Bachmann Europe to bring Thomas to the UK & Ireland

[No Decorum]

On 10/11/2020 at 08:18, Trojmiasto said:

To try to go through some of the points above: 'I believe Thomas is really only popular with the smaller children...'. That is just one section of a very busy market. Small children now have a voice - it's not 'mum, I want that one' any more, they actually get it. People spend ridiculous amounts of money on toys for their kids - do a quick eBay search for Thomas and Friends on eBay, and barring the most recent releases you'll see some pretty wacky examples. Add into that a pretty active collectors market and a YouTube market that buys trains to produce reviews,and you've got a pretty healthy demand.

 

In terms of Thomas being babyish, children get to an age where they want to appear more grown up or developed. Admittedly, some children move on from Thomas - I recall being glued to it when really young, but by seven I'd found Thunderbirds (the original, not the new animated rubbish) and Power Rangers and also didn't have much time for Thomas. Doesn't mean that I don't have a Hornby version that I haven't run for years and a G Scale version that gets the odd cheeky outing now though!

 

The pricing is an absolute joke - there are no two ways around it. I'm currently working through Narcos on Netflix during lockdown - these prices scream of Bachmann's 'war tax' being fobbed off onto customers yet again for products they've already developed and that have been sold on one way or another previously on eBay, etc, for far less than the quoted RRPs. Their strategy has become one of gradual inflation at each pricing opportunity - you should be looking to entice children into the hobby with a cheap route of entry in a product they like. There are so many cheaply available Thomas's and Percy's available on eBay from Hornby, and I hope children go after these as opposed to swindling £75 out of the bank of mum and dad and lining these people's pockets. The G Scale versions are really nice visually, but are also quite cheap in terms of quality when compared to an LGB model.

 

I'm not a big fan of DCC myself, but I can see how in tight layouts for minimal effort it can provide an effective solution to allow children to run more than one loco. You'll have to offset this against Bachmann's 'war tax' cabinet though, who will no doubt want compensating for the privelige of fitting a chipboard of components and solder costing pence to produce...

 

Bachmann did introduce a Junior range of robust models. It has disappeared – I assume it was a marketing failure.

[PaulRhB]

15 minutes ago, No Decorum said:

Bachmann did introduce a Junior range of robust models. It has disappeared –

Partly because the steam locos were the Thomas mouldings with no faces and the license clarification  complicated using them because of the shape being copyright too. Tooling a totally freelance replacement would be prohibitive I expect. 

[Aire Head]

39 minutes ago, No Decorum said:

I assume it was a marketing failure

 

Plenty of them seemed to get bought solely for their chassis!

[Phil Parker]

37 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

Partly because the steam locos were the Thomas mouldings with no faces and the license clarification  complicated using them because of the shape being copyright too. Tooling a totally freelance replacement would be prohibitive I expect. 

 

The first versions which were Thomas and Percy without faces, we replaced with a freelance steam and diesel model

Steam: https://www.hattons.co.uk/stocklistdatabase/38422/bachmann_branchline_30_921_junior_0_6_0st_in_br_lined_black/stockdetail.aspx

Diesel: https://www.hattons.co.uk/61013/bachmann_branchline_30_910_junior_shunter/stockdetail.aspx

 

Note: can we avoid another price discussion thread. It's a topic that has been done to death. Thanks

[SomethingTrainLover]

What Phil said, there was a lawsuit between HiT and Bachmann over the reuse of the Thomas and Percy toolings. I mean, ended with a win, very nice little DCC ready 0-6-0 chassis out of the whole thing. 
Also, from Chaz from the Bachmann Forums, has given permission for me to share these comparisons between the older, Tomix engines and the released Bachmann ones. Hopefully this is allowed.

Now these are the original Tomix ones, not the slightly updated ones that came out some years ago, but this is pretty much to show the massive differences in detailing and scale between the 2. The Tomix ones were scaled to Japan's N scale, but they're even larger than that tbh, while the Bachmann ones are done to the UK standard, as has been said before.

[D9020 Nimbus]

Japanese N scale is actually very slightly smaller (1:150) than British (1:148).

