Yes you heard us right, we are going to release all of the Ladybird Audios on our Youtube channel! From tomorrow up until Christmas day all 28 of the Ladybird recordings will be released for you to listen to!
With thanks to RailwayStories1 for the original picture.
As I am sure many of you will be aware in the 1980's Ladybird released a set of books with cassettes, all of these original Ringo Starr recordings will be available for you to listen to at your leisure on our Youtube channel. Get the book and press play, we are taking a trip into nostalgia.
Keep up to date with the latest releases via our Facebook and Twitter pages!
Last year we proved that, contrary to popular belief, the Meccano Percy was released two years earlier than it was once thought; in 1965. We managed to prove this with, amongst other things, a cut out from the 1965 Meccano Magazine. Now we have discovered another advertisement for this set.
ThomasTankCollectables Archives 2013
This leaflet, shown below, would have been given out free around the time of 1965. Although it is undated the packaging of the set would suggest that it is from 1965, as this was also visible on the Meccano Magazine cut out shown last year. Also depicted on this leaflet is the Play-Doh "Fun Factory"! Please take a good look at the leaflet, note that Percy doesn't have a number on the first page.
ThomasTankCollectables Archives 2013
ThomasTankCollectables Archives 2013
Thanks for reading, please feel free to leave a comment or start a conversation in the chat.
The waiting has come to an end for many, however there are still many fans who have not yet had the chance to see King of the Railway. The film has been in UK VUE cinemas since the 21st of August and its final screening will be tomorrow. In England the DVD will be available 2nd September, but the US will have to wait a further 15 days for the DVD and Australia won't receive it until 2nd October! So we need to make sure we don't spoil the film for others.
Already Thomas fans have been brimming with excitement over the film and some have even seen it twice! It seems that over the last year Thomas has certainly taken a big leap in the right direction; moving away from repetitive rhyming and poor plot lines.We get to learn some history about the Island, find the significance behind Hiro and meet some old characters in full CGI.
Blue Mountain Mystery was highly successful with fans last year and much like this year it was a significant special. Blue Mountain Mystery's significance was the fact that it was the last film to be made by Nitrogen Studios, the last to be narrated by Michael Angelis, the last to be written by Sharon Miller and first to be edited by Andrew Brenner. This years special is significant for its firsts! First to be narrated by Michael Moroghan, first to be animated by Arc and first to be written by Andrew Brennar.
Channel 5's Milkshake have aired ten episodes of the new series and it seems to be going well. Series seventeen is a very significant landmark for Thomas & Friends because it marks the debut of both a new writer and narrator, not only that but there is also new animators. As always the Thomas fandom is buzzing with opinions on the new series and most of them are very positive, here is a look at some we have managed to gather. A big thank you to everyone who participated in the making of this post.
SteamTeam: I think the seventeenth season is a massive step in the right direction. It's the first time I've genuinely looked forward to the next episode. Even Steamie Stafford which is widely considered the worst episode of the season so far, is a significant improvement on episodes we've been getting for the last few years. I'm sure with Andrew Brenner at the helm, things will only get better! The one bad thing about this season is the break in the middle -- can't wait to see more!
Thomas Stansfield: So far S17 to me looks better then its predecessor. There is some good character development that has a bit of a persona, Mark Moraghan sounds top notch and enthusiastic towards the show with his narration, the writing was good and the episodes are worth watching again and even though there is a bit of rhyming, alliteration and a three strikes formula here and there, it is not as annoying as S13-15 some fans need to know that episodes like 'The Sad Story of Henry' has a three strikes and it turns out great whether it was intentional or not. So that's my views on S17 so far. Plus, the animation was wonderful, Arc had captured Nitrogen's work well, along with their own touches here and there such as the grass
Adamandthomas1997: I may not know too much on what makes a good review when it comes to what your perspective is on a TV show, but I'll try my best.
First things first, I can tell by the new animation studio whom are creating the animation for the series have done a spectacular job when it comes to the aims to make the realism to what it would like in reality exceptionally high and in my opinion, more realistic than Nitrogen's animation.
