Future suggestions/predictions thread

[BubbleBuddyFan]

I think Thomas Cabooses should be made out of Unlettered Cabooses in HO/OO Scale and N Scale at some point in the future. That would be nice!

[Coaltronn]

My little girl would love to have an HO NIA

[TrainFan97]

It's really hard for me to suggest something at this time, with so many products backlogged, Bachmann had to announce almost nothing new in the catalog in order to catch up on everything. The next new tooling for HO Scale could be Nia, Whiff, or Norman to be the best choices, along with Hiro, who's even bigger than Rebecca, and I doubt he'd get announced this NMRA. If Sidney can't happen in HO Scale because of problems with the eye mechanism, he could still happen in N Scale. Sidney doesn't exist in Large Scale, either.

What's needed to be said for N Scale suggestions has already been said many times. We know Henry is top priority, along with Edward.

[Chaz]

The next new tooling for HO Scale could be Nia, Whiff, or Norman to be the best choices,

I'll admit, you lost me at Norman being one of the "best choices" Bachmann would make for the next new tooling.  The other choices, including Hiro, I could see happening at some point, but I'm not so sure on Norman to be honest.

I think Bachmann's taking the "catch up year" plan a lot more seriously since they seem to be focusing a lot more on making progress on previously announced products.  I'm thinking the NMRA will probably just consist of some rolling stock announcements in HO and N, and once more products are released this year or have made a lot more progress we will probably see a much larger lineup ready for 2025 during the brand's 80th anniversary.  When that happens I think that's when we will see the next new HO engine tooling announcement along with N scale Henry and Edward once Gordon and Emily are eventually released.

[TRAINSROCK!]

as i said before Samson and Bradford are the main 2 engine and rolling stock i really want them to do. (along with the slip coaches as 3 4 and 5). my reason is i thought they would make a nice companion with oliver and toad (of course when they announced they would do oliver and toad a decade ago that's when the first time i got excited for anything bachmann and also when daisy would be the third item i got really excited for). i just think samson would be a great move for bachmann to do (as long as if they did bradford to go along with him). even though they're catching up with the products they announced from two years ago and last year. i just think samson and bradford should be the next one's they should do more than ever in my opinion. and i also hope they'll update the ho henrietta. (i've taking a strong consideration of buying the n scale toby as the n scale henrietta will have the face). i've had thought of buying the ho toby just wish they'd update the ho henrietta with the face. but i guess we'll see.

[TrainFan97]

The next new tooling for HO Scale could be Nia, Whiff, or Norman to be the best choices,

I'll admit, you lost me at Norman being one of the "best choices" Bachmann would make for the next new tooling.  The other choices, including Hiro, I could see happening at some point, but I'm not so sure on Norman to be honest.

I think Bachmann's taking the "catch up year" plan a lot more seriously since they seem to be focusing a lot more on making progress on previously announced products.  I'm thinking the NMRA will probably just consist of some rolling stock announcements in HO and N, and once more products are released this year or have made a lot more progress we will probably see a much larger lineup ready for 2025 during the brand's 80th anniversary.  When that happens I think that's when we will see the next new HO engine tooling announcement along with N scale Henry and Edward once Gordon and Emily are eventually released.

I guess Norman isn't exactly one of the best choices for a new tooling in HO Scale, largely due to his minimal usage in the actual show, despite having many fan-made stories that actually use him. It's also unlikely he'll return in the reboot. The better choices for the next new HO Scale tooling are Nia, Whiff, Hiro, or even Winston. I say Winston because he'd be something the Sir Topham Hatt figure could ride on, and Bachmann UK makes Wickham Trollies. Samson was also mentioned, and being a cabless engine, he can have crew figures onboard, and Bachmann UK has the tooling for Bradford. Probably the simplest new tooling for HO Scale would be Philip because of his small box shape. Unlike Norman, Philip had several episodes dedicated to him. Even Timothy might be a better choice than Norman because at least he had a few episodes.

The tooling Bachmann would use for Braford:
https://www.bachmann.co.uk/product/midland-railway-20t-brake-van-with-duckets-lms-grey/38-552b

[DustyMarie53!]

The next new tooling for HO Scale could be Nia, Whiff, or Norman to be the best choices,

I'll admit, you lost me at Norman being one of the "best choices" Bachmann would make for the next new tooling.  The other choices, including Hiro, I could see happening at some point, but I'm not so sure on Norman to be honest.