[The Evil Bus Driver]

On 23/04/2019 at 16:17, GreenGiraffe22 said:

Thomas the Tank Engine is single handedly responsible for my interest in both real and model steam engines today =) 

 

Edit: the fact he was based on a LBSCR prototype built in my home town is a happy coincidence 

That gave me an idea for a shed layout based on multiple 'Thomas'es showing his arrival on Sodor in Southern or BR colours, and stages of his repaint into the now familiar blue. Basically with various locos shuttling between sheds and being swapped within so they look like they're coming out in the next stage of painting.

Edited November 18, 2020 by The Evil Bus Driver
The return of the dreaded Typo

[Phil Parker]

Interesting piece on "new" Thomas here: https://thesifblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/thomas-2021-what-to-expect.html?fbclid=IwAR26qkU2dRRsdeRM1EI4V7Ob-TcbfmjFdwwYpgJ7m-Y4-yrTPBvXJ6wv5Lc&m=1

[BernardTPM]

[micklner]

Pathetic nonsense

[Aire Head]

The poor old revered will be spinning in his grave so much somone should probably hook him up to a generator and supply the national grid.

[adb968008]

 

So Thomas no longer needs a driver or tracks. It can also spin and rotate.

Sounds like Tesla has overhauled Thomas.

Giving Thomas regional accents and making the island less British allows it to be appealing to more global audiences.

 

Though, I though much of this had already occured ? There are a number of non-British outlines there.

 

I guess Its becoming closer to Chuggington, which has always been more global, flexible since the outset. Tbh Chuggington does seem more educational, I guess a slightly older audience. Replicating Chuggington as a good old fashioned trainset with a mix-match fleet of locos and eras is much easier, than is with Thomas.

 

Remember Thomas is fantasy with no latch to reality for most of the world, many countries have no working steam locomotives at all let alone a preserved railway. So they may as well expand its abilities, as many kids may never see a steam locomotive at all in their childhood, not even a static rusting wreck. Its less relevent than it ever was, as Thomas’s world is no longer close to childrens own world. Thomas may as well have wings.

 

if Thomas was made today, in the UK it would probably be a Pacer, supported by Sprinters, Electrostar, Pendolino and Azuma, with 08, 66,67,70. Freight would not involve animals, there would be no milk on platforms, and there could well feature an Amazon delivery van, talking ticket machine, coffee shop seller and an all watching cctv. 
Staff would play a minimal role (no porter, guard, signal man, plate layer etc as todays railways they are no longer public facing), allowing the trains to be their own characters more... certainly a cross country 170 type character would offer geographically entertaining storylines against a more provincial pacer. Freight would certainly be containers, allowing unlimited product placement advertising potential in the show.

 

i’m surprised no OO gauge Chugginton range has been released, but moving Thomas to a more flexible 3D cgi without track constraints is going to test how it can be meaningful to kids in a fixed traditional OO layout with track sense... maybe this is how AR or VR finally drags our hobby into a new era of play.
At a minimum kids will want an app with the toy.

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by adb968008

[PaulRhB]

Stop worrying they’ve renewed the license on the model railways and they aren’t doing away with track just not tying it to it.

Kids of the age it’s aimed at do the same with brio etc, when they don’t have all the track for their story they improvise, it’s just play. Yes RWA probably wouldn’t approve but he was of his time and probably wouldn’t have liked a fair bit of the tv series that exists  

We aren’t the target audience and the existing series is still all over tv and streaming so a kid hooked in by the cartoon will watch it too. It’s no different in straying from the original than all these mini toys that have been around for ages with bee, ice etc themed paint schemes  

[No Decorum]

1 hour ago, Phil Parker said:

Interesting piece on "new" Thomas here: https://thesifblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/thomas-2021-what-to-expect.html?fbclid=IwAR26qkU2dRRsdeRM1EI4V7Ob-TcbfmjFdwwYpgJ7m-Y4-yrTPBvXJ6wv5Lc&m=1

I couldn’t reach the end. In the words of one of my heroes, Marvin the Paranoid Android, “Sounds awful.” Bear in mind that this grumpy old git regards only Thomas Series 3 and 4 as canonical. The narration of the first two series was awful and only picked up when the late lamented Michael Angelis took over. From Series 5, models were no longer used and I do attempt to be some sort of modeller. Perhaps I should move to the Isle of Man or one of the Channel Islands; according to the title of this thread, Thomas won’t be brought there.

