OLIVER HAS ARRIVED!

[Anthony P2]

Well once a product arrives in their warehouse, they try to ship it out as quick as they can. plus this also depends on how often your dealer purchases product from Bachmann. They probably didn't order Oliver right away. Your dealer probably waited until there was a low amount of Bachmann stock to place an order for some more products. Oliver's probably on their next order, and, depending on what state you live in, it might take a while for your dealer to get whatever they ordered, in stock. Everyone will be able to get their model soon.

[TrainFan97]

There's no doubt that Oliver will soon show up on the bestsellers list. Duck is currently #8 being the number 8.

[ThomasFan247]

I received my Oliver two days ago, and may I say is he stunning! Excellent job, Bachmann! Here's a photo of him (it looks as though he has teeth lol):

[JD417]

(it looks as though he has teeth lol)

I wonder where you got that from 

[Chaz]

Oliver is finally here, so as promised here are some photos and my thoughts on the model!


There is one really important thing I would like to talk about before I talk about the Bachmann Oliver, which is how everybody wanted a model of Oliver for a long time.  After Donald, Douglas and Duck were announced the demand and hype for Oliver and Toad was undeniable and hard to avoid on this forum (or anywhere for that matter).  To add to that, Bachmann managed to carry the same quality from its predecessors from these models to their Oliver model, and knowing that Bachmann bothered to make these characters at all before doing any character before anyone introduced after season 7 is just incredible by itself.  Looking back, I'm honestly surprised Hit/Mattel actually approved of this decision.


The first thing I would like to talk about is the Bachmann Oliver's design choice.  I am going to judge my views on the model for what it actually is rather than what it isn't.  I do agree that the classic style of Oliver looks a lot nicer than the CG render that Arc made, and I would even go as far as to say if that if they went with the classic style, the model would've been out a lot sooner as it would've been easier to make.  However, Mattel always has the final say when it comes to decisions, so it's not like Bachmann actually had a choice if they had to choose which era to base it off of.  If I complain about it not being in it's classic form, and talk about how horrible Arcs render is of the character, I'm going to find myself to be very disappointed with what's in front of me.  For what it is, there are a lot of positive qualities behind it.


So regardless of what era the model is based off of, the fact that Bachmann made the characters that fans actually wanted and made them in terrific quality, it makes loyal collectors like myself very happy to finally have engines 1-11 finally completed by Bachmann.


In terms of aesthetics, Bachmann really did an excellent job of capturing Oliver in his CG form.  The attention to detail such as the rivets, whistle, lamp irons, just to name a few are all present thus showing accuracy and details to the model - possibly the most detailed model in the HO range (not including narrow gauge).


My favorite feature about Oliver has to be the lamps.  These are by far the most accurate lamps on a Bachmann model, and are superior compared to the marshmallow shaped design with the lamps on Thomas, Percy and James models and I would love to see this carried over to future models, or possible revisions.  I will be adding custom LED lights to both lamps, and when I do so, I may post more pictures!


One thing I want to talk about is the scaling done with the model, which is something that Arc failed to do properly with their render which has sadly made it onto the Bachmann Oliver, but not as badly.  I'm sure the scaling of the model was probably the most difficult issue with the model and especially what made the model take so long in production.  He might look a little off compared to some other engines and rolling stock, but I think it honestly could've been a lot worse. Despite this, and maybe a missing detail or two, there is one other flaw on the model I'm surprised no one on here made a comment about...


I am honestly surprised that when it came to the coupling hooks on the model that instead of going with the smaller, more accurate hooks like on some of the previous engines they went right back to the larger and thicker ones for Oliver.  It doesn't really detract from the model that much, but when they haven't added hooks like these to models since Bill and Ben, it really does make you wonder why they made this choice with Oliver.


But aside from those two nitpicks, I'd say Oliver is a pretty great model in terms of looks and already has me won over regardless of what era it's based off of.  While the scaling is probably the biggest issue with the model that can't be fixed I'm glad the difference isn't as apparent as Arcs render.


Now in terms of running, I would say that there is definitely a quality motor inside the model. Oliver is not a heavy duty model, in fact he's probably one of the lightest models I think I have had in my collection.  Almost the same as Bill and Ben.  This doesn't seem to affect its performance all that much as despite that he is surprisingly a really smooth runner, especially when running at slower speeds. 