I can tell that the writing of the episodes have gracefully improved with new writers for the series making the stories have more realism to railway standards (most specifically - Gordon Runs Dry) when it comes to the particular components that a steam engine has.
I know nothing about three strike formulas (don't ask) so I wouldn't know anything about that sort of stuff.
Overall, the series has built up a massive improvement over the last two catastrophe series (no explanation intended) and making the series get back to it's good roots.
DieselD199: The animation has improved in some areas, particularly in terms of the rendering of smoke and steam but the new shading (particularly on the faces) is inferior to Nitrogen's work. The direction has improved with large, sweeping camera tracks that take full advantage of the show being in CGI. The new writing style is unquestionably an improvement and I'm loving the fact that the series has really gone back to its roots in many respects. Mark Moraghan is a good narrator, initially I thought he was Angelis with something being slightly off. Overall I think this will prove be a much needed revitalisation to a series that was otherwise dying.
Patrick Foley: From what we have seen of series 17 so far, it supersedes it's predecessors on so many levels. I was apprehensive of all of the changes the series was facing but I think they have all come together really well and improved the series dramatically. Mark Moraghan has recouped the enthusiasm that sadly Michael Angelis had lost and Arc have stepped into Nitrogen's shoes nicely with fantastic, engaging camera angles that really add a new dynamic to the episodes. Furthermore the plot lines have been greatly improved, moving away from the endless repetition and monotonous rhyming. I feel Nitrogen really tried to recreate the legacy of the models, but Arc are moving away from that and making full use of CGI, which is encouraging to see, they haven't attempted to copy Nitrogen, they have made their own style and I like it! Don't get me wrong I love a good sunset but I can't help but feel that Arc may have slightly overused the natural beauty of a sunset in the ten episodes we have seen.
Naturally it is pleasing to see Duck make a return to the series and appear for the fist time in full CGI, let's hope he remains in the episodes and doesn't appear for a few and disappear; I wonder if we will see any more 'extinct' characters make a return. We have been introduced to the majority of the new characters for King of the Railway,which is good as we already know their personalities.
Daniel Coffey: Alongside being previously reviewed by my character, The Coffey Reviewer, I will now be giving my personal opinions on the first half of the season.
Ever since Railway Mischief DVD, I was absolutely stunned at how much effort the series went through with new writing style, wonderful animation from ARC Productions, fabulous voice-acting and many more. And as for a favourite episode(s)? Well I had a couple so far; The Switch, Calm Down Caitlin, Gordon Runs Dry, Wayward Winston and Henry's Hero.
In conclusion, the first half of the seventeenth series of Thomas & Friends had a lot of value of entertainment and fun for kids of all ages, as well as numerous of fans of Thomas young and old."
Dalekslayer1: I thought season 17 was a vast improvement on recent seasons. A few details I like in the background of the episodes, were things as simple as Rosie pulling a passenger train and other characters appearing as well. Even though ducks appearance in 'Henry's Hero' was good, it wasn't the best thing to happen in the episode, for me the best bit was Henry pushing the failed Hiro up the hill. Overall Season 17 was a great season and is putting Thomas on the right 'Track' ( Pun intended!)
We must give a big thank you to all the people who have given their opinions, without them this wouldn't have been possible. It is not too late - If you want to have your opinion featured here, please contact us via our Youtube channel or via e-mail: thomastankcollectables@hotmail.co.uk. This is a discussion post so please leave a comment below.
Thomasfan is a highly valued admin on the Thomas Wikia, he recently decided to take leave from his position as an Admin as the workload was getting too much. When he announced both on the Forum and the Announcements page on the Wikia there was a flood of messages wishing Thomasfan the best for the future and thanking him for his work, it was amazing to see so many pages of gratitude, it must have been a pleasing way for him to leave his position! We have conducted an interview with him via email and here you can read about Thomasfan and his own thoughts and opinions. He is best known for his pioneering work of turning the Wikia from a spam filled inaccurate jumble to the fantastic place it is today and for that we cannot thank him enough, but don't just take our word for it, take a look at the Wikia's own bio of him.
