I have no doubt Duck will be based on his looks from season 6-7 following the Donald and Douglas models before it.  He will probably be the last character to follow this trend, IMO.

What surprises me is his price on walthers is 85 dollars which is the same price as Donald/Douglas and Diesel...   Time to rely on Model Train Stuff or Whole Sale Trains.

All sides in this case are completely legitamate and all mean well, but let me ask... is this really necessary?  I mean, we have Duck coming out this year.  We could have easily gotten Rosie or Arry and Bert instead this year, but instead Bachmann picked Duck.  This is proof that Bachmann really does listen to their fanbase and I honestly think that this is what really counts more then anything else.   Judging from the quality of Bachmann's recent models, I am sure we will be far from disappointed with this model.

We're all on the same team here, we wanted Duck for years, and we finally got him.  Lighten up everyone, and stay positive!

Duck will not be getting a CGI face, without a question.  He will be getting a classic face for the following reasons:

1. Duck's CGI face was only shown in season 12 which never aired in Asian countries (including Japan, China, etc.).  Bachmann models are made in China.  They will have a model face for Duck as a reference.
2. Duck has never appeared in full CGI, despite his season 12 face.  He is more throughly recognized with his model looks, including the face!  The only reason why Diesel had a CGI face was because he is already in CGI form and it matches his current representation on the show.  Don't believe me?  Look at the Bachmann Donald and Douglas models, and even the Ben model as they are prime examples of this.
3. Duck's CGI face is too small and lacks cheekbones.  It's extremely inaccurate and it'd also be too hard for Bachmann to model for the character.  
4. Duck is a character who is loved by the older fans of Thomas.  Bachmann recognizes this and how long fans have been waiting for Duck, so they'll want to make the model worth waiting for.  
5. Thomas fans would mope and complain on boards and fansites everywhere.  This happened with Diesel as well as some of the CGI rolling stock updates.  It would hurt the sales for Duck, which would make it a poor seller which I'm sure Bachmann wants to steer away from.  

My opinion, I can see the face shown in Bowled Out that was pointed out earlier on the Bachmann Duck.  It represents his character very nicely, and Bachmann generally aims for 'toothy' kinds of grins with most of their models.  

I think everyone needs to settle down with this situation in hand.  This is a prediction thread for 2012, not a wishlist thread.

It's fair to assume what's coming out this year, and I have a good feeling that we will be satisfied this year as we have no product delays in the way.  In fact, this could be why we only got just Diesel and the windmill as new additions for HO last year.  We could be in for a nice surprise, but I think the irrational expectations should be put to rest for what to expect.  

As I said earlier, I have a feeling we will most likely get Duck, Arry, and Bert.  I'll be surprised if any of them would be absent in the Toy Fair announcements.  If we get anyone else, I have a feeling it will be an iconic character to the show such as Rosie or Stanley.  I think Oliver would also be a logical choice to go along with Duck or the following a year but I'm finding him debatable at the moment.  I won't however disagree that he'd be a great addition all the same.  

Characters like the narrow gauge engines, BoCo, Daisy, and even the likes of Den and Dart are all great and interesting ideas if not for one thing... they just won't happen.  Den and Dart were just introduced in Day of the Diesels and are nowhere near iconic, at least not right now.  BoCo, Daisy, and the narrow gauge engines are pretty self-explanatory as everyone else on this board can easily cover.  

I myself am more worried about rolling stock.  We had gotten only Troublesome Truck #3 two years ago (which turned out disappointing) and no new rolling stock this year, apart from CGI updates.  I really think it's time we got some new decent rolling stock, the red coaches in particular.  

I'm pretty excited for the Toy Fair overall, can't believe we will finally see the announcements in less then two weeks!