Bachmann pre-announcement thread

[Pennine MC]

I still contend that, given the plethora of Southern passenger locomotive classes we have had over the last few years, albeit mainly from the 'other side', surely it would make commercial sense to upgrade the Bulleid coaches to modern standards?

 

It might Phil, but Mr Hanson's forthcoming laser-cut glazing will rectify the main shortcoming of the existing coaches

 

Theaker,How do you come to your assumption that Bachmann may be backing off steam and leaving it to Hornby? Is that taken from you comment regarding the 04 against the A3?

 

This one?

 

Bearing in mind that I am starting to see quality difference between Bachmann and Hornby steam (Latest example is the parting line on the ROD vs. the Hornby A s that have no visible parting line) I am starting to wonder if Bachmann may be backing off steam

I have to say that's one of the most fantastically flimsy arguments I've heard in ages

 

I really don't think they'll go for a B1 re-tool now as they've had fair warning that a rival is in the offing. I feel pretty sure that they will select the V2 for this now. ...

Elaborating on my early ruminations, I'm pretty sure a Q6 or J27 will be announced. Possibly a K1, but I'll be very surprised if at least one gap in the BR standard tender loco range isn't filled.

 

Tend to warm to all that, Dave. Although they could 'do a Hornby' and just bung a better chassis under the B1, it's a better body than the V2 isnt it?

 

An 04 on the 03 chassis would be nice, 05 would be nicer

 

 

[Jordan-Leeds]

A k1 or six wouldnt go a miss here nor would a q6 or a proper Ivat class 2MT with the new chassis seeign as they have a reasonable body already and a chassis that fits so brilliantly anyway it makes sense to re chassis the ivatt tank and dispense with the split chassis

[97403_Ixion]

Hi,

 

Nothing exists in the 01 - 07 or 13 range (excluding the Hornby 06). It would give Bachmann a lead in this untouched region but sales could prove too limiting for them to take the risk.

 

Bachmann's DMU models were a welcome sight when they came out, so another class could prove popular, such as the Class 117 or 104 DMU (Lima's version now somewhat dated). I do think the 101 is quite likely though.

 

I don't think more AC electrics will surface just yet...

 

I'm not good at steam locos, but the thought of a Garrett would be nice

 

For the higher priced end of the market, a hydraulic breakdown crane train or modern image track maintenance vehicles. This is one area nothing to my knowledge has been released with high detail and to OO scale. Production methods have improved over the years, so these kinds of models may not be completely out of the question, though likely to command a high price tag, which could still scupper the chances. That said, Bachmann's Autoballaster wagons are the start of a growing interest in the maintenance equipment side of railways, so tampers, grinders, consolidators, ballast cleaners, etc., may not be out of the question.

 

Motorised road-rail vehicles - now, there's a thought!

 

I suspect though, without the need to produce complete new toolings, except the printing tooling, new liveries on current models will be dominant in the news. For example, Colas & Fastline 66s, another Virgin 57 with/without coupler. Who knows - they may even try the Scarborough Spa Express advertising liveried WCRC class 47!

 

Plenty to choose from really. Either way, I will be very much looking forward to reading the list next Sunday and hope it lists some items of interest for everyone, keeping this hobby very much alive!

 

Cheers,

Ixion.

[wombatofludham]

I'm expecting a year of consolidation in the D&E arena with so many new models already announced (Blue Pully, AL5, Derby Lightweight, Dessies etc) I'd be surprised if it was anything other than repaints and re-issues. Mk2 TSOs have to be a racing cert to reappear, there must be a lot of pent-up demand for them out there and might help shift the glut of firsts and brakes out there, the 150 can be decked in a range of liveries (I confidently expect a 1990's Centro liveried version as I'm about to start a repaint job!) and there's still milage in liveries for the 170 and 158, plus the locos. I would be very surprised to hear any announcements for new DMUs, the Cravens is only just out and the Lightweight is due next. Eventually there might be a 101, it shares the 57 ft underframe and despite them denying there will be an OO version of their recently retooled N gauge version, they also said there would never be any AC electrics or Blue Pullmans in the range so I don't intend to take their denial of any work on an OO version too literally. One out of left field might be the announcement of an SWT liveried 450 class emu to follow on from the 350s when released. A buffet car for the 4-CEP might be a possibility requiring a new body moulding, it appears the CEP has sold quite well so it could be justified.

