Thank you very much for the feedback guys! I really do appreciate it. These positive responses are making me more hopeful that Stepney will be announced soon, maybe even this July if we are lucky. Overall, with all our hard work regarding why Stepney truly is the best candidate for a new HO Thomas engine, let's hope that the licencor can agree to this. Not only would Stepney's announcement make us Thomas fans ecstatic, but it would also help Bachmann with strong sales. Thank you very much again, and I look forward to seeing more thoughts .

Considering that Chaz promptly posted his detailed thoughts on the Black James and Narrow Gauge Sir Handel, I thought that it would be appropriate for me to share my thoughts on the locomotive that I greatly believe should enter the HO Thomas Line next: Stepney the Bluebell Engine!



So, why should Stepney, an engine who has not been present in recent episodes of the television series, plus seem like a generic 0-6-0 tank engine at first glance be introduced next instead of engines such as Nia, Rebecca, Phillip, Stanley, or even Ryan?



Firstly, the demand for him is definitely worth noting. Stepney has constantly been the most popular new engine suggestion by a landslide, not only through the Bachmann Forum, but through other branches of social media as well. Specifically, through the forum, threads such as the Stepney or Ryan Thread, as well as the Bachmann Thomas in 2019 and 2020 Threads have shown Stepney's popularity to a great extent, while multiple Bachmann Forum users have even stated how much they would love to see Stepney made in the signature section of their personal accounts. Through platforms such as Twitter, multiple polls have been conducted on ranking Bachmann's next engine too, and Stepney has constantly been at the top.



In terms of various brands of Thomas merchandise, Stepney has done very well with sales. For instance, when the Take-n-Play model was released in 2014, Stepney's model constantly sold out. In addition, Hornby made an HO/OO scale model of Stepney, which was first discontinued in 2010, but re-released in 2012 for a limited time due to popularity. It really is a shame that the Hornby model is now discontinued, as there has been and still is great demand for him, and the model is incredibly hard to come across for a decent price nowadays.



As someone who was lucky enough to purchase a Hornby Stepney many years ago, two questions that I have been asked numerous times from many Thomas fans are: Where can I find a Hornby Stepney? Do you ever plan on selling your Hornby Stepney? While replying, I always feel guilty for stating that I do not plan on selling my Stepney model, and that eBay is really the only place to find one these days. This just goes to show that a character does not need to be in current CGI episodes to be a popular request. It is crystal clear that fans want an HO Stepney.



Even so, considering that Stepney still may seem like a generic 0-6-0 tank engine, one may then ask: what makes Stepney so popular? For starters, he is one of the last engines introduced in the classic model series that has not been made by Bachmann, plus is an Awdry character. In addition, when looking at past sales, classic engines such as Duck have done very well. It would be no different with Stepney as well as the upcoming Daisy model for the same reason.



Moreover, fans see Stepney as a natural addition to the line, as he would go wonderfully with engines such as Duck, rolling stock such as the red branchline coaches, and most notably, Rusty, since he is the one who saved Stepney from scrap in a fan-favorite episode of all time: Rusty to the Rescue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MbpwBfrrxY. Stepney even goes wonderfully with the newer engines in the line: Rosie and Paxton, since Stepney played a part in an episode with Rosie: Rosie's Carnival Special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgTOayoJd8, and Paxton could be utilized as one of the scrap diesels seen in the background of Rusty to the Rescue.



Other episodes that can explain Stepney's popularity are Thomas and Stepney: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-yHoSMEf2M, and Stepney Gets Lost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPGQtz1lvZU. Also, it is interesting to note that Stepney is the only engine mentioned in the classic song, Little Engines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wesCEBy1TE, that Bachmann has not made yet.



In real-life, let's remember that Stepney is even a symbol of railway heritage (The Bluebell Railway), and his real life basis is also called "Stepney". With the Bachmann Thomas line now entering the UK, a Bachmann Stepney could be sold at the Bluebell Railway Giftshop. This would, without a doubt, introduce more people to the Bachmann Thomas line, as well as give children who are already interested in Thomas a gateway to real-world locomotives. In fact, one Thomas fan made an extraordinary documentary on the history of Stepney, which once again, shows how popular of an engine he really is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGmpr52R2FY



As far as Stepney's design is concerned, a new tooling would be needed, but since Stepney is an 0-6-0 tank engine, his small new tooling is something that Bachmann could definitely work with. His goldenrod color scheme is also something worth noting, as there is currently no engine with the same livery, something that the licensor should certainly be on board with. In addition, one specific thing to note is that Stepney's red side rods should actually be plastic, and not metal, which would definitely help Bachmann, considering that many of Bachmann's most recent models such as Rosie and the narrow gauge engines have plastic bits for the side rods to save money.