I think Bachmann's taking the "catch up year" plan a lot more seriously since they seem to be focusing a lot more on making progress on previously announced products.  I'm thinking the NMRA will probably just consist of some rolling stock announcements in HO and N, and once more products are released this year or have made a lot more progress we will probably see a much larger lineup ready for 2025 during the brand's 80th anniversary.  When that happens I think that's when we will see the next new HO engine tooling announcement along with N scale Henry and Edward once Gordon and Emily are eventually released.

I disagree for two reasons. Number 1 the NMRA point. Technically the NMRA announcements are supposed to be reveals for products releasing the following year. It's never really worked out this way but it's supposed to (I think it worked out for origins James and only him lol). So if they wanted say, an N scale engine to tie in with the anniversary or a new G scale engine they'd more likely announce them here than wait for the 2025 catalog, as it would more likely guarantee they make substantial progress or even release during the anniversary year. Then NMRA 2025 would be focused on whatever is coming in 2026. Although this being the case could mean they just announce a green Thomas recolor in N or something like they did with origins James in 2020 lol.


As for Norman, I feel like from a Thomas fan perspective he's a little niche. Not a major character in the show or to fans why would they make him? Well, he has an interesting factor going for him. His basis. Not really present for modelling yet. (I think there may have been a brass kit at one point but idk if it still exists?)

So some general British modelers may want to kitbash him similar to what happened with the Skarloey engines. Granted Norman's basis is still super niche however his smaller size would also make him easier to produce compared to say, Hiro. At least currently I'd argue he's the best candidate for small engine new mold aside from Whiff and Nia we already named. Charlie and Sonny have basis's already existing in OO now, not that this means they shouldn't still be made just makes them lesser candidates cause their fanbase is also nonexistent. Dart, Phillip, Scruff, Stafford, and others are small so therefore the eye mech could be an issue. Den is tied to Dart so he'd be in a weird spot. Frankie could be a fun one because she has a nice basis but same issue as Den of being in a duo or group of 5 and said other characters have factors going against them. The international engines could have the same appeal as Norman but are even more niche I'd argue. A bunch of the others are in model series jail. Heck other tender engines are entirely reliant on how Rebecca sells they've said this on a stream before, so idk if Hiro is really likely at this point. Which sucks because he's one I really want. He'd be the next tender engine for sure. So like, aside from the two we already named, and recolors, who's really left? Timothy and Porter I guess?? Belle and Hurricane since they're not outright big engines maybe but they're both weird as well??? Flynn if they wanted to get really experimental and do a high railer but that brings back the eye mech problem. Ultimately my point is eventually they'll have to start taking more risks and getting more out there and Norman I'd argue is a good one to start with. Whiff and Nia first, and hopefully Hiro as well, after that, it's Norman's time to shine. Sorry for the long ramble, I just wanted to make a case for Norman. Hopefully this was articulated well.

[Chaz]

I disagree for two reasons. Number 1 the NMRA point. Technically the NMRA announcements are supposed to be reveals for products releasing the following year. It's never really worked out this way but it's supposed to (I think it worked out for origins James and only him lol). So if they wanted say, an N scale engine to tie in with the anniversary or a new G scale engine they'd more likely announce them here than wait for the 2025 catalog, as it would more likely guarantee they make substantial progress or even release during the anniversary year. Then NMRA 2025 would be focused on whatever is coming in 2026. Although this being the case could mean they just announce a green Thomas recolor in N or something like they did with origins James in 2020 lol.

The thing is, Bachmann made it perfectly clear on the last few Trainworld streams that this year really is the catchup year and there is a lot that they still haven't released yet.  Once more previously announced products are released, that's when they typically announce a lot more.  Last year Ryan and N scale Toby got released in the spring, and later that summer we got Stanley and N scale Diesel and Paxton announcements.  The year before was Daisy and N scale James and then the NMRA was Rebecca (and Beau) and N scale Gordon.  The same applies here, the only difference is that while Beau looks like he will be released in the next month, while Rebecca and N scale Gordon and Emily probably won't.  Yeah that probably means the newly announced products won't actually be released on the year they're announced or the year after but that's not really anything new in the grand scheme of things. It's to be expected at this point.

There's also really no stopping them from saving the projects from being "officially announced" until later while being worked on before their official announcement like the N scale box vans for example.  The van was a new tooling, and yet they were fully painted and ready to go once they were announced.  I doubt that this fully applies to new engines (unless it's a repaint like large scale Paxton), but the point still stands that they could be figuring out/working on other projects behind the scenes for a surprise reveal later.  I'm all for an N scale Henry announcement this summer, and would love to be proven wrong, but I'm not under the impression it will happen until next year once Gordon and Emily are hopefully out by the end of the year, and then we would receive a duo announcement in N scale of both Henry and Edward.  That to me would be a pretty incredible announcement and very fitting for the 80th anniversary of the brand.