Thomasfan's Bio on the Wikia
For those of you who may be slightly less familiar with the work of Thomasfan here is his bio from the Thomas Wikia.
"Thomasfan is another "old timer" (if you say 4 years is old). He is definitely a valuable asset to the wiki. He went through all the edits once a day and makes sure they are in perfect shape. Because of Thomasfan, we don't have to worry about spam building up as he will make sure vandalism or spam is gone within a day. He is also willing to lend a helping hand when needed, especially to our new users. He also tries to keep the Wikia up to date with the latest features available to us and has written the better part of our current rules (with help and approval from the other admins of course). While he doesn't come onto the chat box as often as he'd like, he's always up for a good discussion - especially in the subjects of religion and politics. He has taken a leave from his position as admin, although he will visit the chatbox and check in on us when he can."
The story really begins long before I even joined Wikia. Goldenbear, one of the oldest admins, had taken a very long leave from the Wikia and it was soon overrun with spam and vandalism. Then ZEM came along during one of the times Goldenbear was away and he started to clean up the spam. Not long after that, he was granted admin right by Wikia for doing so much work.
But to really answer the question, I became an admin due to my initial dedication to helping clean up the spam. There was quite a lot of it at the time, so I felt I should help out as best I could! So that's what I did for several months. If I saw anyone spam, I'd revert the edit. When something wasn't very clear, I edited it to clarify the statement. After awhile, ZEM told me that he thought I'd make a good admin. The problem was that he wasn't able to grant admin rights to anyone as only bureaucrats can do that. Anyway, ZEM contacted Wikia themselves and was granted bureaucratic right. He then made me an admin and I was so excited when that happened! I immediately took to being an admin and loved it so much I stayed for nearly five years!
What have you done for the Wikia?
This is a very tough question! Edits, spam patrol, blockings; that's the everyday stuff. Aside from that, I did many other things. I took on the role of head admin when ZEM left, so I was sort of in charge for most of the time I was an admin. It was my idea to set up the video of the week template for the homepage, but I don't consider that a great feat. Actually, most of what I did I don't think was anything anyone else couldn't do! I honestly can't think of much that I did on the Wikia that was really so extraordinary. I didn't consider myself as any different from anyone else. I was just another user, another fan of Thomas having fun making the Wikia a great resource. I wasn't anything special.
What was special was promoting others to the staff. Adding the others on as admins and chatmods is the only thing I ever did as admin that I feel made a difference. Then again, talking to the other users was special too. I never thought much of it at the time, but since leaving, I've received so many thank yous just because I talked to everyone! It's novel to me that that's what people like me for. They say that most other heads of websites don't do that. I can't imagine not doing that! If I ever return to the Wikia or ever come to be in charge of another website, I'll still talk to everyone. It's the only way to make everyone feel as if they belong. It's common kindness. It's what I love doing.
Have you enjoyed your time as an Admin?
Of course I did! Not everything was fun and games, and there were some times when I felt I couldn't cope, but I did love doing it! As I said, the best part was talking to everyone. That's one of the reasons I really to like our chat feature. It gave me a way to talk to several people at once, and it was very enjoyable! Had many good times on there!
What made you decide to leave the Wikia?
Oh, a lot of things really. The edit load had become too much for me to handle. That was a big factor. Then there was the fact that I was tired of certain parts of the fandom. It was actually that one that gave me my revelation that I should leave the Wikia. When I realized that I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore, I made my decision then and there that I wanted to leave! But there are two other reasons why I left. One of them is that I just wanted to have more time for other things. The Wikia really eats up a lot of time! The other was that I had prepared my leaving. Had I not prepared for it, I don't think I would have left when I did. I probably would have stayed a few months longer. When I made Toby7, SkarloeyRailway, and Oliverandtoad13 admins, I had told a few people that was going to leave. I promised to stay on long enough to get Toby7, SkarloeyRailway, and Oliverandtoad13 settled into their new roles, and I feel that I've done that. They have the hang of things and will do marvelously!
