Troublesome Trucks

[TerencetheTractor525]

Hey guys!

A few months ago, I went to a hobby shop that sells Bachmann Thomas items. I asked the guy behind the counter which products sell best. He told me that the troublesome trucks sell very well. As we all know, Bachmann is currently in the process of making Troublesome Truck #5. I'm sure that we can all agree that he looks magnificent! I mean, he has a classic face! Anyways, the point of this new subject is to come up with other troublesome trucks Bachmann could make in the future. This is could include the kind of truck and the face. Anyways, here are links to the two trucks that I would love to see in the future:

1. http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/b/b1/ToadStandsBy11.png/revision/latest?cb=20150331000644
    (Any of the tankers)
2. http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/3/38/TheSpotlessRecord32.png/revision/latest?cb=20150210212654
    (This surprised face using the Ice Cream Wagon or Ventilated Van tooling painted in a nice brown color)

I can't wait to hear what you guys think. 

[sean1994rail]

I unsure of a tanker being used for a troublesome truck, but if they do, I would suggest reusing the discontinued tar tanker, that way people can buy a few of them with the face and a few where they can remove them, thus making them normal tar tankers.

For van toolings:

Ice cream wagon, painted light orange like brown, with a cross face.

Ventilated van, Painted chocolate brown, with a surprised face.

[TerencetheTractor525]

Hi sean1994rail!

I'm extremely sorry for the late reply, but your ideas sound terrific. Do you by any chance have an idea for what cross and surprised face you prefer?

[sean1994rail]

Hi sean1994rail!

I'm extremely sorry for the late reply, but your ideas sound terrific. Do you by any chance have an idea for what cross and surprised face you prefer?

My Cross Face suggestion


My Surprised Face suggestion

[Chaz]

Well seeing as how I said I would give my thoughts on the next troublesome truck idea, as well as being asked to post in this thread by Terencethetractor525, I figured might as well follow through with that.  Even though I don't see anymore troublesome trucks happening for a while here is my suggestion.

If we go off the idea of Bachmann reusing another mainline/branchline tooling, my idea is pretty close to both of yours which would be a van (same tooling as the ice cream wagon) repainted with a new face particularly the one shown here:


Each of the troublesome trucks has a unique facial expression to tell them apart, and seeing as how we have never had an "angry" troublesome truck face, I think this would be the most likely candidate.

[Metal]

Well, considering this thread, I might have a few suggestions.

This one is my personal favorite.



(obnoxious jump scare horror movie sound effects not included.)


While I don't expect Bachmann to make the van's body itself do it's size being over the NMRA standards, at least slapping the face on one of their existing vans would be good enough.


Also, I actually wouldn't mind if Bachmann threw in this face as well.


There's my suggestions.

[WilsonProductions2]

I agree with you Metal, that we should get these faces on future Troublesome Trucks, on the wagon type you seem as in the images. The top one is also my favourite. It looks very cartoonish, comical and something funny to look at. That would put a smile on my real life face, if that face was running around my layout on a Closed Van or a Ventilated Van.

[Plow_Bender]

Alright, lets talk large scale.  While I was going to post this in the Thomas & Friends in 2017 thread, I feel like this thread would be more appropriate.  Ever since Bachmann released the vans in large scale, Troublesome Truck #3 has been something that's stuck in the back of my mind for some time now.  I touched briefly on this particular model being made in the Thomas & Friends in 2017 thread, along with a few other things I would like to see/predicted for the range in 2017.

So why should Bachmann make Troublesome Truck #3 in large scale?  As I think most of us have learned by now, Bachmann prefers to do large scale models (in terms of rolling stock) that they can reuse/recolor.  If Bachmann were to make a Troublesome Truck #3, why not make it by doing a recolor of the Ice Cream Wagon?  Personally I think Bachmann could easily get away with making a brown van and putting a face on it, similar to what we have here...

here...

or here.


If Bachmann did reuse their existing Ice Cream Wagon tooling and simply put a face on it, it would help save on those high production costs I keep bringing up.  While I was going to throw in a few photos of the various faces Bachmann could use for Troublesome Truck #3, I feel it would just add a bunch of unnecessary clutter to this post.  I'd rather stick with the basics right now and besides, I think the photos above pretty much cover what many large scale Thomas modelers want to see.  Another advantage to Troublesome Truck #3 is that it's a piece of rolling stock that people are sure to buy 2 or more of in some cases.  As I've said many times before, "You can never have enough troublesome trucks."

