Bachmann N scale Thomas and Friends range

[rodsup9000]

Licensing. The Thomas franchise is almost as tightly controlled as anything Disney.

 They did Thomas, Percy and James in large scale a number (maybe 15) of years ago. So they had the licensing at sometime time.

[Maletrain]

AAAARRRRRGHHHHH!!!!!  Thomas in N!?  While all of those nice HO scale steam engines are still "stuck" in HO scale.  What are they thinking? 

Sure, Thomas is bought by the showpeople who are trying to attract toddlers (and their parents) to show layouts, but those kids would most likely try to eat an N scale version if they could get their pinkies on one.  So, I would not expect the sales of N scale Thomas to be anything close to the sales of, say, their HO scale USRA light mike if reduced to N scale.

[Dave V]

AAAARRRRRGHHHHH!!!!!  Thomas in N!?  While all of those nice HO scale steam engines are still "stuck" in HO scale.  What are they thinking? 

Sure, Thomas is bought by the showpeople who are trying to attract toddlers (and their parents) to show layouts, but those kids would most likely try to eat an N scale version if they could get their pinkies on one.  So, I would not expect the sales of N scale Thomas to be anything close to the sales of, say, their HO scale USRA light mike if reduced to N scale.

I dunno...  T-Trak and N-Trak are very popular and people love seeing that stuff.  Plus, if I'd have had an N scale Thomas on my PRR back when my boys were into it, maybe they would still be into trains (neither is now, unfortunately).

[C855B]

They did Thomas, Percy and James in large scale a number (maybe 15) of years ago. So they had the licensing at sometime time.

Yes, of course. But they did not have licensing for N, that was Tomix' exclusive franchise, which may or may not have extended to the U.S., explaining so much reliance on eBay from Japanese dealers for what was imported. That's why I posed the situation whether Thomas, Inc. is going to crack down on Japanese shops selling to U.S. addresses since the official licensee for N scale Thomas products for sale in the U.S. is now Bachmann.

Media-originated image licensing is an ugly and cutthroat business, and very exacting. Many intellectual property lawyers are well-compensated for keeping everybody in check.

[rodsup9000]

But they did not have licensing for N, that was Tomix' exclusive franchise,

       N scale only.

[davefoxx]

This is what I meant. I assume that analog sound comes from the fact that it isn't equipped with DCC.

Is that what that means?!  I thought it meant that Thomas could communicate telepathically with underwater life.

[peteski]

AAAARRRRRGHHHHH!!!!!  Thomas in N!?  While all of those nice HO scale steam engines are still "stuck" in HO scale.  What are they thinking? 

Sure, Thomas is bought by the showpeople who are trying to attract toddlers (and their parents) to show layouts, but those kids would most likely try to eat an N scale version if they could get their pinkies on one.  So, I would not expect the sales of N scale Thomas to be anything close to the sales of, say, their HO scale USRA light mike if reduced to N scale.

But Tomix has been making and selling several N scale Thomas sets for probably over 10 years now.  Nobody choked. 

Or did I again mistaken humor for seriousness?

[learmoia]

This is what I meant. I assume that analog sound comes from the fact that it isn't equipped with DCC.

That is a great way to market gear noise...

[peteski]

This is what I meant. I assume that analog sound comes from the fact that it isn't equipped with DCC.

I now understand what that means - thanks. 
But if one looks into this whole thing a bit deeper (as the anal part of me usually does), all sound (at least between the speaker and our ears) is analog. 
On the other hand, I bet you dollars to donuts that this "analog" sound (as Bachmann put is), is actually being generated by some digital circuit inside the model. It is a digitized sound recording, played back by a digital circuit.

But I do understand that they are simply indicating that the model producing those random "Thomas" sounds is strictly a DC model (no DCC decoder).  But then again, even models equipped with DCC sound decoders are capable of generating (analog  ) sounds when being operated in DC mode.

See what goes through my head?   

[MetroRedLine]

The closest we'll ever that was a Bachmann Thomas model that had analog sound. I wouldn't necessarily hold your breath for an N scale DCC Thomas that's also equipped with DCC. It would still make for a decent DIY project, though.

I DCC'ed my Tomix Thomas with a Digitrax wired decoder. Easiest wired decoder install you'll ever do.

[learmoia]

FYI.. I don't think this was mentioned earlier, but I have a feeling the Bachmann Thomas could be the Tomix tooling.. My reasoning is that I came across a "Tomix 'Hong Kong'" tank car that has all the hallmarks of a Bachmann Tank car.  Bachmann Wheels, Bachmann clip on coupler, screw on trucks with regular Bachmann screws.  So one could assume that some/most/all Tomix stuff is (or was at one time) produced by Bachmann.

~Ian

[CBQ Fan]

A cb&q 2-6-2 steam engine. Finally something to give pause and think about buying from Bachmann.

[peteski]

FYI.. I don't think this was mentioned earlier, but I have a feeling the Bachmann Thomas could be the Tomix tooling.. My reasoning is that I came across a "Tomix 'Hong Kong'" tank car that has all the hallmarks of a Bachmann Tank car.  Bachmann Wheels, Bachmann clip on coupler, screw on trucks with regular Bachmann screws.  So one could assume that some/most/all Tomix stuff is (or was at one time) produced by Bachmann.

~Ian

Interesting idea . . .
Tomix models (Not just Thomas sets) have been make in China for quite some time now.  I have also observed that various other manufacturers'' models made in China sometimes share various components and hardware.  Probably because I suspect that they all reuse the same design use the same subcontractor for those parts. Then we found out that many manufacturers used the same Chinese company to make their models - so the odds of various components being used on multiple brand models is even more feasible.

Going back to Thomas, I have 2 of the Thomas sets with Thomas and the 2 passenger cars.  I bought one quite some years ago (back when they first came out in Japan) and I bought the 2nd set recently (again from Japan).  While the old set's loco's mechanism looks has Bachmann-like quality (I think you know what I mean), the more recent set's mechanism is totally redesigned, and it is actually quite good (better that what I would expect from Bachmann).

But who really knows what goes on behind the "Chinese curtain" . . .

[learmoia]

I had one of the American releases of the model from the early 2000s.. Did the redesign occur when Thomas came back on the market last year.. or earlier than that?

Could still be Bachmann, they have a habit of designing a new mechanism, and slightly changing the old shell tooling, inventing a new premium brand and doubling the price of the model.

[peteski]

I had one of the American releases of the model from the early 2000s.. Did the redesign occur when Thomas came back on the market last year.. or earlier than that?

Could still be Bachmann, they have a habit of designing a new mechanism, and slightly changing the old shell tooling, inventing a new premium brand and doubling the price of the model.

Like you, I have the early 2000s set (IIRC bought on eBay from PlazaJapan), and I bought the revised set in March of 2017 (also from PlazaJapan).  The revision of the mechanism is quite drastic (for the better). I don't recall these being "officially" sold in USA (with Englush language packaging).