To be quite blunt, there are some things that I do and do not like about the new redesign for the TrackMaster line.
The things I like include:
1.) Some of the rolling stock. I enjoy Gator's green 16-ton open wagons, especially the tarpaulin, and I like the China Clay rubble that comes with Timothy's red China Clay wagon. The other rolling stock is simply generic, and heavily lackluster.
2.) Some of the detail. Some detailing on the new characters is phenomenal. There are no stickers on Timothy and, let's face it, if the redesign never came to fruition, the old style Timothy would have been festooned with stickers.
3.) The character promotional pictures on the box. Yes, I know it's a waste of cardboard, but the picture is still a nice touch.
Things I do not like:
1.) Lack of free wheeling. Free wheeling is useful in remakes or videos to do a locomotive starting/stopping with the use of a few behind-the-scenes tricks and, in order to make these new models free wheel, you have to remove the main component of the motorized engine to do so.
2.) Lack of backwards compatibility. The activation tab underneath these new models catches on almost anything from the blue or brown track. No kidding, I've had both Gator and Timothy stall, running light engine, on a single straight, curve, junction, or rising curve of TAKARA TOMY Plarail blue track or HiT Toys/Fisher-Price TrackMaster track. Really annoying, especially when filming.
3.) Shrunken and disproportionate size. The engines don't look any better to this scaled down redesign, and the rolling stock doesn't look any better either. The 16-ton open wagons look like little mine carts, and the other rolling stock just doesn't appear to look any better compared to the older style.
4.) Pricing. The prices still remained too high for something worth $12.00 U.S. When HiT Toys sold their "Greatest Moments/New Friend!" with three half-straights, no niches in the wheels, and quality plastic for $11.99 U.S. plus tax, that was a great deal. $18.40 for a "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" train with finicky motors, lackluster rolling stock and cargo, faulty couplings, no track, niches in the wheels, six sticks and inferior plastic is just way too much.
5.) Lack of circulation. The other engines in 2-packs are easily overstocked, but Gator and Timothy are only up to 3 of each on the shelves.
6.) Overuse of plastic and cardboard. Need I really say more?
7.) Laziness. Not much of a surprise, and not really going to delve into this one.
8.) The motors. One of my high-powered and high-speed engines is always overtaking Gator and Timothy, with a full train behind it too. 2 AAA batteries don't do a good job of beating a C-Cell battery, and the two named above certainly have troubles with an 8 car train, even when it's the redesigned rolling stock.
9.) The track. Although a touch more realistic, it doesn't like to stay down and flat. At all. Ucwepn showed it to us in one of his videos, and it doesn't really go over well with me. You'd use up a full clip in a nail gun putting this track down onto a baseboard for a layout.
I'm sure there are still things to add to both lists, but I can't really say I'd advocate this redesign as much as I do for HiT Toys TrackMaster or TAKARA TOMY Plarail. I do like Gator and his rolling stock, both to an extent, but I don't think I could endorse it with enthusiasm.
The things I like include:
1.) Some of the rolling stock. I enjoy Gator's green 16-ton open wagons, especially the tarpaulin, and I like the China Clay rubble that comes with Timothy's red China Clay wagon. The other rolling stock is simply generic, and heavily lackluster.
2.) Some of the detail. Some detailing on the new characters is phenomenal. There are no stickers on Timothy and, let's face it, if the redesign never came to fruition, the old style Timothy would have been festooned with stickers.
3.) The character promotional pictures on the box. Yes, I know it's a waste of cardboard, but the picture is still a nice touch.
Things I do not like:
1.) Lack of free wheeling. Free wheeling is useful in remakes or videos to do a locomotive starting/stopping with the use of a few behind-the-scenes tricks and, in order to make these new models free wheel, you have to remove the main component of the motorized engine to do so.
2.) Lack of backwards compatibility. The activation tab underneath these new models catches on almost anything from the blue or brown track. No kidding, I've had both Gator and Timothy stall, running light engine, on a single straight, curve, junction, or rising curve of TAKARA TOMY Plarail blue track or HiT Toys/Fisher-Price TrackMaster track. Really annoying, especially when filming.
3.) Shrunken and disproportionate size. The engines don't look any better to this scaled down redesign, and the rolling stock doesn't look any better either. The 16-ton open wagons look like little mine carts, and the other rolling stock just doesn't appear to look any better compared to the older style.
4.) Pricing. The prices still remained too high for something worth $12.00 U.S. When HiT Toys sold their "Greatest Moments/New Friend!" with three half-straights, no niches in the wheels, and quality plastic for $11.99 U.S. plus tax, that was a great deal. $18.40 for a "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" train with finicky motors, lackluster rolling stock and cargo, faulty couplings, no track, niches in the wheels, six sticks and inferior plastic is just way too much.
5.) Lack of circulation. The other engines in 2-packs are easily overstocked, but Gator and Timothy are only up to 3 of each on the shelves.
6.) Overuse of plastic and cardboard. Need I really say more?
7.) Laziness. Not much of a surprise, and not really going to delve into this one.
8.) The motors. One of my high-powered and high-speed engines is always overtaking Gator and Timothy, with a full train behind it too. 2 AAA batteries don't do a good job of beating a C-Cell battery, and the two named above certainly have troubles with an 8 car train, even when it's the redesigned rolling stock.
9.) The track. Although a touch more realistic, it doesn't like to stay down and flat. At all. Ucwepn showed it to us in one of his videos, and it doesn't really go over well with me. You'd use up a full clip in a nail gun putting this track down onto a baseboard for a layout.
I'm sure there are still things to add to both lists, but I can't really say I'd advocate this redesign as much as I do for HiT Toys TrackMaster or TAKARA TOMY Plarail. I do like Gator and his rolling stock, both to an extent, but I don't think I could endorse it with enthusiasm.
Residential train-afficionado in training, and Thomas & Friends fan.