I'm honestly stunned at how great Daisy turned out. Funnily enough, a number of years ago in a prediction or wishlist thread I'd jotted her down as a most-likely candidate to be produced. However-many years later here we are! 

Huge thanks for Bachmann for continuing to make such faithful models for us fans over the years. Daisy is as true to herself as anyone could have imagined- and as we approach the halfway mark through the year, let's continue to be hopeful for and supportive of Bachmann to continue producing faithful models of our friends.

Yes, it's pretty sad- if not heartbreaking, to see the spirit of what made the show so unique and special completely discarded and replaced by directionless marketability. This is where we're at and I'm gonna share what I think is a worthwhile attitude to think about.

In actuality it's been seemingly long understood that the future of the spirit of the world of Thomas is really up to the fans now. Hasn't the official YT channel done like, those videos where fans submit their own scenes for "episodes"?
I know I've seen that before, so it's not like they don't know fans are super committed to taking the series in their own and faithful directions. It's almost like this is an acknowledgment, sort of. Mattel may recognize that fans, the hardcore fan base, knows the depth and complexity of storytelling that the world of Thomas is capable of and is leaving it up to them to keep the spirit alive in their way.

There's no way Mattel are oblivious to how much content the fanbase creates and pumps into the community. It's as if Mattel has made it clear that they're using the franchise how they want to- and want fans to use it how fans want to. If you think of it this way, it makes saying goodbye to the professionally produced and marketed face of Thomas not so difficult. It's nice to have writers and directors and animators/modelers pour their lives into a series for kids that countless adults also enjoy, but maybe this is where the two separate. Fans know the lore, the characters, the source material and all that- and fans are continually expanding upon that in the way they feel is most faithful.

Honestly, maybe it's better this way. The more quality and capable mediums like Train Simulators and model-making become, the bigger palette of creativity fans have to work with and continue the world how they see fit. It doesn't make it any less official or canon, if that's anyone's worry- which you could debate any which way. All in all, I think this is the point where the future of this series belongs to the fans. So let's see what happens.

It really has been quite a long while since an announcement as roused the customer base as much as these- which is excellent! I think with Bachmann's acquisition of the UK distribution rights they have their eyes set on a much larger customer base and this certainly shows it.

Stuart & Falcon/Peter Sam & Sir Handel variants of their respective models would probably be one of those things the higher-ups would address in way like, "Well, that's the beauty of the hobby- if you want it bad enough, you make it yourself."

Could they do it? Absolutely.
Is it probable that they will? Not much at all.

Though it would be pretty cool if Bachmann put a little more thought into producing a variety of face plates with different expressions for the existing and future range. Perhaps they were gauging the market with grumpy Diesel?

Really great collection and Happy Thanksgiving. Here's everything I have for now after only just getting back into the hobby. The 45xx and P Class are my first purchases after not getting anything since Bachmann's Edward was released.










Distant cousins?

Hope everyone has a happy holiday season (US or abroad), and let's see those fleets!

Quote from: J70Toby on October 03, 2018, 05:40:07 PM
Does anyone have any insight on whether the Bluebell Railway has any say in how Stepney's image is used?  I would think that they don't and that whoever holds the rights to Thomas and Friends has the rights to Stepney the character, but I'm not sure.  I know that there is children's newsletter from the Bluebell Railway called Stepney's Club (or something like that), which would capitalize on children's familiarty with Stepney through the RWS/T&F, but I don't think it ever portrays Stepney with a face.

Love that P Class! Bought No. 178 a while ago and they're such top-quality models. Might have to get Bluebell as well.

As far as Stepney goes, I'm not entirely sure myself. That's definitely not something I've heard in the discussion. Perhaps it works like licensing does?

I think Stanley is a very weak possibility compared to all the characters requested for next year so far. He's not played any sort of major role in the series for quite a few years (a decade?), and though he is occasionally requested he doesn't exactly fit the list of nostalgic characters that most collectors and modelers could mention off the top of their heads.

It looks like we're almost through with the nostalgic batch of characters, and really Stepney and Daisy I feel would complete the era of "back catalog" that we've all watched Bachmann produce over the years (if you choose not to include BoCo). Granted, Daisy's reintroduction to the series has certainly boosted her popularity and makes her an overall more realistic contender than Stepney, but I absolutely agree with the statement of him selling ridiculously good.


With Nia I do think it's fair to rule her out this early in the game, depending how involved or distant Mattel are with Bachmann's marketing or however their license agreement works. I haven't kept up much with the series for a couple years so I have no clue how any of that is handled at this point. Along with her complexities, she doesn't really have a solid presence in the series just yet, does she? Seems pretty safe to say that we won't be expecting her in the product line for perhaps another year, if ever at all depending on how her role is handled (if that's the basis of a character's likelihood to be produced).

