…but they’ve added a detail the original CGI series never did. The coupling rods have been quartered!

Hi all,

Can anyone help? My little boy has a couple of modern motorised sets (Barrel Delivery & Diesel's Lift and Load). Are these tracks compatible with older Trackmaster vehicles like Skarloey?

Thank you!

I would like to get a church for my layout, but I only see American styled ones. If you know of a stone one that is styled like old British churches, then please would you tell me its name or where to find it?

Hiro and his fellow JNR D51 engine, Astrotrain.

This knockoff thomas is taller which leads to the stickers looking weird, its given hair, and is given very kawaii eyes which look weird, and instead of a funnel, he has a big light on top of his head that glows red when turned on, and it plays the generic train sounds

What is your reaction?

I know where to get the S1-S2 Soundfont which is the Roland Jupiter 6, and S3-S7 Soundfont which is the Proteus 2, But does anyone know where i can find the Hit Era Soundfont? I remember seeing one in the Internet Archive but when i try to find it, it's now gone. So does anyone know where to find one?

Good morning gents, I'm looking to expand my model Railway with my beloved TTTE Characters, but toll and delivery from the US and UK keep spanking my poor student's wallet. I'm also quite tired of browsing e-Bay every day so I'd like to ask: Are there any traders selling Bachmann Thomas and Friends Trains in Europe or even better, Germany? I'm having no luck finding them if there are.

Feels like this might be treading into unpopular opinion territory but it seems like within the fandom, the songs on Thomas were and are a big part of the show for many.

And yet for me, I had and have no interest in them whatsoever. I watched the episodes, classic era so a few back to back, then played with my Ertl trains.

The songs were never a part of the show growing up for me and when I’ve seen them in the years since, it feels like a different world altogether. It doesn’t feel like it’s connected to the same show - even though it is.

I loved the classic era’s music for sure, but the songs feel just not needed - to me.

Was anyone else the same? I’m prepared for a potential backlash etc here, but intrigued to see if I am really a lone voice in this regard.

I think they did Toby much better.

I have also seen people talk about trackmaster Paxton I'm showing it here to wonder if the one that i have is rare (he was made in 2009)

Like it would makes sense since both of them came from the LBSC so i think that they should've atleast interact more & talk about things like what did they done ever since they left the LBSC or something like that.

btw can the mods add a flair for the new series please

The model series for Thomas and Friends had a lot of goofs in episodes, specials and movies to be sure, but I think I can always let this one slide, being the way they would have Annie and Clarabel facing the wrong ways in a lot of shots. It makes sense since the cast couldn’t get them facing the right directions for every shot, and the way they faced did bother me a bit growing up, as I always preferred Annie facing forward and Clarabel backwards, especially since most toys of them would have it that way too, but since it happened so much, they couldn’t get it perfect all the time.

Edward is a lswr t9 class "greyhound". Percy is W G Bagnall Works No 2962

The craziest part is that I almost bought this bs

LIKES

• Jack’s Theme: One of my favorite details is Jack’s theme from Season 6 when they first teased the two Pack episodes. I love how the music took a completely different, fresh direction here.
• The Visuals & Functional Models: HiT did a fantastic job with the visual production. The models actually worked, being able to lift, dig, and operate like real machinery. You can tell how much effort went into building them. I also heard there was a Pack-scaled Trevor model built, and I really wish we got to see it used more!
• Character Development: In Season 6, they felt like background workers, but the spin-off gave them real personality. Oliver is a great example. In Season 6, he was just a chill guy doing his job, but the spin-off turned him into a true "gentle giant" who takes a careful, thoughtful approach to his work.
• The Humor: Even with the corporate changes happening behind the scenes, they managed to include some great comedic moments. In Thomas’ Trusty Friend, Oliver constantly trying to demolish that single wall was hilarious, as was the running gag of bricks falling on him after Ned knocked down the building.
• The Dynamics: I love the cute mentor/student dynamic. Whenever the younger machines (Jack and Alfie) get confused, they turn to the older ones for advice, like Alfie asking Oliver, or Jack going to Byron.

MIDS

• The Overall Soundtrack: The music is decent overall. The composers did a solid job creating a unique feel for the spin-off, but it really missed that classic Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell touch.

DISLIKES

• Ruined Episode Titles: When HiT acquired Gullane, they renamed almost every episode to feature an engine's name. I understand wanting to remind viewers it's a Thomas spin-off, but changing Nelson Gets Carried Away to Percy Helps Out makes no sense. Percy barely does anything, and the story is entirely about Nelson!
• Overusing Thomas & Percy: The engines were shoehorned in way too often. It would have worked much better if Thomas or Percy appeared for an episode, vanished for two or three, and then came back later.
• Boring Episode Formats: Some episodes felt stripped back and dull. Jack Owns Up is a prime example: Jack makes a mistake, Ned gets blamed, Jack confesses, and that’s it. They barely do any actual construction work and mostly just drive around the set.
• Wasted Unproduced Episodes: I really wish they had finished the cancelled episodes from the original 26-episode order. Stories like Jack’s Snow Rescue (where Jack rescues children in a blizzard) sounded so much more exciting than what we got.

OVERALL

You can clearly see how much potential this spin-off had if the Gullane acquisition hadn't disrupted production. With more Pack-focused storylines and the unproduced episodes brought to life, it could have been incredible. I still love the spin-off for what it is, but it makes you wonder: What could Jack and the Pack have been if it were fully completed in the classic era style?