What do you plan to do on the Wikia in the future, will you struggle to take a more laid back role?
I basically just want to have some more free time for myself. I have several projects going, and it will be nice to complete even just a few of them! One thing I'll be doing is writing several bits for SteamTeam's many shows on YouTube. Other than that, I have my own writings to attend to, but I'll hold off on revealing those!
I thought I wouldn't be able to keep away from the Wikia! But aside from doing some minor changes and answering messages, I haven't done much there at all! Soon enough, I think I'll be taking long breaks from visiting the Wikia - Something that I know many will be upset to hear!
What do you do outside of the internet?
Eat, sleep, breathe. You know, typical human things. :P (Sorry, I had to make a joke. :P) Seriously though, I do some reading and writing when I can. Watch what I'm sure is far too much television. :P I try my hand at modelling from time to time, but I'm not all that good. Do a touch of drawing as well. Of course, that's when I have time. I'm usually far too busy to do any of that! :P
Are you at college?
Yep! Just finished my third semester. (I think they're called "terms" in the UK. Correct me if I'm wrong!) Been doing very well too! Had straight A's the first two semesters. (Grades for the latest semester will be in on Friday. ;))
What first got you interested in Thomas?
I honestly don't know the answer to this question! I think I may have been born with a Thomas toy or something! :P The earliest Thomas memory I have is of receiving a Wooden Railway Circle Set for either Christmas or my birthday. I was either 2 or 3 then, but I'm sure I was a fan of Thomas before then! (I wouldn't have gotten the set if I wasn't. :P)
Are you still interested in Thomas?
Yes! I'm really looking forward to S17 and King of the Railway later this year! Only a few weeks away for S17 too! :D
Please feel free to leave a comment below or start a conversation in the live chat.
Much to the surprise of the fans, HiT have brought Series one and two back into the market and for a very attractive price. Ex Beatle drummer Ringo Starr is telling the Reverend Awdrys' stories to a whole new generation once again.
While series 17 episodes are making their debut on Channel 5, 29 year old episodes are being sold in the UK through Poundland making them easily available to a whole new generation of children. They are part of a "Treat Size Introduces..." range in which other children's favourites have been released such as Pingu, Angelina Ballerina, Fireman Sam and of Course Thomas. They have been distributed by Entertainment Alliance.
At the moment there are only four different DVDs available however there are more in production, see the link below. You may want to be quick in buying your copy or copies, the Thomas ones have sold out in most shops! At only £1 each it is hardly surprising.
One of the biggest developments of the last month is the release of the DVD Railway Mischief. Not only does this DVD feature a brand new narrator but it is also the premier for Arc new CGI. This is also the first time since Ringo Starr that both the UK and US have the same narrator.
Mark much like his predecessors' is a Liverpudlian continuing the age old tradition. Mark has been in a number of well known programs such as Holby City, Heartbeat, Doctors but he best known for his part in Harry Enfield in Chums back in the 1990's. Marks involvement with Thomas was first confirmed in November 2012 when Vocal booth uploaded a picture of him in the studio, recording for Thomas and Friends.
However with the beginning of a new narrator comes the end to another. Michael Angelis in the UK and Michael Brandon in the US have now departed from Thomas and Friends, they have both been the longest serving narrators ever for the series. Michael Angelis started in 1991 with Series 3, he was full of energy and a really enthralling narrator, in latter years he lost his enthusiasm and was criticised for appearing almost bored. However he has been a fantastic asset to the series for twenty one years and will be missed by many. So farewell Michael Angelis and thank you for everything you have done for Thomas and his Friends.
You can now view all of the episodes from US DVD Railway Mischief on Youtube and they seem to have got positive comments from the youtubers! If you haven't had the chance to watch the episodes click below to see them all, enjoy! The brand new seventeenth series of Thomas & Friends marks its world premier on Channel 5 milkshake! in the UK on June 3rd 2013.
