Quote from: SodorAdventures on July 09, 2012, 10:29:39 AM
  Hmm, don't judge by only one source.

But it is still the most accurate source and resource on the net for Thomas & Friends news and history    

SiF has nothing to prove; we have good, honest contacts and we only open our mouths to give information out when we're allowed to. It's a good working relationship between fanbase and manufacturer.

Feel free to disbelieve us all you want, but we don't put out press releases lightly.

QuoteIts only one person, and he might be bluffing. So, maybe, but looking at the fact there are no pictures floating around, I don't think too soon.

Pre-production pictures unlikely to appear before the end of August I was told last week. Relax. If they come earlier, excellent. If not, no worries.  

I think Duck will be well received whenever he arrives. I don't remember any of the previous Bachmann models getting quite this level of attention - maybe Donald & Douglas, but the sheer love for Duck the character is palpable.

Quote from: Cupix the Azelf on February 19, 2012, 10:10:47 PM
Um... S.A.C.... Duck didn't appear in Season 1

Quite right, my apologies. My only defense is that I've been running on empty since January with my current job and the travelling involved.

Quote from: SodorAdventures on February 19, 2012, 04:48:10 PMNah, not really. Its usual not to take the first source, especially in this case, the only source and automatically trust it. Take it with a sand of salt. In all honesty, I think its quite arrogant expecting an apology.

Arrogant, as opposed to your, ah, "joke" in another thread? 

QuoteAs you are right, so apologizes should not be dealt if they are for an false cause. Just saying, you were right with first not trusting. Sorry, SAC, but its just life. We cant take the one and only for fact if we've never known each other personally. I would trust because of your track record, but it wasn't worth the  hype vs. the risk of it not actually happening.

Strange this, but I tend to take sources who do their research and a proven track record more seriously and trust them more than a random individual on a forum.

The Bachmann Duck is more than likely to be exceptional, based on the last few years. My preference is for the stovepipe but it's not a deal breaker. I'm not sure when exactly the change occured, but the latter is more realistic to the 57XX than the former - and I prefer the former as its part of that overall look.

Apology accepted.

However, we're not like other fanbases. Ryan on SiF has a decade of working in and around HiT and old employees who have worked in and around T&F, and I've spent a lot of my time over the last six years in the modelling community, trying to make my way. We only give out information when it's confirmed to us by reliable sources.

In this case, Ryan and I had different sources which confirmed the same information. We therefore decided to have the "scoop" and try to drum up more interest.

The Bachmann models have been improving in quality from moment Edward touched down, and I personally think of them as the top children's brand in terms of model trains. Donald & Douglas, and Diesel, as I reviewed last year, are all quality products and I am keen - as is SiF - for the fanbase to support quality products pertaining to the series.

Duck in particular is a fan's favourite and we are thoroughly delighted that Bachmann will be producing him - and if the research is top notch, then I can't see why they can't make it the best model in the range.

The only thing which I would like to see is a recreation of the series 2/3/4 stovepipe chimney, which had a very prominent incline to its sides, compared to series 12's slightly wider, flatter, more realistic chimney.

Normally I'd be advocating railway realism, but that quirk of the original TV series model has fascinated me for years, and (in my eyes) makes the model look more bulky and powerful, as was the intention with bringing the tank engine to Sodor in the first place.

Here's the differences:





This isn't a deal breaker by any means, and I'd be more than happy with the latter, but who hasn't wanted to recreate "A Close Shave" in some way with a Duck model of this calibre...

Quote from: TheNewLittleEngine on February 06, 2012, 10:22:06 PM
Guys I don't think we should trust rumors. Simon refused to actually give out a source to the actual info he received. It may be a hoax, it may not be, but we can never know for sure until Toy Fair.

Wouldn't it be nice to get an apology on here. 

I don't do "hoaxes" or "rumours". I deal in facts.

Quote from: topsy on October 16, 2011, 03:30:22 PM
Can you please tell me whether Thomas is available DCC Ready or fitted in the USA?

They do not have DCC sockets fitted as standard: they come as DC only.

Fitting a DCC chip requires some basic soldering and some inventive fitting given the normally small space under the boilers of each model.

