N Scale Bachmann Thomas

[N Scale Sudrian]

Hello all, a quick question for all N scale Thomas modelers:

A former student of mine and his dad are building an N scale Thomas layout.  They'd really like to add Cranky onto their layout, but obviously Bachmann has no plans to do Cranky in N anytime soon. So I'd like help finding alternatives for them in the meantime.  What would you guys recommend? And if possible, I'd love to see a side by side comparison of Cranky next to the Bachmann N scale Thomas (not Tomix, please).  This could be either the ERTL, capsule plarail or any other brand that has made Cranky that could work with N scale.

Thanks in advance!

Sadly not able to provide a photo due to my layout being in boxes at the moment, but I find the Capsule Plarail toy to be a decent stand-in. I think it might be slightly small compared to his appearance in the show, but it looks fine on its own merits. Unfortunately in N Scale, there's not a lot of viable 'stand-in' options for Cranky or any other tower crane-type character at this size outside of Capsule Plarail toys, since most of their toys in the other toy ranges are far too big to fit well in an N Scale setting.

[BubbleBuddyFan]

I will be interested to do 3D Printed N Scale Cranky the Crane instead. I wasn't planning to do N Scale Thomas Engines and Rolling Stock for last time. I have no interest into Nia and Rebecca either. It gets worse and worse in the future.

[Chaz]

Sadly not able to provide a photo due to my layout being in boxes at the moment, but I find the Capsule Plarail toy to be a decent stand-in. I think it might be slightly small compared to his appearance in the show, but it looks fine on its own merits. Unfortunately in N Scale, there's not a lot of viable 'stand-in' options for Cranky or any other tower crane-type character at this size outside of Capsule Plarail toys, since most of their toys in the other toy ranges are far too big to fit well in an N Scale setting.

No worries regarding the photo, and thanks for the reply/feedback!  I like the detailing from the capsule Cranky a lot more, but the ERTL one seems to be better in scaling with the Bachmann N scale models, at least from what I gathered from some photos another modeler was able to share in a Facebook group I'm a member of. 

Any other options you or anyone else can think of, I'm all ears.

[JacobSK]

I'm wondering if the Nakayoshi Cranky will fit in?



It seems to be the perfect blend of the detailing that the Capsule Plarail toy has and the needed height of the ERTL. Unfortunately, I do not have it, but have been on the trail for one for about a year now.

As an added note: the Nakayoshi Bulstrode is PERFECT for the N scale Thomas stuff, granted your friend knows about him.

[Awesometrain77]

Predictions and hopes for 2024 .
Edward
Henry
Cattle wagon
TT#3
TT#4
Tidmoth sheds
Red branchline coaches
Museum coaches 
Gordon express set
Thomas saves Santa

[TrainFan97]

Just a few months away from the early 2024 announcements. Hoping we finally get N Scale Henry for real this time. He's the top priority for N Scale. For rolling stock, we could sure use a generic or Spiteful Brake Van, along with Red Coaches. Still no non-troublesome variants of the open wagon tooling.

I got Toad for Christmas, along with S.C. Ruffey and the three vans, so I'm caught up on my rolling stock. It's still strange how we got Toad, despite there being no immediate plans for Oliver.

If Henry gets announced in early 2024, all we'll have left to hope for is that Edward gets announced next NMRA, and then we'd have all eight members of the original Steam Team in N Scale. Bachmann recently announced Diesel and Paxton, and might have an update within a few months. They STILL haven't shown N Scale Emily fully painted, and should've done so months ago!

Potential recolors for N Scale include LBSC Thomas, Origin James, Sidney, 'Arry and Bert. The latter two got discontinued in HO Scale, due to their faces being too similar, while Sidney has yet to be made in any scale.

[Chaz]

The N scale Henrietta sample has been teased on Bachmann's social media and it looks great so far! Can't wait to see it fully painted.

[RailsByRick]

The N scale Henrietta sample has been teased on Bachmann's social media and it looks great so far! Can't wait to see it fully painted.

She does look really nice! It doesn't appear as though she'll have a face it seems. Unless the face is facing towards Toby. Guess we'll wait and see. Hoping for a face though 🤞

[N Scale Sudrian]

Henrietta sample looks excellent. It definitely looks like a new tool based on the "CGI" version of the character, face and all. The give-away is very minute. I didn't notice until someone else in my modelling circle pointed it out to me. When they updated Henrietta to include the face, they added some extra support beams to the end of the carriage body with the face. You can see the outer-most support beams on the side facing Toby.

I assume they're keeping the face in that direction because they're somewhat wishy-washy on whether or not its okay for them to show the incomplete faces, ha ha. But it is nice to see Henrietta will have her face after all. Her "upgrades" in the "CGI" show were very gratifying to me. They allowed her to actually participate in stories instead of just being a glorified prop. It felt very natural alongside the expanded usage of other rolling stock characters around that same time. Annie and Clarabel, Toad, etc...