[Phil Parker]

26 minutes ago, No Decorum said:

Bear in mind that this grumpy old git regards only Thomas Series 3 and 4 as canonical.

 

Only books 1-26 are canon. Everything else should be ignored.

 

And Annie and Calarabel are bogie coaches. That is a FACT!

[No Decorum]

Just now, Phil Parker said:

 

Only books 1-26 are canon. Everything else should be ignored.

 

And Annie and Calarabel are bogie coaches. That is a FACT!

All right. Crawling under a Manx stone.

[Phil Parker]

9 minutes ago, No Decorum said:

All right. Crawling under a Manx stone.

 

I envy you that! Missing my Manx trip this year, and probably next...

[PaulRhB]

9 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

 

Only books 1-26 are canon. Everything else should be ignored.

 

And Annie and Calarabel are bogie coaches. That is a FACT!

Yep, having read some of the later books to kids I treasure the original stories and just ignore them. Doesn’t bother me if they ‘expand the universe’ my bit is quite safe and supported by the rest  

[No Decorum]

6 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

 

I envy you that! Missing my Manx trip this year, and probably next...

Missing so much. Summer isn’t summer without steam. 

[JSpencer]

5 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

 

Only books 1-26 are canon. Everything else should be ignored.

 

And Annie and Calarabel are bogie coaches. That is a FACT!

 

I was quite happy his son continued up to book 41. But everything else should be ignored.

[Chris116]

3 minutes ago, JSpencer said:

 

I was quite happy his son continued up to book 41. But everything else should be ignored.

I would agree that Christopher Awdrey's books were as good as his fathers but since then it has been a steep downward slope and the latest news makes it total freefall.

[Steamport Southport]

And Duck said to Oliver "Have you seen what they are doing to the lesser engines?"

 

"Aye. They can't do that to US!" replied Oliver.

 

"I'm going to South Wales. A place called Cashmores, I've heard it's quick" said Duck quivering.

 

"I think I'll join you"....

 

 

And they puffed off into the western sunset to join their Swindon brothers.

 

 

[Ben B]

I'm a bit torn on this.  As a foster-dad of three, I've been subjected to a lot of cartoons over recent years, and a lot of reboots of stuff that was around when I was little.  It can be done well- the new version of Dangermouse is superb and genuinely very funny (whilst paying warm homage to the 80's version).  Even My Little Pony (I foster three girls...) is watchable, and considerably less-over-the-top-girly than the version my sisters used to watch in the late 80's, fast paced and quite sharply scripted with some jokes for parents.  Sometimes this sort of rebooting and re-imagining works.

 

But reading through that article, it seems to like so many changes are being made, just for the sake of making an action-packed, funny, American-centric little kids cartoon, well... why go to all the effort?  Why not just start from scratch?  All I can imagine is it's the current trend of just hitting the nostalgia market, and not daring to risk anything new in favour of something that has an established fanbase.

 

I respect the fact that Thomas is intended for kids, but even my train-mad youngest had outgrown Thomas by the time she was 5 and only wanted the likes of Smokey Joe for her layout.  I think personally I'll stick with the Top Left Corner of Wales for my childhood nostalgia-hit.

[No Decorum]

So you take some Littles to see “Thomas” on a preserved heritage railway. “Why can’t Thomas turn 360°? Why can’t Thomas fly? Why can’t Thomas [insert here any of the other wildly improbable actions Thomas will be performing]?” Keep tight hold of your Littles because they will expect to wander onto the track and have Thomas stop on a sixpence to spare their little lives.

[Phil Parker]

8 minutes ago, No Decorum said:

So you take some Littles to see “Thomas” on a preserved heritage railway. “Why can’t Thomas turn 360°? Why can’t Thomas fly?