All Engines Go NEWS

Metallic Engines 4-Pack

Motorized Sets

Fix 'em Up Friends




Bridge Lift Thomas & Skiff




3-in-1 Package Pickup

Push Along Carly & Sandy

(Why is Carly nameless on the box?)

Lol mattel can't even remember their own characters names: Just goes to show how much they care about the franchise.

An original set from LAST YEAR! but with a replaced Thomas. What was the budget for these products??

If the budget was limited, it is a pity that the same is the case with the imagination of people in the creative department. All three upcoming “Motorized” sets are almost literal copies of earlier sets, with a change of colour and locomotives. Not even Annie & Clarabel from the “Package Pickup” set has been changed to be more like the characters from the TV show; they are as small as they used to be, so they look weird next to Thomas, who is now much bigger than he used to be. The only truly new set will be the Push Along Race for the Sodor Cup Set.

However, it seems that the funds were mostly spent on modelling locomotives. When you pick up the AEG model and the TM2 model, it's as if you have two completely different types of models in your hands. AEG models are made very precisely, they are very nicely painted and full of details: the windows are embossed and not just drawn, whistles and some other parts are made as special parts, then attached to the body of the locomotive from below, etc. The middle wheel looks like a real wheel (it's a separate peace of plastic), and is not just painted on the chassis. I'm no expert, but they seem to be technically much better, too.

All in all, the workmanship is very good. The TM2 models were cheaply made toys, with visible colour flaws. Let's face it: we liked them just because they were Thomas & Friends characters, not because they were top-notch models! Their colour seems to be applied with an inkjet printer or something. From a distance and in the photos, these models looked OK, but if you looked at it closely, it was a cheap job. Quality control was completely absent in the TrackMaster series.

AEG models are something completely different. If they had at least discarded the toothed wheels and those bad TM2 rails, it could be said that they came close to Takara Tomy Plarail quality. Since they redesigned only the locomotives, and took everything else in an unimaginative way from the previous program, it can be said that they failed. Still, the AEG models seem to be better runners, don’t derail often like the TM2, and are generally more stable while driving. That, at least, is my experience.

I would be very interested to see an AEG locomotive stripped down. What does the motor / gearbox unit look like?  Can you get inside it? Are there any innovations that would account for the impression that they are better runners?

Being inexperienced in technical matters, I would leave the disassembly of the motor to people who are more capable than me. As I pointed out, the fact that AEGs are better runners than TM2 is a matter of my personal impression. I'm not sure what exactly influenced it - some technical innovation, the shape and size of the vehicle or something else. Either way, the fact is that they really derail less than the TM2, and the vehicle’s running visually looks smoother and better.

I think extra weight could have helped the TM2 trains. Are the AEG ones significantly heavier? I know weight plays a lot into model trains' abilities to run well.

Engines using wheels as hands (Goodbye reality! Goodbye physics!) 


Some terrible examples of using wheels as a hand in episode 19 ... Even if it is a cartoon for kids > this is unacceptable.  Please give up this kind of nonsense! 









                                                                 ^^^^ Badly designed alien probe unit? 

It appears engines are now made of cybertronian living metal rather than iron. It can stretch and compress however you want unlike iron or steel.