So in a recent Thomas Tuesday it was said if the demand was there they would consider giving the thomas in the 80th set a exclusive new face

Now this face would be a nice piece to include and I could see the sales for this set skyrocketing out of the roof on the resale market, this set would go for tons and just the Thomas alone would be at least $100 by him self . There was a lot of people that wanted this to happen myself included.

They could also reissue RWS thomas from this set by himself for the 85th in 2030.

Please reply or like this post for the demand of RWS Thomas face . Other companies have made RWS Thomas and have given him exclusive faces .

I think having a unique face would give people an actual incentive to buy the set. To me, the choice of wagons and a slightly different paintjob isn't enough for me to consider purchasing the 80th anniversary set. However, if it had a unique RWS themed face, that would give the model some novelty that sets it apart from every other Bachmann Thomas in a brand new way. It'd be the cherry on top, so to speak.

It's a minor nitpick, but I also think the paintjob should be a more desaturated turquoise blue, to match the Reginald Payne illustration. The Plarail 80th Anniversary Thomas set is doing this, and it makes a world of a difference.


I also don't think the face even needs to be designed around the moving eye mechanism either; the charm of the Railway Series faces is the more "hand-drawn" look, and trying to incorporate the moving eye mechanism into that could complicate what's a simple design. I imagine ideally, they'd have an enclosed faceplate that just goes over the eye mechanism.

I definitely want different faces for all the engines but specifically for the 80th. I agree the moving eyes don't matter give us a new face. 

I'm glad Bachmann is open to discussion about changing the face for the 80th set. I really hope they're able to as it would absolutely put it over the top. Hopefully it will then influence them to create more newly tooled faces for the older models that need it.

I'm of two minds on this. On one hand, the face would be a really nice bonus. However, with the pipeline having so much to work on as is, I do worry delaying this pack just for the face would mean it missing the anniversary year window and thus feeling less special. Admittedly people will probably buy it anyway, me included, but it being tied with this year specifically I think will help its sales a lot.

A nice potential middle ground would be if they updated the face print itself. The original promos were technically based on the rws drawings. Giving it a darker palette and some other small cosmetics could easily make it look like the face from the books without having to sculpt a new mold. Ultimately, I'll be happy with what whatever road they choose

Quote from: DustyMarie53! on February 04, 2025, 07:14:44 PMI'm of two minds on this. On one hand, the face would be a really nice bonus. However, with the pipeline having so much to work on as is, I do worry delaying this pack just for the face would mean it missing the anniversary year window and thus feeling less special. Admittedly people will probably buy it anyway, me included, but it being tied with this year specifically I think will help its sales a lot.

On the bright side, if it's delayed for 2026, at least it'll be good for the anniversary of the second book as it'll be 80 years since Thomas' book.

Honestly a great point! It'd still celebrate Thomas's original first appearance, so it would still work out that way. In that case yeah, going for a full on new face mold would still work out

Then there's the fact that since this'll be just a single batch run, meaning we'll need to make sure we can snag our preorders in to avoid the fear of missing out, so them making a new RWS face would be a unique moulding and exclusive to this set. Heck, IF this pans out, we could see potential changes here and there, like maybe getting the long-awaited updated faces to the older models released in 2002 that really need the new faces. Now wouldn't that be something to think about...?

Quote from: DustyMarie53! on February 04, 2025, 07:14:44 PMI'm of two minds on this. On one hand, the face would be a really nice bonus. However, with the pipeline having so much to work on as is, I do worry delaying this pack just for the face would mean it missing the anniversary year window and thus feeling less special. Admittedly people will probably buy it anyway, me included, but it being tied with this year specifically I think will help its sales a lot.

A nice potential middle ground would be if they updated the face print itself. The original promos were technically based on the rws drawings. Giving it a darker palette and some other small cosmetics could easily make it look like the face from the books without having to sculpt a new mold. Ultimately, I'll be happy with what whatever road they choose

Cool props announced in 2020 a LBSC Thomas for the 75th and it's not even out yet
I also think the 80th technically could extend to 2026 so it technically will be celebrating the actual 80th anniversary of Thomas himself if the site comes out in 2026 it won't be a bad idea at all considering nothing in that set is based on the three railway engine.
Obviously, I would like it to come out as soon as possible, but an exclusive face delay it to the proper year would actually work out for the best .

However, I think that getting this face designed as soon as possible and getting the set out as soon as possible would work out for the best .

On a side note Bachmann will need to make this decision very very soon .

I definitely like the idea that even if deciding to add a new tooled face could delay the product, it could still tie into Thomas' books anniversary, which would be celebrating its 80th after the Three Railway Engines; it gives some extended marketability potential to the 80th Anniversary.