As for Norman, I feel like from a Thomas fan perspective he's a little niche. Not a major character in the show or to fans why would they make him? Well, he has an interesting factor going for him. His basis. Not really present for modelling yet. (I think there may have been a brass kit at one point but idk if it still exists?)

The thing is, Bachmann typically goes for characters (with a new tooling) who have a lot more of a wider appeal.  Characters aren't really picked so much because of their basis, they're picked because a lot of people like the characters who were used in the show a lot more frequently or have a lot more of substantial following from fans.  I agree that Norman's basis and design a fun one, and there are a handful of other characters that would be fun (in either model or CGI) that would be nice for aesthetic purposes.  However, from a business perspective like Bachmann (or Mattel), Norman is a borderline "nobody" character. No lead role or much of a supporting role, no official introductory episode, not much of a personality, and not a ton of merchandise of him either.  All of these factors lead me to believe that Norman would be a poor seller and Bachmann's typically a lot more mindful about which characters they pick when it comes to new tooling announcements.  I think we can all agree on Whiff, Nia, and Hiro (depending on how Rebecca does) being valid possibilities for sure.  Depending on when Salty gets released I could see Porter eventually being added since he was also used pretty consistently.  Winston in HO would be a fun option too considering he has been in large scale for a while and since Bachmann's adding the figure packs, he would be a pretty natural addition to the range as well at some point.  Other characters though, I'm personally not so sure of, but again I think there's a handful of other characters I think Bachmann will be leaning more towards regardless before even thinking about adding Norman anytime soon.

[DustyMarie53!]

The thing is, Bachmann made it perfectly clear on the last few Trainworld streams that this year really is the catchup year and there is a lot that they still haven't released yet.  Once more previously announced products are released, that's when they typically announce a lot more.  Last year Ryan and N scale Toby got released in the spring, and later that summer we got Stanley and N scale Diesel and Paxton announcements.  The year before was Daisy and N scale James and then the NMRA was Rebecca (and Beau) and N scale Gordon.  The same applies here, the only difference is that while Beau looks like he will be released in the next month, while Rebecca and N scale Gordon and Emily probably won't.  Yeah that probably means the newly announced products won't actually be released on the year they're announced or the year after but that's not really anything new in the grand scheme of things. It's to be expected at this point.

There's also really no stopping them from saving the projects from being "officially announced" until later while being worked on before their official announcement like the N scale box vans for example.  The van was a new tooling, and yet they were fully painted and ready to go once they were announced.  I doubt that this fully applies to new engines (unless it's a repaint like large scale Paxton), but the point still stands that they could be figuring out/working on other projects behind the scenes for a surprise reveal later.  I'm all for an N scale Henry announcement this summer, and would love to be proven wrong, but I'm not under the impression it will happen until next year once Gordon and Emily are hopefully out by the end of the year, and then we would receive a duo announcement in N scale of both Henry and Edward.  That to me would be a pretty incredible announcement and very fitting for the 80th anniversary of the brand.

I didn't actually consider the fact they could be working on products in the background, that's a fair point. Albeit small correction. The vans weren't new tools. They were scaled down from the g scale ones hence they took less time to produce. This doesn't diminish your point at all since they were still worked on in the background so I could see that happening with Henry for sure. Although of note they made a similar catchup year comment last year and then still had the NMRA show that they did. While the newer catalog seems more seriously abiding by this, I don't really know if the NMRA will as well until we actually see it. Maybe that's too blind optimism but I'm working off the patterns they've given us before. If it's all wagon recolors than oh well, I'm wrong and spring 2025 will be the huge chunk of the announcements. Ultimately this is a wait and see I suppose.

The thing is, Bachmann typically goes for characters (with a new tooling) who have a lot more of a wider appeal.  Characters aren't really picked so much because of their basis, they're picked because a lot of people like the characters who were used in the show a lot more frequently or have a lot more of substantial following from fans.  I agree that Norman's basis and design a fun one, and there are a handful of other characters that would be fun (in either model or CGI) that would be nice for aesthetic purposes.  However, from a business perspective like Bachmann (or Mattel), Norman is a borderline "nobody" character. No lead role or much of a supporting role, no official introductory episode, not much of a personality, and not a ton of merchandise of him either.  All of these factors lead me to believe that Norman would be a poor seller and Bachmann's typically a lot more mindful about which characters they pick when it comes to new tooling announcements.  I think we can all agree on Whiff, Nia, and Hiro (depending on how Rebecca does) being valid possibilities for sure.  Depending on when Salty gets released I could see Porter eventually being added since he was also used pretty consistently.  Winston in HO would be a fun option too considering he has been in large scale for a while and since Bachmann's adding the figure packs, he would be a pretty natural addition to the range as well at some point.  Other characters though, I'm personally not so sure of, but again I think there's a handful of other characters I think Bachmann will be leaning more towards regardless before even thinking about adding Norman anytime soon.