Finally, some fans refer to Stepney as a ticking clock because the longer that Bachmann waits to announce Stepney, the higher the chance that Mattel will bring back Stepney to the television series. Hence, Bachmann would have to base Stepney on his CGI design. Although there have been some good CGI renders such as Daisy, other CGI renders such as Oliver missed the mark by a long shot. Thus, Stepney may suffer from the same fate if he returns in CGI. Therefore, what would be most ideal for Stepney is what happened with Duck. Bachmann announced him in 2012, right before his CGI render was revealed. Therefore, Bachmann Duck was based on the classic model series design, which fans were ecstatic about. And, just like Duck, Stepney's model era face is extremely nostalgic and has a unique charm of its own that I hope to see on the Bachmann model over any sort of CGI face.



Overall, I have zero doubt that Stepney is the best candidate for Bachmann to announce next as far as new toolings are concerned. To add, because it is the 75th Anniversary, I think that Stepney, a classic engine that has not been in the current show for a while, should take priority over any other new tooling in any scale of the Thomas line including a Narrow Gauge Sir Handel.



I truly hope that someone from Bachmann can pass this message along, as seeing Stepney announced would not only make fans extremely happy, but would greatly help Bachmann with very strong sales.

Now, for some questions:
Would you buy a Bachmann Stepney?
How popular do you think that a Bachmann Stepney would be?
After reading this, is there any other HO engine you could see as a better suggestion than Stepney and why?

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this long post. I look forward to seeing everyone's thoughts, and with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, I hope that everyone is well and stays safe.

A wonderful read, as always, Chaz! As for my answers to the questions:

1. Absolutely!
2. When considering which narrow gauge engine to announce after Peter Sam, there is no doubt that Sir Handel is the best choice for all the reasons stated. However, for the next new engine with a new tooling for the Thomas line across all scales, I would still state that Stepney should be the #1 priority, considering his popularity and the fact that it is the 75th Anniversary (I plan to make big post on Stepney in the coming weeks too ).
3. I have zero doubt that Sir Handel will be a hot seller, especially since his CGI render is one of the best.

Seeing that Bachmann recently acknowledged Stepney's popularity as well as stated that they will begin planning what is going to be announced for July in the coming weeks, I have hope that Stepney will be part of the announcement.

Ultimately, my dream is to see Bachmann go with the face that Chaz and Griffin mentioned:



That charming grin has always been one of my favorites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CluK78zZMOQ

I recently uploaded the sneak peek to the eighth episode of my fan-made model series. Hope that everyone enjoys!

Really enjoyed reading your thoughts, as always, Chaz! As for my answers to your questions:

1. Yes, I would buy a Black James.
2. Yes. While I do not dislike the Busy Bee James, it is odd that the Busy Bee James of all things was announced for the 75th Anniversary, especially along with the LBSC Thomas.
3. As far as priority is concerned, even though I hope that Stepney will be the next HO engine announced, I do think that the Black James would be a fair second resort if Stepney does not work out due to the cost of a new tooling. As far as engine recolors are concerned, Black James would certainly be the best choice, as he and the LBSC Thomas go hand in hand. Ultimately, what would sadden me and multiple other Bachmann Thomas fans more is if next announced HO engine with a new tooling is not Stepney, given his popularity and multiple other factors that have been stated throughout the forum. To conclude, if another HO engine gets announced this July, as long as it is Stepney or the Black James, I'm happy.

While taking into consideration that Bachmann has confirmed that there will be another New Thomas Product Announcement for the NMRA Convention in July (which is only five months away), and that the Bachmann Thomas & Friends in 2020 thread has already been used for two new product announcements, I thought that it would be a good idea to start on new thread to give Bachmann a very clear idea of what we would like to see next. Below is a list of what I would like, and expect to see this July.

HO Scale
Stepney (with moving eyes) #1 Hope
Red Express Coach
Red Express Brake Coach

Narrow Gauge
Brake Van- Brown

N Scale
S.C.Ruffey
Tidmouth Milk Tanker

Large Scale
Troublesome Van

Really hoping that an announcement of an HO Stepney will be possible for this July. He is still without a doubt the next engine that the majority of Bachmann Thomas Fans would like to see. And with episodes like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-yHoSMEf2M, that is certainly understandable.