In the last month we have seen a collection of new merchandise come out. So lets take a look!
Take 'n' Play
On the 13th of March SteamTeam posted the picture below revealing Connor and Caitlin's Take 'n' Play models! By this point we had already seen Stephen, so it was exciting to see these two!
They will be on shelves by Autumn, so that is something to look forward too!
That is not all for Take 'n' Play however. They have released, for the first time in the UK - Surprise eggs.
Yes you can now purchase Take 'n' Play eggs, with a range of Characters: Thomas, Percy, Stanley, Salty Scruff, Sir Tophman's car Diesel, Mavis and Toby.
Wooden Railway
There have been a couple of developments for wooden railway, the most exciting being the release, or should we say re-release of Flying Scotsman. Josh Louvier has uploaded a fantastic video saying more than we could on the beautifully crafted and detailed locomotive.
With thanks to Josh for allowing us to use his video.
Another exciting development is the Wooden Railway yearbook. This gave us an insight into what the King of the Railway engines are going to look like, but then Josh managed to get hold of a copy of a catalogue designed specifically for retailers. This showed some engines which are clearly prototypes. Take note of Connor, looking more like Spencer than Caitlin, and Stephen having two designs! Stephens coaches look really impressive! What do you guys think?
With thanks to Josh for allowing us to use his video.
Bachmann
Yes Bachmann Duck has become a topic for conversation yet again! WholeSale have estimated that Duck should be released by the 10th of July, however the key word here is estimated. We have had estimates of arrival that have been shattered before, so don't be devastated if this deadline is pushed back yet again!
On a more positive note related to Duck: it has been confirmed that our old Great Western will be returning in Series 17. This is fantastic news for fans everywhere, we have been requesting his return for years and now it is a reality! Duck's last appearance (four in the whole series!) was some five years ago in series twelve. If you take a look through Duck's appearances on the Thomas Wikia, all you see is "cameo", "cameo", "does not speak" "does not speak" etc. etc. His last proper role as a regular character was back in series 3 (1991) twenty-two years ago!
As expected King of the Railway will be screened in Vue cinemas in the United Kingdom before its DVD release. This was confirmed by the Thomas and Friends UK Facebook page after a user inquired about the release date.
"King of the Railway will be screening across UK VUE cinemas late August and will be released on DVD in September!" Although an exact date wasn't released, it is expected to be the weekend of Saturday 24th August, a date for your diary!
Now, have you ever seen the Last of the Summer Wine? You may be wondering why we are asking you such an odd question, well the answer is simple; a cast member of the aforementioned program will be joining the voice cast of King of the Railway.
The BBC program Last of the Summer Wine ran from 1973 until 2010 and aired almost 300 episodes, it was officially declared the longest running television sitcom. Mike Grady joined the program in 1986, In this year Thomas the Tank Engine was in his second series, narrated by Ringo Starr) as Barry Wilkinson and appeared in over 160 episodes, until the shows inevitable demise in 2010.
It was a shame when HiT made the difficult decision to move away from the model making legacy and make the leap to CGI, changing the course of history for Thomas & Friends. The models that a generation of fans had grown up with, and grown to adore; were carted off to Drayton Manor to spend their retirement, static in a glass prison.
Nitrogen Studios had the difficult task of bringing Thomas to life in a whole new form to a dubious generation of older fans whilst still having plenty of appeal for the younger target audience. As we know now, they achieved this leaving little to be asked for. Despite how much many fans may have not liked these changes Nitrogen integrated them in the best way possible. Starting with just CGI faces upon models before the final full conversion. The rest is history.
Nitrogen revealed that an even greater number of models than those in Thomas Land reside at their Vancouver based studios. Engines such as Molly, Rheneas, Spencer, Duck, Murdoch and others are currently stored in cabinets for display purposes only. Arc Productions are taking over animation from Nitrogen and they have a lot to live up to.