 

Longer term, I wouldn't be surprised to see something like a Class 304/5/8 emu to match (in era) the AL5, and which might be able to share some componentry with the Thumper and EPB. DMU wise a 104 would be a good banker after a 101, quite a wide geographical distribution and also included some all-important NSE versions plus it shares the 57ft underframe.

 

Ultra left-field, some nice Mk2 Manchester Pullman cars would sit nicely in their range, Hornby do the older stuff and Bachmann do the steel bodied Mk1, Mk2 and Blue Pullmans!

 

However, I'm happy with what is already announced and if some new liveries can be turned out and out of production models re-issued I'll be very happy.

[signalmaintainer]

I'm still waiting for my bl**dy 3F they announced last year!

[Markeg]

Looking at the responses, the LNER/BR Eastern region is dominant in the guessing. The GWR/WR and LMS follow. This is only the steam side of things. Not all that familar with all the diesels. Though I have 3 Bachmann diesels, O8, 47 and a 108 DMU.

 

I will throw my hat with the LNER/Eastern region lot. I would like a D10/D11 4-4-0, a J21-27 0-6-0 and a G5 0-4-4T. I would think that a Q6 0-8-0 and a J27 0-6-0 are the most likely with the Director D10/D11 an outside chance. I definitely think a 0-6-0 would sell well.

 

All should be revealed soon

 

Mark in OZ

[phil gollin]

.

 

Realistically I think it will be a quiet year, however in optimistic mood ;

 

1: Do a 4-BEP or 4-EPB count as "new" ?

 

2: Dukedog - obvious

 

3: A Southern goods engine would be useful ( "Q", or "Black Motor", or "E2 or E4", or "S-15", or ......)

 

4: An EMU, either a "2-BIL" or "2-NOL" or a class 455 for "modern" modellers

 

5: An Adams Radial tank is obvious - but would be a good one for a "commissioned" model.

 

.

[owentherail]

What i would like and what i think will be comming is a bit different, im hoping for a class 45 with sealed beam and a better blue 47, mk 2 air cons and more block headcode 37s possibly in mainline blue or sector livery.

[edcayton]

Bring back the Mk 1 suburbans in lined maroon please.

 

Ed

[37114]

OO wise:

- I think/hope with the success Bachmann have had with the TPO's they will produce more of these, preferably the small window version

 

- BR CCT - with the excellent work they did on the GUV, this would be a natural follow on, also REx mentioned it in the editorial, which previously has been a less than subtle hint of Bachmann's plans.

 

- MK1 Sleeper - its been asked for long enough and mentioned numerous times on here.

 

- Re tooled 25 - especially now I have done the chassis mods on all my models.

 

- MK1 and 2 TSO's - in numerous quantities, I would have though the retaillers must be pushing for this bearing in mind the numbers of Brake and first vehicles sat on shelves.

 

- MK1 Motorail flat - wide sphere of operation, long life and lots of the parts in the Bachmann armoury. Great play value to the trainset market, and also I am about to start builidng 3 from bits and pieces so a definite cue for someone to bring out an rtr version.

 

- 104 DMU - Wide sphere of operation and long life, not sure about 101/117 though, Bachmann will be wary of the opportunity Hornby have to produce both of these.

 

- Class 04 - Logical choice given the work on the 03.

 

 

[Andy Y]

I'm still waiting for my bl**dy 3F they announced last year!

 

I'm not picking on you specifically but there have been a few posts in similar vein in this topic.

 

Can I please clarify that items which were announced at the beginning of March last year were given an anticipated* arrival date of within 18 months so it's not as though anything's late. The 7F arrived within 9 months of the announcement; it all depends how far along the R&D and production timeline any product is at the point of announcement; it's not as though the announcement signifies a starting point followed by a mad dash to meet the 18 month forecast. At any time Bachmann will have a selection of items they are moving through the process and at a couple of points each year they will make an announcement of what is in process. Some items that are thought about may fall off the list due to any number of reasons before it reaches an announcement window which means an announcement is an intention to produce something roughly within the 18 month period.