Quote from: Plow Bender on January 16, 2017, 02:19:08 PM
An HO scale Lady (as nice as that sounds) is unlikely to ever happen for more reasons than 1.  I'll admit that Lady has always been my favorite Thomas character (at least until Ashima came along (*cough* fanboy *cough*)), but even I can admit that chances of her happening in HO are about as likely as killing a bird by throwing it off a cliff.  Let me explain.

For starters, like Mr. HLC Railroad said in his post, Lady has only made 2 appearances.  Once in TATMRR and for a split second in Calling All Engines (worst Thomas movie ever next to Misty Island Rescue).  Since then, we have not seen or heard of Lady, or so I thought...  Interestingly enough, Milly has obtained Lady's whistle since she was introduced in King of the Railway.  Based on that little piece of information, it honestly leads me to believe that chances of Lady coming back to the series (even in CGI) are slim to none.

On another note, as much as I like Lady, I too can admit that there are just as many fans who like her as fans who (like Chris Tomson) despise her.  I can agree that most of this could in fact be directed to TATMRR itself, but Lady not having a basis, referred to as being magical, and maybe just her character in general pretty much just gives fans reason to hate her.  Given the information I've provided, this is the fan base for Lady, sad as it is...

Now in terms of Lady being made in HO, well, production of the model doesn't look much better.  For starters, Lady could not use Percy's chassis because the wheel base length is too large.  Lady's chassis would be smaller than that of Bill and/or Ben, which would make it a costly piece to manufacture.  Furthermore, Lady would be an overall smaller model, which would push her cost up even more.  If you don't believe me, take a look at how the Skarloey engines are priced.  Even Bill and Ben (being the smallest engines in the HO range) are damn near $100 or might as well be.

So in conclusion, Lady just doesn't hold enough positives to be introduced into the HO (or even large scale) range.  Not only is the fan base just not there for her, but production of such a model and the RRP that comes with it would just make it an epic fail for Bachmann to produce.  My recommendation is that if you want an HO scale Lady model (and if you have the skills), you might as well just build one.  Back in 2010, I took on this task and converted the ERTL model over to HO scale.  The chassis was built entirely from scratch with 1mm styrene, along with aluminum for the oil pan and copper for power pickups.  I've included photos of my model if you want some ideas.  Water marks are applied because I don't want them pinched...

-Rusty

The argument of Lady demand/probability has been done over so many countless times that it's really not worth going over. 

Also, careful with your digressing. We're here to discuss the T&F models and all railroading matters related. Not petty discourse.

Quote from: Anthony P2 on March 28, 2013, 07:53:19 PM
if the look of the characters change in a show, then the products (i.e. toys, model trains, etc.) have to change so kids don't get confused. in my opinion, all the engines will match their CGI counterparts at some point in the future.

This is 100% correct; unless of course we, the consumers, continue to voice our opinions on how we think the model should be. Belive it or not, our opinions and criticisms are somewhat acknowledge and taken into consideration. We just have to speak up! Although certain requirements must be met to fit the criteria, which younger modelers don't always notice such as faces and footplates and whatnot.

It's not about the money, it's about the contents of the show being "viewer friendly," people don't want their children to be influenced negatively.

Realistically, Lady's chances of ever being produced in the HO scale range are almost zero. She's only ever had one appearance, although it was a major motion picture. She's never been referenced to in the canon series or RWS. Not rendered in CGI yet. It's hard for me to imagine a scenario in which she would return to the series, which makes her chances at production, or even consideration for production, pretty non-existent.

I assume when Bachmann are in the process of trial and error for the next locomotive production, they take many factors into consideration, such as:
Popularity/familiarity
Customer demand/profit margin
Character recurrence/importance (how integral a character's role is, or how often the character is used)
Cost
If the toolings are readily available from subsidiaries

When it comes to Lady, she scores fairly low on almost all of these factors. However, she is fairly well-known among modellers and older fans, but that is her only attribute. Sorry to disappoint well-intended wishes, but she will most likely never be made. But that's the fun about modelling, if the desire is strong enough, you can make her yourself!

I think it's highly unrealistic to expect more than 3-4 new engines and rolling stock a year now, that's how the trend has been for the last few.

I think a salt wagon repainted with a troublesome truck face stuck on it could happen!

i enjoy using the nickel-silver track with the grey roadbed.
doesn't get as dirty as quickly as the black, and the conductivity is much more prevalent.

How about we just think before we post.

Believe me, it's much, much easier than it sounds.