Found on the new Go Go Thomas! US DVD is the brand new King of the Railway trailer. It gives us a much better look at new characters Connor and Caitlin and includes scenes from the original trailer that we saw a few weeks ago.
As well as getting an alternative view of the castle we also see that Stephen finds his way to the docks and the Blue Mountain quarry, so some new locations to what we knew previously. The quality of this trilaer is much better, but many still regard the CGI as unfinished, but we shall have to wait and see.
King of the railway is due to premier in the UK, US, Germany and Australia this September.
Watch the video below and see what you think, please leave comments or start chatting!
It seemed that it was full speed ahead for Duck, he was coasting down the hill, running easily with the wind whistling past, suddenly there was a delay. Duck's release time was moved back, now yet again it has been moved back further!
The much anticipated Duck was Initially due to be released in January, he was then pushed back to the 28th of February. A rumoured estimate of the 31st of March appeared, but that was not true.
A release date will be released when Bachmann are ready so for now we are just going to have to wait...again!
Much like Bachmann a couple of weeks ago, Lionel have released their online catalogue for 2013 and much like Bachmann it contains a couple of surprises! Thomas and his coaches are decorated ready for Christmas, a bit early perhaps, but nonetheless they are ready to puff round your tree! Thomas has three interchangeable faces as well.
Turning the page we see that James, Percy and Diesel are also available in remote control. As well as three updated CGI interchangeable faces they also have sound affects, could be a good thing, equally could be painfully annoying. Some of the trucks are painted with Sodor locations which is good to see.
Click below to view the online catalogue, really nice setup, with the wooden table in the background. If you want to zoom in just click. It is a shame though that most companies just release their brochures as online files. I don't know about you, but I always enjoy flicking through a brochure, also can't really add an online one to your collection!
These items are due to be in American shop later this year.
At a private Mattel toy fair in New York a few King of the Railway secrets were revealed! Trackmaster and Wooden Railway sets were revealed, giving us a brief glimpse of a Wooden Railway Millie and Ulfstead castle in both Trackmaster and Wooden Railway!
Comparisons between the two sets are inevitable so we may as well do a couple! Let's have a look at the Trackmaster set first. The castle is much smaller than the Wooden one. They have made more effort with the higher levels on the Trackmaster set. The Trackmaster set suggests that a crane and a bridge of some description will feature in the Movie.
If you feel we have missed anything please feel free to tell us via the comments section below or the new chat feature. Here is a link to the video so you can have a look for yourself!
As well as the above sets Fisher Price have debuted some other Wooden Railway sets! Take a look and see what you think.
The Fisher Price website depicts what is to come from Take 'n' Play with a first glimpse at Stephen the aptly named Rocket engine. Since the initial appearance of Stephen on the collector poster more pictures have surfaced.
This collector poster gave fans a first look at Stephen. it is available to be printed and viewed online and is suggested as a printable, from the Fisher Price website, which looks like it is still in construction. Further pictures appeared of Stephen close up and with the background removed. This enabled us to have a very good look at him.
On first impression he looks impressive but on closer scrutiny, you may argue that he is lacking in places. For example his tender is attached, he is all one piece, it would have been better if he had a separate tender. His wheel arrangement is correct although very close together. His funnel is very short, but if it was longer the packaging would have to be specially adapted for him, also it would be more likely to snap off completely. It is interesting that his nameplate says 'Rocket' rather than Stephen.
A new picture of Stephen with a treasure chest and gold horse has appeared today. There are a couple of differences between the above picture and the original picture of Stephen For a start his funnel has changed colour. Also he has little speckle of gold, but that is part of the theme. There is a bit of silver detailing in his piston. View this image here.
Finally is a picture of a Take 'n' Play set, featuring what we can assume is Ulfstead castle featured in the trailer. this is from the Fisher Price website. The description for which says:
"There’s plenty of action and excitement in this fast-paced toy inspired by the King of the Railway DVD movie! The Troublesome Truck tries to catch Thomas as he races down the spiral track! Will it be successful in catching him? As Thomas zooms downward the flags unfurl and the treasure drops. Connects to other Take-n-Play™ portable playsets and folds up for easy portability and storage! Includes a die-cast Thomas engine, a Troublesome Truck, and two additional play pieces."
