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ERTL Thomas & Friends: Gordons Special Coach
by SoadFan
Our little ERTL Thomas & Friends set of Gordons Special Coaches, came in a simple plastic fronted pack, with a slim cardboard backing piece. The pack was in the usual light blue and yellow colour way, with a hint of red to highlight it and shows Thomas the Tank Engine on the top of the pack. They were not listed on Dooyoo, but they ... have now been added as a product so I can share my thoughts on them.
We paid £3.99 for the little set of two coaches, which is very good value for the two items. When you think that each little coach worked out at around £2, that seems a more than fair price for them. In terms of what you might expect to pay now, a figure of between £5.99 to £7.99 would be about right. I feel thats still a good price for these two lovely coaches.
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The coaches are a little different from each other in design and decoration which is nice, as it adds more variety to your array of carriages and coaches. If you have as many of the Ertl die cast engines as we do, you do need a good selection of these for your engines to pull along.
One of the coaches has an off white roof, with a coach body made up of a mid wood brown with a red coloured horizontal line along it. It has a series of 11 little windows on each side, but unlike our Bertie the Bus there are no passengers in the seats or looking out the windows, which is a bit of a shame.
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The other coach has a mid grey roof and a main body which is a mid ginger brown in colour. Again there are a number of windows, but no one looking out from them. I feel it would have been nicer if there had been images of little people sat there, as it would have made the coaches seem more alive and real.
Both coaches have a series of fittings at the back and front which enable you to attach them either to each other, or to an Ertl die cast engine. The wheels of both coaches are set in little pairs and you get 2 sets of each pairs, on each end of the coaches.
Each wheel is held on by a set of slim wires and the way the wheels are set on to the coaches means that you can turn quite a tight circle, even though the body of the coaches is rather long. This means that you can use the little coaches on some of the curved solid based train tracks, which makes for more realistic role play.
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We have found that the coaches are great fun to play with. They can easily be pushed or pulled along on flat surfaces, but do struggle on thicker pile rugs and carpets.
As we have used them on 2 short pile carpet play mats, I can say that they work ok on that type of surface too, but don't run on as far without a little more effort. They look really nice when hooked up behind the little Ertl Thomas engines we have and have stood the test of time, by remaining in good condition, even though they have been played with time and time again.
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In terms of rating the little coaches, I feel that they are worthy of a 4 star rating. I would have given them an extra star had they shown some form of life, by having little images of people travelling in them sat at the windows. Lots of children have played with these and commented that there is no one on either coach, so I do feel this makes a difference in a childs mind.
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ERTL Thomas & Friends: Slate Trucks
by SoadFan
Our little Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends set of Slate Trucks form part of a larger collection of Ertl die-cast models. They came nicely packed in a clear fronted and a slim backed cardboard pack. The pack clearly shows them to be part of the Thomas range of toys and is easy to spot with its mid blue and soft yellow background, ... with Thomas logo.
The trucks would make a nice gift for either a younger child or a collector of Ertl Thomas models. We have found that our little slate trucks are well made and durable and work well with our Ertl toy engines. They work as well now as when we first bought them.
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When we bought the slate trucks we were able to pick out the item we wanted from a really good selection of Ertl models which formed part of a large display. This was a really good way for our child to pick out the one they wanted.
We paid £3.99 at the time of purchase and this was around mid way into the price range at the time, but we didn't mind as we were getting not one but two little trucks. Prices at the time were not over £4.50 for any model.
In terms of more recent prices you ought to budget between £4.99 and £7.99 for a set of these. Which still works out well for the two items.
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The slate trucks are made up of sturdy and long lasting materials and comprise of the truck base which has a set of small mid brown plastic wheels and a sectioned top which encloses the slates, that the two trucks ferry about when hooked up to one of the Ertl model trains.
The side of the trucks are in a mid mustard yellow and are 3 bars high all the way around. The slates are of a mid grey/brown and look very authentic packed into the little trucks. The trucks can run on some flat based train tracks but also work on other surfaces.
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The buffers are made from a mid brown plastic and have connectors which make them easy to attach to the Ertl engines which can then pull them along. A young child can soon get the hang of doing this.
We thought at the time of buying them, how nicely modelled they were. They look really nice when attached in a line, amongst some of the other carriages and trucks that we have collected and are very different to them too.
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The wheels on the little slate trucks turn easily when on a flat surface, but cannot really turn well on thick pile carpets or similar uneven flooring. The underbody of the trucks is made of a sturdy plastic, which covers the whole of the underneath of the truck body and keeps the wheels firmly in place.
We have found that even though the trucks have been used in all sorts of play situations, they have remained in fully working order. I feel this shows that the quality of the slate trucks is as least as good as the other Ertl items form the range that we have. All the children that have played with the slate trucks have liked them.
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In terms of rating the little slate trucks, I feel that a 4 star rating is about right. This is in part due to the fact that we have lots of engines, so its nice to have a variety of trucks for them to pull along.
The slate trucks are still as useable as they have always been and would make a nice addition to a Thomas fans collection.
NB: The recommended age for playing with the slate trucks is 3 years old onwards.
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ERTL Die-Cast Thomas & Friends: Tar & Milk Wagons
by SoadFan
The little duo set of Thomas the Tank Engine Milk and Tar Trucks form part of the range of complimentary items that you can use along with your main Ertl die cast trains. They are simple in design and look authentic when compared to the types of truck pulled by the fictional engines on the island of Sodor.
Our little set came ... in a simple plastic fronted pack which had the Thomas the Tank Engine and Ertl branding on it. The trucks were easy to see through the clear plastic and looked attractive enough to give as a gift. The rear of the pack was made of the usual slim printed cardboard.
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At the time of purchase we paid £3.99 for the two trucks, which we didn't mind as we were getting not one but two models. They look like the complete opposite of each other, like the night and day of the transporting world. After all one little truck is a simple jet black and the other a stark icy white.
The trucks can be used along side the Ertl die cast trains from the range and can be attached easily to them, so that they can be pulled about by the busy little engines delivering milk and tar where ever they go. The body of both trucks is well made and sturdy and is designed in a way that clearly shows which truck carries which product.
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They are much lighter than the majority of the train engines as they are made of lighter materials. This has not effected their durability in any way and our little trucks still have all their wheels and buffers firmly in place even though they have delivered their little socks off.
The wheels of both trucks are made from plastic and have a slim wire connecting them to the wheel on the other side of the truck body. There is a plastic panel underneath the trucks which keeps the wheels in place and protects the underneath from bumps and scrapes.
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The writing on the milk truck declares that it is carrying Tidmouth Milk, the little tar truck is carrying tar from an undisclosed source. The details on the little trucks is simple yet effective.
Mostly its made as part of the main moulded sections of the trucks, but if you look closely along the buffers and bottom of the trucks, they are not left plain and do look authentically decorated. The trucks can easily be pushed along on a flat floor surface, but due to their small wheels they do not cope well with thick pile carpets.
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I do feel that its rather nice to have a selection of varied trucks for your little Ertl die cast trains to work with. This makes the role play and games played by children seem even more authentic and realistic.
Due to the fact that these little trucks are a bit different and that you also get 2 in the set, I feel they offer good value if you can pick them up cheaply. Having checked out recent prices I can see that they are selling for between £6 and £8 per set of two.
When I think about how long we have owned our set I feel this is a reasonable price to pay. In terms of rating the trucks, I fell that a 4 star rating is where they belong, as they are a nice little du that work really well with the Ertl die cast trains.
NB: Due to small parts these are not suitable for children under 4 years old.
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