Thomas the Tank Engine ERTL Haul

I was delighted to find a large job lot of ERTL models in a charity shop recently. It is so rare these days to find collections such as this, especially given that the range was discontinued back in 2004. I actually saw them in the morning and came back later in the day to buy them as I didn't have my money with me the first time! I knew they wouldn't sell and I was right. The whole lot cost me £24.50 ($31.66USD, $39.82AUSD). As many of you will already know I put together a video showing what came in the job lot. 

I bought these to swap out the better condition ones with my own collection and add a bit more rolling stock and track to my collection. Out of all the engines and vehicles the only one I didn't personally own was Bulgy. So I was very pleased to finally add him to my collection. I was also surprised to see that the models were in remarkably good condition for their age, especially the gems of the lot - Emily and Spencer. As many of you will know, the models released in the latter years of the series are particularly difficult to find and frequently fetch quite hefty sums of money on online auctions. 

Above are the three main treasures from the 'haul', Spencer, Emily and Bulgy. All in wonderful condition, they really are splendid models or toys?! For those of you wondering, I sold off all the doubles, so hopefully they will bring as much joy to someone else as they did to me. If you bought any ERTLs recently they may well have been featured in my video!

I really enjoyed doing the simplistic remake shots, the ERTL models look so good that you don't even need scenery. The quality of the models speaks for themselves really. I think they sacrificed playability (wheels, track, couplings; see below) for quality and accuracy, which is not really a problem to me. 

Snapshot Review

I am not going to do a full review of the ERTL range, but here are some of my thoughts. I personally think they are some of the closest models to the TV series and I think they have a nostalgic connection to a great number of people in the community. But, they are certainly not without their faults. 

The Good

• Appearance - they look very much like the TV series models and they are very photogenic. 
• Nostalgia - they are the go-to classic range for all collectors! 
• Quality - they are made of good quality die-cast metal with very little plastic. 

The Bad

• Couplings - the couplings frequently snap, the more modern couplings are not always compatible with older rolling stock and often snap as well. Sometimes the engines will have very small female couplers, which can prove troublesome, furthermore the male couplers are often missing. 
• Track - maybe it is just me, but I think the track is too wide and the engines just don't look very good on it. 
• Wheels - the wheels are frequently wonky and are too small in my opinion. 
• Faces - I think some of the faces lack detail, especially the earlier models. 

Believe it or not, I really do love ERTL! 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little post and the video. Please feel to post your comments below or on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. 

Watch the video above!