Bachmann Thomas and Friends in 2016

[TheJJ]

I would expect pictures of Oliver and Toad as well as Oliver's retail price will be revealed in the 2016 catalog which would follow right after the 2016 announcements in February.

I figured, just wanted to hear some more input, thanks! Hope that happens!

[TTTEfan1992]

Are the Bachmann catalogs released in mid February every year?

[chris123678]

Large Scale:
Edward. I'm actually surprised that they released Winston before Edward. He'd be somewhat massive like James, but  not on the extremes of what a Gordon or Henry would be.

I'd be happy to see large scale Duck too.

[Chaz]

Are the Bachmann catalogs released in mid February every year?

Yes they are, right around Toy Fair 2016 which will be in February 13-16.

[TTTEfan1992]

Chaz, do you know if the catalog will be uploaded right away online on the Bachmann website in the catalog category as soon as it is released, you know where anybody can look at the catalog online through a pdf. file through Adobe Reader?

[sean1994rail]

Sometimes, the PDF catalog would take a few days to a week to be uploaded after the annual New York toy fair.

[TTTEfan1992]

Are pictures of announced products usually revealed, or available in the catalog a year after the catalog they're announced in?

[Chaz]

Sometimes they are, but there have been occasions when some products do not have pictures of them right at the moment they are announced. This is usually the case for engines and some rolling stock.

[sean1994rail]

More often, they use promo pictures or in most cases in G scale, their HO models, for illustrative purposes.

[Titanic5972]

I imagine that at some point Edward will appear in Large Scale. Emily and James have been released and they are both of a similar size to Edward. I'd love a large scale Gordon and Henry but I think the price would be prohibitive. One can but hope of course.

[TTTEfan1992]

How high of a chance do you think Oliver's and Toad's picture will be revealed in the Bachmann 2016 catalog?

[AJW98Productions]

How high of a chance do you think Oliver's and Toad's picture will be revealed in the Bachmann 2016 catalog?

I assume they would be...reasonably high, though not 100%. If their photos do not appear in the catalogue however, I expect their prototype models will appear in February's Toy Fair; where of course, Bachmann will be making their announcements for next year. There is of course the ever present chance that both scenarios are wrong, and we will see neither their prototype models at the Toy Fair, nor pictures in the catalogue, I consider the latter-most of all 3 options highly unlikely though, but there are still chances of it occuring, so one must be careful not to presume too much.

Whenever we see photos of them, I very much look forward to it, I can't wait to see how these two classic characters will be handled by Bachmann

~Alex

[Titanic5972]

I'm hoping Oliver has th correct grey running plate, like in the original model series, not the black one like in the cgi series. That just looks wrong. Hopefully we will see a rerun of the express coaches as well. Maybe Henry in his pre-Flying Kipper Accident form too. And of course more troublesome trucks lol

[AJW98Productions]

Unfortunately, a model of Henry in his "pre-accident" form will probably never occur, he only appeared for about half of 1 Season, and as far as manufacturing costs are concerned, there just isn't high enough demand to justify the cost of manufacturing a new tooling for Henry, plus even in this year's "The Adventure Begins" they actually outright ignore Henry MK I, as the movie (I suspect at least) is supposed to take place prior to the events of "The Flying Kipper", but Henry appeared in his "new shape" for the whole movie.

I honestly think that because of Henry MK I's apparent absence in "The Adventure Begins", that Henry MK I has just essentially been "swept under the rug" by HiT Entertainment, and given the fact that Bachmann doesn't have anywhere near as much of a demand for Henry MK I as they do with Henry MK II, as with Henry MK II, they can appeal to all fans of the series, from almost any season. With Henry MK I, only those who are familiar with Season 1 will be familiar with the engine, meaning they lose a lot of sale potential to anyone who hasn't seen Season 1, which unfortunately a lot of the younger fanbase is unfamiliar with, meaning that it's harder to justify the high prices for manufacturing a large engine like Henry in a different form. Also as he is the same engine, so some fans may not wish to purchase it, as then they have 2 models of the same engine. Also, he just seems to look a bit more like Gordon in that form, which to even many older fans makes him look less unique, and therefore less appealing.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a model of Henry MK I. I think I'm actually in the minority who like Henry in his MK I form basically as much (and at times a little more than), his MK II form. But unfortunately I just don't think it will happen. But I just don't see Bachmann producing it. At this current point in time, it would be basically financially unviable to produce Henry MK I, as it is only available to a very niche market, as opposed to the wider one which Bachmann need to appeal to in order to justify the high manufacturing costs for a large tooling like a new form of Henry, Not to mention they'd need to get HiT's approval, which for some reason I just don't think they would give, mostly for my aforementioned reasons. But I guess we can dream...

~Alex

[sean1994rail]

Could be a limited edition exclusive by a modelling shop that have good relationships with bachmann like walthers, tower hobbies, train sets only, ECT. Model zone and the model centre in the UK both got on well with manufacturers with creating exclusives.