Bachmann 2019 Speculation

[Connor43002]

I rekkon we will see a retooled class 165/166 Turbo, hence why they dropped the NSE and GWR one over a year ago? Could be wrong but thats one modern image new tooling I expect they will do

[andyman7]

The later gangwayed clerestory is a classic near miss; had the coach been properly panelled it might have cost a little more but would have been a much bigger seller IMHO.  It is irredeemable in my view until the panelling issue is rectified, and I can't really see where it fits in the Railroad scheme of things

Given that the later clerestory was introduced in 1982 I don't think that in the long run they have lost out given the amount of use they've gotten from the tools. I do remember the disappointment at the time that the panelling was printed and not moulded!

[wombatofludham]

I rekkon we will see a retooled class 165/166 Turbo, hence why they dropped the NSE and GWR one over a year ago? Could be wrong but thats one modern image new tooling I expect they will do

 

Good call, I thought the new "158" chassis might end up under a new Voyager but the Turbo is just as likely.  Be nice if they did a 165 as well.

[locoholic]

I wish they would announce the return of their old website. Their new one is rubbish.

[ruggedpeak]

In an ideal world Bachmann could hit the spot by announcing that most of the things they promised years ago are on the boat. They wouldn't have to announce any truly new products at all.

 

Sadly it won't happen but they seem to be a bit more exposed than Hornby in the super detail high price end of the market e.g. 66's. No one is going tool up to compete with any Hornby railroad style models and I think Hornby is ensuring that there is a core of its range that will sit on retailers shelves as slow or steady sellers for a number of years.

 

This avoids the risk of the current hit and miss approach of new expensive and detailed models that H and B have been stuck with whilst trying to compete with crowd funders etc who have derisked this part of the process. And smaller retailers will presumably be pleased to have a colourful selection of 66's, Hogwarts etc to sell 'normal' punters in addition to the super detail. So whilst Hornby have a plan to wriggle out of the hole they were in we have to see if Bachmann also have a plan to tackle this.

Edited January 12, 2019 by ruggedpeak

[The Johnster]

The Triang shorty clerestories must be getting on for the title of the oldest un re-tooled item out there; I cannot off hand think of an older RTR coach still in production.  I think they've missed a trick if they are still going to be knocking them out on BR1 bogies, though.  They can be made in to Dean 8'6" bogies that will pass the 2 foot viewing standard easily enough, surprisingly though; cut out the tiebars and superglue footboards on.  My footboards are Sainsbury's cafe coffee stirrers cut in half lengthways and then to length, painted in my dark brown/grey/mucky colour weathering wash.  This, new buffers, and glazing the clerestory lights lifts the model considerably, and the addition of compartment dividers and seats (Ratio plastic moulded are fine) gives a very good model for the sort of price they attract at swapmeets or on 'Bay.

 

The later gangwayed clerestory is a classic near miss; had the coach been properly panelled it might have cost a little more but would have been a much bigger seller IMHO.  It is irredeemable in my view until the panelling issue is rectified, and I can't really see where it fits in the Railroad scheme of things

 

They have missed a trick; same old bogies!

[tomparryharry]

I'm going Dapol for the next year or so.

 

The Hornby suburbans and the large prairie seen to be a good bet (I hope)so it all swings on my mineral traffic.

 

Here's the problem for me. I can buy 4 Dapol 16tonners for 1 Bachmann. Sure, they need putting together, but I need to strip down the Baccy ones to fit 3-link couplings. A rake of 50 wagons comes out about £1,000 via blue box.... £250-ish via the cellophane packet....

 

I like the panniers & 56xx; A very good model in both cases. I might even buy a 94xx, should it put in an appearance. I wonder if it will be 'caped'?

 

I'm not blind to anything Bachmann make. Far from it. They make some really good product. But, I'll always cut my cloth to suit my budget. Still, Bachmann will announce their next year(s) very soon; we shall see.

 

Happy modelling,

Ian.

[tomparryharry]

As an aside to my earlier(somewhat negative)post, here it is:-

 

GWR Bulldog: A touch of Tre Pol & Pen.

 

You know it makes sense...

 

Ian.

 

PS. Please ignore me if I've mentioned this before.