(Making this version of Henrietta also means they can re-use the same tool to make Hannah. I think she's relatively low on the list of "priority rolling stock" as it were, but I wouldn't mind having her in the fleet...)

[TrainFan97]

Nice to see that Bachmann revealed N Scale Henrietta in the unpainted stage. Once she is fully painted, Toby will soon have his coach. Hannah should be made using the same tooling, and would then be the first rolling stock recolor in N Scale that hasn't been made in HO Scale. I'm sure Henrietta has a face, and that it's just facing Toby, but not ready for prime time.

While Henry is the #1 priority for engines, but if we need another diesel in N Scale to diversify the range, Mavis would be an excellent choice, as she would use Thomas' chassis like Toby did, and would be the first production model of her to actually have siderods. The only problem with Mavis is that she got little to no merchandise since Mattel took over. Daisy is a more recent model for HO Scale, and that was literally her first piece of merchandise since her return in CGI. Daisy would also be great for N Scale, but there are higher priorities like Henry, Edward, Mavis, Duck and Oliver. Edward and Henry still get merchandise, even for the reboot, so there's nothing stopping Bachmann from making them in N Scale.

New toolings needed for N Scale rolling stock that would be very useful include a Salt Wagon, Cattle Wagon, Mail Car, and a generic Brake Van. With a Cattle Wagon, Troublesome Truck #3 can be made in N Scale. With Mail Cars, Percy can finally do his favorite job, which is the Mail Train.

[N Scale Sudrian]

Someone in my modelling circle showed this to me. It seems Emily's painted sample has made its way to this year's Amherst show...
https://twitter.com/DCCSodor/status/1751267015933751374?s=20

She looks excellent. With all the excitement surrounding Gordon I can understand why there hasn't been as much 'hype' over Emily's development. But I think she is the greatest achievement in the whole N Scale 'Thomas' line. A ready-to-run Stirling Single in N Scale, with the entire motorized mechanism contained within the locomotive is no joke. The N Scale 'Thomas' line is definitely pushing the envelope in terms of locomotive design, and I think Emily should be lauded for it.

I very much hope it sends a message to the rest of the industry, given how the UK outline N Scale market is nearly entirely plagued by tender locos that are either driveshaft-driven or tender-driven. (The only exceptions that spring to mind are Bachmann's own more recent offerings, such as the 8F, 4MTs, Duchesses, and Merchant Navies...) I understand some of those tools are products of their time, but given how many very small tank engines like the Terriers and 14XXs (or indeed, Thomas, Percy, and Toby!) have been achieved in N Scale, one would think a loco with more internal real estate like the Black 5s or Gresley Pacifics would be trivial to make in loco-driven form... (Case in point, hello Gordon!)

Since we're a week away from the 2024 Catalog, I don't have any 'predictions' for anything other than N Scale. I'd still very much like to see Henry announced, as well as some faceless open wagons, and the introduction of vehicle characters such as Bertie and Harold. Given the past year's release patterns I wouldn't be surprised if some of these are being saved for an NMRA announcement. But I do think it would be a bit silly to put off Henry any longer given how easy it would be for them to make him, especially now that Gordon is supposedly hitting the market in Q2 this year.

[TrainFan97]

At last, N Scale Emily is shown fully painted! It took ridiculously long since her unpainted sample was shown, but she's finally ready! She doesn't have her number 12, but that's no dealbreaker, since she didn't have that until Season 24. Should hopefully be in stock by the end of the year. May not be expected 'til late 2024. N Scale Gordon should soon be shown in a package, and he should arrive in stock during the second quarter.

Hoping N Scale Henry will be announced in the 2024 catalog, since he would easily recycle Gordon's chassis minus trailing wheels. It may be a while before we see N Scale Diesel/Paxton unpainted. Considering Edward and Henry still get merchandise, even for the reboot, there is nothing stopping Bachmann from making them in N Scale. Henry should get announced in the 2024 catalog, then Edward should get announced in the NMRA, then we can have all of the original Steam Team in N Scale.

[Kemptown Branch]

Here's a link to a Facebook post with more pictures of Gordon and Emily:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/753298574781796/permalink/6768483689929891/?mibextid=Nif5oz

It also confirms that Henrietta will have a face!

[RailsByRick]

Here's a link to a Facebook post with more pictures of Gordon and Emily:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/753298574781796/permalink/6768483689929891/?mibextid=Nif5oz

It also confirms that Henrietta will have a face!

Any possible way you could post the pics here? Deleted Facebook years ago, and the pics are in a private group.

[Kemptown Branch]

Photo credit goes to James Drury.