Goodness gracious, please stop digging up old threads like this!  No one has posted in this thread for over a year and a half and nothing has changed to increase the odds of either of these characters.

I mean this in the nicest of ways but please stop doing this.  It's clogging up the forum and it's distracting for some users.  Thank you.

I figured I would share my thoughts on Murdoch and I'll share my thoughts on Molly later as well as other characters from seasons 9-12, while we're having a discussion about them.  But first, Murdoch. 

For Murdoch, the intention was clearly aimed for him to be a new "Gentle Giant", which they had done before to some extent with Henry.  But I feel Murdoch's character didn't seem quite as explored after his debut, unlike the other four characters that season.  Even Fergus felt more fleshed out after his debut episode, starting from the quarry and then finding his place at the cement works.  Even though Fergus wasn't used after season 7, I feel that he was a more well-developed character than Murdoch.  Murdoch's usage in season 7 was kept to somewhat of a minimum and didn't quite stand out as much to me compared to Emily, Fergus, or Arthur.  Even in seasons 8-12 he only spoke once and had very minor roles throughout that era.  Spencer also didn't really stand out during his debut season and from season 8-11 and I felt his personality didn't make him all that interesting.  However, I felt he really was at his best in Hero of the Rails and he became a much more fleshed out character since then. 

Speaking of Hero of the Rails, I feel that the "Gentle Giant" persona seemed to be tackled much better with Hiro than Murdoch.  Hiro had more of a backstory, his design looks a lot nicer, his development and personality feels a lot more fleshed out, and he's proven to be an extremely popular character with fans old and young alike.  He has also been given plenty of large goods trains throughout the show as well, and this is especially evident in both of his season 17 episodes.  If they brought back Murdoch, I feel that he wouldn't bring anything new to the show that Hiro hasn't brought already, nor carrying it to the same extent as Hiro.  While I wouldn't mind seeing what the new team could do with Murdoch, I personally think that Hiro alone has proven to be a great "gentle giant" character on the show already and I feel the character's popularity will only continue to grow from there.

Glad to see Trevor being brought back, well besides the intro and season 15 cameo.  It'd be interesting to see if they would develop him further, or at the very least speak, but we'll see.

The clip seems interesting, can't wait to see how the other episodes next month will turn out.

I guess if we are also going to talk about characters coming back, then the one I could most likely see making a comeback in the future is Stepney since he's made a handful of appearances between his debut and when the show transitioned into CGI.  He was also one of the few characters to return in season 12, like Duck and Oliver.  I am sure that we will see him find his way into the show at some point soon.  Even if he is supposed to be working on his own line, I'm not going to act like engines visiting Sodor is anything new.  Especially when you consider characters who lack continuity in regards to wanting to stay back on their homeland, like Hiro. 

But if I had to pick a non-Awdry character to come back, then I would love to see Arthur return.  Compared to other characters who were introduced that season, such as Spencer and Murdoch, I find Arthur to be a much more developed character in that season.  Especially considering that he has his own branch line, it would be interesting to see what kind of stories they could create with him.  With this talk of characters basis' as well as livery, I think Arthur has one of the best designs in the show in regards to both of those qualities.  His maroon paintwork and the basis chosen for him look incredible and I think that he shines a lot more than most of the non-Awdry characters.  It's a shame that his treatment was kept to a minimum in seasons 8-12 and hasn't returned in CGI, but if the new team wanted to bring any other character back to the series, then I think he would be a perfect candidate.

Generally speaking, most of the sets that Bachmann produces will feature just the Thomas engine himself, as shown in both the HO and large scale ranges.  It isn't too often other characters get sets nowadays. 

However, for the Skarloey range I personally believe that this is something they should truly invest in.  It would not only make collecting this range easier for those who don't own any HOe/OO9 track, (or even N scale track for that matter), but it would also be a great stepping stone for getting people started with the range.  I don't see why they shouldn't since technically speaking this is a new range, all things considered.

Personally, considering Bachmann's track record with their On30 line train sets including HO track, as well as how they have been promoting the Skarloey range, I imagine they would imagine they would do an oval of N scale track for the set (although if they use PECO track that would be a nice bonus).  The rest of the set would include Skarloey, the open wagon, and one of the vans.  This alone would make an ideal set for those who want to get started with the narrow gauge lineup. 

Quote from: TrainFan97 on September 28, 2015, 08:32:17 PM

All he ever says is "That's right!" Pokémon have more vocal range than that.

Okay, that was funny. I'm gonna start using that quote.

I probably would have mentioned the Logging Locos too but apart from his one cameo in Signals Crossed I don't think we will hear too much from them anyway.

If I really did have to pick a character who I think the show could do without completely then it would be Rosie.  I find her to be one of the most overrated characters in some parts of the Thomas Fandom.  It seemed clear that she was a marketing tool for the the show from the very beginning, and that the new team aren't interested in doing anything with her, understandably.  It's better for the current team to focus on characters who drive stories as well as keep the show entertaining.  Rosie always failed to do this to me, even in the bigger roles in episodes she had (especially her introductory episode).

