Bachmann Spring Announcments 2023

[Chris56057]

The last set of announcements was in November and therefore judging by Bachmann's usual release schedule, we should have the next set in the first couple of weeks of February. 

 

I'm hoping for some privatisation liveries on the 37..

 

Chris 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Chris56057

[MikeParkin65]

2 hours ago, Chris56057 said:

The last set of announcements was in November and therefore judging by Bachmann's usual release schedule, we should have the next set in the first couple of weeks of February. 

 

I'm hoping for some privatisation liveries on the 37..

 

Chris 

 

I reckon we might get the early BR Green - the early version is already tooled up and if Bachmann have got the production slots they might try and get in before Accurascale perhaps>

[cs233]

Class 101 in Regional Railways seems a good use of a production slot 

[Solo]

2 hours ago, cs233 said:

Class 101 in Regional Railways seems a good use of a production slot 

Or perhaps a completely upgraded and re-tooled 101 to give Heljan's forthcoming 104 a run for its money.....

 

[nightstar.train]

Here’s hoping for Blanche as a 2-4-0STT as currently preserved. Or even better an NGG16 Garratt. 

[SteamingWales]

Looking at previous announcement dates they are always on the first Wednesday of the month so the expected date would be 1st Feb? 

 

Anyway, my big prediction is I expect to see the Mainline Hunslets/FR "Ladies" in current 2-4-0 conditions given we have had the Penrhyn and early FR 0-4-0 version already that have been popular and it is logical for the 2-4-0 to follow.

 

Alternately some modern 009 FR stock would be useful? Can only do so much with bug boxes and bowsiders

[surfsup]

I was thinking about this earlier and wondering when the announcement was due. And.... 

 

Please, please can we have a SWT 158 at last! 

 

[XChris]

I would have thought that we will see more 37’s, 47’s and 158’s. The 37’s are likely to be Loadhaul/Mainline or those that will challenge Accurascales already announced models. The 47’s would be nice to see some modern era, Riviera WCRC or ROG or LSL models, I think we will also see RES, Virgin and EWS ones.

 

the 158 I’m hoping will appear in Northern Blue/Purple, but I can imagine it appearing in white/purple and maybe FGW blue, ATW/TFW or northern Spirit.

[sulzer71]

Hopefully some more new 20s preferably the tablet catcher/tablet catcher recess with the larger windows version

[GD]

13 hours ago, Solo said:

Or perhaps a completely upgraded and re-tooled 101 to give Heljan's forthcoming 104 a run for its money.....

 

I think the 108 will be first in line for a badly needed upgrade and I predict mk2a coaches with lights and possibly mk1s too. 

[PeterStiles]

15 hours ago, cs233 said:

Class 101

There was me thinking you meant the Holden 101...

[Solo]

1 hour ago, GD said:

I think the 108 will be first in line for a badly needed upgrade and I predict mk2a coaches with lights and possibly mk1s too. 

I was just thinking that the other day about the MK1s.  Having a look at my own whilst doing some weathering, it occurred to me how good the tooling must have been for its time; they still pass muster and the shape is excellent.  But it surely is the one class of BR coach that is ripe for the picking when it comes to an upgrade: something along the lines of what Accurascale are doing with the MK2s and Suburbans.  It would be a shame if Bachmann missed the boat on that, having had it in their stable for so long.

[Edge]

GWR Cathedral class? :)

[spamcan61]

11 minutes ago, Solo said:

I was just thinking that the other day about the MK1s.  Having a look at my own whilst doing some weathering, it occurred to me how good the tooling must have been for its time; they still pass muster and the shape is excellent.  But it surely is the one class of BR coach that is ripe for the picking when it comes to an upgrade: something along the lines of what Accurascale are doing with the MK2s and Suburbans.  It would be a shame if Bachmann missed the boat on that, having had it in their stable for so long.

Provided they get rid of those darned roof ribs !

[Covkid]

44 minutes ago, Solo said:

I was just thinking that the other day about the MK1s.  Having a look at my own whilst doing some weathering, it occurred to me how good the tooling must have been for its time; they still pass muster and the shape is excellent.  But it surely is the one class of BR coach that is ripe for the picking when it comes to an upgrade: something along the lines of what Accurascale are doing with the MK2s and Suburbans.  It would be a shame if Bachmann missed the boat on that, having had it in their stable for so long.