I feel like we do have to consider the fact Bachmann seems pretty knowledgeable about the general kitbashers given the Tallylyn line and changes they've made for certain Skarloey models. Norman having a basis not repped in 00 at all may be reason enough to consider him over others. He's also a name I've seen brought up on the forums a few times (along with Charlie and Porter) so once we get passed the next obvious group of characters (Nia, Whiff, maybe Hiro, Sidney, I hope not Fernando) I could see his requests rising up. Of course, if KR models or another company makes his basis by the time he's in consideration than this point becomes moot. So it might not be the strongest to base my argument on. But I'd argue we'll already be on the lower tier of characters by the time we get the 4 most likely ones. Even if the model series contract gets changed, I feel Stepney and BoCo are the only two who are really viable at this given time. Eventually they'll have to make new tools based on less popular characters, or just stop entirely. Plus, while he's dull in the show in his merch Norman is a brighter red orange that is pretty unique to him that would more likely be emulated on a model anyway given Bachmann's gloss. To play devil's advocate to my previous post I do think they would more likely do Charlie first, smaller, more unique color, simplistic. Heck I probably want Charlie more you can see my signature, but I wouldn't count Norman out. He doesn't have that much going against him in the grand scheme compared to a lot of other characters I listed in the previous post. If Rebecca ends up as a smash hit though than more tender engines could become viable and would probably take his likelihood down, but again, we'll have to wait and see. Same with Beau, if he does super well Bachmann may try to get more special permissions to do more limited run characters (He still seems to be limited run since Percy recently got a packaging update that only mentions Rebecca on the back, not Beau) without eye mechs so that could be an in for the likes of Stephen. Maybe that's how they get permission for model series characters as well. I guess the thesis of this post is that things could change rapidly, but as of right now I'd argue Norman is higher up on the likelihood compared to a lot of other cgi characters because a lot of them are just as niche. Either way I think we're all in agreement which 3-4 characters will come first, hopefully Hiro is on that list let's cross our fingers.

 

[TrainFan97]

Whether or not Bachmann makes Hiro will depend on how well Rebecca sells, so it's going to be a while before they announce him. If Rebecca ends up being a hot seller, then Bachmann can definitely consider making Hiro. It's very clear that the most likely next two newly-tooled engines for HO Scale are Nia and Whiff.

In a nutshell, the biggest thing going against Norman is his minimal usage in the actual show. Charlie is also brought up because of his unique livery, and his simplistic design for a new tooling, although his fanbase is non-existent, and he was rather infamous.

[Chaz]

I feel like we do have to consider the fact Bachmann seems pretty knowledgeable about the general kitbashers given the Tallylyn line and changes they've made for certain Skarloey models. Norman having a basis not repped in 00 at all may be reason enough to consider him over others.

The thing is, the market behind HO/OO and OO9 (narrow gauge) are different from each other because OO9 relies a lot more on kitbashing/custom models because of how it's a lot more of a niche scale and not as many manufactures make OO9 models compared to HO/OO.  So it's not exactly a fair comparison to advocate for Norman because of what modelers do for Skarloey or other OO9 models.  If the character's basis were one of the factors Bachmann took into consideration, we would have seen Charlie and Whiff announced before Ryan or Rebecca.  Again, it's really not so much the basis of the character Bachmann isn't going for when deciding on new engine toolings, it's the character themselves and how appealing they are to a wider range of consumers.  The added benefit of the first six SKR engines being loved by both older and younger audiences alike and have a presence in CGI helps expand that point even further.

That being said, I do agree with you that the list of more recurring side characters is only getting smaller and we will -eventually- start jumping into more niche side character territory, or in the case of Nia, characters who were introduced a lot later in the CGI series if Bachmann continues to stick with characters who only appeared in that era of the show.  I still don't think it means Norman will happen in the immediate future, but I do think if Bachmann continues this direction, it will eventually lead to the lesser known, more niche characters.  I would be on board if model series exclusive characters got their recognition once again since Stepney and Arthur are two other personal favorite characters of mine but my hopes aren't that high at this time.  At least I can enjoy my custom Stepney model in the meantime made by Bluebells5529 (will be doing a post on this eventually in another thread).

