Quote from: AJW98Productions on November 08, 2015, 06:37:41 AM
A few years ago BACHMANN announced 2 trucks that had RWS exclusives and from what I've heard they couldn't get approval from HiT to manufacture them, although I could be wrong, I think RWS models also have a narrower (no pun intended) target audience to more easily appeal to, as the TVS is more relevant to the younger audience, which seems to be deprived of the RWS, which is a shame really, there are lot's of amazing RWS stories that haven't made it to screens or into the hearts and minds of children they were intended for after all...

Alex, that is correct.  Fred and Ricketty were both announced in 2005 and were cancelled in mid-production because Hit did not approve of them being made, hence why the open wagon was blue and the cargo car was painted orange (which was odd because at that time, there were no orange wagons on the show). 

Bachmann generally aims to make characters as they were in the television series rather than designs from the books.  Some of the rolling stock they have made in the past have done stock that have some nice RWS touches to them, including the blue narrow gauge van has an 'SR' logo printed on too.  That alone has me tempted to pick one of those up! 

Gordon and Henry are both bigger than James and Emily.  I wouldn't even consider James to be that large of an engine to be honest.  To add, his addition to the range was inevitable from the get-go when the range started with Thomas and Percy.  Emily is the main female engine on the show and her coaches were planned before she was even announced.  I think if they were to do Gordon and Henry they probably would have done them before Emily, or even Winston for that matter.  

Going to what Sparks posted, the demand isn't that strong and the sales aren't really there for Winston either.  I think sales-wise he would do better in large scale long term than in HO. 

I must be honest when I say this, but I don't see Winston happening in HO.  Therailwayinspector not only brought up a good point about pricing, but I also would like to point out that his size is what I think is what's stopping him more than anything else.  Winston is even smaller than a narrow gauge engine despite running on standard gauge track. 

In the HO range, it was easier for them at the time to create larger engines like Gordon and Henry, but in large scale it would be a lot harder for them to do because they would be so large and would easily cost over 500 dollars.  I think the exact opposite applies here with Winston coming out in large scale and not HO.  Although he wouldn't be as expensive as the large scale model, he would still cost roughly around the price suggested earlier.  Even Bachmann's Maintenance of Way vehicles mostly price at very expensive price points.  In large scale, there seems to be a lot more flexibility for smaller vehicles like Winston at a cheaper price, which is why after he got announced I pictured him as an "exclusive" to the large scale range. 

As much as I would like to see Winston happen in HO, I personally wouldn't count on that happening anytime soon. 

Quote from: Jacob Wilson on November 02, 2015, 11:42:13 AM

the Thomas & Friends range is aimed at young children, so I doubt this would be a problem to them at all

Quote from: Nykrivas on November 02, 2015, 12:13:21 PM
I would say that while Bachmann is targeting their range towards a younger audience, they've broadened it's aimed appeal without needing to go outside of their target demographic.

The Thomas range isn't strictly aimed at children.  If it were, we wouldn't keep getting classic characters, resin buildings, or an HOe narrow gauge line with products listed as "14+" on the packaging.  Thomas obviously has an appeal for children, but when it comes to some of Bachmann's recent products, I'd say the older fanbase has made an impact on what Bachmann have announced or made.  

Quote from: Jacob Wilson on November 02, 2015, 03:10:23 AM

Quote from: Chaz on November 02, 2015, 03:04:46 AM
That's how the model was designed back in 2002 and it remained that way since.

I can't understand why Bachmann want to re-design their James for now, then. If people have been able to put up with it like that since 2002, why are Bachmann spending more money changing the way James looks over 13 years later?

Believe me, not a whole lot of people "put up with it", it's been an ongoing complaint about the James model for several years.  The revisions on James have been in demand for a long time and have been long overdue for most fans.  Bachmann wouldn't be spending more money on improving James' paint scheme, revisions have happened before with rolling stock and the prices haven't gone up.  If they did a completely new tooling for James, then they would be spending extra money on the model, which at this point isn't going to happen anytime soon. 

That's how the model was designed back in 2002 and it remained that way since.

No, part of the smokebox is red when it should be black while the wheels and axleboxes are gray when they should also be black.

Sadly, discontinued products are worth a lot more money on eBay or other second hand websites since the products are no longer being produced.  There may not be much listed now, but keep checking consistently, because they do pop up every now and again.  Just be patient and you would be surprised what comes up!

OK, then try the strategy I suggested earlier regarding oiling and cleaning Donald's wheels and maybe cleaning the track too.

And yes I am referring to Bachmann customer service, you can email them here:
service@bachmanntrains.com

James has a number of paint errors including part of the smokebox, the wheels, and axleboxes which all should be black.

Ebay is honestly your best bet if you live in the UK, to find discontinued rolling stock at this point.  Some shops online may have some of the discontinued stock but last time I checked, a lot of them were sold out. 

Sometimes models might need running a lap or two on the layout to start working a little better, the same thing happens with some of my models too (Toby in particular).  This more than likely seems to be your problem so I would not be too concerned if that's the case. If it gets worse or if the motor burns out then I would suggest contacting the service department.

It might also not be a bad idea to oil Donald as well as maybe clean the wheels and track on your layout.  Give this a try first and if it continues then reach out to the service department.

No that isn't how these licenses work.  Hornby has a firm grasp of the rights to produce the HO/OO Thomas models in the UK while Bachmann has the rights to sell in the rights to sell to the US. 

The large scale range on the other hand does sell to both the US and UK and this is because no one had the rights to produce G scale Thomas models over in the UK which is why the large scale range is in the UK while the HO range isn't.  Lionel used to own the rights to produce G scale for Thomas, but Bachmann bought those rights an later produced G scale models of their own.  Meanwhile, Hornby has already been producing Thomas models in the UK and are not willing to not lose these rights for the time being, despite producing models once every 2-3 years for their range.

I think if they were to do a "starter set" for narrow gauge I think that Skarloey being the locomotive in the set would make the most sense. He is the most well-known out of all of them and is the first locomotive to be introduced into the range.

As of now, Hornby currently owns the license to produce Thomas and friends models to the UK.  Bachmann do not own the rights, therefore they cannot sell the models in the UK.