 

*anticipated could mean that any number of contractual, research, production, market reasons could cause internal revision of any release date.

 

 

 

[Baby Deltic]

Bring back the Mk 1 suburbans in lined maroon please.

 

Ed

 

It would be nice if they did the 'missing' one such as the SLO. Every KX suburban set needs one.

[taybridge]

Mk1 Sleeper and a foray into Mk2d/e/f not forgetting Mk2 DBSO.... ah well one can but dream

[Guest Belgian]

.

 

Realistically I think it will be a quiet year, however in optimistic mood ;

 

3: A Southern goods engine would be useful ( "Q", or "Black Motor", or "E2 or E4", or "S-15", or ......)

 

 

Much as I would love to be able to agree with you about those, Bachmann do not appear to like the Southern, their only two Southern locos being the N mogul and the Lord Nelson, neither of which are particularly new models (the N dates back to the late 1990s and the Nelson to the early 80s!).

 

They appear to have left the Southern to Hornby, who also seem to have gone cold on it now, so I doubt whether the other Southern "wish", retooled Bulleid coaches, is ever likely to happen.

 

I would expect to see more LNER types, an area which Bachmann have had as their own until Hornby's recent awakening.

 

JE

[Tricky-CRS]

I am hoping to see City of Truro migrate down to N gauge.

Here here. That eould be great and with time highly likely. It could well be this year or next.

GWR coaches to go with it in N would also be usefull.

[Baby Deltic]

Mk1 Sleeper and a foray into Mk2d/e/f not forgetting Mk2 DBSO.... ah well one can but dream

 

MK2c would be nice too.

[Invicta]

 

Steam-wise, a biggish NE goods loco or a K1, a medium-sized LMS tank and just possibly a J15 for the Swedey fans.

 

 

With all 3 flavours of 2-6-4T already available, then we'd be looking at one of the 2-6-2Ts- either a rechassis/retool of the Ivatt, or the Fowler/Stanier versions- maybe with the 1P 0-4-4T as an outside bet.

Alternatively, something long-lived from the LMS pre-grouping inheritance- perhaps something in the Caledonian 0-4-4T line....?

[johnb]

Being a bit of an EMU fanatic, I am just thinking that a lot of work has gone into the 4CEP and the expected 2EPB, now they are all based on the MK1 shape. Also they are doing the Thumper for Kernow.

 

So ...... given all that research and work then a 2HAP would be a possible in a variety of liveries as would a 4EPB. The 2HAPs also morphed into 2SAPs (simple that, just delete the 1st class) and later into the 4CAP (simple again, just one powered and one unpowered 2HAP).

A 4BEP would be nice but I don't really expect one.

 

Well that's my thoughts, we'll see shortly

[gc4946]

Locowise, a J17, though it could be announced in partnership with the NRM as an exclusive

K1

Manor retooled to new standards

DMUs - 119/120 or 101

 

EMUs - 4BEP (unrefurbished)

304

 

carriages - Staniers upsized from N

 

Scenecraft - post-WW2 steel-framed pre-fab council housing,

low-rise brick built council flats

high-rise council tower blocks

1950s/60s pre-fab shopping centre to go with the above

[Dagworth]

I'm wondering if my Colin Craig freightliners are safe, Bachmann are very good at wagons and a real freightliner (not the modern equivalents) is a big gap in the RTR market*, Hornby's offering goes back to Tri-Ang days and is quite frankly a joke compared to current models. They already have other container vehicles in their range too so cross marketing of boxes may be an option.

 

*Consistently come high or top on wish lists for wagons

 

Andi

[The Stationmaster]

(I''m talking 4mm scale only) Not a year to be too ambitious I suspect but they might need something to counter the possibly low sales volume of the Blue Pullman and rake in a bit of cashflow. That suggests to me something which might economise on tooling but do well from a sales viewpoint (although this year's NRM loco - whatever it is - would presumably bring in profit, if there is one). So I reckon potential for something using the 'City' o/side frames and, if they're right size(?),- the obvious one to go for is the 'Dukedog' as it covers a popular period (so I'll no doubt be wrong on every count on that).