[Butler Henderson]

I wish they would announce the return of their old website. Their new one is rubbish.

Is  not still the "temporary" one - the new one never appeared

[Foden]

From purely my own perspective, it’d just be nice to see Bachmann consolidate on their current backlog, with maybe a splash of new paint on some 37s and 47s to look towards. Maybe a 37/0 in metals, or a 47/4 in full RES would do just nicely.

 

If anything would be a welcome sight in terms of new, or rather improved, it’d be nice to see some 20s with functioning lights from the factory.

 

Got a lot of love for Bachmann still, and I’m really hoping they find their rhythm again. Not only because they produce two classes of mainline diesels that form the backbone of my collection, but they’re also based in moat way in Barwell, which is where I also earn my living, so there’s a certain sense of local pride for me whenever I buy something in a blue box, silly I know.

[drduncan]

Using the GWR Earl class tooling as the main components of a Duke and a Bulldog would be welcome news.

D

[Dunsignalling]

Funnily enough I've just been doing some wish list financial planning as I know this year is going to be expensive.

 

So far the biggest winners will be, assuming all projected delivery dates are met and prices are broadly in line with advertised RRP:

 

Bachmann: Circa £2100

Heljan: Circa £1600

 

Realtrack: Circa £300

 

And Hornby? £180 if the Mk2f isn't a lemon.

 

Despite a deafening roar of apathy from my bit of the Welsh Coast to the Hornby announcement this week I do think their programme actually sees a subtle and welcome rebalancing and realisation that there is a cost sensitive end of the market and I did see it as a positive and interesting set of items, just not in my particular niches (apart from my involvement in the Dolgellau layout which can make use of the 51xx but it won't be funded by me this year).

 

Nevertheless, it has been the case for a number of years now that Bachmann have routinely raided my bank balance more often than Hornby until the launch of their lovely Class 87, which possibly says something about the relative strength of post Modernisation Plan ranges in the two main companies, at least until recently.

Unless the ex-MR 0-4-4T or the Bulleid coaches turn up this year, and assuming there's nothing of interest announced next week (I'm not holding my breath), it'll just be a Beachy Head for me in 2019.

 

Kernow will be doing better than that out of me, though the Warship's already paid for, as will Dapol (a Western and a ED). Haven't checked out Heljan yet.

 

Hornby were also in for a thin time, until Monday, since when they will be lifting rather more off me than the rest combined.

 

Last year, the only things I bought in blue boxes were a Birdcage set, a PMV and a pair of double bolsters (TMC-Bachmann commission). The six-pack of 16T minerals (also TMC) don't count as they were second-hand. 

 

John

Edited January 9, 2019 by Dunsignalling

[woodenhead]

They have missed a trick; same old bogies!

There is an answer to that:

 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/CZR2ZPBEK/gwr-dean-8-6-quot-bogie-with-running-boards

Edited January 9, 2019 by woodenhead

[TheSignalEngineer]

I'm going Dapol for the next year or so.

 

The Hornby suburbans and the large prairie seen to be a good bet (I hope)so it all swings on my mineral traffic.

 

Here's the problem for me. I can buy 4 Dapol 16tonners for 1 Bachmann. Sure, they need putting together, but I need to strip down the Baccy ones to fit 3-link couplings. A rake of 50 wagons comes out about £1,000 via blue box.... £250-ish via the cellophane packet....

 

I like the panniers & 56xx; A very good model in both cases. I might even buy a 94xx, should it put in an appearance. I wonder if it will be 'caped'?

 

I'm not blind to anything Bachmann make. Far from it. They make some really good product. But, I'll always cut my cloth to suit my budget. Still, Bachmann will announce their next year(s) very soon; we shall see.

 

Happy modelling,

Ian.

I considered Bachmann to be making the best wagons when I started my present layout. There are still a few which need to be updated but most of those in the 37 and 38 series look very good to me. A few by other manufacturers like Hornby's SR Cattle Wagons, LMS style Coke Hoppers and retooled 21T Hoppers are in the same league, otherwise it is trying to fill the gaps with kits.

