Bachmann 2019 Speculation

['CHARD]

Would make more sense to me to catch up the backlog and when that's happening announce new items. The Mk2Fs took 5/6 years to hit the shops. Simply too long!

 

I think that in terms of presence, profile and market confidence, an annual announcement is essential, otherwise silence may be taken to indicate a lack of direction and intent.  So long as this is tempered with realism and underpinned by a rational explanation of what has been done and is being done to clear the backlog, then I think everyone has good grounds to feel themselves better informed customers.

[locoholic]

I think that in terms of presence, profile and market confidence, an annual announcement is essential, otherwise silence may be taken to indicate a lack of direction and intent.  So long as this is tempered with realism and underpinned by a rational explanation of what has been done and is being done to clear the backlog, then I think everyone has good grounds to feel themselves better informed customers.

The annual announcement is only essential if it produces a positive result for the company. With Bachmann these days it mostly produces cynicism and jokes about delays.

['CHARD]

The annual announcement is only essential if it produces a positive result for the company. With Bachmann these days it mostly produces cynicism and jokes about delays.

 

Hence my comment; let's see what is announced. 

 

At the end of the day 500 keyboard worriers like me can say what we like - it amounts to a hill of beans when Bachmann's 2019 releases sell out on pre-order and provide their owner its necessary return.

[Dunsignalling]

The annual announcement is only essential if it produces a positive result for the company. With Bachmann these days it mostly produces cynicism and jokes about delays.

But, these days, the proverb "no news is good news" would definitely not apply.

 

John

[The Johnster]

there must be a commercial risk to saying we arent going to announce anything new until we have sorted the back log out.......you stand still and others will pick what low hanging fruit there is left before you.

 

I think we will still see a decent raft of announcements if not up to the 400 plus items from Hornby.

 

Damned if they do and damned if they don't, announce that is.  Given the very strong announcement from H, B are going to be hard pushed to put a positive spin on things this year; most of us will see through the salespeak.   What we will appreciate is honesty and upfrontness; things will improve and H cannot keep this level of new introduction up for very long, which means we will see much less announced by them in 2020, at which point B will be able to make themselves look a bit better!

 

But they've hung a stone around their own necks with the long lead times; an announcement of, say, a Manor with etched name and number plates and a 120 dmu with working windscreen wioers will please everyone, but not if we have to wait the best part of a decade for them to turn up in the shops.  They may be coming to the conclusion that they would be better off playing their cards closer to their chests and not announcing models until they are in a more advanced stage of development and production slots confirmed, which is what H seem to have been able to do despite their problems.

They also look much better on the bogies from the Railroad/Thomas Collett bow-enders.

 

I think these are Collett 7 foot wheelbase bogies, aren't they, which are also wrong for these coaches and would need footboards adding anyway.  The 10'6" Dean bogies from the gangwayed clerestories are noticeably overlength on these rather short coaches; the real ones on which they are based are a compartment longer.  So they aren't a scale model of anything, but look the part on my miner's workman's; the last real ones in service ended their days on such work between Cwmmer Corrwg and North Rhondda Colliery 2 valleys over from where my layout is set..  

 

Earlier versions of the Triang Hornby Colletts had the generic B1 bogie that the shorty clerestories still feature, and I believe some Thomas coaches may have had these as well.  At least they are the right wheelbase for the shorties.  It appears that the current re-issue is pretty much the old 1960s shorty, with B1 bogies attached directly to the bodyshell, no internal detail, and very crude 'underframe' detail, a moulding dating back to the late 50s Triang Stanier coaches.  AFAIK the only improvement ever made to these coaches is the bogie mounting, which was a brass rivet but is now a plastic plug mount which at least makes it easier to remove the bogie.  

 

This was the deciding factor in my using the original bogies on my 3 coaches.  One is an older model with rivet attachment, and I decided that it was more important to have the rake all matching than go to the faff of removing these bogies so that I could fit the very good white metal 24/7 Dean 8'6" ones.  I may yet do this at some future date, though.

[Wickham Green]

 

...........................................  AFAIK the only improvement ever made to these coaches is the bogie mounting, which was a brass rivet but is now a plastic plug mount which at least makes it easier to remove the bogie.  ..................................

I'm not sure whether the first iteration of the 'Clerestories' had them, but the earliest Triang BR1 bogies pre-dated 26mm pinpoint axles !

[stephennicholson]

Is there a date for the Bachmann announcement?  

[John M Upton]

14th January. If I had a pound for every time that has been asked in this thread I could preorder that very expensive crane...

[brenn]

14th January. If I had a pound for every time that has been asked in this thread I could preorder that very expensive crane...

sorry....very funny:)

[brenn]

sorry....very funny:)

but true

[ThaneofFife]

heres a thought.......weve become so used to large rafts of releases every year but realistically how long can this continue for?