With the narrow gauge brake vans now announced, one thing that Thomas fans have already been wondering across social media is what the brake vans will be based on.

For starters, one thing that is great is that only one new tooling will be needed, since the red and blue narrow gauge brake vans are the same tooling on the show, unlike the previously announced narrow gauge red and blue carriages.

Personally, I would prefer to see Bachmann base the narrow gauge brake vans on the television series model.



Television Series Red Brake Van


 
Television Series Blue Brake Van

The narrow gauge brake van in the television series is essentially a hybrid between Talyllyn Brake Van #5 and Talyllyn Brake Van #6, considering that it has the ticket windows of Talyllyn Brake Van #5 (which is the key feature of the narrow gauge brake vans), but is the length of Talyllyn Brake Van #6, which is clearly shorter than Talyllyn Brake Van #5.



Talyllyn Brake Van #5



Talyllyn Brake Van #6

Frankly, Talyllyn Brake Van #5 looks too long in my eyes. This is because narrow gauge brake vans have always been shorter than Talyllyn Brake Van #5 throughout the entire Thomas television series, including the nostalgic model series (with the exception of very minor appearances in the CGI era). Additionally, seeing that Bachmann has done many great hybrids for the Thomas line in the past such as the Spiteful Brake Van, I do not think that doing the same with the narrow gauge brake vans is far fetched at all.

Finally, the shade of red and blue of the brake vans should definitely match the shade of red and blue of the narrow gauge carriages. That light blue of the blue carriage in particular is nostalgic.

Looking forward to reading everyone's thoughts on this.

Finally, I found the time to share my thoughts on the new Thomas product announcement for February 2020!

Starting with the Deluxe Thomas & the Troublesome Trucks Set, although it is not something that I would pick up, it is nice to see another Thomas set to commemorate the 75th Anniversary. I especially like that the Troublesome Trucks come with loads that were painted brown to represent ore loads, as Bachmann could have easily just used the black coal loads again.

Next in line is the Green LBSC Thomas. While it would have certainly been more appropriate for the 70th Anniversary in 2015 (especially since Thomas' number was initially 70), it is a welcome addition nonetheless. I may consider picking this one up at some point.

Busy Bee James is, without a doubt, the most peculiar new product, and has surely been receiving mixed thoughts across social media. I am assuming that Bachmann initially suggested the Black James to Mattel, but Mattel suggested that simply selling James as a black recolor would not be appealing to younger fans. Even so, I must state that I am very happy that Bachmann still went with something from the model era. I would have certainly preferred the Busy Bee James over a Pink James or any other gimmicky James repaint from the appalling Big World Big Adventures episodes. Moreover, Bachmann could have spent tons of money on a new engine with an expensive new tooling that the majority of fans would not buy such as Nia, Rebecca, or Phillip. Yet, one thing that I have noticed is that most of Bachmann's odd products are from Season 10 such as Jeremy, the Toffee Tanker, and now the Busy Bee James. Overall, considering that it is something from the model era, I may still pick it up, but I am 100% sure yet. I'll certainly state that giving the model an angry or sad face that Cheeky ULP mentioned would encourage me to purchase the model by a long shot.

There is no doubt the most exciting new products are the narrow gauge brake vans. Personally, I hope that they will be based on the tooling from the television series. More specific points on these will be stated in a separate thread.

It is also fantastic to see that the N scale line is growing at such a fast rate. I thought that we were going to have to wait until July to see an N scale James announced, but Bachmann surprised us once more. The tankers are welcome as well, but I would have preferred to see the milk tanker announced before the water tanker. Even so, it will be interesting to see if the water tanker will be a dark shade of blue, like the HO model, or a lighter shade of blue, like the large scale model. Glad to see that a starter set was announced too, as that will surely encourage more people to collect the N scale line.

It is wonderful to see the Large Scale Diesel announced once more. Large scale Thomas fans have gotten the short end of the stick for years, but Diesel's announcement certainly makes up for that. The only thing that I find questionable is his price. It really is surprising that the Large scale Diesel's retail price is cheaper than Thomas and Percy's retail prices. I really hope that this does not mean that the model will not have separately fitted side rods like the Lionel model. It really would make the model look lacking on multiple levels. With the exception of that, it is once again wonderful to see that Diesel will be joining the large scale line!

No images of Daisy, Peter Sam, Troublesome Truck #6, or the 1-plank wagons with loads yet, but that is okay! I am sure that Bachmann is working hard on them, especially after how sought-after Daisy and Peter Sam were. Looking at the catalog, it seems the 1-plank wagons are now three different colors as well, which I have no problem with.

