First new Trackmaster locos for 2015

I would like to say that I understand that you are all loyalists. I'm not so ready to trash the new line yet. its the first year. And I'm sure that it will learn from its mistakes. When my son was 2yrs old he and I loved the blue tracks. it was easy for him to design layouts. he is now 5yrs old & has no problem using the old trackmaster tracks. these new ones are complicated for sure. to me they are for 7yrs & up. but it does open the door for imagination and design. I think one would be hard pressed to not like the avalanche set. much bet than the castle set with its ability to reset itself. what I'm afraid of is that the future sets will lose symbolism. What I mean by that is when was the last set released that was "attractive" & represented a destination? tidmouth sheds? knapford? I think if the new trackmaster released something more linear or semilinear like a diesel works set. this might make some of you take a second look, no?

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don't get me wrong. if I want to break out a special train. its blue tracks all the way completely linear buildings, trees etc. etc. but that's me. I can not tell you how many times my son tries to send a train up action canyon! daddy try this 1. 25 trains later... with battery changes in between!

thats one thing that bugs me... the sets are impossible for a preschooler to set up alone. as you say, 7yrs and up... how many 7 year olds are going to beg mum and dad for a new thomas toy, or how many parents are going to say yes? my niece is 9, and i dont think she would be able to put a revolution set together correctly.

my nephews are down at the moment. the youngest is 6, and loves trains. i loaned him one of my blue track sets, and told him to see what he could do. i put the bridges together simply to avoid possible breaks and left him to do the rest. he got a functional track in minutes after being told to make a long oval.
tomorrow, i will likely do the same, but give him more track to work with. he has a trackmaster 1 set at home, but no one bothers to play with him, and being the youngest he tags along with the older 2.

that's why I say the new line is trying to grow with a generation. when my son was 6mo. old his first show that he loved was Thomas. on his first b-day everyone got his train sets/trains wooden, take n play, TM. he was blown away at how the toys matched the show. I made the decision to stick w/ TM in hopes that it would grow with him. In the beginning he never wanted to let the trains run. Always pushed them himself like take n plays. now different story. I knew I made the right decision. So did my wallet! maybe that's what the new line is trying to do as well. A separation of church & state if you will.

If they pull the plug on plarail Thomas :,( me will be sad don't make me sad plarail plzzzzzzz no