Thomas & Friends in 2017

[thomasj219]

Excellent points and probably accurate. I would love to see the Red Coaches or the Mail Car, but we'll see.

[JLK2707]

How about someone just builds their own large scale model of henrietta and starts selling that if it becomes popular?

[Plow_Bender]

How about someone just builds their own large scale model of henrietta and starts selling that if it becomes popular?

Because that is a good way to end up with a lawsuit on your hands.  Let me explain it like this.

If Bachmann wants to make a certain Thomas model(s), it has to be run by HIT before the model(s) is even announced.  Basically Bachmann tells HIT what they want to see in the range, HIT tells them whether or not they can make said models, and if HIT approves, Bachmann has to pay them a certain amount to obtain a license before production begins.  The same thing applies to the Bachmann Chuggington stock, but of course a license there is obtained from Disney.  The point I'm making is that Bachmann can't produce something like Thomas & Friends without a certain percentage of the profit going back to the rightful owners.  Sad, but true...

It's the same when it comes to anything else that replicates something belonging to a big franchise.  If a company such as Lego wants to make Indiana Jones brick sets, they have to pay for a license from Universal.  If Funko wants to produce My Little Pony figures, they have to pay for a license from Hasbro.  If Mattel wants to produce CARS play sets, they have to pay for a license from Disney/Pixar.  If ERTL wants to produce Model A tractors, they have to obtain a license from John Deere.  If Pez wants to produce Scooby Doo candy dispensers, they have to get a license from Warner Brothers.  Just to name a few examples.

Now crazy as it sounds, I've seen a lot of people producing merchandise for the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, but none of them have licenses from Hasbro to be doing this.  I've seen many online sellers making plushies, necklaces, key rings, posters, figures, ETC.  I should also mention that some of the merchandise they produce can bring hundreds to thousands of dollars when it sells, and that's something I find very astonishing.  Even so, (at least as far as I'm aware) no one has run into any legal issues with this. 

However, I actually knew a guy once who was producing replicas of CAT Certified Scales and he ended up running into legal matters with them a couple years back.  CAT's reason for shutting him down was that he did not have a license to produce these scales, therefore none of the profit made from them was going back to CAT for using their name and logos.  Although he got off with a warning, not all people can be that lucky.  In some cases, a company could easily take a person to court and sue for thousands of dollars.

If you were to produce and sell a Henrietta model without obtaining a license from HIT, you might get away with it, you might not.  Either way, it's a risk I myself wouldn't take.  I've seen the stunts HIT has pulled with Thomas fans in the past, and it really ticks me off to the point where I have no respect for the company what-so-ever.  Like I said before, to produce merchandise of something that belongs to a big franchise, you need a license to do so.  You may get away with doing that and not having a license, but what happens if you don't?  Either way, I don't recommend doing it.

-Rusty

[thomasj219]

Seeing as she's a coach, as long as you don't advertise her as Henritetta you could get away with selling a similar model. As the basis is not what's owned, just the name. Still probably not the best course of action.

[JLK2707]

Yeah, but I wouldn't release it as a Bachmann product. But thanks for commenting!

[Thomasfan39]

Does anyone remember when bachmann usually puts their new Thomas products on their websites?

[Chaz]

It looks like they have just been added, I only see the new HO and narrow gauge products.  I think they accidentally replaced Skarloey with Rheneas by mistake since you can't see Skarloey in the store page.

Anyone have any ideas for what the next resin building(s) should be?

[Kemptown Branch]

Anyone have any ideas for what the next resin building(s) should be?

I think they should release more buildings for the Skarloey Railway to widen the range a little more than the station. I will also leave my predictions for Narrow Gauge here too, if that is alright. I think next year they will release Sir Handle with some kind of coach, then a brakevan, and maybe a BMQ quarry car or, since they seem to be going the classic route with the models released, other than looks, they might possibly do either the troublesome trucks or the D. Fusit gunpowder van.

[TrainFan97]

For HO scale, I have a feeling that we'll get Stanley, Paxton, or Daisy next year.

[Chaz]

More buildings that would be compatible with narrow gauge would be great.  If we managed to get a season 4 style station last year, I would love seeing something else along those lines too.

Some sheds would be great, I would love these ones in particular:



The water tower would also make a nice bonus too.

[TrainFan97]

I have no idea what's taking so long to show Oliver. I know I can't ask Bachmann this. I'm losing patience though. Just anxious to see Bachmann Oliver. They may not show him until he's in stock, which probably won't be for at least a few more months.

[JD417]

I really hope they don't do what they did with Toad, and release a picture as they released him.
There's a 50% chance people are going to hate it, as some people want the Model version, and others want the CGI version, and if they release him immediately, without warning, people who have him on pre-order may be unhappy with the product.
I know I would've been upset if I had Toad on pre-order..

[TrainFan97]

Would Daisy, Paxton, or Stanley be the most likely candidates for 2017? What do you think?

[Metal]

I think the delay with Oliver would have to with his scaling. I bet if they went with his model scaling it would violate the NMRA standards, as someone in another thread pointed out, which is the reason why we won't be getting the laughing van as seen in "A Close Shave." Oliver's TV model is overscale compared to his real-life basis.
I bet if they went with CGI scaling, it would be impossible to incorporate that eye-mech gimmick. So I think it might be somewhere in between.

Not Mine
Found this picture on Twitter from a Japanese Thomas modeller.
Bachmann Toad with Hornby Oliver to give a reference.


Source: https://twitter.com/8610thomas/status/728195723867521025

[DinoNTrains]

I really like that picture of Hornby Oliver and Bachmann Toad together. To me, it looks perfect scale-wise, so I hope that's how big Bachmann Oliver will be.