 

is it like the old forth rail bridge in terms of by the time one model has been retooled another will come around for it ?

 

thing is brand new never seen before releases are going to come to a head eventually......theres only a finite back catalogue

Edited January 10, 2019 by ThaneofFife

[sc2016]

It would be nice if Bachmann annouce they would do another slight retool of the Class 150 to include a low level mechanism similar to what they are doing with other modern DMUs that they are making such as the Class 158.

 

 

What im hoping for from Bachmann in their 2019 range:

Class 150/0 in GWR livery
Class 150/2 in FGW 'local lines' livery
Class 158 in FGW 'local lines' livery
Class 158/9 in GWR and FGW 'Local lines' livery
Class 57/6, 57604 in the updated GWR burnswick green special livery with the GWR logos on the cabs

 

I would love a GWR 150/0 but I don't think that Bachmann have the tooling available for the centre coach.

 

Also i would love the Local Lines Livery put on either/both of the Class 150 & 158 but hearing what i heard during a shop open day a couple of years ago is that it will be quite difficult to get the livery right. The problem with the livery is that the bodyside changes colours on the bodyside being darker on the bottom and lighter on the top and it is difficult to do correctly with current printing methods as there have been an attempt to get one produced by a commissionser back then.

 

Samuel.

[Mike Storey]

The extraordinary venom expressed on here by some regarding Bachmann's production woes, with utter disregard for the succession of unforecastable disasters that have hit them, strikes a parallel with such venom during Hornby's similar problems a few years back.

 

I am "disappointed" to say the least, because there are a couple of planned models which I really need which have been pushed back multiple times (but are still planned, thank goodness).

 

But I cannot for the life of me understand the invective expressed by some. Is this some sort of consumer media site, with all the rants of consumer rights and contractual expectations, regardless of context, or are we supposed to be a collection of reasonably well-informed modellers, whose hobby is not actually that vital to our daily lives, let alone our safety or survival? I guess there are some who have overblown their "interest" to that extent, but really? We have been spoon-fed much of the reason for their current difficulties - something pretty rare in other industries - but it seems that there are several on this forum who either cannot be bothered to read it, or who do not understand the implications when they do.

 

Bachmann are not truly out to stuff us all. They will try to make it work, albeit at prices we may not like in some cases. But they have an honourable history in re-invigorating a somewhat dormant part of the hobby. Give them some slack, for goodness sake.

[The Johnster]

I'm not sure whether the first iteration of the 'Clerestories' had them, but the earliest Triang BR1 bogies pre-dated 26mm pinpoint axles !

 

Yes, and the Triang brake 3rd clerestory I have was one of them!  The wheels, to my amazement, would run perfectly through modern code 100 Peco flangeways, but have now been replaced with metal sets, as have the wheels on all my clerestories.  The bogie moulding goes back to the 9 inch Triang mk 1s, 1959 I think, but is not a bad representation of a B1 and the right wheelbase at least.  The 3 coach set runs very well and smoothly; if there is a fault with these coaches in that respect it is that they are very light and, even with my interior detail added, could probably do ideally with a bit of ballasting, but they run fine and can be propelled through any of my pointwork without derailing.

[No Decorum]

heres a thought.......weve become so used to large rafts of releases every year but realistically how long can this continue for?

 

is it like the old forth rail bridge in terms of by the time one model has been retooled another will come around for it ?

 

thing is brand new never seen before releases are going to come to a head eventually......theres only a finite back catalogue

 

There are still quite a few bits and pieces, when you start to think about them. Not many main line diesel locomotive types, certainly, but there are still electrics, gas turbines, shunters and multiple units. At nationalisation, I believe that BR inherited 448 classes of locomotive and many, many more types were scrapped before then. Unless the hobby collapses, there is enough to keep all but the very youngest on tenterhooks. Then some bright spark will decide on scale track for the RTR world and it can start all over again.

 

Edit: The more serious question is, where are we going to put it all?

Edited January 11, 2019 by No Decorum

[No Decorum]

The extraordinary venom expressed on here by some regarding Bachmann's production woes, with utter disregard for the succession of unforecastable disasters that have hit them, strikes a parallel with such venom during Hornby's similar problems a few years back.

 

I am "disappointed" to say the least, because there are a couple of planned models which I really need which have been pushed back multiple times (but are still planned, thank goodness).

 

But I cannot for the life of me understand the invective expressed by some. Is this some sort of consumer media site, with all the rants of consumer rights and contractual expectations, regardless of context, or are we supposed to be a collection of reasonably well-informed modellers, whose hobby is not actually that vital to our daily lives, let alone our safety or survival? I guess there are some who have overblown their "interest" to that extent, but really? We have been spoon-fed much of the reason for their current difficulties - something pretty rare in other industries - but it seems that there are several on this forum who either cannot be bothered to read it, or who do not understand the implications when they do.

