Online Selling Shockers

One thing I noticed is that Trackmasters vehicles have a hole in each wheel, but TOMY vehicles don't. But it is still very hard to differentiate. Underneath the chassis, does the TOMY logo appear on Trackmasters? (I don't think so). What about the motors, are they identical in shape?

The motors were the same shapes as the TOMY ones until Trackmaster got redesigned in 2014 (where they basically turned the trains into roller coasters).

US Trackmaster engines do not say Tomy, and I don't think UK ones do either, just HiT Toys and later Mattel. The HiT Toys and earlier Mattel Trackmaster don't have holes in the wheels, Mattel added them when they changed from boxes to plastic bubbles/clamshells to hold engines so they could hold them in place.



Notice how the wheels on the second one are partially below the cardboard "rail" platform, there is a second set of holes with black plastic rods through them to hold the engine down and in place.

Like TrainMan said, the drive units were pretty much identical for several years. When HiT Toys took over, the Thomas type drive unit was instead made in white plastic with a splash of black paint in the area exposed by the window and the grey power switch was changed to white. I think the housing is slightly different, but still close enough to where I have a Thomas with a franken-motor that's half black Tomy and half white HiT Toys. I believe similar small changes were made to the other drive units, slight molding and plastic differences but otherwise pretty much interchangeable. The HiT Toys engines were mostly unchanged from the unpainted running board Tomy engines available in the US up to that point, it wasn't until Mattel came in that they gained or lost detail, Mattel added red boiler stripes and eventually removed front cab window stickers, among other things.


There's a Tomy versus an early Mattel, HiT Toys were the same as Mattel. Later Mattel slowely changed everything over to the flat type drive unit, replacing the Thomas and eventually the tender-in-the-battery and Diesel C-cell type drive units with it. And, as mentioned, in 2014 they changed everything over to the same 2 AAA chassis

HiT Toys models don't use the pull down middle wheels, you just squeeze the body shell. Mattel changed all the battery covers over to using screws.


I would have some more comprehensive pictures, but all I have in my apartment right now is my spares and repairs bin and some of the magnet style 90s TomyTrain trains.

Hmm, I was trying to get this thread back on track here at the end, but I can't seem to find a screenshot of the auction I once saw where someone had taped drawings of a claw and mean face over a Trackmaster BoCo. Somebody obviously wanted Diesel 10 but could only get BoCo!

[Super]

Thank you T-Man and Duck

Hmm, I was trying to get this thread back on track here at the end, but I can't seem to find a screenshot of the auction I once saw where someone had taped drawings of a claw and mean face over a Trackmaster BoCo. Somebody obviously wanted Diesel 10 but could only get BoCo!

Thanks for the thought anyway!

This seller is posting this as a factory made Tomy “special edition” Paint splattered Thomas.
Thoughts anyone??

He's not fooling anyone.

[Super]

Well it is special...probably at least to him. I have an issue that he Listed it as a "Very Rare, Special Edition"   which would seem to indicate that it was a factory release. At the very least they should have put the word 'Custom' in there.

I would be curious as to the age of the person who painted it. If it was a child then they did a very good job. If an adult then it must have been a labor of love for their son or daughter so special to them.

And "Very rare to find now special edition".  Ha, ha. If it was, this seller would be charging a lot more for it, so they must know.

(Why are we all saying "he/him" ?). The odd thing is that it's an experienced seller with a good track record of selling genuine scarce / hard to find stuff, at a price. For example they currently have the pop-up firework truck among others.

"... signs of wear and tear, as seen in the photos..."
 

Well that's honest. Just needs a new headlight, fender and windshield and she'll be right as rain.