I am clearly not welcome on these forums. A large topic, a dozen pages long, deleted, and a request for information, also deleted by this morning. You know where to find me if you want to see the VS videos. I'm out - take care everyone.

Back to the Future III, Hot Wheels Delorean & Competition!

Something different (still train related!) this month.

Reasoned debate is not exactly "war".

I might suggest that those who dislike the answer might be slightly biased in favour of said 0-4-0!

I can categorically state Lady will not be appearing in the Bachmann range - ever.

To argue for her is to ignore one simple factor in all of this - Bachmann are a business, and they want models which will sell. That is why they made the first seven characters pretty quickly, that is why they have made Diesel, Donald & Douglas, and Bill & Ben. The demand is there for them. I sincerely doubt, if made, that Lady would be anywhere near profitable for them.

At the end of the day, it's about sales, and Lady as a character has neither appeared enough, nor is wanted by anything near enough people to justify a single run of models, never mind the continuous 9 year stint the Bachmann Thomas has had.

Profitability will always win the day over a perceived desirability.

Quote from: SmokeyNSteamer on July 29, 2011, 03:27:57 PM
Ain't gonna happen.  Bachmann doesn't wanna spend the extra time and money redesigning an already-existing product.  If you want a pre-Kipper Henry, I'm sure you can modify an existing Bachmann Henry yourself.

That is exactly what he was saying, if you read his post correctly. 

I am more than certain it can be done, I am currently measuring mine up for a future video covering this.

The problems with the narrow gauge engines are simple.

1. They haven't been seen for a long time. That may or may not be the case by the time of the next special after Day of the Diesels, we simply don't know. Nitrogen Studios, with Greg Tiernan, did however measure up the engines on the Talyllyn Railway last year.

2. Gauge. They are much smaller than the standard gauge engines, and if they were going to be made in any form, it would be in 00/HO gauge to match the current 00/HO range. The smaller N gauge range (which these speculative models would run on) is too small for the demographic the models would be targeted at (young children).

You would therefore either release models which are out of scale, and therefore similar in size to the HO/00 range that exists, or not, basically, compromise.

In contrast, the N Gauge Tomix range is only released in Japan currently, but then N gauge is their main scale (in that respect, it is a cultural difference and not strictly in the idea of business sense).

3. There are a base collection of six or seven models that could not really be released one at time, as the Bachmann range has been in recent years, to justify the expenditure in R&D or sell in enough quantities to develop more of them. Who would you make first? Rheneas? Skarloey? Sir Handel? Peter Sam? Duke, Duncan, etc etc...you make one, you need at least one of the others, and rolling stock to match.

I do think it's a missed opportunity by both Hornby and Bachmann, but to make the NG engines work, they'd have to work on 00/HO track, and you'd have to compromise on shape, size, overall proportions to make them useable enough for the small hands the ranges are intended for. Which would be a compromise too far, I feel.

So in theory - lovely idea - but it just won't happen, without a change of thinking somewhere between HiT and Hornby/Bachmann.

Clean the wheels and the track before doing anything else. Then, as sparks adroitly suggested, oil the gears to the motor, using a suitable lubricant.

Put simply, if they announce anything for 2012:

1. Duck
2. Hiro
3. Random piece of rolling stock from the CGI series.

I think they're going to scale back the new releases, not increase them, as time goes on. This year's announcements were pretty much in that vein.

Quote from: gojifan54 on June 08, 2011, 03:09:07 AM
but it is possible that Bachmann will make a Lady model and it woluld be a good colletors item, she may have appered for 8 minutes in two movies but, it does regaurd what HIT wants to do next, so you are right, but im not a fan of the new Thomas, and i think Bachmann should stick with the older trains from the Thomas series.

8 minutes.

Just 8 minutes 

I really can't see her being made as a model - particularly as she doesn't fit into the ethos of the current series as it stands. She has effectively been written out for the last eight years. If anything, they should reuse the Edward chassis and do Molly, but there again, she's only appeared in a few episodes.

Some of these characters really do feel like they couldn't decide what engines were going to be popular, so stuck them all into one or two seasons to see which the kids liked, immediately dropping the ones which didn't prove popular.

In the TV series, it was reputed that Duck shared his chassis design with Donald & Douglas. Read into that what you will...