about, however once I saw them on the layout, they looked absolutely stunning.

I highly doubt Yellow Rhenaes will sell well, considering he's a more expensive narrow gauge engine, and his appearance wasn't as iconic as the Thomas, James, or Rosie recolors. Honestly, this may seem a little harsh, but I think Bachmann would just be better off canceling Yellow Rhenaes altogether. Cancelations haven't happened much, but honestly given the feedback, I think it would be for the best. I just don't know how feasible that would be.

Paxton looks fantastic as well. Very curious on how they did the eye mechanism.

Overall, I'm quite happy with this years announcements. 

In response to Terence's questions, I would definitely buy Smudger over Yellow Rhenaes any day, and definitely think that he would've been a better pick between the two. As for whether it'll make up for it, I don't know.

I highly doubt Yellow Rhenaes will sell well, considering he's a more expensive narrow gauge engine, and his appearance wasn't as iconic as the Thomas, James, or Rosie recolors. Honestly, this may seem a little harsh, but I think Bachmann would just be better off canceling Yellow Rhenaes altogether. Cancelations haven't happened much, but honestly given the feedback, I think it would be for the best. I just don't know how feasible that would be.

Going back to smudger, he would be very nice to see. Would be a very simple recolor besides the face.

I think Tidmouth tunnel would be a great location to model for a shelf layout.

Sir Handel will be made next after peter Sam, no doubt in my mind. Of course I want Bachmann to make Duncan, but they gotta do the four little engines first in my eyes. And I wouldn't mind if they used the darker blue as used on the CGI render. Not sure how much of a popular opinion this is but I actually prefer the darker blue, but again, just my opinion.

I also think the troublesome truck idea is a great one. I've always hated how small Bachmann's slate trucks are so a new tooling would be nice.

Overall, I think the presentation was fine. I was happy to see the new rolling stock models, (both HO and N) and diesel's large scale model looks great. I'm glad they dedicated a portion of the stream to Thomas after last weeks disappointment.

However, I'm very disappointed that we Daisy and Peter Sam have been delayed.

In response to Terrence's questions:

Yes, I would buy A Bachmann Stepney.

I'd think he'd be very popular with the older fans. I know there are some people who say how irrelevant he is and that he wouldn't be as popular with kids. (I used to be one of those people, believe it or not.) Frankly that shouldn't matter so long as we show Bachmann our love for him. Lets not forget that Duck was announced in 2012 before he returned to CGI. And even still, the majority of the people who use Bachmann are older fans of the show.

As for any other character that would be a better fit, I can't think of one. (In HO scale) the amount of support for Stepney has been immeasurable. Bachmann has always been good to us in the past, so let's hope they'll keep it up.

So here's what I want:

HO SCALE:

Stepney
Tar Wagon
Well wagon
Red Express coach
Red brake coach

Narrow gauge:
Sir Handel
Brown brake van

As for the other scales, I don't really know, seeing as I don't use them, but I'm still looking forward to February.

Remember this post by Bachmann's Twitter:

"Our product development team is well aware of the requests for Stepney and is exploring the possibility of producing it in the future."

I do very much like Origins James. However, I don't like the fact that Bachmann's Twitter account posted it a few days before and very poorly blurred it out to the point where people were making jokes about it. I would've been less disappointed about having only one announcement. I do wish more Thomas products were revealed, however, the entire presentation had very few products compared to last year. This is most likely due to the pandemic. This isn't just exclusive to the Thomas & Friends range. As the guy said there were only around 21 products announced in the presentation. I think the fact that it's the 75th anniversary is still irrelevant in my personal opinion because Mattel themselves only released a few products and isn't even pushing Thomas's 75th in the show anyway. It's not like I'll lose sleep over it, but I'm still disappointed. While I think the people running the twitter are great people who have good intentions, I think they need to handle announcements like this better in the future.

Remember, Stepney is still a likely candidate. Don't lose hope! 

I think that there's a possibility that they will base her face off the classic series because there hasn't ever been any new daisy merchandise with the new face. Might just be wishful thinking though. I can see it going With either The classic or cgi face.