Bachmann’s Europe Thomas range

[Hilux5972]

I couldn’t find a separate topic so figured I’d start one. I’ve Just seen an advertisement on Facebook from Chester Model Centre, with the first view of the Thomas UK packaging. The dcc capability is to be a Next18 socket in the range it seems. And it is marketed as OO so will be interested to see what tooling changes, if any, are made. The HO American ones are visibly smaller, as you’d expect, next to a normal British loco.  Photo credit to Paul Boyland from Chester Model Centre. 

[SomethingTrainLover]

You uh, you sure about that?
Cause you do know that these are the exact same toolings as in America and the rest of the world? Some of the detail parts have been thickened to meet the younger UK age requirements, but externally they're exactly the same. This is because the range is and has always been OO, just marketed as HO and HO/OO gauge. So uh, no idea where you saw that the American versions are smaller than the upcoming UK ones :P. And yes, its been known since they officially unveiled the first entries into the UK range earlier this year that they would be fitted with a Next18 socket and be DCC ready. I'm fairly sure that there was already a thread just hasn't been posted in in a good while cause there's been little to no updates other than the estimated release window.

[Hilux5972]

2 hours ago, SomethingTrainLover said:

You uh, you sure about that?
Cause you do know that these are the exact same toolings as in America and the rest of the world? Some of the detail parts have been thickened to meet the younger UK age requirements, but externally they're exactly the same. This is because the range is and has always been OO, just marketed as HO and HO/OO gauge. So uh, no idea where you saw that the American versions are smaller than the upcoming UK ones :P. And yes, its been known since they officially unveiled the first entries into the UK range earlier this year that they would be fitted with a Next18 socket and be DCC ready. I'm fairly sure that there was already a thread just hasn't been posted in in a good while cause there's been little to no updates other than the estimated release window.

From my own experience owning models over the years. 

[Joseph the L&YR lover]

think that's mostly cause the tvs props they are based on are weirdly proportioned compared to oo gauge locos

[Hilux5972]

2 hours ago, Joseph the L&YR lover said:

think that's mostly cause the tvs props they are based on are weirdly proportioned compared to oo gauge locos

Yeah I suppose that could be part of it too. 

[HonestTom]

I do find myself wondering about the future of Thomas. Mattel have announced that they're taking the franchise in a radically different direction. If the new Thomas depicted in the preview image is reasonably accurate to how the characters are going to look from now on, Bachmann may well find themselves with a lot of obsolete tooling.

[No Decorum]

22 minutes ago, HonestTom said:

radically different direction.

[Phil Parker]

10 hours ago, Hilux5972 said:

From my own experience owning models over the years. 

 

You might want to revise that experience. Thomas is the same height as the Bachmann Pannier tank.

 

If it helps, I've reviewed the models in the December issue of BRM.

 

[SomethingTrainLover]

5 hours ago, HonestTom said:

I do find myself wondering about the future of Thomas. Mattel have announced that they're taking the franchise in a radically different direction. If the new Thomas depicted in the preview image is reasonably accurate to how the characters are going to look from now on, Bachmann may well find themselves with a lot of obsolete tooling.

For now at least, Bachmann did immediately say that Mattel's plans won't be effecting their plans for the range(s). 

[Compound2632]

Thomas and Percy were available in the UK many years ago as not-Thomas and not-Percy "Junior" models, which I converted to Thomas and Percy with the aid of faces cast in dies made from impressions of the faces off wooden Thomas and Percy, which happened to be the right diameter. The proportions are not unreasonable for 4 mm/ft but definitely gross for 3.5 mm/ft; in fact Percy is rather wide for the structure gauge, across the cylinders and footsteps. Here's the Thomasified not-Thomas with a Hornby 6-plank wagon for scale; the Hornby wagon is dimensionally accurate for an RCH 1887 specification wagon; the only think that lets Thomas down is the too-low fron't buffer beam but there's no getting away from that - Dalby was clearly of the M.C. Escher school of draughtsmanship:

 

[SomethingTrainLover]

Even the measurements for the engines aside, which do match 4mm:1ft standards, there's one major fact that just solidifies it...the fact that most of the range's rolling stock is reused Mainline toolings and they scale with the Bachmann engines, even considering the TVS proportions. and Tbf, Thomas's buffer height on the front is just tall enough for the tops of the buffer heads to make sufficient contact with most other stock. What a lot of people have done, given the Bachmann model does need a fair share of work to make it accurate to both the original G1 props and the CGI model, is shave the front bufferbeam down from the bottom and just raised the height of the buffers' location on the bufferbeam.
Also, touching on the Ho-OO thing again, Bachmann have been playing it a bit clever with how the range is marked for years anyway. Cause I don't think they've explicably, or at least on the packaging, said the range was HO scale, but rather HO gauge. Hell, look on the boxes most if not all of them say HO/OO gauge. Actually, thank god they put that on the packaging because when I was like 11 or 12, I happened to be looking at a Bachmann Emily I had managed to get my parents to get me. And I noticed the HO/OO gauge on the packaging, and this made me curious as to what OO was.  Eventually I finally remembered to actually look it up, and imagine my shear wonderment when I saw all these engines and rolling stock that actually had things the engines on Sodor had; buffers, bufferbeams, hook and chain couplings, the overall style. Blew my mind, cause all I had known was HO and American Steam in general, not like the many books on the subject that I had access talked much about steam outside of North America outside of Rocket and occasionally Flying Scotsman. Was able to convince my parents a year or so later to get me a OO engine off eBay for Christmas, and that Christmas I got a Bachmann LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0. And there was the start of that addication.
Right, may have gotten a bit carried away with that reminiscence.