 

But surely if the Bachmann Mk1s are still as good as ever - passing muster with the much newer Hornby versions, perhaps a look at a retool of a "big four" set of vehicles ? The ex Airfix or Palitoy (can't remember) Collett GWR coaches would come out really nicely, particularly with a couple of early BR non corridors too, rounding off with a "Cyclops A44" autotrailer. 

 

I have around a dozen Bachmann Mk1s augmented with a couple of Hornby's, and have no intention of replacing the rakes. 

[Ravenser]

2 hours ago, GD said:

I think the 108 will be first in line for a badly needed upgrade and I predict mk2a coaches with lights and possibly mk1s too. 

 

 

There's nothing significantly wrong with the 108, and no obvious need to take it off the market for a decade and sink development money into a very high-priced new one

 

Unfortunately there is something significantly wrong with the Bachmann 101 (believe the position of windows in the bodyside isn't right?) - which is why the vintage Lima model is still around.

 

Faced with two models , both of which have bodyshell issues, both of which "look the part" and both of which are DCC Ready and run very nicely, price and availability of the livery you want become deciding factors. Hornby's model retails at half the price of Bachmanns - provided Hornby knock it out in a different but commercial livery they can still make sales. 

 

As it is ,Bachmann have alternative DMUs that are right in the form of 105 and 108 , and can keep knocking them out from paid-for tooling.  DMUs no longer seem to be a focus at Bachmann anyway, so I expect retooling the 101 is way down the priority list

 

Where they have been very quiet is steam . When Dennis Lovatt was there , you'd have backed Barwell to do the Austin 7 and Fowler 2-6-2T, and quite possibly an LNWR 2-4-2T . Things have changed.... In any case the new policy seems to be not to announce things until they are almost ready for production. Much of Bachmann's recent new steam has been as commissions for others , which means someone else is paying for the R&D. A Bachmann run of a commission from a few years back, or a new NRM commission (Aerolite? Cornwall? A Star? Even a J69??) seem more likely 

 

Along the way they could offer new releases of some bread and butter items - Jinties, 08s, blue/grey Mk1 TSOs/SKs (perhaps with a BCK) . Stuff like that. Another outing for the Deeley 3F? .

 

It appears that the ex Airfix/Mainline tooling for earlier LMS coaches has expired , both at Dapol and at Bachmann. Tooling some replacement early LMS coaches (P1-P2) might therefore make sense . The Portholes are post war, and some of them are exclusively post Nationalisation. A left field option would be to tool post WW1 LNWR or MR corridors instead - a project in the vein of the Birdcages that could be run in plum/spilt milk behind Hardwicke but also in BR liveries on a 1950s secondary line

 

It will be interesting to see what they can rustle up under the EFE brand, to bulk out their depleted in-house OO and N

[Phatbob]

1 hour ago, Solo said:

I was just thinking that the other day about the MK1s.  Having a look at my own whilst doing some weathering, it occurred to me how good the tooling must have been for its time; they still pass muster and the shape is excellent.  But it surely is the one class of BR coach that is ripe for the picking when it comes to an upgrade: something along the lines of what Accurascale are doing with the MK2s and Suburbans.  It would be a shame if Bachmann missed the boat on that, having had it in their stable for so long.

A BFK would be a welcome addition.  Not been done RTR before.  Without the roof ribs please. :-)

[Halvarras]

The ribs quietly vanished from the roofs of Bachmann Mark 1s some years ago, as I found out when I bought a new blue/grey SO (E5057) and placed it with my older Mark 1 stock. That was the first I knew of the tooling change, and TBH it was a tad irritating as the new coach stuck out like a sore thumb and smoothing down all of the other roofs to match this one was a non-starter! 

I think the TPO vehicle was the first Mark 1 release with a 'rib-less'  roof.

[GD]

39 minutes ago, Ravenser said:

 

 

There's nothing significantly wrong with the 108, and no obvious need to take it off the market for a decade and sink development money into a very high-priced new one

 

 

The 108 is a nice model, it's under the bonnet where it lacks from newer models, 8pin, 2 decoders required, no room for a speaker, hardly room for a 8pin decoddr and its harness. And those crazy copper contacts that are in the way and just want to snap off. 

[John M Upton]

It is interesting to see how the OO scale Bachmann section gets all frothy and excited about a forthcoming periodic announcement whilst over in N Scale Farish land, all is  silent.  You can tell which scale is the most optimistic, I think us N scale guys have had too many low relief toilets and have rather lost faith...