Even if in the event they do something with her, besides idle in the background, it will feel incredibly forced like how some people complained about Duck and Oliver's recent appearances.  However, on Duck and Oliver's defense, they are not only original characters, but they have driven plots for countless stories as well as having more realistic purposes on Sodor.  This can also be said about Donald, Douglas, and Daisy too.  If Rosie were to come back, I would think the only reason they would want to do something with her, it would be that they want kids to start buying her toys again, but otherwise that's really it.

I had a very similar issue with my Bachmann Edward, fortunately it was taken care of with the help of the service department.  I say give them a call or an email and they can help figure out what's wrong with the models.  It might mean that you will have to mail your models so they can be fixed or replaced. 

Before you do though, I would oil both of these models since that generally could be the case for these models.  It might also be good to check to see if the wheels are clean too.  Some models, particularly for the Thomas range, need a little push every now and again to get them running within the first lap or so of your railroad before having a smooth run.  If you have tried all of these and still no luck, then I say send customer service an email. 

Give Bachmann's service department a call and ask when they will restock on that particular item.  They are open from 8 AM to 4 PM East Coast time on Monday-Friday. 

Well it looks like while today has not only been the first day of season 19 airing in the UK, it turns out we are finally getting a new opening as well as a new roll call and ending:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koxy8Dsz7_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah7xge7JIW4

An improvement compared to the last one?  I sure say so!

I can definitely see Ffarquhar happening.  It is easily one of the most iconic locations in the classic era as well as making a return in full CGI.  The sheds you also mentioned earlier would also be good ideas too, I know I would definitely like having one of those if I had the room on my layout.  

Quote from: ClrwtrMK2 on September 07, 2015, 02:54:59 PM
How about a REAL Knapford Station? The kit version is nothing like the TVS Knapford.

As nice as that would be, I don't see Bachmann making a more accurate version of Knapford.  I feel that the kit is the most Bachmann can really do, even though the kit itself is different platforms with no Knapford building to go with it.  However, maybe if they did something like an expansion pack (like what they did with Tidmouth sheds) that would include the buildings on both ends of Knapford, then I could see that working out.

I saw Ant-Man on Saturday with some friends of mine.  If anyone is a fan of Marvel, or super hero films in general I would say this is definitely worth checking out.  Regarding the Thomas scene, it was easily the funniest parts of the movie.  There are more funny moments involving Thomas throughout that scene in the movie, and I think anyone would get a kick out of it, but don't check out the film just for Thomas alone since there is a lot of other funny moments in that movie. 

Definitely hard for my friends not to make a joke or two with me about Thomas being in the movie, especially since I can create that exact train with the same models (minus the caboose).

Honestly, I felt the exact same way when I saw Henry Spots Trouble.  Even though I haven't done reviews on here as much as I used to (MeganekkoFury1126 seems to be doing a good job of doing that for me it seems ), this one would easily be at the very bottom on my favorite episode  list from this season.  Judging by the general reaction I've seen from other fans, it's clear I'm not the only one.

Forced humor is never funny, especially when it doesn't contribute anything to the episode.  The scene where Sir Topham Hatt ripped his pants was honestly one of the most cringe-worthy moments I think the show has had in a long time.  Even though I felt the episode was already weak to begin with, that moment just killed it for me.  I can always let humor slide every now and again, like in Lost Property or even the shed gag in Duck and the Slip Coaches, even if arguably the last one triggered a few fans, I can at the very least see why the writers included that moment.  However, I can't find myself saying that for what was shown in Henry Spots Trouble.  It was a little over-the-top and really distracting in the episode.  Glad to see I'm not the only one who didn't find that moment funny.

Apart from that episode though, I'd say the rest of the episodes were decent.  The Truth About Toby is easily my favorite so far this season as it was great to see such a variety of characters involved as well as this being one of the first good Toby episodes in a long time.  I dare say the last decent Toby episode we got was in season 6!  I feel Wild Water Rescue deserves a mention from me too, since I honestly thought this episode was going to be horrible since I thought it was going to be another Belle/Flynn episode that we would have to sit through.  This though, was phenomenally better than I thought it was going to be and I think Percy and Diesel's relationship is explored so much better in this episode than it was in Percy and the Calliope.  

Overall, I have to say that this season is definitely off to an interesting start and I am interested in seeing where the rest of the season goes from there.  

Wow, those came out pretty quick!  I'm surprised those got out before the red coaches.  Regardless, I think I might look into getting the trackside station and maybe the engine shed, but probably not right away. 

Surprised this thread was brought back up, no one has posted in it in over eight years. 

Anyway, in the photo gallery Bachmann have posted a step-by-step process on how they created the original Sodor layout, which could work in regards to how they created the layout just as well, if not better than a trackplan.  For some reason, I can't seem to find the photo gallery anywhere, wonder what happened to it.  On another note, there are updates on the first layout at the end of each of the youtube videos Bachmann have uploaded with their starter sets if you would like to take a look. 

The second Sodor layout unfortunately displayed no trackplan or step-by-step process online, so there isn't much help I can offer on that one.  Especially since it's a completely different track plan due to incorporating some of the larger buildings on the layout (like Knapford and Tidmouth sheds).