All Engines Go NEWS

I miss your YouTube content, Ucwepn; I really liked your videos, they were very informative. And I liked your big layout too.

[Super]

I sometimes think that Ucwepn doesn't realize how much his video's influenced how others do theirs. I also don't think he realizes how much he has influenced thousands with his information and the enjoyable and comforting personality he brought to all of us. He influenced so much in me I really don't think I would have had as much fun with this hobby if it weren't for him. In fact his Layout was so important to me that my latest one is a tribute to Ucwepn's Train Shed Layout where he has two different areas separated by an open space connected only by Bridges.

the thomas all go engines will definitely not going to fit in the original trackmaster tunnels.  You will also need taller bridge risers as well.  The only thing good about them is that they have more different facial expression than the traditional smiley faces.  I would only buy them for its rolling stocks and not the engine.

Things have been extremly slow.  the Wal Marts in Canada still doesn't have the 3D face tankers yet.  not even one set.

...and now back to an unanswered question: Did anyone notice how large these new toys actually are? James is almost 25 cm long! And more importantly: the trains have 7 cm in height. Look at that new character, Kana:

Well, ok, they already made them totally incompatible with Plarail, but what happens now with that height? Could the kids who have older Trackmaster layouts run that new trains on their old layouts? 7 centimeters... Could they go through all older Trackmaster track elements?

i wonder if it works with imagarium battery trains.  They are taller than trackmaster/plarail.

*Imaginarium.

Only the Power Rails range, because the ones for Wooden Railway are not. Even then, they still have magnets and not hook and loop couplings.

I was able to convert the magnet couplings to the regular plastic couplings. However you must the special hook couplings from engines like murdorch or Emily

Looking at the older CGI and new AEG Thomases side by side makes me think of the concept of de-evolution! Less than a decade ago, similar looking toys would be sold as “My First Thomas” and aim at actually toddlers, who would then graduate to the more realistic Trackmaster, Take n Play or Wooden Railway. Now, the “baby toy” look is marketed to the 3-7 year olds.

My observation as a father of two kids who are just getting to the outer edge of the target age group is that they are too infantile and dumbed down for that intended age group. Of course, I’m usually wrong about these things and by simply powering through and ignoring the critics, Mattel will probably eventually persevere and this will turn in to the greatest Thomas revival ever! LOL

I still think this line is a step backwards.

[Super]

who would then graduate to the more realistic Trackmaster,

Good point OTR, that thought hadn't crossed my mind.

Trackmaster non-rebooted Thomas toys are already dumbed down during last few years. To me they look ugly and non-recognizable. For example, this is supposedly Gordon, and he looks like a caricature:


This is the new rebooted Gordon. Doesn't look much worse. For all as I know, this could be even called an improvement:


Trackmaster/Mattel/Fisher-Price lost me when they start disfiguring Thomas & Friends characters, putting horrible spiky wheels on them and making them incompatible with Plarail. All of their trains now look somehow flattened and caricatured. Compared with the Trackmaster trains 10+ years ago, most of them are ugly and cheep looking toys already. The reboot doesn't really make the situation much worse. The situation has been bad for some time.

Takara Tomy did make some errors (the newest Dokidoki Mountain which is not a mountain at all but a panel, for example) but their Thomas & Friends trains look (and are) good as always. Plarail forever!

This is Gordon:

Second AEG Set: Bridge Lift Thomas and Skiff Train Set