It was recently announced that Bachmann are to begin making resin buildings to accompany their ever-growing Thomas & Friend's range.
Announced at the international toy fair in America, the news came to much delight of the fans of the range worldwide, especially given the suspected discontinuation of the Hornby Thomas range - but more of this another time.
I shall be shedding my thoughts on these new images based on the revealed promo shots.
But first, An apparently compulsory disclaimer that has to say something along the lines of the content of this post being the opinions of the author and of no other third party, as well as ensuring all that I do not represent the entire fanbase. All images used are done so under the fair use rule and no profit is made from this post (to my knowledge anyway- Google probably will from ads or something... but I digress.)
Maithwaite
Perhaps the most anticipated building is this iconic station building? Hornby released this too some years ago, but didn't stick around long and now can be quite difficult to obtain - at the time of writing there's a platform pack on eBay for £50 alone! However, it was (and still is) a wonderful likeness to the on-screen version we see.
So how does Bachmann's fare up? Not too well looking at this.
Hornby didn't hold back when they made their buildings. They may have lacked in the designs of some of their engines, but the buildings were top notch because they knew their target market.
Whilst Bachmann (I'm just going to say 'B' from now on and save time...) also know their target market is, in all fairness, much younger than Hornby (H!) were aiming at, I still feel it lets the side down a little. I've included the image of the Hornby one I own to compare with. As I'm sure you can see, B's looks a little... well.... toyish.
Perhaps a little more 'padded out' than the Trackmaster version, but it looks almost as 'flat.' The roof doesn't seem to overhang as roofs do, and the scaling of the platform stones leaves a lot to be desired. The platform itself looks remarkably short and if far from the detailed version H produced.
H's also sat very central on the platform, which B's does not.
All in all, B's looks very... chunky I think is the word I'm looking for. No doubt it will have a much more appealing price, and unlike H's, come in one set, but I do feel that a little more effort could have been made with it personally - it is obviously not, as some are saying, the Hornby tooling reused.
One positive - I do like the poster boards around the station house windows; adds a station-feel to it overall.
Signal Box
Unlike the Maithwaite station, B have done a fine job in replicating the signal box. This was another building that H released, and both are sublime.
I also own the H version, and this time it's the H version I'm not so keen on, it seeming a little too long and narrow. If you notice, the steps on the H one (above) are quite steep, whereas on the B one they are more gradual. The handrail for these steps is also much thinner, and more like a handrail compared to that on the H version. There is also a little more 'weathering' to the brickwork (which is a little deeper too it seems.) I'm won over by the B example and will certainly be purchasing that when it's released.
Brendam Warehouse
The first non-duplicate release is the Brendam Warehouse. A slightly misleading name I feel - warehouses are normally large, spacious buildings where many things can be stored. I would class this more of a good's bay/platform, but we play the cards we're dealt. The name is the only quibble here. If you're modelling Brendam Docks - or any (dock)yard for that matter - this looks to be quite a nice building to include for the point of transfer for goods between road and rail. A decent platform length, and three berths for transferral - the weathering above these is a particularly nice touch. I'm a little concerned at the left hand end - is this a section of platform that is separated and slots together or just for the shot provided?
I have a hunch that this will be in two parts - namely the building and the platform which will 'slot' together like a jigsaw. However, I can see this being another piece that will go down well not only with young collectors, but serious modellers too.
Black Loch Folly
Now this piece I'm a little indifferent to. It doesn't seem right to have a castle turret without the rest of the castle - perhaps a future release, but for now the 'Folly' would just seem a bit odd sat on it's own. I suppose you could add the ruins of a castle around it and that would justify this alone...
As for the model itself, Bachmann have again done a bang-up job on it. It has some lovely touches of weathering to it and looks the run-down part it is set to portray. Perhaps the cross-planks could be a different shade just to separate it from the door it is nailed to, but a minor quibble is that. Perhaps a few of these together would look good if no main castle structure is to be released. Otherwise, I'm sure it would look good surrounded by shrubberies (ni!) atop a hill, left to the elements for its inevitable fate. Throw in the Scottish twins passing by and you've got yourself a nice little scene.
Overall Thoughts
It's a pleasure to see Bachmann stepping onto new ground with Resin buildings, and these are certainly a step up from those frankly awful, bland previous buildings they marketed under the range. Majoritarilly, these buildings seem to have been aimed at both the more mature model railway enthusiasts and the younger collector together, which is sure to sit well with the company's coffers. Picking up on some of Hornby's successes, Bachmann have put their own stamp on their examples and I'm sure that we will see more releases like these in the years to come.