Please leave your thoughts and comments below or in the new chat box.
Today Bachmann released their new catalogue, it shows all the engines for this year including some new faces coupled with plenty of familiar ones. As well as the much anticipated Duck we also see the Iron Works duo diesels; 'Arry and Bert. Further more Bachmann have given mention of Thomas with sounds! So let's take a look.
This years catalogue features Bachmanns new range of Chuggington engines:
"Traintastic Chuggington™ is pulling into Bachmann! Based on the popular TV series Chuggington™ that airs weekdays on Disney Channel’s Disney Junior programming block for kids and their families, and daily on the new 24-hour Disney Junior basic cable and satellite channel, HO Scale Chuggington electric Locomotives, Rolling Stock, and Accessories are arriving in 2013! Join your favourite “trainees” —Brewster, Wilson, and Koko— as they ride the rails pulling Chuggington cars that include a Box Car, Low-Sided Gondola, Flat Car, two Hopper Cars, and a Passenger Car. Vee, the depot dispatcher, will be there to keep all the Chuggers on schedulee."
But don't worry Thomas fans, we get a mention, surprisingly no mention of the new Duck in there; but it's not all bad!
"This year, Thomas & Friends™
fans can look forward toIron ‘Arry, Iron Bert, Jeremy, and
Troublesome Truck #4 as well as the new Thomas’ Christmas Express set in HO scale and Toby the Tram Engine and new rolling stock in Large Scale."
We will start with the sounds Thomas:
"Now you can hear Thomas’ steam sounds! With an analog sound system including steam chuffs, periodic whistle, and steam blow-down upon stopping, this sound-equipped Thomas brings to life the sights and sounds of the Island of Sodor."
He is set to retail at $99 which is $38 more expensive than the basic Thomas, but will it be worth it? He runs on normal DC current and the sounds activate according to the speed of Thomas, this should help make the sounds more realistic. However many are always a little wary of sound chips, we will have to wait and see. Some can be good but plenty of them aren't great! Thomas is likely to cost between £70 and £75 when he arrives in the UK. With thanks to TheDieselWorks for reminding us to mention the sounds Thomas.
Jeremy seems a bit of an odd choice to me, Jeremy the plane that only appeared in six episodes (of which he only spoke in one!) and a special. Toby however seems like a good choice, it would be nice to see him in HO, hopefully his faithful coach Henrietta will make it to HO as well.
Most interestingly it features 'Arry and Bert, although sadly they are just CGI stock images at the moment, but that is something to look forward to. Also it is good to see that a few minor modifications have been made to Duck.
Although the image above is blurry you can see that Duck now has a grey (sadly not white) running plate, which as we all know really does make a difference! Also that bit of black on top of his safety valve has been removed. Bachmann must have been reading the viewers responses! It is really good to see a little more progress on Duck. Fingers crossed he will be released at the end of this month as planned.
Back in November 2012 there was much excitement as a picture of Bachmann's new Duck model was released! Comments were flowing with enthusiasm, applauding the engines detail and classic features, this was all from one small picture. Now we have a large scale picture and even a hands on review thanks to Youtube user Sodoradvertures. So I think it is good time to have another look at Duck.
I would say the best way to do this is too look first at each model individually and then make comparisons. Above are the Hornby model, TV series model and Bachmann model. Ultimately I will be comparing them to the TV series model, but also to each other. Where are the TV series model's eye brows?!
Hornby
First of all the Hornby model has a grey running plate which his basically incorrect, also the face although well molded is too much of a dark grey. He is of a dark green, far darker than the other two. The boxes on the running plate are un-detailed and simply molded in green. The cab appears too curved at the top, the funnel looks out of proportion and shape. Finally the number '8' appears too thin. But it is not all doom and gloom for Hornby, the cab is open enabling more detail than that of the Bachmann. The wheels are of better proportion.
