Bachmann Thomas & Friends in 2020

[Sodor Engineer]

I would love to see Hector and Bradford introduced into the series.

Bradford I wouldn't really wont unless they made Samson but I would like to see Hector.

[TrainFan97]

If Salty was to get brought back someday, Bachmann could make Porter, then we'd have both the Brendam Docks engines. Of course, Porter would need a little scaling up on Bachmann's part. I don't really see Bachmann making Porter, unless Salty gets re-introduced.

Right now, the top priority for HO Scale is Stepney.

[JLK2707]

But then again, you could always just make Porter for yourself TrainFan97!

[TrainFan97]

But then again, you could always just make Porter for yourself TrainFan97!

How? I'm not a modeller.

[JLK2707]

Thanks for telling me TrainFan97.

[Chaz]

It's great how Bachmann managed to cover most of the classic narrow gauge engines so far with Peter Sam on the way.  Sir Handel is literally the only other engine I would want them to make.  So besides Sir Handel, anything else I would want them to add to their narrow gauge line would pretty much only consist of rolling stock choices, with brake vans being the top priority.

[Crazy Thomas]

HO Scale
Stepney or Ryan

Narrow Gauge
Sir Handel
Brake Van

N Scale
James

[TrainFan97]

I've updated my signature with a wishlist of characters I'd like to see in HO Scale someday.

Model Series:
Stepney
BoCo

CGI Series:
Ryan
Sidney
Norman

I put Stepney as the first one, since he's currently the #1 most-requested character ever since Daisy's announcement, and we all hope he gets announced in February 2020.

If Stepney does get announced, BoCo would have a better chance, even though he hasn't appeared in the show for some time. BoCo would be great for Bachmann to consider after Stepney. I can see BoCo's demand increasing after Stepney gets announced. Diesel 10's claw would be problematic, so the next large diesel would have to be BoCo.

For CGI characters, the one with the most demand is currently Ryan, since Daisy was recently announced. People would like to see Bachmann make Ryan because he and Daisy both share the same line. I am concerned about how detailed Ryan is, though.

The other CGI characters I listed are Sidney and Norman. Sidney would be easy for Bachmann to make because they have his tooling, but like Paxton, Sidney would also have a painted border around his face to hide the eye mechanism. I don't think Sidney should be announced just yet because Daisy was Bachmann's first new tooling in HO Scale since Rosie, and people have gotten tired of recolors, but the next time Bachmann does a recolor, they should just get Sidney out of the way. In recent years, Sidney has been having plenty of speaking roles, and a few episodes dedicated to him.

As for Norman, he's had very minimal speaking roles ever since his debut, but so far this season, he's actually having speaking roles again. There's still no episode dedicated to Norman, but now that he's speaking again, we may finally get that someday. Possibly next season. Norman is a character with a lot of potential, and it's about time he got more speaking roles. If they develop his character more, I could see him being a great candidate for a Bachmann model eventually. Unlike Sidney, Norman would require a new tooling, but his shape is very simple, and shouldn't be hard for Bachmann to make. Not next year though, since we need Stepney before anyone else.

Hopefully, within the next few years, some of these characters will be off the list.

[JLK2707]

Why would you want Stepney before anybody else?

[Falcon the 2nd]

Why would you want Stepney before anybody else?

I think these threads should sum it all up for anyone confused about the choice of Stepney.
https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,35991.0.html
https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,34526.75.html

[TrainFan97]

Why would you want Stepney before anybody else?

You must not have been paying attention to a certain thread.

[Chaz]

Figured I would do an updated "list" on what I think would happen at 2020 toy fair after the NMRA announcements.

HO Scale:
James' express coaches - Ever since the post I made in another thread earlier, I really feel like these would have a solid chance of finding their way back into the range with an updated look to match what's on the show.  

Sodor China Clay Trucks (red and green) - Considering Bachmann has relied on previous merchandise lines as a reference, I feel that making the wagons I suggested earlier (based on the customs Jay made) would really win a lot of fans over despite being recolors.

Narrow gauge:
Brake vans (blue, red and brown) - It goes without saying, but these are the most popular request for narrow gauge rolling stock.  I'd be shocked if they didn't announce these next year.

Large scale:
DCC/sound James, Emily and Toby - Just kind of seems like the most likely thing they would do if they throw anything out for the large scale range.

Red coaches - It still surprises me Bachmann hasn't announced these in large scale yet.  Considering how popular these were in HO, it feels like a missed opportunity.

N Scale:
Thomas starter set - I imagine as the new range gets closer to being released next year Bachmann will probably announce a starter set by then to help fans get started with the new range.  

I did not mention new engines like Stepney or Sir Handel simply due to the fact that I personally don't think Bachmann will announce any new engines while Daisy and Peter Sam are in production.  My theory for why they got announced in July rather than next year's Toy Fair, is that they probably want to start production on these new engines now so they can have them out closer in time for Christmas in 2020 rather than the spring like the case of Rusty and Paxton.

On that note if we do get new engines, then it's a little hard to avoid the low-hanging fruit that is Stepney for HO and Sir Handel for Narrow gauge.  Stepney has become the most popular request on the forum for over the last year or so and there's plenty of good reason and potential behind that.  Meanwhile Sir Handel is the most popular request now for narrow gauge and I feel like if he was the last narrow gauge engine to be made and Bachmann just had those five engines and only added rolling stock and other accessories/gimmicks to the range from there (kind of like what they are doing with large scale) I don't think too many fans would mind since a lot of people have expressed disinterest in Bachmann making Duncan after Rusty was revealed and the newer narrow gauge engines don't have anywhere near as much of a strong following as Sir Handel would.  

[JLK2707]

I don't blame them.

[Sodor Engineer]

Nice ideas if Bachmann made them I would buy them all.

[TerencetheTractor525]

Below is a new list of what I hope will get announced for February 2020  .

HO Scale
Stepney (with moving eyes)
Tar Tanker
Red Express Coach
Red Express Brake Coach

Narrow Gauge
Red Brake Van
Blue Brake Van
Brown Brake Van

N Scale
Thomas with Annie and Clarabel Train Set

Large Scale
LBSC Green Thomas (with moving eyes)
Troublesome Van

I would have also put James and some new rolling stock for N Scale, but after seeing that they would all require new toolings, that N scale line is brand new, and especially that more people currently want to see an HO Stepney announced to celebrate the 75th Anniversary, I thought that it would be best to hold off on the N scale James and rolling stock for another year  . With 2020 as Thomas' 75th Anniversary, and that Stepney and the narrow gauge brake vans are the only two products that would require new toolings, hopefully the majority of these will get announced, especially Stepney .