 

Bachmann are not truly out to stuff us all. They will try to make it work, albeit at prices we may not like in some cases. But they have an honourable history in re-invigorating a somewhat dormant part of the hobby. Give them some slack, for goodness sake.

 

Yup. We may be impatient for the models Bachmann has announced but I am quite sure that Bachmann is even more eager than we are to get the stuff out to us and get some money in. Let’s just hope that the latest unforeseen delay is the last and that stuff starts to flow again.

[TheSignalEngineer]

The race is on to get my 74xx conversion finished before they announce it next week.

[luckymucklebackit]

A relatively simple one for me, the 1960s Eastfield style class 20 in GSYP with tablet catcher recess, they have produced this before in sets with DCC and sound, I am just looking for a bog standard DC one at bog standard DC prices!

 

Jim

[Wickham Green]

but true

....well - almost ! ............ it's a VERY expensive crane !

[The Johnster]

The race is on to get my 74xx conversion finished before they announce it next week.

 

Which would lead to the possibility of a later series 64xx as well!

[Downer]

Out of interest, searching through my 1957 Combined Volume, I found twenty locomotive classes with, then, fifty or more survivors that are yet to be made or announced as RTR models.  

 

There are none from the WR, and only one - the U 2-6-0, from the SR.

 

The old LMS offers the Fowler and Stanier 2-6-2Ts, the Johnson 0-6-0T, the Aspinall L&Y 3F 0-6-0, the Mackintosh Caledonian 0-4-4T and 0-6-0T, the Drummond Caledonian 2F 0-6-0, and the Midland 2F 0-6-0.

 

The LNER has the B16 4-6-0 (NER), the K2 2-6-0 (ScR), the J6 (GN), J17 (GE), J26 and J27 (NER), J35 and J37 (ScR), the N5 (ScR) and N15 0-6-2s, and the J69 0-6-0 (GE). 

 

Any one would be welcome from Bachmann.

[The Stationmaster]

Out of interest, searching through my 1957 Combined Volume, I found twenty locomotive classes with, then, fifty or more survivors that are yet to be made or announced as RTR models.  

 

There are none from the WR, and only one - the U 2-6-0, from the SR.

 

The old LMS offers the Fowler and Stanier 2-6-2Ts, the Johnson 0-6-0T, the Aspinall L&Y 3F 0-6-0, the Mackintosh Caledonian 0-4-4T and 0-6-0T, the Drummond Caledonian 2F 0-6-0, and the Midland 2F 0-6-0.

 

The LNER has the B16 4-6-0 (NER), the K2 2-6-0 (ScR), the J6 (GN), J17 (GE), J26 and J27 (NER), J35 and J37 (ScR), the N5 (ScR) and N15 0-6-2s, and the J69 0-6-0 (GE). 

 

Any one would be welcome from Bachmann.

 

Based on some announcements in recent years I suggest that it might be more meaningful to have counted the classes still existing in 1957 irrespective of them still having a minimum of 50 engines in service in 1957.  Manufacturers and commissioners seem to find it perfectly viable to produce models of a class which had only a few engines left running. By 1957 - I think 3 is probably the minimum but if you extend forward into the diesel age one company seems to have made a successful, and therefore repeated, habit of producing models of a class of one. 

 

But as ever with numbers it all depends what you are trying to prove

[nathan70000]

I do think that when it comes to 'everyday' engines, the bigger classes should jump the queue. On that basis, the LNWR DX Goods would win handily, but the last survivor disappeared in 1930, so not much chance of that.

 

IMO the most needed 0-6-0s are the J6 and J21/5/6/7 (I'd buy an NER 0-6-0 whatever) , so the five most significant LNER constituents each have one between them. I did think this was where Hornby was going with the J15 in 2015 and the J36 in 2017, but sadly not this year. Maybe we'll get one in 2020! I've always thought there should be a pattern, so that each year there's an 0-6-0, a small tank engine, a big 'headline' locomotive and possibly a D&E release (although the biggest gaps there are now in MUs).

 

At least if Bachmann does an NER 0-6-0 there'll likely be a pre-grouping option.

[Dick Turpin]

Who announces and releases what can be a bit like Russian roulette, can't it, but with the live chamber being a release chosen by Oxford. 

 

 

Sorry Oxford, I didn't mean that at all. I WILL buy an N7 (or two) promise. 

[nathan70000]

I thought the N7 was quite a sensible choice, and it doesn't look like too bad of a model. Yes they are compromises like on the Hornby Terrier to make sure the widest range of liveries are available, but I can live with that. The N7 could be the first model to really 'land' for Oxford - it would revolutionise the market if they can continue to get medium-sized tank engines on shelves for under £90.