Sadly, given what Doug Blaine said about Stepney, he may never get made, solely because he never appeared in the CGI series. Same goes for any others that never officially appeared in CGI, like Duke and BoCo.

HO Scale possibilities for the NMRA announcements can be Sidney, Fernando, or Green Salty for recolors, or if they have Rebecca unpainted by then, the next new tooling could be Nia, Stanley, Whiff, Hiro, or Stephen because they're making the Open Carriage, which may indicate plans for Stephen. Hopefully by then, we at least see Rebecca in the unpainted stage. For HO Scale rolling stock, they could add the Chocolate Syrup and Toffee Tankers.

In the N Scale thread, I already talked about how Bachmann must announce Henry with the Express Coaches for N Scale at the NMRA this summer. If not the Express Coaches just yet, other very welcome rolling stock possibilities being the Red Coaches, or a trio of open wagons, like Red Open Wagon, Blue Open Wagon and Coal Wagon w/ Load.

Both Edward and Mavis are two characters who were given the short end of the stick for Large Scale, but should join N Scale at some point. Characters like Henry and Edward have much higher demand than Mavis, especially since the former two are original Steam Team members, and the only ones yet to be announced for N Scale. Hopefully, Toad does indicate plans for Oliver and Duck; two more characters with high demand that sold very well in HO Scale. Even Diesel has higher demand than Mavis, with a tooling that's highly versatile for recolors.

Just like how Henry is the #1 priority for an N Scale engine, the Express Coaches are the #1 priority for N Scale rolling stock.

Edward can be saved for after Henry, since Bachmann already has the chassis for N Scale Henry. Just need to remove the trailing wheels, change from a Fowler to a Stanier tender, round buffers, body shape matching Henry's, paint him green, and add his face.

Mavis can easily recycle Toby's chassis, but one issue with Mavis is the fact that she hasn't had any merchandise in over a decade, ever since Mattel's takeover. Mavis would be difficult to get the green light from Mattel, as she hasn't even been made in Large Scale, despite being a smaller engine. At least Henry still gets merchandise.

Just hoping this summer's NMRA announcements will have N Scale Henry and the Express Coaches, and it will be great. Bachmann should be aware of the demand for them. Popular demand has given us Henrietta to go with Toby. It can do the same to bring us Henry and the Express Coaches for N Scale. The Express Coaches being the perfect thing to go with Gordon, so we can have N Scale Express, coming through!

Nice to see N Scale Toad fully painted, as well as the box vans. Maybe at some point, they could also make the Explosives, Mr. Jolly and Brendam Bay vans for N Scale as well. More very welcome N Scale rolling stock I'd like to see are the Red Coaches, Express Coaches and Spiteful Brake Van. Some might get announced at the NMRA. It's great that Henrietta is also coming our way, as the faithful companion for Toby. A Mail Car would be nice for Percy.

The unpainted prototype of N Scale Gordon looks wonderful. Can't wait to see him fully painted within a few months. The reason Bachmann is getting Gordon done faster than Emily is because Emily's basis turned out more difficult to make, and needed more time. However, it seems like they got there, and we will see an unpainted N Scale Emily within a few months. Maybe we'll see Emily unpainted the same time we see Gordon fully painted. Now I'm really hoping that N Scale Henry gets announced at the NMRA this summer. Just recycle Gordon's chassis, minus the trailing wheels. For Edward, Bachmann can simply scale down his HO Scale tooling. Once Bachmann announces Henry, then Edward, N Scale will have all eight members of the original Steam Team.

Could Toad indicate plans for Oliver? Duck? Could Oliver be the first side character for the N Scale range? Likely, the first side character would be Diesel, as he's the most popular among Mattel. Paxton should get announced with Diesel, and his face will look much better than his HO Scale counterpart. For now, the #1 priority for an engine is Henry.

Bachmann desperately needs catching up on Narrow Gauge products. At least the Narrow Gauge brake vans and box vans have painted samples, and should be available anytime now. HO Scale Ryan, Explosives Van, N Scale Toby and even the three newly-announced N Scale ventilated vans also have painted samples, and should all be available anytime now, within the next few months, as long as nothing goes wrong. Don't know about the N Scale vans, though. Those might be later this year. Maybe Doug Blaine will give us estimates on when all upcoming fully-painted products are expected to arrive in stock, including the reintroduced Salty and Red Express Coaches. Maybe we'll see HO Scale Ryan and N Scale Toby in their packages, showing they're just about to be available.

Another idea for a road vehicle is the Post Van, which appeared in Season 24.

I have an image showing recolor suggestions for the HO Scale range. Because their toolings exist, Bachmann might as well announce Sidney, Fernando, Mainland Diesel #1, Mainland Diesel #2 (Ulli), or Green Salty at some point, possibly at the NMRA, since their toolings already exist. All of which appeared in the CGI series. Diesel's tooling still has some good choices for recolors, while Salty's reintroduction can make Green Salty a recolor. As for the Mainland Diesels, Bachmann can't do all of them, but it would be nice just to have two or three of them, especially #1 showing a rather annoyed expression. Only a few have good looks of their faces. It's been six years since Paxton was first announced for HO Scale, and Sidney still isn't on the cards. BWBA introduced Fernando, another character who would use Diesel's tooling. Both he and a few Mainland Diesels could possibly get their first official pieces of merchandise. I wonder if Bachmann could acknowledge Sidney like they did for Stepney.

Hopefully, N Scale Henry and Express Coaches get announced this NMRA. Bachmann should know how much we want Henry, following Gordon, for N Scale.