[BernardTPM]

For a long time several of the old Mainline originated items (e.g. LMS Period 1 coaches and Cattle Wagon) have been part of the 'Thomas' range, so they have always been 00.

[Paul.Uni]

On 02/11/2020 at 01:26, Hilux5972 said:

Photo credit to Paul Boyland from Chester Model Centre. 

The image is from Bachmann https://www.Bachmann.co.uk/product/category/519/thomas-with-annie-and-clarabel---moving-eyes-dcc-ready/00642be

[slg]

Due during Winter 2020 (Dec/Jan) along with a list of about 18 other Thomas items

Inc. Percy, James , Gordon & Toby.

[Phil Parker]

While reviewing Thomas for the current issue of BRM, I couldn't resist putting him on Furness Quay - I think he looks at home there.

 

 

You might like to listen to this, while looking at the photo.

 

[Ed-farms]

I think the main question has to be, how long before we see a sound chip for Thomas with the correct TV Series sound files, I would certainly buy one

['CHARD]

11 minutes ago, Ed-farms said:

I think the main question has to be, how long before we see a sound chip for Thomas with the correct TV Series sound files, I would certainly buy one

 

I suspect that blue ball is firmly in Mattel's court.  I fear the licensing fees would be eye-watering.

[relaxinghobby]

The coaches in the above pictures look nice, easily spruced up with extra detail and foot-boards to look like proper scale models, especially in Phil's station halt picture.

[Hilux5972]

On 12/11/2020 at 02:26, Ed-farms said:

I think the main question has to be, how long before we see a sound chip for Thomas with the correct TV Series sound files, I would certainly buy one

Well Bachmann has already done it in the large scale models. One chip for all, just need to change one of the CVs for the different whistles. 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Hilux5972

[HonestTom]

On 16/11/2020 at 10:53, relaxinghobby said:

The coaches in the above pictures look nice, easily spruced up with extra detail and foot-boards to look like proper scale models, especially in Phil's station halt picture.

I had a go at turning the "Red Coaches" into LBSC coaches with a fairly simple repaint. Not exactly finescale, but I'm quite pleased with the result.

[Alex H]

Hope this is allowed.   I have a old Hornby Thomas which my grandson loves, but my layout is now DCC.   I am torn with trying to convert what I have or whether to  go and get the new Bachmann version.     The unit I have is nice and heavy, but I haven't been able to handle a Bachmann version so I don't know what its made of or how it compares to the original Hornby version.     

How do people rate the two versions against each other?

 

Many thanks

 

Alex

 

['CHARD]

11 hours ago, Alex H said:

Hope this is allowed.   I have a old Hornby Thomas which my grandson loves, but my layout is now DCC.   I am torn with trying to convert what I have or whether to  go and get the new Bachmann version.     The unit I have is nice and heavy, but I haven't been able to handle a Bachmann version so I don't know what its made of or how it compares to the original Hornby version.     

How do people rate the two versions against each other?

 

Many thanks

 

Alex

 

 

The new contender from Barwell is a good, hefty and robust loco. It is also DCC ready, so that's an option for future added play value.

[Coldgunner]

Hope you don't mind a little self promotion. I picked one up from Trains4U today, I'm quite happy with it. A little shocked at the cost of Next18 decoders (not T4U's fault). Its nice to have a DCC fitted Thomas to run alongside my other fitted loco's. My 4(!!!) Hornby Thomas' are all analogue!
 

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by Coldgunner

[Steven B]

On 23/10/2021 at 21:50, Coldgunner said:

A little shocked at the cost of Next18 decoders (not T4U's fault).

 

A Zimo Next18 decoder costs around £20. What did you get?

 

Steven B

[Tim123]

36-567A is the Bachmann Next18 decoder, RRP £37.95. Discounted priced are around £33 ish. And when you open the box it's a Zimo decoder inside! Given Zimo use the same motor drive circuitry on all its decoders and there's no lights or servo being operated then a £20 Zimo is ideal. Depends of the decoder was needed right there and then, and that there wasn't a cheaper alternative?