So are there any negatives to Bachmann making Troublesome Truck #3?  Personally the only negative I can see is that this style of troublesome truck hasn't been seen in the CGI series, which the large scale models are pretty much based on.  However, models such as Annie and Clarabel, the Troublesome Trucks, Tar Wagon, and the Raspberry Syrup Tanker are in their model series forums, so I really don't see where there's any room to argue that claim with Troublesome Truck #3.  On top of that, the Explosives, Great Western, and Sodor Fruit & Vegetable Co. vans weren't in CGI either, yet we still have those.  I think I've proven my point.

Something else (which I'll just mention briefly), is that Bachmann could easily do another recolor with the tankers, and make another troublesome truck similar to what's below.  The only problem I see with this though is that these tankers only appeared in 1 episode of the series, and haven't been seen since.  Considering they're 1 off characters (that's what I'm calling them, so deal with it...) chances of them being made are probably about as likely as killing a bird by throwing it off a cliff.  Still, it's an easy model if Bachmann wanted to take a stab at it.



So in conclusion, I feel that Troublesome Truck #3 is a good chance for Bachmann to introduce something into the range that's sure to be a hot product if announced in 2017.  Granted, I do have that nagging feeling that although its simple and would make a great model, we'll probably get something nobody wants like a circus van or a Mr. Jolly's sugar car.  Still, I'm not one for jumping to conclusions, so I guess the only thing to do for now is wait and see what happens.

-Rusty

[TerencetheTractor525]

Thank you so much for posting your ideas guys! It really means a lot. Every single suggestion sounds great! I don't think that any of us are expecting another troublesome truck in the HO range for 2017 (unless a miracle happens  ) However, let's hope that we may get Troublesome Truck #3 in the large scale range. As Plow Bender mentioned, it would make sense in terms of production costs.

[Plow_Bender]

At this point, I can't see any reason for Bachmann not to make a Troublesome Truck #3 for large scale.  It's so simple, yet would gain a lot of interest and lead to a large number of sales.  Troublesome Truck #3 could potentially be the best selling piece of rolling stock the large scale range has had for some time, but a statement that has yet to be proven.  I think we can all agree though that it would be a much better choice of rolling stock instead of something like a circus van or fruits and vegetables van.

On the topic of faces for the van though, I'd like to revisit that.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but Metal brought up a great face idea in his post below.

This one is my personal favorite.

After researching (which a few people on here fail to do...) the faces used on the van, I found the same face was once on this style of van as seen here.



Although I was really interested in faces like what I showed in my earlier post, I can't tell you the number of people that would go crazy over a Troublesome Truck #3 like this.  Bottom line, this face wins every time, hands down.  I know there's probably some that will argue and say Bachmann can put whatever face on whatever piece of rolling stock they want, but lets not bring up the HO Troublesome Trucks #3 and #4 please...

In terms of what I have mentioned in regards to a large scale Troublesome Truck #3 in this post, I say it's a win if Bachmann decides to go with it.  As a recap of what I've said earlier, it's simple, saves on production cost, would have a positive number of sales, and would just look pretty damn cool.  In my opinion, they've got a lot of room to play here with this model, so I say pull the trigger and make it happen.

-Rusty

[Metal]

Following up on my last post.

Response to Plow Bender

I was also thinking that since most of the Thomas rolling stock is from their old Mainline Range.
I was thinking that they could rehash this lovely little piece.



The Sliding Door could perhaps be a good marketing gimmick.
Stick any kind of Troublesome Truck face on it.

Well at least Bachmann would sell this sort of thing better than a steam engine with Transformer fire hoses.

What do you think?

[WilsonProductions2]

I know this has gone into discussion before, but I would much prefer Ventilated Vans in the Thomas & Friends range to have sliding doors. Moving parts adds a bit more play into the product. I am sure children (And myself!), would love more wagons where you open the doors and load them up with accessories! It would be fun!

The questionable thing about it though, would be hath opening and / or sliding doors would be easy to break off. As for this, this maybe why Bachmann don't add this features to their Thomas & Friends range, just like adding detail like handrails etc, which is all detail tags could get broken off by baby children.

[DinoNTrains]

I whole-heartedly agree on a sliding door van! It would be a great gimmick for consumers. And add any one of the above faces and, boom, you've got a great product.

[WilsonProductions2]

^ It would add a lot of play and would be my favourite piece of rolling stock in the range then, if Bachmann released one.

Bachmann should release a Troublesome Truck, as a van or a tanker though.

[Captain Crutch]

I think if Bachmann doesn't release a tanker troublesome truck then a troublesome truck with a sliding door would be great. As for breaking the door I've had a Bachmann box car with an opening door for years (or atleast I think it's Bachmann) and never has it broken off. Never got stuck either, the doors don't typically have anything happen to them in my experience atleast. So I think it's a good possibility.