THESE ARE SOLEY MY OPINIONS AND NOT FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FAN BASE
MODEL RAILWAY REVIEW:
BACHMANN DUCK
After years of hoping by fans of Thomas the Tank Engine; Bachmann Trains had finally made Duck the Great Western Engine. Announced by Simon Martin, the creator of 'The British Railway Series' and the Hornby Vs. Bachmann Thomas models on YouTube, and SiF in 2012. The model of the character was suppose to come out in October 2012 but was delayed for some unknown reason and was moved to March 2013. When March arrived the release date was moved to July 2013 and finally he's out now in stores.
I'm not much of a model railway expert but I do love collecting models from such brands like Hornby and Bachmann. Both companies have made Thomas models for years and had made the characters really well, though I prefer Hornby for their real locomotives but there Thomas models are great too. But there are some downsides of the range like Edward and Emily and some top notch models like Spencer, Murdoch and Henry. Bachmann had made some terrific Thomas models between 2002 - present aside from Thomas, James and Percy who's faces aren't well made and some errors like James' smokebox having a lack of black paint on its side and Percy missing a back coupling. The range really kicked in by 2007 when Toby was released.
Now that Duck is finally released let's take a look at the model that Bachmann had released.
PACKAGING
There is one complaint I have about the packaging and that is how the way its formed into a blister pack. When you look at Hornby's design, it's pretty much a box that you can use for as many times as you like to keep the dust and dirt away from the locomotives. Whereas Bachmann's packaging in the US is a blister pack in which you can just throw away in the bin after its opened. This is where the problem starts, your model could be all dusty and wouldn't work well, this happened a few times before with mine before I know I have my own flaws. If anyone from Bachmann is reading this, I consider doing the same way Hornby had done for their Thomas models for nearly past 28 years, have a box so that many modellers can use many times and without having the fear of dust. I know there are other ways to prevent this from happening, like a case, but there are many people who wouldn't afford for a case to store there models. However in a positive way, the packaging is nice with the Thomas logo and all, but I prefer if Bachmann uses a box instead.
THE ENGINE
Like many of there Thomas models since 2002, the actual engine is spot on by Bachmann, it pretty much shares the same chassis as Donald and Douglas, the wheels. And the face is pretty much a S7 replica:
The model is a good runner as well.
OVERALL
Overall the model is one of Bachmann's finest and is in the line of their other models such as Edward, Toby, Bill, Ben and the Scottish twins. I recommend buying this model and I do hope Bachmann does other great models in the future. There is still more models to come this year from Bachmann but as of now, well done to Bachmann to create Duck.
Rating: 4/5