As for discontinued items, it is a little hard to determine what was discontinued since Tidmouth Sheds is nowhere to be seen in the catalog, but the expansion pack is present. However, I will state that I find it very surprising that the plastic switch tower is still in the line, especially with the resin signal box discontinued. The same can be said for the narrow gauge open wagon, and red and blue box vans.

Finally, since multiple people have been discussing recolors for future engines, to be blunt, the only ones that make sense to me are Sidney and the Black James. Recolors such as Blue Bill and Ben and Green Salty are just gimmicky ideas that are suited for brands like Trackmaster, but not Bachmann. Bachmann engines are expensive, so unless it is a separate sale character like Sidney, or permanent change to the engine's paint scheme like the Red Rosie, repaints only make sense if it is one of the main characters (Thomas, Percy, or James). Even so, I do not wish to see either Sidney or the Black James announced anytime soon because we just got two new recolors.

Overall, I am very happy with what was announced for the line this month. The only other thing that I would have really loved to see announced is an HO Stepney, but other than that, thank you very much, Bachmann!

Take a look at what Mr. O'Donnell uploaded to YouTube, just in time for the 75th Anniversary .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neKGtR__51c

Make sure to also check out the recreations of other classic Thomas themes:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyqzslvDyXX1GlEwfCBla2Q

Although these memorable Thomas themes are unfortunately not present in the show anymore, it really is a pleasure that Mike O'Donnell has uploaded them to YouTube. I'm sure that more will be on the way as well!

Considering that it is now February, here is the final list of what I would like and expect to see announced in February 2020. I could certainly see some of these getting pushed to the 2020 NMRA Convention in July as well.

HO Scale
Stepney (with moving eyes)
LBSC Green Thomas (with moving eyes)
Trevor or Bulgy (if Stepney does not work out)
Tar Tanker
Red Express Coach
Red Express Brake Coach

Narrow Gauge
Red Guard's Van
Blue Guard's Van
Brown Guard's Van

N Scale
James
Various Rolling Stock
Thomas with Annie and Clarabel Train Set

Large Scale
LBSC Green Thomas (with moving eyes)
Troublesome Van

Fingers crossed! It is Thomas' 75th Anniversary after all .

Wanted to share my thoughts on the (almost) finished N Scale Thomas & Percy models. Overall, they look wonderful. The models seem to consist of the proportions from the large scale models, and seem to be scaled to British N Scale, which I personally love. As for things that could be improved, other than confusion between Thomas and Percy's faces, I would have liked to see a separately fitted whistle for Thomas. In fact, I am curious to know why Thomas' whistle is part of the cab mold, while Percy's whistle is separately fitted. Additionally, Thomas' side rods look too thick. Not sure if this could be changed, but given that these are prototype models, I wonder if the final model would be able to have thinner side rods. If not, I wonder if engines like Gordon and Henry would even be possible for the future. Curious to know what everyone else's thoughts are as well.

N Scale Thomas & Percy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGg7k3egXhM

Just skip to 1:11.

While thinking more about how the Bachmann Daisy's windows might turn out, I wonder if an additional possibility would be for only the front windows to be blacked out, while still keeping the side windows transparent, like Gordon's express coaches. I have heard other Thomas fans suggest this, and although I was not too sure if it would be a good idea at first, it may be nice compromise. This means that the model could still have see-through windows, and still block out the eye mechanism. What are everyone's thoughts on this? 

I completely understand everyone's concerns on a Bachmann Duncan, as I completely agree that the CGI model is awful. Yet, let's also remember that the models of the red CGI carriages left much to be desired, and after stating how much we were concerned about the Bachmann models suffering from the same problem, Bachmann pleasantly surprised us with coaches based on the ones in real-life. Plus, they even went with two toolings (red and blue coaches) to surprise fans even further.

What's more, let's take into account that the real-life model of Rusty (Midlander) has extremely noticeable differences not only in terms of proportions, but also in terms of shape, unlike Duncan (Douglas) and the narrow gauge carriages. For this reason, I see Duncan in the same boat as the narrow gauge coaches, and not Rusty. Consequently, I think that there is still a good chance that Duncan could be based on his basis (Douglas), and not the terrible CGI render.

As a result, I think that Bachmann should still invest in Duncan to complete the main six narrow gauge engines. We just have to be vocal about the fact that the CGI render is way off so that his model could be based on his basis, just like the narrow gauge coaches. Will even start a new thread on Duncan if he is announced in the future to make sure that this issue is addressed  .