For generations of kids, parents, and grandparents, Thomas the Tank Engine has been a fixture of storytelling and play that they’ve grown up with and passed along.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of Thomas & Friends, and to celebrate the legacy of what began as a story for the Reverend. W. Awdry’s son Christopher in 1945, Mattel and its partners have been releasing a ton of great new content inspired by decades of railway adventures. There are new books and music, the 24th season of Thomas & Friends on Netflix, and, of course, new toys from Fisher-Price.
A train set should be a part of every kid’s toy box and the Thomas & Friends Talking Thomas & Percy Train Set is the perfect starter set for little engineers ages 3 and up.
This set comes ready-to-run with more than 35 pieces of track and accessories. Right out of the box, kids — perhaps with a little help from a grownup — can build their track in one of three suggested styles or they can use the pieces to create their own original layouts inspired by imagination. Since the set uses TrackMaster pieces, this set can be expanded or combined using additional Fisher-Price TrackMaster parts. Think of it as a “best of both worlds” scenario because TrackMaster engines and vehicles are available in push-style or motorized, so there are a lot of awesome characters to collect down the line.
Thomas and Percy are both motorized — powered by included AAA batteries — and recognize each other on their adventures. They’re best friends, so they like to stop and chat about their work throughout the day. Sometimes they’ll simply exchange a cheery “hello, friend,” while other conversations might be longer and delve into where they’re headed and what they’re up to.
One thing that is important to note is that when one engine stops, the other will as well so that Thomas and Percy can talk to one another no matter where they might be on the tracks.
Kids who watch Thomas & Friends regularly will recognize familiar locations from throughout the Island of Sodor, including the Vicarstown Bridge, Brendam Docks, Henry’s Tunnel, and the Blue Mountain. There’s an easy loading station where kids can place cargo into Thomas and Percy’s included train cars, and Bulstrode the Cargo Ship is ready and waiting to help bring shipments in and out of port. Perhaps Sir Topham Hatt (not included) can come to inspect the shipments at the docks to make sure all customs duties are taken care of? Well, probably not.
When playtime is done, the set can easily be disassembled for storage, but don’t expect it to be put away for long! With so many possibilities, kids will be eager to get the adventures back on track!