Edited January 25, 2023 by John M Upton

[Ravenser]

30 minutes ago, GD said:

The 108 is a nice model, it's under the bonnet where it lacks from newer models, 8pin, 2 decoders required, no room for a speaker, hardly room for a 8pin decoddr and its harness. And those crazy copper contacts that are in the way and just want to snap off. 

 

A revised DCC socket really doesn't require a retooled bodyshell.

 

Hornby managed some quite extensive revisions of the 4VEP including moving the motor from one place to another without scrapping the lot and starting again (If they'd decided it needed that approach  we'd never have seen the 4VEP again..)

 

I am actually hostile to Bachmann connective couplings because I like the gangways closed up . A couple of Kadees and the job was done on the 108. In contrast nothing can be done about my 150/1 because it has a connective coupling bar. The fact that  a scale 18" of fresh air between the corridor connections is thought perfectly acceptable and passes without comment , when you look at some of the other "issues" that people stone models and manufacturers for, is very odd . It points to a rather selective view of what constitutes accuracy on a model

 

I'm also pretty dubious about sound on a DMU. The 30-45 sec rigmarole of starting up the decoder before you can dispatch the train is an excellent way of gumming up the operation ofv a layout. A complete retooling of a model simply for the benefit of the small subset who want DCC sound seems mistaken to me. Not least when multiple units are already the most expensive models on the market and price resistance is an issue

 

I doubt there will be very much new tooling announced

Edited January 25, 2023 by Ravenser

[Ravenser]

21 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

It is interesting to see how the OO scale Bachmann section gets all frothy and excited about a forthcoming periodic announcement whilst over in N Scale Farish land, all is  silent.  You can tell which scale is the most optimistic, I think us N scale guys have had too many low relief toilets and have rather lost faith...

 

OO is relatively bigger in terms of numbers.

 

Even so Bachmann are pretty quiet in OO as well. Look at how many active Bachmann threads there are - and then compare it with the Hornby section or even the Accurascale section

 

There are still plenty of blue boxes in the shops, but I'm starting to wonder how much of that is old stock...

[NIK]

11 minutes ago, Ravenser said:

 

A revised DCC socket really doesn't require a retooled bodyshell.

 

Hornby managed some quite extensive revisions of the 4VEP including moving the motor from one place to another without scrapping the lot and starting again (If they'd decided it needed that approach  we'd never have seen the 4VEP again..)

 

I am actually hostile to Bachmann connective couplings because I like the gangways closed up . A couple of Kadees and the job was done on the 108. In contrast nothing can be done about my 150/1 because it has a connective coupling bar. The fact that  a scale 18" of fresh air between the corridor connections is thought perfectly acceptable and passes without comment , when you look at some of the other "issues" that people stone models and manufacturers for, is very odd . It points to a rather selective view of what constitutes accuracy on a model

 

I'm also pretty dubious about sound on a DMU. The 30-45 sec rigmarole of starting up the decoder before you can dispatch the train is an excellent way of gumming up the operation ofv a layout. A complete retooling of a model simply for the benefit of the small subset who want DCC sound seems mistaken to me. Not least when multiple units are already the most expensive models on the market and price resistance is an issue

 

I doubt there will be very much new tooling announced

Hi,

 

I didn't know Hornby were going to move the motor bogie - do you know where that info came from?.

 

I agree about conductive couplings - especially the 14 pin couplings on the Bachmann Class 117 which are large and seemingly not adjustable.

 

I'm looking into replacing existing multipole conductive couplings with a single pole coupling using magnets. The first application would be for Bachmann SR Mk1 EMUs/DMUs where there is only one motor bogie and each coach has wheel pickups. 

The idea is to use a single wire communication interface through the coupling. The return path would be via an electronic circuit (as already fitted to those Bachmann coaches) to the track . The coach with the DCC decoder would have a DCC function to 1 wire encoder and the other coaches would have 1 wire decoders to operate lights, end of unit uncouplers etc.

Whether the magnets would be strong enough to allow consisting of more than one MU remains to be seen.

 

Regards

 

Nik

[Phatbob]

If we're whishlisting here, I'd like to see more of the Bulleid coaches in later condition wearing BR(S) green.  Also, a diagram 2406 BCK in BR(S) green please Mr Bachmann.

[tomparryharry]

5 hours ago, Edge said:

GWR Cathedral class? :)

A vote for a Bulldog, please. 

 

Something from the Curry Class,  (Bombay, Madras, ) etc

 

Or, modern image:- Chicken Tikka Masala

 

OK, I'm going now.......