Hey everyone! Thought I would throw out my wishlist for 2025. Regarding engines, as much as I dislike the avoidance of model-era exclusive characters, I'm gonna keep this list focused on CGI engines.


HO ENGINES

Hiro - Out of all the characters that Bachmann is able to do, Hiro would be the one that I would get most excited for. He was a prominent character in the show, and would be a great step in adding characters from other countries to the line. Tbh, I'm surprised Hiro wasn't selected before Rebecca, as I feel he would have a higher chance in sales being a more popular character. I want to strongly state that even if Rebacca sells well enough, Hiro should get the greenlight, as I feel he would perform better on the market.

Stephen - This is another character that was prominent in the show for many seasons, is popular with fans, and one that I would be excited to purchase. He's a much older looking engine, so I think this could help him stand out in the line. Announcing Stephen would also help increase sales for the open carriage, and those would go perfectly with him.

Diesel 10 - Would honestly be a holy grail item for any Thomas fan. Perhaps a complicated model to make, but one that I would love to see since height isn't a factor.
 

HO ROLLING STOCK

Judy and Gerome - Having some cranes for the line would be a welcome addition. You also get two characters from one design, so this would be economical. Judy and Gerome go great with any of the characters in the line, especially Daisy, Ryan, Thomas, and James. I also love any rolling stock with a face, adds so much personality.

Works Unit Coach - This would go great on its own and with Judy and Gerome. Plus, as has been mentioned by others, there are different livery options available.

20 Ton Brakevan/Bradford the Brakevan - Seeing this brakevan was announced for n-scale, I would love to see it in HO as well. It could also be used as a repaint for Bradford. Once again, I love a face on rolling stock.

Troublesome Truck 7 - Pretty simple, just a TT using the 12 ton van. I would prefer if it was based on a truck from the model series.


ROAD VEHICLES

Trevor - For the 80th anniversary, I think this is actually my most wanted item. People have been asking for Trevor for years, and he'd go great with either of the farmer figure packs. He also goes great with many rail and road characters already in the line.

Skiff - Kind of a random one, but I think this could be cool. Could be designed so Skiff is separate and has a "truck" he can be placed on for the rails. Don't know if there's interest for this, but thought I'd throw it out there.


At the moment, I'd suggest waiting until 2026 to announce any new narrow gauge engines in light of the Duncan situation. However, I wouldn't mind seeing Luke or Victor in the line. Aside from his cab, Luke is pretty close to his basis and Victor has a yellow repaint option that I would be interested in buying in addition to his regular livery. Also, I wouldn't mind seeing a repaint of the red coaches to look more like they did in the model series.

I don't collect either of the other scales, so that's all I have for the time being. Would love to hear any thoughts!

Quote from: TrainFan97 on March 13, 2024, 04:29:18 PMThey said it was supposed to be a new tooling. If it is exactly the same as the existing Bachmann UK one, then they lied...

Sorry to get on my soap box, but I really feel words like "liar" and other antagonistic phrasing should be avoided. I just feel there are more constructive ways to criticize and get your point across. I love collecting these, but it's just a freight car. It's not worth getting that upset over.

I'd personally really like to see the LBSC Thomas in N scale. It would give me a justification to get an N scale item (I haven't gotten any recolors in HO) and would be perfect for the 80th anniversary.

I also like the idea of break van recolors. It would definitely add more variety to my train consists.

I would also like an update on this. I started collecting a few years ago so I was never able to get Salty, really anticipating this release!

Of what was announced for HO, I'm easily most excited for Stanley. The Great Discovery is a personal favorite of mine and I very much attach Stanley to that. Also kinda represents the last hurrah of the model series, so just for that I think Stanley is a great choice. Also happy that my and other's requests for more road vehicles were heard with Bulgy! He'll look great next to my passenger station. The 12 ton vans are also something I have wanted reintroduced for a while now. I'll definitely be getting two of the gray vans for my flying kipper and maybe if the circus vans sell well we can get a full circus train down the line. I'm kinda surprised they announced Duncan, as Sir Handel hasn't even been started yet, but I'm not complaining. And the D-Fusit wagon is the chef's kiss.

I think Trevor and Bulgy would be great additions! Those two specifically would go great with some of the people packs coming out (Trevor and the farmer packs, Bulgy and the school children).

I'm not sure if this is a suggestion that Bachmann would consider, especially since they seem to be opposed to making model series exclusive characters at the moment, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

With the recent release of Beau, it's clear that the main reason this relatively obscure character was made since there was already a preexisting tooling. All they had to do was give it a repaint and slap on a face, and it was clearly quick and cost efficient to make. So, my line of thought is that this could be applied to other obscure characters from the show. For example, bachmann europe has an Ivatt 3mt listed, which I feel most closely resembles the prop used for Arthur. All bachmann would have to do is give it a repaint and a face, and you have Arthur. This could be applied to other preexisting toolings as well for other characters. They could even offer them as limited editions to boost early sales.

I'm not sure if this is something anyone on here would be interested in, but I personally think that it is the best way to get the characters that us older fans would most appreciate.

I think both Hiro and Flying Scotsman would be excellent choices!

I would prefer to see Hiro first, just because he's such a fan favorite. I have no doubt that he would sell very well. Also, I know Bachmann really likes offering repaints, so perhaps Patchwork Hiro could also be a possibility? He was in this paint scheme for a good portion of "Hero of the Rails," so I think this wouldn't be a terrible idea if Bachmann was looking to get the best usage out of a new tooling.

As for Flying Scotsman, I actually quite like his interpretation in the CGI series. It's very different from the books, but I think they each stand out in their own ways. It would definitely have a high price tag, but I would buy a model of the Flying Scotsman in a heart beat. Although I do think Hiro should be done first.

Hey everyone. Been a longtime observer of this forum and thought it would be fun to contribute to the discussion.

I was really happy to see Sir Topham Hatt's car get announced, and it gets my hopes up that Bachmann could expand their road vehicle selection for this line. Here's a few characters that I think would be viable.

Classic Series Characters
I think Trevor is the most obvious one here. I have seen him brought up multiple times on here, and for good reason. Bulgy and Butch are also ones I would really like to see. All three of these characters were in CGI so I think there's a good chance they could get made.

CGI
Only one I can think of here is Kevin. Assuming they make Victor some time down the line, I think Kevin would go nicely with that potential release.

The Pack
A number of these guys also made it into CGI, including Jack, Alfie, Oliver, and Max and Monty (can use the same tooling for them). I would buy any of these in a heartbeat.

These are the ones I could come up with off the top of my head. I think expanding the road character selection for the Thomas line would be wise, considering they must sell well since none have been retired since their release. I think the fact that Jeremy is still available says enough. Any thoughts?