[JacobSK]

Chaz, let me start off by saying I adore your Stepney model. BlueBells5529 also made my Percy and Oliver customs I showcased in the "Custom Models" thread. Small world!

My two cents:

As far as a new engine tooling, outside of Whiff and Nia -- who both appear in AEG, everyone else are forgotten relics of the past. I'm personally leaning more towards Whiff myself. Not because I prefer him as a character to Nia, but also the fact that Nia has a rather intricate design with a lot of small details. If Ryan and now Rebecca are anything to go by, every last tiny detail on Nia would need to be replicated. If Rebecca's RRP is high, then I can only imagine what Nia's would be. And she's only a tank engine! Whiff is much less detailed as a result, and in fact, his CGI render is almost a 1:1 of his Season 11 prop.

Norman literally just existed. Yes, a ready-to-run model of his basis would technically have a market for kitbashing, but even that isn't enough to warrant Bachmann making the tooling for a character who only spoke a handful of times and was mostly relegated to background appearances. As a result of this, a lot of people wouldn't know who Norman is.

Charlie did play a heavy role in the Miller era, but after Season 18 was also relegated to the background. From my memory, Charlie wasn't well liked by fans, and was mostly tolerated in his Season 17 and 18 appearances. While he's got an attractive color palette, it isn't enough to produce a character that wasn't liked, then faded into the background.

Stanley, yes, came and went in terms of appearances, mostly being the station pilot, but he had The Great Discovery to warrant enough demand. That special was well loved and still is 15 years later. I myself already have his model on pre-order at TrainWorld, the first time I preordered an HO engine without flinching.

Philip is divided in the fandom. I personally tolerate him. It could cut either way with a Bachmann model of him, but I don't think it'd be wise.

Out of all of these, I'd prefer Whiff and gladly have Stanley on preorder.

One final thing: I rewatched Tale Of The Brave last night, and while it'd be awesome seeing as I liked him, I think Gator has just as slim of a chance of having a Bachmann model produced as Norman does.

[DustyMarie53!]

Charlie did play a heavy role in the Miller era, but after Season 18 was also relegated to the background. From my memory, Charlie wasn't well liked by fans, and was mostly tolerated in his Season 17 and 18 appearances. While he's got an attractive color palette, it isn't enough to produce a character that wasn't liked, then faded into the background.

Charlie is actually an interesting case. Despite being forgotten by the show he continued to thrive in the merch. In fact, he was one of the few characters that survived into the motorized/push along rebrand of 2020/2021. For comparison's sake, Ryan and Victor (as a single anyway, Victor survived in one push along multipack) did not get this luxury. Now idk if the other toy lines are something they would use for reference hence why I didn't mention it before, but it is certainly interesting. Would Bachmann even have this data or the other merch lines sales data? Probably not, but again, is interesting. In theory this would also make the Logging Locos a possibility since they're super popular in merch and MIR did super well financially merch wise, but I think they're far too intricate and unpopular to justify the tooling costs. Maybe if they ever do get that desperate though lol. This argument against them seems funny considering I proposed Norman of all characters but still. He has a lot going for him (plus he's technically in a trio with Pax and Sid so if they ever made the latter that might push him a bit up as well, forgot to mention that earlier) right now that very well could change. Lot of what ifs. If the model series rule, eye mechs, or tender engines prove favorable him, as well as Charlie would go way lower. Frankly hope the rules change though because I'd love the options to be more open. Would love a Molly personally, on top of the obvious terrier. Your model is very lovely Chaz, love how it came out.

[Awesometrain77]

Imma be honest the mandate is dumb since the show got rebooted I think that there is no purpose for the CGI mandate

Diesel 10 is a character I think could work if pinchy is flexible like the GG1 pantographs . He has not appeared in the show in a while but again the show is not relevant anyway . He also appeared in CGI and if made would be a best seller . If he could fit under tunnels which they could pull off he could be a perfect addition to the range

Whiff Nia Hiro Philip Norman Sidney Luke Victor Charlie Porter skiff Winston Sonny Belle Flynn are some more CGI characters I think could be made .

Model series stuff is now just as relevant as CGI some model characters they could make are

Hank K4 repaint
Molly
Duke
mighty Mac Bachmann Uk repaint
BoCo Murdoch Stepney proteus smudger Billy Dennis

[JLK2707]

Just get rid of the stupid CGI engines only mandate Mattel!