Bachmann
The only bad point I would have to say about this one is the wheels. I think they are too small, but please comment your thoughts. Also, the cab is closed, but that is only a minor point. I love the classic face, really nostalgic and suits Duck perfectly. The colour of his livery is near perfect. All the parts under his side tanks are detailed in black, just like the TV series model. Notice the little box under the running plate which I presume is supposed to be the cylinder, is there as it is with the TV series model. I think Bachmann have had a really good look at the TV series model when designing this.
Sadly both engines lack that splash of white on the running plate, which really does make a difference!
Now take a look at this video by Youtube user Sodoradventures. Take a close look at the wheels and see what you think, I still think they are too small. I really enjoyed this video, it was great to see the model and hear Sodor's thoughts.
Duck was originally due to be released in January 2013, but that hasn't happened yet, they are likely preparing for a large demand! Duck is now due to be released, in the US by 28th February 2013, so that is the date to remember, hopefully he will be available to the UK online around that time too. It is a shame that the much awaited Duck has been delayed almost a month, I am sure he will be worth the wait! You can pre-order Duck at 'The Diesel Works'
Yes the first glimpse of Sodor in all new CGI by Arc has been released! As the majority of you will know Thomas & Friends was previously animated by Nitrogen Studios, who went out with a bang with the highly successful 'Blue Mountain Mystery'. So Arc have a lot to live up to!
I have read a number of comments regarding this advert and a lot of people have been saying that the CGI is low quality, cheap and various other derogatory comments. First of all I think it is too early to start judging the quality of the CGI, this advert was likely released by mistake. But if I must pass judgement; I think the actual CGI does look good, but the quality of the video itself is quite poor. The engines look nicely detailed and coloured. Lip syncing is poor to say the least! The background scenery in places is bare but overall not too bad, I am sure it will look better in the finished product. What do you all think of the hill (I assume this is Ulfstead hill?) at the end? I think it was nicely detailed and very grand, quite impressive!
The characters all look good in my opinion. At times they look very much like the Nitrogen characters, not that this is a bad thing however. Some comments have said that they look too much like Nitrogen models, I don't see the problem with this, Nitrogen did a very good job. The troublesome trucks looked very much like the Nitrogen ones, shame that they were all the same, it used to be that the Troublesome trucks all had different faces! It is good though to see that they are back to their troublesome ways, that is what they are there for after all!
Andrew Brennar is writing this movie so this is a bit of a debut for him! Other than a few TV series episodes in the 1990's and editing Blue Mountain Mystery Andrew has had little chance to 'shine', so let's hope this film goes well for him! It won't be long before we start seeing Merchandise creeping onto the shelves, 'Train Cellar' have already released pictures of the new engines in wooden railway.
New characters included, Millie, Stephen (named of course after Robert Stephenson) and Sir Robert Norramby, The Earl of Sodor. It looks like Andrew Brennar has been reading the Wikia, to find out about Robert! (Joke)
Please feel free to tell us your opinions on the trailer and our comments.
With exams over and a new year, a new start has arrived for ThomasTankCollectables. Plans have been made for a whole series of new videos over the coming few weeks, work has started with pictures and videos being taken. This blog will be the first thing to be re-vamped. Our Youtube channel is likely to stay the same except we have a lot of of videos planned for that! Facebook and Twitter will be used to make announcements of latest videos and blog posts, so stay tuned there!
Please bear in mind that videos take a lot of time and I am still very busy with homework and my job, but I will try my utmost to prioritise a good amount of time to Thomas!
The plans for the blog are a new background, new banner, better page for my shop and more posts in the coming weeks. The News page will be removed as it is unnecessary really, if we want to comment on any news we will just make a new post.
If you have any comments, questions or queries regarding our plans for the future, comment on this post or message us on Youtube, facebook or Twitter (links above). You can also e-mail us at: thomastankcollectables@hotmail.co.uk
