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Photographs of the set and the adverts may be found here and a close-up of Percy may be found here. It is notable as the last O Gauge train to be made at Meccano's famous Binns Road factory in Liverpool, where the Hornby tinplate trains were made. The train set was only produced in 1967, and is now extremely rare.
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Rails specially designed to make it easy to put the train on the track." In practice, although it was advertised as 'Gauge O', this only indicated the size of the model, since the track design was not compatible with anything else (the models were effectively 'flangeless').Īdverts for the set, which showed the model train 'emerging' from the book Percy the Small Engine, appeared in Meccano Magazine and on the back of the dust-covers for several of The Railway Series books in print at the time. The plastic track was advertised as: "Gauge O track that clicks together and includes Brake Rail for automatic braking. The box featured special artwork by Peter Edwards and included the title, "Percy the Small Engine, brought to life by Meccano". The model of Percy was a fair likeness of the pictures in the books and was about the size of an O gauge engine. In 1967, Meccano Ltd released a train set featuring a clockwork model of Percy the Small Engine with some trucks - a yellow open wagon and a red closed van - and a circle of blue track. The range comprised the following characters: Thomas, Percy, James, Toby, Annie, Clarabel, Bertie the Bus, Harold the Helicopter. Each book came with accessories, a track and a station. In 1994, a new range of press-out models was released, this time drawn by Ken Stott instead of C. Awdry and Ken Stott, was released in September 1987.
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On the back of the Railway Series books promised, "Other models are being prepared", although, even if ever prepared, they were never published.Ī 12-page Thomas the Tank Engine Press-out Model Book ( ISBN 0434927589) by the Rev. These were full-colour printed cardboard kits whose pieces could be pressed out, folded, and glued together to make fairly realistic models. The first commercial models released alongside The Railway Series, in 1957, were 'Pre-cut Model Engine Books'. In 2016, the brand was so popular it was a permanent merchandise line. In 2015, Mattel made Thomas & Friends Minis to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Thomas.
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In 2016, a version of the Nabi SE Android tablet themed after the series received FCC certification and was to be released alongside the American Girl, Barbie and Hot Wheels tablets, but as of November 2022 no mention of such a device was made on Nabi or the series' official website. While the total traditional toy industry in the United States increased 1.9 per cent in 2010, overall Thomas & Friends toy sales increased over 47.1 per cent. Thomas is also a top-selling toy property in Australia, Germany, Japan, and Korea.
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In January 2011, Thomas & Friends ranked as the number-one preschool toy property in the U.K. Thomas & Friends ranked number one in the preschool toys category in the U.S. Other popular products include videos, books and magazines, computer games, audiobooks, annuals, colouring and activity books, jigsaws, board games, stationery, clothing, cutlery, household items such as curtains, duvet covers and lampshades, and soft drinks. The most popular and wide-ranging merchandise are the models of the characters, some including accompanying railway systems. Awdry since 1945, and the original broadcast of the television series in 1984 in the United Kingdom, large numbers of manufacturers have sought to produce Thomas-branded items after the television series was broadcast in the United States and Japan. Whilst merchandise was produced alongside due to the popularity of the first of The Railway Series by the Rev.
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Merchandise for the Thomas & Friends franchise has been produced to capitalize on the success of the television series Thomas & Friends (formerly Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends). Top: Wooden Railway and Trackmaster toys.
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