Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends ERTL Merchandise

By CPK

As with everything that gets televised, there is normally a string of merchandise to follow. Be it for the collector, or a mere play thing for a child, or maybe some other reason, such as a case study, these items will almost always be purchased as well.

Thomas the Tank Engine was no different. After the first series was televised in 1984, ERTL soon released a die-cast model replica of Thomas that featured a decal sticker sheet. This was so you could alter Thomas’ face to make him either happy or sad. Soon afterwards, the Thomas model was released in a 3-piece set with Henry and James, although they featured no alternate faces. Also released in this year was a larger, motorised version of Thomas.

In 1985, ERTL’s range started over. There were no longer any decal sheets included, and Thomas, Henry and James were all given red buffer beams to replace the older white ones. ERTL also released models of Percy, Toby, Bertie and Annie & Clarabel this year, although Annie & Clarabel could only be purchased in a 3-piece set with either Thomas or Percy.

ERTL now further diversified their product line, by adding larger die-cast, motorised, models of Percy, as well as two large plastic models of Thomas, one that was a moneybox, and the other that was remote controlled.

In 1988, two more models were added to the collection, Edward and Gordon. But ERTL was now facing demands from the general public to produce more characters.

ERTL listened to these demands in 1990, by releasing Duck, Diesel, Trevor, The Fat Controller (Sir Topham Hatt) with a Porter, and the Troublesome Trucks. This year also marked the end of the sticker-faced engines. They were no replaced with plastic faces, as were the previous releases from previous years. This was most likely due to the fact that the sticker faces were prone to falling off.

The years went by, and ERTL continued producing new models on an annual basis, with the likes of Harold, Henrietta, Bill, Ben, Donald, Douglas, Daisy, Boco, Tar and Milk Wagons, and Mavis.

There was also a new sub-range, feature miniature models of the more well known characters, such as Thomas, Edward, Percy, James, Toby, Duck, Diesel, Bill, Ben, Trevor, Harold, Annie, Clarabel, and the Troublesome Trucks. These were released in packs of 3, as well as with play sets. Popular as they were, these miniatures did not last very long, and were soon out of production.

In 1993, the entire Thomas brand was given a re-vamp. Due to this, ERTL models were now packaged in a different way from this year onwards. The packaging now featured a highly detailed painting the engine on the packaging, and, dependant on the type of vehicle that they were, a differing background.

Models were now released every year, averaging 6 new models annually, in correspondence to those new to the TV series, with “oddities” such as Sodor Soft Side truck being released to fill gaps between television series.

In 1995, the Railway Series (what Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends is based on) was 50 years old. In commemoration of this, ERTL released a limited edition gold plated Thomas model. In 1998, ERTL released 4 more limited edition models, this time, with gleaming metallic paint. The models were: Thomas, Percy, Duncan, and Rheneas. In 1999, a further four metallic engines were released, the engines being: Lord Harry, Duke, Rusty, and Sir Handel. In 2000, the year of the millennium, ERTL release a platinum plated model of Thomas to celebrate.

During this time, the ERTL miniature range came back for a short while, however, they were now a key ring range, and did not feature Bertie, Annie, Clarabel, or the Troublesome Trucks.

The set soon totalled over 70 models. At this time, the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends brand was renamed Thomas & Friends. Once this was done, the packaging changed again, and now matched every other piece of Thomas & Friends merchandise. This packaging was to house almost 30 new models, until Gullane (owners of the Thomas & Friends brand) were brought by HiT Entertainment. This caused the packaging to change yet again. This fourth style is the currently used one, and has managed to bring the total of models to over 100. However, it appears ideas may be running out, as non-televised characters from The Railway Series are becoming more frequent, and all significant TV series only characters have been made.

The Thomas & friends brand sparked the miniatures range to be re-released, in the new style packaging, with new models being made, such as Henry and Mavis.

Recently, the coupling style of the models has been changed, from the original “hook and eye” style, to a new “U – hook” style, believed to be more sturdier, and last longer. 

ERTL has stopped production of models in America, and other countries, such as Australia, are having problems getting any new models. The UK is the only remaining place that ERTL manufactures models, but there have been fears that this is soon to end. However, there is no concrete proof as of yet.