Hauling power was very interesting, as while he is a lighter model he didn't do very well in terms of pulling heavier trains.  I've had to replace two of my loaded trucks with empty ones on an average as I expected he would have done fine with heavier ones.  This isn't a bad thing by any means, I would say a couple of coaches/trucks with Toad should really do the trick as that's what most fans would have him pull anyway. 


Overall, I wouldn't go as far as to say that this is the best model in the range, but it is definitely above average and met and even exceeded a few expectations.  It's amazing detail and running are really what win me over and I know he will be popular at my model railroad clubs Easter show!  If you are a fan of the character, you are going to be very happy with what you get.  If you are an older fan who prefers characters to be in their classic form than you will inevitably be disappointed with this model.  But to those who simply just want to have the last classic character that Bachmann will probably do in HO then I think it is worth the investment regardless of its design.  It's selling out like crazy for a reason and words can only do so much so take a look and see for yourself!


So now that engines 1-11 are now completed, it'll hopefully be a matter of time before we see Bachmann announce/make the rest of the original Skarloey Railway engines!

[sean1994rail]

Great Detailed Review, Chaz. But another good thing about Bachmann Oliver, it is taller than his brake van Toad, as he should be.

[jleight]

Nice review.  I learned a few details along the way.  I appreciate the time it took to investigate and pass along this info.  Good job! 

[Griffin (TheBlueSnowplow)]

Awesome review Chaz. I had heard that he was incredibly small- did you feel he was out of scale size-wise with engines such as Gordon or Duck?

[Chaz]

Compared to Duck, there is a notable size difference, but again it isn't as bad as Arc's scaling.  I wouldn't say he is out of scale, but if they had made him in Arc's actual size then he easily would have been too small.  The hook and loop couplers wouldn't have lined up properly with other engines and stock if they made him in Arc's size.  Just to give you the right idea:

[TrainFan97]

"Oliver! What are you doing on my track?"
"Your track? Who says this is your track?"
"There are two ways of doing things, Oliver: The Great Western way, and-"
"The wrong way, I know... and you're doing it the wrong way!"

[donaldthescottishtwin]

I've seen both a 5700 class and a 1400 class in person and the scaling Arc did is just awful, the Bachmann model is more decent but still looks weird. Both classes are about the same height and width.

[Metal]

As I speculated some time back, compared to both model and CGI the scaling is right about in the middle. Still good job to Bachmann for the painstaking effort considering that Oliver's scaling must of been a total nightmare.

[Griffin (TheBlueSnowplow)]

"Oliver! What are you doing on my track?"
"Your track? Who says this is your track?"
"There are two ways of doing things, Oliver: The Great Western way, and-"
"The wrong way, I know... and you're doing it the wrong way!"

This made me laugh. xD

[BassTbone]

https://youtu.be/qCboKm3QEoU

My look at Oliver with music by yours truly. 

[TrainFan97]

My Oliver model has arrived today. He's smaller than I imagined. He's also very weak.

I wouldn't say the model is bad. It's what I've waited years for. Oliver may be small, but not scaled down to the point to where open wagons are taller than him. His face is smaller than Thomas'. The black running board is an easy fix if bothered. The size, however, is not fixable. It's just something we have to deal with. At least it's still better than Arc's scaling. Kind of in the middle between model and CGI eras. Duck, on the other hand, is rather big. Duck is also quite long.

I have nothing against Oliver being made in his CGI design, since I know that Mattel has the final say on how it's done. Duck's model was made before his CGI render was revealed. With Duck in his model design, and Oliver in his CGI design, it's kind of weird. I'm glad Oliver's not as small as Percy, or Bill and Ben. Oliver is a great model. I'd like to thank Bachmann for making Oliver. His lamp looks WAY better than Thomas'.

Oliver's already had more reviews than 'Arry and Bert ever got. I enjoyed 'Arry and Bert too. I might be getting Rosie if she gets released this summer. Oliver is the first engine in the HO range that's a different character since 'Arry and Bert in 2014. I'm really looking forward to Paxton. If Paxton gets delayed, he might suffer than same fate as 'Arry and Bert, who didn't get released until over a year after they were announced, despite being recolors.