very rare vs rare vs htf trains

I would have to agree with toby. and I'm sure we all agree on alfie. these fall into a list that is very rare. cant remember the last time I saw a face change toby

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but I wanted to explore the "generic" trains as well. for example: molly was produced for several years. but maybe 1 year was far less than others. just an example, I don't know this to be true.

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hiro, I'm not so sure. although, highly desirable and if you want 1 you might have to pay a decent price. he is really all over the place,no?

I have an HIt toys hiro. I find he looks more accurate in TM than plarail, but I think he was all over the world excluding the east.

now a face-changing hiro bnib or uwb. a little different. this is where & why we need to create a list. unfortunately, I have to go and dig out of the frozen tundra. if anyone has anything for sale to make it stop snowing here PLEASE let me know!

How about a big dome over your property?

lol it would have to be a pretty big dome! we have at least 4 ft of snow in our back yard. snow banks over 6ft. & icicles hanging pushing 7ft!

The bigger the better!

HiT flip face flip load Toby, HiT Lost and found Talking Hiro would have to be right up there, Toby was only available in the Sodor copper mine set for a short while.

Yes I agree w/ Ucwepn about FF Toby and Hiro..
Without production numbers from the actual manufacturers this is all speculation based on all of our collective experiences, logic, and deduction...
So it seems reasonable that all of the HiT trains would have to be considered MOST rare based soley on their limited years of production...unless some freakish event limited a particular trains production from being mass produced by FP, then simply on numbers and volume ANY HiT would be rarest...
That said, FF Toby would have to top the HiT list...as Ucwepn said it was only sold in the copper mine set for a short run...(Also very expensive compared to just buying a single train on a Sunday whim). Hiro, I'm still considering as far as Value vs. Rarity.
Hiro fetches top dollar!! And rightfully so. $100. used consistently...never less.
It's an AWESOME train!! It's a one of a kind.. It's production values and detailing, imaginative appointments and overall look and feel make it above and beyond ANY other train produced and the only real home run that ever equaled or rivaled a Plarail product...that said, I don't rank it as being that all that rare though, as it can be easily aquired if one is willing to pay the money...it is a HiT toy however, and I would guess it will still make the top 10 on this list...
My thoughts today might include that last run of old "New" Fisher Price trains that filled the shelves about a year or so ago with the freed up James & Henry, slightly different Donald and Douglas' etc...
FP tweaked the line a final time creating variations worthy of considering different, with the shortest production run EVER!!...because the next thing we knew and got( with the exception of a few new characters) was the Revolution.
...and that last short run was gone...
I personally missed out on many of them not realizing the shelves would never be restocked with them ever again...
Some of those nominees would be Donald and Douglas w/their variant extended flared tenders, Thomas working hard & Diesel working hard, both with red cheeks and distressed faces. They were sold in the shortest run FP sets I've ever seen...
Two weeks and GONE!! I think those two and the Cranky delivery sets were the very last old FP product put on shelves..
DAMN THAT WAS FUN!!

[Ucwepn]

My flip face toby had a badly scratched roof (hardly any grey left) and massive corrosion in the battery compartment flip car. I paid a high price non the less and was very excited to even find one. I restored it's roof and added a hardwired Henrietta with a AA battery holder inside. I still have the original flipping car in pieces should I ever want to return it to its original condition.

Pics for those looking to acquire these gems:

Lost & found talking flip face Hiro



Flip face Toby

I too passed on ALL re-editions Donald, douglas & hank. we should keep these and any others on a separate list to be fine tuned at a later time. hard working diesel, however, is a train that could be considered very rare. hard to say, right now with limited data. but if you have 1 or can get 1... I would. I have mentioned these trains before & would like feedback. pop-out peter sam and mavis.

The biggest bummer for me is when I stopped going to the train shows, I missed out on collecting the whole time FP TM was in reign. And now I'm sitting here choking in shipping costs and prices of trains I could've bought brand new.