Hopefully this summer at the NMRA, Bachmann could announce N Scale Henry, along with the Red Coaches, or even the Express Coaches to go with Gordon, now that we're getting Henrietta to go with Toby. With Toad being the first brake van in the N Scale range, could that indicate plans for Oliver? Henrietta would also make Hannah a possible recolor.

As for HO Scale, could the Open Carriage indicate plans for Stephen joining the range? There's also the Blue Coach, which you see at the end of Stephen's train, and was once pulled by Diesel, which could also get made. If any new engines get announced for HO Scale at the NMRA, it would most likely be recolors, like Sidney, Fernando, a Mainland Diesel or two, or Green Salty. Nia, as much as I don't care for her, is bound to be the next new tooling. Beau will not have moving eyes, but should have a working light instead.

It's perfectly understandable why the announcements were small, considering all the products Bachmann needs catching up on, especially for Narrow Gauge.

Pardon this double post, but the 2023 catalog is up!

No new engines were announced, but HO Scale is getting an Open Carriage, which is a new tooling for rolling stock, as well as Sir Topham Hatt's car. N Scale is also getting Henrietta to go with Toby (thank goodness) by popular demand, as well as three box vans (Great Western, Fruit & Veg, and Ice Cream), and even a set for Emily. Also nothing new for Narrow Gauge, but there's plenty of stuff there still on the backburner. Also, nothing new for Large Scale...

An unpainted prototype of N Scale Gordon is ready much sooner than expected, even before Emily, who was announced before him, which is very weird. Not too long ago, Bachmann did show an unpainted prototype of Emily's coach. I really hope N Scale Henry gets announced soon. He would be the best choice immediately after Gordon's announcement, especially for being the same size as Gordon, as well as sharing Gordon's chassis; minus the trailing wheels. After Henry, Edward will be the only member left of the original Steam Team for N Scale.

Gordon is also the first engine in the N Scale range who doesn't already exist in Large Scale, since N Scale is much more flexible with big engines like him. If Bachmann can make Gordon, they can absolutely make Henry for N Scale. Just recycle the chassis, remove the trailing wheels, change features of the body to match Henry's, paint him green, and make the tender different.

So SOME catalog announcements were shown in Bachmann's latest video, but NONE of them were Thomas & Friends products. However, there will soon be a separate video announcing Thomas products within like a few weeks or so. We'll get the full catalog during February. We may not see the new Thomas products until then.

We'll have to hold our breath for just a little longer. There will be Thomas announcements. Just not at this moment. They're being saved for a dedicated video on them.

I shouldn't get upset if Nia is next in line for new toolings in HO Scale, considering we already have Rebecca coming our way. The demand for Hiro is bound to have skyrocketed following Rebecca's announcement, which greenlit new toolings for tender engines. Hiro could even use Rebecca's wheels (repainted) as parts, like how Ryan used Oliver's wheels; just repainted. For smaller engines, Stanley has had high demand for years, and can recycle Thomas' chassis with the wheels painted red. Hiro should be the next tender engine for HO Scale, as he's had consistent demand, and now more-so following Rebecca's announcement. I think Hiro should be considered before Flying Scotsman (whose only concern is the second tender).

As for diesels with new toolings for HO Scale, the best choices are Den, Dart, Philip, Norman, or Diesel 10. Dart would make Natalie a potential recolor (albeit she was a one-off character like Beau). However, Dart's only concern is his small size, and may have to be scaled up slightly to fit the eye mechanism and motor. Frankie could recycle Diesel's chassis, though she was a one-off character, but would make one of the American diesels a potential recolor. Not only would this be Norman's first official piece of merchandise since Mattel's takeover, but he would also be the first ready-to-run model of 11001. Philip would also be a good choice for Large Scale.

If we finally do get Sidney for HO Scale, I just hope the face won't be botched, like how Paxton's was. However, Paxton's face was a huge improvement on his Large Scale model. Sidney would also need a painted border around his face.

It's been six years since Paxton was first announced for HO Scale, and Sidney still hadn't been on the cards, but we'll see if that changes soon. Fernando and the Mainland Diesels are other good choices that use the same tooling, but it would make sense that Sidney comes before them. Too bad Splatter and Dodge haven't been relevant in two decades.

For HO Scale recolors, Bachmann could easily make Sidney, Fernando, the Mainland Diesels, or Green Salty because their toolings already exist. For new toolings, they could make Nia, Stanley, Whiff, Harvey, Norman, Diesel 10, or Hiro. For Harvey, one issue is his crane arm, but Bachmann has made rail cranes. Making one that's self-propelled shouldn't be too hard, though they may have to omit the eye mechanism for a rotating crane arm. As for Diesel 10, they could at least make his claw posable, and could still stay in place when not in use. Diesel 10 is the only other good choice for a larger diesel that's appeared in the CGI series. Not a fan of Nia, but since we're getting Rebecca, they might as well complete the BWBA Steam Team. Ashima would be really interesting, but two problems with her are her complex siderod configuration with upper flywheels, and her highly-detailed paint scheme.

We may never get a Bachmann Stepney, no matter how great his demand is, solely because he never appeared in the CGI series. Same for BoCo or Duke, unless Mattel ever warms up to the idea... They probably won't, given that they intentionally made All Engines Go a dumpster fire for the older fans, but that's a different topic.

After being cancelled for the past two years, the Toy Fair is finally returning, but will be later in the year this time, so we'll most likely just get the 2023 catalog within a few weeks. Maybe this Friday, but no guarantee.