 

Otherwise there could well be another BR standard - a logical progression to gradually wipe up the lot or they might do another variant on the 04 theme. Diesels are already well covered by earlier announcements but it would not be a surprise to see another Modernisation Plan era dmu added as they seem to have sold well so far. As far as contemporary scene diesels and units are concerned I think that if anything happens it is most likely to be re-liveries and possibly odd detail changes.

 

The big area for them - with almost guaranteed sales because of relatively low retail prices in a difficult market - is wagons where they have developed a good reputation but do lowish prices mean low margins and therefore something to be wary of in a potentially difficult market? So I'm not too sure what might happen there and I'm not going into the prediction area as the choice is still vast - even if a 24tonner would be nice.

 

Passenger coach wise they may well have heard the continuing calls for non-ganwayed coaches but I think the logical answer is updated BR suburbans if they do anything about it.

[brushman47544]

My prediction is that we will be making similar comments after the announcement as we did after Hornby's... namely that there are fewer all new models than in the past. Didn't I read recently that Bachmann are temporarily stopping limited editions so they can catch up with delivery of their main stream items? So they will also want to avoid too many new items that would simply exacerbate delivery schedule problems - particularly if early in the R&D process so production slots difficult to time depending on how many changes are needed to pre-production versions.

 

Also, if you look at their website many of the current items are showing as out of stock, so I would expect they will want to allocate plently of production slots for further renumbering and livery changes on existing good sellers. These bring the cash in for R&D projects. And for new models I suspect there will a greater emphasis on upgrades or extra tooling.

 

What I would like to see on that basis are:

4-BEP - only one new coach needed;

Upgraded Ivatt 2-6-2T - popular, widespread and not in 2010 catalogue (I hope not an 84xxx instead - at least not first);

Upgraded GWR 43xx Mogul;

DCC Ready SR N Class (but probably too early - others are more out of date).

 

Much less likely but welcome would be:

Mk1 sleeper;

Upgraded Bullied coaches and a BCK added to the range - they need it more than the Thompsons in my view.

Class 101 DMU, but would they announce another DMU before the Derby Lightweight is out?

 

I agree with others that it is too early for a Class 450, 4-EPB, 2-HAP, Class 81-84 - they will want to complete development of the 350, 2-EPB and Class 85 first.

 

More generally, with the expected price increases, I would like to see more DCC Fitted and less DCC Sound - sound is not worth the extra £80-100 and I miss out on versions of a model because they only come sound fitted.

[Glorious NSE]

I suspect the Desiro appearing as a 450 in SWT livery isn't that much of a leftfield guess if they are doing the 350.

 

I share Andi's thoughts on the 60s style Freightliner flats (FFA/FGA on Tops) - as he says they have been consistently high on wishlists - in fact in some surveys overwhelmingly so! I suspect there has been something of a mexican standoff on these with everyone expecting Hornby to update theirs, but as Hornby is now producing the KFA instead that may well leave Bachmann open to give it a go. Probably the hard part of that as a project is what to load it with, intermodal loads tend towards being very era-specific, somebody wanting one loaded for 1969 won't be wanting the same thing as somebody wanting one for 2005. A job for their cold-cast resin method maybe?

 

Would love to see a 59 personally - I don't see Hornby updating theirs.

 

I can see more 1st gen southern EMUs appearing as next in line behind the EPB. A 2-Hap or 4-EPB maybe?

[Karhedron]

GWR coaches to go with it in N would also be usefull.

I'll second that. The question is, which ones?

 

The Dapol Collets are not bad although not quite up to the standards of the new Mk1s. Hornby do the Hawksworths and anyway they don't fit well with a City so I guess they are out.

 

How about some toplight stock in N gauge (and 00 as well if they want it)? I believe some of it lasted into BR days.

[Paul.Uni]

An LT Pannier Tank (probably L94) would be nice as 2011 is 40 years since the last LT steam train. (I know Kernow had L95 and a LT brake van as limited editions a few years ago)