 

I needed to accumulate about 3 dozen assorted 7-planks and 16 Ton Minerals. The 10 wooden bodied ones are all Bachmann  and came second hand from various sources, the most expensive being a set of three POs at £19. I don't like Hornby and Dapol 16T Minerals so my 10 RTR ones are Bachmann picked up for £6 to £8 each, plus a handful of Cambrian / Parkside kits for variety. Then there are 10 reconstructed from about 12 old Airfix / Dapol kits some picked up for pence. Wheels, couplings, paint, transfers and loads gave a cost of about £50 for the 10. 

[JSpencer]

Of course Bachmann could end announcing a GWR Mogul. It has always been part of their range and Dapol will welcome the competition.

[mdvle]

Last year little was announced in terms of new toolings but we were then made aware of the two retailer commissions by TMC and Rails.

 

Just checked last year's release announcement and the new tooling was:

1. J72
2. H1
3. V2
4. 25/1  25/2
5. 168/3  170  171
6. 159 (new tooled centre coach)
7. Parrot Bogie Wagon
8. Bulleid coaches

They also announced the modification to the Blue Pullman tooling.

[mdvle]

I wish they would announce the return of their old website. Their new one is rubbish.

 

Won't say the new site is good or bad, don't use it.

 

But they can't go back to the old site if they want to remain relevant in the Google search listings as Google downgrades in the listings websites that aren't mobile friendly (somewhere around half the web surfing is now done on mobile devices).

[9402 Fredrick]

I just want Bachmann or someone to make an N.E.R 0-6-0 to go with the Hornby Q6 and upcoming T.M.C/Bachmann G5.

[Robin Brasher]

My wishes are:

1) an analogue LMS crimson Jubilee,

2) a Southern Q 0-6-0

3) a Southern U 2-6-0

4) streamlined Coronation coaches with a beaver tail observation car.

 

The Bachmann representative recently visited my local shop. He warned the shop that Bachmann would cease supplying the shop if the shop discounted Bachmann items by more than 10%. The shop manager welcomed the news as it would provide a level playing field. It is not quite level as it will make the mail order shops more expensive after taking postage into account. My local shop has found Bachmann have supplied them more effectively than Hornby and is willing to take smaller orders than Oxford.

[papagolfjuliet]

The Triang shorty clerestories must be getting on for the title of the oldest un re-tooled item out there; I cannot off hand think of an older RTR coach still in production.  I think they've missed a trick if they are still going to be knocking them out on BR1 bogies, though.  They can be made in to Dean 8'6" bogies that will pass the 2 foot viewing standard easily enough, surprisingly though; cut out the tiebars and superglue footboards on. 

 

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

[mozzer models]

There is an answer to that:

 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/CZR2ZPBEK/gwr-dean-8-6-quot-bogie-with-running-boards

247 Development do the Dean 10ft, 8ft 6in & 6ft 4in bogies

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Just checked last year's release announcement and the new tooling was:

1. J72
2. H1
3. V2
4. 25/1  25/2
5. 168/3  170  171
6. 159 (new tooled centre coach)
7. Parrot Bogie Wagon
8. Bulleid coaches

They also announced the modification to the Blue Pullman tooling.

 

I don't know the full status of all the items on that list but the first three, J72, H1, V2, were announced as newly tooled releases in years previous to 2018! So they were not 'new' new tooling announcements in 2018, but items previously announced and simply not done yet, which is a very different thing. And there are more of those yet not shown on that list, like the breakdown crane and 94xx... Sadly this once very active and efficient concern has fallen off the pace more than a little.

 

I am actually quite happy to see that they have now announced that some items are deferred (Prestwin, J39) and a bit more of that would not go amiss in restoring some credibility.

[raetiamann]

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!

[Paul.Uni]

I don't know the full status of all the items on that list but the first three, J72, H1, V2, were announced as newly tooled releases in years previous to 2018! So they were not 'new' new tooling announcements in 2018, but items previously announced and simply not done yet, which is a very different thing.

I've just checked the 2017 & 2018 Bachmann catalogues. In the 2017 catalogue the J72 and V2 were chassis upgrades only, in the 2018 catalogue they became all new tooling. The H1 was not announced before 2018, the H2 was.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Paul.Uni

[ThaneofFife]

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.